last updated on 05/13/2013 11:27:28 AM
https://robotfun.wordpress.com/2011/12/21/swampcooler
another type uses ice in a foam container adding a fan and a pvc pipe elbow to direct the air flow
I had bought 4 new tires for the Jeep, BF Goodrich AT KO and one of them was a display model that ended up being a 2 year old "new" tire which had silicon tire dressing on it which I did not want on my tires. One other tire had a brownish tinge on it, which was a year old (unused tire). They offered to replace the display model. When I was in the store I asked to look at the new tire before they installed it. I looked for the DOT numbers found on the white letter side, and saw that it was a 2013 which was what I was told when I asked if the tire was in stock yet. I also noticed a bit of a tinge of brownish occuring even on this new one. BF Goodrich website says this is normal. I ok'd the install if they would clean that the new one and the other one. They look great and I am now pleased. The one thing I loved about doing business with Sears Palm Desert California was that the center was not overloaded with customers and the staff was friendly and they have a comfortable waiting room. I had to ask another customer though to get the TV remote to up the volume as I couldn't get it to work. He had no problem. We figured out that the angle of the remote to the TV was being blocked where I was sitting and not where he was sitting. A great start to my Saturday.
http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f153/1983-jeep-cj7-soa-35-bfg-krawlers-sbc-v8-8-500-a-1518173/
Anyone who believes that the oceans will rise 8 feet, or even inches if arctic ice melts, clearly could not have looked at the world's oceans and the mass from this perspective as it shows how big the oceans are compared to the ice which is more like a drop in a bucket.
http://kainani.hpu.edu/hwood/HawPacFilm/glove%20of%20Pacific.jpg
List of motorcycle clubs throughout California.
This is a great forum thread featuring photos of Jeeps that have been left to rot, neglected, found in the woods, back yards, etc.
http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f59/abandoned-neglected-jeeps-rotting-away-907875/
Said by the utilities so who knows. I hardly think that solar would ever become that big, especially in the northeast.
http://grist.org/article/solar-panels-could-destroy-u-s-utilities-according-to-u-s-utilities/
"A large team of scientists used a deep ice core from the Western Antarctic Ice Sheet Divide to produce records going back some 2,000 years. Their analysis shown that recent melting in that area, which has caused a good deal of hysteria* in climate alarmist circles, is in fact normal."
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/04/15/western_antarctic_melting_nothing_unusual/
"If you can save just one bird, it's all worth it" so they said. Turns out, that's about all that's saved, 1%. In the Gulf of Mexico oil spill they spent millions of dollars trying to save them using detergent. Dawn detergent used it as a part of their feel good about the product by mentioning it. It all presents such a feel good ideal, save the birds, great for TV and magazines, but the study indicates that only 1 in 100 end up surviving. Next spill, how about we let nature take it's course, and start using using those millions to help people instead? A study indicates that they are better off being killed to spare them the misery. Though I would dispute that waste of money as well, at least it sheds light on the reality of the bird brianed idea that we can save them.
What if it was a bike path?
http://www.fastcodesign.com/1672236/what-if-the-keystone-xl-pipeline-was-a-bike-path#1
For the last 20 years there has been no warming. The fact that global surface temperatures have not followed the previously expected global warming pattern is now widely accepted.
It has been there for a long time, and it's sitting on ice buried in snow, in a large frozen tundra. If global warming was an overall phenomena as compared to a local occurrence we wouldn't have such evidence of global cooling.
It has prevented some 1.8 million deaths due to air pollution. It is clean energy. It is efficient. Efficiency saves lives.
http://cen.acs.org/articles/91/web/2013/04/Nuclear-Power-Prevents-Deaths-Causes.html
According to wunderground.com, Nico, Antarctica had the lowest temperature ever recorded anywhere on Earth. It was April Fool's Day at -96 degrees. If we are suffering from "global warming" as many alarmists claim, why is the lowest temperature ever recorded taken on April 1, 2013 on Earth a minus 96 degrees Farenheit? Also of note, a record low was set in Garrison, North Dakota, USA, at 8 degrees Farenheit breaking the previous record low set in 2008 of 12 degrees Farenheit.
