Technology – Page 2

Kaysville Windstorm Damage

December 1, 2011 by rickety Leave a Comment

Today hurricane force winds caused much damage in Utah. As many as 50,000 customers were without power at one point. The National Weather Service recorded gusts of 102 mph in Centerville. Dan and Jake braved the high winds and took photographs of some of the damage in Kaysville.

See: How to heat your home when the power is out.

Lost Siding and Shingles

Downed Fences

This fence is (was?) my neighbor's

Downed Trees

This is (was?) my daughter's tree

Downed Fences by Downed Trees

Kaysville windstorm downed fence by tree

This is my next door neighbor's tree. It took out his fence and bent our corner post

Kaysville windstorm downed fence by tree cleanup

By the time I got home the tree had been removed from the road

This evening my son Paul fixed the post with his come-a-long. We will fix the rest later

I have a few more photographs to show in my next post.

How to Save Money on Gas

November 14, 2011 by Robert Leave a Comment

My guest writer is Robert Lobitz of Performance Chips Direct.

There is nothing more fun than taking a leisurely drive and enjoying the exploration and excitement that comes with a new location. The trouble is, increasing costs have limited not just what people want to do, but also what they are actually able to do.

In today’s economy it is ever more important that we conserve on fuel and try to do things that will help to raise our gas mileage. There are several things that can be done that can save you money on gas. Some are simple changes in behavior, and others require more complex things such as installing a Honda performance chip.

Without any cost, one simple way to help add some miles per gallon is to use your brakes properly. Some people may not know that a vehicle consumes the majority of its gas while it is accelerating. Once you are moving it really doesn’t require much to keep going if you are using your gas right, but many drivers seem to need to constantly use their brakes, particularly in traffic. As a simple rule of thumb, try and keep your ride as smooth as possible, limiting both your acceleration and your braking to what is necessary and don’t get worked up by other drivers.

Another good idea is to not run your air conditioner unless you need to. Your air compressor adds to the load the motor in your car is pushing and as a consequence you need to burn more gas. If it’s a hot summer day, and it’s not too much of a burden, try simply rolling down your window.

Whenever possible, use your cruise control when you can. Unnecessary braking and acceleration lower the fuel efficiency of your car.

Try and limit your weight. It is a simple law of physics that the more weight you have the more energy you need to move your car. Don’t keep your vehicle full of items and remember it is not meant to serve as your storage. Your car is for your transportation and it needs to be attended to regularly. If at all possible, try and set aside a time once a week where you can clean out your car and do a little maintenance. It really only takes a few minutes to unload and check the fluids and tires. Low tires can add to resistance and also lower your miles per gallon.

There are some technological things that you can do as well to save money over the long run. There are smart phone apps that can be downloaded for free that can tell you where the nearest and cheapest gas station is located. Then there are performance chips which can enhance the ability of your vehicle. Tuning chips alter the function of things like timing to work your engine in such a way that is optimal for fuel efficiency.

Finally, and probably the most obvious, just try to drive slower. This may not be the simplest thing to do, but it has been proven that the faster a vehicle goes the more drag it experiences and as a consequence it loses efficiency. The faster a car is going the more this is true and you may not see a notable effect changing your speed from 65 mph to 60 mph, but if nothing else you will at least be a little safer.

Simple Water Heater Emergency Heat

November 10, 2011 by paul w 5 Comments

This year’s Halloween nor’easter has started me thinking about how to heat my apartment if the power goes out for an extended period of time.

If the water and gas are still on, one possibility is to make a simple hydronic heating system using the water heater. The basic idea is to hook a hose to the hot water faucet, run it around a room, then to a drain.

As a proof of concept I picked up a faucet to garden hose adapter and some extra hose from Home Depot. After setting up the system I turned off the furnace and went to sleep.

Table of Results

Time	Room °F	Flow Rate GPM	°F in	°F out	BTUs	Notes
10:00 pm	70.1	0.5	150	100	12,500	Max. flow water heater can sustain
10:23 pm	76.8	0.2	150	100	5,000	Reduced flow
10:27 pm	77.4	0.2	150	95	5,500
10:57 pm	79.3	0.2	150	95	5,500	Too hot, opened window and door
11:19 pm	77.5	0.1	150	90	3,000	Reduced flow, closed window and door
04:30 am	75.9	0.1	145	85	3,000

The system worked extremely well. I suspect it could easily heat two rooms.

Setup Details

Procure a dual thread for 3/4 inch hose or male 55/64 inch adapter, model number 37.0109.98, $5.95. Alternatively the hose could be attached directly to the washing machine faucet.

