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Messages - kevinpii

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1
Rants and Stuff / Re: Grumpiness in New, Seasonal Flavours
« on: July 23, 2009, 05:08:24 PM »
Its 63 degres here right now, and its not getting any warmer. I went camping with my family this weekend and we had to use a heater in the tent. When we finally got home it was so cold in the house the furnace came on. It feels like we havent had a summer at all this year.

2
Rants and Stuff / Re: Happy Things 2009: We're Still Here
« on: April 20, 2009, 05:30:34 PM »
  I got to play in a return of the king paintball scenario game on saturday. It was the first time this year that I got to play. I had lots of fun, got to shoot lots of paint, and got shot up a lot. We lost the game but good times anyways.  ;D

3
Rants and Stuff / Re: Cell Phone annoyance...
« on: April 15, 2009, 04:09:44 PM »
Last fall I was driving behind a guy who was texting while riding his goldwing right downtown. I mean come on, texting while driving is bad, texting while riding your motorcycle down a busy street is just stupid.

4
Rants and Stuff / Re: Revenge of Grumpy Bear
« on: April 03, 2009, 05:32:39 PM »
My paycheck was short like thirty hours, and the payroll lady is gone for a week. GRRRRR >:(

5
Books / Re: What are you reading, part 3
« on: April 01, 2009, 09:20:35 PM »
I'm reading Fortress Draconis by Michael A. Stackpole. He has a good podcast every week but so far this book is just o.k.

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Rants and Stuff / Re: Revenge of Grumpy Bear
« on: April 01, 2009, 09:15:38 PM »
Its April, and its snowing. I usually like to have my motorcycle on the road by now but it looks like it will be a couple more weeks.  >:(

7
Movies and TV / Re: The Mentalist
« on: March 31, 2009, 08:07:47 PM »
Where I live it plays on Tuesdays at 9:00. Its a pretty good show. Its a lot better than some other stuff out there.

8
Everything Else / Re: Think green, save gas?
« on: March 31, 2009, 07:29:26 PM »
Not to argue for arguments sake but I did pull this off from the web site you gave a link to.
 
Quote
When the vehicle is equipped with an on board refilling system, the refilling of its tanks can be carried out by connecting them to a domestic electric plug.
The moto- alternator, (used when the vehicle is running to retrieve energy during braking and decelerations phases) drives the air engine operating in ‘compressor mode’ to recharge the tanks. 

That being said I don't know what the other manufactures are saying. This is the first time I have seen a concept like this, they very well could have some kind of staging system in these vehicles that could charge them off from an at home air compressor.

Quote
Additional edit: Just a bit of information I ran across, but apparently the ACEEE has rated the Honda Civic GX, which only uses compressed natural gas, as the greenest vehicle currently available, compared to hybrids and electrical cars and such, due to the incredibly clean burning of natural gas, and the low emission methods used to create it.

I allways have liked the idea of  CNG cars. A lot of fleet company's used to use it but its not as widely use any more. CNG is great its burns clean and efficient. The only problem is the same as the fuel cell vehicles and these compressed air vehicles is that its a pain to fill.

I probably should have specified that the hydrogen tailpipe emissions is zero. It does take something to make the hydrogen. Last I heard GM is developing a refrigerator sized machine that produces hydrogen for at home fills. How this works I don't know.

The new hybrid technology that's on the market right now is pretty good too. The two mode hybrids that are out are a lot more fuel efficient than what was out even a few years ago. They actually power the vehicles with electric motors instead of having an electric assist, or the "golf cart effect".

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Everything Else / Re: Think green, save gas?
« on: March 31, 2009, 06:34:26 PM »
Hydrogen emmission is actually zero. simply because a true hydrogen fuel cell vehicle doesn't actually burn the fuel but instead converts it into electricity. There are some safety concerns and corrosion concerns with hydrogen but they have been largely worked out.  You would also have a corrosion concern with compressed air because of the high oxygen content.

I haven't researched this particular idea, but in general it seems to me that when you consider the environmental impact of an alternative fuel, it's essential to take into account the production of that fuel as well as its combustion byproducts.

So I would want to know how exactly the air gets compressed, and what's the environmental impact of that process?

well, supposedly, from what i've been reading, it's possible to use just a normal air compressor like you can purchase from any hardware store. Normally, these run off of electricity, of course. Each car has different recharge times that I looked into. Some take as much as 4 hours, some were less then 10 minutes. This most likely depends on your air compressor and tank size, but all in all, the carbon emissions will be whatever you use in electricity.


there is no way a regular air compressor is going to put out the 4500 psi that it takes to run one of these cars. If you go and buy an air compressor from the store you will get a maximum pressure of around 150 psi. So you would either have to buy a heavy duty compressor like what they have at most dive shops or you would have to have a service station near you that has one of these compressors. There is also a danger in filling tanks this big because of the friction caused by air at that pressure those tanks would get very hot.

10
Everything Else / Re: Think green, save gas?
« on: March 31, 2009, 05:27:17 PM »
I understand that this is just a prototype but they would have to do a lot of work on it before id buy it. Its really slow, and really noisy. The technology seems a little iffy too. I mean I kind of get how it works but it doesn't seem like its the best most practical way to power a car. I really think that hydrogen technology will eventually win the day its a lot quieter, the motors are more powerful and it has the funding of the big car makers to back it.

11
Books / Re: What are you reading, part 3
« on: March 26, 2009, 05:18:25 PM »
I'm with LoudG, some books just demand a re-read. I have read the wheel of time books twice and will probably start a re-read very soon. I have read the count of Monte cristo three times because I loved it and with its sheer massiveness I had to go through it again to catch up on what I had forgotten or maybe missed the first time.

I'm also in the same boat with Miyabi, there is just a little bit of dread thinking about going through the books again. There are certain parts that I'm afraid I'm going to get bogged down on. Its why I haven't started it yet

12
I don't know about anyone else but that cover looks a little suspect to me. The quality is really bad, it says on it, its a sequel to crossroads of twilight, and correct me if I'm wrong but didn't Rand only lose part of his hand and not the whole thing. As far as it being split into three parts I wouldn't be real happy about it but I'm sure I would deal, i mean I have waited this long I'm sure I could wait a little longer. This whole thing just seems a little bit hokey to me.

13
Rants and Stuff / Re: Happy Things 2009: We're Still Here
« on: March 23, 2009, 05:21:06 PM »
that would be ME. ;D

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Rants and Stuff / Re: Happy Things 2009: We're Still Here
« on: March 23, 2009, 04:41:20 PM »
I am happy because I had a successful fishing trip on Saturday. On the third cast I hauled in an eight pound steelhead. the rest of the day we got skunked, but I did catch a fish. Other than a couple of mis-haps which involved me falling in the water it was a good day. The first time I tripped on a log and only went in up to my elbows. The second time however I went all the way in. The water filled up my waders and boy was it cold. Of course I had my cell phone in my pocket and it got wet, but I took the battery out of it and set it on my cars defroster vent and it seems ok now.


15
Books / Re: What are you reading, part 3
« on: March 23, 2009, 04:23:35 PM »
Thanks for the advice. I have heard that about Brian Herberts writing. I have thought about reading Paul of dune though just because it fits in that same time period between Dune and Dune Messiah, but I have not yet succumbed to that temptation.

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