PriUPS Update 16 Dec 2017

Just Short of a Decade

My last "update" was in December of 2007, and I haven't had all that much to say since then, at least not about PriUPS.  I've had entirely too much to say about other subjects, but that is what my blog is for. Notwithstanding the blog's idiosyncratic contents, including nation-wide reviews of Linzer tortes, my 2006 take on issues bedeviling us now, including surveillance, network neutrality, who won the election, and many more, there is some electric content lurking therewithin. The word "curate" has been gaining popularity, and I shall attempt to do so, below, with respect to any PriUPS-relevant content of this web site published since the last update at the end of 2007.

Where's Richard?

In 2012 we moved from beautiful but winter-infested Kinnelon, New Jersey to even more beautiful Sedona, Arizona. I traded in the 2005 Prius that is the subject of most of this site's examples and tests for a blue 2012 Plug-in Prius. By then the 2005 Prius had about 120k miles, and they told me that it was almost time to have the front brake pads replaced. For the first time. The disks and rear pads were just fine, and there were no unexpected maintenance events. I am no longer a commuter, so the new Prius in five years has accumulated only about 35k miles and it, too, is holding up just fine in the benign Arizona weather. I'm hoping to keep it until autonomous driving is a reality.

PriUPS-relevant or Otherwise Notable Blog Content, 2008-2017

• The accelerating expansion of the universe has yet to be explained. I had a theory.
• I measured the Prius battery voltage during a commute. Results were somewhat interesting.
• An ordinary Generation 2 Prius can be a plug in hybrid, although it's probably not worth the effort.
• A few graphs and musings about power grid voltage fluctuations.
• Did the airlines take me up on my solution to all their problems? Of course not.
• A New York Times article engendered much discussion about the PriUPS concept, with comments from good to goofy.
• A simple checklist for building your own PriUPS system? Not quite!
• Keep the driver in the hybrid charging loop? I invent the "switch."
• The Night of the Living Prius details the event I attended where the Gen 3 Prius was unveiled. Pix, and I even won a T-shirt.
• Wouldn't cold fusion be great if it actually existed? I had (and maybe still have) this theory...
• You heard it here on this page first. This minor suggested automotive improvement legislation went nowhere.
• A few words about the Prius braking/acceleration "issue."
• This web site isn't the only place I ponder the Prius. Sometimes the Wall Street Journal unwittingly provides a forum.
• Thoughts on the preposterously priced navigation DVD updates auto manufacturers offer.
• Some words about hybrid and electric cars. Did you know that recently you could get a $10,000 rebate on a new Nissan Leaf?
• Cars aren't (or weren't) great communicators. Easy to fix, and hopefully will have been by the time I'm in the market.
• Tentative results on my Cold Fusion theory, mentioned above, and a definitive result on the proton decay hypothesis.
• Batteries and inverters.
• More electric car babble of mine in the Wall Street Journal.
• Musings on Elon Musk and solar power.
• Why self-driving cars can't and shouldn't be too safe.

Charging the Plug-in Prius with Solar Power

Reminder

If you're reading this, perhaps you're working on a PriUPS of your own.  If you get a system operating, please send info and pictures, and join the others who have documented their project on this site. 

Although I declared this project to be "finished" in 2006, you can see that it really isn't and maybe never will be.  See you in 2018, which I hope will be a fun and prosperous one for us all.

rcf 16 December 2017