Archive for May, 2006

Bull City Coop User Profile

Wednesday, May 31st, 2006

Last night I received this email from Marc Dreyfors, who is a co-founder of Bull City Biodiesel, and who runs Carolina Biofuels and Forests of The World: Today, a 23 year old Marine from Lousiana came by looking for B100 on his way back to Camp Lejune, NC. He had a very nice VW Jetta […]

Truth and reconciliation in Greensboro?

Friday, May 26th, 2006

The Greensboro Truth and Reconciliation Commission last night published its final report on the events of Nov. 3, 1979 in Greensboro, NC. That day, five people were shot to death during a confrontation between a leftist, black worker’s rights demonstration and a caravan of white-supremacists. The picture the report paints is of two groups ready […]

Togo wins game against Bavarian amateurs

Thursday, May 25th, 2006

The worldcup team from Togo won a warm-up game against a selection of German players 3:2 (2:1). The German players were selected from Bavarian amateur teams: FC Augsburg, FC Ismaning and TSV Aindling. The German coach of the Togolese team was not at the game – he was reportedly bed-ridden with the flu at the […]

Racism in Germany

Monday, May 22nd, 2006

The “Master Race” is at it again in Germany. The brown shirts are marching, the nazi thugs are beating up innocent people. They are not particularly popular, but they are gaining ground, and they are making headlines. The Interior Minister Schäuble presented today the annual “State of the Constitution” report (Verfassungsschutzbericht (de)) which documents a […]

German hosts greet Togo’s team

Tuesday, May 16th, 2006

Organizers say that 3000 turned out to welcome Togo’s Worldcup Team (minus Emmanuel Adebayor):

Togo’s Worldcup Team arrived in Germany

Monday, May 15th, 2006

Togo’s National Team arrived in the southern town of Wangen today, where they will be based for the duration of the 2006 World Cup: Otto Pfister, coach of the West African side, has admitted that the debutants have a tough task of putting up a credible showing at the finals. “We’re obviously underdogs,” said Pfister […]

Hail!

Sunday, May 14th, 2006

Yet another cold front moved in today, and the temperature dropped 20 degrees Fahrenheit in one hour. This cold front spawned some severe thunderstorms and at one point a 15-Minute hailstorm that almost covered the ground with chick-pea-sized hail. I like the effect of the hail in the flashlight in the picture above. More pictures […]

Mamadou Diabate

Saturday, May 13th, 2006

Last night, Laura and I had the privilege and pleasure to see Mamadou Diabate at the Art Center in Carrboro. He was the star performer in a benefit show that highlighted the Publik Kreativity Drama Krew, a community theater troupe from the Alexandra township in Johannesburg. The kids from Jo’burg were great – authentic, a […]

Biodiesel from sewage-pond algae

Friday, May 12th, 2006

The Kiwis have figured out how to turn shit into money: A New Zealand company has successfully turned sewage into modern-day gold. Marlborough-based Aquaflow Bionomic yesterday announced it had produced its first sample of bio-diesel fuel from algae in sewage ponds. It is believed to be the world’s first commercial production of bio-diesel from “wild” […]

Homebrew fuel progress

Wednesday, May 10th, 2006

Yesterday, I got a huge, 82 gallon used waterheater from a guy in Raleigh. This gray monster is going to be the cornerstone of my biodiesel homebrew operation, as I am planning to turn it into a appleseed reactor. I also have begun filling a 250 gallon storage tank with used fryer oil. I scored […]

Jet bug

Sunday, May 7th, 2006

The jet engine in Ron Patrick’s car puts out 1,450 horsepower. Photo by Ron Patrick, SF Chronicle Why would a 48-year-old engineer want to bolt a Navy surplus General Electric T58-8F jet engine into the hatchback of a New Beetle? Just because he can: “This is entertainment. It’s a toy, a toy for silly boys” […]

Chocolate Jasmine Ice Cream

Saturday, May 6th, 2006

This spring I developed the habit of Saturday Lowes trips – mostly to see what’s on the closeout sale table (which they set up only on Saturdays). The other day I scored a nice $80 Kitchen Aid ice cream maker for only $30. Now, every weekend Laura makes a half-gallon (2 Liter) batch of ice […]

Immigration amnesty makes America stronger

Monday, May 1st, 2006

Today many immigrants took to the streets to show flag – the American flag – and to show America that they are as American as apple pie, and that they have the right to their slice of the pie. As I have said before, there are quite pragmatic reasons why everyone who truly cares for […]