For alternatives to petroleum, the hype has recently been about EVs and almost all auto makers are rolling out their electric vehicles, yet for most American automotive owners they are far from practical considering the miles of highway and distances we travel. For that, efficient clean diesels running biodiesel makes a lot of sense … here’s a NYTimes article offering some positive news on this carbon neutral renewable fuel especially if it is produced from genetically engineered algae.
Algae are attracting attention because the strains can potentially produce 10 or more times more fuel per acre than the corn used to make ethanol or the soybeans used to make biodiesel. Moreover, algae might be grown on arid land and brackish water, so that fuel production would not compete with food production. And algae are voracious consumers of carbon dioxide, potentially helping to keep some of this greenhouse gas from contributing to global warming.
Clouds building in Butler County Ohio as the summer heat persists (photo with Palm Pre)
In the 35 days of summer 2010 this season, 27 days have seen temperature 85 degrees or hotter … with 10 of those days in the 90s. Of course that doesn’t tell the entire story, as 26 of those sweltering days have been in humidity above 90% … and 11 at 100%. (link)
So I think it is fair to say … it has been hot this year.
Although I’m not a germ-a-phobe or a neat-nik by any stretch of the imagination, I’m often repulsed by the cleanliness of some local area restaurants. Being the one who is responsible for the health certificate for my EAA chapters annual Fly-in and Pancake Breakfast, I know how challenging it is to pass health inspections (Warren County Ohio does a good job) … so it has me wondering just how do some restaurants pass their inspections? We ate at Steak n Shake this weekend … you make the call, but this doesn’t look as if it has been cleaned for a while?
I regularly email customers and friends with something that needs a follow-up from them, but I often forget to check back IF I don’t hear from them. Simple things like setting up a meeting or gettin gan ok on a proof often go unanswered … easy to do. I’ve tried adding it to my calendar (which often gets passed over), scribbling it on my hand written to-do lists (which get ignored) and am now giving the very simple to use followupthen.com a try – you might like it too?
It is super easy to use and require only the addition of a CC or BCC “dated” email when contacting someone. There isn’t a registration and currently there isn’t a cost or any bothersome advertising (yet). Here’s how it works:
Write your contact an email as usual and add a “dated” email address like 7days@followupthen.com or 7hours@followupthen.com to the CC or BCC address line. (CC if you want all including yourself to be reminded in xx days/hours and BCC if only a reminder to yourself.)
Send the email.
At the appropriate time/date, a follow up email will be sent to both or just yourself and a copy of your previous email message will be included.
So far the service has work flawlessly although I’m not sure I would want to include all that much personal or confidential information.
For those who watch the Fox NewsGlenn Beck television program, you’ll recall one of Glenn’s props is a “Red Phone” which supposedly has a private number that has been given to the Whitehouse — so that they can correct any misinformation. In the year or so it has been installed it never been used except for test calls or the regular “call me” program prop. According to a segment of audio on Beck’s radio show today, the phone rang sending his staff scrambling to remember how to get the signal into the control booth and recorded. The segment of audio from Glenn Beck was posted on his website(or below) and isn’t exactly what was expected.
During a commercial break, the Red Phone rang. It does get tested from time to time to make sure it’s still working, BUT this time it was no one from the control room. Turns out as Glenn picked up the Red Phone on TV, the number on the bottom of the phone was visible and a fan called in as a good Samaritan. Mediaite reported on the story and Glenn tells what happened on radio today.
What do dogs, kites, and beer have in common? West Chester holds festivals celebrating all three.
It has an active town center called The Square where activities from a summer concert series to a weekly farmers market take place.
The town has a prime location 20 minutes outside Cincinnati and a bit more than a half-hour from Dayton. And there are many corporate employers right here.
This should be a bigger story (editting with Poster for WordPress on the Palm Pre) …
“The Ohio EPA said Thursday, July 22, that the latest lab tests for toxins produced by the cyanobacteria at Grand Lake St. Marys show readings still too high to recommend resuming contact with the water.”
“The latest microcycstin levels are lower than the previous sampling round, but some samples remain higher than the 20 (parts per billion) considered by the World Health Organization to be safe,” said spokeswoman Heather Lauer.
“In addition, anatoxin-a levels are at their highest since testing began,” she added.
Anatoxin-a is a neurotoxin, which effectively is a nerve poison.
Because of high levels of anatoxin-a, Ohio EPA, Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources and Ohio Dept. of Health are maintaining the advisory level at the lake to ensure public health, she added.”
I liked this blackboard image from Glenn Beck, a controversial radio and television host who has spent the last year right-teaching American history to the millions that tune in or DVR his 5PM FoxNews program. Although I don’t watch all that many of his broadcasts, I have enjoyed his Founders Fridays broadcasts which focuses on those who dedicated their lives to our nation’s independence and structuring our democracy; it has been very educational.
Who doesn’t appreciated the magnificent and mostly gentle giants of the oceans we think of as whales. The appreciation has created an entire industry around whale watching and has been enjoyed by hundreds of thousands around the world. One such “watcher” relayed their story from South Africa after a close call capture in photos … a way too close a call in my opinion.
(CBS) It’s the time of year for whale watching off the coast of South Africa. Ralph Mothes thought there could be no better way to witness nature’s majesty than from the deck of his own boat. "It’s such a loud sound, when you hear those whales flapping their tails," says Mothes. "We were attracted by the sound."
And, reports CBS News correspondent Mark Phillips, it turns out that one whale was attracted to Mothes’ boat — a bit too attracted.
Sailors on a neighboring boat managed to snap some stunning images of the huge sea mammal shooting out of the water, practically on top of the yacht. The next pictures show the destroyed mast of Mothes’ yacht, which the whale snapped like a matchstick as it fell through the air.
"I just saw this huge thing come out of the water, and the mast crashed … I ducked, I think Paloma ducked," the pleasure boater told CBS News, "the mast missed me by a few inches."
The boat was a mess, but still floating.
Ralph and his wife Paloma quickly checked to make sure their vessel wasn’t taking on water, and then they cranked up the engines and left, quickly.
I met my daughter at the Barnes and Noble bookstore tonight and had a chance to play with her electronic Nook reader again, but this time in the store. I have to admit for reading, the screen is excellent and reading text easy even for my presbyopia. Reading from the eReader has me re-thinking that there is a better way than hauling around hardback and paperback books. Still, I’m in the printing business and feel a little guilty giving up on paper, although my best friend just bought a Kindle!
Another consideration is that my computer bag is starting to bulge beyond what should be asked from it … especially stuffed with a recent book from Karl and Clayton’s Summer Book Club, Daniel Walker Howe’s What Hath God Wrought – even in paperback it tips the scales at 928 pages! What to do, what to do?
