U of M Dating Game, circa 1995

Will our cardigans and skinny jeans look as dated as these clothes do in 20 years?

Wind turbines on the horizon?

It looks like the City of Ann Arbor will be partnering with Ann Arbor Public Schools to build two educational wind turbines thanks, in large part to a DOE grant. The turbines will be mid-sized: between 30-50 meters according to this article on the Com. This puts their hight at about 50%-75% of the Bell Tower for comparison. Personally, I am all for these turbines, so long as there is a reasonable return on investment for the project. Sounds like it could help net AAPS some discounted kWh for a couple of decades.

I'm always astonished at how vehemently some folks oppose renewable energy projectors. Take for example, this comment from the Com article:

So I am to be "educated" yet again about how wonderful this technology is. I anticipate a visual blight of giant out of human scale wind turbines similar to that in Essex county in Ontario, or comparable to the huge solar panel array that has cut off all the view south of Plymouth Road opposite Krogers(sic).

It never ceases to amaze me how strongly some folks argue against the aesthetic aspects of wind power. Personally, every time I see the wind turbines on the opposite shore of Lake St. Clair, I am overcome with a deep sense of jealously. Why should those Canadians in Canada get a sweet wind farm? I realize that it's hard to make the argument that wind turbines are objectively aesthetically pleasing, but I have to say I'd much rather have a "viewscape polluted with a wind turbine" than a body polluted with mercury from coal-fired power plants. Though I do get where the above commentor was coming from regarding the new photovoltaic solar array on Plymouth road. The view facing south from the Kroger parking lot has long been considered one of the most scenic vistas in Ann Arbor.

This view has now been ruined by several rows of low solar panels.

Ok snarking aside, some comentors did raise some valid concerns about the cost of the project relative to the proposed size of the turbines. This post here has some respectable back of envelope calculations that call to question some aspects of the proposal:

At the city hall meeting, we learned it would be a 60 foot diameter wind turbine and it would be on a pole that was between 100 and 150 feet high. Here is an exampe of a 63 foot diameter wind turbine that can go on a pole from 100 to 140 feet. http://tinyurl.com/byg6mrx

There is a diagram on that webpage, that students can take from the website for free. That diagram can be used for education and the students can be taught with that. That'll save $1.4 million.

According to wind maps, Ann Arbor wind is about 5.5 to 6.0 m/s, BUT... that's on a windmill that is at 80m or 262 feet. The windmills in question for Ann Arbor would be at 100 to 140 feet. A map at 80m http://tinyurl.com/9w6zk4s

To be more realistic, at the 30 meter mark or 98 feet Ann Arbor gets wind at 4.0 m/s or less. A map at 30m http://tinyurl.com/a755zqc

And if we go back to that wind turbine that I had as an example, then it would produce less than 59,100 kWh. And it would produce practically nothing back to the electric grid.

How much does 59,100 kWh give? Well, according to this 'energy screw', that is enough for 12 homes. http://tinyurl.com/b55gln2

According to the EIA, an average house uses 11,496 kWh. So it is enough for 5 homes. Pathetic. http://tinyurl.com/c4o2gwc

And according to this page, the G3120 would cost $300K to $400K fully installed. So, if they are spending $1.4 million, someone is getting ripped off. http://tinyurl.com/aen7mw7

What a waste of money. I'm not an engineer, but I just saved people a ton in consulting fees. You can pay me $4.51 instead of $1.4 million.

Any engineers, or alternative energy consultants out there on the interwebs willing to share their two cents on this? Is the $1.4 million price tag a little high for this project?

Oberon overproduction?

I noticed this afternoon that Kroger is still slinging cases of Oberon. Did Bell's overproduce the summer ale or did Kroger over purchase it?

Bespectacled bearded men of Ann Arbor

Where you at Ashley's Saturday night? If so, this Missed Connection could be for you:

You had glasses & a beard - w4m (Ashley's Bar)

Date: 2013-01-06, 10:01PM EST
Reply to this post 2sdmh-3527599153@pers.craigslist.org
I saw you last night at Ashley's bar. You had dark hair, dark rimmed glasses, and a beard. You were sitting in the corner of a booth next to a guy with two other people. I kept turning around to look at you because I found you so attractive. Let me know if we made a connection by telling me the color of my sweater.

I'd love to see this colored sweater-beard love connection come to fruition.

Rodin

EJ, Benji, and I checked out, Rodin, a new bistro in Midtown Detroit yesterday. We had a pretty nice bottle or red wine and a really good charcuterie plate. I especially like the housemade applebutter which was just a hint of herbs. Benji's fancy grilled cheese sandwich was really tasty too. Located just two blocks away from the DIA, Rodin is a great place to unwind with some friends after-visiting the museum campus.

