An amazingly effective, yet simple, home improvement project

  As part of our recent home upgrades, we decided to invest in an insulated garage door, properly fitted and snugged up to the walls, with side and top sealing strips mounted externally to minimize air exchange between outside and inside.  We considered insulating our existing double garage door, a metal economy unit, but it… Continue reading An amazingly effective, yet simple, home improvement project

True dat

  Yes, a good hurricane (if that isn’t a misnomer) highlights the folly of electric-only vehicles as just about nothing else can. I doubt there’ll be enough charging stations along evacuation routes to do much good.  Also, good luck finding a way to recharge your vehicle after the storm has passed, when the power’s out… Continue reading True dat

Bad news for America’s farmers

  Australians are unhappy – to put it mildly – to learn that a third consecutive year of La Niña is likely, stretching into 2023. Much of Australia will face unusually heavy rains in coming months, the country’s weather forecaster said on Tuesday, after confirming that a La Niña weather event is under way for… Continue reading Bad news for America’s farmers

If you use cooking oils, it’s time to stock up

  The drought that’s plaguing many US farmers and states is also hitting Europe’s agricultural sector very hard.  Among other crops, olives and sunflowers are being hammered.  The BBC reports: The fertile plains full of olive trees that stretch across southern Spain have made this country the world’s biggest producer of olive oil, accounting for… Continue reading If you use cooking oils, it’s time to stock up

Electric vehicles and hurricanes – a match made in hell

  Earlier this week I posed an article advising those who’d recently moved to hurricane-prone areas to take precautions against such storms.  One of the most common is to evacuate before the hurricane hits.  However, for owners of plug-in electric vehicles, that may not be as easy as it sounds. Were a hurricane barreling toward… Continue reading Electric vehicles and hurricanes – a match made in hell

Preparing for hurricane season

  It’s August.  Those living along the Gulf and Atlantic coasts know what that means . . . we’re two months into hurricane season, which runs from June 1st to November 30th each year.  The first couple of months are usually quieter than later months.  The four nasty hurricanes I’ve been through all hit during… Continue reading Preparing for hurricane season

Forecasting the weather – and arthritis pain

  As regular readers will know, I’m permanently partially disabled due to an on-the-job injury almost two decades ago, and my wife has had some fairly serious injuries in the past.  I’m permanently in some degree of pain, and she gets hit by it if she over-exerts herself, or if the weather (heat, humidity, pressure,… Continue reading Forecasting the weather – and arthritis pain

A superb illustration of wake turbulence from the world’s biggest aircraft

  We’ve spoken in the past about wake turbulence:  “a disturbance in the atmosphere that forms behind an aircraft as it passes through the air. It includes various components, the most important of which are wingtip vortices and jetwash.”  Some sources refer to it as wake vortex. The sole example of the world’s biggest operational… Continue reading A superb illustration of wake turbulence from the world’s biggest aircraft