Paint Cans
A common problem with paint cans is the build up of paint in the lid groove. This can cause spills outside the can and the inability to close the can properly. To reduce this issue, take a 6 penny nail and puncture the can in the groove. These holes allow the paint to drain back into the can. They don’t affect the seal on the can as they are below where the lid friction fits when reinstalled.
Another suggestion is to use a pour spout. This is a flexible plastic piece that fits in the inner groove of the can and form a spout to pour from without drips running down the side of the can. I’ve used these with good success, though there is till some dripping to watch for. It is undoubtedly better than just pouring from the can lip itself. They are fairly inexpensive and reusable.
Picture Source: Amazon.com
Solar Shutters
Plantation shutters are useful for keeping sunlight out, but they can also be adapted to harvest solar power… at least that is the vision of the San Diego company called Plug ‘n Save Energy Products. Placing these shutters on the windows on the south side of your home will do double duty reducing heat gain from sunlight while collecting the solar energy. Connect the photovoltaic panels on the louvers to an inverter that plugs into an outlet and returns power back to your electrical system.
Picture Source: latimes.com
William K. Murphy Honored
I’ve spoken about my grandfather, Bill Murphy, here before. Yesterday some students from Plymouth interviewed him as part of a project to record the memories of World War II veterans for the Marshall County Museum Historic Crossroads Center. Considering that my grandfather turned 100 years old this year, the pool of survivors has to be getting shallow.
ABC 57 picked up the interview and had a short clip on the news last night. You can see it here if you’re interested. In the quote on the website he says that he was drafted, but actually Grandpa worked at Kingsbury Ordinance Plant and since that was a necessary service, he was not eligible for the draft. He quit that job and volunteered for the service, turning down the waiver.
Picture Source: Kelsey Flynn
Random Thought: A 2500′ Tape Measure
400′ Measuring Tape on Amazon.com
Just thinking about the new 2500′ WECS setback rule proposed by the Culver Plan Commission. How is the Building Commissioner going to measure that? The longest tape measure that I could find on Amazon.com was 400′. Looks like Culver will have to invest in a GPS, surveying equipment or a custom made tape. Russ may need some help stringing out 2500 linear feet of tape to make sure no one violates the rule! Unintended consequences… As we often find in my industry, what looks good on paper is sometimes tough to accomplish in the field.
Too Tired to Fight About it Further…
Tired. Just tired. At the August 19th Plan Commission Meeting there was more discussion and a vote on revisions to the Zoning Ordinance regarding Wind Energy Conversion Systems (WECS). Type in “WECS” in the search box to the right to see past posts on this subject including the definition per the Culver Zoning Ordinance. It was obvious that the Plan Commission members were whipped on this issue, as was I. This is one that I really wish they had employed an outside consultant on. I feel that they got bogged down on details as they focused on specific WECS’s rather than making general rules that could be applied to all systems. So be it.
Culver’s Zoning Boundary: The pink area shows the current extended territorial authority. The loop outside that shows the approximate limits if the Two Mile area was granted.
The main concession they made to the crowd was broadening the “protected” area, i.e., no vertical WECS’s within 2,500 feet of the L1, P1, R1, R2, C1 or C2 Zoning Districts. This extends the ban well outside the annexed area of town and effectively bans them from our current Extended Territorial Authority in several directions. I understand why they did this considering the vocal minority and their influence on the Town Council, but I’m afraid that this will kill our chances of achieving an expansion of our Extended Territorial Authority. I will beat this poor dead horse one more time here with another example:
Wherever this new restriction extends past our current Extended Territorial Authority it has no effect, i.e., if our Extended Territorial Authority is only 1,500 feet from one of the “protected” zoning districts, the additional 1,000 feet has no effect because it is in land governed by the County’s Zoning Ordinance, not Culver’s. My feeling is that anything like this… things that add restrictions that currently do not affect land within the County’s jurisdiction… will make it difficult if not impossible to extend our authority to include that area. Many outside the jurisdiction will fight any attempt to extend Culver’s jurisdiction just on principle. Why give them ammunition for the battle?
What many in the audience fail to understand about the above scenario is that there are other issues that will affect them. While we tried to mimic the County’s A-1 district when we created Culver’s, there are things there that are allowed by Special Use Permit. This means that they have to come before the BZA for approval. If those requests are under Culver’s Extended Territorial Authority, they come to Culver’s BZA. If they are under the County’s jurisdiction, they go to the County. The property owners within Culver’s jurisdiction may not even be notified, let alone have local representation.
I don’t know if I will speak to this further at the public hearing. I respect the Plan Commission and their attempts to accommodate all inspite of themselves. And we’re all tired… Just tired…
Picture source: LolSnaps.Org
