Dr. Bruce Smith

More Ways to Produce and Save Heat

So to review just a bit from last week, these are all relatively small ways to produce or save just a little bit of heat. No single way will transform your utility bill, but we'll hope there will be some positive gains from thinking about heat a little differently. Growing up in the country and having a set of farm grandparents, it was easy to understand their daily concern about and awareness of the weather. It was nearly always the first topic of conversation between them and anyone they spoke to. I became interested in weather events in the late 1950s and early 1960s, and there were plenty of them, from the ice storm in '57 to the blizzard in '61 to the Palm Sunday tornadoes of April 11, 1965. Here is the famous photo of the twin tornadoes near Goshen, Indiana that day. We had some pretty extreme weather back in the days before global warming. 

Ways to produce and save heat

None of the methods in this column will solve all heating and cooling problems by themselves, but applying each when it's appropriate in season will contribute to our overall well being. All of these tips will apply when there's a need or a desire to turn off or minimize the use of furnaces and air conditioning units. One of the key concepts bearing on many of the techniques listed here is the idea of the thermal cell. Warm air rises and cool air sinks. Take a bottle of tea or water out of the fridge on a warm day and let it sit on the counter for an hour. Open it and sip out of the top, and keep drinking. The first sips are warmer than the ones after it because the warmest liquid rises to the top. The coldest part sinks to the bottom. Drink a hot cup of tea or coffee, and the warmest is always on the top. When the top is cool enough to sip, what is below it is even cooler.

There Must Be A Relief Valve

Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state, an intolerable one.~Thomas Paine

Many times in history there have been people who have thought they could rule without consideration of the impact of their actions. Individuals and ruling factions in many countries have frequently behaved this way, sometimes over long periods of time. Ironically, they are often correct. When they act without consequence of their deeds, they may acquire the notion that they are above the law, or worse, beyond the reach of the correcting institutions in society. The longer this continues, the greater grows the arrogance of the perpetrators and the misery of their victims.

Freeman Farm is Hot Off the Presses

Canada Free Press has graciously offered this space to promote my new book. Thank you CFP! My novel titled Freeman Farm has just been published. It's a homestead novel that follows the cycle of the seasons over a year's time in the north woods of Minnesota. The major characters show readers what life might be like in a homestead setting of one's own choosing. There are reasons to believe this kind of story is desperately needed these days. With all the concern about pandemics, crime, urban decay, and political rancor, people need to know there are choices. For everyone who ever wished for a better grounded lifestyle or remembers the simpler times of our ancestors, Freeman Farm is an up-to-date look at how one family and friends pulled it off. It's fiction, but I put into it much of what I learned over the past 40+ years of homesteading five times in two states.

Give Us This Day Our Daily Bran

They say to keep aging at bay, we should keep moving. I always just thought that meant to be active, chase the dog, play with the kids, work in the garden, mow your own grass, and wash the windows. Turns out there are other things that ought to keep moving, if you get my drift. Even as a kid, I made my favorite food choices based on taste. I don’t care what it looks like, and I don’t care about the texture. Years ago someone told me they didn’t like pears because of the texture. What does that even mean? Or someone will say ‘don’t give me that apple, it’s all rough and brown on the outside’. Duh! It’s a russet! Have you ever tried one? Peel the darn thing! There are people who won’t eat okra because when you cook it, it’s “slimy.” Really? You ought to see what just about every thing looks like when it reaches your stomach! It’s why you have spit. Okra is just helping you out. Ever eat a peach? They’re so slimy you can hardly hold one in your hand long enough to get it to take a bite. Don’t believe me? Try eating a handful of saltines and then whistle. It’s the same scientific principle.

