More proof that saving the planet can be quite fun: the new Mercedes concept car “Bluetec Hybrid” is based on the new S-Class, and, as it is a diesel, it should run just fine on biodiesel. A number of European automakers came to the hybrid party at the Frankfurt auto show, simultaneously arguing that diesel […]
Und jetzt? Der Deutsche Wähler hat ein klares, deutliches “Ähh – weiss ich nich!” ausgesprochen. Die Deutschen Politiker saufen Wahlsekt statt Realitätswasser und erklären sich rundherum zum Sieger. Frau Merkel knirsch mit den Zähnen (macht die eh immer) and erklät den Sieg, Herr Schröder grinst (macht der auch immer) obwohl Rot-Grün verloren hat. Die Polit-genies […]
O’zapft is! at the mother of all beer orgies, the oohmpah fest to end all oohmpah fests. With two mighty strokes the mayor of Munich drove the tap into the barrel of beer and handed the first beer to the Ministerpräsident (Governor) of the Free State of Bavaria. The natives went wild! Especially the Japanese, […]
Thursday morning I got an email with a hyperlink to a CNN story about a German scientist making biodiesel from dead cats. Turns out that the clever reporters from Reuters picked up the story from the German tabloid Bild (picture a merger of the Weekly World News and USA-Today) about the company Alpha-Kat, and how […]
Hurricane Ophelia is pounding the North Carolina coast, and looking at the comments in Jeff Masters Wunderground blog, some of the residents of the Outer Banks are getting a bit nervous. They might be in for 10 hours of 70MpH winds. The N&O’s blogwatch has more.
Are there creationist penguins? Suppose you’re a bird that cannot fly and that has to waddle 70 miles from the ocean to the nesting grounds through minus 50 degree snowstorms – barefoot – or scooting on your belly to take a turn standing for months in minus 50 degree snowstorms, balancing your one egg on […]
The US government has deployed heavily armed mercenaries from the Blackwater private security firm to patrol the “streets” of New Orleans. Armed mercenaries patrolling a US city on behalf of the US government? That seems like a very disturbing precedent to me. The mercs are a bit surprised, too: “This is a totally new thing […]
Lots of talk today. Silence and reflection would be better …
Vultures – vultures, everywhere. They are circling New Orleans and the rest of the devastated Gulf Coast. The no-bid contractors like the employer of Vice-president Cheney are vying to snag juicy reconstruction contracts: From global engineering and construction firms like the Fluor Corporation and Halliburton to local trash removal and road-building concerns, the private sector […]
Two reports on National Public Radio chronicle the government response to Hurricane Katrina (via DKos Diary). The second report in particular highlights the disconnect between the reality on the ground and the proclamations of Bush administration officials, like Chertoff and Brown. The most shocking aspect of that disconnect is that Bush required Louisiana officials to […]
Recently, I had a little rant about how silly it is to consider creationism a scientific theory, even under the guise of so-called “intelligent design theory.” When I read Stephen Meyer’s ID paper, I realized, after I stopped laughing, that some may be taken in by Meyer’s scientific mumbo-jumbo talk. Even with no clue about […]
For Big Oil the disruption of the oil supply due to Hurricane Katrina was better than a license to print money. They jacked up the fuel prices, and they are keeping them up. Exxon Mobil is making $110 million profit a day this quarter. So President Bush hurries to their rescue and makes sure they […]
The man who mows our grass came by this evening to pick up his check and ran with his truck over a 2 1/2 foot copperhead snake in our driveway. It was clearly an adult and it was a beautiful snake with tan and brown hourglass markings. It was still moving and a couple of […]
It’s a beautiful late summer day in North Carolina, gasoline costs $3.20 a gallon, and I reached a personal fitness milestone today, by biking 3 miles around the property in under 30 Minutes. Not that anyone rally cares, but that’s where I was at last Winter, when my bike broke (the free hub). It took […]
This should be good news for the petro-fuel users. Let’s hope it is reflected in the price at the pump soon: Two petroleum pipelines that supply gasoline and other fuels to the Triangle area have returned to service and are increasing their service to the region. Plantation Pipe Line Co. is up to 95 percent […]
BBC reporter Matt Wells nails it: The uneasy paradox which so many live with in this country – of being first-and-foremost rugged individuals, out to plunder what they can and paying as little tax as they can get away with, while at the same time believing that America is a robust, model society – has […]
The Public Voicemail service by Air America Radio looks like a very creative solution to help people in disaster areas notify friends and family of their status – IF they know about it … Air America Radio’s Public Voicemail 1-866-217-6255 Air America Radio’s Public Voicemail is a way for disconnected people to communicate in the […]
Boy, am I glad that I fixed my bike. Ninety percent of the pipeline capacity for the South-Eastern US is down right now. We’re car-pooling with the TDI for now. Here is the press release from the Gov-man’s office: STATEMENT GIVEN TODAY BY GOV. EASLEY CONCERNING GASOLINE SUPPLY IN NORTH CAROLINA THE TWO MAJOR PIPELINES […]
… and the president is on vacation. Maybe he is working on finishing My Pet Goat? Apparently he never read the FEMA reports on the probability of the second most devastating disaster to hit the US during his presidency: In 2001, the Federal Emergency Management Agency ranked a major hurricane strike on New Orleans as […]
Creationism is religion and has no place in the classroom. End of story. One problem with scientists is that they want to argue with anyone over anything. So they fall into this trap the creationists set for them to consider “intelligent design” a scientific theory and argue painstakingly over creationism’s scientific merit. However, the “intelligent […]
