Green Fuzzy Panda 3

Simple ways to save power.

· We are all aware of the fact that the pot or pan is not hot enough as soon as we switch the hot plate on. It takes a little while for the plate and pot to heat up. In the same way, it takes a little while for them to cool down so if we switch off the power about 5 minutes before the food is cooked, it will still continue cooking in the hot pot on the hot plate.

· Use the kettle sparingly. A kettle is rated at about 2 kilowatts. Boil only enough water for your needs. If you are making one cup of coffee, boil one cup of water. This reduces the amount of time the appliance is working. Another option is to use a thermos flask or pump pot. Boil a full kettle and then pour any unused boiling water into the pump pot. For the next two hours you can use the water for making coffee or if you need it really boiling for tea, pour it back into the kettle and it will take much less energy to heat it up the last couple of degrees.

· Use the microwave instead of the hot plate as often as possible. Most food cooks faster in a microwave.

· Other options are a pressure cooker (which cooks faster because the high pressure enables the temperature to get much higher) an electric frying pan or steamer, where different foods can cook at the same time by stacking up on top of one another.

· On an electric stove top, use pots and pans with flat bottoms to maximize surface area and use a hot plate the same size as the pot.

· If you have to use the oven, make sure the seals fit properly to reduce heat loss. Test by closing a piece of paper between the door and the oven. If the paper slips out, you could be losing a lot of heat. Replace the seal to avoid wasting energy and money.

· Cook more than one dish in the oven at a time or one pot dishes on a stove top.

· Consider cooking in bulk and freezing, using the microwave to heat the dish.

· Thaw food overnight in the fridge rather than in the microwave.

· Keep the lid on when possible to reduce heat loss

· Dishes requiring browning in an oven eg macaroni and cheese use a lot of electricity just to get the cheese topping browned. Five minutes under a TV grill will give the same result with far less energy consumption.

Macaroni Cheese browned under a TV grill

• It costs almost the same to buy a roast chicken from most supermarkets as a fresh one. You save not only the electricity that you would use to cook it, but also the human energy you would use.
• Use insulation. We are so used to the concept of warming up food quickly in a microwave that we no longer try to keep it hot. Any insulating material wrapped around a pot or dish will help keep it hotter for longer. Examples are – newspaper, corrugated cardboard, blankets, packaging materials. The Wonderbox is an example of how food can not only be kept warm but continue to cook without the use of any electricity at all.

Green Fuzzy Panda 2. How much energy does it use?

 

Using electricity efficiently in cooking.

The kilowatt (1000 watts) is a measure of power or energy used by electrical appliances and is usually printed on the apparatus. A small hot plate would have a rating of about 1,5kw while a large one would be closer to 2kw. We pay for electricity by the kilowatt.hour which is how much energy an appliance of 1kw will use in an hour. We can’t change the watts of our appliances, but we can change the amount of time we use them for. The following ratings have been supplied by City Power

Appliance		Rating (kw)
Stove	Small hot plate on high	1,5
	Small hot plate on low	0,35
	Large hot plate on high	2,0
	Large hot plate on low	0,5
	Oven (approximately 200° C)	2,0
Electric frying pan		1,5
Microwave		0,7 -0,9
Sandwich toaster		0,7
TV grill		1,8

It might appear from the table above that it is easy to save electricity by using hot plates on low rather than high. This would only be true if the food cooked in the same amount of time. For example if you use a hot plate of 2kw on high for 30 minutes or one on low at 0,5kw for 2 hours, you use the same amount of electricity – 1kwh. To be efficient you need to be able to optimise time as well as power.

Green Fuzzy Panda

In the next couple of blogs I am going to be looking at energy efficient cooking.

Introduction

We are all aware of the energy crisis and of the fact that electricity is going to become more and more expensive. Responsible people have already exchanged their incandescent light bulbs for the energy saving equivalent. They have turned down their geyser and insulated it with a geyser blanket. They switch off unused appliances and lights. Gas heaters have become more popular.

