StrandedonEarth

Yeah, strata insurance has gone crazy here lately, which I blame on what strikes me as a recent rash of major structure and condo fires in the province lately.

Not quite "boat mode" but... More on topic, there are a few battery powered passenger ferries around here. Not sure if they have a solar canopy. As for skipping directly back to sails, that's fine for the deep sea, but leaves something to be desired for harbor maneuverability. Now if the sail had some sort of PV fabric or construction to charge the maneuvering thrusters...

Hmmm, so just grade the excuses? Or…. ”Assignment: Explain why you can’t do the assignment, minimum three pages…”

I'm starting this thread as a place for a general discussion of existing solar power technologies and current or potential terrestrial applications. By this I mean to exclude space-based solar power systems for terrestrial consumption, as there is no serious planning for a system that, while technically possible, reeks of sci-fi (besides, it has its own thread). I kind of expect this thread to fork between residential/commercial discussions and an idea I just came up with using giga-scale deployment. So while this thread is meant to be focused on solar power, I realize that the tendrils may wander astray and that is fine. I am curious to hear the experiences of anyone here who has or had a residential solar power system. I live in a townhouse complex, so going solar here is not really an option. but it intrigues me. My only experience with solar aside from fence-post lights is the recently installed 100W panel on our RV, which hasn't really been put to the test aside from keeping the batteries topped up. I know it's not really enough, but it's a start (the charge controller was the main thing to get), and hopefully we'll try going off-grid this year. I have to shake my head at the lack of thought that went into this complex: our unit has three large windows facing SW onto our small "yard", which is mostly concrete tiles. So it absolutely bakes in the summer afternoon sun, meaning we need AC. And where is the condenser? Out in that same yard, baking in the Sun. That can't be good for efficiency. During the recent heat waves, the AC unsurprisingly could not keep up. We finally just picked up a ten-by-twelve awning to shield some windows; it's not installed yet but hopefully it will help. Sure, a tree could help; but the one we planted two years ago and was promising shade this year failed to survive our unusually cold snap last winter. And then there's the dead leaf clean-up. But what we really need is a louvered patio cover to keep more sun out of our yard ($$$!). Then I start thinking of having photovoltaics on the louvers ($$$$$$!). I have no expectation of powering our whole unit, but if it could shave off our Step 2 usage... (BC Hydro does not use Time-of-Day billing because they promised not to when the smart meters were rammed down our throats. Instead we pay 9.41c/kWh for the first 666kWh, then 14.1c/kWh after that). And that "Step 2" usage sure spiked last month with the AC running nonstop. Unfortunately, the cost of wiring is pretty constant regardless of installation size, so it is not very economical for such a small install. Perhaps getting all five units on our strip done would provide some economy of scale, but getting the other units to buy in could be a non-starter. Still, just a louvered cover would be a big help, I think, to make the yard livable and AC more efficient. Even good exterior window coverings would help keep the heat out, at least. Storm shutters are out of fashion since glass got stronger (I assume that's a reason), but maybe a version needs to come back, to keep the heat outside the building. Sure, we have blinds and curtains, but the heat is already inside at that point. Perhaps exterior blinds with a material like this... When I cogitate on it, I realize that efficiency and renewable planning is next to non-existent here, even as Vancouver likes to tout some of its LEED-certified high-efficiency buildings. Chilliwack has been booming lately, with multiple new large residential developments going up simultaneously (I dread traffic in a few years; it's already bad and planned road upgrades will probably not be enough). But no thought towards potential future solar upgrades, efficiency, etc. I dislike the recent architectural styles with peaks going every which way; it smells of inflated roofing cost in an overheated housing market to me. And it's certainly not conducive to solar, which I admit only recently became barely competitive. Which is another thing in BC; there are no grants for solar, probably because we will have globs of power from the in-troubled-progress Site C dam project. The BC Hydro site pays lip service to solar; saying panels last 25 years and would take 20 years to pay for itself (in other words, not encouraging while not actively discouraging). At the risk of cookie-cutter neighborhoods, IMO developments should run east-west, with plain south-sloped roofs suitable for solar collectors (thermal? PV? whatever!) and rainwater collection (rainwater cisterns for irrigation use should be a standard thing!). Then HVAC can be situated on the shady, cooler northern side. I suppose our latitude makes PV less useful, but I think if there's enough sun to farm there should be enough for PV. Which brings me to a concept which recently occurred to me: fighting polar warming* with PV. I'm talking massive deployment of PV units. The first step, of course, would be a massive expansion of PV panel manufacturing, preferably on highly-automated production lines. These would be deployed across ice fields and especially polar seas everywhere (yes, PV buoys), with the objective of shading as much polar surface as possible; to prevent warming of permafrost and sun-absorbing polar waters and encouraging reflective polar ice. The low elevation of the Sun at these latitudes means a panel can shade a few times its own surface area. These units would need to be able to track through the endless polar days, and be cabled together and to nearby settlements as much as practical. Using batteries to store such a glut of power would be uneconomical; it should be much easier to store and transport large amounts of energy in the form of hydrogen. Centralized electrolyzers would fill tanks for collection and transport to wherever needed (a new polar profession: hydrogen harvester, probably automated before it even becomes a thing); when more storage is needed, just add more tanks. Fuel cells and hydrogen-powered ICE generators would provide heat and power through the long polar winter nights. Panels would enter a winter mode as polar night sets in, using reserved power coming back through the cables from the electrolyzer plants to re-activate (melting itself free of ice and reorienting) when the sun finally rises again. * - While most concern is focused on the Arctic, there's no reason this wouldn't work in the Antarctic as well. For those not aware; the Arctic region is of great concern because melting permafrost releases lots of methane, a much more potent GHG than CO2. Also, as the reflective sea ice recedes, it opens more sun-absorbing water which speeds the warming and melting of yet more ice. And freshwater melt from the Greenland ice sheets can float where the Gulf Current should sink, stalling the current that keeps northern Europe temperate. So yeah, I think shading the Arctic could be a big step in fighting global climate change. And generating power at the same time is a bonus, especially for a region that finds itself mostly limited to diesel generators or extremely long, vulnerable transmission lines. So, discuss! I'd really like to hear about other's solar experiences, and any feedback on my polar shading concept is welcome, of course.

