Est. 1984
kevin
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Homepage: http://www.quebecker.net
Posts by kevin
Review: Uglies and Pretties
Oct 20th
One of my favorite memories snuck into the present this weekend- the memory of being so absorbed in a book that I barely notice outside stimuli. I read the 2nd book in the Scott Westerfeld Uglies series (which is in fact titled Pretties). Westerfeld panders to all my literary indulgences: post-apacolyptic visions, the inhumanity of humans in danger, speedy plot and character development, and a tender (but not overbearing) romantic plot filled with betrayal. Most of all, reflection on what brought about the collapse of civilization as we know it.
The latter is a tricky thing- it can only be hinted at, never fully grasped in order to be satisfying. Too much science fiction ends up reading like a history book- a long string of events leading to an inevitable end. I lust for mystery, not history – the less details, the better. That said, it still has to be plausible; plausible enough for me to think about how my personal actions would contribute to the downfall. Uglies exceeds my expectations on almost every mark, and was so satisfying that I regretted having finished it so quickly. Then I bought the 2nd book, Pretties, and finished in on a single sunny Monday, mostly while lying in the grass on the University of Illinois quad. So much for making it last longer.
Getting ahold of that first book was mostly serendipitous- April’s taking a master’s course in Young Adult literature, and I just picked it up one night on a whim. Just like that, my faith in modern science fiction began to return.
There are only two books left in the series, and I hope it takes me longer to finish them.
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The Electric Slide
Sep 28th
I’m two weeks into my my photovoltaic design class, and while there’s alot to learn about proper placement, sizing, physics, wiring, etc., it’s becoming clear that the most important thing about using solar power is knowing your usage patterns (and then figuring out how to reduce them).
The above graph represents my energy usage over the last couple of years, in Kilowatt/hours and Gas Therms. It’s usually easy to spot the trends- higher gas use in the winter, higher electric usage in the summer- though there are some odd spikes, like in June of 2009.
My lowest electricity usage in this time range is 5.8 kilowatt/hours. That’s quite a bit in my opinion. According to some vague statistics from Ameren, my power utility, my home’s usage is about half the average home. That’s encouraging, but hardly cause for celebration. The highest monthly usage is a whopping 15.2 kilowatt/hours- God only knows what we were doing that month. If I’m gonna get serious about using photovoltaics to supplement my power usage, my habits will have to change, too.
The reason is pretty simple- solar electricity is considerably more expensive to produce than fossil fuel electricity, if you just look at dollars and cents. However, I try to be a little more circumspect and take into consideration the cost of pollution and the uncomfortable reality of being heavily dependent on foreign oil, and all the nasty side effects that dependence brings. So I embark on the solar path knowing full well that it will cost more in the short term.
The important lesson is this: it costs less to reduce your energy usage than it does to produce solar electricty. For a quick example, let’s look at the fridge. My $400 GE uses about a kilowatt of electricty per day. If I spend $1500 on a SunFrost fridge that uses half as much electricty, that’s 500 watts less electricity per day. If the cost of a 100 watt solar panel is $500, that’s $2500 off the up-front cost of a solar array, not to mention reduced complexity and installation costs.
The fridge is an easy target for being an electricity hog, and rightfully so- it chills the beer that helps me make it through the week. However, the real shock is how much small electronic devices use. My DSL modem, for example, uses 10 watts/hour. Not much by most standards, but it runs 24 hours per day, so 240 watts daily. Then there’s my router, another 10 watts, and we’re up to 480 watts per day. My portable phone system is a cool 8 watts, 192 watts per day, up to 672. Toss in the TV, microwave, stove, at 5 watts/hour each, and I find that I’m using 1072 watthours per day before I flip a single light switch. Ouch!
Those 1072 watthours would cost an arm and a leg to power with solar, so the onus is on me to figure out how to reduce my usage as much as I can. Which will be fun, for someone who’s already mental about electricity usage.
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The Problem with Socialism
Sep 10th
In the recent debate over healthcare in the USA, the proposed socialized healthcare program has been praised and demonized. It’s either the solution to just about every problem we face as a nation, or it’s a sinister plot to kill off the elderly and rob the rest of us of decent care. Whichever side of the debate you find yourself on is irrelevant to me. What I find intriguing is the concept of socialism, and specifically, social programs provided by the government.
