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Everything posted by Crossy
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Few people know that before he was famous, the late Johnny Cash tried a chip full of salsa served backstage in Possumneck, Mississippi that changed his life. It was spicy and tangy and smoky and so good that he just couldn't get it off of his mind. Unfortunately, there was no jar, no label. Now, there have been rumors that Johnny had kind of an addictive personality. He would sometimes disappear for days on end. People attributed it to drugs or alcohol. The truth is that he would roam the country searching for the special hot sauce of his dreams. He heard rumors and whispers of the deadly condiment and followed them to countless dead ends. He stopped at every Tex Mex restaurant, truck stop, and Mexican grocery in the South without finding what he sought. One day he heard tell of an old woman, a witch down in the Mayan peninsula in Mexico whom it was said, made the best salsa in the world! He cancelled his next five gigs and headed south. He rode donkeys, Jeeps and horse drawn wagons. He traversed deserts, mountains and jungles before finally reaching the fabled village where the old bruja lived. He found and entered the old woman's hut. As luck would have it, she was one of his first big fans, having caught one of his shows at that Holiday Inn in Possumneck, Mississippi while attending a Salsa Aficionado convention where one of her jars of salsa mysteriously disappeared and somehow made its way to a bowl backstage. She consented to sharing her secret recipe with him only after he agreed to write a song for her. She shared the special Tomatillos grown in Mayan soil. She gave him the seeds from a rare Mexican pepper and showed him the special pan with a rounded bottom, similar to those used in the Far East that she would use to simmer "la lima" or "lime," the source of the salsa's tanginess. He asked her if he could just use his regular flat-bottomed pan but she insisted that he must use the round-bottomed pan. From this came the inspiration for the lyrics: "Because you're Mayan, I'll wok the lime!"
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The PEA site has changed, equipment lists are now here: - https://smartlist.pea.co.th/products
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Is it possible/ worth it to unglue fittings attached to blue piping?
Crossy replied to BeastOfBodmin's topic in DIY Forum
A heat gun or gas torch on the inside of the pipe will soften things enough to work the pipe out. I wouldn't trust the re-used fittings on much pressure but when needs must ... One of many YouTube videos: - -
I believe it is.
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82f3dc15-be6a-41a9-8c0b-291ff133b5a2.mp4
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How about a solar car port on a budget?
Crossy replied to Crossy's topic in Alternative/Renewable Energy Forum
At school, nah. Bloody log tables! (included sin, cos, tan etc. etc.) At college etc. we actually had calculators (although we were supposed to also have slide-rules, nobody ever used them). -
How about a solar car port on a budget?
Crossy replied to Crossy's topic in Alternative/Renewable Energy Forum
Nearly, SOHCAHTOA, which everyone remembers, is a special instance that applies when one of the angles is 90o (right-angle triangle), the sine and cosine rules allow you to calculate missing sides and angles for any triangle. Shamelessly copied from https://thirdspacelearning.com/gcse-maths/geometry-and-measure/sine-rule/ In this case I knew two sides (the height of the girder thingy [measured at 0.45m] and the length of the brace [chosen as 3m to be half a 6m length of steel]) I also measured the angle between the girder and the roof joist at 95o using my trusty combination-set. I needed the other two angles to cut the brace to fit, since I was on a roll I worked out the missing side too. 1. Law of Cosines We can use the Law of Cosines to find the missing side (let's call it 'a'): a² = b² + c² - 2bc * cos(A) Where: a = missing side b = 3m c = 0.45m A = 95 degrees Plugging in the values: a² = 3² + 0.45² - 2 * 3 * 0.45 * cos(95°) a ≈ 3.07 metres 2. Law of Sines Now we can use the Law of Sines to find the missing angles: sin(A) / a = sin(B) / b = sin(C) / c Let's find angle B first: sin(95°) / 3.07 = sin(B) / 3 sin(B) ≈ 0.97 B ≈ 76.6 degrees Finally, we can find angle C since the angles in a triangle add up to 180 degrees: C = 180° - 95° - 76.6° C ≈ 8.4 degrees Therefore: The missing side is approximately 3.07 metres long. The missing angles are approximately 76.6 degrees and 8.4 degrees. Of course, I didn't actually remember all this bollocks, those cogs have long since rusted up. Mr Google provided the WD-40 EDIT In a bizarre coincidence, when I phoned my parents yesterday Mum told me they had "found" my school reports and that now was the time to embarrass me by reading them. Scary! They also had my acceptance letter to the MOD(N) Technician Apprentice Training Scheme which is what got me to turn a hobby into a profession (I actually had visions of being a vet). -
How about a solar car port on a budget?
Crossy replied to Crossy's topic in Alternative/Renewable Energy Forum
Madam has decreed that it will get cheap tiles to match the existing. They are small money so I will not risk my life by arguing They are so cheap that if a large mango falls onto the chicken house (which has the same tiles) it will sometimes punch through!! -
How about a solar car port on a budget?
