I’ve been working on building our above ground pool in the back yard for three years now. I officially finished phase 2 this week by turning on 160 square feet of solar pool heating panels neatly installed above our custom deck roof. Here’s a snapshot:

Detailed project description & notes:

Project History: In 2007 I ordered and installed a 12’x24’ AG (above ground) steel-sided pool in our back yard. In 2008 I built a roof over part of our deck. My original plans called for installing solar hot water panels on the roof, but after finishing the pool I decided the best option was to build a roof over part of our deck. This serves two goals: First, it provides a 10’ x 20’ south facing roof with nearly ideal solar TOF (Tilt and Orientation Factor). Second, the roof allows us to use the deck in the rain and provides shade when the weather is really hot. I’m very happy with the design. It’s great fun to sit out on the deck in the pouring rain. This year (2009) I’ve finally pulled out the Mario cap and finished installing and plumbing the pool SHW system.

Parts: Here’s the short list of items used:

• 3 solar panels totaling 160 square feet (one Fafco 4’x20’ panel, two SunHeater 2’x20’ panels, both bought on http://seattle.craigslist.org for a total of about $200)
• 5 size transitions to interconnect 4 different pipe diameters (thanks to 2” base plumbing connecting 2 panels using 1.5” fittings and 1 panel using 1” fittings, plus hand-built 3/4” vacuum release valve)
• 6 union joints (allowing me to maintain the system rather than hard pipe everything permanently then have to cut pipe on 7/12 pitch metal roof if repairs are ever needed)
• 17 2” pipe connectors including 5 45’ elbows, 2 90’ elbows, 2 straight connectors, and 8 T joints!
• 4 removable T-joint plugs inline for handy installation of fountains, water guns, or whatever I decide to cook up :-D
• 80+ feet of 2” Schedule 40 PVC pipe
• 2 cans of paint (to match brown deck wood and hunter green roof), 2 cans of PVC cement, 8 Pipe hangers, and several other miscellaneous supplies
• 1.5 years of worry that I’d fall off the roof as my shoes slowly slid down the straight metal roof toward a 12’ drop onto metal chairs and misc. planters on our deck
• ~6 days of labor split over 5 months time.

I’d rather not count the hours it took me to design and install the system. I vaguely recall about 5 trips to Lowes and Home Depot, each time thinking that I was getting the last set of PVC joints and pipes to finish this project.

Biggest setback: Realizing the z-channels used to support the solar panels had to be screwed in at an angle that exactly match how panels laid after plumbed. Chicken-and-egg problem is I needed to support the panels to get them plumbed. I managed to solve the problem by installing temporary supports, then relying on contortionism with a cordless drill in one hand and faith that 6 screws (holding two mystic roof plank holders) would prevent me from tumbling to a painful and potentially maiming conclusion.
Biggest surprise: Finding the 20’ panels actually take 23’ to support!
Neat trick #1: Gutter downspout for the deck roof actually conceals the 2” pipe supplying water to the solar panels.
Neat trick #2: T joints used on the way up and down to roof are only 2’ above and 18” away from the pool and have threaded plugs to easily add fountains, water hose guns to splash kids, or anything else I can cook up!
Neat trick #3: Parallel panel configuration heats water with least resistance and slope toward feeder pipe (plus vacuum release valve at top) allows water to automatically drain back down when pump isn’t operating (instead of being cooled at night).
Highlights of the project: Turning it on and finding the only plumbing leaks were easily fixed by tightening threaded components (no slip joint leaks!). Even better is feeling slight but noticeably warmer water at the pool return jet even with full pump speed. Best of all is knowing my design worked as initially conceived with only minor tweaks to accommodate construction reality.

Here’s some more photos of the custom pipe manifolds I made, one leak in a solar panel, and kids having fun in the pool. (Note the algae bloom has finally been conquered but photos here are still a bit green.)

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What’s next?