Musical Perfection: Camille Saint-Saens, The Swan

There are many versions of the classic Carnival of the Animals, first performed in 1886. The entire composition is delightful. The Swan is the thirteenth of fourteen movements Saint-Saens wrote for it. It may affect others differently, but has always had a calming effect on me. I think of reliving important moments and reflection on life. This particular version is highly skilled and nearly flawless, with very smooth transitions and perfect phrasing. It should be played with good headphones or with high-quality speakers to give the feeling of being surrounded by the music as in the good seats in a concert hall. Darkness is a good accompaniment, but at least close your eyes or darken the screen so the images do not distract. Think of it without a title. If it were known as Etude #11, what does it suggest to you? In your mind, picture a swan on a lake toward dusk if you like, or just let your brain translate the sound directly into emotion. Outside suggestions are not required.

What An Extraordinary View We Have

We don't stop to think about it often, but we're in a remarkable spot in the universe and in time. Our home is a planet set far apart from other possible, but yet unseen, domiciles of other creatures. We can see pretty far these days, but there is no sign yet of another inhabited planet even half so well suited to life like ours. For practical purposes, we are alone.  We have many indications that our home planet has been here for quite a long time, subject to the definition of long, and time, held by different people. There is no indication that that time might expire soon, considering that it has not expired for quite a long time before us. Uniformitarianism is a comfort and a friend, reassuring us to look beyond our own limitations.

Winter Is Coming

There was frost along the Yellowstone River last week.  Right now, it's late summer in the Northern Hemisphere. September is the month of great abundance. There are roadside stands and abundant gardens and neighbors with too much zucchini and too many tomatoes and green beans.  Recall the story of the grasshopper and the ants. The grasshopper sings and fiddles and has plenty to eat all Summer. The ants have plenty to eat, too, but the industrious ants keep busy filling their storehouses with food. When Winter comes, the ants have ample supplies to hold them through the cold weather. The grasshopper, who has failed to make any preparations, shivers in the cold and must starve. 

You’ll have to excuse me. I haven’t been this old before

So here we are. Some things affect me differently now. When I was a kid it used to really annoy me to have to sleep. Admit it. It’s a total waste of time. I could have been collecting rocks or leaves or building dams in the swamp or chopping small trees with my camp axe. I could have been reading more of The Count of Monte Cristo, or Jack O’Brien’s stories of mountie Jim Thorne and Silver Chief, or Jim Kjelgaard’s dog books, or Shirer’s The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich. I used to lie awake holding my eyes open in defiance of parental orders for lights out until I fell asleep anyway. In those days flashlights were horrible as well as expensive. I just stayed mad in the dark as long as I could. Winter nights with a little snow offered only slight relief. I had a switch in my room for the gable light. If it were snowing I could watch the snow in the light and eke a little satisfaction from that. At least there was something productive to do, and maybe they’ll cancel school the next day! Right. Like that was going to happen. Young boys can glean hope from the slimmest inspiration. It kept me going.

Musical Perfection: Puffin' Billy

Seeing as how I'm not quite sure how to do this, I hope you will be patient with me, dear reader. I've planned several of these for some time, but when I ran across this one recently, I really wanted to try it as the first one. The miracle of the internet allows us to have darn near everything ever recorded at our fingertips. Not too long ago, I would have had to own this record to hear it. No more. We can all enjoy it now. So I hope to do an occasional column under the theme Musical Perfection. In the columns I'll take a piece of music, post a link so the reader can listen, give some thoughts about it, and ask the readers to respond with their thoughts. 

In Scary Times, Practice and Teach the Fundamentals

Oh, the times are scary, all right. We have a political system more polarized than it has been since the 1850s. We see a bizarre cultural landscape in which social norms in place for eons have been gleefully wrecked. Ideas that have traditionally bound us together have been spurned by a percentage of the population as somehow racist and ‘exclusionary,’ whatever that means. Historic inflation has already reduced our standard of living, and there’s more on the way.

The finest things on a hot summer day

So let’s start with a disclaimer. I’m a cold weather guy. I never really remain comfortable after the temperature rises above 82 or so. I’ve been way hotter than I like many times, but only on a few occasions have I ever been cold enough to be uncomfortable. My internal furnace works just fine. In the warm weather it works too well. The second disclaimer is that these experiences and preferences are my own. I like them, so I’m writing about them. At the end of this column I will invite you to share your favorite moments of relief from the summer heat. Please respond with your own favorites.