Energy does not only apply to electricity. Fossil fuels when burned provide heat energy. This is how we generate our electricity by burning large amounts of fossil fuels and then converting the heat energy produced to electrical energy. In the process of conversion, a lot of the energy is lost. For heating and cooking many people go the direct route and burn something to use the energy produced. People without access to electricity have only this option and they will burn wood, coal, paraffin, gas to cook food and heat their homes. Wherever there are open fires there is the danger of houses burning down, people being burnt and toxic fumes being given off. However, with proper care this can be a fairly efficient way of utilising energy, especially if the fuel is renewable eg wood, charcoal, biofuels.

Then there is human energy. In our modern hectic world, we try to conserve our energy – to do things quickly and efficiently. Cooking is no exception. We will be looking at ways to use energy efficiently in our cooking.

Today I killed a computer.

Today I killed a computer. It was easy really - I merely wished it dead. The deceased in question is about ten years old and lived in the Science department at our school in a store room cum prep room between two class rooms. Everybody used it and everybody complained about it. Besides its age, and possibly because of it, it was very slow. It took me approximately half an hour to log in. However, we were lucky to have it. Normally only heads of department get computers. So we put up with the problems.

You see, computers play a game with people. The rules are fairy simple. The computer tries everything it is capable of to frustrate the humans. If the humans lose their tempers, or walk around the rest of the day in a bad mood, or physically strike or kick the computer, the computer wins. If the humans display patience and good humour no matter what, then the humans win.

We were about even. Three days ago it finally dawned on us that we didn't have a number of faulty CD's and DVD's that couldn't be read by a computer. We had a computer with a broken CD drive.

The process to rectify it goes as follows: I send an e mail to our computer fundi. He replies in a week or so to say he will look at it. Then I meet him in the passage and he tells me he couldn't get into the lab because it was locked because he came after school the day before. Like we are going to leave a store of dangerous chemicals and interesting equipment unlocked in a school full of teenagers!

My colleage and I were discussing the problem. We both agreed that we needed a new computer. However they wouldn't give us one unless it was irreparably broken.
"Well, perhaps it could accidentally fall off the table," I suggested.
He pointed to the tower on the floor.
"It doesn't have anywhere more to fall. How about if some acid got spilled on it?"
I thought that it might look suspicious if acid got down the back of the computer under the table.

So I sent the e mail.

Yesterday I was testing our entry for the Technology Olympiad after school. Then I thought it would be just as well to enter our results and they were done. The computer screen was blank and wouldn't respond to anything so I assumed a power cut had switched off the computer and I switched it on again. I typed in my name and password and then made myself of cup of coffee while I waited for it to load my personal settings. After half an hour I read through the team's report and corrected all the spelling mistakes. Loading was still going on. At four o clock I decided that it was stupid to spend time after school waiting for a computer when I could just as well record the results the next day. So I went home.

This morning the computer was still loading my settings. I rebooted it and went to do some practical demonstrations for two grade nine classes. At break the computer was still loading my settings.

Not being able to send an e mail, I sent an SMS.

To be honest, the computer won this round. I was miserable the rest of the day, being unable to do anything I wanted and unable to read any e mails which might have informed me of the programme for the Science Expo on Saturday. Finally I gave in and went to discuss my frustration with our vice principal who takes an interest in the school computers.

Towards the end of the school day the computer fundi came to investigate. It seems our computer was hanging.

"This is quite an old computer," he told us. "You need a new one. This one's dead. I'll speak to the vice principal about getting you one."

So the computer might have won the battle, but we won the war. We killed the computer by wishing it dead. We have declared tomorrow a day of celebration - I mean mourning.

