Archive for February, 2006

So this is the first full day apart…

2/11/2006 9:58 am

So Andrea is now in Biloxi, MS for work. As if to further emphasize that I’m all alone now in DC, the sky is totally gray with the impending snowfall. We’re supposed to get about 10-12 inches of snow tonight. I hear from Biloxi that the motel’s not too bad, but that she had to eat cereal without a spoon. I’m not entirely sure how she did that because her cell phone battery was dying. I guess I’ll learn more later.

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Let’s all embrace the next evil empire!

2/3/2006 1:29 pm

In a new story about an old story– “Rumours mount over Google’s internet plan,” we learn a little more about Google’s plan to stick it to yet another popular enemy of the little guy–telcos, while simultaneously advancing they’re not-so-secret plans for world domination. By purchasing up massive amounts of currently unused fiber (shorthand for “fiber optic”) cabling that digitally connects cities across the US and other nations, Google may be able to sidestep the telecoms most recent attempt to cram metered billing down our throat. Just a recap for the short-memoried folks–They’ve tried, at various points in time, to convince Congress and consumers that we need to pay for phone service, cell phone service, data service, TV/cable service, etc the way we pay for power and water–metered by consumption. Only this latest time, they’ve effectively tried to argue that we should be charged for the privilege of downloading content from the Internet, then content providers (like Google) should pay for the privilege of sending us that content. Kind of like income tax and sales tax… Instead, Google is working to avoid the MCI/ATT/Worldcom/Verizon/Qwest/SBC jumble of non-tech idiots completely with their own network.

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Biodiesel gets underwhelming coverage on today’s NPR “Morning Edition”

2/2/2006 8:04 am

In Martin Kaste’s story airing today on NPR’s Morning Edition, Professor Attacks Enthusiasm for Bio-Fuels, there is interesting discussion of a Berkeley engineering professor’s fight to take the alternative fuel discussion beyond oil company, agribusiness, auto manufacturer, and federal government talking points.

Martin Kaste’s story brought attention to some of the general issues behind the marketing of ethanol, however the story failed to highlight two important distinctions between biodiesel and ethanol.

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