Technology and Living in the 21st Century

I've had many people ask me for an update on my Flux Capacitor appliance project (ok, several people). I wanted to let everyone know just where I am with the project and some of my successes and failures that I've experienced along the way.
The first major hurdle that I had to overcome was the power output conversion from the Flux Capacitor to 110 volts AC. The Flux Capacitor is a DC power output device that kicks out 1.21 jiggawatts of power. The typical household appliance blows up real good when current is applied directly to the motor. After a little tinkering, I was able to get a standard DC-AV inverter to work (after I buffered the power output down to a reasonable rate).
For a little background. I started this project with the intention of sending a working washing machine, dryer or dishwasher back in time approximately 40 minutes. This way, I would have a completed load of laundry or dishes flash in front of me without having to wait for the entire wash cycle. Pretty good concept, eh? Saves a ton of time on household chores.
I didn't have much luck with the dishwasher. The field side affects of the Flux capacitor did some strange things to anything that was non metallic which didn't please my wife.

The dryer experiment didn't work at all as the drum didn't spin fast enough in any of the tests. Any modifications made to increase the RPMs only resulted in lackluster results for any delicate clothes which caused me to scrap that experiment.
The washing machine was a mixed results experiment in that it worked perfectly with an unexpected outcome. The bad news is that I think I have a decimal error in my calculations and sent the washing machine back in time either 40 or 400 years. I've been at the archives reviewing old newspapers to see if any stories about the sudden appearance of a strange alien device filled with wet cloths made the headlines. I'm also trying to figure out just where I made the error in my math. The good news is that it work! I just have to iron out the bugs in my math.
I've also had requests for a Flux Capacitor powered vacuum cleaner. Thus far, this is still on the drawing board as I can't find a willing volunteer to go back in time with the vacuum cleaner (it can't drive itself people!). I don't see this one getting very far.

I've had to suspend the experiments for now and look for a new washing machine for my wife. Any future experiments will be done on older washing machines (I promise).

If you don't care to experiment with a Flux Capacitor but would like to show off your very own replica to your friends and fellow geeks, hurry to ThinkGeek before they run out again (they go quickly). Please note: This is a replica and doesn't output the power needed to manipulate time.


(photo courtesy of Thinkgeek)

Yes, I've tried to power my entire house with the Flux Capacitor but you have to remember that this device only supplies power for short bursts which makes it impractical for powering the house. Believe me, I've tried.