chuck kottke

NYET! The Next Poster has a poster of Coldplay on the wall.

The Toyota Prius uses what is termed an 'Atkins Cycle' engine, and the engine while still conventional, uses variable valve timing to mimic the Atkins cycle. Another innovation which caught my attention is the Scuderi split-cycle engine, which holds promise as being even more efficient - giving us more power and less waste heat from an engine. They have actually tested one in a Nissan! If you are interested, here's a link: Scuderi Engine Significantly Increases MPG Operating in a Nissan Sentra Says Independent Lab Study | Scuderi Engine Increasing mileage by 33% definitely makes sense, with no loss of power. Now coupling that with lighter, stronger eco-composite bodies, low drag coefficients, regenerative brakes, and true hybrid designs should get us to top the 100 MPG mark quite easily. Add to that more earth friendly rubber tires (from crops such as Russian dandelions and other highly productive rubber crops), plus other bio-synthetics, makes for a lighter tread on earth as well..

The internet should be banned? Isn't that like banning the phone system, or any other mass communications medium? I mean, we could try and get rid of the letter Y from the alphabet as well, but whi do that?:laugh3:

A company run by perfectionists may produce a product, but it may take a decade before item 1 rolls off the assembly line!:laugh3:

Hmm, well, if one were to truly analyze the nature of Americans and their buying habits.. I would have to say it's a lot more than the "weak reputation" of smaller autos which drives people's choices.. Americans buy "luxury automobiles" (forget what they tell you, this is the real deal) - because of savvy marketing and the "grand" feel one gets in a big box auto. It's even more than that - it has to do with equating individual value with automobile size and appearance, and the marketing people know how to push all the buttons in people's minds. And big autos are marketed extensively, since the lion's share of the profits made by companies is with the big ticket items - SUV's full-sized pickups, luxury loaded vehicles, and the things pulled behind them - big boats, campers, etc. Then there's "keeping up with the Jones's" here in status symbol land. And big vehicles make people feel more powerful - it's got it's ego appeals without a doubt, acts as a living room on wheels, and it's like riding on top of the tallest horse or camel. And it consumes "food" like the biggest animals too! But when the squeeze is in, yes, high fuel prices have gotten American's scrambling for cover, before their financial roofs fall in!:laugh3: It never fails - just like in the 70's.. I think the reputation of super-efficient cars is a little bit of a detractor from the past, certainly played to the hilt by the car companies to push the big cars instead, but today's super-efficient cars have plenty of power for their size and weight, so the more they are given the chance to prove themselves, the more people will want them. Truthfully, we've had cars that could get 40 MPG as far back as 1911, 100 years ago - the cyclecars - which were fuel efficient and inexpensive, but were undone because of poor design, low fuel prices, and competition from mass-produced cars. And that's about when the luxury car market began too, which was pushed as symbolic of wealth and worth. Electrics go even further back, into the late 1800's - so one might say, we've come full circle! Thanks for the article and links - will check them out!;) PS - one thing also - it's something of the deal with patterns of behavior, since people here pattern themselves after what their parents and grandparents drove; so the pattern is often repeated without much thought. The idea of hauling things has a certain appeal as well - people, building materials, toys, etc. - the Island effect, where one thinks of home as a castle, which has a draw bridge and a moat, and one needs a ship to ship things in! Kinda the 'haul-a-family I'm proud of' thing going on there as well (which the marketing people push all the buttons on) - which then confers to the driver a sense of importance and control over everyone else's experience. I'm not saying this is all bad, but it could use some modifying to make our world a livable place - since a lot of it is just for nest feathers (and profits).

Plastic Bags are a real problem in our planet's waters! Pollution of the Ocean by Plastic and Trash - sea, oceans, effects, types, source, effect, marine, human How clean are the oceans on your planet?

I'm really sorry to hear that! That has got to be very unsettling, without a doubt. Strange that someone would take personal files, laptops, and the like :( - it's a problem today with identity theft. You have my sympathies. In this area, there are less break-ins of permanent residences, but more break-ins of cabins, seasonal homes, and the like. I have seen one simple, effective alarm systems that works - a silent alarm system that notified the police without tipping off the burglars - and in that case it gave the police enough advance notice to nab the culprits. I think it wasn't all that expensive either - so maybe it's worth the investment, and get a door opener that turns the alarm system off for family members when they come home - still no guarantees at night though, when everyone's sleeping. hmm, what to do..:confused:... motion detector cameras, at least might catch the culprits on film, and then the police would have evidence to use if anyone is brought in..

So what would make the U.S. military operate in a manner which is respectful of Afghan citizen's rights, much as anyone living in the U.S. would expect from our legal process? Special ops might be killing or capturing large numbers of Taliban & Al Qaeda extremists, but when whole villages desert us in favor of the Taliban, what have we gained? It sounds like another policy which on the surface looks to be making progress but by its very nature alienates citizens by busting into homes, and thus fails in the most important objective of showing the value and fairness of modern systems of governance to protect basic rights, and encourage progress in Afghanistan. What to do about it is the question. To petition the government for a redress of grievances is part of our rights, if it would ever listen to common sense..

at least there are potatoes in the field, and those strange sunchokes! Why did they name them Jerusalem Artichokes, that's strange! Ancient fire gods good - make plasma state of matter, keep us warm!