Of course this project hasn’t been my only activity this summer, but it was definitely a big project. Next will be a massive clean-up. The back yard has looked like a construction zone for over two years. While not my top priority, I intend to reclaim some lawn from the large pool toys, drain pipes, and construction debris that have grown like noxious weeds near the pool. Perhaps the chlorine water naturally causes these things to overtake the surrounding area. Other neglected projects will take priority for a while (garage, master bath, etc.) as does my career work.

Eventually (2010?) the final phase of the pool will be designed and executed. Phase 3 is extending the deck about 18” to the pool on one side plus wrapping the deck around one end. One ambitious variation includes designing enough room for an 8’ tall pool slide and a rope swing! WOOHOOOOoo!

Want a closer look? Give me a call or e-mail and we’ll schedule a time for a personal tour :-). Don’t forget your bathing suit! (Don’t worry, I still have the wet suits as a backup plan if there are no sunny days.)

Our Nintendo Wii DVD drive started making noise that was like a mini lawn mower had been installed in our console. Now I love a good virtual lawn mower as much as the next guy, but it was a major distraction when you could not hear the sound of the game.

The problem is actually well documented. If you want a good description of the problem check out http://www.opensenses.com/discussion/wii-drive-noise. I fixed the problem the risky way by bending metal near the hub. Screws or adjusting the hub assembly is better fix (now that I know I nearly killed the drive :-)). The hardest part was fabricating a tri-wing screwdriver to open the Nintendo Wii case by grinding down a small torqs bit. What a major pain.

However success is the sweet sound of silence. Life is good once more. Too bad I don’t have a lot of time for playing games. Now I need to get back to assembling my solar pool hot water heating array. That is my “BIG” project and it’s nearly done! -zs

Neat and well produced video on http://www.storyofstuff.com explores the current materials economy system (extraction-production-distribution-consumption-disposal), flaws, and suggestions to change to a sustainable materials economy cycle.

There’s several oversimplifications and exaggerations used to drive home the message, but they aren’t completely inaccurate or misleading either. Overall a fun watch and great call to action. Suitable for all ages :-).

Think twice before buying another one or throwing something away.
Perhaps there is a way to reduce, save, or reuse it some other way. -zs

Today Frost & Sullivan published “Going Green and Mean the Lithium Way.” It is a nice overview of the electric vehicle battery landscape with specific emphasis how Lithium Ion battery technology factors in today and over the next 5-10 years. The report glosses over some important details, but the overall picture it paints is clear and appears generally accurate.

NOTE: Two very important issues NOT discussed in this overview is raw material sources (full supply chain) and recycling for Lithium-based batteries compared to Lead-Acid and NiMH batteries.

If you don’t have time to read the article consider the following excerpts:

…For example, the Tesla Roadster, based on the Lotus Elise powered by 6831 lithium ion cells with 248 hp output, is one mean machine sought by speedsters.
…
Several cathode and anode chemistries exist for lithium batteries such as lithium manganese, lithium titaniate, lithium phosphate, and so on. Each of these chemistries differs by its characteristics such as energy, power, safety, lifecycle, and cost.
…
However, with the increase in cash flowing from the United States toward greener vehicles, the global market will witness a surge in EV powered by lithium from 2010, and around late 2012 or early 2013, HEV powered by lithium will enter the market.
…
AESC, LG Chem, Lithium Energy Japan, Panasonic EV Energy are some of the large scale battery manufacturers who are focusing toward development and production of lithium manganese cells for EV and HEV. Lithium phosphates are widely used by North American and European companies such as A123 Systems, Valence and LiFeBatt. Key trend is the involvement of leading OEMs such as Nissan, Mitsubishi, and Daimler through strategic joint ventures with battery manufacturers and electronics providers to develop complete battery modules.

The chart below provides a snapshot of the key players in the EV market with strategic partnerships

Chart 1
Who Supplies Whom and Key Joint Ventures among the Key Industry Participants in the Automotive EV and HEV Market
                                                                                                   Source: Frost & Sullivan

Now for the candy: If all this battery techno mumbo jumbo is too boring then watch Jay Leno’s Garage review of the Tesla Roadster running over 6,500 Lithium Ion batteries. (Holy battery bonanza! … Batteries included I hope!) Informative and fun!

