Making The Trailer: Understanding The Solar System

A preliminary video full of out-takes from day 1 of filming the new video, Aristotle Solar


Imagine you're like me:  a recently layed off solar worker.  You've got nothing else to do, but dream of your job, where you worked.

Let's say you had some other skills, such as writing and making video.  In addition, you took meticulous care of your childhood toy collection (just like your truck, when once upon a time you had a job).

Keep in mind that hardly anyone knows about solar electricity, and your mission in life is to educate as many people as possible on the subject of what life would be like if we used more PV.  By that, I mean there would be additional responsibility to those who were sharing their homes with photovoltaic systems.

How are people supposed to know?

We're supposed to tell you.  Who else but Lego Spacemen would you expect to describe and explain the message and meaning of solar electrical system design?  It's something everyone wants to know, and I have access to.  The information:  whether your home could run entirely on solar.

Details to the question abound.  What defines the type of inverter that I will need?  The segment that was extracted, of out-takes the other night, describe the portion (without audio commentary) of what determines the size of a disconnect.

In the world, there are basically only 30 and 60 amp disconnects.  Last time I checked, only two companies even made them:  GE and Square D.  Therefore, if a system amperage:

(Strings x ISC x 1.56)

Exceeds the rating of a 30a disconnect, a 60 becomes necessary.

About The Video

The video incorporates 3 different elements: 

• 1980's Lego Spacemen
• Armatron (a robot from RadioShack, vintage 80's). 
• Line/Load:  The PV System Board Game

Only one of those things is technically the proprietary rights of Stereomedia, this organization.  But that's good because the point of the video is to explain the board game. 

For another look at the board game, check this out: 

Extra Links:

LineLoad.Org
SolarEducational.Blogspot.Com

Removing "Powered By Blogger"

Back at the beginning of the internet, there was no Google, and having your own website was a mighty extravagant endeavor.  You'd need web hosting services, FTP access, and a whole bunch of other skills which are worth it to know (lessons can be found here on this blog how to do that stuff).

Now, you can just sign up for a free blog through your gmail.  Google has practically put together one of the best ways for making websites, without using your parent's credit card.  The purpose for your website is up to you, but thankfully because of modern technology and services like Soundcloud, if you're a musician, and FB and such, one can really have a web presence using something as simple as a blog.  

If you have yourself a blog, and you'd like to make it appear that it's not a blog but actually its own stand-alone website, there are a few exceptions that you can add to your Blogspot template, whereby you insert code that over-rides the appearance features of a normal blog.  Those codes are as follows. 

#Attribution1 {display: none;}

This code refers to the bottom bar which reads "powered by blogger" and causes it not to be displayed.  

#navbar-iframe {display:none;}

This code refers to the top frame of the blog, that shows more signs of the site being hosted on Blogger.

Now I can show you where to get into the HTML source to make the changes.

Step One.  Click "Design" in the Top Right Corner, next to "Sign Out."

Step Two.  Click on "Template Designer"

Step Three.  Select "Advanced" At Bottom. 

Step Four.  Select "Add CSS"

Step Five.  Add the following CSS Code to remove the bottom "Powered By Blogger" Bar:

#Attribution1 {display: none;}


Step Five And A Half. Add this code below to remove the top blog bar.


#navbar-iframe {display: none;}

Step Six.  Save changes and scroll to the bottom.  One less sign that your site is on Blogspot!

After that, you should be all set.  Note how I have implemented these codes on this page, and how it makes it difficult to tell that the site was built on Blogspot. 

Question for the Comments:  What are some ways that you can tell whether a website is built on blogger?  What's implied by it being a blogger, rather than an independent site?

New Flyers Released

Got a good deal on 1000 prints from NextDayFlyers.Com who were having a special on free shipping of over $75 this week.  If one person, just one person signs up for a website to be constructed, or if SpacePirate gets a single show booked on account of the distribution of these flyers, then it's all good.  It makes it all worth it.

One side of the flyer is purple/black themed, for SpacePirate.  It features the recently added background imagery, as well as the amusing banner logo, "In the Place to Be."

And the official "STE / REO" logo, which is the visual shape of the old RunDMC logo, in the Star Wars Font, with BGHorizonMatrix in the background.  It's fairly radical.  There's even a QR Scan code.

The other side is pink, red, and purple themed.  Everything on the card has sort of an infrared/ultraviolet appearance.  It's got Aristotle, climbing the casette tape, with OuterSpace (HorseHead nebula photograph) in the background.  This is characteristic of my current aesthetic.  Which is 1980s legos, salvation army electronics, and backgrounds from outer space, under the supposition of the storyline behind the characters that are being featured (L.S. Aristotle, in the photo to the left that you see).

It's supposed to be educational, but at the same time entertaining.  It's a deep and meaningful story about freedom of information, originality, cultural appropriation, and fond memories from childhood about a better, brighter future involving music and little legomen from outerspace who battle eachother.