Numbers don't lie. The planet is experiencing both global warming and global cooling, thus global normalization as it always has.
Greenhouses are buying CO2 to make their plants grow better. Quick, someone notify the sustainability experts, all we have to do now is sell all the green house gasses to green houses and create more green houses to capture the green house gasses which are killing our planet.
http://www.infowars.com/co2-myth-busted-why-we-need-more-carbon-dioxide-to-grow-food-and-forests/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&v=G2OeDAuhq6I&NR=1
Duamish Indians
The indigenous Indian Tribe was pushed out of the territory they lived in for thousands of years. They lived off the land and were forced out due to man's thirst for horsepower during the industrial revolition.
Easter Jeep Safari 2013
Saturday March 23 to 31 Moab Utah details
Scottish air farms
The winds of approval hit the seas, allowing wind farming to proceed and Donald Trump who owns a golf course there says the pristine views will be destroyed and it will not be good for Scotland's tourism. He has also said that the wind farms just outside of Palm Springs have destroyed the beauty of the area.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/mar/26/scottish-government-approves-windfarm-donald-trump
How old is your tire
I bought "new" tires at Sears only to find that one of them had silicone tire shine on it and one of the others had a dirty brownish look. The other two looked like new tires and still look new after weeks of use. In discussing this with 2 different managers at Sears in Palm Desert, they both insisted that the dirty tire was "normal". I feel it's not normal, it's a dirty tire. The other was a display model and should have never been really sold to me without informing me that it had tire dressing on it. Silicone tire dressing products make the tire appear more black but they tend to wear off unevenly, show high and low spots of shine, and streaks. I decided I didn't want any silicone on my tires when they are new. Maybe when they are years old but not when new. They agreed to only replace the one tire, and would only try to clean the dirty one. It has a dirty rusty look to it. Looking at the BF Goodrich website regarding how to read the dates a tire was made, I had to do some sleuthing to get this image below to show up. They have the picture location address at the wrong spot. There are 12 letters/digits after the DOT code, usually on the whitewall side of the tire. If you can't find this whole 12 digit number on one side, look on the other. The 9th and 10th digits indicate the week of manufacture while the last 2 indicate the year.
Here is how they say to read it when the tire is made during the 1990's.
Next time I buy tires I will definitely make sure they show me the dates of all four tires before installation and look them over to make sure they all look new and not dirty. As a customer who expects exceptional service and new looking tires when they are sold as new, I think that tires should probably be no more than 6 - 12 months old and they all should match, and again, look new.
Peaker power plants & shale
Natural gas is typically the choice fuel to create electricity. When burned it emits carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide. It's called "clean" energy but it's only "cleaner" than others like coal, not really "clean", it's a hydrocarbon gas mixture!
"A peaker plant may operate many hours a day, or it may operate only a few hours per year, depending on the condition of the region's electrical grid. Because of the cost of building an efficient power plant, if a peaker plant is only going to be run for a short or highly variable time it does not make economic sense to make it as efficient as a base load power plant. In addition, the equipment and fuels used in base load plants are often unsuitable for use in peaker plants because the fluctuating conditions would severely strain the equipment. For these reasons, nuclear, geothermal, waste-to-energy, coal, biomass and electrochemical energy storage systems are rarely, if ever, operated as peaker plants."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peaking_power_plant
As a peaker plant — able to run a maximum of 116 days a year once it begins operating next winter — Sentinel and its eight 90-foot-tall smokestacks could spew more than 1 million tons of carbon dioxide per year, according to the final approval from the California Energy Commission.
That’s the equivalent of adding 188,334 cars per year to the valley’s roads, using formulas from the Environmental Protection Agency.
Some even say they are outdated and "pollute like crazy".
http://www.willdecher.com/CA-Energy-Project-Peaker-Plant
Shale is said to be "another ponzi fraud" by some.