The concept of socialism is easy to understand, same with capitalism. In my opinion, socialism is the idea that the government will take care of citizens, and capitalism is the idea that the citizens will take care of themselves. They’re not opposites- just different from one another.
What makes them incongruous is the the hypocrisy of using both- to say that some things should be controlled by the government, and others left to business. The walls of the capital echo with the shouts of angry protesters who feel that socialized healthcare will be the death of us all. Why aren’t they screaming about socialized education? Every child in this country is guaranteed an education, at the expense of taxpayers. Has it destroyed as many lives as socialized healthcare would? Should it be up to parents to pay for their children’s education? Or the armed forces- should we have a private militia? Given the concerns that citizens are raising over socialized healthcare, a socialist national defense program ought to be an appalling prospect. Is it right for the government to tax us in order to protect us, or should we be responsible for protecting ourselves?
These are serious questions that everyone should consider. How should healthcare fit in with our array of socialist programs? How much does it chafe against our capitalist mantra? To me, that is the real problem- we have a hybrid system that is not built logically, but is the result of the last 200 years of struggle. Struggle between state and federal government, between taxpayer and government, and struggle between citizen and business. In turn, each struggling player has gained an advantage, abused it, and ceded it. The resulting legislation has left us a legacy of doctrinal hypocrisy, and reconciling a sticky issue like healthcare with that hypocrisy is damn near impossible.
To take a step away from our current situation towards the abstract, my belief is that healthcare should be an inalienable right. No one should have to fear the cost of healthcare, as is the case now for all but the most well-heeled.
I have excellent health insurance, but if I lose my job, I won’t be able to afford it anymore. If I get sick without health insurance, an important decision will have to be made- which is worse, poverty or illness? Curse my socialist education, for giving me these troubling thoughts!
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Between a Bach
Aug 24th
This video is my new Youtube obsession- I never have heard a Bach piece that was so intense and emotional. Plus, Helene Grimaud isn’t bad to look at.
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The times, they are a changin’
Aug 24th
Time constraints and gorgeous summer weather have kept me from posting much lately, but then, I’ve already established that I’m a seasonal writer. Seriously though, it’s be unbelievably good summer weather. It’s a perennially proven fact that the temperature rises above 95 whenever the State Fair starts, but ever since I’ve gotten back from Germany, the mercury hasn’t risen above 85 or so. Weird.
April and I had a great trip, and were not ready to return to cats/jobs/yardwork. We’re back to doing all those things again, but a still with a little bit of resentment and longing for the sunnier German skies. That said, it’s nice to be back in my own home, or better yet, enjoying my own garden. We planted a new tree this weekend, a Heritage River Birch. Pictures of Germany and the tree soon to come.
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Triathletes, Unite!
Jul 26th
I did the Stoneman Triathlon in Springfield today, and even though my legs are gonna be recovering for a couple of days, it was nice to have a challenge met and conquered. The fastest triathlete finished in 57m47s minutes, and my time was 1h34s. Not great, but I think I could certainly improve for next year…
The most difficult part was the swimming, without doubt. Swimming 500 meters is an accomplishment for someone who has no access to a pool, but it’s your skills as a fighter that contribute to your success. Dodging the dozens of swiftly kicking legs and sweeping hands of the school of humans was what made swimming hard for me, but I feel like I evened the score with a couple of glancing blows to the people swimming near me.
Bicycling was fun. I received alot of praise, but not because I was smashing records. In my case, it was my bicycle- having a mountain bike in a race dominated by street/racing bikes is apparently considered a serious handicap. My friend Andy also used his mountain bike, and reported similar results.
The running was fine; my new shoes held up and carried me there and back again. My legs, on the contrary, were and are still on the verge of mutiny.
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The Incredible Husk
Jul 19th
The weather has been cool lately, too cool for July, but the sweet fragrance of growing corn that hangs in the air over Illinois is unique to the few weeks that mark the beginning of the end for Summer.
I hadn’t noticed the smell until today, when April and I were out for a motorbike ride. It’s an nice smell, but an unpleasant reminder that the Summer months are slipping through your fingers. It’s absurd to think that July is 2/3 spent, and downright frightening that Ape and I will be leaving in a week for Germany.
When I think about where times goes, I have to turn to my photos. They remind of the trips I took, the warm evenings I spent in the garden, and the occasional adventure. Without them, I’d probably conclude that I really spent the whole summer working and mowing the yard.
