mounds of mississippi

bed frame

2010-01-04T18:32:00.000-08:00

if i were to make a frame for my double mattress, it would end up looking like this.

"democracy"

2008-11-09T19:56:00.000-08:00

people in the US think the US is the greatest democracy in the world. but what is democracy? i think a key tenet of democracy is the selection of government officials (who perform the duties of government) by holding a vote and electing the candidate that gets a majority of the votes.

however, this is not how US democracy works. the candidate that wins only has to get more votes than any other single candidate (no majority is necessary).

can you imagine the outrage if this is how something as important as homecoming queen of high school were chosen?...

generator, 3

2008-07-27T19:08:00.000-07:00

a couple more attempts, neither of which resulted in much (~.2V). it is very hard to understand how to produce a generator that does what it should do.

generator, 2

2008-06-24T18:19:00.000-07:00

with a wooden frame for better stability, thinner wire (actually the "gauge" of the wire does not affect the resulting voltage), and 100 turns now, the generator achieves an average of .45 volts AC (i dont know how to figure the current (amps) which my multimeter only gives for DC). almost to the 1.2 volts i need to light my LED...

generator (of electricity)

2008-06-23T08:22:00.000-07:00

a current american obsession seems to be discussing the need to reduce "dependence on foreign oil". some want to replace this on dependence on domestic oil. what about dependence on domestic renewable energy? or better yet, producing energy locally, independently, and renewably?

generating solar energy is considered ("prohibitively") expensive with high initial investment. how about wind? this can be produced with little upfront costs.

before creating the blades, you need a generator. i made one with a couple of small magnets which spin around inside a coil of wire (18 gauge, wound 22 times around).

connected to a voltmeter, i produced .06 volts of AC. a long way to go still...

aluminum can stove

2008-03-23T17:02:00.000-07:00

instead of buying an 80 dollar backpacking stove that burns gas and that weighs a lot, a lightweight alcohol (denatured) stove can be built using 2 aluminum soda cans. building it takes only ~15 minutes assuming that the builder knows how to. this stove brings 8 oz of water to a boil in 4 or 5 minutes using 1.5 tablespoons of fuel.

book-shelf

2008-01-01T08:10:00.000-08:00

sometimes you need a book shelf. why dont you just buy a 10 foot board, cut it three times, screw the pieces together, sand it, and paint some polyurethane on it? this only takes a few hours and costs 20 bucks.

radio

2007-08-20T19:52:00.000-07:00

radio doesnt even need batteries. who told you it does? just some wire, some of it wound around a tube, a diode, and some headphones and you can hear english, spanish, portuguese, dutch.

sail-bike?

2007-06-07T08:41:00.000-07:00

what about a bike that doesnt have pedals but instead a sail?

besides the bike, about 30 feet of good rope, an old bed sheet and a couple of good 6 foot sticks would be all that you would need. maybe a helmet would be a good idea too.

sailing

2007-02-27T07:33:00.000-08:00

miraculously a sailboat can get you anywhere provided water and wind, even into the direction of the wind. while americans cannot understand why we are targets abroad, we consume petroleum even in recreational activities. sailing uses no electricity and the sound of the wind replaces the sound of pollution-emitting engines.

city explorations

2006-09-06T19:54:00.000-07:00

One can turn living in the Capital city into a more rural, isolated, reflective,
healthy, less automoticized experience by finding those hidden corridors most
folks have never thought to seek out though they have been under their noses
twice a day for years.

the levee holding back the pearl river on the east side (rankin county) could be
a great bike path for the people of jackson (it can be accessed from the east side
of the highway 80 bridge). it runs under several interstate, highway, and railroad
bridges but also includes remote and wooded sections.

i m sure it will not become used as a bike path because there is no demand for recreational amenities here nor is there the desire to deal with whatever legal complications might arise.

it will only exist for a few who ignore "no trespassing" signs because, after all, why should a metal sign have authority over a human.

mounds

2005-07-11T09:42:00.000-07:00

what is more productive:

builing a dirt mound that will last thousands of years but which provide no utilitarian purpose..
or...
writing a computer program that no one will ever use and which will dissappear when the computer crashes but which you get paid for...

i guess its an existential debate...which makes you feel satisfied or important or connected?

swim

2005-07-11T09:36:00.000-07:00

how can 2 year olds swim across a pool?
i can barely blow bubbles in the water much less
swim the right way down the lane. i need help.

fuel

2005-07-11T09:22:00.000-07:00

oil makes our world work. we didnt have it 150 years ago and things werent great but now we have really great bicycle technology. that s where we re going allright.