Archive for November, 2007
Maglev wind : is it real?
A few months ago, I saw this online. Now that it’s come back around a second time, it’s got to be true. Right?
If this turns out to be A) feasible and B) economical, this could be a serious game changer in the wind industry. One of the criticisms of wind is that it doesn’t scale as easily as fossil fuel power plants. The Maglev challenges this by scaling up to 5000 megawatts (the article says 5000 watts, but I think that’s a typo).
The part of the story that makes it most believable is that China is leading the charge in developing the technology. It’s no surprise that tomorrow’s innovative energy solution is going to come from the East.
Stay tuned and wait for a few of these giant turbines poking up on the horizon.
Filed under energy, environment, technology : Comments (0) : Nov 27th, 2007
On blogging
I’ve come a long way in my thoughts about blogs. Believe it or not, I started tadfad with the express intent to keep it entirely free of my personal narrative. I wanted to treat it more like a newspaper opinion column. Over the past three years, my focus and the voice I use here has changed significantly. (I didn’t even use the word I for a long time!)
Why do I write a blog?
I find that the exercise of writing is both stimulating and cathartic. It really helps me sort out my thoughts and develop a coherent world view. I don’t think it’s any coincidence that as I’ve written over the years about politics and economics that my theories on the world have coalesced around a unifying theory. Writing forces you to take the constant chatter that runs through your head and develop sentences that flow together in a logical flow. It’s not always easy, but it’s extremely useful in sorting through it all.
There was a time when keeping a public record of my personal views and beliefs would be taboo. That time has passed. If anything, I think that an active blog is an asset when it comes to professional development and resume building. Sure, tadfad isn’t exactly focused on one specific topic, but over the years I’ve demonstrated that I have ideas and know how to express them. This is a plus.
Finally, there’s the benefit of archiving. The beauty of the modern blog engine (thanks, Wordpress!) is that it’s very easy to archive and retrieve old posts. Every now and again I like to go back a year or two and recall what was floating through my mind back then. I eagerly look forward to hitting the 10-year milestone and cruising back through all years of data. Maybe I’ll publish my favorites in book. (Just in case the internet crashes.)
Here’s my pitch: start a blog. It’s free, it’s fun, it’s mentally stimulating, it’s a nice line-item for your resume, and it’s a great way to allow your friends/family to keep in touch. And while you’re at it, start an account on Flickr to share your digital photos.
(Plus if you really take a shining to it, you can ask Google to kindly put some ads on your site and send you some of the profits. Thanks, Google!)
Filed under Uncategorized : Comments (1) : Nov 19th, 2007
$50 Gas Tank
I drive an old Volvo 850 sportwagon. Last weekend, I had a lifetime first: the $50 gas tank.
I know that there’s nothing fundamentally different between a $45 tank and the fabled $50, but I have to believe that this will have a psychological effect on people. With oil hovering in the $90’s and no significant price relief in sight, the fun fifty is going to hit more and more drivers.
We really need to seriously reconsider the economics of mass transit. The cheap motoring days of the 1990’s are long gone, and they’re not coming back. With gas at $3 a gallon, we’re each spending 10-20 cents per driven mile (for fuel costs alone!). I’m no rocket scientist but I have to believe that passenger rail could do better.
Factor in road construction, the price of automobiles, repair costs, and the environmental costs and all of a sudden mass transit is price competitive with autos. Of course, the real issue is that mass transit requires upfront investment and wise leadership. We’re not very good at that right now.
Filed under economics, energy : Comments (2) : Nov 17th, 2007
The Hood Internet : Mixtape Vol 2
Who likes mash-ups? I do!
I found these guys a while back and I’ve really enjoyed the music they’re putting out. Add The Hood Internet to your Google Reader and you will be pleased.
Filed under culture : Comments (0) : Nov 15th, 2007
OLPC : One Laptop Per Child
Negroponte’s ambitious program aiming to put laptops in the hands of children in developing nations is ready to go prime-time. Due to the harsh market realities, the OLPC group has been unable to hit their target price of $100 per laptop. Instead, they’re getting creative with a new program called give one, get one.
It works something like this: you pay $400, your donation puts one laptop in the hands of a child, and you get one laptop to donate yourself (or keep to play with). These are pretty amazing little machines, designed to be rugged and low on energy use.
I can testify first hand that exposure to computers from a young age really changes the way your mind grows and learns to use the technology. My parents always wondered why computers came so naturally to me. . . could it be that I’ve been using them since I was 3?
