A Growing Concern
With Burning Man in the future, the DateTrikE needed to be off the grid, the trike's cloth canopy to be replaced with solar panels. This is all mildly expensive, so I wanted the solar canopy to be able to do double-duty as solar for our RV. The canopy needed to be lightweight but still robust. [...]
When the DateTrike made its debut ten years ago, electric bikes were still just a curiosity. But times change, technology advances, and today e-bikes are the rage. I have been considering adding some electric assist for awhile now. I'm not as young as I was ten years ago, and the hills are just as steep. [...]
We have entered the age of "pretty smart" machines. There have been some showpieces in the form of Jeopardy's Watson and recently the game playing AlphaGo and AlphaZero machines that far and away bested the best human players at their game. Notably, unlike previous game playing machines, AlphaZero was never programmed on how to play [...]
For the last few years, playing music and singing with others has become an important source of joy and connectedness in my life. It might even be one reason this poor blog has had fewer and fewer entries as the virtual online world has taken a back seat to real life! This all started because [...]
Wherever we go on the DateTrike, our vehicle turns heads, gets smiles, and everyone wants one. I'm won't be making any more of these, but it is no harder than any other mildly complex project, so I'll present a few of the details here for those who are up to the challenge. If you happen to [...]
The DateTrike made its debut last summer. Since them there have been a few refinements, and finishing details that have given the craft a more finished look and some added features. The fenders are a big appearance boost, and also keep arms and sleeves off the rear tires. Tubing chain guards keep your pants clean. [...]
The first international conference on High Altitude Wind Power happened last November in Chico, CA. That's a sign this new technology is being taken seriously by academics. Hence, the rest of us concerned about our energy needs should become acquainted with the topic. For those unfamiliar with the concept, the idea is simply that winds are stronger and more reliable [...]
By Gary Rondeau (Update: 6/28/10 -- The Seneca co-generation plant is presently under construction. As far as I know, they have no plans to make biochar. This is too bad. I wrote the following article about a year ago when their plans were less fixed in concrete. GR) Future energy needs should be met with an [...]
Squash Practice 