This is a personal journal in a public space, kept by Jessica Moyer and Brett Matulis. We are not so vain as to believe that complete strangers are interested in our daily lives. Rather, this blog was created when we decided to move to the British West Indies. It is intended to serve as a way for us to share news, post photos, and eventually, revisit memories. It was created for us and for those of our friends and families that are interested in our lives on the remote island of South Caicos.
As of Saturday, Suzie is back in TCI waters! After traveling more than 5900km (I over estimated a little last time), she's managed to find her way back to the place she started. She spent the last two weeks at the Inagua Islands. Right now she's in waters off of North Caicos, and it appears she'll be back to East Caicos, exactly where she started, soon.
Local Map of Suzie's Journey
It's amazing that turtles can navigate such distances and finally make their way back to an exact location. It's like setting off on foot across the country with no maps, road signs, or ability to ask for directions and then making it back to your house without help.
Suzie's Entire Journey
She's passing around the north end of the Caicos Bank so, unfortunately, she's not going to come in range of us. I really wanted to go looking for her with her GPS coordinates. Maybe she'll come by later on - her GPS tag is going to remain on.
The meetings have ended, and most of the guests have cleared out. Almost all of the staff have returned or arrived for the first time, and soon things will be getting back to usual. First, though, a couple friends of ours will be visiting from Paris - they arrive tomorrow afternoon. It's always a lot of fun to show people around the island, especially because they're easily impressed by the things we see (just a couple days ago, for example, we saw a school of 10 Eagle Rays (!) and I felt like I was the only one who thought it was something to make a fuss over).
This project has really taken over. I'm constantly thinking about it, pouring over numbers, and (most recently) taking hourly readings from our meter. The report that came from the contractor was less helpful than I expected, so now I'm gathering data and doing the research to design an optimal system. Don't read that this project has become a burden; I'm enjoying myself.
I've pretty much gotten the "go ahead" from everybody including the board. I just need to figure out what size array makes sense, how much it will cost, what the return is on the investment. That doesn't mean they'll accept anything I come up with, but it seems likely they'll be in favor of something reasonable. I'm starting to realize, however, that this is a longer term project than I initially accepted. I wanted to push things through and get something installed right away. Instead, I think there's going to be a couple month period of data collection where I get handle on our consumption.
What seems to make the most sense for the first stage of the project is to design a system with a peak output equivalent to our average daytime usage. This way we do not need to worry about wasted production, storage, or re-selling power into the grid. The savings that come from this initial investment can then be used to expand the array and install wind turbines to supply night-time power.
Something else I'm going to look into is the first "R" in the "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle" mantra. Our biggest use of power is certainly refrigeration, and we might be able to reduce consumption significanly simply by replacing our old deep freezers. I found a device that will log power consumption of appliances (see it here). I decided to with the one that logs data on an SD card rather than the more cleverly named "kill-a-watt" unit that does not. With the data I collect from it, I'll be able to figure out how much can be saved with a newer, more efficient replacement. The treasurer of the SFS board is going to purchase one for me to use.
Energy Monitor
I've been so wrapped up in this project I've barely been concerned by the fact that I haven't been able to dive almost at all since getting back here. With all the staff turnover and with the meetings going on, there's been nobody available to go diving with, except for one other person, Pepe (the husband of one of the new faculty). If either of us were allowed access to the boats, we'd probably be averaging two dives per day. At least I'm occupied enough to not feel so down about that.
Several of you have already been asking about the earthquake in Haiti last night. We didn't feel it here on South Caicos. We didn't even know it happened until almost two hours later. As soon as we heard, though, we went to check on tsunami warnings. There was one issued all the way through the Bahamas, but probability was low that anything significant would come. We learned this morning that a 12cm (yes, centimeter) wave was generated, and that tides and currents are expected to be a little unpredictable for a short period.