> Well, there you go! Finally, a precise date for the end-time:laugh3:. And it's all because of a mistake with the Mayan calendar.. Rapture - well, maybe we can make life on earth a better experience for us all, work on the real and the possible; seems like a better plan than betting it all on some here-after dream. Although, if the good Crenshaw melons come into ripeness and make it to market on that date, it might taste like heaven!:p

What is it really? hm.. if we were used to being perfect with our own writing, then that sometimes get projected onto what we expect of others. Understandable. But is that comfortable - I mean, nobody really talks that way, in casual conversation, or amongst close friends, so it becomes something we reserve for formal or structured settings. On the other hand, if we get too sloppy on a regular basis with our grammar and spelling, then it may become a habit which affects our ability to communicate effectively.. :ears:

Time to invest in a rubber duck dingy. Or a Happy Funyak.

Please, no puking in this thread.:hangover: I sometimes wonder if some people like to become perfectionists at fine points, so then they can act like grammar NAZIS towards others? But even if that is so, who cares :laugh3:. If you are writing in a technical journal, grammar matters. If you are writing for entertainment sake, then by all means, brake the rules! ;) (Samuel Clemens implores you to do so!)

That's an excellent step to be making - I do hope the idea catches on elsewhere! Thanks for posting that Nancy :). If we save 5% here, 10% there, eventually the total makes a big change in our overall carbon footprint.

Violet Hill & thinking about Julia Butterfly Hill Sentimental Journey - by the Beatles? will have to check it out!

Go to sleep, go to sleep, go to sleep. There, better? :laugh3: I was thinking about the future being either architected by a carnival of idiots on show, or just maybe we can pull it off, save planet earth from the ruinous ravages of idiotic policies, and re-establish true democracies. Perhaps the whole premise of our industrial civilization is highly flawed, but what plan would supplant it, be sustainable for the long haul, and ensure global fairness?

Why is it that English teachers are so - so - so Nationalistic ? It's not like they are from England (unless they are actually from England), but I almost think they are some sort of agent provocateurs, trying to get us to smite them. It's like they're from the National Socialist German Worker's Party or something. And since there's all this nice "social worker party" goodie goodie word roots used there in that acronym, how come they were so un-nice? Is this some sort of early marketting gimmick, or what? And another thing, just to clear this up once and for all - are we to use NAZIS as a noun, or an adjective? Tell the truth, grammar NAZIS, or we will tickle you to death!:P:biker:

I think we're missing the point here. If you people in the UK would just drive on the right side of the road like most of the rest of the world does, there would be no problems! :P Viva La France! :laugh3: Don't France and the UK work together on car manufacturing? Seems like I recall that from somewhere..

Glad to see the judicial world is taking notice of this matter, and standing up for the right of life we all deserve, and the normal law enforcement process - if Bin Laden was not a threat to the officers' lives, then they should have apprehended him. I'm in agreement with Christof Hayns - terrorists should be dealt with as one would deal with criminals in the normal legal process of warrants, arrests, trials, and judicially decided punishments if found guilty of a crime. thanks for posting this Greg! Now, I wonder if the U.S. will face any legal repercussions for this action.

That's neat - I knew about half of those things, and the others were a bit surprising! Viva Portugal!

>:laugh3: I looked at the Ariel Atom on-line, and it's easy to see why someone would buy one - because (a) they're like kids and want a racing car, and (b) it's fun to drive one.. on warm sunny days above 20C! :lol: I think that's fine for a week-end cruise or some after work tooling, but obviously it's impractical on a regular basis. Hey, wait a minute - Rolls Royce is still made in England, right?? A bit pricey, but built to last!:smug: Cycle Cars are good machines that get excellent gas mileage - I found a pretty cool site that showcases what's coming and what's available today! Commute Cars - Electric-Bikes.com

> Naturally so, but like anything good proposed, it slid - off the table. Beaten back? More like promised really good lobbying jobs when their rotation was up, so the revolving door works it's charm.. that or some back-channel money for re-elections - which is worse now than ever before. What science tells us Congress dithers on and then moves at a snail's pace towards correcting the matter - what's it like in the U.K in that regard? Absolutely! We've had the technologies for a long time now, and with more emphasis on energy efficiency we would already be at that mark - I agree. Now, if only one had the political answer, and could use the Einstein Express to go back in time and fix the mess we're in.. Some are saying it's time for revolution to get things to really change - the 60's was a pretty messy time and lots of mistakes were made back then, so if we're going to go that route, we had better be smarter this time around..

Whoa, wait a minute - evolution isn't a lie, it's a theory, a well substantiated theory actually. And this whole business of Jesus rising from the dead - hey, that just defies natural law, unless Jesus just had a flesh wound and he recovered after resting in the cave for a while. Bread rises; Jesus was either dead or he wasn't. The bible is a novel - a good one, if you ask me, but it is basically a novel, with lots of embellishments, contradictions, changes, - why have more than one gospel if things were so well established as the perfect word of god? And then there's the whole thing with Moses dropping 5 of the 15 commandments - imagine if he hadn't dropped the 3rd stone tablet? Oi! [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YX-gqRdK_8]YouTube - Mel Brooks as Moses[/ame]

Nah, it's just a language - be as sloppy as you like. It's fluid, spelling isn't what it used to be anyhow - just take a look at an original copy of some of Chaucer's work for instance. Middle English. We've deviated, and we'll continue to deviate - it's just a matter of time. Face piles of trials with smiles - it riles them to believe you perceive the web they built.