Nuclear weapons.

Featured by NapsWithCats-ScubaMan, posted in Gentleman Forestry, North Bruce Peninsula, Ontario, Odd thoughts, Trail Maintenance, Ungentlemanly DIY

If you could un-invent something, what would it be?

Nuclear weapons. Could physicists delve into subatomic theory and not muse… huh… what would happen if I smack 2 things together… they go ‼️ That deadly genie is out of the bottle. There’s no need to pursue this mad technology, and plunge us into a nuclear winter. No thanks. Just give me some non-nuclear dynamite, gunpowder, sharp sticks, and bioactive compounds! Kidding. I’m kidding.

less armageddon, more january 20 rock reports!

snow falling from the metal roof accumulates in front of the windows
Drifts from PN clearing PV panels.
the driveway is covered with snow
~700 ft of driveway to snowblow.
Tobey's mother bequeathed us her tabletop weather station
LA’s estate: I appreciated her gift to us.
human dumping pet waste in the isolated compost pile
TS & PN use biodegradable litter. Gross. Effective.
Click on the image to see detail & metacaptions; alt-click to see descriptive captioning (W3S, Web Accessibility Initiative).

tuesday, january 21st snow-plowing report

the photovoltaic panel accumulates snow
Stressed-out array = bad.
a panorama of the east side of our new home
2 days of accumulation.
the snow has piled up enough to make travel difficult
our hatchback car is inadequate for winter travel
there is about 33 centimetres of snow accumulated from last night
the vehicles look like snow-covered bugs with their wipers elevated
there is a man-sized pile of boulders under the snow
a snow covered tree that is aesthetically pleasing to the mind
It’s a pretty tree.
the snow pile-up before the job
No improvement.
the snow pile-up after processing
Some improvement.
a single pass with the snowblower down the 700 foot driveway
the snow accumulation is about the depth of my forearm
if one does not clear the snow from the driveway, vehicles cannot pass through it
the cut marks of the snowblower's augers
Auger chew-marks.
the municipal snow clearing trucks ploughed the entrance in
humour
the owner wants to assure visitors access to the rock farm
the lines snowblowing trails have an aesthetic appeal to them
the municipal road is kept clear
the garbage containers are somewhere under this snow pile
a closeup of the vertical cut marks made by the machines' augers.
PN thinks cut lines are beautiful!
a snowblower clearing tool shows the snow-depth to scale
Drift depth adjacent mailbox.
glamour photo of the snowblower
silly self-portrait
PN prefers this lifestyle to substitute teaching.
visitors need to park on the other side of the pylons
the driveway is clear to the lower parking lot
propane space heater is being used to remove stubborn ice build up
the Starlink satellite dish has its own heating element
Starlink, you need to get rid of your owner 😦
a panorama of the lower parking lot after the job
Dig. Dig. Dig. Dig it?

Tuesday’s job required TS and PN to fight their way through 2 days’ worth of accumulation. This was packing snow so it had to be shoveled and scraped away. The PV panels had a thick layer on them that stressed out the struts. We had to get the accumulation off the glass panels! At day’s end, we were producing ~7 watts. Sheesh.

wednesday’s snow clearing session

TS and PN wanted to clear paths for the visiting tradespeople. Genny-GENERAC needed an oil & filter change (its first servicing after almost daily use). Some of the interior switches had to be swapped out. We’re still having to deal with flickering lights. Our low-current fixtures can detect mV and mA variations in our system. Our computers are on voltage-compensating uninterrupted power supplies. Off-grid power systems are not 100% perfect (at least not at this price).

Today’s challenge: clear the snow drifts with brisk winds. The air temperature dropped to -12C in the shade. PN’s mitts, beard, happy hoodie, eyebrows, and clothing froze solid.

snow blower maintenance
Ice can lock up moving parts.
snow blower repair
This is a weak design!
unintended consequences
Melt-water couldn’t escape.
clearned auger before use
Zen & the art of BIG MARTIN maintenance.
tradesperson
He was going to hump that gear by hand.
tradesperson borrowed a sled
Hunting sled put to work.
glamour photo of tradesperson's truck
Glod, I hope those are snow tires.
product placement
Guchi snowblower. 100% theft-free pylons!
lower parking lot cleared
T can be seen servicing Genny-GENERAC.
snowblower cleanup
That snow’s gotta go.
tricky snowblower cleanup technique
BIG MARTIN’S a prima donna.
snowblower cleanup
An insulated shed! Please…
high pressure dome over peninsula
A new cold-front moved in. Dead calm.
Click on image for details & meta-captions; alt-click for alternative text.

Here’s an interesting website I discovered tonight:

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