Cheers. -zs

My core principal is to help others. Doing the greatest good for the largest number of people is what drives me the most (and has for many years). My fields of interest are education, sustainability (especially energy, transportation, and food), and healthcare. The good news for me is that software and hardware can play a significant role in all of these… which is why I got involved with computers and software in the first place.

I also try to be as honest and self-critical as possible. How far will all this get me and those I can help? I hope to write more on that as time goes on, but it’s good to share a bit of the terrain and my motivations rather than travel in the dark to an unknown destination. -zs

While I’m on my career journey through sustainability and sustainable energy I’d like to share a few notes others may find interesting. Feel free to comment on my blog or to the original site if pointing to a specific subject. The disclaimer is that I am definitely still learning, and may find myself backtracking on things I initially thought useful, invaluable, or even senseless.

SUMMARY

1. World Oil production/consumption graph and several other fantastic world data graphs by Hans Rosling. Don’t stop there! Play with the graph axes to analyze many other national indicators vs. oil consumption, GDP, etc. Also breakdown within states or regions.
2. www.ted.com – Free World-class online speeches and lectures on a broad range of world-changing ideas.
3. Jared Diamond video presentation on “Why Societies Collapse”.

Stop here if you’re busy (or better yet spend a few minutes playing with link #1).

MORE INFORMATION

www.ted.com – A wonderful collection of inspirational speeches and lectures on a broad range of world-changing topics… many of which I’m quite interested in. Don’t follow any one person or ideal blindly, but don’t close your eyes to diverse and sometimes contrarian viewpoints either. I’ve just started watching through some of these. Read a few of the comments below each speech for commentary from both sides of the position. I LOVE that!

Jared Diamond on “Why Societies Collapse” – I’ve always believed that history repeats itself AND is a great teacher for those who do not wish to repeat past lessons. This little video summarizes a few past civilization collapses and postulates common themes that frequently contribute to their collapse. In a nutshell, listed indicators are:

• Natural Resource depletion
• Climate change of some sort
• Friendly relations reduced with neighboring societies
• Hostile relations increased (or inability to adapt/manage/accommodate relations with enemies)
• Inability to see or change to address situations that threaten society’s own existence

Notes that society can’t just solve one threat to survive. It must see and resolve all threats. One of two states happen: Society changes to address the problem, or society is forced to accept or manage whatever consequences the problem brings about. Overall good foundational principals to apply to variety of topics. While No one person can solve all problems, individuals can make a huge difference in driving solution to one or more threats.

Hans Rosling: “Debunking third-world myths with the best stats you’ve ever seen” - Hans provides multiple levels of goodness:

• Global Lifespan, infant mortality, and other measures graphed over time and by individual wealth and GNP health – illustrates trends brilliantly.
• Founded GapMinder (http://www.gapminder.org/) to help visualize public world statistics to identify trends, problems, and which nations and regions are doing things well (or poorly). If you follow only one link, play with the World Oil production/consumption graph on Gapminder world. Other interactive worthwhile graphs include World Life Expectancy chart, Family size & length of life, or Who has the most oil, etc.

Notice in Oil chart the US stands alone in oil consumption (right edge of x axis) while Saudi Arabia and Russia clearly stand out in top left corner as producers. Per 2003 presentation we need Search functionality to public databases to enable discoverability and analysis to find and solve problems. The problem (in 2003) is many database owners won’t grant ability to copy and search their data… “Our data is too peculiar to be searched.”

I’ll add to this list from time to time. Hope you enjoy! -zs

Here’s a good-sized surprise…

I am resigning from my SDET2 position in the Windows Live Desktop Clients - UX Platform test team effective Friday 3/13.

Why? I need to realign my job and career closer to my personal passions and life-long goals.

