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Mini floppy  wind generator  is a quite simple DIY project. Even though it looks like a toy, mini wind generator can be used in various situations. Especially if you are camping, fishing, sailing or anyplace where power greed is not available. Our wind generator can be used to recharge AA/AAA batteries (Ni-Cd, Ni-Mh…), mobile phones, MP3 players or for direct energy supply of smaller light bulbs ( LED lights ) or similar devices that draw up to few watts. The “heart” of mini wind generator is made of parts salvaged from an old 5.25″ floppy drive! Our first choice was to use stepper motor taken out of old floppy drive for several reasons. PC technology is “aging” very quickly, thus floppy drive can be obtained very cheap, in most cases even free of charge. Stepper motors are very convenient for small wind generators because they do not need any kind of gearing mechanism and the rotor can be attached directly to a turbine (propeller) which is simplifying cons...

A NYC Taxi driver wrote: I arrived at the address and honked the horn. After waiting a few minutes I honked again. Since this was going to be my last ride of my shift I thought about just driving away, but instead I put the car in park and walked up to the door and knocked.. 'Just a minute', answered a frail, elderly voice. I could hear something being dragged across the floor. After a long pause, the door opened. A small woman in her 90's stood before me. She was wearing a print dress and a pillbox hat with a veil pinned on it, like somebody out of a 1940's movie. By her side was a small nylon suitcase. The apartment looked as if no one had lived in it for years. All the furniture was covered with sheets. There were no clocks on the walls, no knickknacks or utensils on the counters. In the corner was a cardboard box filled with photos and glassware. 'Would you carry my bag out to the car?' she said. I took the suitcase to the cab, then returned to assist the w...