i was feeling disoriented, woozy and sick last night and i had to spend most of the day sleeping it off. i'm not feeling that much better right now. i dunno. i'm smelling something, and don't like it.

it just makes me tired and depressed. i don't like it, i don't like being lethargic...i like being alert. edgy. full of energy. i like coffee. i like caffeine....

i haven't pulled the trigger on the solar panel yet, but i'm looking at a 10 W panel for around $15 that i have evidence can run at 5 V and 100 mA in direct led light. that's only a 0.5 W of power, which seems like it's not enough. i'm considering waiting until it gets here tomorrow, though, because the specs are....

it says it runs at 1 A over usb, but the power specs on usb are 100 mA. so, maybe i should try and test the device, first. it might be intended for newer motherboards that can pull higher loads. or the specs might be confused.

if i understand correctly, getting it to run through my existing motherboard would put a maximum draw of 0.5 W, then, and if i want it to run at 2.5-3.0W, i'll need to find a way to quintuple the current. and, the whole point is that it's a clean usb solution. this will at least allow me to test to see what kind of power i can actually get out of the thing.

for now, it is surely an improvement to run the thing over usb if it's only a few watts. my existing fan would be running at 70W, at full draw.

how much is that, actually? 70*24*30/1000 = 50 kwh. my average bill recently has been 160-175 kwh. so, that's somewhere in the 20-30% range. my previous estimate was perhaps too conservative. but, it's also running all of the time, so it's disproportionately expensive. the new fan would be running at 3*24*30/1000=2 kwh. if i'm only getting a half watt, it's only a third of a kwh - essentially nothing. so, if it's a good enough replacement, and a combination of other changes can get my electrical down enough that i don't need to shut the laptop down during the day, then there's not really any point in taking it off the grid.

on the other hand, if the device doesn't work well, and i can get my usage down low enough by disconnecting during the day, then that's the preferable option. keeping that fan going is the number one priority.

if my x was $19, the cost of the fan would be around $4-$8 (using old consumption numbers - so that would be $6-$13 under the new prices). it's a big increase, but it's still not that much. i know that. but, it's a big percentage. (45-27)/1.55= 11.61. so, if i can get that down to $0.10-$.30 (new: $0.15-.50), that's almost there. if i keep the other fan off most of the time, that's another $4-$8, and if i be more conscious about keeping the lights and stuff off, that should essentially resolve the issue - it'll just take a little longer to get the balance worked out.

it's not that the fans are a lot. they were $5/month, each. roughly. now, they're going to be closer to $10/month, each. it's just that they're half the bill, together, and it takes me over the rebate point.

and, if turning the other fan off means i end up sleeping 20 hours a day...

i should be aiming for $0.30/day casual usage. that will give me extra space to play with to use the stove and stuff. if i can leave the laptop on all day and still get under $0.30, that will be fine. i should be able to start paying attention to usage stats in the next few days. for now, i'm going to continue keeping the power off during the day until i can get the numbers clear...

the fan should be here today, so we'll figure it out over the next week.

for now, i need to stop to eat, and then hopefully i'll get back to work...if i can stay awake, which isn't a clear certainty....