Adventioneering

So of course, it rained today. It’s probably going to rain all month. In fact if it snows in the Seattle area I know who you can blame. I rode out to Starbucks to get some lunch today and ordered a mocha out of habit, before realizing that I couldn’t possibly take it with me. I ate my sandwich, watched the rain, and chugged what I could. Doh.

Funny enough I thought cup-holders on motorcycles would make a good joke, but sure enough, they actually have them. I think I’ll be better off putting coffee in some other kind of container (SIGG?) and tossing it in a bag, though…

The machine is safe and sound at home after a long (and cold!) trip around the lake. I didn’t really feel like just jumping on the hwy, so there we are. It rides beautifully and feels like a great size for me at this point.

Finding a good example of a S2R proved to be a little bit of a waiting game, but after a few weeks a great one with three thousand some miles popped up on CL. I went and looked at it yesterday, just beautiful, and bought it. I should be picking it up tomorrow.

2007 with three-thousand some miles. Barely broken in!

When I moved to Boston from Seattle I got rid of a lot of stuff, especially half finished projects. One of which was my old R/C heli, which I never even got around to flying in Seattle. I had given it to Tom on this notion that he would fix it up, but he never did and it just sat around for another couple years.

It’s finally back on the workbench and I gave it a good look over today. It does need the new clutch lining, but also the canopy and receiver battery pack have gone missing. The transmitter battery thankfully looks good and ran for two and a half hours.

I went to the local promising HobbyTown USA in Redmond and was saddened to find out that they don’t stock and don’t care about ThunderTiger Raptor helis. This is too bad and a little surprising because not only do I think these are great helicopters but I think they are easily one of the most popular models. Not only did they not have a clutch lining for me, they were out of receiver batteries. How is that even possible? They DID have fuel, but not a great selection either.

I ordered a little pile of clutch linings, a new battery and canopy on the Interwebs and should get that stuff sometime this week. Otherwise the heli looks good so it might even be flying this weekend.

If Adventioneering is a cross between adventure and engineering, then today’s motorcycle ride certainly qualifies. I combined trying new roads on my bike (adventure) with work (engineering) related photography.

A few years back Siemens bought Danish wind turbine manufacturer Bonus, and started really bringing the Bonus turbine designs to the US market with the 2.3 megawatt SWT-2.3-93 (Siemens Wind Turbine, 2.3 MW, 93m rotor). Hundreds of this model of turbine have been installed in US wind projects, and it is generally considered to be a robust and reliable machine.

Over the past 18 months or so, Siemens has been actively trying to sell an updated version of this machine to several of my clients. This new model, the SWT-2.3-101 (Siemens Wind Turbine, 2.3 MW, 101m rotor), is almost identical to the previous model, except for the larger rotor. The only significant changes appear to be longer blades, a larger hub to accommodate the increased blade root diameter, and a revised pitch system.

To date there are only a few machines of this configuration installed, although several hundred megawatts are expected to be operational by year end. One of those few is at the National Wind Technology Center off of highway 93 between Boulder and Golden. I live in Denver, so I decided today to go take a look.

The weather was fine today, so I took the motorcycle to have some adventure time too. I haven’t had much chance to ride yet this year. I threw my camera and binoculars in the tank bag and went northwest by I-25 and US-6 to highway 93.

Sadly I was not an authorized personnel, so I couldn’t go right up to the machine. Instead I took a few photos from the entrance of the NREL site and from off of 93. When the wind isn’t blowing the turbine is kind of funny looking because of how far away from the tower the blades angle (they bend toward the tower in the wind). You can’t really learn much about wind technology from the exterior appearance of a machine, but it was fun anyways.

Redmond area man eaten by car….

No seriously Oil Change Saturday was a great success. Thanks to everyone who came out and had a good time.

Photos

Saw an Ariel Atom in the wild last night, my second ever sighting (I saw one in Kirkland some years ago). Props to that guy for his epic ground mount (Very Fast).

I can’t make this stuff up. As seen in my work parking lot this morning.

…and forever rising.

With the Leigh’s recent shop acquisition I’ve been tasked with a few real issues, notably getting a Jeep, a boat, a motorcycle, a go-kart and whatever else Alex decides is the flavor of the week. Realizing that now I’ve actually got the environment and knowledge base to grow from my mechanically deficient state of being, I knew I had to get some tools to assist me on my journey (through manhood, they tell me). After asking questions with, for most people blatantly obvious answers, as well as churning through a myriad of hypothetical situations I wound up at this interesting point in time where I was armed with the majority of useful knowledge people should know before making their first purchase. Arriving at this stage feels like rolling down the hill for the first time without your training wheels, and making your first purchase feels like riding your bike off into the deep end of a swimming pool. Continue Reading »

If anyone comes across a cheap set of bar stools (qty 4) let me know. We need some stools for the work tables we are going to build downstairs and for the upstairs counters.

I am not sure about how to outfit the upstairs office yet. Foldy chairs are leading, but a couple of cheap chairs or a couch could be nice too. If anyone is getting rid of a couch or chairs on the cheap, please let me know!