Archive for April, 2009

Filmed in conjunction with Zak Dowell at Appalachian State University.

The above is a time lapse of the construction of an “Appleseed”. An “Appleseed” is a cult word for a backyard biodiesel processor. This particular system is capable of processing fifty gallon batches of biodiesel. Waste Vegetable Oil collected from restaurants is placed in the settling tank.

After settling and draining off the dirty oil on the bottom, the WVO is pumped into the reaction tank. Methanol and lye are added and the pump circulates this mixture for about two hours, at a temperature around 140 degrees. After the reaction is made, the mixture is allowed to settle and glycerin will be drained from the bottom of the tank. The raw biodiesel is then pumped into another tank where it will slowly pass through the ion exchange system. The pulls water and other contaminants from the raw biodiesel. The cleaned biodiesel is now ready to be pumped into any diesel vehicle.

This clean burning fuel is healthier for the engine and the environment. The only side effect is the smell of fried foods, which is not such a bad thing.

This time lapse was a two day shoot. They worked for 48 hours straight to get the job done. We had two cameras in the same position.

Today, the Powhite Parkway is one of the most heavily-traveled corridors in the Richmond metropolitan area. Nearly 90,000 vehicles travel on the Powhite Parkway each day with that figure rising to more than 100,000 on peak days. From May until October 1996, extensive work to resurface the Powhite Parkway Bridge took place. The $2.8 million project involved replacing the deck surface with a concrete and latex mixture to extend the life of the facility. After re-striping, the number of northbound lanes on the bridge increased from four lanes to five.

The Powhite Parkway had an extensive construction project to widen the northbound and southbound lanes. The Split Plaza project was completed in the fall of 2008. Drivers noticed the new shift will happened in conjunction with the demolition of a section of the Powhite Parkway mainline toll plaza canopy. Construction crews removed two toll booths and a portion of the plaza canopy and the work was completed by Sunday, April 13, 2008.

Upon completion in the summer 2008, the Powhite Plaza Expansion/Split Plaza Project introduce three ORT lanes, also known as express lanes, in each direction along the Parkway, allowing E-ZPass customers to travel at near highway speeds through barrier-free toll lanes. This project was the final phase of the Richmond Metropolitan Authority’s ambitious program, dating back to 2001, which will significantly reduce traffic congestion on the Parkway.

The official pronunciation is “POW-hite,” in the same manner as you pronounce “Powhatan” and “Powder.” The name comes from the name of the creek that the parkway follows. References to the creek by this name have been found in records more than 300 years old, and the creek probably was named by Native Americans who were in the area long before colonial settlers arrived.

A Cake To Remember for the day that you’ll always remember!

Your day will be even more memorable with a wedding cake from A Cake To Remember, LLC. Located in the Far West End of Richmond, VA, I specialize in hand-made sugar flowers and individually designed wedding cakes created by one-on-one collaboration with the customer. Each unique cake will be remembered long after the reception is over, and will taste as good as it looks. I bake from scratch, not mixes, and never freeze cakes.

You and your guests will appreciate the
difference! My wedding cakes and decorations are not mass-produced, and each cake is an individual work of edible art.

This time lapse shows the docks being installed on the James River in Richmond Va.

The new community on the James River has leased just five of the 40 boat slips it began putting into the water in February 2009 to create a marina that will serve condominium dwellers and other private boaters.

Crews install marina anchor piles in preparation for dock delivery. Cranes drive 35-foot steel pipe piles into the riverbank. An on-barge excavator removes debris and old pilings before placement of floating docks.