Staying in Place …in a Pandemic

On March 22, 2020March 22, 2020 By mvschulzeIn Close Up, Family, Home, New Jersey, Oakland N.J., Photography, Telephoto, Trees, wildlife7 Comments

MARCH 22, 2020,

As we reel from the Covid-19 crisis, staying in place is critical to contain the spread of the virus. Meanwhile, in our backyard today, life went on as usual.

Thanks for viewing. Comments are always welcome. Stay Safe. M 🙂

Home Building: A Backyard Labor of Love

On May 6, 2019May 6, 2019 By mvschulzeIn Close Up, humor, Photography, Pondering2 Comments

–->ZOOM IN for a Nice Look…

**“But, I’m on the clock, …work to do!”**

**” …and a little end run to do it all again!!”**

Photos from our back yard, late April 2019

Thanks for viewing, Comments are always welcome. Note: This is a REAL Squirrel, no actors are used, and zoom in for a closer look, …but good luck trying that! M 🙂

Chipmunks and Robins – foraging for the season

On October 1, 2018November 18, 2018 By mvschulzeIn autumn, Birds, Close Up, Garden, Home, New Jersey, Photography, Telephoto2 Comments

Autumnal Life in the Front Yard

Zoom in for a closer look

As usual, thanks for viewing, and comments are always welcome. M 🙂

Cat’s Eye: A Decades Old Look-Back

On March 9, 2017 By mvschulzeIn 1960's, Cats, Home, Pets, Photography3 Comments

Grappus and Blappus: One was cool and indifferent. The other possessed …and determined to drive our dear old dad insane.

In smiling memory of two wonderfully special cats.

As usual, click on the image for a closer look, and thanks for viewing. Comments are always welcome. M 🙂

A Few Favorite images

On May 31, 2016 By mvschulzeIn Astronomy, Birds, Daytrip, Dogs, Home, Hudson River, humor, New jersey, New York, Photography, Road trip3 Comments

A few previously unpublished images from the archives – or – what to publish when you are a.) too busy, or b.) at wit’s end (end of wits?) to create anything else!

**Sandy Paws guarding the remote – Northern N.J. 5/4/15**

**Tyler guarding the goal, N.J. – 4/25/15**

DSC_0721 - Version 3 — **Gull scrounging for food, Seaside Heights boardwalk, NJ – 5/23/15**

**Grazing around at the Senior Equine Retirement Farm, near ATCO, NJ – 5/23/15**

**Home for the birds and the buzzin’ bees, Jersey Shore – 5/19/15**

**Clouds blowing by the moon on a windy night, Jersey Shore – 2/23/15**

DSC_0731 - Version 2 — **West side of Hudson River, Tompkins Cove, NY – 5/29/15**

**Optimism by the Hudson River, Tompkins Cove, N.Y. – 5/29/15**

Thanks for viewing. Comments are always welcome. M 🙂

The Squirrel and The Chipmunk – Our Back Yard

On October 15, 2015October 15, 2015 By mvschulzeIn Uncategorized5 Comments

Seasonal nut and berry gathering is underway…

**Finally, nobody’s here. I’m underpaid and starved.**

**Squirrels! HUMPH! No talent. I can carry TWO acorns at a time!**

**Oops, It’s Camera Guy. Scurry and Bury Time.**

**OK, Acorns buried. I’ll just HIDE here till he GOES AWAY! Like I have all day!**….

As usual, Thanks for viewing, and comments are always welcome. M:-)

Step up, Step Down, and Round They Go – The Dance of the Electrons, Part Three of Three

On June 27, 2015 By mvschulzeIn Electrical Engineering, Electricity, Explore, Hudson River, New York, Photography, Pondering, Power grids, Road trip, Science6 Comments

From the Ramapo River in New Jersey, To the Crust of the Earth and Beyond

See Part One Here

See Part Two Here

This journey traces our electrical power to its source – in three parts.

Parts one and two follow the journey from our home in northern New Jersey, to just below the New York State line where this image was taken. A connection with this 138,000 volt transmission line and the moon will be noted at the end of this post.

**From our neighborhood ….along the local distribution grid …and through two sub-stations, we follow about seven miles to where it comes in from New York State, from the north.**

**A few miles further, these towers meet up with others at a significantly larger sub-station which fans transmission lines out in several directions. A primary “*incoming*” feed, is seen below.**

**Probabaly in the 345,000 to 500,000 volt range, the cables on these structures carry serious loads, coming into the sub-station shown in the previous photo,**

Here is a close-up of two cables bonded together, presumedly at the same alternating current phase, …for those of you who worry about such things. Each is about a closed fist in diameter and insulated only by the air. The larger spiral wires simply hold the cables to the brace.

