That was my plan last night. But it was cloudy. Still, it was pleasant, west of Vancouver Airport by the sea. Planes came and went. A heron, like a still life, waited over something in the marsh at Iona. The colour dimmed from the world.
I've got a hand-crank pocket radio: crank the handle, charge the internal battery, great for living off the grid. It has a single LED flashlight, too. I used it to find my way from the marsh back to where I'd parked. No, the flashlight wasn't really necessary. I can see fine in the dark when there's a big bright airport one mile south. The handcrank-powered flashlight was to prove a point.
2 comments:
during the Hour one of my friends pulled out her Blackberry to check Facebook and change her status, letting people know that anyone who read the status from their computer was failing at Earth Hour. i asked her how she charged the battery.
Since getting my handcrank pocket radio, I’ve noticed other, niftier models. Other versions even allow for cell phone charging. That’s just plain nifty: being able to power up stuff. Trickle charge a car battery, say.
After…The Fall, should be an abundance of cars, slumbering along the roadsides, wherever they ran out of gas. Let’s play nice: trade the owner a dented tin of pork n’ beans for his dusty battery. Now handcrank trickle charge the battery, wire-up an inverter, plug in the HD plasma. Hmmm. Yeah, same old same old…180 channels…nuthin’ worth seeing, eh? :D
Your friend could’ve charged her phone with a trickle-charge solar panel. Okay, not Earth Hour eve. In the afternoon before, say. It is compact. She might’ve got strange looks, tho. Solar panel duct-taped on her back.
Stranger looks, if she’s a hat person.
Y’know…easier to align the solar panel when it’s mounted on a gimbal, er, neck.
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