Crossy replied to Crossy's topic in Alternative/Renewable Energy Forum
Moving right along. I was more than mildly surprised that my Grammar School trig. actually worked to calculate the cutting angles (nothing is at 90o, it's a scalene triangle so you can't just use Pythagoras, you need to remember the "rule of sines" etc.) resulting in minimal gaps when welding. For those worried about it blowing away in a breeze, each of the 6 "legs" has a 50x50x50cm cube of concrete (about 300kg each) buried in the ground. The area is also pretty well shaded from horizontal winds by the house and the garden wall. Now, what was that about my (ok, my step-son's) welding?? ** ** The bolts used to hold it all in alignment before welding are not being removed, I'm not that daft! -
How do you deal with Inverter heat?
Crossy replied to clokwise's topic in Alternative/Renewable Energy Forum
I've tried that in the past with my original micro-inverters. The net result was that the MPPTs wouldn't start at all 😞 I never investigated why, just used a mains power supply, current fans run off a 12V regulator from the battery packs. -
How do you deal with Inverter heat?
Crossy replied to clokwise's topic in Alternative/Renewable Energy Forum
Are you monitoring the temperature of the room or the inverter heatsink with your PCB? We're using a similar device but with the sensor attached to the heatsink, fans start when the heatsink reaches 43C. -
A few friends of mine have made the move to Africa...
Crossy replied to Robert_Smith's topic in ASEAN NOW Community Pub
And don't forget another great "Africa" song: - -
The authorities have initially determined that the source was the LG energy storage unit 😞 These particular LG units have been the subject of several recalls and warnings (see the second update linked) and use Lithium-ion/NMC rather than Lithium Iron phosphate (LifePO4) cells which are much less likely to go fzzt. A bit more detail here https://www.ess-news.com/2025/02/21/solar-and-battery-equipped-home-destroyed-by-explosion-in-germany/
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In the German state of Schleswig-Holstein, an explosion tore away the outer wall of a show home equipped with solar panels and a residential battery. The badly-damaged building, which was vacant at the time of the incident, will likely be demolished. https://www.pv-magazine.com/2025/02/21/solar-and-battery-equipped-home-destroyed-by-explosion-in-germany/ Updates: - https://www.photon.info/en/news/fire-department-suspects-home-storage-unit-as-cause-of-serious-explosion-in-schoenberg/ https://www.photon.info/en/news/explosion-in-schoenberg-lg-confirms-storage-type-resu/
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A young Arab boy asks his father “What is that strange hat you are wearing?” The father said: "Why, my son, it is a 'chechia.' In the desert it protects our heads from the intense heat of the sun.” "And what is the long flowing robe you are wearing?” asked the boy. “Oh, my son!” exclaimed the father “It is very simple. This is a 'djbellah.' As I have told you, in the desert it is not only very hot, but the sand is always blowing. My djbellah protects the entire body." The son then asked: "But Father, what about those ugly shoes you have on your feet?” "These are 'babouches' my son,” the father replied. You must understand that although the desert sands are very beautiful, they are also extremely hot. These babouches keep us from burning our feet." "So tell me then," added the boy. "Yes, my son…” "Why are we living in Melbourne and still wearing all this shit?”
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View this quiz 21st Feb 2025 - Weekly Featured Quiz - 1981 / Ronald Reagan Continuing our theme of having two (somewhat) related subjects - This week it's 1981 and Ronald Reagan. Submitter Crossy Type One Right Answer Time 5 minutes Total Questions 10 Category Weekly Featured Quiz Submitted 02/18/2025
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How do you deal with Inverter heat?
Crossy replied to clokwise's topic in Alternative/Renewable Energy Forum
The portables need looking after, water top-up etc. etc. Small mini-split inverter A/C units (say 9,000BTU) are readily available and sip the energy when running relatively light. You don't need server-room cool, just keep things in the mid 20sC. -
How do you deal with Inverter heat?
Crossy replied to clokwise's topic in Alternative/Renewable Energy Forum
Our 5kW Deye hybrids (3 of the beasts) are outdoors, under the shade of the car port. Deye inverters are specced -40C to +60C ambient, but derate when >45C. Obviously, the cooler they run the better. I have added some fans to help with the fanless cooling. And a simple thermostat to control them. The sensor is bolted to the inverter heatsink. -
Driver with pick up transport damaged PCX to repair shop
Crossy replied to SAFETY FIRST's topic in Pattaya
If none of your neighbours can help then the standard fall-back is the local bike taxi chaps. They know anyone and everyone! I swear that if I asked the bike chaps if they could get me an elephant, one would arrive within the hour! Now there's an idea for our family Songkran party!