Heading south (right in this image,) over hills and valleys from Tomkins Cove, these imposing mono poles transfer the power lines from the western end of the trans-Hudson span (out of sight to the left.) The frame transmission tower in the background is not directly related.

**Standing some 475 feet (148 m) high and separated by nearly a mile (1.6 km,) these towers carry 500,000 volts or more across the Hudson River….**

**The top hand railing seen in both the photo above and those below indicate scale: about 4 feet (1.2 m) high. Note the relative size of the insulators!**

**About a mile (1.6 km) left of the eastern tower are the two reactor domes of the Indian Point Nuclear Generating Plant, in Buchanan, New York.**

The magnetic-induction generators within, produce a three phase AC potential of several thousand volts, which is immediatly STEPPED-UP through transformers to the half million to 750,000 volt conductors exiting the plant. The lines coming out of the building just right of center, and to the transmission tower behind, mark the start of the transmission lines traced by this series. Others feed Westchester County and parts of NYC… with significant presence also on the North-East U.S. regional grid.

Screen Shot 2015-06-25 at 2.23.15 PM — Technically: Inside Indian Point. An alternating current is produced in three phases, induced in coils of wire moving in strong magnetic fields within these generators. Relative movement must occur between the magnet assemblies and the coiled wires. The resulting electromotive force is measured in volts, and leaves the generator first at a few thousand, then stepped up, via powerful transformers, to 500,000 to 750,000 volts for transmission… and for our use, sent across the Hudson River!

Screen Shot 2015-06-25 at 2.33.53 PM — The relative movement mentioned above is provided by a shaft directly connected to a *steam* turbine that spins the magnets, (or visa versa, the coils,) within the generator. Technical Morass Follows: The steam is is produced in a kettle in which Hudson River water is heated via a water exchanger. That water, which is in a *closed* system, and highly pressurized, surrounds the reactor vessel where a form of slightly enriched uranium dioxide is fissioned by neutrons (usually under initial coaxing,) releasing heat energy and *more* neutrons to sustain a controled chain reaction. Spltting atoms! Uranium “pellets” are bundled as fuel-rod assemblies within the reactors core. Basic Summary: Simply, heat energy from unranium fission heats river water to make steam that turns the turbines that spin the coils (or magnets) in the generator, producing the dance of electrons –>electricity!

Screen Shot 2015-06-26 at 2.15.40 PM — The rods that fuel the reaction in the reactor’s core is comprised of compressed uranium dioxide pellets, which in turn is processed from uranium – a naturally occuring element in the earth’s crust. Above is a rock sample containing uranium. It is likely this is also part of the moon’s geologic make-up. (Remember the moon?)

FINALLY, (Thank Goodness,) naturally occuring uranium and the earth itself, with its myraid forms of latent energy, originated as a spin off from our sun 4.5 billion years ago. For now, and for the purpose of this project, the source of my warmed toast, is…the Sun. It’s all amazing, and amazing how we naturally take the science, (physics, chemistry etc.,) and resourceful human ingenuity …for granted!

Disclaimer: Not being an electrical engineer or public utility employee, some values may be slightly different than stated, but should give a general idea of the actual grid and electrical generation. Any “system” or statistical corrections will be most appreciated.

With the exception of the I.P.Generator, the diagram and the uranium ore above, all photos in this series were taken by myself. General information, and those three photos are greatly apprieciatiated and obtained from various sources, including the internet. Additional information about this is available if requested.

As usual, thanks for viewing, and comments are always welcome. M:-)

Step up, Step Down… TWO

On June 22, 2015July 4, 2015 By mvschulzeIn Electrical Engineering, Electricity, Explore, Power grids7 Comments

Part Two: From the Wires in the Neighborhood, to Sub-Station Transformers.

See Part One Here

This journey traces our electrical power to its source – in three parts.

Our house is to the left. That single 7,200 volt wire and the bare ground wire (the latter dificult to see,) come into the picture from the left and join with one of three wires making a turn to the right. The power that is delivered to our house can come from either direction, as multiple loops of triple 7,200 volt lines (and a separate ground wire) form a redundant grid which can be switched in advantageous ways to better insure connectivity – as events occur.

