for anyone traveling up I 93 to the lakes region the 104 diner on rt 104 in meredith is worth the stop for lunch or breakfast. it's about 2 miles off 93, and is the former bobby's girl. part of the common man family, the menu is familiar, and the decor, while maintaining a diner "feel," has the same comfortable manner as all the C-Man restaurants. prices are moderate, lunch specials every day and the best burgers cooked to order. iced tea comes in a very big glass, the chips are the rustic, crunchy kind and all the ice cream comes topped with a dollop of whipped cream. for more reviews on the 104 diner go to yelp.com and "search".

since the windmill went up there is nothing new to say with regard to it except that it could be classified as the most expensive "lawn ornament" in bradford. this year has not been especially windy so it sits idle frequently. during 2 exceptionally windy days last week it recorded 30kwh which is great. our electric bill last month showed a decrease averaging 3 kwh a day over the billiung period. this month should be even better.
re: the pope ....has taken none of my suggestions and has said nothing really ridiculos (that i have read about), michael jackson is still dead...although people are still making money off of his image/name, etc., the weather here is warm for nov./dec.....so little to write (rant) about.
i'm thinking of turning my attention to my Yelp site: http://www.yelp.com/?user_details?userid=_QAcYLklSLZJbCtyT5T7kq ( then click on "my profile" to find me) and review restaurants, brew pubs, etc. and...maybe i'll throw in a couple on this blog also.

The "Bird" in Repose

since i've received a couple of requests to show the finished product in its entirety here 'tis.

The Bradford Windmill Team

Will and Jim from Atlantic Air in Lebanon, Erich from Lake Crane in Webster, and Bradford neighbor and electrician Mike. All did a great job and showed lots of know-how. highly recommended group!

Up and Spinning!

bradford's first windmill was up and spinning in a stiff westward breeze at about 3 o'clck on july 22nd. hooking up the turbine and placing the pole went smoothly with on a couple of minor adjustments to the bolts. town bldg. inspector Trudy Willette was quick to arrive and give us final approval and a cert/occup.


looking at the pole before it went up gives some idea of its 45' length.




Mike wiring up the turbine and Will getting the bolts ready.

Erich Lake, Webster NH crane operator skillfully (and carefully) lifts the pole and turbine to "swing" it into position to be affixed to the base.

More Pope Benedict (Bashing)

wow, with all the peophile priests to deal with, the vatican finances in a mess and all the souls that need to be saved you'd think the pope would be pretty busy. but, nope he gets time to publish a 144 page encyclical calling for a new world financial order, more "ethics" (that's a good one re: the priesthood) and demanding that industrialized nations decrease their energy consumption. and, he urgered wealthier countries to increase development aid to poorer countries (like we don't give away jillions now).

here's the good part though...el benny says: "There is an urgent need (for) a true world authority" that can manage the global authority, guarantee the environment is protected, ensure world peace and bring about security for the poor (from AP). wellll...guess who that might be?! (and..... doesn't that sound a little like another german from the 1930's?)

of course, he provides no details how that might all be structured, maybe he figures he'll get answers through prayer (or a burning bush).

this guy has no clue. from the zapping of joan of arc through the inquisition and right up to kiddie-diddling priests the church has managed to fuck up just about everything it administers and the pope now has all the answers how to fix up a screwed-up world.

how's this....firstly, have all the cardinals sell off those gold rings they wear and give the money to the poor, ditto on the popemobile, and all the world tour costs. then, lets sell off all the land the church owns, and re: energy...how much does it cost to cool and heat all the cathedrals/churches/church offices, etc.? could be a big energy reduction there.

lastly, benedict should take a page from michelle obama's book and dig up a little garden plot on the vatican grounds and grow some veggies. would be a good example and maybe he could set up a little stand to sell his produce to help stem the financial losses of the vatican. yup, the vatican's financial statement (issued just a couple of weeks ago) show a deficit for the 2nd year..$1.2 million loss. and this is the guy calling for a new world financial order?

Windmill Electrification

(if there is such a word as "elec..tion"). anyway, mike and i ran wires from the house to the pad using mike's "shop vac" method. that is to suck a piece of string from the condiut at the pad to the kill switch on the house. we used a small piece of plastic tubing to be "enticed" by the suction and unfortunately it kept getting stuck at the bend in the coduit just below the kill switch. however, yours truly figured out how to "jump" it through, and saved us from having to "fish" it out. running the 4 wires through was easy and they were connected at the house and "bundled" at the pad (waiting to be spliced into the tower)

since the tower will be the tallest structure around we drove four 8' copper rods around the pad base and ran no. 8 stranded copper wire to them. once we see how the tower is configured (access door lug, etc.) we will decide how to attach ground.

so.....we're all set for tower delivery on monday, and unless the weather is really bad on tues. the unit goes up and gets turned on.

paperwork: PUC has a 5 page application for rebate ($3 per watt, up to $6K) that requires notary stamp and bldg. inspec. certification. PSNH net-metering has 1 page app., requires bldg. inspec. certification.