Hubble Telescope’s Broken Gyroscope Seemingly Fixed After Engineers Try Turning It Off and On Again

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Hubble Telescope’s Broken Gyroscope Seemingly Fixed After Engineers Try Turning It Off and On Again

"If you’ve ever worked in IT, you know that most problems require eye-rollingly simple solutions. One, check that the device is plugged in. Two, turn the device off and back on again. Three, wiggle some things around. It appears that such thinking will fix the Hubble Space Telescope, which entered a safe mode two weeks ago after a gyroscope failure."

Renewable Energy Handbook

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Probably 15 years ago when I was in college I picked up the Renewable Energy handbook which looks at different sources of power available for the off grid lifestyle. ⬛️ It has from the simple to the complex, some US off grid while some is more focused on renewable energy. Lighting technology has changed quite a bit since LED based quality lighting 💡 came on the market and solar panels are a heck of a lot cheaper but other than that the technology is largely unchanged.

I’ve long understood the importance of electricity conservation and how to use electricity efficiently but never really understood the importance of having properly installed insulation, vapor barriers and air exchange. 🏘 Wood heat can be a lot of work chopping and splitting if your not burning it an efficient stove or if the building is drafty and losing heat left and right. Unlike with an oil furnace, it literally is taxing to the owner if your constantly stocking the wood stove.🌳

Another thing I’ve never thought much about was water. While conventional submersible pumps are relatively efficient, many off grid houses use slow lower pressure pumps then a large reserve tank and a secondary pump for household pressure. 🚰 I’m thinking my parents house has something similar, as I know they have a large reserve tank and I think a secondary pump in the basement.

There is much more to learn over the coming decade and technology will evolve but I’ll keep learning and saving.🤔

Wetlands

October 28, 2018 Night

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Good evening! Times of downpours and then just clouds around 41 degrees in North Syracuse. 💦 There is a east-southeast breeze at 5 mph. 🍃. Fortunately driving home wasn’t too bad rain wise and the skies will clear Tuesday around 7 am. Some blue sky would be nice for a change. I’m tired of all the rainy dreary days.

Tonight will have scattered showers between 11pm and 2am, then rain likely after 2am. Cloudy ☔ , with a low of 40 degrees at 5am. Four degrees above normal. East wind around 5 mph becoming light and variable in the evening. It’s actually fairly mild out this evening, warmer that going into work. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. In 2017, we had cloudy skies. It got down to 59 degrees. The record low of 19 occurred back in 1969.

Tonight will have a Waning Gibbous Moon 🌖 with 77% illuminated. The moon will set at 12:29 am. The Last Quarter Moon is on Tuesday night with showers is likely. The Beaver Moon 🌝 is on Thursday, November 22nd. The sun will rise at 7:35 am with the first light at 7:05 am, which is one minute and 15 seconds later than yesterday. 🌄 Tonight will have 13 hours and 35 minutes of darkness, an increase of 2 minutes and 40 seconds over last night.

Tomorrow will have showers likely. Cloudy💧 , with a high of 44 degrees at 12pm. 11 degrees below normal. West wind 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies with more clouds in the afternoon. The high last year was 65 degrees. The record high of 77 was set in 1946. 3.8 inches of snow fell back in 2011.❄

I dropped off my absentee ballot and it’s on the way to Albany. This year was easier than most I knew who I was voting for before I got the ballot to review. 📬 Some years I question my choices but not this year. Although I know how much goes into a political candidacy, at the end of the day I’m pretty indifferent about elections. Things seem to go on, pretty unchanging in my life. I don’t own a television so I don’t have to worry about indigestion after dinner from watching the evening news. 📺

It’s just been such a rainy time lately. I’m still hoping that the rain burns itself out by mid November. ⛺ I’m really hoping for a nice trip this year and then returning to the quiet and relaxing life of Albany, taking the bus to work once again. 🚌 I hate having to motor everywhere I go and not having public transportation as an option. I kind of also like the solitude of being home without internet and going for a stroll down to the library when I need internet.

I ordered a few more small components on Ali Expres for winter electronics projects. :idea:Just a few other things. I should be real set to build basically anything I would want this winter with my soldering iron and some code.📟 I have some great ideas for neat things like lamps and decorations but I just now got to sit down and build them once I get back home and the weather is nasty out again. ❄

Right now, a split verdict on the weekend. 😕 Saturday, a chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 50. Chance of precipitation is 30%. Sunday, partly sunny, with a high near 51. At least you get to sleep in then with the time change. Typical average high for the weekend is 53 degrees.

In four weeks on November 25 the sun will be setting at 4:32 pm (Standard Time),🌄 which is one hour, 28 minutes and 16 seconds earlier then tonight. In 2017 on that day, we had mostly cloudy skies and temperatures between 52 and 39 degrees. Typically, you have temperatures between 44 and 29 degrees. The record high of 64 degrees was set back in 2004. It’s often pretty cool by late November, which honestly isn’t that far away. Winter will be here before you know it.

Looking ahead, Daylight Savings Time Ends 🛥️ in 1 week, Veterans Day (Sunday) 🇺🇸 is in 2 weeks and First Sunday of Advent ✝️ is in 5 weeks.

Cruising along

NB88 – A Beautiful Fall Day in the North Woods

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This has rapidly become one of my favorite Youtube channels to watch...

"Join me in this video as I take a 12 mile walk through the north woods enjoying a beautiful fall day and looking for a ruffed grouse aka Partridge. My favorite time of year and there's no where I'd rather be. Plenty of fresh air and solitude."

The battle to curb our appetite for concrete

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The battle to curb our appetite for concrete

"We extract billions of tonnes of sand and gravel each year to make concrete for the building industry, and this is having an increasing environmental impact as beaches and river beds are stripped, warn campaigners."

"Alongside this environmental damage, the building industry is also a major contributor to greenhouse gases - cement manufacturing alone accounts for 7% of global CO2 emissions."