Really, WHAT THE FUCK IS IT WITH UMBRELLAS, that they need to be brought to the office, and then left out, all over the place, wide open.
Has it been raining? Oh, that means it might also be raining later, and therefore leaving your umbrella out to dry will cause it to be more protective when you return to the inclement weather. No! It makes no difference! But it will make a bloody difference when I have to walk around the office trying not to trip over them!
Wednesday 28 January 2009
Wednesday 14 January 2009
Electric is the way to go!
Forget the hydrogen fuel cell, forget biofuels, forget hybrids (they are only a 'bridge'), ELECTRIC is the future for automotive transport!!!
It is the only logical conclusion (to me at any rate!), given that hydrogen is still on a very far off drawing board and hybrid is merely the bridging of old tech (fossil fuels) to new (electric).
Don't get me wrong, hybrid is going to be here a while as the world as a whole gets to grips with letting go of the internal combustion engine and embracing the concept of simply plugging your car into the wall and you're good to go!
This is not some far off future doohicky, or the cute but lightweight G-Wiz - this is 0-60 in 4 seconds and a top speed of 125mph (limited) in the form of the appropriately named 'Tesla': http://www.teslamotors.com/
If that's too fast, then check out Smith's electric vans and trucks. The Edison, Ampere etc, Ohm my God, they'll be running out of suitably cheesy names before long! ;) : http://www.smithelectricvehicles.com/index.asp
Actually, on the latter company, Ford have recently announced their partnership with the parent company whose share prices are currently at a historically low level - EPIC:TAN Buy, buy, buy!
It is the only logical conclusion (to me at any rate!), given that hydrogen is still on a very far off drawing board and hybrid is merely the bridging of old tech (fossil fuels) to new (electric).
Don't get me wrong, hybrid is going to be here a while as the world as a whole gets to grips with letting go of the internal combustion engine and embracing the concept of simply plugging your car into the wall and you're good to go!
This is not some far off future doohicky, or the cute but lightweight G-Wiz - this is 0-60 in 4 seconds and a top speed of 125mph (limited) in the form of the appropriately named 'Tesla': http://www.teslamotors.com/
If that's too fast, then check out Smith's electric vans and trucks. The Edison, Ampere etc, Ohm my God, they'll be running out of suitably cheesy names before long! ;) : http://www.smithelectricvehicles.com/index.asp
Actually, on the latter company, Ford have recently announced their partnership with the parent company whose share prices are currently at a historically low level - EPIC:TAN Buy, buy, buy!
Monday 12 January 2009
"... the 41st guy and the 43rd guy simply don't need to worry about it."
Check out this column about the recent joint interview of the 41st and 43rd presidents, Bush's junior and senior.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jan/12/presidents-bush-joint-interview-fox
If you've ever wondered whether Bush junior worries about how he will be thought of by history, here's the answer:
How would both their presidencies be remembered? Dubya leapt at the question, saying he was still reading biographies of George Washington. "If they are still writing about the first guy, the 41st guy and the 43rd guy simply don't need to worry about it."
The world has been "blessed" for the last 8 years with an incompetent president. It may not be true for much longer, but for that period the US president was the de facto leader of the world. Those 8 years may well have been the very peak of exponential growth of the world economy, the period of fastest growth of fossil fuel use and pollution and the most critical time for turning the world around, to start changing course away from danger. It's an interesting thought experiment to imagine what the world would be like now if the US president had been different.
What I would like to conjecture is that all our minds have been polluted by George Bush for the last 8 years. This is because it doesn't matter how well we know he is a fool, we all had an implicit assumption that either he had a basic level of competence or his advisors did. Then again, maybe we shouldn't be too hard on dubya. If the entire history of capitalism has been effectively a giant ponzi scheme fueled by cheap fossil fuel energy, the guy in charge when it starts to fall apart can't be blamed for just trying to keep it going.
PS If you think that ponzi scheme (good recent example, Bernie Madoff's fund) is bit strong read this
http://www.pimco.com/LeftNav/Featured+Market+Commentary/IO/2009/IO+Gross+Jan+09+Andrew+Mellon+vs+Bailout+Nation.htm
It's by Bill Gross, he heads up Pimco a massive fixed interest fund in the states. Gross is about the number one fixed interest investor in the US. He's not calling the whole of capitalism a ponzi scheme as I am, but he most certainly is calling the current version in the USA a ponzi scheme - quote "ponzi, ponzi, ponzi".
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jan/12/presidents-bush-joint-interview-fox
If you've ever wondered whether Bush junior worries about how he will be thought of by history, here's the answer:
How would both their presidencies be remembered? Dubya leapt at the question, saying he was still reading biographies of George Washington. "If they are still writing about the first guy, the 41st guy and the 43rd guy simply don't need to worry about it."
The world has been "blessed" for the last 8 years with an incompetent president. It may not be true for much longer, but for that period the US president was the de facto leader of the world. Those 8 years may well have been the very peak of exponential growth of the world economy, the period of fastest growth of fossil fuel use and pollution and the most critical time for turning the world around, to start changing course away from danger. It's an interesting thought experiment to imagine what the world would be like now if the US president had been different.
What I would like to conjecture is that all our minds have been polluted by George Bush for the last 8 years. This is because it doesn't matter how well we know he is a fool, we all had an implicit assumption that either he had a basic level of competence or his advisors did. Then again, maybe we shouldn't be too hard on dubya. If the entire history of capitalism has been effectively a giant ponzi scheme fueled by cheap fossil fuel energy, the guy in charge when it starts to fall apart can't be blamed for just trying to keep it going.
PS If you think that ponzi scheme (good recent example, Bernie Madoff's fund) is bit strong read this
http://www.pimco.com/LeftNav/Featured+Market+Commentary/IO/2009/IO+Gross+Jan+09+Andrew+Mellon+vs+Bailout+Nation.htm
It's by Bill Gross, he heads up Pimco a massive fixed interest fund in the states. Gross is about the number one fixed interest investor in the US. He's not calling the whole of capitalism a ponzi scheme as I am, but he most certainly is calling the current version in the USA a ponzi scheme - quote "ponzi, ponzi, ponzi".
Thursday 8 January 2009
Radical Retrenchment
Just read the following on The Oil Drum website:
http://campfire.theoildrum.com/node/4928
Would be interested to see what you think of it, and of the discussion underneath.
http://campfire.theoildrum.com/node/4928
Would be interested to see what you think of it, and of the discussion underneath.
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