Take More Time To Watch The Gardeners

Ah, Summer in the Heartland! We're east of the 100^th Meridian, so we draw moisture up out of the Gulf to mix with drier air from Canada, and that brings thunderstorms. We're having sweltering humid days, and we're having the warm nights that help the corn grow tall. In the mornings the dew soaks everything. That dew wets the corn, allowing water to trickle down the stem to soak the ground around the roots, even on dry days. Interesting!

Cars Today, Bicycles Tomorrow

Recently I had a good conversation with a very knowledgeable associate at a Toyota dealership near me. Any time I run across someone who knows stuff about things I know nothing about, I try to listen closely and take notes.  I went to the dealership because sooner or later, and probably sooner, I think I might need to have a new vehicle. I learned that getting a new one will likely be a serious challenge over the next few years.  The lot out front for vehicles for sale was practically deserted. The inventory they had was parked out near the road so those driving past could see that there was something there. Several rows between that line and the showroom building were completely empty.

The Race Between Culture and Biology

Lots of things took me many years to finally understand. The list is very long, and there are many questions that remain unanswered. From the time one particular dilemma struck me, about 1966, until an answer dawned on me was probably 30 or more years later. My head is still spinning from it all. It was the teen years, and I could not understand why young people had all these crazy feelings and hormones and urges, but we weren’t supposed to indulge any of them.

Historical Perspectives and Predictions: Johnson’s Presidency of November, 1963 will replay in 2023

When Lyndon Johnson became president on Air Force One November 22, 1963, he became the recipient of a benefit bestowed by the Twenty-Second Amendment to the Constitution. Having become president past the halfway point of the person who was elected president, he could run for, and, if elected, serve an additional two full terms as president. With this historical fact in mind, here is the background for my prediction. The Democrats think they can’t lose another one, having stolen the election of 2020. Only the most blind of the Obama and Hillary sycophants still refuse to admit they stole it, and they only refuse to admit it. They know it was stolen, too, because they were likely in on the steal.

The Best Uses Of a Family Reunion

I recently survived a family reunion which brought people from around the world to a small town in Ohio. We had people from Japan (a military family), from Australia (long-time and incredibly loyal family friend), from both East and West Coasts, from the Heartland, and from places we don’t like to talk about. Just kidding…sort of. They’re remarkable occasions, but they can be stressful, exhausting, and even terrifying. They’re not for weaklings, I can assure you. Consider the following angles to help make your next gathering memorable.

Could It Be We were Meant To Travel By This Road?

Complaining is a good thing, and I’m really good at it. Years of experience. Complaining is good for the soul, and good for clearing one’s head. It’s good to do it in private, with someone you trust deeply. It’s a kind of therapy. Talking about it really helps, especially if someone will listen and offer perspective. Complaining is about seeking explanations and making sense of things.

Essential Science: Uniformitarianism

I nearly became a geology major, but decided my abominable math skills would prevent any possible success. So to fulfill science and math requirements as an undergrad, I took geology, but not the notorious "Rocks for Jocks" classes. I took the intro sequence for geology majors. I wanted the real stuff.  It was a wonderful time to study geology in the middle 1970s. As in all my other classes, a full professor taught the classes and brought us many learned lectures three days of every week for an entire year. In that class I was able to expand my knowledge of glacial geology. The essay question on my last geology final was about glacial succession in New York state and out to Long Island. I predicted the question, prepared for it, and nailed it. Aced the class. Awesome!

It’s Time To Watch The Gardeners

Here along the 40^th parallel in North America the gardeners have gone to work. There have been quite a number out there for a few weeks already, of course. Those with real greenhouses have taken an impressive lead. Neighbors with a greenhouse brought me zinnias three weeks ago that were already blooming. First week of June and they had blooming zinnias! I think I need a new word. How about impressbarrassment? Or how about I just get to work on that greenhouse idea I had for next year? At any rate, after they left, I set the zinnias out next to my row of zinnias that are one inch tall. They like being out of the little grow cells and in the dirt.