tingilinde

green appendages

A prosthetic for those on their way to something. Perhaps an apostate branch of the Church of the FSM?

(sort of a tip of the hat to Tim)

iphone booster antenna

Coupled antenna elements are nothing new and can improve signal strength - here is one for the iPhone

perhaps more interesting is their support page on getting into the iPhone's "field test mode"

have fun!

go buy that suv:-)

A US govt agency estimates the current oil price as the highest it will be up through 2030. So if you believe these guys, it is clear sailing ahead.

I should note that the historical data from the EIA is high quality and extremely useful. I'm guessing projections are a bit on the political side. In fairness, they keep track of their projection accuracy.

good automotive battery information

Axsen, Jonn, Andrew F. Burke, Kenneth S. Kurani (2008) Batteries for Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs): Goals and the State of Technology circa 2008. Institute of Transportation Studies, University of California, Davis, Research Report UCD-ITS-RR-08-14 (pdf)

Abstract

This report discusses the development of advanced batteries for plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) applications. We discuss the basic design concepts of PHEVs, compare three sets of influential technical goals, and explain the inherent trade-offs in PHEV battery design. We then discuss the current state of several battery chemistries, including nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) and lithium-ion (Li-Ion), comparing their abilities to meet PHEV goals, and potential trajectories for further improvement. Four important conclusions are highlighted. First, PHEV battery “goals” vary according to differing assumptions of PHEV design, performance, use patterns and consumer demand. Second, battery development is constrained by inherent tradeoffs among five main battery attributes: power, energy, longevity, safety and cost. Third, Li-Ion battery designs are better suited to meet the demands of more aggressive PHEV goals than the NiMH batteries currently used for HEVs. Fourth, the flexible nature of Li-Ion technology, as well as concerns over safety, has prompted several alternate paths of continued technological development. Due to the differences among these development paths, the attributes of one type of Li-Ion battery cannot necessarily be generalized to other types. This paper is not intended to be a definitive analysis of technologies; instead, it is more of a primer for battery non-experts, providing the perspective and tools to help understand and critically review research on PHEV batteries.

A very nice piece for those of us who are not battery chemistry experts to get up to speed in current developments. Batteries are far from optimal and this is a great place to start if you want to sort out current progress.

on not caring about the health of kids

Yet another article on childhood obesity in the US. It isn't exactly healthy.

One has to wonder if this could be turned around with things like making it safe to use a bicycle, moving crop subsidies from commodity crops and fuel to healthier food like vegetables and fruit and $200 plus oil? The last one is probably coming, the second is probably impossible with the farm and energy lobbies.

Perhaps we need a return to the concept of victory gardens - this time with a focus on health and economic survival. Maybe a X Prize for people who can make this simple and attractive.

100 watts per 1000 miles

When I give talks about energy I find most audiences confuse energy and power and seem to have a better grasp of the concept of power. So I often state energy use in terms of power ... power is just energy per unit time, so if you use a certain among of energy in a year, it is possible to state the use in terms of a average power expended over the full year.

Americans burn something over twelve thousand watts a year - think of it as 120 one hundred watt light bulbs left on all year. The world average is about 2,000 watts.

Flying in a fully loaded 767 on a domestic flight turns out to require about 100 watts per 1,000 miles flown in a year. So 20,000 miles of flying in a year alone equals the average world citizen's power use or twenty 100 watt lights left on all year.

speaking of food

Mark Bittman at Ted (NY Times) on what we eat - our Western diet is an odd form of malnutrition

cooking with manjula

Lindsay recommends Manjula's Kitchen on youtube

This episode looks interesting - make naan with a pizza stone

Sukie and Nancy may be interested

pining for the fjords

a norwegian blue perhaps?

snip

55 million year old fossil remains of parrots discovered near the North Sea

Scientific researchers have discovered the fossil remains of parrots in Scandinavia which are more than 55 million years old. The findings, published in the current issue of Palaeontology, indicate that parrots, which today only live in the tropics and the southern hemisphere, once flew wild over what is now Norway and Denmark. This suggests that parrots may have first evolved in the North, much earlier than had previously been considered.

“Obviously, we are dealing with a bird that is bereft of life, but the tricky bit is establishing that it was a parrot,” explains Dr David Waterhouse, the lead author of the scientific paper. “As with many fragile bird fossils, it is a wonder that anything remains at all, and all that remains of this early Danish parrot is a single upper wing bone (humerus). But, this small bone contains characteristic features that show that it is clearly from a member of the parrot family, about the size of a Yellow-crested Cockatoo.”

steve cisler is gone

Steve's death came as a shock, but not a surprise. He had been fighting cancer for some time.

He was one of the kindest and most interesting people I've known. We first met in the early 90s doing some community networking and I was fascinated by his librarian - almost anthropological - approach to understanding the world.

There was nothing like traveling with him. Rank or station meant nothing and his fierce dedication to those without means was an inspiration to me. On a trip with him in 1996 it struck me that I was traveling with the first librarian of the Internet.

He convinced me that I should tithe time to causes and people I believed in. I have been doing this for years and it is the greatest gift he gave me.

I was his backoffice partner in the unconnected project. He was traveling and observing the unconnected and, to better understand things, kept himself from the Internet. Every few weeks I would get a memory card with his notes and images for posting on the blog. I have arranged that this blog will be hosted indefinitely.

I feel cheated - we should all feel cheated. Far too young.

energy efficiency

From the Economist - if energy conservation is such a good idea, why don't more people do it?

In the US mandating efficiency seems to be a good thing (appliances), but home owners seem to demand as much as thirty percent payback before investing in conservation. Education and bribery may be answers along with sharp increases in energy prices, but it is difficult motivating consumers and small businesses.

interesting article ...

green cartoons

great little shorts noted by Jessica

(although methane from cows is mostly from the other end)

interesting new journal - renewable and sustainable energy

Potentially good - from the American Institute of Physics

It is probably too early in backward countries like the US, but physics and applied physics are going to be valuable backgrounds.

more distorted maps

worldmapper

make sure you have some time

where new zealand is huge

distorted movie maps from a VW ad