Attach adapter to hot water faucet. Connect hose to adapter

Spread hose around the room

Ensure there are no kinks

Drain waste water into tub

Questions?

Closed For The Season

July 22, 2011 by rickety 2 Comments

Rickety was primarily created to keep family and friends informed about Daniel’s missionary experiences. But Daniel’s mission ended in December 2010.

Just like many government programs that have grown beyond their original scope and should be retired (or at least scaled back), Rickety is being mothballed for a season so that resources can be utilized elsewhere.

Rickety is not going away but posts will be sparse or non-existent for several months.

Photo by teofilo

Real Population Density

July 4, 2011 by rickety 2 Comments

Boise Valley, Idaho wheat field around 1920

In the United States, in these times of high unemployment, increasing deficits, and seemingly endless wars, it would be well to count our blessings. One such blessing is the bounteous land in which we live. The United States has more arable land than any other country. Even though the United States is the third most populous nation on Earth, her Real Population Density ranks as twelfth least dense of all nations.

As the world’s population increases and ever more demands are placed on the food supply, am I thankful to be living in the United States. Let me explain some of the terms associated with real population density and show you the favorable numbers for the U.S.A.

Arable Land

Agricultural area includes land suitable for crops and livestock. The standard classification, used by Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, divides agricultural area into these components:

Arable Land — land under annual crops, such as cereals, potatoes, vegetables, and melons that are replanted after each harvest; also land left temporarily fallow.
Orchards and Vineyards — land under permanent crops such as citrus, coffee, and rubber that are not replanted after each harvest.
Meadows and Pastures — areas for natural grasses and grazing of livestock.

In 2008, the world’s total arable land amounted to 13,805,153 square kilometers, whereas 48,836,976 square kilometers was classified as agricultural land. In this post, we are focused on arable land. Of interest is this map of the world with arable land percentages showing the United States in the 15-19% range.

Real Population Density

Population density is the number of people per square kilometer. Real Population Density is the number of people per square kilometer of arable land. This enables us to see the capacity of a country to feed their own people.

Real Population Density is a much better measure than pure population density as it shows how a seemingly more densely populated country can carry a larger population because a much bigger portion of the land is suitable for agriculture.

For those of us used to thinking in acres, one square kilometer is equal to 247.1 acres.

Table of Countries by Real Population Density

Click ONCE on column headers to sort.

