Richard Huff's Seattle Social Blog

There's only one race I run where it can be said that there are two finishes: Nordstorm's annual "Beat the Bridge" 8K. It starts and finishes at Husky Stadium, but -- as the name implies -- involves crossing a drawbridge before the bridge raises. The drawbridge in question (University Bridge) is only 2 miles into the 5 mile path. If I were king, the finish line would be just at the other side of the bridge. This will, of course, make complete sense to anyone who runs.

Runners perform best when there is a goal (i.e., the finish line). In this race, however, the bridge represents a goal that's at least as significant as the end. In this way, the bridge can act as a sort of false finish. I watched quite a few runners "collapse" [metaphorically] as soon as they "beat the bridge". Others struggled to switch their focus for the real prize. There must be a good reason why the race is planned in this particular way, right?

Here's a suggestion: simply proceed in reverse. Instead of running to beat the University Bridge, the finish line could be placed on the north side of the Montlake Bridge. They're both drawbridges. Has anyone ever thought of this? The Google Earth map of the race acquired with my Garmin Forerunner 305 will give you a virtual tour of the race path so that you can decide for yourself.

On a more serious note, "Beat the Bridge" raises money for Juvenile Diabetes Research. This year's race raised almost $600,000. That is a huge amount of money to raise for a race of this size. Big kudos for everyone who donated, volunteered and ran.

If you find yourself sans good entertainment between now and May 28th, do yourself an enormous favor and see Miss Witherspoon at Seattle's ACT Theatre. I haven't been so thoroughly amused in a very long time. The play follows a middle-aged woman (Veronica, played by Anne Allgood) who finds herself (unhappily) in a Hindu-esque afterlife following her suicide. Confronted with reincarnation rather than the heaven, hell or purgatory imagined from her Catholic tutelage, she forcefully resists a return to corporeal form. The antics ensue.

For a couple years now I've been seriously considering building a portable solar power system for my laptop (a 17" Apple Powerbook G4, 1.67GHz). The two motivations behind such a project are to achieve a real understanding of photovoltaic technology and the power consumed by my computer. I use the qualifier "considering" because I've yet to find a source for all the necessary components. Let me explain.

Most consumer solar power systems consist of one or more solar panels, a charge controller, and one or more batteries. The solar panel(s) supply power to the charge controller, which regulates the storage of that energy in the form of a battery charge. The battery energy can then be used when direct sunlight isn't available to the solar panel(s). Connecticut Solar sells just such a package (60 watt, 16 amp) for $795, and it's specifically marketed for laptops and consumer electronics applications. The "rub" is that you're unnecessarily complicating the issue with such packages. You shouldn't need a charge controller and battery when your laptop already has those components. Another downside is that these systems only supply enough power to run the laptop - not charge its internal battery.

What I would like to build is a portable solar power system for my laptop that eliminates all of the duplicate components. This should require only one or more solar panels and a DC to DC converter. The challenge has been to source a DC to DC converter that can take power from a set of solar panels and produce ~2.65 amps at 24 volts DC (the exact output rating of my AC-DC laptop power supply). Any ideas?