6 New Web Technologies of 2008 You Need to Use Now

Here is something for all you geeks who regularly use the internet.

10 Things That Will Not Survive the Recession (Depression)

Internet and mobile technology will make the current recession unprecedented. Here is a list of 10 things that will not survive, according to Mike Elgan of InfoWorld.

OPEC Cuts Production - Largest Ever

Enjoying the low gasoline prices? Beware that OPEC is cutting production by the largest amount ever: 2.2 million barrels per day starting next month. The cartel is shooting for stabilized prices at $70 to $80 per barrel.

Stock up now.

Using a Prius as a Power Generator

Now here is someone that is thinking outside the proverbial box. The winter weather knocks out the power in Harvard, Massachusetts. A Prius owner takes advantage of his car as an electrical power generator.

Breakthrough Technology For Ethanol Production

Here is a company that has developed a process to manufacture ethanol far cheaper than it can be made from corn, sugar cane, or almost any other source.  The company is Algenol Biofuels.

This just might be the breakthrough that makes the best all around use of solar energy to date. The energy balance is a phenomenal 8:1 (energy output : fossil fuel input).

This is another example of how we can lead the world in this technology and spread this type of industry to even the least developed countries.  Everyone could prosper.  Now we need some leadership to get this going by setting up the production and distribution infrastructure.

This could be big.

Bought Your Tickets Yet?

The Mothership of SpaceShipTwo had a successful test flight today in California. It was reported that all went perfectly. Make sure your credit card limit will go to at least $200,000 and get your ticket soon. By the time the first tourist passengers are taken up (late 2010), the inflation rate will be so high that this might actually be affordable.

By 2010, these guys will be the only source of launching folks into space in the USA if NASA actually shuts down the Space Shuttle Program. Too bad Virgin Galactic can't get this baby into orbit and reach the International Space Station, but it is a good first step.

Quote Of The Day

Here is a quote by Catherine Austin Fitts that she made on a radio interview on Dec. 18, 2008. This is something that I think we should all carefully contemplate.

"The federal government has been broke for a long time. It does not matter as long as the federal government can borrow more money and the central bank (Federal Reserve) can print more money and get the people to hold it, which is really if anything, has become a military question.

The price of the dollar at this point is determined much more by our military capacity than any fundamental economics. It is a global taxation system.

Everybody buys Treasury securities and holds dollars and they go down in value. So it is a way of taxing every country around the world without any legislature ever approving it or ever admitting it."

The question is, what do we do about this? Her web site, Solari, has some suggestions.

What if Starbucks Marketed Like A Church?

A parable. Click here.

Apple News and Speculations

Where is Steve Jobs????

Situation Report: Global Economy December 2008

I don't want to get all serious too often with this blog, but the nation's economy (and the global economy) just cannot be ignored. There are some 'indicators' that we should probably be watching. The question is, if the #*$& hits the fan, what do we do? I'm not sure I know.

Here is a situation report on the Global Economy that was posted today at Fabius Maximus.

Time To Raise The Gas Tax????

It seems to me that the more you tax and item, like gasoline, the more you interfere with the dynamic of supply and demand.

Supply and demand in a market that operates on a level playing field is essentially self correcting. The leaders in our industries and government should provide a convincing argument that, in spite of temporarily cheap energy, we need work like crazy on alternative energy technologies and an efficient distribution network to be ready for the next supply squeeze. It will come, its just a matter of time.

I think this is like putting money away for retirement when you're in your 20s. At the time, it seems to be a crimp on your life style. But after reaching your 50's, it could be your ticket to financial freedom.

Solar & Wind Energy and the Electrical Grid

A recent study has shown the electrical grid feasibility of a portfolio of renewable energy far exceeds the target set by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger for California. The required grid upgrades could be fairly minor and inexpensive.

The geography and geology of California are quite favorable for several types of renewable energy. That is good, because this state uses quite a bit of electricity. I wish that they could back-off on the natural gas so the rest of us could use it for relatively cheap heat.

Fusion We Can Beieve In?

There is some encouraging news in the frontier of nuclear fusion research. Positive results have been seen with experiments with an approach called inertial electrostatic confinement fusion or Polywell fusion.

The new Secretary of Energy nominee is familiar with this work and wants to see more information.

How About Some Whimsy??

Click here.

Today's Hottest Game On The Net

Click here to play a hilarious new game through your web browser. It is called Sock and Awe.

Awesome!!!!

What Caused The Economic Crisis? Global Imbalances

This is a good summary of how the global money mess came about and why the U.S. dollar has shown strength lately.

The question is, will the dollar strength continue in the long term or is this just a hiccup?