Breathe Owl Breathe at the Ark

This was my dozen or so Breathe Owl Breathe show and once again they proved that they really can't do anything wrong. Consistently they show that they're not just talented musicians but can really bond with and entertain the crowd. The majority of the concert were new songs, that will hopefully appear on a future album. At one point and time Micah played "Person, place or thing" with the crowd, taking responses from us and improvising some of the lyrics on the spot. My suggestion of microwave was chosen and then warped into something about the pistons in the late eighties. I think it would've made since if I had been alive at the time or ever was interested in sports. Like a cat lady would urge a stranger to get a pet I urge you to catch a Breathe Owl Breathe show next time they float through Michigan.

Photo Credit- Brian T, who had better seats

Graffiti in Ann Arbor

Arborweb, the online edition of the Ann Arbor Observer, has an interesting article about graffiti in Ann Arbor for those of you looking for a good long read on a sunny Friday morning. The article includes an interview with at 15-year-old Pioneer student named "Mike" who is part of a local tagging crew:

So who's tagging Ann Arbor? According to a fifteen-year-old white, middle-class Pioneer High School student we'll call Mike, it's mostly people his own age. "It's an underground thing. It's really between the skaters and the stoners," he says. The more you tag, the more popular you become, says Mike--not at school, he's quick to point out, but around town. Everyone's aware of its illegality, he says.

Tagging can be a rite of passage. Mike says that to join one exclusive "group" (it's not a gang, he says), you have to tag at least thirty locations. In addition to spray paint, they gut marking pens and replace the tips with sponges for more ink coverage. Skaters sometimes use pre-tagged mailing labels. "They'll skate by and slap them places," says Mike.

Everyone has their own style, he says, showing me how a more experienced tagger instructed him to merge the letters in his tag for a more cryptic, personalized look. Some of the most popular tags among Mike's peers are "soap," "girl" (done on what Mike says is a paint-guzzling white background), and "mooh." Members of the skater tagging "tribe" also mark their skateboards with their own unique tags.

To me, it's always interesting to hear about the parallel rules and values that taggers develop in their subculture. I've been thinking a lot about graffiti lately, specifically about what makes some graffiti OK to some people but other graffiti just vandalism, for lack of a better word. It seems like there is a big difference between the "foot" tag on the electrical box in the picture above and the "Gexir" tag etched in the glass of this historical information sign below.

Great sticker

Saw this awesome "Ohi-No" sticker in Midtown Detroit the other week.

Top 10 Posts of 2012

In the past, I've resisted posting the obligatory end of the year list ranking our top articles from the previous year. That said, it's feeling like a pretty slow news week around town. Last night I looked at our top posts from 2010 and thought there were some pretty interesting results. Particularly entry number 5 on the list. Thanks to all of you who read Damn Arbor, comment on it and forward links to us.

10. Calvin and Hobbes decorations - From December 2012

9. I went to Michigan and all I got was sad - Another post from December 2012. Never underestimate the power of titling a post with a good quote from the Daily Show.

8. Dexter tornado - From March 2012.

7. The Last Word - From March 2012.

6. The end of Blimpy Burger - Another timely post from December 2012. Thanks to @dokas for linking to this on his facebook account.

5. Vote! - An old post from November 2010. This very brief article continues to be one of our most popular posts. It was written by Ben Houston and contains a map of Ann Arbor's Wards. It ranks (unfortunately) high on Google searches for the term "Houston Wards."

4. An art instillation at the old borders building - From December 2012. Our first post to be linked to by national news media.

3. An interview with Pat Stansik - From February 2012. Pat and Ginger Ambition both linked to this interview which drove a lot of traffic to it.

2. A guide to Ann Arbor bars that don't suck - Another oldie from October 2010. We should probably update this article sometime soon considering it get's so much traffic still. Sounds like we should start planning a bar crawl.

1. The Jordan Miller Story, part deux - From December 2012 this article got lot's of traffic after it was linked to on the U of M subreddit. We ended up with a pretty heated debate of our own on the article and eventually had to turn off anonymous commenting.

Isalita

Isalita, the Mexican street food restaurant from the makers of Mani, is open now. My younger brother and I got a chance to go there the other week for Friends and Family night. It was pretty great. I understand that the menu has changed a bit since then, but I really liked the crab guacamole and the margarita. If you're looking for a fresh take on some delicious Mexican food, I highly recommend checking out Isalita.