Forecast says cooler and rain come Friday and Saturday; hopefully that holds. Smoke got pretty thick in the Fraser Valley yesterday, but nothing like the Interior.

Ive fought with enough photo import tools that I find it easier to just email them to myself lol

Is it cube-shaped? Perhaps resembles a Rubik’s cube? And if not why not lol

Hmmm, launch the Dynetics lander on a Starship, then they shouldn’t have mass problems. Cost problems and redundancy problems, sure, but it should solve the mass problem. If not it’s hopeless

And when it come to that sort of thing, SpaceX may be a “space contract shark”. The DoD/FH contract appeared high by SpaceX standards (possibly not depending on what is in the contract), and it can be assumed Starbase etc is a bit of a money pit. So it’s understandable that others may have thought the SpaceX bid would be higher. Kinda smells like a pool shark to me

SpaceX looks to be the exception that proves the rule, much as there are a few old, bold pilots. But they are quite rare; as rare as moonwalkers (coughBuzzAldrincough). Gotta be bold to be one of those. (Sorry, off on a tangent again)

Oh, BO wants it to be a competition? Then maybe they should compete, instead of expecting to get second place just for showing up.

Fresh water from the area will not sink and could stall the Atlantic current, which IIRC is the return current for the Gulf Stream. At least, according to an old documentary tut I forget the name of

And this process slows down as temperature rises (according to an 80s vintage textbook I read), which is a possible reason why Venus found itself in a runaway greenhouse while Earth did not. Another threat of melting Greenlandic ice sheets is that the fresh water can slow and possibly stop the Gulf Stream, making Europe much colder

Dusty Hill of ZZ Top Also, my cat

Dammit. My cat got out yesterday morning. Normally when he gets out, he's back later in the morning, but he didn't come back. Cats are not allowed to roam in our strata, but try telling a cat it's not allowed outside. It'll find a way, and if it doesn't want to be caught, then good luck if you don't have some help and some good treats. Then my cat was found dead at the base of a tree in the complex this morning . No apparent injury, so the consensus (without spending stupid money on a post-mortem) is poison of some sort. Maybe coolant? Quite possibly a poisoned rodent, since there are baits around. And my dog found a mouse behaving oddly (to me; it didn't seem to be trying very hard to hide) this morning while I was walking her, but we didn't harm it. So yeah, I left work to come home and collect Malibu and bury him. Then while running errands for our almost-done kitchen reno, I stopped at the vet to pick up the footprint memorial plaque of our old dog that we had just put to sleep a month or two ago. So Oreo has gone from two furry companions to none. We will probably have to fix that, so she has company while everyone is away during the day. Not quite sure whether to go canine or feline (pros and cons, etc) but the name will definitely be "Gilligan" aka 'Little Buddy' The hazards of having a cat that likes to be outside, but I suppose he died enjoying his short, four year life. He's still the undefeated champ. This was unexpected and it freakin hurts E: On the bright side Oreo, you get your bed back...

Sorry, but the best answer I can come up with is.... 42

If you don’t have a job aboard a vessel, and you paid to be aboard, then you’re payload, no matter what medium your travelling on or through

I do like what I see in that trailer, even though it sort of gave me a Hobbit on Arrakis feel

I believe the closest approved thread to that would be...

Oh look, a target...

IIRC this method was used to prove that the windows in “The Amityville Horror” house to prove that the windows had never been broken, counter to the claims of the people living there (it was based on an allegedly true story). But maybe the supernatural force that broke the windows reassembled them, hmmm? Or they were just hallucinating…

I believe the theory is that the Earth shelters the near side, absorbing or steering away many things headed for the near side of they pass by Earth first.

I was at 386 Comox for a year, then helped upgrade a hangar at Campbell River airport for 363 Squadron, of which I was a founding member. This was way back in 85-87, before I moved to Vancouver.

... Too quiet. Terribly quiet. Awfully quiet!