Rank	Country¹	Real Density²	Population	Arable Land (km²)
1	Australia	48	22,268,000	468,503
2	Kazakhstan	72	16,026,000	221,059
3	Canada	82	34,017,000	415,573
4	Niger	107	15,512,000	144,784
5	Lithuania	114	3,324,000	29,216
6	Russia	117	142,958,000	1,218,599
7	Latvia	126	2,252,000	17,926
8	Ukraine	140	45,448,000	324,791
9	Argentina	147	40,412,000	274,490
10	Guyana	172	754,000	4,390
11	Belarus	173	9,595,000	55,575
12	United States	188	310,384,000	1,650,062
13	Moldova	196	3,573,000	18,194
14	Paraguay	218	6,455,000	29,678
15	Hungary	218	9,984,000	45,782
16	Bulgaria	226	7,494,000	33,099
17	Central African Republic	228	4,401,000	19,313
18	Turkmenistan	229	5,042,000	22,013
19	Mongolia	232	2,756,000	11,887
20	Romania	236	21,486,000	90,961
21	Denmark	249	5,550,000	22,295
22	Uruguay	250	3,369,000	13,490
23	Togo	251	6,028,000	24,038
24	Zambia	253	13,089,000	51,777
25	Estonia	258	1,341,000	5,207
26	Finland	269	5,365,000	19,913
27	Sudan	270	43,552,000	161,093
28	Namibia	279	2,283,000	8,172
29	New Zealand	294	4,368,000	14,848
30	Samoa	295	183,000	620
31	Serbia	299	9,856,000	32,990
32	Croatia	302	4,403,000	14,566
33	Poland	312	38,277,000	122,547
34	Turkey	317	72,752,000	229,764
35	Chad	318	11,227,000	35,258
36	Nicaragua	325	5,788,000	17,810
37	Bolivia	329	9,930,000	30,146
38	Brazil	333	194,946,000	586,036
39	Cameroon	333	19,599,000	58,868
40	Mali	335	15,370,000	45,872
41	Spain	339	46,077,000	135,776
42	South Africa	340	50,133,000	147,609
43	Benin	340	8,850,000	26,029
44	Burkina Faso	341	16,469,000	48,353
45	France	344	62,787,000	182,568
46	Czech Republic	350	10,493,000	29,999
47	Libya	351	6,355,000	18,123
48	Montenegro	363	631,000	1,740
49	Cuba	368	11,258,000	30,631
50	Bosnia and Herzegovina	375	3,760,000	10,026
51	Macedonia	377	2,061,000	5,471
52	Morocco	377	31,951,000	84,797
53	Slovakia	383	5,462,000	14,264
54	Sweden	385	9,380,000	24,368
55	Ireland	386	4,470,000	11,587
56	Cambodia	392	14,138,000	36,081
57	Zimbabwe	395	12,571,000	31,862
58	Tunisia	396	10,481,000	26,489
59	Afghanistan	400	31,412,000	78,542
60	Greece	425	11,359,000	26,749
61	Kyrgyzstan	426	5,334,000	12,530
62	Fiji	430	861,000	2,001
63	Syrian Arab Republic	447	20,411,000	45,644
64	Belize	448	312,000	696
65	Iran	462	73,974,000	160,001
66	Mexico	466	113,423,000	243,457
67	Algeria	470	35,468,000	75,501
68	Gabon	483	1,505,000	3,118
69	Myanmar	489	47,963,000	98,135
70	Thailand	490	69,122,000	140,941
71	Azerbaijan	518	9,188,000	17,754
72	Senegal	518	12,434,000	24,019
73	Nigeria	527	158,423,000	300,736
74	Botswana	527	2,007,000	3,805
75	Equatorial Guinea	539	700,000	1,299
76	Georgia	543	4,352,000	8,022
77	Mozambique	549	23,391,000	42,576
78	Iraq	559	31,672,000	56,700
79	Angola	578	19,082,000	33,038
80	Albania	582	3,204,000	5,507
81	Norway	587	4,883,000	8,312
82	Ghana	602	24,392,000	40,507
83	Côte d’Ivoire	607	19,738,000	32,531
84	Austria	614	8,394,000	13,677
85	Uzbekistan	614	27,445,000	44,710
86	Gambia	620	1,728,000	2,788
87	Panama	637	3,517,000	5,517
88	Armenia	649	3,092,000	4,766
89	Guinea-Bissau	651	1,515,000	2,327
90	Lesotho	658	2,171,000	3,300
91	Laos	670	6,201,000	9,255
92	Portugal	672	10,676,000	15,898
93	Bhutan	672	726,000	1,081
94	Swaziland	673	1,186,000	1,763
95	Madagascar	708	20,714,000	29,251
96	Germany	711	82,302,000	115,698
97	Honduras	713	7,601,000	10,663
98	Tonga	722	104,000	144
99	Tajikistan	739	6,879,000	9,304
100	Ethiopia	740	82,950,000	112,080
101	Malawi	766	14,901,000	19,456
102	Uganda	776	33,425,000	43,077
103	Italy	780	60,551,000	77,651
104	Peru	789	29,077,000	36,864
105	Republic of the Congo	816	4,043,000	4,952
106	Luxembourg	819	507,000	619
107	Saudi Arabia	838	27,448,000	32,742
108	India	844	1,224,614,000	1,451,809
109	Chile	872	17,114,000	19,619
110	Kenya	889	40,513,000	45,597
111	North Korea	903	24,346,000	26,972
112	Suriname	904	525,000	581
113	Eritrea	906	5,254,000	5,799
114	Somalia	907	9,331,000	10,288
115	Guinea	908	9,982,000	10,990
116	Pakistan	912	173,593,000	190,319
117	Dominican Republic	912	9,927,000	10,881
118	Timor-Leste	913	1,124,000	1,231
119	Ecuador	915	14,465,000	15,808
120	Burundi	919	8,383,000	9,124
121	Rwanda	935	10,624,000	11,366
122	Comoros	945	735,000	778
123	El Salvador	953	6,193,000	6,500
124	China	968	1,341,335,000	1,385,905
125	Guatemala	1,004	14,389,000	14,334
126	Dem Rep of Congo	1,017	65,966,000	64,853
127	Sierra Leone	1,031	5,868,000	5,694
128	Cape Verde	1,078	496,000	460
129	Cyprus	1,105	1,104,000	999
130	United Kingdom	1,105	62,036,000	56,121
131	Venezuela	1,153	28,980,000	25,138
132	Slovenia	1,181	2,030,000	1,719
133	Indonesia	1,191	239,871,000	201,456
134	Tanzania	1,196	44,841,000	37,479
135	Vanuatu	1,200	240,000	200
136	Liberia	1,209	3,994,000	3,304
137	Haiti	1,290	9,993,000	7,747
138	Belgium	1,290	10,712,000	8,302
139	Mauritius	1,306	1,299,000	995
140	Viet Nam	1,341	87,848,000	65,528
141	Nepal	1,363	29,959,000	21,984
142	Saint Vincent	1,557	109,000	70
143	Yemen	1,566	24,053,000	15,364
144	Malaysia	1,583	28,401,000	17,939
145	Jamaica	1,598	2,741,000	1,715
146	Philippines	1,646	93,261,000	56,652
147	Mauritania	1,679	3,460,000	2,061
148	Barbados	1,706	273,000	160
149	Trinidad and Tobago	1,788	1,341,000	750
150	Switzerland	1,945	7,664,000	3,941
151	Sao Tome and Principe	1,988	165,000	83
152	French Guiana	1,991	231,000	116
153	Bangladesh	2,005	148,692,000	74,173
154	Jordan	2,027	6,187,000	3,053
155	Costa Rica	2,090	4,659,000	2,229
156	Netherlands Antilles	2,094	201,000	96
157	Colombia	2,217	46,295,000	20,878
158	Netherlands	2,233	16,613,000	7,441
159	Guadeloupe	2,305	461,000	200
160	Sri Lanka	2,308	20,860,000	9,038
161	Israel	2,362	7,418,000	3,141
162	Réunion	2,424	846,000	349
163	Lebanon	2,527	4,228,000	1,673
164	Micronesia	2,775	111,000	40
165	Egypt	2,791	81,121,000	29,067
166	Japan	2,901	126,536,000	43,620
167	South Korea	2,960	48,184,000	16,280
168	Taiwan	2,979	23,061,689	7,742
169	Papua New Guinea	3,091	6,858,000	2,219
170	Solomon Islands	3,146	538,000	171
171	Brunei Darussalam	3,627	399,000	110
172	Palestinian Territory	3,821	4,039,000	1,057
173	Malta	4,212	417,000	99
174	Martinique	4,229	406,000	96
175	New Caledonia	4,254	251,000	59
176	Saint Lucia	4,462	174,000	39
177	Iceland	4,571	320,000	70
178	Grenada	5,200	104,000	20
179	Aruba	5,350	107,000	20
180	Virgin Islands	5,450	109,000	20
181	Bahamas	5,914	343,000	58
182	Maldives	7,900	316,000	40
183	Guam	9,000	180,000	20
184	Qatar	9,356	1,759,000	188
185	Western Sahara	10,019	531,000	53
186	French Polynesia	10,037	271,000	27
187	Oman	10,910	2,782,000	255
188	Puerto Rico	11,465	3,749,000	327
189	United Arab Emirates	11,774	7,512,000	638
190	Kuwait	18,247	2,737,000	150
191	Bahrain	66,421	1,262,000	19
192	Djibouti	98,778	889,000	9
193	Hong Kong	133,075	7,053,000	53
194	Singapore	508,600	5,086,000	10
195	Macao³	—	544,000	0

