Divemedic

Nostalgic

I took the trouble to look up my patient from the other day. Less than 6 hours after I transferred her to the ICU, she passed away. Although I knew she was dying, I fought a battle for her to the best of my ability to keep her alive while simultaneously preparing her family for the inevitable. Even though her family weren’t yet ready to admit that she was about to die, I understood that I was buying time for them to come to terms with her death. They told me that she was “a fighter” and would pull through. I knew she wouldn’t, but I still did all that I could for her and for them.

I grew up in the late 70s and early 80s. I remember sitting in school and hearing the local church bells ring 53 times each day at noon, in honor of the hostages being held in Iran. I remember watching the rockets leave, carrying astronauts to the moon. My father worked with rockets and missiles, so I get to go to mroe than a few launches, including the launch of the Apollo-Soyuz mission. I grew up on bands that made some of the best music:

  • Journey
  • AC/DC
  • Dokken
  • Rush
  • Styx
  • Pink Floyd
  • Aerosmith
  • Dire Straits
  • Men at Work
  • Guns n’ Roses
  • Motley Crue
  • Van Halen

and though I didn’t realize it at the time, there were many other sounds and bands that I would come to appreciate more in later years, including Duran Duran. (It wasn’t cool to like them in the circle I ran with). I still sit and listen to the songs of the time, remembering my youth and the things that I saw. I had the distinct honor of serving in the military under President Ronald Reagan, and some of those songs take me back to my time in Europe listening to AFRN.

For those reasons, this article at Legal Insurrection really hit home for me. It does occasionally sadden me to have lived through some of the best times and the high water mark of the greatest nation in human history, only to see it destroyed. This nation isn’t perfect, but it has raised more people from poverty and has accomplished more great things than any other in human history. Watching it die is like watching someone that you love slowly die of cancer.

Like cancer, what is killing this nation came from within. I understand why some of the readers of this blog still think that it can be saved. I went through a period of believing that the old lady was a fighter. I know better now, and I am saddened at our loss, but also filled with resolve at doing what needs to be done as we venture out into an unknowable future.

By Divemedic, ago

Two Weeks

It’s been two weeks since the hurricane passed by and screwed up my analysis of the new solar system. Let’s look at the numbers from the past two weeks’ production:

Overview

The house used 621.4 kwh during the period, or an average of 44 kwh per day. The lowest demand day was 36.2 kwh, and the highest was 60.9 kwh. The system generated a total of 663 kwh, which works out to an average of 47 kwh per day. The low was 36.6 kwh, the high was 57.6 kwh.

Overall, it appears as though my system is properly sized as far as generating capacity. How well will we do for the main intended use? That depends on storage capacity. As I said, I have been using the power company as a battery of sorts, in that I send power to the grid during the day, then take power from the grid at night. That begs the question: What if the grid is down? To answer that, we have to dive a bit deeper into the numbers.

A Closer Look

Our highest use days are when we are both home, and when it is hottest outside. This isn’t surprising, since the air conditioning runs more on hot days, especially when we are home. On top of that, the clothes dryer uses a HUGE amount of power, and laundry days are also heavy draw days (the dryer uses more power than both air conditioners combined).

The average solar intensity at my location for any 24 hour period is 200 watts/square meter for an average production of 47 kwh. The best day for production was 60.9 kwh, with an average solar intensity of 232 watts/ square meter. No surprises there- 16% more sun gets you 30% more power.

The good news here is that the hottest days also tend to be the sunniest days, so heavy use days caused by the cooling system are also the highest production days, with the result being the largest daily deficit was only 7.4 kwh. The largest surplus was 13.4 kwh.

What this means is that, should the grid go down, this surplus is likely wasted power. In our case, we would be wasting about 3 kwh per day. Saturday, August 10, and Sunday, August11 were our worst two days:

Saturday, August 10

39.9 kwh produced, 45.9 kwh used, 6.0 kwh deficit

The lowest outdoor temperature that day was 77 degF, with the high being 92 degF. Average solar intensity was 166 watts/square meter.

The air conditioner compressors ran for 6.5 hours

During the day on Saturday, we did 2 loads of laundry.

Sunday, August 11:

44.2 kwh produced, 51.6 kwh used, 7.4 kwh deficit

The lowest outdoor temperature that day was 77 degF, with the high being 93 degF. Average solar intensity was 190 watts/square meter.