"Prey"

I've just been reading an excellent book by Michael Crichton called "Prey" Using technologies of computer programming, nanotechnology and molecular biolgy, scientists made tiny nano-units capable of co-operating together to form a camera for military use. Because the swarm was unstable in high winds, the scientists programmed into them the ability to evolve and to learn - also to sustain themselves with solar power and reproduce. They hoped they would randomly evolve to solve the wind problem.

Well, you can guess what happened. A typical Fankenstein scenario. Man creates monster (with good intentions and for the greater good), monster runs amok and man can no longer controll him. In this case the units started flocking together and attacking and killing animals and ultimately humans. This was how they reproduced.

The rogue swarms wanted to get back into the facility (because that's how they were programmed - to be of use to man.) However, if they got in, everything would be destroyed.

It reminded me a lot of the salvation story. God made man for Himself and our souls can only find rest in Him because we were programmed that way. However, something went wrong. Sin came into the world and was inheritable (let's call it a faulty DNA code.) This caused man to act in ways that are destructive, antisocial and even evil. These particular acts are not sin, the faulty code causing this behaviour is (Like the swarm who was now trying to kill the humans)

With the faulty code it is impossible for man to get into heaven. The rogue units have to be destroyed. In the story that is exactly what happens in the end - thermite and explosive gases ensure that the nano-units are totally destroyed.

An excellent book and very well written. I wish I could write like that.

I was inspired

I was inspired this morning by listening to the following. It does not apply to me but I would like it to. It is a great goal to strive towards.



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The Fellowship of the Unashamed


I am a part of the fellowship of the Unashamed. I have the Holy Spirit
Power. The die has been cast. I have stepped over the line. The decision has
been made. I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I won't look back, let up, slow
down, back away, or be still. My past is redeemed, my present makes sense,
and my future is secure. I am finished and done with low living, sight
walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tame visions,
mundane talking, chintzy giving, and dwarfed goals.

I no longer need preeminence, prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits, or
popularity. I don't have to be right, first, tops, recognized, praised,
regarded, or rewarded. I now live by presence, learn by faith, love by
patience, lift by prayer, and labor by power.

My pace is set, my gait is fast, my goal is Heaven, my road is narrow, my
way is rough, my companions few, my Guide is reliable, my mission is clear.
I cannot be bought, compromised, deterred, lured away, turned back, diluted,
or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the
presence of adversity, negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the
pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of
mediocrity.

I won't give up, back up, let up, or shut up until I've preached up, prayed
up, paid up, stored up, and stayed up for the cause of Christ. I am a
disciple of Jesus Christ. I must go until He returns, give until I drop,
preach until all know, and work until He comes.

And when He comes to get His own, He will have no problem recognizing me. My
colors will be clear for "I am not ashamed of the Gospel, because it is the
power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes.." (Romans 1:16)

By Dr. Bob Moorehead



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The Adventure of Living game

Life is like a board game.   I am thinking of something like Monopoly or Careers.

There is a certain amount of luck or chance.   You throw the dice and you are stuck with that random integer.   The skill, however, comes in the decisions you make.    Although you are working within the confines of a game, the decisions are real and they have consequences to the game.   What are also real are the emotions engendered.   We can all remember being brought to tears by having to sell all our hotels and houses in a bravely fought Monopoly game or the excitement of throwing a six at just the right time.   Even once the game has been packed up and put away those emotions of loss or defeat linger like sticky shadows.   In the end though, real life goes on.   The game was like a two dimensional interlude in three dimensional life.

In the same way, our life on earth is merely a 3 dimensional interlude in 4 dimensional eternity.   There is a certain amount of luck or chance involved and we cannot work out of the boundaries defined by our given personality or circumstances.   The choices we make, however, are where the skill comes in.   The trick is to play our best game with what we are given, realizing that others play a different game according to the roll of their dice.

However, unlike a board game where real life goes on regardless of how we played the game and whether we won or lost,   The game of Life is central to the unfolding of our eternity.   It is the only method given to us to shape that eternity.   The decisions we make in this life are crucial to our future life....and we only get to play once!