Tesla Model S @ $57,400?

Cool looking car, but they still have some pricing issues if they are to be profitable. I think if the battery replacement is $30,000, then maybe they need to team up with Shai Agassi who proposes to set up a network that replaces your battery when your power is low. You would pay for your juice similar to the way we pay for cell phone service, a usage plan.

Pushing Plastic Solar Cells

Researchers are making some strides with plastic solar cell efficiencies, but they are still not competitive with silicone based solar cells. Efficiencies are increasing at a rate of about 1% per year. There is some working being done on converting infrared light to electricity.

Faster, faster, cheaper, cheaper.

Microsoft Keeps Tabs in a Crisis

Looks like perfect timing for Microsoft to introduce it's new social networking monster called "Vine". Some people are calling it "Twitter for emergencies" but it is a lot more than that according to the MS fact sheet.

My question is, what do we do when the net goes down? Now there is a real crisis!

GE's Breakthrough in Holographic Data Storage

Start saving your pennies, G.E. has just announced a big breakthrough in digital storage. G.E. researchers have developed what could be the next generation of low-cost digital storage which is based on holography.

If things go well, it could be on the market by 2011. Storage cost could be as low as 10 cents per gigabyte. It also should be backwards compatible with CDs, DVDs, and Blue-ray discs. Disc capacities should be about 500 gigabytes.

This is a big move forward that will impact the entertainment industry as well as the medical arts.

Rad Exposure of Americans Rises 600 % in 29 Years

Medical imaging scans, such as CT scans, are the culprit. The American Cancer Society says that these scans are not inconsequential and can lead to later cancers.

There is no "free lunch."

Coal Ash In Chinese Dry Wall

Now we know what the Chinese are doing with all that coal fly ash from their many power plants. At least TVA has not tried to do the same. I find it interesting that there is little discussion about the natural radioactivity in the ash. It could be that the toxic chemicals pose the biggest biological and environmental hazard.

Status of Radioactive Waste Disposal in West Texas

Waste Control Specialist LLC has received a license for the disposal of low-level radioactive waste at it's facility near Andrew's Texas.

It is my understanding (but not explained in this article) that a significant portion of the waste will come from the medical industry.  That means shorter-lived radionuclides which do not pose long-term disposal issues.

From the news media one would gather that nobody wants nuclear waste in their backyards. But the technology exists to dispose of most radioactive waste in a very safe manner.  It is monitored for the life of the facility and then some.

The more controversial nuclear waste is that which comes from the weapons research and production and from the spent fuel from nuclear power plants.  Spent nuclear fuel wastes become much less voluminous if you have the political will and the technology to recycle, which has been well understood for over 50 years or more.  The French have done a very good job in this area.

Who Will Be Tech's Next Winners and Losers?

Good article by Michael S. Malone on trying to imagine the U.S. economy (tech companies) when the recession (depression) is over.

Drugs for Obesity?

The medical and pharmaceutical industries are on a quest to find a drug for the treatment of obesity. The simple solution is for consumers to become more educated about fresh local foods, food additives, and the realization that a little self-control will be much better and cheaper. Easier said than done.

This article does a pretty good job with the analysis of how we got into this situation. It also includes some interesting discussion about how the brain controls food intake.

I believe that the cheap fructose additives and artificial sweeteners are a big reason that obesity has skyrocketed in the last 20 years.

Obesity may be the biggest battle that me must fight in order to have affordable health care. We truly are what we eat.

Ethanol, Biodiesel, CNG and Propane Reality Check

Popular Mechanics is live at the Annual Alternative Fuels and Vehicles Conference and gives us a status report.

Stunning Photos of Saturn

Click here to see some spectacular photos of Saturn with amazing detail. These photos and a video are from the Cassini spacecraft which has been hard a work since 1999. A lot of bang for the buck I would say.

Fructose or Glucose: Which is Worse?

Too much sugar is bad. Fructose is cheap and is now a very common food and drink additive. My advice is to stay away from it. Between the two you are better off with glucose type sugar.

A better choice is is a natural sweetener called agava nectar. It has a very low glycemic index and is diabetic friendly. This is used in the healthy dark chocolate.

Learn To Think Better: Tips from a Savant

Scientific American interviews Daniel Tammet, a linguist who holds the European record for reciting the first 22,514 digits of the mathematical constant pi.

Read this to get some tips for improving your cognitive performance.

In addition, recent research findings show improved cognitive performance can come from eating dark chocolate. Beware that all chocolate is not processed equally. See the link at the lower left on this blog site.

Amazing Technology - Development of a 6th Sense Device

13 Things That Do Not Make Sense

Here is a list of things in science that do not make sense according to Michael Brooks at NewScientist.com, which has been recently updated.