1984 CJ7 4bt conversion Jeep for sale
http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f153/1984-jeep-cj7-4bt-conversion-1496594/
How to unload bamboo
A Taiwanese driver unloads a truckload of bamboo without getting his hands dirty. Could this explain why the Orient has it over America on productivity? I would imagine American unions wouldn't allow this for a second.
What to do when your car or truck reaches 122,667 miles
Should you sell it? No! Not until after you immediately reset the trip odometer and look at it 5,789 miles later. Then you can sell it.
Greening the planet through use of carbon producing fuels
Turns out, we have been making the planet more green directly due to the fact that we are using more fossile fuels! Easy proof is seen by looking at Palm Springs area 50 years ago saw nothing but sand, and today, it's a lush paradise. That would never have happened without cars, gas stations, and electricity. Same with Los Angeles which is an irrigated desert and many other places around the world.
Solar panels covering canals
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/industry-and-economy/government-and-policy/article3346191.ece
RPM of a CD raised to shatter point
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnyDwPWGkCY
Take a look at the video and see how it finally shatters when it reaches a certain speed. The reason it shatters is not because of the RPM'S going up, and causing outward stress as you might think, but rather, the wobble effect, even though the CD seems completely flat. It's due to factors of the bearing being not balanced absolute perfectly and the CD not being perfectly balanced in weight. Though those amounts are extremely small, they play a big roll when the item is spun at higher revolutions and thus the CD finally shatters due to the vibrations.
Great top for Jeep Wrangler
Stops the problem of puddling. http://skidrowoffroad.com/TopProp.asp
Biofuel is wiping out unique American grasslands
The switch from meadows to crops is causing a crash in populations of ground-nesting birds.
Fuzion XTI tire photograph on a vehicle
Solar industry grappling with toxic waste
Hankook Dynapro ATM RF10 vs. BF Goodrich AT KO
Solar power has it's critics!
http://cleantechnica.com/2013/02/03/thin-film-solar-power-to-be-sold-for-less-than-coal/
Important consideration on tire size
"When you don't put the correct size tires on without doing the mods it will throw off your speedometer and can mess with the abs example...computer on the truck will "think" the truck is going slower than it actually is therefore not applying the brakes correctly in an emergency situation."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9ZQrI7R9bM
great review on Definity Dakota MT mud terrain tire
Toyota mud truck rock crawler HOT failure was in the cast (or forged) part of the ball joint mount
http://i.imgur.com/Fi0OXtZ.jpg
http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f211/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHvXi_HejnI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFwPXEeJ3aI
Noise requirements for tires
The European Union has proposed limits on how noisy tires should be. I could see this coming to the US and become a problem with using mud tires on the road. Goodyear Duratrac's say they meet the requirements.
http://ec.europa.eu/governance/impact/ia_carried_out/docs/ia_2011/sec_2011_1504_en.pdf
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=15
more great videos of rock climbing http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&v=4hSKhOgeqXc&NR=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDOdny710vw
Incredible plunge
This vehicle (Jeep?) was able to submerse in this canal and pull itself out!
Liberals pay more
A business owner charges liberals $1 more for their healthy smoothies, donates the money to conservative causes. This concept could backfire though as liberals could also start adding fees for conservatives. http://www.ksl.com/?sid=23737239&nid=148
Bad coal, bad
It's like everyone is now talking to coal as if it's a spoiled unruly child. I don't see what the big problem is with coal energy yet Canada's leaders apparently do as they are phasing it out. I wonder if they know anything about the problems with San Onofre nuclear power plant which is shut down. What happens when these nuclear plants fail? They cannot rely on wind for a constant supply. I like the idea of having many sources of energy to make a reliable constant supply. Having a coal plant operating is a good idea.
According to Scientific American wind power has grown from 400 MW of provincial power six years ago to more than 2,000 MW now. By 2030, it is projected to provide roughly 10 percent of Ontario Canada province's electricity supply.
