chuck kottke

Well, I took a look at it - something I had seen before, when searching for a thermoelectric solution. Thallium-doped lead telluride is somewhat exotic, but perhaps the devices would not need to be too large. What I had been investigating were engine design changes to allow for full expansion of the hot combustion gases, and get a doubling of the efficiency that way. The Miller effect, in essence. Other engine design changes that have been tried include scavenging heat from the cylinder walls by using a 3rd cycle where water mist is sprayed into the hot cylinder, creating stream, and at the same time reducing the need to cool the cylinder via a water jacket. If both were combined, I would imagine the efficiency could jump quite dramatically as well. I like the thermoelectric approach for hybrid home heating systems - I had thought about that as a means to get both electric and heat from a given fuel source; the source could be pellets of waste paper fibers, wood chippings, etc., and used efficiently for both heat and light.

:)Aha! Glad you put that one up, Jay! Yes, the IC engine is a dinosaur in need of some wings. I think even Etienne Lenoir would be shocked (were he alive today) to see how little has changed with the basic internal combustion engine design; so the improvements in efficiency have been long overdue! With doubling on the efficiency, and another doubling of aerodynamics, the auto should soon take flight.;) something on climate, if you're interested: www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/heat/

Hello Bart! Long time, no see!! Dr. Who - they had that on a few nights ago, and it's good, lest I think so. Of course, so were the other dozen or so back in the old days.. How has Barcelona been treating you??

Not really.:P (maybe I should be, but all that stress is not good!) TNP has brown eyes.

Boston is that good this year??? :rolleyes: It's 8:19 PM, and I'm wondering how I should trim my beard?

Cars powered by feet would help, but our economy would only be inching along!:P I like what they do in San Diego - they put up a low cement barrier to keep autos from hopping into the bike lane, and this makes it very safe for cyclists. Would be nice to see that everywhere.

:rolleyes:What was that all about??:rolleyes: Last dream... I was pumping water from an old pump on the farm, to water the cows.. and looking on Ebay to see what the pump would fetch - kinda bizarre!

Well, I am not into bashing people who drive Priuses, since at least they are trying to find something in the market that gets them around, and saves a ton of gas. Take the average lunatic American, for instance. Here, it's 15,000 miles driven per driver per year, and driving an SUV that gets 15 MPG (US gallons; like the ones the milk comes in:P) takes an enormous 1,000 gallons of gasoline each year. In ten years, 10,000 gallons! Now, if the Prius gets at least 45 MPG, then that figure drops to 3,333 gallons, saving 6,666 gallons of fuel. Multiply that by 150 million, and it would be quite substantial! So you say, it still burns gasoline (true), and it's unclean to manufacture? But, it does appear to be a step in the right direction. The next generation of autos should get upwards of 120 MPG, and at that rate, fueling them with biofuels made with newer, highly efficient processes could fill part of the market demand for auto energy. The other share of the market going to newer technology electrics and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, compressed air machines, and an assortment of other propulsion systems. Yes, I've worked in plants making auto parts, and I can attest to the unhealthy side of things - a lot of very nasty toxic chemicals, and workers getting sick from fumes, etc. Greener plastics and finishes are on the way, so things are getting better. What we could use now is an honest government to put the "externalities" into the equation.

& Cheddar Cheese!:elf:

Today.. sheesh, it's tomorrow already! So, I'd have to say, technically, watching a Radiohead Video and song that I actually liked - Thom York did an excellent job singing, and the band was spot-on, so it was exceptional to see. Stop Whispering, Start Shouting.

ABBA Definitely. It's classical, and very pleasant, so I'm sure they listen to it!:laugh3:

YES!:) TNP has no shoes on.

Chocolate Whole-Wheat cake!:P

Miles per Litre. A tale of mixed marriages.;) (and thank god we're not talking nautical miles here!) And so, I convert....bzzzz.....bing!: 30 Miles per Gallon (US) is thus equivalent to 7.9 Miles per Litre on dry ground.:laugh3: The US vehicle "fleet" (dry fleet, no sailing vessels) gets a pathetic 5.3 Miles per Litre, but an improved vehicle could attain 38 Miles per Litre, with just basic technological improvements. Next up: ISO standards for older measures!