The air conditioner compressors ran for 6.6 hours

During the day on Sunday, we did 3 loads of laundry. One of them was bedding, which takes more time and power to dry.

What about the batteries?

The day that saw us import the most from the grid was Sunday, August 18. We imported 25.9 kwh from the grid on that day, with most of that being the hours of 6 pm to 10 pm. This was while we were doing laundry.

My Analysis

We are producing plenty of power for our needs. We are keeping the batteries charged at 85% so that there is plenty of power available for a grid outage, and we are using the grid like an extra battery, storing our excess production during the day in the grid for use at night. If the grid were to go down, we would likely have enough battery power to run the house as normal, but we would likely have to restrict the activities that use the most power (laundry, cooking) for daylight hours. Additionally, there would have to be a restriction on the amount of laundry- no more than one load a day.

Other than that, we appear to have sufficient total capacity, and sufficient battery storage to run the household without interruption.

Interestingly, as a side note: The area near my house has a lot of solar power. Doing the area survey with my drone, I noted that 23% of the homes within a mile of my house have solar systems installed.

By Divemedic, ago

Reality, Not Black Pills

Star Wars came out when I was a young boy. When I was a kid, I used to fall asleep wishing I had a lightsaber and an X-wing fighter. I dreamed of what it would be like to fly it to school. Those are the dreams of a young boy.

There are those who tell me to “chill out on the pessimism” because “Trump is going to trounce any Dem they throw at him.” So let’s take a look at both possible outcomes.

What if Trump loses and HOTUS takes office?

In this scenario, there will likely be a good amount of cheating involved, just like in 2020. How hard we are screwed depends upon how far down the cheating goes. Heading into the election, the Republicans have a 220 seat majority over the Democrats’ 215 seats. (There are three vacant seats.) Democrats need to gain five districts to win a majority in the chamber. That would be bad.

As of this point in time, 45 districts are open because the incumbent is not running for re-election. Of those 45 seats, 21 of them were held by Republicans and 24 by Democrats.

The silver lining there is that the Democrats would need to gain 75 seats to have an Amendment approving 2/3 majority, and that isn’t likely to happen.

Things are almost as bad in the Senate, where the Democrats hold a 2 seat majority. There are 34 seats up in 2024 – including a special election in Nebraska. 23 of those seats are currently held by Democrats or Independents. Republicans can retake control with a net gain of two seats.

If the Democrats win the Presidency and both houses of Congress, Kamala is planning on Federalizing the patents of any company that doesn’t comply with her price controls.

Now on to the other possibility:

What if Trump wins and takes office?

OK, now what? The US has more than $142 trillion in unfunded liabilities, and we are bleeding to the tune of $3 trillion or more per year. That number is so staggeringly large, it’s difficult to imagine. To put it in perspective, this number is equal to more than 93% of everything that every American has. This includes all of their assets in savings, real estate, corporate stocks, private businesses, and consumer durable goods like automobiles and furniture.

More than two thirds of that debt- $104 trillion- is Social Security. The only way to save everything that you own, the US will need to repudiate Social Security. The money that’s been coming out of your check every week? That money is gone. Even amongst my readers, I can hear the cries of “but, but, I had better get paid, that’s my money.”

What do you think will happen to any politician who tells you that the US can’t afford social security? Yeah.

So Trump can’t and won’t do a thing to stop that bleeding. Even were he to try, Congress won’t buy into that, and neither will the American public. There is no stopping this juggernaut. So everything that you own, all that you have saved, everything, is going to be gone. There is no choice but for the economy and the government as we know it to collapse. It’s just a matter of when.

Once the money stops flowing and people are hungry, they will cry out for a strong leader to fix everything. Sure, the government will be out of money, but they will still have guns, ammo, and lots of hungry enforcers. In collapsing governments, the people with the guns and the authority never go hungry. That’s why Kim Jong Un is fat in a country full of starving peasants. We will see a dictatorship in this country that will last for generations, and many in the government will support this if it means becoming rich.

So with the above facts, if you disagree, tell me how Trump winning will fix everything. I just don’t see any other end to this.

Knowing that, all we can do is prepare for the worst. Sure, vote for Trump because that’s all we can do, but that doesn’t mean that you don’t prepare for what is to come.

My prediction remains the same: The bureaucrats and Democrats (I know, same thing) will make sure that Trump doesn’t again become President, and we will be on the road to communism in short order. Even if Trump were to win and take office, we will wind up in a collapsed economy and people will demand that debts are cancelled, the rich will be blamed, and we will still be on the road to communism.

