Morning thoughts: The truck seems to have anti-freeze issues when towing the camper…not overheating issues just heater issues. It’s obvious when it needs to be checked because the heater blows cooler air and this morning it was cycling every few minutes from warm to cool. Definitely not the day to have cooler air blowing on my feet…outside temperature was 11o when we left the hotel at 8:15 a.m. and had dropped to 7o in two hours. There’s no snow so that’s a plus but sometimes that snowless cold can be especially brutal. Adding anti-freeze usually solves the problem but we’re on a section of road with few exit options so we’ll have to deal with the hot and cool until we get to an exit with a gas station. **Note: My weather app indicates that it’s a few degrees warmer back in Charlevoix. However, it looks like Charlevoix will stay in the teens while the local forecast is predicting temps to get into the mid-20s today. Seeing that it’s already noon and the temperature has only risen to ten degrees I think the local forecast may be wishful thinking.
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Last night we’d been settled in the room for over an hour when the quiet
was broken by Rapunzel saying, “Go west on (some road), then turn left.” What the hell?! Nothing prompted this random bossiness---which
was actually kind of creepy. Was she
just talking in her sleep or is there something afoot in the world of AI?
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Today
I plugged in our destination, looked at the route options and selected one
without toll roads. Then because I was
wary of her changing routes on me again, I checked to see if it had
changed. Yes, it had. Did this little dance with her three more
times, getting angrier each time and finally ended up calling her a nasty name
before Kim suggested I set her up to avoid tolls. Well, I wasn’t sure where the app had hidden
that feature but I had the time to investigate so I started pushing buttons to
see where they would lead me. Found the
settings, pushed the appropriate switch, set the route again and life was
calmer.
Later
in the day thoughts: Well, the no toll road thing was short lived…Kim got
confused on a roundabout leading to the Kansas Turnpike and before you know it
we were committed but still confused so we ended up not getting a toll ticket. And I thought Rapunzel sounded a little too
gleeful when she said, “In a quarter mile merge onto US 35” and “Stay on US 35
for 15 miles”.
It
became evident that Rapunzel was trying to keep us off the toll roads when she directed
us get off the Turnpike at the earliest opportunity---at the exit for the
“Scenic Area--Bazaar Cattle Pens”. Not
knowing what we were getting into we followed her directions; it was a gravel
exit leading to a cattle loading area with several roads branching off that had
signs stating “Authorized Vehicles Only”.
She was insistent that we turn left but there was nothing to the left to
turn onto. Although Kim was willing to
work with her, I really couldn’t see this ending well so we got back on the
toll road to see what the next exit looked like.
 |
| Kim paying the toll |
A
very polite lady answered our call for help and several minutes later we put
the required amount of money in the slot, the barricade lifted and we were on
our way to Newton. It was an unplanned thirty
eight mile drive on a road less travelled through rolling Kansas farmland but
at least the road was paved.
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As long as we were going through Newton, KS, we made a Roadside America
stop…a Beatles mural on the side of a building. It was easy find and we were
back on US 50 in less than 15 minutes.
There were several other murals on buildings in Newton that didn’t get a
mention in Roadside America. Wonder why
that is.
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How Wind Farms are Currently Designed
Many considerations go
into the design of a wind farm. The most ideal turbine arrangement will differ
depending on location. The specific topology of the landscape, whether hilly or
flat, and the yearlong weather patterns at that site both dictate the specific
designs. Political and social considerations may also factor in the choice of
sites.
Common test cases to
study wind-farm behavior are wind farms in which turbines are either installed
in rows, which will be aligned against the prevailing winds, or in staggered,
checkerboard-style blocks where each row of turbines is spaced to peek out
between the gaps in the previous row.
Specifically, they found that better power output may be obtained
through an "intermediate" staggering, where each row is imperfectly
offset -- like a checkerboard that has slipped slightly out of whack.
Not sure what I was seeing: rows,
staggered or intermediate staggering. I
just know it was miles of turbines.
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Heading west when the sun is setting is
killer on Kim’s eyes. Add to that a
dirty windshield (both inside and out) and it made for an intense hour or
so. Kim had informally set a mileage
goal and now that the sun is just a reflection on the horizon, it might be
attainable with minimal eye strain.
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Overall, I never saw the temperature get
above 23o but the sun was out all afternoon and that made all the
difference. The cab got so warm the
heater had to be turned off. It was a 12
hour travel day and we put over 600 miles behind us. We should much easier drives tomorrow and Friday because of it.
We’re staying at a Best Western in Dalhart,
TX---home of one of the largest cattle yards I’ve seen. In my opinion its nearest competition would
be The Red River Feed Lot near Maricopa, AZ.
Both yards are massive…feeding the cattle and tending to the manure
would be full time jobs for several people.
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