Over the last 15+ years I have learned an incredible amount from the Windows Live, Mobile Devices, Microsoft Press, and other teams and products. The last 5 years with WLDC has been fantastic. Every day I work with amazing people making fantastic products. I have worked hard to ship high quality features and components to millions of customers while also helping our team and company grow and succeed long-term. Now I feel it is time to grow new skills and apply what I've learned here to make more direct improvements in peoples’ lives and living conditions.

You can always contact me at zephan@msn.com (e-mail and IM) or 206-779-5511 now or any time in the future. My internal site is http://my/sites/zephans. My external blog is at http://zephans.spaces.live.com (shoot me e-mail if you don't have access).

Thanks! –ZephanS
Follow your passion!

OK, so you decided to scroll down. I tried keeping the announcement above short. If you are interested in more details read on…

Rude Q&A:

Q: Are you leaving because you don't like your manager’s hairstyle?
A: I thought about it, but I decided that wasn't a deal breaker :-). Actually this decision has nothing to do with the WLDC team or management. As far as I'm concerned this is one of the best teams I've worked with at Microsoft. Keep it up!

Q: What are you up to next?
A: I am actively building knowledge of the energy industry to help people better understand, manage, conserve, and produce energy through use of new and existing technologies. I also hope to spend some time with education/learning-related technologies as well as technology support for nonprofit organizations (nPower, etc.).

Q: Zephan, are you completely nuts moving during a huge economic recession?
A: Quite possibly, but that doesn't change my decision. I’ve actually been considering this move for a couple years. My head agrees the timing is risky, but my heart knows now is the best time to make this life change. There are also several factors in the energy sector that make now a great time to establish energy industry expertise and establish a strong position to help before the issues become more critical.

Q: Why energy?
A: Name one thing that is more important to the long-term stability of our civilization and collective standard of living. (For the record, education is more important than energy.) Let me know what you think. I enjoy openly discussing this topic at any time with anyone who has any opinion to share.

Q: Why not do this on the side until right job comes?
A: Chicken and the egg. I can't immerse myself in one industry while working full time in a mostly unrelated field (while also raising a family and sleeping at least 4 hours a day). That said I am actively looking for jobs that relate to energy or education that also leverage my broad software industry experience.

Q: What's wrong with the WLDC UX Platform team?
A: Nothing. The WLDC team and UX Platform teams are both great! I have long had an objective to help people through new and existing technology. Testing UX controls for products that customers use to communicate with and share their lives is extremely cool. I also continue to learn tons of amazing stuff every day. The problem is this continued growth does not align as much as I'd like with my personal passion and life-long goals.

Q: Will you still be in Microsoft?
A: There are a few divisions in Microsoft that do align with my passion. I'm in contact with these teams and will definitely consider options within this great company. The most important part is making sure it is a win-win value for both Microsoft and myself. (Feel free to forward references and opportunities my way :-).)

So there it is… I’m moving forward! -Zephan

I am aware that most people in America, myself included, walk on thin air. As long as we believe then we can walk forward and up. But one glance at reality can tip the tedious illusion. Many more people in this world live the opposite reality. Be thankful for everything you have. Don’t take too much for granted.

In the end we all live on faith of one sort or another. Nothing more, nothing less. It's good to stop and refuel from time to time. Whatever feeds the soul is what is needed.

Each day is a new page to write. Yesterday and tomorrow are abstract and irrelevant. We only have today.

No, I don't have a book of quotes. I'm just writing from inspirations I've read, heard, observed, and internalized over many years. These thoughts come to me often when I need it for myself or to share with others. It’s about time I share more of my thoughts than I have in the past. - zs

10-Year-Old Yo-Yo Master


If you ever think your job is hard, consider a career change to yo-yo master. It helps to start young, especially if you want some skills to fall back on. This 10-year-old master may have enough to be a professional... but can he talk casually while he does his stuff?

GraphOilogy - from grapho- + -oil + -logie -logy: inference of future production from an oil production profile.

Basically some really cool graphs predicting oil field production curves based on oil discovery and proven reserves data. This stuff is then used to prove (or disprove/modify) Hubbard's Peak oil theory set back in early 1970's.

http://graphoilogy.blogspot.com/ is fascinating (and perhaps a bit unnerving) read if you don't mind getting really deep into statistics and oil industry terminology.