Notes

Countries and territories of less than 100,000 in 2009 are not included.
Real Density is population per square kilometer of arable land.
Macao has no arable land, hence real population density is not calculated.

Sources

Population: United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2011): World Population Prospects: The 2010 Revision. New York, accessed July 4th, 2011.
Taiwan Population: Wikipedia, accessed July 4th, 2011. Taiwan is not recognized by the United Nations.
Arable Land: The World Factbook.
Photo Credit: Water Archives.

External Articles

This list is updated occasionally, with newer additions listed first.

How poverty has tracked global population — There’s nothing Malthusian going on here.

Precision Smokestack Targeting

June 17, 2011 by rickety Leave a Comment

Once in awhile I read an amusing quote. There was one recently in an article by The Wall Street Journal reporting on the Pentagon’s first cyber strategy. Part of the plan warns nations of the consequences of attacking the U.S. by hacking computer systems. Hackers, supported by national governments, pose as significant a threat to U.S. nuclear reactors, subways or pipelines as a hostile country’s military.

An unidentified U.S. military official said:

“If you shut down our power grid, maybe we will put a missile down one of your smokestacks.”

Previous attacks have originated from Russia and China but often both the perpetrator and impact are unclear.

Big Kaysville Snowflakes

April 8, 2011 by rickety 1 Comment

It is 4:30pm in Kaysville and I have never seen such big snowflakes. According to the forecast, several inches of snow have fallen in the Northern Mountains, and there’s been plenty of snow in the lower elevations as well — I can vouch for that.

