what the hell is this?

@mismi,

mismi wrote:

Quote:
my voice doesn't sound as mean as I am on here.

I love your voice...very pleasant. I was indeed surprised

SO STIPULATED.

Maybe there 's an outside chance
that thay r someone 's idea of art ??

David

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@hawkeye10,

hawkeye10 wrote:

Quote:
Maybe it is some sort of drip irrigation system that provides moisture to the thatch sprouts.

This contraption has been around for awhile,
and given the amount of mulch in the driveway we know that
it gets reloaded often. Sprouts sounds right, but it would be food for sale.
My guess would be black market sprouts for Asian food vendors.

If so, then Y not put them in the BACK yard,
not exposed to vu of passing traffic.

1 Reply

@OmSigDAVID,

Quote:

If so, then Y not put them in the BACK yard,
not exposed to vu of passing traffic.

I'll hazard the guess that no matter WTF this thing is that it would be in the back if the light conditions allowed for it. Maybe we can get an address so that we can look at the backyard on Google.Earth?

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@chai2,

Greywater evaporators. These are different than ones Im used to seeing. I suppose that they rotate with differential water pressures on a series of cam bearings . It appears that the water would be released on the panels that face up, then when the weight is evened out, they rotate so that the ones facing downward then rotate upward and recieve a dose of greywater. Seems like overkill for these kinds o fsystems, unless this is an area where sewage facilities are strained by soils and high water tables. ASK george ob= Hes a mechanical engineer in wastewater systems. (IM only guessing by the emitters and the axles).

Theres all kinds of wastewater and grey water evaporators out there for "green" applications. Maybe the house is a LEEDS archetype for that specific area.

1 Reply

@farmerman,

that seems very far fetched. I assume that if Chai googles the address and comes up with nothing then you will admit that this is not a demonstration project?? The economics of a homeowner rigging up such a system don't work, as waste water is never metered so far as I know.

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@hawkeye10,

hawkeye10 wrote:

that seems very far fetched.

Far fetched!
Yeah, that's the ticket!

Waste water is metered here in Austin.

Because of that fact, I'll bet this house is going to be running an illegal laundromat (washateria, so to speak), and will be running a sweatshop of illegal Asian workers smuggled here from Enchland, aka Shanghai. Checking Google maps, I see that the washers have already been installed in the backyard.

Great work everyone!

I dunno about that graywater theory. Because of water conservation, they encourage people to have cisterns, and Austin Energy encourages people to use their gray water for irrigation.

Having all that water evaporate would cause a mass coronary amongst the greenies.

1 Reply

@chai2,

Quote:

Waste water is metered here in Austin.

REALLY?

Quote:

What comes in generally must go out. The Austin Water Utility calculates wastewater costs on the amount of water you use during three winter billing periods (months). Since very little outside water is used during these months, it is a good measure of the volume flowing through your wastewater system. Now is the time to conserve.

You can lower your wastewater costs for the next year by conserving your water usage during the 3 monthly billing periods used to calculate your wastewater flow. Depending on your billing cycle, the 3 periods used for wastewater averaging will occur between mid-November and mid-March.

For more information on wastewater averaging refer to the links on the above right of this web site.

http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/water/wwaverage/default.htm

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hmmm...I read that link.

then why are there 2 areas on my my electric bill (I'm looking at it this very second) called "water service" and "wastewater service"?

The wastewater section is 500 gallons less (not much) than the water service section.

I suppose that's the figure they came up with with the 3 month water averaging, but I am being charged for my waste water depending on my metered water usage.

1 Reply

@chai2,

That's the way it's usually done, and the difference water service and wastewater service is possibly an allowance for irrigation (lawn watering).

Here's how far some cities will go; when I was in Denver, they calculated total lot size, and subracted out areas in lawn and garden. The result told them how much runoff you would have in a rainstorm, so they could bill for storm sewers. And yeah, they billed it whether it rained or not, and it usually didn't.

1 Reply

@roger,

roger wrote:

That's the way it's usually done, and the difference water service and wastewater service is possibly an allowance for irrigation (lawn watering).

Here's how far some cities will go; when I was in Denver, they calculated total lot size, and subracted out areas in lawn and garden. The result told them how much runoff you would have in a rainstorm, so they could bill for storm sewers. And yeah,
they billed it whether it rained or not, and it usually didn't.