Very cool Imagine Cup for 2008. Students from around the world competed to develop innovative software and HW/SW solutions that improve sustainability. Second place was won by team "Housekeeper" which developed a system to measure, track, and report household energy usage. After a bit of digging I found their submission report. Neat statistic they mentioned: "European household burns up to 4667kWh, household in USA in the same period burns up to 11209kWh."  The writing is a little off, but idea has some merits.

The power monitoring in-home is actually one key part of Smart Grid Technology. Specifically this is HAN (Home Automation Network) and AMI (Advanced Metering Infrastructure). www.smartgridnews.com has reviews for Smart Grid products including HAN components such as Control4 Home Controller and Tendril Network Operating Platform (TNOP) Version 2.0.  One thing I strongly believe is that SmartGrid components should be standards-based and those standards should be as internationally accepted (or at least compatible) as possible. I truly hate having competing standards designed to protect business or national competitive advantage above improving technical and world-wide social benifits. That said products must have a sustainable business model to survive... even products that improve energy sustainability :-).

Cheers! -zs

On 5/17 Samantha finally begged and badgered me enough to open the pool. There were tons of cherry blossoms and gunk on top of the winter cover.

After about 3 hours of carefully filtering and siphoning away the goop we were ready to take the cover off. Much to my surprise the water under the cover was in good shape and still had some chlorine. I boosted the chlorine, then one hour later let the kids go in... if they dared to brave the cold.

The water must have been about 65 degrees F. Now that might sound warm and the day was over 80 F outside, but keep in mind that 82 F is exercise pool temp and 92 F is a good recreational pool temp. 65 F feels absolutely freezing.

Sami was first one in the pool. Followed shortly by Ian and two daring neighbor kids. They stayed in for about an hour and really enjoyed it.

NEXT PROJECT: Hook up the two solar hot water heater panels I have to make the pool warm enough for adults to enjoy :-).

Bottom-right picture (kids from left to right): Ian, Reece (neighbor), Jase (neighbor), Sami

1. Play the frets with both hands. You really don't need to strum when you are a ninja.
2. Hand(s) over the neck (with all 10 fingers), not under it with just 5.
3. Loop recorder - He often layers songs to accompany himself. (Good example is his version of "Sweet Child O' Mine" by Guns n' Roses.)
4. Guitar drum. Michael Heges did a fair amount of this too, but it's still cool to see the guitar can be a good percussion instrument.

Clip#1: Dueling Ninjas. Oh yeah, watch the fingers fly!

 Clip #2: Canon by PachelBel, adapted by guitarist who doesn't care which side of the instrument to play from.

There are some other vides on http://www.tracebundy.com/YouTube.html. You should buy Trace Buny's music if you think it's cool. If not then enjoy and tell others.

Cheers! -ZephanS

A picture is worth a thousand words. A sound is worth even more. About two weeks ago I helped Shadow get moving. Shadow is our 5.5 month old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel puppy. He loves to chew on stuff and flop around. He's not much for jumping or running. We figured it was just his growing up and soon he'd be all over the place just like Maggie (our 9 month old Cavalier puppy). Well, when I helped push him along I noticed his hips popped each time he took a step. Uh-oh.

Now he really isn't in any great pain or discomfort, or at least nothing that he shows. His trick is that he's never known anything different. We got a PENN Hip scan and our vet confirmed he's got a pretty severe case of hip dysplasia. The X-Rays show the leg bones clearly out of the hip socket on both sides. Our big challenge now is how to manage this condition so Shadow continues to enjoy playing around and going on walks.

