Water and electricity

Years ago, I thought it would be best to use water to generate energy for the house I was planning on building. For that to actually work, I'd have to have access to a stream, where I own both sides of the land. Now, I know there's water on my folks property, but I've never heard of or seen a stream.

A while back, my father had a pond built out in his backyard in Florida. He knew the water would evaporate, so he had a well dug that would feed the pond. Not just any kind of well, mind you, an artesian well. According to the dictionary, an artesian well is usually one "of small diameter and often of great depth." I have no idea how deep it was, but it was only about an inch and a half in diameter at the end. Also, this is not a lot of water, and will not be able to run anything but a mouse sized generator. To drill this sort of well takes, a bunch of capital.

One crazy idea a friend of mine came up with to place a small generator in your water main. It would almost constantly generate a small amount of energy at a very low cost. Again, it was a small amount, but more importantly (I found out after living in several different houses), is that this method will reduce the water pressure in your house. Hmmm...

So, I suppose the only remaining possibilities are:

o Buy a fuel type generator and run it when it is needed
o Hook up to the local power grid
o Go without electricity

Now, the third option puts a cramp on blogging and air conditioning. But I am thinking there is a way to cool a house without conventional air conditioning. More on that at another time.

So, you must have water. Gotta drink, bathe, wash, cook, and clean. But what are ways to do without electricity?

Until later


Mike

Dance

We have a good number of kids in my family, so we can have a good dance at the house, sort of. The guys are out numbered by one, but that still gives us four couples. I have to admit, it was a bit difficult to get some of them going, but now they all enjoy getting together for the Virginia Reel or a square dance every couple of weeks or so.

Number-One Son seemed to take the longest to begin enjoying contra dancing. He would drag his feet almost every time, fail to show up when we called for a dance and began playing the music - or he'd just disappear! In October and November of last year, we were preparing to go to Monroe, LA to visit the Christmas dance at Auburn Avenue Presbyterian Church. The church graciously provided a wonderful place for us to stay. The night for the dance came and we arrived with the ladies all dressed up in dresses they had made. Fourth of Nine was still dragging his feet.

One of the first dances was the Reel. A young fellow asked one of the girls in my group and off they went. After the first dance, a father came up with one of his girls and spoke with Number-One, then the two went off on as the next dance started. Throughout the night, they would dance with each other, occasionally.

It was a long and glorious night, and we all had a great time - except Number-One, so I thought. The younger kids had to have a small snack to tide them over as the evening wore on. Then we came to the end. We prayed and sang a song of praise to the Lord. Amid the smiles and cheers, Number-One came up to me. By the look in his face I guessed he had been ready to leave for some time. He asked me "Will we be coming to the dance next December?" I smiled and told him, "There is a dance in May I'd like to take us to." His whole expression changed as he leapt into the air and shouted, "YES!"

How 'bout that?


Mike


P.S. To the folks at Auburn Avenue Presbyterian Church in Monroe, thank you!

Safety

One on my responsibilities over the years in the Air Force has been Safety. I've done inspections, training, breifings, emails, and built web pages. I have also developed a safety storyline

The idea behind this was to provide another way of getting information out to the folks. As I had quickly found out, some people delete emails with the topic of safety - humph! So I came up with a special name for this: The StORM Project (StORM = SafeTy Operational Risk Management). I've made eleven of these so far. Basically, it's a spoof, I take parts of movies, shows, books, etc and weave them in. There is an plot to this as wel, hopefully, you'll get a kick out of this. For those interested in using this elsewhere - contact me :)


Mike



In the Beginning

Our story centers on Guy, a safety rep and fairly new to the office. He has just stopped by the Big Safety Boss's office to give a report on the program. While waiting near the door, he noticed something on the floor that looked like a tripping hazard. As he bent down to check it, the Safety Boss's shoes came into view.

Safety Boss:
Rise, my friend.

(turning he begins walking towards the huge window, way in the back of the office)
Guy stood up and followed alongside. It was huge, well decorated room. Guy did a quick safety inspection of the room as he walked. All looked well, and he didn't see any extension cords!

Guy:
The Safety Inspection WILL be completed on time.

You have done well, Guy. And now I sense you wish to search for others in need of ORM training.

Yes.

Patience, my friend, in time, they will come to you. And when they do, you must bring them here. Some have grown complacent. Only together, can we turn them.

As you wish.

Everything is proceeding as I have foreseen.

Huh?

Guy goes back to his little corner located at the top floor in the building. There he works feverishly on the safety inspections, compiling safety reports, accident reports and hazard reports. After lunch, Guy has some visitors from the local police station; the Chief and an Inspector have come to "ask" some questions....

Chief:
Okay, Guy, another question. Actually, this will be an interrogation. LIGHTS! Chair! Okay, we know you have the information. All you have to do is tell us what we want to know, nothing more.

Inspector:
First. We know you're having a Supervisor Safety Training class soon. From what I can tell it may be a bit crowded. Now I would like to infiltrate a couple of folks in there.
And you're gonna tell me how, right?

uh...I'm not tellin', uh....ok, it's first come, first served. If they want to camp out overnight they're welcome, but usually if they're in by 0845 they'll get a seat. It's located in the the main office, first room on the right.

Second. We also know that you're giving Safety Rep training. Now, what we need here just a few seats for some of our new Safety Reps.

No problem sir, we don't have no problem teaching folks about safety. Flight and element reps can get trained in-house by their Squadron Unit Safety Representative, call me for more info.

Third. You say we can get information online. Well, that's nice. So, where do we go?

I don't know...I'm not tellin'. You can't make me. Hey, what are you doing with that hot poker???? Alright, alright! Go to http://www-afsc.saia.af.mil/

Do you remember the fourth Inspector? No? Me either.

Chief, you're getting too old for this. The fourth question was dealing with Motor Cycle riders.

Well...

Com'mon Guy. You know we always take care of our informants.

Okay. There's an Experienced Motorcycle Rider's course coming up. You'll need to call first and pick up a voucher for the class. You'll need to have it signed as well or you can't get into the class.

Fifth and last. I hear inklings about quarterly and annual Safety Awards. Got any info on this?

Sure do. Supervisors can submit anyone who they believe has contributed to the safety of the shop, squadron, group, base or local community. You can send a memo to your Safety Rep, who will then send it up through the organization. If selected by the squadron commander, it will go to the Wing. We can provide examples, if needed.

That's fine Guy. Well, okay, that about sums it up. We appreciate your time. (leaving) See you later Guy.

Is that it? Are you finished? I know my rights. If you're not gonna charge me, release me. I've got nothing else to say. Anything else, contact my lawyer. I'm going back to my office.

Guy, you are in your office.

Oh, yea, right.

To be continued…