Was this payment resisted? extortion

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Im notmarried to my observation. However, chai, in certain places, even if they want the runnoff or wastewater to be channeled and recharged into the ground, there may be some local limitations (such a shallow water tables or really dense hardpans that prevent the wastewater from percolating and then it just sits and gathers contaminants in the shallow soil water. I dont know whether this is the case here. I didnt see any evidence of sewer or water lines inm the street so I just assumed that this was some sort of water transpiration gizmo.

HAWKEYE SEZ
that seems very far fetched. I assume that if Chai googles the address and comes up with nothing then you will admit that this is not a demonstration project?? The economics of a homeowner rigging up such a system don't work, as waste water is never metered so far as I know. SOmetimes the "economics" have nothing to do with anything. If this area is a special requirements area, the sewer permits may require certain treatment and distribution appurtenances, (like a digester or a distribution box or a "turkey mound" etc) .All of these are "economically" infeasible and are just required by law and are built into the cost of a any new construction.

However, when you come up with a better answer Ill listen. I usually have 4 bad ideas for each good one.

1 Reply

@chai2,

Hi Chai,

It's hard to tell on the video, but does this thing have an irrigation system attached to it, or are those just cables to prevent the panels from rotating too far?

A few things we need for clues:
1. Does this thing have any plumbing attached to it?
2. Does this thing have any electricity attached to it?
3. What are those things (cables?) attached to each panel?

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@farmerman,

farmerman wrote:

Im notmarried to my observation. However, chai, in certain places, even if they want the runnoff or wastewater to be channeled and recharged into the ground, there may be some local limitations (such a shallow water tables or really dense hardpans that prevent the wastewater from percolating and then it just sits and gathers contaminants in the shallow soil water. I dont know whether this is the case here. I didnt see any evidence of sewer or water lines inm the street so I just assumed that this was some sort of water transpiration gizmo.

There are sewer lines, just can't see any of those openings in the vid.

re runoff...this property is at the very top of a big hill. as the crow flies, it's about 1/2 mile from Barton Creek, and it's directly downhill from the point the house is at. This feeds into Lady Bird Lake (aka the Colorado River Rolling Eyes

) another 1/2 mile from that.
If their soil is anything like mine is (just a few blocks away) it's nasty hard clay, which has the virtue of become like the La Brea Tar Pits when wet.

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The Patio Furniture of the Gods, the thrilling new exposé from Chai and Wally Tea . . . look for it at Border's, and other fine touchy-feely, new age BS book stores near you . . .

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@hawkeye10,

hawkeye10 wrote:

The economics of a homeowner rigging up such a system don't work, ....

You obviously don't understand Austinites. Economics takes a back seat to enthusiasm.

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A Solar Battery Pump Kit?

http://upload.ecvv.com/upload/Product/200801/2006315154857668585_Solarkey_SP010_Superman_Solar_Battery_Pump_Kit__With_Solar_Panel_.jpg

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@chai2,

chai2 wrote:

I've been driving by this every day, and finally got out of the car and made a video. Wally doesn't know what it is either.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-sTl94YjINc[/youtube]

Welcome to Chai and Wally's Mystery Science Theater

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I don't think we should rule out the possibility of Chai having discovered some sort of extra terrestrial platform. If no Earthly explanation can be found that leaves only one thing...

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It's duh pretty obvious that those are beach recliners with tables with side tables for giants with no legs. Puhlease. ObviOUS.

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Well, I was driving home and guess what?

THREE people were standing out there, so I stopped to ask.

The A2Ker who was the closest to being correct?......

.........

........

........

mismi!

The creator, Armando http://armandomoncada.com/home.html was there, and explained it was a type of plantscape. The owners were concerned they would get all the glare from the oncoming headlights of cars coming down the street that runs directly toward their house. The purple tubes are for irrigation. People driving by are supposed to see the wooden side, and the people living there will have a verticle lawn.

Ok, everyone, I told Armando I had published his work to YouTube, and talked about it here, so he'll be along at some point to look at our goofy and serious guesses. He thought it was funny I bothered to do all that.

So let's all send our greetings to Armando!

2 Replies

what the hell is this?

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