] Allen told the court she has mental problems.

clearly.

Woman hit teens after golf ball struck car

] Experts cite three big roadblocks to a hydrogen economy:
] manufacturing hydrogen cleanly and at low cost, finding a
] way to ship it and store it on the vehicles that use it,
] and reducing the astronomical price of fuel cells.

This is an excerpt from a NYTimes article about hyperheating water to achieve a higher degree of efficiency in electrolysis for conversion to pure hydrogen. A great idea, and one that I plan to test myself.

The reason why I except this statement is because it is bullshit and is one of the reasons why the 'hydrogen economy' is not making meaningful progress other than through rhetoric and press and anemic academic research.

Firstly, manufacturing hydrogen cleanly and at low cost is ridiculous. Today's technology is already cleaner and at lower cost than the current fossil fuel system. I'm producing it today and my total investment (minus time) is about $200. There's no way in hell that I could've produced and refined fossil fuels on my own for an equivalent price. The only thing that has not been attempted is to manufacture hydrogen at scale. So until someone is willing to pony up the investment to do that, shut the hell up, because the numbers prove that it is superior in comparison to current and most importantly previous fossil fuel acquisition systems.

Secondly, finding a way to ship it and store it on vehicles is like whining in June about it snowing in January. Fucking fix the system first and then worry about this. You figured out a way to securely transport fossil fuels on vehicles so that my 74 year old grandmother doesn't kill anyone while driving, so I'm sure we can figure this out when it's appropriate.

Finally, reducing the astronomical price of fuel cells is a joke. You have a fuel cell right now and it's ridiculously cheap. It's called a battery. The same technology that went into batteries and reduced their cost to literally pennies, can be applied to fuel cells. It's supply and demand. Yes, fuel cells are more complicated, and utilize materials that are scarce and difficult to prepare, but guess what? so do microprocessors, and they're virtually ubiquitous. The idea that we're complaining about scarce materials which are difficult to refine and prepare for consumption when we're talking about supplanting fossil fuels, which are FINITE, COSTLY, and DIFFICULT to refine and prepare is so stupid it makes my head hurt. Think about it: it's taken nearly 100 years to have an infrastructure system in place where fuel comes up from the ground, gets refined and transported, and put in a place where even a moron can refuel her vehicle in the most remote parts of the planet. I think we can do better even in 1/4 the time. Sheesh.

Hydrogen Production Method Could Bolster Fuel Supplies

] In an effort to increase the integrity of next week's
] presidential election, five voting machine makers agreed
] for the first time to submit their software to the
] National Software Reference Library for safekeeping,
] federal officials said on Tuesday.

A small, but important, step in the right direction.

E-Vote Vendors Hand Over Software

] The threat to the country is very real. The large pool of
] idle youth has allowed Islamic fundamentalists to find
] easy recruits. Saudi sources say that many of the
] insurgents were in their early teens.

Since the early 90s, I've always compared Islamic fundamentalistic terrorism with the punk movement. It seems apropriate.

The real inspiration for Islamic Terrorism? Boredom

] It classified 3.8 million Los Angeles County residents as
] "low-literate," meaning they could not write a note
] explaining a billing error, use a bus schedule or locate
] an intersection on a street map.

Nation of Idiots

[This is the adult version of a test we give children in school to figure out how they learn best thus telling us how to be more effective teachers. So if you are interested take the test and see what it has to say about your learning style. This is all based on Gardner and his theory of multiple intellegences. (he recently added 1 that deals with technology)]

OOH! Take this and let's compare!

Multiple Intelligence Test

] the geekiest protest sign

PHOTO: When Nerds Protest The RNC.

Some great examples of free speech and subversion. I particularly like the Simpsons reference.

FREEWAYBLOGGER.com - Free Speech: Use It or Lose It

I felt compelled to quote The The's song.

Satellite, oh, satellite
Who sits upon our skies
How deep do you see when you spy into our lives?

I know that God lives in everybody’s souls
And the only devil in your world
Lives in the human heart

So now ask yourself
What is human? and what is truth?
Ask yourself
Whose voice is it? that whispers unto you?
From the cellars of your homes
From the tops of your city roofs
Ask yourself
Whose voice is it? that whispers unto you?

Who is it?
That turns your blood into spirit and your spirit into blood

Who is it?
That can reach down from above and set yours souls ablaze with love
Or fill you with the insanity of violence and it’s brother: lust

Who is it?
Whose words have been twisted beyond recognition
In order to build your planet earth’s religions

Who is it?
Who could make your little armies of the left
And your little armies of the right
Light up your skies tonight

Now some of you may live and some of you may die
But remember
That nothing in the world can kill you inside
For he is thinking of you
In your great cities of great solitude

Oh children you’ve still got a lot to fuckin’ learn
The only path to heaven is via hell

Good morning beautiful, good morning beautiful
Good morning beautiful, good bye world

] In their first public appearance since Roy Horn was
] mauled by a white tiger named Montecore last October,
] Siegfried and Roy spoke directly to Entertainment
] Tonight.

Just in time to plug their new animated teevee show!

Roy Horn Update May 2004