A sideways glance into the mind of filsmyth (previously Phil Smith), author of Virtual Dreamer.

Saturday, October 31, 2009

Water for Fuel

_____




Since I named it after the ship from Star Trek -- Deep Space Nine,
maybe
it should be called the Defiant II...


I got it about 4 years ago and barely got to enjoy driving it. The starter motor housing would become magnetized, immobilizing the motor itself. A couple dozen taps with a ball peen hammer were required for degaussing before it would start, almost every time.

Then one day it acted like it was starving for fuel -- and I thought I'd just found the spot on the gauge that meant the tank was seriously empty, and felt lucky to be able to coast to a pump...

NO. It had been sitting for years before I traded it for a six-pack of Guinness and had it flatbedded to a shop where the fuel system was cleaned out. Apparently they missed something. My best guess is that there's a clog in one or more of the injectors...

AAAAAAAnyway so the 1981 Toyota Cressida I call the DEFIANT has been sitting on the street in front of my house since then, slowly deteriorating while I've dreamt of converting it to electric. As an electric car, it would never have fuel or starter trouble.

NOT SO FAST.

I don't mean it wouldn't be as quick after such a conversion. I mean, recently I've been rethinking this...

More and more people around the world have been experimenting with GEET systems, and with 'HHO', with a certain amount of success. Some of them document their successes on YouTube -- meaning that these days, it's much easier to get an idea of how to take advantage of these alternative technologies.


A GEET system, simply put, adds water to the air/fuel mixture. With each combustion cycle of each cylinder, the water turns to steam -- and that expansion would be plenty, by itself, to run the engine. Of course you still need fuel, but you use much, much less (and emissions are greatly reduced).

Really, if I could just get my Cressida running again, without any starter trouble or fuel clog worries, that would make me pretty happy. Totally doable, and would have been done a long time ago if I didn't have something else to drive -- but I guess there hasn't been enough motivation...


'HHO' is simply H2O split into its basic elements. THIS IS NOT HARD TO DO, has in fact been done since the 1830s. If you make colloidal silver and have seen bubbles on your electrodes, those are bubbles of hydrogen on one and oxygen on the other...! All it takes is electricity and water, basically...

You may see fancy generators made with stainless steel cylinders arranged 'just so' -- but it doesn't have to be that complicated. I won't get into the details here, as I am not (yet) an expert, but I've seen a convincing demonstration (just search YouTube for 'HHO').

The result of the process is a gaseous mixture of hydrogen and oxygen. If you think that sounds dangerous, you're right -- potentially, it could be. However the volume of these gasses is kept low, the idea being to produce them just before they are consumed by the engine.

If you think you can't produce enough hydrogen to even keep an engine running, from an electrical system charged by that engine, you're just plain wrong. It's just, the technology has been suppressed (for obvious reasons, if you think about it)...


Now, especially if GEET and HHO are combined (meaning less 'fuel' would have to be produced), there really is no GOOD reason we can't all be powering our vehicles with water -- and the thing about it is, it's a lot less expensive than converting to electric.

Of course an electric vehicle still has far fewer moving parts, needs less maintenance, and is more reliable -- but I digress...


Ever use a dehumidifier? If so, you've seen how water can be extracted from the air. There are systems that use the same technology to provide drinking water, even some meant to be mounted in vehicles. Incorporating one of those, potentially you would never even have to add water...!



Summary:

Water contains hydrogen, which is highly flammable, and oxygen. There is no need to separate these gasses after the water is split, especially if they're to be combusted right away.

Water can be added to the air/fuel mixture in an internal combustion engine to increase its efficiency.

Water can be extracted from the air. There is a small amount of water vapor even in the air of desert climates.

The technology to do these things all in one vehicle is not complicated. Theoretically it could have been done a hundred years ago.


Having revised my plan of how to convert my old Toyota into something that doesn't use gasoline (and that moves) -- at a fraction of the cost of the previous plan, and without the range issue -- I find the epic road trip I've been wanting to take coming into clearer focus.