Tell me how I am wrong. Don’t just say silly, childish wishes like “Just because YOU can’t see it, doesn’t mean that there’s no way out.” Tell me how I am wrong, give me a realistic path out of this. If not, you are engaged in childish wishes that your government betters are going to somehow come up with a solution, and you might as well wish for an X-Wing fighter and a lightsaber.

By Divemedic, ago

Is the Window Open?

A Federal judge has ruled against the Bureau of All Things Fun and Exciting (BATFE) when they banned Forced Reset Triggers.

O’Connor cited the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent ruling striking down a ban on bump stocks, another device that allows a gun to be fired at a speed similar to a machine gun. The court found that the legal definition of a machine gun requires the gun to fire continuously while the trigger is held, which neither bump stocks nor forced reset triggers do…[The Mass shooting in Las Vegas was terrible] “But no matter how terrible the circumstances, there is never a situation that justifies a court altering statutory text that was democratically enacted by those who are politically accountable,” he wrote. “That responsibility belongs exclusively to Congress.”

With that being said, I wonder if the window isn’t open for the manufacture of things like the Super Safety, the plans for which can be found on this very website.

By Divemedic, ago

It’s Coming

With a tip of the hat to Joe. Democrats nationwide are planning a major gun control push. Here is what is on the current top of their slippery slope:

Safe Storage law.

It’s something that many gun owners, myself included, think is a good idea on a personal level: Storing your firearms where those who are unauthorized can’t get to them. The issue here is that the law will of course be used in ways that the people who own guns simply can’t imagine. Perhaps the cops will want to inspect your storage facility. Who knows how it will be abused, but it will be, take that to the bank.

“If you actually buy safe storage that’s been certified with the state, you can receive a state tax credit so you’re not feeling that cost economically,” Bravo said. “I think people respond positively to incentives. I would really be compelled to try something like that.”

Want to take bets on whether this state certification includes the safe manufacturer supplying the state with the backdoor to enter your keypad locked safe? This is exactly why I changed the electronic locks on my safe with a mechanical combination lock.

Guns in schools

Democrats don’t know what law they will propose to stop killers from brining guns into schools and shooting kids. That’s because it isn’t a problem with a simple solution. It’s already illegal to bring a gun to school and doubly illegal to kill people, but gun free zones and laws against murder don’t work to deter people who want to die at the end of the shooting. No matter what they propose, you know that it will target law abiding gun owners and not criminals. The government is composed largely of tyrannical, power hungry assholes, and an armed citizenry is all that is between them and unchallenged power.

Domestic violence offenders

A proposed bill would add a domestic violence offender to the list of those prohibited from owning a firearm. I don’t know why this is needed. It’s already the law, and we already know that it is abused by scorned women everywhere. I was twice the target of women who tried to get me in hot water over alleged domestic violence. Both failed, but it was a legal pain in the ass.

Educational pamphlets

One proposed law would allow pediatricians and other healthcare providers to educate parents on how to safely store guns. The pamphlet would be created by the Department of Health to be put in medical offices.

OK, but only if I can sue the doctor when I follow his advice and it turns out that he didn’t know his ass from third base. Can you show me where medical professionals receive education on storing guns? Can we also have them provide information on car repair and the importance of having energy efficient appliances?

In the meantime, I won’t be doing that.

This isn’t about safety. It’s about making it so difficult to own a firearm that few people bother.

By Divemedic, ago

Only One Book Is Banned

Libraries decide which books to carry, and which books to pass on. School libraries do the same. That doesn’t mean that the book is banned. If a person wants a book that the library doesn’t carry, all they have to do is go buy it. I am a voracious reader, and even I don’t think that we need public libraries any longer. The Internet has effectively replaced them. School libraries need only carry books that directly reflect what is being taught, and a small fiction section that contains books appropriate for the age group that will be checking them out. That means no sexual content. None.

You are free to read and write whatever books you wish- but the taxpayer isn’t obligated to pay for them or to provide them.

If you, as a parent, want your child to read a book of instructions on how to suck dicks, all you have to do is buy it and give it to your child. Just because a book isn’t carried in the school library doesn’t mean that the book is banned. The left has done this with Bibles for my entire life- try to find a copy of a Bible in a school library. That doesn’t mean that the Bible is banned.