Three wires, and a ground. This is the same configuration comprising transmission from the generator to every local neighborhood. Technically: Long distance transmission is much more efficient with three alternating current phases, each generated 120 degrees apart, and in the case of most of the USA, at 60 cycles per second. It hurts my head to visualize the principles involved, but the effect justifies the need for three conductors, or wires. Overhead: As seen in the first image above, only one of these wires is neccesary to supply each house. The bundle above, however, is typical to efficiently bring the necessary voltage to NEAR our homes.

About a quarter mile away from home is a junction of two routes, again, with three 7,200 volt feeds, and one common ground. The ground is connected as a bare wire down virtually every pole to the soil beneath, or as in this case, serving the dual purpose of a guy wire. (Lower down the pole in this image, 110 volt wires from nearby transformers, feed houses and the streetlight.)

DSC_0776 - Version 2 — On either side of the junction shown in the previous image, these arrays serve as a computerized reclosure system. The second crossbar down holds six conventional manual circuit breakers. Then, each wire enters the components in the rack, continuing down on the far side of the pole to a control panel at street level. It detects failures, assess the impact and instantly re-directs or cuts off power; and if deemed only a momentary stoppage, re-connects in seconds. A telemetry antenna on the lower side independently transmits info to the utility company via battery back-up. Click to enlarge and see details of this remarkable grid component.

IMG_5333 - Version 2 — **Reclosure Control Panel at Street Level**

Sandy and I often walk under two of these reclosure arrays in an area two blocks away from home known locally as “Doggie Triangle!” Two miles away, the three conductors emerge from a small sub-station, as seen below.

**Here, are the three 7,200 volt lines coming *out o*f the nearby sub-station after having been ‘stepped down’ from 69,000 volts.**

Coming *into* this same sub-station, we trace three (of six) 69,000 volt conductor wires (faintly seen dipping down from the hi tension mono tower,) with a fourth (ground wire) way on top. These are handled by the framework, right, and drop down in the foreground, entering the transformer area, out of sight below. The transformers step their voltage down to 7,200 each after which they exit the sub-station as shown in the previous photo.

About 6 miles further north, the S. Mahwah sub-station covers several acres with many more transformers, capacitors, reclosures, bus bars and dead squirrels. Coming in from NY State are some serious power towers, possibly carrying 138,000 volts. This image is where that force of power is handled and stepped down to the 69,000 volt towers seen in the previous image, and also several 7,200 volt bundles exiting to local loops which redundently serve as backups spreading out into the region.

**At least 138,000 volts in 4 groups of three wires (left towers) come into the S. Mahwah sub-station (in the diatance) from New York State, behind me in this view.**

The next Part follows the link another 25 miles or so to the massive Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant, the source, …where electricity is generated from the heat released from Uranium 235 fission.

Part Three? See http://wp.me/p37YEI-1zn

Disclaimer: Not being an electrical engineer or public utility employee, some values and circumstances may be slightly different than stated, but should give a general idea of the actual grid. Any system or statistical corrections will be most appreciated.

As usual, thanks for viewing, and comments are always welcome. M:-)

Two Cats In The Yard, Life Used To Be So Hard

On August 23, 2014 By mvschulzeIn Photo, Pondering6 Comments

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA — **This is Socks**

This is a retrospective from a while back when our lives were enhanced by the simple tranquility of two cats in the yard!

As usual, thanks for viewing, and comments are always welcomed and answered. 🙂

Golf at Midnight? Almost!

On June 21, 2013June 21, 2013 By mvschulzeIn Photo, Science, Technology, Travel1 Comment

From our smart-phones, tablets, computers and other such devices, we can now see and read anybody’s posts from around the world in virtually real time, including this. My awareness of the shape and size of our global home has been enhanced with this very inexpensive and seemingly infinite media, as local times and seasons are so varied.

Yesterday was the first day of Summer here in the US East Coast, but of course the first day of Winter along the Australian East Coast, where I follow several photo-bloggers. In Scandinavia, a few more whom I follow, are, or close to, experiencing the midnight sun.

Just about this date, a few years back, we were almost giddy while playing golf at 11:00 PM, with native jack-rabbits watching on a wonderful course just outside Denali National Park, Alaska. Of course the beverage provided by the eager and smiling grounds keeper had nothing to do with that, but, the uniqueness of just being there; the snow-capped mountains, the pale natural lighting, and playing with great NJ friends near midnight… did!