And, the car's nickname begins to make even more sense.




filsmyth AKA 'Phil Smith'
October 30, 2009

[reposted from Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/note.php?created&&suggest&note_id=316337835273 ]

_____

Sunday, July 05, 2009

too much and not enough

_____


I have too much going on and at the same time, not enough.


Soon I may have my own website... Maybe you think I already have one, the Nation of Earth member site -- but though I've probably been treating it as 'my' site, it's supposed to be for all sentient beings on and near Earth.


The new site is to be for me and my novel, Virtual Dreamer, and the idea is to present the novel online as it unfolds. What I want is for it to be a member site like NoE, but with a lot of its content restricted to a select few friends -- obviously I want the novel to be secure, but I think it would help my process to be able to 'publish' my writing online, and maybe even write it right there on the site.

Meanwhile I would like to use one forum section as my personal blog (yes, what Phil's Mythos, right here, serves as for the time being), while another section would be for discussion and feedback.


There may very well be a way to offer subscriptions and/or a pay-as-you-go, chapter-by-chapter purchase. Am I being presumptuous? I may be an unpublished author working on his first novel, but if the first chapter or two can be presented free-of-charge, I don't think it's unreasonable to expect that a certain percentage of readers would be willing to pay a small fee to not only experience more of the story, but to be among the first to do so.

Really, I don't have much of an understanding of what motivates people to spend, and the only motivation I myself have for even considering the sale of my work in this manner is that the possibility of even a slight income might help to get my family to allow me more computer time (we all share one device).

Just having a site on which to publish, I think, will help my process immensely. Money be damned.



Of course I could just write it all offline, with a file for each chapter in a folder, but what I've become accustomed to is composing posts ONline, out there and accessible. Even if I just copy & paste from an offline composition...



Anyway, back to the subject line: My mind writes checks that I as a physical being in this chaotic world have trouble covering. I have too many ideas and projects for me to be able to deliver on them all, and this problem is compounded every time I think of something new. Too much to do, not enough actual doing.

Yet the novel incorporates many of my daydreams, so it becomes an ultimate expression.



Is there a complete thought above?

I like beer. In the early stages, I'm loosened up and ready to share. As my writing progresses, with beer as my beverage it gets more and more difficult to remain coherent.

Regardless of whether any of this post makes sense, I've reached the point where making sense takes second banana.

Wish me luck in sleeping this off.



filsmyth
05July2009



_____

Sunday, June 28, 2009

yep, I still want one

File:'09 Honda Ridgeline.JPG


I have my reasons. The Ridgeline:
  1. meets my passenger requirements
  2. would put me at eye level with all those SUVs, minivans, and other trucks people are driving
  3. has all-wheel-drive and decent off-road capability
  4. has an open bed -- not full-size, but big enough
  5. features a locking trunk under the bed, just forward of a tailgate that swings to the side as well as folding down normally
  6. gets reasonable fuel mileage
  7. is a Honda.
In short, it is the vehicle that would make the most sense for me to be driving, AND I happen to like it.

Don't get me started about how I'd modify and accessorize one...



filsmyth
28 June 2009


_____

Saturday, May 02, 2009

beltane

_____


Today (May 1st, Beltane) we got a pair of kittens, a brother and sister, bringing our cat total back up to 4.

Our impressive black tom, Velvet Jones, is now officially out on his own. Monterey Jack, who came with the house, lived to be about 20 but couldn't hang on. He got thinner and thinner, then sort of faded away, last year.

That left us with Mr. Sushi and Princess Leia. Two cats are plenty, but we knew someone with kittens. Kittens are hard to resist. These were the last two, and we thought they should stay together...

The black male, our daughter named 'Pope Emo V' on the way home. While I insist on at least approving new cats' names (unless they're already named, like Mon and Leia), I eventually had to admit that POPE EMO the FIFTH is a damn cool name for a tiny ball of fuzz.

This left me to name the female calico, the only one in the litter with extra toes, two on each side, inner. The innermost are very small and the outer ones normal-sized, making it look very much like she has thumbs (or as if she's wearing mittens). After getting to know her a bit, I could tell how adventurous she is, so I named her Avanti (Italian for 'forward', or 'ahead').