Oh, I see! I knew that some of the older measures were kept in the UK, but I was unaware that it was "mixed" like that!:laugh3: (sorry, but it just seems rather odd!). Oh, and that's right - the gallons are different!:laugh3: The conversion book says that too, and I never gave it a solid thought! UGH! I think I'll just stick to telling it in Km/L then, as metrics are universal. And you would think that a gallon is a gallon is a gallon. How bizarre! I recall an old saying my dad would say, "a Pint's a Pound, The World Around." - but now I wonder about that too!:laugh3::laugh3: (but at least it rhymes!) Anyhow, thanks for the clarification David, and let's set the quart to a liter, so that at least we'll still have the "feel" for a 4-quart gallon, without the headache!;) (unless of course, it's a gallon of beer, in which case the headache follows the measuring process.):P

David, that's a good sign!! Here too, but very limited solar panels - tiny ones just for lights to light up a town's marker, etc. The numbers of panels could be quite significant, and the power run along to the filling stations.. And naturally, prices fall slowly at the pumps, after they drop in the market. How much is lag-time, and how much is gouging, I am no expert at telling that - but I'm sure someone's reaping the extra profits where they can..;) Which brings me round to markets - sure, the profit motive is fine, as long as there's an honest referee in the game. I wonder when billionaires get involved - they're often the ones tilting the playing field unfairly in their favor, and to the detriment of most everyone else.. Tesla's got the car, but it's in need of a production boost to get the prices down. And electrics are just part of the picture - I think the future will be a mix of energy options for vehicles, which is a good thing since if any one energy source has a problem, the switch-over to another technology will go more smoothly, after sufficient "Kroisening".

Aye.:)

Hey Gus, the Beatles took a lot of their songs from older Rhythm and Blues artists! John Lennon pretty much spelled it out in an audio recording he did on reel-to-reel tape, way back when. So, they may have innovated later in their careers, but not much in the beginning. No big deal in a way, since the R&B artists often took older Blues tunes and changed them, and so on..:) Bono is not one of the most annoying human beings alive! Comeon! He's done a lot to help citizens in Africa, and make the wealthy north accountable for the inequities that are causing much suffering there. Is that annoying?? I'm glad he's got the drive to charge ahead on those issues, else nobody would have done much about it.

:stunned:OMG! Doesn't that hurt to have pierced nipples??:P How old am I? 41.6:smug: Do you shop with cloth bags?

I suppose it's a cultural thing, anyways! Native Americans named their children according to the thing they saw that day - so sitting bull, red cloud, spring deer, blackbird, or feather water would all qualify as fine among certain tribes. Later, the names would change as the youngsters became adults. But naming your kids after a bus stop? A brand of cigarettes? A dinner option??:laugh3: I think that's taking it a bit too far. There's some truth in the dignity thing - and the teasing can be cruel, so better to offer names that have some sense of dignity, or at least are things we all see as good. Let's say, for instance, you named your daughter Apple. (like, who would do a thing like that??;)). Alright, I think, because it conjures up good memories in everyones mind.. But names that get complex, and offer a bad message, like "violence", well, that's really going to lead to some unhapiness in that youngsters life, I think.

Solution: Drive in reverse when traveling elsewhere.:P

Ah, conventions - how global standards just can only go so far!:laugh3: ISO 2100 has us all driving on the Right-hand side, since that's more common. :P All you lefties will have to switch. Sure, mass chaos in the land where you're from you say? Only for a few decades, and by then, after all the dust has settled, and the dents are pulled, you'll be just fine!:) Plus, your insurance rates will go down again, and that will come as a much-needed relief. A long, long time ago, there was no standard for location of the drive lever or steering wheel, so yes, I have driven a right-hand drive car here in the US! Granted, this was a 1909 model, probably the last year you could get right-hand drive autos, but they did exist!

Popcorn Bass sounds like popping popcorn!:P (It's true! Low pitched popcorn, that is..)

Well, for what my two cents are worth here... I think, and this seems only natural, that in the beginning, bands start out copying or reworking older tunes that are still popular, as their main attraction, plus some creative tunes of their own. This was true of The Beatles, U2, and on and on.. Then as they get more comfortable with themselves, they get better at song creation and refinement, and start to do their own stuff quite successfully. Hey, has anyone seen the footage of U2 doing Gloria? God, now that's funny!:laugh3: But that was a long time ago, and they took their own artistic direction as well. Coldplay has done the same, with the help of some music theorists (like Eno), so that's where they're at today. It's the same with anyone - we all learn through a combination of imitation and creative thinking, the mix broadening towards the latter as we mature.. Least that's my 2-cents!:P But with Coldplay, you get this highly introspective, reflective thought-song pattern.. I'm glad they got more chipper and positive with their newest songs - action is better than reaction, and positive puts the best foot for humanity forward.

The Minders are watching!:rolleyes: