Canadian Public Radio, Upcoming Conferences, New Toys & more

Well, it must be summer and fuel prices must be high because I’ve been running around like a chicken w/ it’s head cut off lately. Talk about B-U-S-Y!!!

Here’s a few of the exciting things that’ve been going on:

CBC News, Canada:
Two weeks ago I made the front page news of Utah’s largest newspaper on an issue near & dear to local biodieselers. We’ve had a problem collecting oil due to permitting issues in the county. So, the article focused on our plight & BOY did it draw in some attention–all the way from Canada!

Shortly after the article went to press I got an email from Radio Canada also known as CBC News. I’ve been told that it’s the equivalent of National Public Radio in the US (NPR). Seems they thought the issue was interesting & wanted to interview me.

So, we arranged a time and I did an interview with them. The interview was then put on the National Air Waves of Canada and on Sirrius Satellite Radio.

How bout that? I go from a nobody to being interviewed by a big time Canadian news outfit.

They were kind enough to send me a copy of the interview to republish on my site.

You can download the interview by
Clicking Here.

Be warned though, it’s a big file. 4.9 Mb.

Anyway, that was fun!

Oil Collection Woes
http://www.b100.org
Because of all the problems we’re having in Salt Lake County with Oil Collection, we’re looking at coming up w/ some creative solutions. I’ve been working with a local guy on solving the problem. Can’t say much here, but it’s looking pretty neat.

It’ll give us an avenue to great oil if it works though.

Biodiesel Coop Conference – July 14-16th
My next big thing I’ve been working on is an upcoming Biodiesel Cooperative Conference. I’ve been planning it with Girl Mark, John Bush, and some other great folks from Colorado.

Well, ok, it’s more like THEY’RE planning it and they’re letting me help.

It’s going to focus on lot’s of issues beyond the basics of biodiesel that several of us are dealing with. I get to speak on–get this–how to collect oil & dealing w/ the permits. Hmmm…guess I’ve got some experience there now, eh?

There’s going to be several speakers & focus groups that’ll discuss various issues related to biodiesel. I’m pretty pumped for it.

I helped build the website for the event too.
You can see it by clicking here

(Then you can hit the registration page & sign up too….come & enjoy the fun!)

New Toys
I’ve been hard at work coming up with several new products to add to the site. Many of which I now have on hand but just have to take the time to post to the site.

Some of which include a bunch of different ways to now by Camlocks (Quick Release Fittings), a new type of mister that mists really well but doesn’t cause an emulsion, a water timer, a new WVO collection pump–this thing’s cool, and a bunch of other exciting products.

I also have on order a new BioPro 190 coming. I’m going to become a dealer for these things and am really excited to get mine & try it out. It has to be one of the best machines on the market for making biodiesel with very little on-hands time.

Essentially, you add the oil, methanol, catalyst, and sulphuric acid (it does a true acid-base conversion), hook it up to water and you’re set. You push a green button & come back in 24 hours to drain off the glycerin, push the button again and the wash starts. Come back in another 24 hours, drain off the wash water & whoala! You’ve got bio!

It’s a pretty slick unit. You can see them at SSI Energy’s Website.

Busy, Busy, Busy
I think I’m more busy now than I’ve ever been in my life.

My wife has been really great through it.
Here’s a synopsis of my crazy schedule these days
1- Wake up, shower, stumble to the kitchen, grab a bowl of cereal, stumble down the stairs & check the email
2- Answer a few emails, jump in the car & head off to the day job
3- In between breaks at the day job, return phone calls to people & try to answer some emails
4- At lunch I phone vendors or solve problems that’ve come up
5- Near the end of the afternoon I answer a few more emails (I get a TON of email)
6- Jump in the car & head for home. About 9 times out of 10 I’m on the cell phone the whole way home talking to vendors, customers, or something like that, as I don’t have a lot of time during the day to do it
7- Get home, grab a bite to eat, play w/ the kids for a bit, & head for the PC
8- Answer THE REST of the email, print out the orders, pack em up, & get em ready to be shipped
9- Order more supplies online (I LOVE online vendors. Point, click, buy!)
10- Update the site as time allows
11- Listen (notice, not WATCH, but just listen) to the 10 O’Clock news & then Jay Leno while I work on the computer some more
12- About 11:30 the wife dozes off & I continue working usually until about 1 or 2 in the morning on business related stuff
13- About 1:30-2AM I head up to bed & crash.

Get up the next day & repeat.
Sound crazy? Yep. It is!

I take day’s off every now & then from “The Day Job” to try to catch up on personal stuff (believe me, there’s a TON of that–usually honey-do lists & car maintenance) & the weekends are my salvation.

Saturday is usually spent running around picking up supplies or something biodiesel related. On any given saturday I can be found building a processor for someone, attending a demo, teaching people about biodiesel, answering all the phone calls I never got to during the week, mowing the lawn, fixing the yard, packing orders, updating the site & all the other stuff.

Pack into there the Summer w/ all the family stuff (I come from a huge family–6 kids & TONS of cousins, the wife is from an even LARGER family. 1 of 9 kids + 3 step siblings makes for doing some sort of crazy thing almost every weekend) and it’s a crazy day on Saturdays. Mix into there getting all the normal “saturday stuff” done and you can see why I’m not found on the forums much on Saturdays.

Sunday’s are my “day of rest” quite literally. I’m quite active in my religious beliefs (I’m Mormon) so there’s a lot of stuff that goes on with that but come the afternoon I crash hard for about 3-4 hours. I try to stay off the computer that day so I can give my brain a rest & try to focus on family stuff. We go to the park, go visit relatives (there’s alway’s SOME sort of party going on w/ our families–it’s amazing how many Birthday’s there are or Fathers Day or Mothers Day’s or some sort of holiday or celebration–I think it’s a plot that was invented by grandparents to insure that their children bring their grandkids around once in a while.

So, anyway that’s what my crazy life is like. Add to that a bunch of travelling with the day job lately and you can see why I’m a hard guy to get ahold of.

I do have to say this….I do take breaks occasionally. If you see me posting on the forums it’s because it’s my “break” from the hectic day to day stuff. My inbox may be overflowing but hitting the forums is “therapeutic”. I love it! It’s my release if you will. I enjoy the community there & really enjoy helping folks out if I’m able. That & I’ve just met a bunch of fun people–from all over the world too.

My ultimate favorite forum that I frequent the most is the Infopop Biodiesel Forum.
http://biodiesel.infopop.cc

I used to try to keep up with all the rest but since the majority of the heavy posters all “come back to infopop to roost”, I figured I’d stick w/ that one.

I’m sure I miss out on a ton of stuff now, but as you can see from the above, I really don’t have much time to follow them all anymore.

Some day’s I wonder how I got into this mess, but it’s a fun mess to be in & I really enjoy it. I’m passionate about Biodiesel (duh!! as if you couldn’t tell already) so it makes it worth it. I get a kick out of it.

I mean, where else can you take what is normally garbage to a restaraunt & power a vehicle (no–a DIESEL vehicle–man diesels are cool!) with it? It’s just so cool!

So, while life around my place is crazy as can be, it’s a good crazy.

and the beat goes on…..-Graydon
The Rabid Biodiesel Nut

 

About Utah Biodiesel Supply

Utah Biodiesel Supply is an industry leader in offering innovative ways to empower our customers to produce Biodiesel. From free online instructional videos on how to get started making this great renewable fuel to promotional items to help our customers proclaim their energy independence, Utah Biodiesel Supply has it covered. With the widest selection available of Biodiesel equipment, supplies, and promotional items, you're sure to learn something new about Biodiesel every time you visit.

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