Enough about cats.


Also, recently I bought four little 'Mr. Stripey' tomato plants (my favourite variety) and have been thinking about how to go about hanging them upside down...

I'm not about to go out and buy some expensive planting system, or for that matter whatever relatively inexpensive hanging planters may be available. I don't even want to look for them. No, I'd rather make my own...

I've got quite a bit of black plastic sheeting, and we always seem to have wire hangers that we don't use. I can do this.

Where to hang them? There isn't enough light on the porch, and the eaves of the shed don't quite reach out far enough...

That leaves the trees.


Stay tuned. I might take photos...



filsmyth
Beltane 2009



_____

Wednesday, March 04, 2009

changing my name

_____


...Wha?

Wait -- let me explain. It's not a change as such, more of a refinement...

I am Phil Smith -- but then again, so are many others. I need to distinguish myself from all the other Phil Smiths out there (including the one who played saxophone for Haircut 100).

In recent years I've never had a problem registering 'filsmyth' as a username, anywhere...

I really have no use for 'Philip' (and people spell it wrong half the time anyway), let alone my middle name, 'Daniel'. I'm really not 'Philip Daniel Smith' anymore, if I ever was. I'm Phil Smith.

Or, filsmyth. Check it out -- it sounds just the same (click for audio): fil + smyth

Maybe there's a numerologist out there who will tell me I'm making a mistake with this change (haven't done anything 'legal' about it yet), but it feels right.

By the way, please don't capitalize it or separate it into two names -- but you can still call me 'fil' for short.


Stay crunchy
.


filsmyth
04Mar09

PS The old me can now be seen in a video (smoking)...


_____

Saturday, January 24, 2009

spoons delayed

_____


The trip was delayed, indefinitely, so no -- the spoons aren't done.

These carvings can be difficult to let go, and that plus general procrastination partially explains why they take so long. I could go ahead and finish them, but seriously want to start getting decent images before they leave my hands. My friend has a camera that not only takes good macro, but does DVD-quality video...

Again, the moment of first oil is magickal. By shooting video I can share the moment and retain an excellent visual record of the carvings.

Patience...


Phil Smith
January 23, 2009

_____

Thursday, January 01, 2009

Is it 2009 already?


_____


Having a hard time wrapping my mind around the idea that it's been almost a year since I decided to write a novel.  Okay, so maybe I can't be called a novelist until it's done, and maybe only ONE person out there has an idea of how much work I've put into it -- though I have no permanent text to show...

Should I make a resolution?  FINE.  I will make just the one this year, to finish this thing.  I think that ought to be enough.  It's not like I'm a natural storyteller, or an accomplished liar, used to making shit up -- if I can finish this at all, it will be an accomplishment.

Things keep coming to me, that alter the overall story enough to keep me thinking the time is not yet right to begin the actual writing.




Virtual Dreamer is a work of near-future science fiction.  I just about have to finish and publish it within the next year for it to mean anything -- plus there's the expectation that print will cease to matter, even within the timeline of the novel itself.  If I'm to write it at all, yes, it needs to 'drop' before the end of 2009.


Within the next 2 weeks or so, I have to make sure I have half a dozen spoons ready for oil.  The plan is to use a friend's video camera to capture the moment of first oil on several carvings, on the weekend of my 42nd birthday.  Each of these carvings takes more hours than I can count, from raw hunk of wood to finished piece, some more than others...


At some point I need to pick up my bass again and work on my technique -- and find time to jam...


Nothing like the beginning of a new year to make you examine your work.  I look back at 2008 and realize I've been slacking, even more than a confirmed slacker should.


By the way?  The SLACKER button I have as my profile image was procured for me by a friend who has now passed.  I don't have the actual button, probably never will.



Like many others, I guess, often I find myself in front of a monitor and keyboard, wanting to express myself -- and sometimes there's no one specific to e-mail...  Here's hoping I get 'into the groove' enough with the novel, over the next few months, that my blog posts will become sparse...



Phil Smith
January 1, 2009


_____

Followers