I've been reading more buzz about Avatar. And I see the usual finger-pointing over whether it's an enviro-fantasy, or evil white men vs. indians, or even a very expensive remake of the Smurfs ( Read more... )

Fantastic. Go see the 3D edition.

Some are making a fuss that the plot's all earth-muffiny. It might burn a bit, but it's a GOOD kinda burn. :)

The pure spectacle of it left me in awe. Lots of people clapped as it ended, I was still too bemused.

So. Go. Enjoy. Do not miss! 5/5.

I think I've determined a good way to tell if a vampire show's gonna suck or not: If the vampires can survive sunlight, it's gonna suck! Bad ( Read more... )

I went to an auction at an old farmhouse a few days ago, and one of the items was a decorative windmill overrun with vines, with all the wind-vanes busted off the "propeller". An image sprang immediately to mind... This thing, with that dynamo power-head I made as shown here ( Read more... )

Check it out! I took some junk and made an electric generator windmill that makes a boombox jam out ( Read more... )

Now, anybody who knows me knows I'm a big fan of GM. Back in 1989, I was almost hired to work in the General Motors Impact factory. Toward the end of the hiring process, I was suddenly informed that the factory etc was being scrapped and I was outta luck. The Impact later became known as the EV1 of "Who Killed The Electric Car" fame. Me, bitter? Oh ( Read more... )

The freak storm that so disrupted life here the past few days, had a real benefit: It stayed warm enough, for long enough, to melt off the snow and thaw out the ground ( Read more... )

Well, the battle against freezing has been won. :) The mains power is back on! I really need an alternate means of heating this place. I'm thinking maybe a wood-burning addition furnace. Winter's got ice-storms and high winds, and those are what most commonly kills the juice ( Read more... )

The problem with running on a generator is that you gotta go fill it with gas periodically. My other PC has a battery-backed UPS (un-interrupt-able power supply) so when the generator quits I have time to run out there, re-fuel and run back before it croaks. Not so on this one so a disorderly shutdown can occur ( Read more... )

OK I s'pose the rest of you don't live in Michigan, and don't realize what a luxury it really is to flush your toilet after 22 hours unflushability. And I just DID. And? IT WENT DOWN ( Read more... )