he's always thinking

K and I are having coffee. Everyone is asleep and it's not time to clean up for church.
Did you know that he's all alternative energy? That he is forever bringing me pictures of wind generators and solar panels? He and Middle built a tiny wind generator with household bits and bobs. (Well, bits and bobs if you have a few frustrated inventors living in your midst.)

Look at this says he:



why? Why don't they have these things...his voice trails off.
These things on all the coffee cups in the world? I ask with a trace of sarcasm.
Imagine, I go on, all those warm cups generating electricity in every household.
NO, he says IN ICELAND, why couldn't they put these things on all the hot springs?
I'm ALL OVER THIS, he starts googling madly. AND THEY COULD BE MADE WITH RECYCLED MATERIALS.

He'll be busy now for a couple of hours.

Comments

Alice said…
Would you like your latte with the additional electric generator? I can see it now!
Anonymous said…
actually in iceland they are already using the geothermal for heat. the heat houses, and building and schools. The sidewalks the kids use to get to school are kept ice free using geothermal.

I don't understand why every roof in america is tiled with solar roof tiles. even if it wasn't enough to run your home you could feed the grid, which if everyone was doing it would make a difference.

I want every waste water line to have a small hydro electric turbine. so when the water flows through the pipe it rotates a wheel which sends a few watt's back into the house.
Anonymous said…
I would like an altered version of this tell K. I would like one that aims DOWN a little bit and cools off my coffee. Let me know the price. And if he takes MC. Thank you.

Prom...we have boys same age. Been through 3 now heading to 4th soon. NO CORSAGES, it is the world of WRIST BOUQUETS. Which actually are lovely and so much better then a bunch of flowers pinned to your chest for no reason. Make sure you ask the florist to make up his boutonnière which they will pop in her box for her to pin on him. Had a little verklempt Mom moment when I went to the florist. AlLl the little boxes waiting to be picked up with the flowers. Rows of them in the cooler. SO sweet.
ALL the boys still wears the tux though they do very creative. Top hats seem to be many a teenage boys idea of creative. I am waiting for the BOWLER hatted kis. His tie should match color of her dress. And do not think for one minute being the boy's mom is less stressful then preparing the girl! There were colors to pick, flowers to order, what shade of stripes in the tux, blah blah blah. My OCD (but still lovely child) obsessed about the color of his tux for weeks! Enjoy, pictures please!
Badger said…
Ha! Well. I can relate to having frustrated inventors in the house, as you know. I was going to suggest that you get them hooked up with Make magazine, if they aren't already aware of it, but on second thought I like you way too much to do that to you.
Joke said…
K knows the coffee idea won't work, because in exchanging the coffee's thermal energy to kinetic energy the coffee will lose its temperature.

The hot springs thing is fine, not that Icelanders will necessarily be all hopped up about these things sticking up about their landscape. Although, they certainly MIGHT, after all, these are the people who have saddled us with Bjork.

-J.
robiewankenobie said…
he knows about http://www.instructables.com/ right? it's featuring a homemade microwave welder at the moment...
Anonymous said…
Iceland they use the direct geothermal heat (snow melt, home heat) and the binary conversion to electricity production. They often send delegations to the states to teach us how to do the same thing (I hosted such a group last October).

Icelanders are so damn cool.
Anonymous said…
We heat and cool our house with geothermal. Not hot springs, but a ground water heat pump and forced air. Works great for cooling, not quite as well for heating because we are so far north. But we like our ambient temp to be in the 60s so it's okay.

It's people like K who improve the world, even as they drive us slightly nuts.
Ginnie said…
We need more thinkers like K.