As far as I know, there is only one book that is banned in the United States– Cody Wilson’s “The Liberator Code Book: An Exercise in Freedom of Speech.” That book is banned for sale. Not available anywhere.

So why is a book on how to build your own guns banned, but books telling children how to suck dicks aren’t? I will leave that discussion to my readers.

By Divemedic, ago

Mowing the Grass

If you recall, I was out mowing the lawn on Sunday morning and had to use a filler post. I began mowing at around 8 am, and by the time 11 am rolled around, it was 95 degreesF outside with 60% humidity. That makes the heat index (or feels like temperature) a balmy 113 degF. That also makes the dewpoint 79 degF.

When I came in, my shirt was soaked through with sweat to the point that it was dripping water onto the floor. I have had enough with lawn mowing using a walk behind mower, especially in the summer. Something had to be made easier. I looked at Home Depot for a riding mower and was stunned to see that they cost between $3k and 5k for the cheapest ones. Holy cow. Not only that, but you have to store, maintain, and fuel the damned thing. Then you are still stuck outside using the mower to care for the grass.

Then I saw the Husqvarna Automower. Amazon had the cheapest one on sale for $699. I went a couple of models nicer, and got a model 430X. It cost a little bit less than the riding mower, but it mows the lawn for you. I temporarily placed the invisible fence wire using pegs, just so I could see how well it worked before making the install more permanent. It mows the lawn perfectly, cutting for a bit over 2 hours before returning for a recharge, then returns to finish the job. My lawn looks great, and now I don’t spend three hours a week mowing and another hour edging. All I have to do is use the edger for about an hour, and I am done. This will save me 3 hours a week during summer, and every other week during the rest of the year.

That’s more than 100 hours of leisure time a year that I won’t have to spend mowing the yard. Yeah, I know some people claim to like mowing, but I don’t, especially when it feels like 110 degreesF outside. Speaking of work, it’s now time for me to head to the salt mine to see what the idiots of my area are doing today.

By Divemedic, ago

Cop Is Right

Those of you who read this blog know that I am not shy about posting and calling out the cops when they screw the pooch. Let’s look at this fatal shooting to see what happened. Youtube won’t let me embed the video, so I will wait here while you take a look.

He passed a cop on the highway at 105 miles per hour. In every state that I am aware of makes it an arrestable offence to exceed the speed limit by more than 30 miles per hour. Not only that, but the tags that were affixed to the Dodge truck were registered to a Subaru Forester. Both of these facts meant that the driver was getting put in handcuffs and probably going to jail.

What the deputy couldn’t have known at the time of the stop was the motorist he had stopped had just been exonerated after serving 16 years for a crime that he didn’t commit. That likely contributed to his actions that day on the side of the road, but again, the cop didn’t know any of this, nor does the exoneration have any bearing whatsoever on the shooting. All the cop knew was that the man was being belligerent, noncompliant, and was physically attacking him.

The family of the deceased man has hired Benjamin Crump (don’t they always?) and are suing the deputy and his department for unlawful and excessive force. This is the dream of black families- you have a family member that runs afoul of the law, fights with an armed person, then sue them to win the ghetto lottery.

As I already pointed out, putting him in handcuffs was lawful in this case, and once he demonstrated his noncompliance, the deputy began using the use of force ladder:

  • Presence
  • Voice commands (that didn’t work- the reply was “I ain’t doing shit.”)
  • Open handed technique- the man grappled with the deputy
  • Less lethal- note that this is another case where a TASER didn’t work. He rode out the shock, then swept his arm to rid himself of the wires, then began to physically attack the officer.
  • Less Lethal 2- Now the ASP baton was brought into play, and the man became even more aggressive, grabbing the cop by the throat with enough force to bend him backwards while yelling, “Yeah, bitch.”
  • Lethal- having exhausted the rest of the force continuum, he shot the man.

Later in the video, you can see that the cop was so exhausted from the fight that he was likely going to be overpowered if it had continued.

“And when they want to use excess force there, you have other parts of the body. You can shoot, you don’t have to always kill somebody,” [the dead man’s mother] said.

This is an example of the “shoot to wound” versus “shoot to kill” myth. That was exhausted earlier in the force continuum when the open hand, TASER, and baton failed to control the attacker.

“I’m not going to jail,” Cure says at one point.

Well, he was right about that. He went to the morgue, instead.

I don’t have a problem with the officer’s actions in this incident.

By Divemedic, ago