I’m going to the Eye doctor for my annual exam.

This will grow on you.

Remember this.

"Because of its shortcomings — driving range, cost and recharging time — the electric vehicle is not a viable replacement for most conventional cars," said Uchiyamada. "We need something entirely new."

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/02/04/us-autos-electric-hydrogen-idUSBRE91304Z20130204

Finally, car makers are waking up to the boondoggle that electric vehicles are.

Finally, car makers are waking up to the boondoggle that electric vehicles are. -- Stinky the Clown at February 17, 2013 7:15 AM

Actually over the years I have thought that if you could come up with a wind/solar system that would split water to hydrogen and oxygen and you stored the hydrogen to run a generator you might have a decent system that would be pretty self sustaining without the downsides of the intermittent power source that is wind/solar.

@ Jim P. Is that similar to a fuel cell?

@ Crid. Dig that tunage. What is the instrument @ almost one minute in (and then again just before one min and a half) that sounds like a big rain drop falling into a metal basin?

Been trying to pit together some nice relaxing musica for the delivery room to trance out to... Think that one just made the cd. Thanks.

Presumably pizzicato (maybe synthesized).

But shouldn't rule out that it's the sound of an intern, standing in a gallery overlooking the recording studio's lobby, squeezing a wet rag to drip water into a metal basin next to the receptionist's desk with a microphone poised on a nearby file cabinet, as a nearby producer smiles mischievously under headphones. They do stuff like that when the office is closed and the boss isn't looking.

An old work-pal at ABC recorded the "cannon" effects for the end of Bridge Over Troubled Water in the elevator shaft of this building very late one night. He told me about it twenty years later: Perhaps the finest declaration of engineering street cred I've ever seen cashed. It was one of those songs... You could pretend you never liked it at all ever, not even the first time you heard it, that was way too schmaltzy from the word go, and you never thought it was even a little bit pretty, but no one would believe.

@ Jim P. Is that similar to a fuel cell? -- Feebie at February 17, 2013 9:09 AM

Yes, but right now the whole concept is to use natural gas. And the ability to buy a fuel cell is problematic. Everything is essentially custom built.

Where I can buy a "solar generator" by just walking into a Home Depot and ordering. But if I wanted to cut myself off the grid, I'm far enough North that in the winter months I only get 6-7 hours of sunlight, maybe. I also get some wind, but not enough to really give 24/7 power. So finding a way to store the energy in the form of hydrogen (I have plenty of water) would be the optimum.

A fuel cell splits the hydrogen and the oxygen and then put's it back together. I'd be willing to just use it in a conventional combustion engine.

"Actually over the years I have thought that if you could come up with a wind/solar system that would split water to hydrogen and oxygen and you stored the hydrogen to run a generator you might have a decent system that would be pretty self sustaining without the downsides of the intermittent power source that is wind/solar."

I suggest that you have more studying to do. I was a Treadwell O2 generator technician, and the energy to split water is pretty expensive.

Your last statement indicates that you're not very familiar with the limitations of the laws of thermodynamics or the current internal combustion engine, either. There are thousands of places to start looking this stuff up - here's one.

The short story is that the modern piston engine throws too much energy away - as in ~70% of it.

Bridge Over Trouble Water story - that must have been something to hear first hand.

On another note, I think Cammy has gone slightly off the rails Lately (but I still love her any way). I think she's let her infatuation with latin songstress' get the better of her (Daniella, Rhianna):

http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/public/article1214678.ece

I'm struggling with her observation that Rhianna's life is somehow comparable to Diana's. Ok. Maybe loosely they both flirted with disaster using the media, but it seems like a bit of a stretch... I mean an entire article.

Color me disappointed this week. (I like to do this really self involved thing and pretend she only writes for me! Lol)

The broader her perspective on a pattern, the clearer it is. Cammy makes much better sense on date rape or women in the workplace than she does on an any particular Madonna album.

Rihanna is a woman who causes strong feelings in other women.

And men, too (ignore the green preamble, the original is offline):

We all think of the battered woman as a phenomenon associated with the lowest social orders: Women accept and excuse violence against themselves, the story goes, only when they face a lack of options. But the beautiful, talented, wealthy Rihanna enjoys a practical freedom of action you or I cannot possibly imagine.

Rihanna is pretty and talented. But there are a lot of young women who are pretty and talented. You don't achieve her fame without deep insight into the interests of your audience. Even if she planned none of this, she might well have known since she was 10 that the Western World was ready to be (profitably) entranced by an ancient, even primordial tale: The dear beauty who attaches to a monster.

OJ & Nicole had gone stale.

Off to read the Paglia piece and hope she agrees.

For some reason, I think Rhianna (while headed most likely for disaster with Brown) is no push over. I think she can hold her own. Diana seemed...fragile.

I always imagine her singing this song when I read about her trysts with Brown:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVwxCRy2jfI&feature=youtube_gdata_player

While Diana seemed more like a Taylor Swift song. I don't care how loved the women was, her media manipulation came across as pathetic and desperate.

Rhianna's no victim. She seems to wear all this drama as a badge of honor. As ridiculous as that is, at least she owns it - and seems to get a rise out of the backlash. Not saying she's balanced, but she's nobody's bitch either.

You bring up a good point with Cammy and the rape thing. Which I agree with her on. Which is why I find the Diana/Rhianna comparison more perplexing (and forced), the two after a hard night of partying and perhaps regrettable indiscretions ... Which one would we be likely to hear the boo hoo story from?

" Rhianna's no victim"

As a kid I was surrounded by women who were physically abused. Look, I think there is some need for these women to be in situations like this. Many had opportunities to live independently and wouldn't. If the guy wasn't beating them at the time, they would get really angry and defensive if you suggested they will in the future. The poor man suffered enough! These women have no other loyalty but to the man, not even for their kids, or friends. If you can leave and don't, you are not a victim.

Rihanna annoyed me when she made racists remarks against Chris' then gf. Crid is right she is no pushover or wallflower.
But her dad has always said publicly that taking a beating from her boyfriend isn't a bad thing.....

Your last statement indicates that you're not very familiar with the limitations of the laws of thermodynamics or the current internal combustion engine, either. There are thousands of places to start looking this stuff up - here's one. -- Radwaste at February 17, 2013 1:43 PM

Like I said:

Actually over the years I have thought that if you could come up with a wind/solar system that would split water to hydrogen and oxygen and you stored the hydrogen to run a generator you might have a decent system that would be pretty self sustaining without the downsides of the intermittent power source that is wind/solar.

I never said I had done deep research -- I had a thought to get off the grid, let alone for a vehicle.

But I wonder how much a Low Pressure Electrolyzer unit would cost?

Christ, I am NO kinda student of Billie Holliday... But she sounds tragic in that link. The babygirl beauty is just drained away. I'm trying to remember the story of her life with dates and need to consult Wikipedia...

Yeah, she as pretty deep in sorrow at that point.

I guess we should be glad she lasted longer than Mindy McCready, even though I hadn't heard of MM until twenty minutes ago, when I learned she was dead.

This is a tough planet. People forget.

And the thing is, Billie Holiday...

Well, did you ever hear the theory of the Little Girl Voice?

Tough planet. Brutal. Watch over your daughters.