Chazd's (Charles Dowdell's) News Burps

This is the online journal of Charles Dowdell.
www.theguysatwork.com
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Saturday, February 21, 2004

Berkshire

Its a crappy day. The temperature got up in the forties which was nice, however. This morning when I left the house (still dark) I took the Subaru. The car started fish tailing when I was heading down the street. For a 4wd car.. That was pretty bad. The ice on the roads was so thick. When I got to the first of the big hills, I got out of the car and slipped. I decided I would not attempt the downhill at any speed. I turned around and made the long detour down to Maine NY and then got on the state rd 26 to go north. That is about a 15 mile detour. To top that all off deer seemed to jump out everywhere. Luckily, the car was not damaged and I got where I was going.

The llamas appreciated the higher temperatures a lot. Fawna is about the same. We are hoping she will get better when the weather gets better. She sure can kick. She got the inside of my thigh today. Those feet can sure do some damage. It is bruised and cut. It is snowing right now. I think everybody has had about enough of this. I know I have. This morning I went to work and went to a Toastmasters Officer training for a very good session on leadership skills.

I have been working on my competition speech. Bonnie was excited about the portions I showed her. I have homework to do but I am unmotivated tonight. I have a Yuengling here.

I took the tractor out for a spin on the road tonight since I had to move it to get the bobcat up the chicken coop. I think the top speed is something like 28 mph in the highway gear. That's pretty fast for a 65 hp tractor. The heat and the windshield wipers worked.


posted by Charles  # 6:13 PM (0) comments


Dream Dictionary: The Meaning of Dreams

I have to go into work today. I have to do performance appraisals and try and catch up. It is supposed to be 40 degrees today!!. Maybe the driveway will melt.

I dreamed of a bear the other night. This website indicates that dreaming of a bear indicates victory over enemies.


posted by Charles  # 4:53 AM (0) comments


Thursday, February 19, 2004

Univesrsal Differential Controller

Here is neat solar controller I found. It is fairly inexpensive as well. It has three inputs with adjustable hysterisis and 1 input fora flow rate sensor.

When I started looking I was hoping there were standard components avaialable. It is better than it was but there is still not a wide range of products for a far-north system like we need.


posted by Charles  # 6:23 AM (0) comments


Wednesday, February 18, 2004

I am looking at solar systems for domestic hot water. It appears the best way is to buy a Rheem/ruud (model 81V080HE1) 80 gallon water heater (electric). That water heater has a built in heat exchanger for a solar panel system. Then you use zone pumps, valves and thermostats normally used for radient heating but in reverse. That way I can have a zone that heats water from the coal stove if on, or the solar panels, if hot, or another source. Maybe the llamas give off heat...biomass.

It's Wednesday. Halfway mark. We are super busy at work. We have a big event down in florida 3rd week in March. It is our International Dealer Meeting. We have it every 2 years. This year I am going. I have a booth for technical publications. Everyone seems to be working on the event in marketing.


posted by Charles  # 7:24 PM (0) comments


Sunday, February 15, 2004

University of Maryland University College, dedicated to adult learning and continuing education online.

It is supposed to get cold tonight. It is already below zero and they are calling for minus 10. I know when they say -10 in the city it will be aleast 10 degrees colder here. I bet it will be down to -20 tonight. I didn't plug the truck in 'cause I'll take the car tomorrow. Its easier. I have a chat for school starting in a couple of minutes. We had a lot of homework this week.


posted by Charles  # 7:49 PM (0) comments


Useful-items.com: Useful Llama and Alpaca Items

It is 3 degrees below zero this morning. The sun is out and it is a still as it can be. Its not bad having the cold temps when there is no wind and no snow. I went to dump the stove ashes in teh drive way and I didn't even put a coat on. Its cold but its not bad out there.

Well I got the comment feature working on the blog and I reformated things. It looks a lot nicer. I don't usually mess around a lot with that stuff. I like it when I see it, But I usually don't want to spend the time.

The llama beans are going over well. I am claiming copyright on llama beansTM. This is a great hobby. "Hobby Marketing"

I am incredibly busy at work. I guess that beats the alternative. I have some accounting homework to finish today and I want to get some stuff on eBay.


posted by Charles  # 7:44 AM (0) comments


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