Treatment. First things first, we have to get his weight down. We also need to provide moderated exercise. He needs to lose about 7 pounds to get to target weight. We have two other options to consider:

• TPO (Triple-pelvic Osteotomy) - Basically tilt his pelvic bones so the hip bones rest in the sockets. The rub is the surgery must be done before the bones mature (before 9 months - 1yr old).
• FHO (Femoral head and neck ostectomy) - Wait for him to get Osteoarthritis, then basically have the femor ball cut off and the muscles etc. will keep the rest of the bone in the socket area. This is the more traditional treatment for smaller dogs. (Hip replacement is typically needed for larger dogs)

Hopefully getting his weight down will relieve most the problems. However it is pretty severe case. God news is that Shadow doesn't really notice his hips yet.

OK, so I've been away from MSN Radio for at least a year or two. They just didn't have genres that I liked enough... even with premium subscription.

Tonight I was browsing around and noticed MSN Radio "powered by Pandora". Hmmm... I hadn't heard about that. So I clicked over and was greeted by a friendly experience asking me to create a station. I entered "Jean Michel Jarre sounds" (without quotes) and wonder of wonders, it asked me if I wanted to listen to Jean Michel Jarre and similar sounding music. Uhhh... Yah, sure!

I'm into the third song now and I really love this experience. Background music with similar synth sounds to JMJ... well, that's a tough order given JMJ's diverse style. Third song is by Tangerine Dream which definitely falls into this eclectic bucket.

Only problem I found was the "Blog" link on the Music.msn.com page had an HTML error. Oh well, here's the link if you are interested:

http://feeds.pandora.com/?tc=s-014680-0035-1149&fc=mcdonalds-2007&search=Jean+michel+jarre+sounds#

Oh drat! part way through 4th song I get prompted to register. I noticed the Pandora UI is ad-funded (McDonalds big macs everywhere) so I'm hoping it isn't going to require payment. So I entered my registration info hoping it won't pop the dreaded "Visa or MC" text entry field at the end. What do you know? Pandora has ad-funded version as well as $36 ad-free subscription. So far I really like the format, presentation, and similar music selection... but I'm not paying for some time. I'm back to listening to weird synth music once again.

Incidentally, Dawn is reading a book right next to me. I wonder what she thinks of this music? Hey, she's still reading so I guess it isn't too annoying :-).

This blog entered with Windows Live Writer Beta2. OK, nearly bed time for me now... especially since the latest song "Downtown" by Mother Mallard's Portable masterpiece Co. is very close to a synthesizer lullaby... Ahh, now I'm hearing "Arpegiateur" by JMJ himself, now that's the stuff!!

 Pandora Internet Radio - Find New Music, Listen to Free Web Radio

This post is long overdue. We have two new family members:

• BIG Truck with Camper
• Maggie the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel

The Big Truck is a white 1991 Ford F350 Turbo Diesel Crew Cab 4x4 1-ton pickup. As an accessory (actually the reason why we bought the truck) we also got a great camper1991 Squire (made by Lance) LS9000 11.3 foot long cab-over truck bed camper that fits the truck perfectly. The camper sleeps 4 very comfortably and includes a restroom, fridge, oven, stove, sink, am/fm/CD system, dining area, air conditioning, and more. The only problem is we haven't used it yet :-D. The previous owners did not smoke and were careful about allergies so that is a necessary bonus for both truck and camper. Initial cost for both was ~$16,300 (pretty good deal, at least initially).

We got the truck and camper in late February, but fuel mechanical problems kept the truck near home until last week. $4,000 total to get fuel leak, rough running, and 100,000 mile maintenance stuff done. OUCH!

Here's a couple pictures:

As you can see it is almost twice as long as our Toyota Prius cars. The camper even came with a great propane grill including griddle and BBQ attachments. (I tested the BBQ and confirmed it can cook a great salmon fillet!). I can't wait to get out camping with our new rig.

Maggie is our newest member of the family. She is now 4 months old. Her favorite activities include chasing laser pointers, sleeping on Dawn's lap, going potty outside (when convenient and reminded), playing with neighborhood people and small dogs, sleeping by Dawn's feet, chewing pencils, and sleeping in the middle of the bed.

Maggie doesn't have nearly as much energy as Jack did. She likes to play a little fetch, but she isn't a flying dog. More of the sleepy puppy variety.

Written with Live Writer Beta!