I have to wonder if when these statements about wind power are made are they talking about the total provided for the entire year, or are they talking about the total possible if the windmills were actually producing 24 hours a day, or are they talking about the total produced only when the wind blows and is actually producing energy?
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=ontario-phases-out-coal-fired-power
On the 8th day God created pavement
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&v=E2cXtHXQ2is&NR=1
Old BF Goodrich All Terrain tread & sidewall lettering design
Un-be-lieve-able
Jeep tries to get through deep mud using BF Goodrich All Terrain TA KO tires 31x10.5's
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwaQoc6wsbE
compare to using true mudders
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=fvwp&v=K4ar1_Jm4iA&NR=1
Energy Return Wheel
Here is an interesting concept in redesigning the wheel but I wonder if something like this hasn't already been done and maybe even patented before, like before rubber was readily available and put into productive use for tires.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOSAQjCbXZE
Driving on two wheels while changing tires
Some say this is impossible because it's "too perfect" and that it must be held up by "training wheels" on the other side but the video clearly shows otherwise.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UiK7ciFttFI
Another video showing driving
on two wheels
Basically a car driving on two wheels is riding on the rim and the rubber.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=9grajOShXl8&feature=fvwp
Energy efficiency dissipation quotient
A biofuel train crossed the border 24 times back and forth
between Canada and the USA without ever unloading it's cargo. Why would it
do such an energy inefficient thing with such energy efficient products?
http://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Why-did-a-Train-Carrying
-Biofuel-Cross-the-Border-24-Times-and-Never-Unload.html
50,000 hour LED lights
I'm watching some guy on TV who's trying to sell me on solar for my home. In the presentation he shows an incandescent bulb, talks about the heat generated by "old fashioned" bulbs. He said the incandescent bulb would last 2000 hours. The LED 50,000 hours but that one bulb would cost 50 dollars! He went on to say that bulb would last an average home 50 years.
Not trusting anything any salesman says to me anymore at fact value, I did the math. That bulb is said to last 5.7 years if turned on and left on all the time according to the "life expectancy" of the bulb.
Cities have been installing LED bulbs for years in traffic lights at great expense, and so many of them after a year or so start blinking, where the LED's burn out and then the entire unit has to be replaced, not in 50 years, more like 2 years. Each bulb contains not one, but many LED's so the entire unit needs to be replaced when some of them go out.
Sure there is energy savings but at what cost?
BWD and Standard parts catalogs look the same
http://standardbrand.com/Online%20Catalogs-eCatalog/Content.aspx
http://bwdbrand.com/Online%20%20Catalogs-eCatalog/Content.aspx
Traction control test
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFJI0tLMVpI
Jeep with Grabber AT2 in mud + snow
This video seems to show that the Grabber AT2 did equally as well in the mud + snow as a mud tire.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybfJlkp9IaI
Why is wind energy not being fined for killing birds?
A 2008 study by the Fish and Wildlife Service that estimates wind farms kill nearly a half million birds per year in the United States yet the wind sector has not been fined under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and the Eagle Protection Act which can bring fines up to $250,000. Government has not prosecuted a single case against the wind industry while they have prosecuted oil and natural gas providers for similar infractions.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/12/17/us-wind-farms-under-fire-for-bird-kills/
Next time you are stuck in traffic consider this jam
Can your truck do this?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=giQMMO3SH3g
Is the bushing the cause of death wobble?
He says his Jeep was cured of the dreaded death wobble by replacing the bushing with polyurethane bushings for $10. This excellent very short video shows it before the change. You can see the bushing move.