Rubble in Port-au-Prince
Canape-Vert
Our Dominican night watchman was quite worried about his family in Puerto Plata. They were far from the epicenter, so they should be okay, but he wasn't able to contact them. The pictures and videos coming from Haiti look quite bad. The presidential palace even collapsed.
After writing about alternative energy last week, I did some calculations based on November's and December's electricity bills. In those months we used about 6500 and 4700 kWh each (less in December because the students had left). A safe estimate is that the center uses 72 MWh annually (once I have access to all the statements from 2009, I'll be able to know more accurately). At 50 cents/kWh, you can get an idea of just how much money is going into power.
I did some research and found a solar and wind power company based in Anguilla (another British Overseas Territory). They do installations all over the Caribbean, and being that they are also a British Territory they'll likely know about any incentives that might apply. I contacted them and asked about a system that could power our center. Using solar alone, they told me, it would take a 35kW system. The 140 panels that would make up that system would cost $210,000 installed. Astonishingly, that is only 5 years and 10 months of electric bills (assuming the cost of electricity on the island remains fixed). The rate we pay, however, is likely to rise. I am waiting now for the company's professional "return on investment" analysis, which will address this matter.
The going rate for a solar power system of this size is $6/watt. In the alternative energy industry these rates are pretty much standard across the board no matter who is doing the installation (I've been told most residential installations will go for about $7/watt). So instead of trying to find another company that will beat their rate, I will research this company and make sure they are reputable. I've asked them for references of past customers already.
This particular company also installs wind power systems and has a hybrid wind/solar option. With the hybrid system we could have clean energy 24 hours per day without the use of batteries - an appealing route to go. Either way, I think I'd probably also opt to remain tied to the grid for those rare cloudy and windless days. I'm expecting that the local diesel power company is going to do everything they can to resist this move, so hopefully we won't run into many snags there.
Last night I pitched the idea to one of the SFS Vice Presidents (the TCI center is currently hosting the annual directors and affiliates meetings). I explained how much we were paying, how dirty the current power generation system is, and how quickly the center would see a return on the investment. He was very receptive to the idea. In fact, his reaction was more favorable than I could have expected. Based on the preliminary numbers I provided, he gave the impression that there was no reason SFS wouldn't invest in it. He asked for a more detailed analysis (which the solar company is currently preparing) and said we could sit down and decide on a course of action. More than likely, he said, we'd need to purchase the system in installments. For example, we'd initially invest in a smaller system that would provide a portion of our power, and with the savings that provides we could reinvest and expand, eventually going completely off the grid. Things are looking very optimistic at this point!
Well, it's now been five weeks since I cut my hand on the lid of that bleeping applesauce can. The laceration itself is healing really well, and the scar isn't anything even close to the hideous disfigurement I once feared it would be. I still don't have any sensation along one side of my pinky though, as I damaged the nerve that runs along the outer edge of the hand and out to the tip of the pinky.
From what I've read, nerves can take a long time to heal. As in, many months, or sometimes over a year. So I'm still hopeful (i.e. counting on the fact) that I'll get the feeling back, as I'm pretty attached to all of my fingers. I'm afraid I didn't appreciate that littlest one as much as I should have before, but then you never miss a good thing until it's gone. Or at least not speaking to you.
Although it's still tender, I'm able to do most everything that I need to with my pinky these days, like typing, scratching, carrying bags, shampooing, and even (gently) high-five'ing. Even so, it's odd to have a part of your body not feel like you, and not respond to your brain's signals the way it used to. Even if it's a little part. My numb finger allows objects to slip out of my hand on rare occasions, and delays my reaction time to remove the stir spoon from a hot soup pot by a split second, and (most discouraging of all) it just doesn't hit a piano key quite right.
I'm healing though, and the photos below track my progress. (We didn't actually get a photo right after the incident, as we were distracted trying to stop the bleeding and get to the clinic, etc.)
Same Day, after the first round of cleaning and bandages
Local Map of Suzie's Journey
Suzie's Entire Journey
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