What strikes me about Summertime passing in a blur is that I can remember how lengthy Summer days felt when I was younger. My feeling at the time was that there wasn’t much to do, besides ride bikes, play games, or circumnavigate Lake Williamsville (a 25 minute endeavor). Maybe there was a lot to do and I never noticed. Now, there’s more stuff to do than time to do it.
Defining the stuff that sucks up time isn’t easy. My goal for now is to identify which activities among the stuff are really just overhead associated with my lifestyle – for example, washing the motorcycle, mowing the yard, etc. These things are so mundane and common to everyone in my social circle that they’ve become a sort of doctrine, or an agreement that I have with myself. Is it something that can be defined/reduced/sacked? Is that equivalent of leading a simple existence? And at what point does simplicity complicate life? For instance, April and I are considering getting rid of a car. It will reduce the doctrinal complexity and financial burden of our lives, but it also has the potential to make transportation more difficult for us.
These are the things I hope to think more about- the question of owning 1 or 2 cars has taught me more about my choices than everything I’ve learned about fuel economy and curtain airbags.
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Summertime, and the kitties are lazy
Jun 30th
The heat has finally broken, and life can once again flourish in Illinois. To make the most of this opportunity, Ape and I have been on the motorcycle as often as we can lately. After the first couple of weeks, I’m still convinced that my new motorcycle is perfect. We also managed a trip to Six Flags with a few good friends, the result of which was my realization that I’m to old to tolerate the neck-snapping rides. Otherwise, it’s pretty much exactly like I remember- Thunder River is still the best ride, followed closely by the Mine Train.
Tomorrow marks my 1-year anniversary working at the Lewis & Clark Library System. I’m pretty happy with my accomplishments there so far, but how has my life otherwise changed? It’s been a hell of a ride, this last year- the highs, the lows, the creamy middles. Mostly, I feel like I don’t have enough time to realize my potential- something I imagine is common to lots of people. When I think about it, I can’t quite put my finger on where all the time goes. I know that my new job (not so new now) meant an additional 5 hours a week spent at work (plus the many hours of after-hours tinkering), but I think the real trick is that I’m whipped when I get home from work, which leads to me wasting time watching TV or just wandering around the yard (not a waste of time, but not particularly useful either). In any case, after being at work for 9 hours, the creative currents of my mind are just dusty gulches.
I’m learning that intellectual work can be as exhausting as physical labor, and like all office jockeys, I relish the occasional opportunity to work with my hands. Normally I’ve got some ill-conceived home-improvement project to fill the hours, but there haven’t been any of those lately, either.
Maybe that’s why I’m enjoying my new bike so much- it gets me out of my bubble, and affords me time to think. Against the backdrop of the rolling Illinois countryside, embraced by brisk wind and sunshine, thoughts take shape on their own. It’s a refreshing change from me walking around the yard, trying vainly to figure out what to do with myself.
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A Sultry Solstice
Jun 21st
Hurray for the longest day of 2009! It was a steamy Midwestern day- the kind where the tar bubbles on the country roads. Nevertheless, we got up to Springfield and went for a nice motorcycle ride with my folks. Lunch was had at a new, untested restaurant in Lincoln, followed by a couple of hours in the pool. The food was ok, the water was first-class.
After a 100 Years of Solitude season of rainy weather, it’s nice to finally have a chance to enjoy some outdoors time, even if it means sweating while sitting still.
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The State of Quebecker
Jun 15th
What a state it is! I’ve been busy relaxing and enjoying the moments of nice weather that puncuate the weeks of rain we’ve had in Illinois. The days might be warmer, but the nights are clear and cool, which makes for first-rate viewing of the moon and stars.
Even work has been much more relaxing lately- I finished the big move from a homegrown cms-ish site that was lacking in several areas over to WordPress, my most favoritest blog platform/CMS. With that behind, I get to work on a dozen other projects that have been hamstrung while I wiled away hours moving static and dynamic posts from one database to another.
What’s even more exciting than that is my new motorcycle, the Honda 919. She’s a worthy successor to my CRF230, although it’s like I’m learning how to ride all over again- the two machines couldln’t be more different from each other (unless one of them had 3 wheels, and I’m not old enough for that). Anyway, it’s pretty sweet.
I’ll put up some pictures next time….Until then, look for me on a red Honda with rain gear from head to toe.