1966 Chevrolet Corvair Convertible SOLD!
RARE - Yenko Stinger YS302, the only Yenko convertible Corvair
winning bid on ebay $49,977.00
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Convertible-/321026892034#ht_25940wt_1206
Tire quality chart based on consumer ratings
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/surveyresults/surveydisplay.jsp?type=ORAT
Disaster planning
In 1978 a law was passed in the hurricane Sandy area that mandated disaster planning in case of a catastrophic weather event. Due to budget constraints not much was done such as building a breakwall out in the ocean. In 2012 the weather event happened. If one looks back at the period of time that law was created it was not based on carbon dioxide, it was based on how climate cycles and huge storms come around every 20, 50, and 100 years. The term "100 year storm" was not developed during "awareness of climate change". Today all of these "new storms" are blamed on carbon dioxide spinning around in circles up above our heads and some are claiming that our oceans will rise 6 feet in our lifetimes due to carbon dioxide spinning around in circles up above our heads.
Wrangler Duratrak tires review do extremely well in the mud
General Grabber at2 tires do extremely well in the mud
Pro comp all terrain tires review don't get stuck in snow
Tierra Del Sol Desert Safari Ocotillo Wells
http://www.off-road.com/trucks-4x4/feature/45th-annual-tierra-del-sol-desert-safari-15027.html
Tire tread cover for your iPhone
Directory of off road parks and places to go off-roading
http://www.offroaders.com/directory/clubs/Offroad-Parks.htm
Cooper Discoverer AT3 tires review
http://rivermud.blogspot.com/2011/06/gear-review-cooper-discoverer-at3-tires.html
Bias ply and radial ply tires
For serious off-roading the bias ply tire is best. For most road and highway use the radial is better.
http://www.pirate4x4.com/tech/billavista/PR-TSLs/
Vibration in vehicle
Reading about tires I came across a Q & A page where someone had a vibration issue yet when they looked the car over it seemed everything was fine. The answer given was to first have the tires balanced. Then the next answer that was given was more about balancing.
I ran into this issue once, had the tires balanced and checked, then replaced all the shocks, wheel bearings, $500 + later and it was still not fixed. It was bad universal joints. Check universal joints FIRST. Driving a car with bad universal joints can be dangerous so make that a first step.
Other things that can cause vibration are brake rotors, suspension, and steering parts.
Tesla Model S electric car delivered to owner
Council didn't want the farmer to build a horse shelter
So the farmer built what he could. http://imgur.com/JC5GR
Mississippi River going dry
The shipping route located in the United States is drying up due to the ongoing drought in that area. If it continues, which it probably will not due to winter coming, it could stop a lot of shipping through there. In the global warming scheme of things, it should really be reversing flow from the rise in the oceans.
Tire size calculator
http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/tirecalc.php?tires=235-75r15-30-9.5r15
Is global warming really global?
When the experts say the "current availability and quality of climate observations and impacts data are inadequate for large parts of the globe" one has to wonder who keeps telling us that global warming is unequivocally real.
http://omnologos.com/global-warming-nevermind-the-warming-still-nobody-knows-if-its-global/
http://www.wmo.int/pages/prog/www/IMOP/publications/IOM-109_TECO-2012/
Programme_TECO-2012.html
2400 megawatt nuclear plant in Russia
I always wonder whenever I hear about wind mill megawatt numbers how it compares to nuclear or other sources like natural gas. One thing to keep in mind is that the wattage is not equal to power output.
Arctic ice now expanding according to NASA
Now Arctic ice expansion is being called "another worrying trend in climate change".
Chevy Spark gets 38 mpg and has 84 horsepower
It's bigger than a bicycle and safer and it's not electric!
http://www.chevrolet.com/spark-mini-car.html
Jeep adventure & fossils in Egypt & climate change
As seen in this JP Magazine article, a fossil found on an excursion is proof that the climate has changed significantly on it's own for millions of years.
http://www.jpmagazine.com/eventcoverage/154_1210_the_northern_sahara_by_yj_l/
A123 in bankruptcy
Is green energy shedding it's leaves for winter or is this a sign of a more serious problem?
http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2012/10/16/A-123-Is-a-Goner
Fast track to nowhere
Public lands will be getting fast permitting by those currently in the White House for solar farms. The winners are the companies that will be building these farms. They will get truckloads of free cash from the rest of us who support this system of redistribution. How is this helping the little guy?
