Energy

The Thresher – YouTube

America lost two nuclear-powered submarines during the 1960s. The nuclear reactors remain underwater to this day. Phil Ochs did a song about each of them.

"Portsmouth town on the eastern shore / Where many a fine ship was born. / The Thresher was build / And the Thresher was launched / And the crew of the sworn."

More about the sinking of the Thresher. http://ussnautilus.org/blog/the-loss-of-uss-thresher-ssn-593/

More about the nuclear reactor that remains underwater. http://www.seacoastonline.com/article/20130310/NEWS/303100355

Heating With Coal.

I've always been interested in coal stoves. Coal heating is the most inexpensive heating fuel out there, especially in rural areas. They are very common in the Finger Lakes and Pennsylvania. The great thing is they are like wood stoves but don't constantly have to be perked up and be fed more wood like wood stoves. Anthracite is largely mined around Scranton, which is in part and explanation of the popularity of these stoves.

The High Pressure Sodium Light: Ubiquitous, effective, but good?

Ever wonder why street lights are orange? For such a fast-paced world technology-wise, it seems somewhat odd that we are still using such a strange color of light for outdoor lighting. Well it turns out it is still a pretty good light source, though with limited use and perhaps a not-so-obvious flaw.