Born Digital? Die Young

Here is an article about our growing dependence on storage of information on digital media and the dangers of losing our records of history. We really don't know how to keep digital information retrievable for centuries.

Happy Birthday Beethoven!!!

Today is thought to be Ludwig van Beethoven's birthday. Little did Beethoven know that he may have helped set the industry standard playing time for audio CDs with the length of his Ninth Symphony.

This sounds similar to the story circulating on the net over the last few years about how the standard distance between rails on the railroad tracks in the US were set.

Asteroids Didn't Do It

Evidence indicates that the six mile diameter asteroid that smacked down on the Yucatan peninsula 65 million years ago did not cause any major extinctions, according to information released at a this week's American Geophysical meeting.

It appears that a period of massive volcanic eruptions in India about 300,000 years after the Yucatan impact did the dinosaurs in, as well as many other species.

This series of eruptions, lasting less than 10,000 years, put ten times more climate-changing emissions into the atmosphere than the asteroid impact.

Volcanoes are the greatest polluting mechanisms on this planet. Man's efforts pale in comparison, excluding the detonation of thousands of nuclear weapons.

2000 Year Old Computer Brought Back To Life

The 2000 year old Greek Antikythera mechanism has been recreated and demonstrated in a video in the link provided. There is a book out titled "Decoding the Heavens" by Jo Marchant about this mysterious device.

Technology like this from so long ago, makes one wonder about other bits of knowledge that have been lost over the centuries.

Gamma-rays From Lightning Storms

As if we need something else to be concerned about when traveling by air, some rather intense gamma-rays have been detected in thunderstorms by researchers. Apparently, these gamma-rays are produced by lightning.

Gamma-rays are usually found in the realm of the atomic nucleus. Of course there is a tremendous amount of energy liberated in a lightning bolt. I remember reading years ago about neutron reactions with oxygen nuclides being studied as a result of lightening strikes. Analysis of changes in the isotopic ratios of oxygen (O-16 to O-17, if I remember correctly) provided the evidence of the reactions.

Don't expect the airlines to be adding lead shielding any time soon.

Utilities May Make A Huge Order of Electric Vehicles

Now this news item is interesting. U.S. utilities are talking about making large orders of electric vehicles to help out the Detroit automakers. They specifically are interested in plugin hybrids and all electric vehicles.

The order could be as many as 50,000 vehicles, which could be a springboard for Detroit to begin switching to entirely new vehicle markets.

Steinway & Sons Model C Music System

And you thought Steinway & Sons only manufactured pianos? Think again. This may be the ultimate audiophile's music system.

I wonder if it is possible to obtain a mortgage on something like this? Five percent for 20 years just might get some serious music lovers interested.

New Jobs In Solar Energy

The solar panel business is going well in California despite the shaky economy. We need some of this in the other parts of the county. It also wouldn't hurt for the price to come down some too.

It would seem to me that alternative energy technologies would get some traction one a 'tipping point' is achieved. If the industry continues to grow like it has in the last couple of years, this could be possible. It will be interesting to see the impact of falling oil costs on this sector of business.

Dillon, Read & Co. Inc. and the Aristocracy of Stock Profits

Here is an 0n-line version of Catherine Austin Fitts' story about trying to find answers to her questions about how aristocracy of the American economic system essentially high jacked the financial mechanisms of our government.

Here is excerpt:

"I decided to write “Dillon Read & Co Inc. and the Aristocracy of Stock Profits” as a case study designed to help illuminate the deeper system. It details the story of two teams with two competing visions for America. The first was a vision shared by my old firm on Wall Street — Dillon Read — and the Clinton Administration with the full support of a bipartisan Congress. In this vision, America's aristocracy makes money by ensnaring our youth in a pincer movement of drugs and prisons and wins middle class support for these policies through a steady and growing stream of government funding and contracts for War on Drugs activities at federal, state and local levels. This consensus is made all the more powerful by the gush of growing debt and derivatives used to bubble the housing and mortgage markets, manipulate the stock and precious metals markets and finance trillions missing from the US government in the largest pump and dump in history — the pump and dump of the entire American economy. This is more than a process designed to wipe out the middle class. This is genocide — a much more subtle and lethal version than ever before perpetrated by the scoundrels of our history texts."

I recommend that you go to the Table of contents link and tackle one chapter at a time. It is a little long but I think that this is a very important read that every American should digest.

Many things that Fitts describes is probably not all that surprising when it comes to the graft and corruption that has eaten away at our nation and it's financial institutions. What is amazing to me is the complete buy-in of the 'go along to get along' attitude by the business leaders and government officials as they fleece the tax payers and destroy any real chance of a sustainable and free market economy in this country.

