Punk HP raised an interesting topic Saturday evening, as he captained a delightful moonlight cruise.  Maybe it was the moonlight sparkling like diamonds off the surface of the lake that brought the topic to mind, but it’s certainly thought-provoking.

There’s been much uproar over Putin’s claim to the arctic circle, due primarily to the wealth of natural resources including oil, natural gas, and diamonds.  But wait — those are all fossil fuels and carbon derivatives, meaning that they were formed from decayed organic matter very long ago.

This would seem to indicate that at some point, millions of years ago, there were plants and animals in the arctic circle.  Although there is life in the arctic, it isn’t plentiful — seemingly not enough to generate these large deposits of carbon-based natural resources.

There seems to be evidence of prehistoric global warming.  Since there were no cars, no CFC-powered spray cans or coolant, or the myriad other things said to cause global warming, could it be that this is simply part of the earth’s natural cycle?  And if it is, does anybody really think we can stop it?

For those who haven’t had to put up with me in person over the last 3 weeks or so, my air conditioner has been on the blink.  That makes me cranky.

No, I didn’t call a repairman; I already know that I need a new system (this one’s 15 years old).  I’m just not prepared to spend the $8k-$10k it would cost to replace it right now.  We had it recharged in June and it worked for several weeks, so I’m fairly sure there’s a leak.  That, and the last serviceman who took it apart did a sloppy job of putting it back together, so the insulation was all torn up and not sealing the unit, such that it was sucking in hot outside air and mixing it with the cooled air to blow in the house.

Over the weekend, HWTFM borrowed a recharge kit (some gauges and a tank of R-22 refrigerant) from a friend, and taught himself a little something about HVAC systems.  [Reason #457 why it’s good to be married to a farm boy/engineer] 

We now know, for example, that the vapor point of freon is about 100 degrees, so putting the tank in a bucket of hot water greatly assists in getting the last bit of freon out of a less than fully-pressurized tank.  We know that the coils are probably a little dirty and less than fully efficient, because the pressure differential between the "low side" and the "high side" was off just four or five pounds — not enough to call for a $$$ triple-digit repair, knowing that we’re going to replace it anyway next spring.

We’ve also figured out that it would probably be a good idea to put in an auxiliary duct fan on the west side of the house, because the HVAC system is on the east side, but the kitchen is always too hot in the summer with those west-facing windows.

My family’s gotten tired of the "if you can’t take the heat, get out of the kitchen" philosophy, since I’ve refused to cook on a good number of these recent nights.  A gas stove is a lovely thing in January, but not when it’s 95 degrees inside.

Do-it-yourself home repair isn’t for everyone, but for us, there’s significant satisfaction in learning how stuff works.

No cash for Ophelia: thankfully, there is a judge in Memphis with some sense.

There’s something unethical about these required ethics classes for lobbyists.  It’s just the latest in a long line of what appears to be profiteering from required training or testing that seem to yield little value.  Is there something magical about charging $150 for a class or test required by the state (especially one where the participants feel like they didn’t get anything out of it, and couldn’t even have a cuppa joe to keep them awake)?

A candidate’s worst transgression (the last of many, it seems) loses him a vote (tip: Kleinheider).  As more people switch to cell phones in place of landlines, this could really impact polling and politicking.  Already, polls are skewed toward the older voter, who is more likely to 1) have a landline, 2) not screen their calls, and 3) be home to answer it.  I do realize that older citizens are more likely to vote than their younger counterparts, but that could change — and when it does, tactics will have to change with it.

Happy Thursday (for those of us on a 4×10 workweek: Functionally Friday)!

For an hour and some this evening, Mother Nature provided an enjoyable show via the Perseid meteor shower.

Alpha, Mathman and I found the outfield at Big Turtle Park an acceptable viewing location. Not great — there are streetlights on the turnpike, in the parking lot, and otherwise nearby — but it was the best place we could find close to home.

The narrowing of our viewing area provided another educational example, as the cooling night air after midnight brought about a rising fog over a low lying field and stream to our east. It was not like the nights over Northern Michigan (which has several times the number of visible stars simply due to clearer air and less light pollution), but it was a lovely show nonetheless.

One more for the list of great things to do at no cost whatsoever.