Close Call for Space Shuttle STS-27 in 1988

STS-27 (Atlantis) launched on Dec. 6, 1988. This was the second Shuttle flight since the Challenger disaster. A piece of insulation from the tip of the right-side solid-fuel booster broke loose after 85 seconds into the flight and damaged about 700 protective tiles. This was a classified mission. Information was not released to the public and there was an information transfer snafu that lead NASA engineers to think 'no big deal.' The astronauts on board, including Robert Gibson, thought 'we are going to die.'

Does any of this sound familiar? This was almost 18 years before the Columbia disaster. NASA apparently didn't learn much from this incident. If the fate of Atlantis had resulted in the loss of the crew and vehicle, then it is likely that Congress would have ended the Space Shuttle Program.

New Way to Split Water Into Hydrogen and Oxygen

My chemistry buddy, Lamar, sent me this story today. It is yet another breakthrough in developing hydrogen fuel from water. Seems to be a good time to be involved in research areas involving chemistry.

Hacking Your VCR Yields Monster Results

Free At Last

Fareed Zakaria of Newsweek has some ideas about how the USA can achieve genuine energy independence. There is nothing really earth shaking here, but I think he takes a very common sense approach. Attitudes in our culture need to change.

I feel that economics is a major issue in bringing new forms of energy production into play. Right now, petroleum energy is relatively cheap and therefore, alternative technologies have less economic incentive. We need to remember that all this can change rapidly. Investing now, even with cheap petroleum is like starting a retirement savings account. You may miss the spending power now, but the pay off could be tremendous down the road. We can't afford to wait for a crisis.

I don't necessarily think the search for a silver bullet is wrong. Many ground breaking scientific discoveries have come about because of serendipity. We need to keep searching, but we don't need to lose our perspective and bet the bank account on some kind of miracle.

Boomers - Your Crisis Has Arrived

Financial Sense Editorials has a very good piece on the current financial crisis with a tie-in to The Fourth Turning that I just finished reading.

Etsy - Your Place To Buy & Sell All Things Handmade

Today I learned about a web site this is specifically designed for buying and selling handmade items.  It is called Etsy.

Etsy started in 2005 and did about $160,000 in their first year in business.  In 2008 they did about $88,000,000.

Martha Stewart, eat your heart out.

All About Windows - Not The Operating System

Modern windows in a structure are fairly complex.  A considerable about of heat and cold use windows as a portal and result in higher utility bills.  What can you do to improve the energy efficiency of your windows?

Popular Mechanics has a useful guide to sealing windows and a primer on how windows work.

The Fourth Turning

I'm reading a book titled "The Fourth Turning" by William Strauss and Neil Howe. Strauss and Howe have written about history and the development of generations in societies. Mixing solid understanding of present generational divisions, with some fairly broad generalizations, Strauss and Howe attempt to move from history to prophecy.

"In The Fourth Turning, authors Strauss and Howe apply their generational theories to the cycles of history and locate America in the middle of an unraveling period, on the brink of a crisis. How you prepare for this crisis--the Fourth Turning--is intimately connected to the mood and attitude of your particular generation. Are you one of the can-do "GI generation," who triumphed in the last crisis? Do you belong to the mediating "Silent Majority," who enjoyed the 1950s High? Do you fall into the "awakened" Boomer category of the 1970s and 1980s, or are you a Gen-Xer struggling to adapt to our splintering world? Whatever your stage of life, The Fourth Turning offers bold predictions about how all of us can prepare, individually and collectively, for America's next rendezvous with destiny.

Although in the book they expect this era of crisis-- the fourth turning-- to begin by 2005 and last until 2025, They give leeway in saying "give or take a few years." It seems clear with present trends it is just around the corner. We are (and will be) witnessing a massive global realignment that could be the precursor for what they envision: World War III."

This book was published in 1997, but I am amazed at the discussion of the fourth turning (predicted to begin around 2005 plus or minus 3 or 4 years), given the events of September 11, 2001. They made it clear that America was on the verge of a crisis.

This book has given me a whole new perspective on history and I understand better than ever how history tends to repeat itself. Human nature, after all, has not really changed over thousands of years.

Sisters and Happiness

Having a sister makes you happier and more optimistic, a new study shows, but the same is not true for having a brother.

Tea Is The New Coffee

Starbucks had better watch out. Specialty teas are coming to your city, it they're not there already. I've visited and purchased tea at Teavana in Atlanta. It is user-friendly with several tasting stations and helpful staff.

Health Benefits of Dark Chocolate

Here is an article by Mark Stibich, Ph.D. at About.com giving a summary of the health benefits of eating dark chocolate. Not all the news is bad these days. Bon apetite!