So here’s your opportunity to give a child the toolkit to be competitive in the modern economic environment. Chances are the next Google or Apple won’t come from the US!
Filed under education, technology : Comments (4) : Nov 14th, 2007
Please, please, please kill the farm bill
There’s a nasty piece of legislation that gets written by some very powerful lobbyists every few years and passed through Washington. The express intent of this bill is to ensure that commodity crops protected from the free market and that industrial farms are given public handouts. The side effect of this bill is that foods like high fructose corn syrup and corn fed (high in fat) beef are artificially cheap due to the public subsidy. It’s a real lose-lose situation for everyone but the industrial farmer.
Farm programs, like all corporate welfare, involve taking money from people who have earned it and giving it to people who have not. There’s nothing exceptional about them.
Please read these two articles to learn a bit more about this terrible legislation that’s ruining our environment, our food supply, and our economy. (Wow, Tad, that’s a bit extreme)
If you align more with the progressives, you’ll hate the farm bill because it’s destroying our bodies and environment. If you align more with the conservatives, you’ll hate the farm bill because it’s the biggest federal handout going and it’s expressly anti-free market.
If you’re me, you’ll hate the farm bill for all of the above.
Filed under economics, environment, politics : Comments (1) : Nov 14th, 2007
Up Nort(h) : Eagle River
For the last 10 years or so, I’ve spent at least a few days outside on a backpacking or canoeing trip. I find it extremely therapeutic and refreshing to get out of the city for a few days and get all the voices in my head in sync.
This year’s adventure took a slightly different path. My friend Dustin is working at an environmental learning center in Eagle River, so I used a long weekend to visit him. Since winter strikes pretty early in northern Wisconsin, we both agreed that overnight backpacking was not in the cards. Instead, we went on a day hike Saturday and Sunday, and enjoyed the bustling night life in Eagle River.
It was great to spend some time outdoors, away from the daily grind. I still enjoy living in the city, but I need these respites to keep me on the level.
[More photos on the photos page or at Flickr]
Filed under culture, environment : Comments (3) : Nov 12th, 2007
US Economy : Ouch
I’ve been saying for awhile that the US economy can’t run on fumes forever. Fumes, in the literal sense of oil (in case you didn’t notice, we burn a hell of a lot of the stuff) and fumes in the figurative sense of black-magic economics in which deficits are good, loans are cheap, and long-term planning is all but ignored.
The wheels just might be starting to come off the bus. Here are a few graphs to get you interested:
Here’s the stock market in 2007. Not bad, right? It’s had some ups and downs, but over the year it’s up about 10%. Everything is great.
Unless you consider the falling value of the U.S. dollar. You see, the rest of the world is a bit more conservative in their economic policies, and they prefer fundamentals over fanfare when valuing a currency. Even our 10% stock market gain looks pretty sorry if you’re taking holiday in Europe.
And then there’s oil : with the price of oil teasing $100/bbl and oil markets talking about a move away from the $USD as its default currency, we’re going to have to get real smart real quick about alternatives to our oil-intensive lifestyle.
It seems to have come to a head in the past week, with the stock market taking a sharp dive and giving up most of its gains in the past month. Could it be that economists and traders alike have looked through the smoke and realized that we’re running on fumes?
What’s your plan?
Filed under economics : Comments (3) : Nov 7th, 2007
Waterboarding
It’s been the subject of many congressional hearings, media exposes, and it’s a key phrase to define the policies of our current leadership: waterboarding.
There is no question that the U.S. employs the waterboarding technique while interrogating alleged criminals. This has been openly sanctioned in Justice Department memos and confirmed by numerous sources within the federal government.
The impossible contradiction facing the Bush Whitehouse, and our country at large, is that we openly use this technique, and yet “we don’t torture”. I won’t tell you what I think of waterboarding, because now you can decide for yourself.
Please, go read about the technique at waterboarding.org and decide whether this constitutes as torture. This is the United States of America in 2007. We know too much information to pretend otherwise.
[Update Nov 6]
Here’s Jon Stewart’s take on the issue. (And provides some context for the first comment)
Filed under culture, war : Comments (1) : Nov 6th, 2007
Three Years!
Well, I missed the official anniversary again, but I’m happy to report that I’ve been staking my claim in this little corner of the internet for three years!
Thanks to all of you for keeping me going. I love writing and knowing that there are friends/family/colleagues/strangers out there reading it makes it all worthwhile. Thank you!
Filed under Uncategorized : Comments (1) : Nov 5th, 2007
