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(1912-1949) 327 porcelain teapots comment!

But you know there are USB-powered small heaters for coffee cups and alike? I read somewhere that with USB3, more power will be allowed to flow in the cable and then it will be possible to design even hotter stuff (like a water boiler?), drawing power from the computer instead of a wall jack. It sounds a bit scary.

All this teapot talk makes me want to put on a kettle.

By the way, my former boss from China once told me that in his young days (he just turned 30), he was hiking on the countryside and went to visit some famous porceline museum. The official museum was dull and only had some replicas. Then he walked away from the village, and saw road signs leading in the direction he just left, pointing out that this is the way to the famous museum. Several signs too, just to make sure noone walked in the wrong direction. After a while, he came to the countryside and found some local inhabitants where he took shelter. They told him that the real porceline pots and so on were kept out here in the countryside, and the museum in the village was all made up for Japanese and other tourists coming by. So, by walking in the opposite direction than preferred, he eventually got to see the precious treaures.

I'm not saying that it is typical for all museums in China (or around rest of the world), or that our XJX friend only has replicas, but it was a bit of an interesting story.
 
"Terry Yager" wrote:

> Hey, that gives me (yet another) million-dollar idea! I'm going to
> invent a USB-powered electric 'tea-cozy'...Nah, probably wouldn't fly.
> How many gomputer ceeks d'ya know of who drink tea?

That's the thing - I would have no idea what they drink. Perhaps
everyone (besides myself) drinks coffee. I don't like coffee last time I
tried it, it made me sick!

But the gomputer sounds brillant - it makes the computer sound like a
insect.

Beer cooling USB-thingy? How about this - stick a pipe from the Power
Supply fan to a holder with beer in? Better mention this requires a fan or
better to work.

CP/M User.
 
Rather install a water cooling system to begin with, and make the beer cooler part of the system. I don't know if it takes more power to generate cold than warm?
 
carlsson said:
Rather install a water cooling system to begin with, and make the beer cooler part of the system. I don't know if it takes more power to generate cold than warm?
Click to expand...

I think I was thinking more along the lines of liquid nitrogen or sum'n...

--T
 
Lquid Nitrogen seems a bit-- excessive. You would have beer pops!

Hmm maybe it isin't such a bad idea........

-V
 
Mebbe overkill for a single can, but what about a full-size Igloo cooler, holding a couple of cases? I mean, if you already have the n-systen going to your severely over-clocked system anyways, why not re-route it a little bit?

--T
 
I really didn't think that I would reply again, on the teapot thread. But you guys have gotten me interested.

You can actually get the device to make cold from 12v at www.sciplus.com. It's called a peltier junction, and it has a couple of functions. If you apply 12v to it, heat is extractd from one side and shunt out the other. "Perversely," as the blurb on the website puts it, add hot or cold to the appropriate side and it will generate electricity. I was thinking about building a large solar cell and setting these things behind the actual cells and seeing what the difference would be. You just have to make sure that it doesn't burn itself up by adding a heatsink. Here's the ad:

http://www.sciplus.com/singleItem.cfm?terms=9596&cartLogFrom=Search

if it doesn't work, then go to www.sciplus.com and search for peltier. I love that site. Er, it's porcelain.

Nathan
 
%$#@^$# web board just gobbled up my message before I could copy it. With all the WP word-saving overkill going back to the early 80s you'd figure the programmers of this boards programs could have entered a few lines to prevent that. I'll post an answer tomorrow.

Lawrence
 
Interesting link but still seems a bit more geared to commercial use.

Im more interested in hybrid systems at the lowest price such as at

http://www.solarplexus1.com/wind.htm


I'm located between a small prairie mountain range and on the shore of the large 125 m. long Lake Winnipegosis. Word is some larger players have checked wind -speed and decared a large installation viable.

This area also receives possibly the most hours of sunlight in Canada.

As prices for solar panels continue to fall a hybrid system could be very cost-effective. My hydro bills generally average about $400-450 a mo.,
November-April. My problem would be living long enough to make it pay off in savings. :^) 5 years might not be worth it. 10 years would.

Met an old 80+ guy a few years ago living on 125 acres of bush in north-west Ontario. He was using a combination of wood, propane and solar panels. Interesting guy. He was a Quaker who had graduated from Rutgers in the mid-1920s as a Physicist.

Lawrence
 
I'm thinking.. the next thing in refridgerators is a built-in computer and display. It was presented a couple of years ago, but doesn't seem to have taken off really well yet. Still, the manufacturers seem to have a lot of faith in this concept and in top secret labs try to improve it with new features.

Maybe you could install a hose, wire or something to pull an already cool beer can from the refridgerator, transport it to your computer for you to drink it. Neither you nor your g/f would have to go fetch a can once the previous one is finished, and the refridgerator is there to keep things cool in the first place. With the built-in computer, it is easy to make a wireless interface and control messages to check supply, order a can and so on. If you have several brands of beer, the fridge computer could even estimate which one is the closest replacement once one brand is finished.
 
Oh yeah, kewl! Why not a robot programmed with the ability to open my existing fridge and fetch a cold one...

Course, that doesn't really address the real problem of keeping it cold as I drink it. Sometimes, I buy 40-ounce bottles, but along about 20 ounces into it, it has become a little bit warmer than I like it. I get around this problem by using two at a time, open one, drink half, switch for a colder one, lather, rinse, repeat...

--T
 
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