More jobs gone with the wind
A Danish wind turbine company that received $50 million from the United States treasury's stimulus funds has laid off over 800 workers in the US and Canada. They say demand for their products have plummeted. I remember it being said by many "green energy" fussbudgets that wind energy would create jobs and be sustainable, but it seems that just like corn crops that need water, wind farming needs an endless supply of energy subsidies to be SUSTAINABLE. It's yet another example of the horrible drought conditions that are rendering the jobs in green energy sector as unsustainable.
http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2012/10/13/Danish-Wind-Turbine-Company-That-
Received-Over-50-Million-In-Stimulus-Lays-Off-800-Workers
EVCS and copper theft
Go to any gas station and you see gasoline fuel pumps with hoses and nozzles that sit there overnight and are there in the morning. There is little incentive for anyone to steal them as they are not worth much to a thief. Contrast that to electric vehicle charging stations which have similar "hoses and nozzles" but they are made of expensive copper wire. Thieves are taking air-conditioner parts these days now, certainly they will take these thick copper wire power cords for recharging electric cars. It seems the cords need to be locked up every night, or locked and pass codes given to unlock or put away each night. I see nothing but problems with these cords for charging vehicles. My greatest concern though is about children and the elderly tripping over these thick heavy electrical cords. Take a look one:
http://www.mtvsolar.com/images/vehicle-charging-station.jpg
Electric car batteries can be damaged by "over-discharging"
The electric car has been deemed to be an answer to "dependence on foreign oil" yet those that constantly proclaim that solution to America's problems rarely if ever explain that swapping dependence on oil for dependence on batteries can cause a whole new set of concerns, some of which could cause the entire concept of replacing gasoline powered vehicles with electric ones to hit a wall.
Electric cars need to basically be left plugged in when not in use or risk battery depletion which can cause the battery to be not just drain and need recharge, but end up becoming what they call "bricked". That means the battery is useless at that point and has to be replaced.
Another thing that should be understood, is that electric vehicles that are left plugged in always draw energy from the electric grid, which oddly enough, uses mostly fossil fuel to create power.
One of these electric car tax subsidized companies states on it's charging instructions: "Plugging it in every night eliminates the risk of damage that could be caused by over-discharging the battery."
A new replacement battery for an electric car can cost a car owner as much as $40,000.
http://jalopnik.com/5887265/tesla-motors-devastating-design-problem
Interesting photo of wind turbine on fire
The article discusses the politics of wind energy as well. http://www.breitbart.com
Global variations in climate are normal
According to recent studies 15,000-12,000 years ago the Antarctic Peninsula experienced significant warming. Dr. Robert Mulvaney
Lithium batteries
Will they free us from foreign oil? Not really. The idea that making our cars run on electricity - renewable energy would depend on foreign minerals. We might take note that our dependence on Canadian oil is not creating any problems. Canada provide us more oil than anyone. A move to so called clean energy would enslave us into buying lithium from Bolivia. Wars would break out over lithium. History would again repeat itself as has consistently happened with gold, farmland, everything of value, all of which is in limited supply, when they become unfairly controlled by only a few people, governments, corporations. I stopped dreaming of a cleaner brighter future when I realized our future is bright the way it is
1,100 miles on pristine energy
Lance Mackey starts off his dog sled race in the Iditarod in Alaska using pristine friendly energy, dogpower!
Leading the sheep down a slippery slope
About 700 sheep have been employed by Turin officials to keep the grass verges and lawns in city parks neatly trimmed. Officials in Turin said they were paying too much in gardener fees to cut the grass in just one of the bigger parks. They are saving a bundle. Where will the savings go? Build homes for the homeless? Buy iPods for everyone at city hall? Who knows but it's going to make the German Shepherd business boom!
see how all those new nuclear powered windmills look at night
Famous quote
"going green might be replaced with going rainbow or prismatic"
other places to go