Replacing My Sacrificial Anode

March 19, 2011 by rickety 20 Comments

Extracting the spent anode

It is time, yet again, to replace my water heater’s sacrificial anode. My purpose here is to bring to your awareness the importance of changing the anode to substantially prolong the life of your water heater. This is not a “how to” and if you are unsure of your skills you should call a professional.

Rust Protection

For decades, the sacrificial anode has been a key part of the rust protection of a tank. The anode is a rod made of magnesium or aluminum that’s formed around a steel core wire and is screwed into the top of the tank. When the tank is filled with water, an electrolytic process begins whereby the sacrificial anode is consumed to protect a small amount of the tank’s exposed steel. Anodes corrode more quickly in softened water.

When the anode is removed, if you can see six inches of the steel core wire, replace the rod. If all you have is the steel core wire, or less, then the tank may be about to fail, or it could last several more years. There are two kinds of anodes, combo and hex-head. The hex-head has its own port that you can see in my photographs, the combo is found in the hot water port.

I always replace my anodes with magnesium rather than aluminum. Aluminum produces less driving current between anode and cathode (the tank is the cathode). It produces many times its original volume in corrosion byproduct which adds to sediment and can also clog filters. Aluminum rods expand as they corrode making them hard to remove. And lastly some of that aluminum can get into the cold water and do nasty things to your liver, brain, and kidneys.

For more information, see The Basics: Anodes and Longevity. These are the people I buy my anodes from if I cannot obtain them locally.

Preparation

I read about sacrificial anodes just before my first water heater rusted through and had to be replaced. I removed the anode from the old tank and found all that was left of the rod was the steel core. By changing the sacrificial anode at least every five years, the new tank has now outlasted the old tank.

To make replacing the anode a little easier, when I bought my new tank I made sure it came with an hex-head anode. Before obtaining a replacement anode, I measured the distance from the top of the tank to the ceiling. That will be the maximum length of anode you can install. In my case I had 48 inches of clearance — just right.

Removal

Paul replaced the old anode with Megan photographing the steps.

Opening the temperature relief valve

Paul turned off the water to the house and then opened the temperature relief valve on the tank. He didn’t turn off the natural gas supply to the water heater, although in the past I have done so when I have changed the anode.

Using a wrench to remove the anode

A large adjustable wrench was used to loosen the hex-head anode. It came out easily though sometimes they really do need a hefty wrench.

Removing the anode

The old anode was removed. We had enough room between the top of the tank and the ceiling to remove the anode. However, if there was not sufficient space, the used rod will easily bend.

This is what our used anode looked like

On inspection, you can see that the anode does indeed need replacing. Four years ago this was a .84 inch thick 4 foot long solid magnesium hex-head anode.

Installation

Installing the new sacrificial anode is simple enough.

Adding tape for easy removal

The new rod came with a roll of tape that is wound around the anode to make removal easier. The tape does not seem to hinder the essential electrolytic process that consumes the rod and thus protecting your tank.

Installing the anode

Tightening the anode. Don't overdo it!

Anode fully installed. Paul, you do good work

Clean Up

Paul closed the temperature relief valve and turned the water back on.

Recording the installation date

It is very important to record the installation date. My previous kit came with a sticker to place on my tank. The first replacement was done five years after installation of the water heater, in February of 2002. The next replacement was 31 Oct 2007 and the latest was done less than five years later 5 March 2011. I also made an entry in Google Calendar which I set up to email me in four years to remind me to change the anode.

Notice that the sticker has a “Tank flushed/vacuumed” reminder. Flushing your tank will also prolong its life. I have flushed my tank once and it is overdue for another flush. However, that is a post for another day.

One final reminder. By replacing the anode you can substantially increase the life of your water heater. Spending $45 every five years will defer for some time the price of a new heater (around $500), plus the cost of installation if you pay someone to do it. Not to mention the inconvenience of suddenly being without hot water or cleaning up a leaking tank.

Out of curiosity, how many readers already knew about replacing the anode?

Videos

Chrome’s Dead, Jim!

February 25, 2011 by rickety 4 Comments

The page I was viewing in Chrome died today, as you can see from the message. This doesn’t happen very often and when it does, just the one page dies and not the whole browser. I like amusing error messages, it soothes the pain of a crash.

For the one or two people on the Internet who don’t know who Jim is or who said, “He’s Dead, Jim!” watch the video or click on the error message.