Catherine Austin Fitts is one of American's true heros. It took a lot of courage to standup for what is right and just. She sacrificed all but her life and family. I hope that her efforts and ideas find some solid footing in our effort to fix the economic and social mess we find ourselves in today.

Ester Dyson On Information Technology & The Internet

Here is an interview of Ester Dyson with her interesting perspective on how we are using information technology and the internet.

Classical Music and Chinese Culture

This is a fascinating article on differences in Chinese and Western culture in areas such as classical music. But there is much more information here. Some very interesting internal links too.

This is well worth your time if you love music as I do.

106 Years of Popular Mechanics

Here is a link to 106 years of Popular Mechanics. It is available for free online.

Nominee for Dept. of Energy Secretary of Energy

It appears that Steven Chu, Ph.D. Director of DOE's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory will be the nominee for Secretary of Energy. It sounds like he is a genuine problem solver. Let's hope that the mind numbing bureauracy of D.C. (District of Corruption) doesn't prevent this brilliant physicist from doing good work for the nation.

Talking and Driving Safely

A lot of drivers are not going to like this report about the problems of driving and talking. It appears that the intensity of conversation is "the fly in the ointment."

How To Unplug From The Grid

Here is an interesting story from NewScientist. The photo of the woman ironing outdoors is silly. This article may need to be taken with a grain of salt.

Michelin's Active Wheel Technology

Michelin's Active Wheel Technology was revealed at the 2008 Paris Motor Show and could make electric cars much more affordable and practical. Check out the video. It's coming in 2011.

Would you like WiFi and 3G with that? You got it!

DOD Pollution Cleanup Ordered by DOJ

Here is a potential business opportunity for environmental cleanup firms. The Dept. of Justice has stated that the Pentagon cannot dodge the EPA orders for cleanup of several military sites.

Looks like chemically contaminated groundwater is one of the major issues.

Here are some interesting facts from Harper's Index:

• Chance that an American lives within four miles of an EPA Superfund site: 1 in 4
• Chance that he or she lives within 10 miles of one: 1 in 2
  

Lovins Recommends The Big 3 Go Radical

Amory Lovins gave the Detroit automakers some very timely advice this past week. I hope The Big Three were listening. The current situation could turn out to be a fantastic opportunity.

I attended a Lovins lecture way back in 1980 while I was in graduate school. This event had a lasting impact on my understanding about energy. This man "walks the talk."

The 10 Dirtiest Foods You're Eating

Now that we are engulfed in the winter holidays, it is time to consider the biological hazards of eating. I'm not trying to be the Grinch, but there are some serious health concerns in the foods we bring home from the supermarket and some attention is needed to minimize this threat.

Our society has some major difficulty in dealing with risk. The main stream media has our attention directed to risks that are sometimes on par with that of the probability of being struck by a meteorite.

IMHO, the biggest daily risks are associated with driving our cars and the foods we routinely consume. We rarely give either much thought. Think again and have a safe and healthy holiday season.

Using Solar Energy to Make Fuel

A Professor of Chemistry at MIT, Daniel Nocera, has developed a process to use the sun + water to make hydrogen fuel. This process is similar to photosynthesis. It can also be used to make fresh water out of seawater.

Now it needs to be scaled up for practical use. Let us hope this is done soon, regardless of the falling cost of oil. We will need this down the road, so why wait for a crisis.

Worst Diet In The World

Here is a short video clip by Dr. Andrew Weil. The subject matter is "The Worst Diet In The World." Let us take heed and take better care of ourselves.

Health Checks and Disease Prevention

If you don't read another entry on my blog, please make sure you read this one. Here is some excellent information from Dr. Terry Grossman.

Nano-Silicon Breakthrough in Lithium Battery Technology

Here is another breakthrough in battery technology that is based on using a nano-silicone anode in a lithium ion battery that can increase the battery's capacity by 10x.

No word on when a commercial product will be available, but if research and testing go well, it could be in a matter of months, I hope.

More Information On Eating Heavy Atoms

Here is an article on the how eating heavy atoms might lengthen our lives from New Scientist. There is much more detail given. One fact that caught my eye is that deuterated bonds can be up to 80 times stronger than those containing hydrogen.

If this is concept is proven to work, my question is how can these isotopes be economically produced? Will they need to be regulated since higher levels could be toxic?

The 10 Big Energy Myths

Here is an article from the Guardian on some of the most prevalent energy myths. IMHO, the comments on nuclear are pretty weak. It certainly has been an expensive option to date, but that can change with new directions on plant design and construction.