My Desultory Blog

Posted By RichC on November 23, 2005

Christmas is coming and being the ‘go to guy’ when discussing photography in my family I was asked to give an opinion on the tiny Canon Powershot Digital ELPHs. A buddy of mine just purchased the SD450 model for a ski trip to the Canadian Rockies and didn’t want to be bothered with his larger SLR and offer to let me see it.

My first impression is that it is a great little camera for anyone wanting point and shoot simplicity and a tiny size. The quality of the metal case is perfect and it still offers top of the line features ‘if and when’ you need them. Perhaps the biggest difference most will notice between the 400 and 450 or 500 and 550 is the LCD screen on the back.

This is important for those of us with aging eyes and larger size is well worth the extra dollars. Besides having ease of use features that allow most anyone to click away at family events, the small compact size allows one to slip the protected covered lens design in a pocket or purse. (when camera is off) My friends camera had a worthless case that made using it a real pain so spend some time looking at slipcovers that protect but simplify regular storage.

For those already Canon-ized (familiar with modes) the Digital ELPHs will be easy use but for those new to digital cameras I highly recommend a short course or time in the manual to get the most out of the camera. There is little sense writing an indepth review when dpreview.com is around. This is by far the best website for those enjoying cameras or wanting to compare cameras. If you are looking to spend $300 on a high quality compact digital camera that fits the most peoples needs … I’d recommend the Canon Powershot SD450 ELPH. (for a few more dollars and a couple more meg CCD the 550 would no doubt be a tad better but only if you are seriously looking to enlarge your photos … otherwise the 400 and 450 will suffice)

Since I was previewing this model in a restaurant, about the best I can do to squeeze the limitations would be a low light macro test … I’ll include a resized photo below.

Category: Photography | No Comments »
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Posted By RichC on November 23, 2005

BitTorrent and the MPAA have come to an agreement that may prevent future legal action against the file sharing network. Unfortunately it will make searching even more of a challenge but will cut the illegal use of the popular and growing peer to peer file sharing service. MPAA’s problem with bittorrent is that many users have been sharing feature films through the service and using bittorrent.com to find the torrents.

Bram Cohen, the creator of BitTorrent, introduced his software in May of 2005 and it permits users to search the internet for ‘torrents’ – files that include music, software and video content, some of which are protected by copyrights. Bittorrent advocates contend that a good deal of the content is legal, but a quick search also finds copyrighted material including full length movies and television shows.

Cohen, under this new agreement with MPAA, will add technology to the search engine used by bittorrent.com that would effectively remove content owned by the studios that make up the MPAA. Bittorrent Inc. discourages the use of its technology for distributing films without a license and will work with the film industry to remove unauthorized content from bittorrent.com’s search engine.”

Problems still abound for file sharing users though, as the agreement only covers Mr. Cohen’s search site (bittorrent.com) and not other search engines that locate ‘torrents.’

Both Bram Cohen and MPAA CEO Dan Glickman agree that the Bittorrent and MPAA are leading the way for other companies in protecting content and preserving file sharing distribution.

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Posted By RichC on November 21, 2005

The cross country rally team at Volkswagen unveiled its improved Touareg 2 at the German Essen Motor Show this past weekend. The new Race Touareg 2 will be VW’s entry in the 2006 Dakar Rally. The new model is built on its race proven predecessor and has undergone improved suspension and and increase of engine power. TDI Diesel power of course … this this time to the tune of a TDI producing 275 hp. The race will be an African desert run from December 31st to January 15th over a distance of almost 6000 miles. The race combines 5 driver and co-driver combinations and requires talented driving to get both speed and survivablity from their vehicles. More information can be found at www.volkswagen-motorsport.info.

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Posted By RichC on November 16, 2005

As noted in the journal Nature, Japanese scientists may have found a cheaper and more efficient way to produce “biodiesel.” This breakthrough could reduce the cost and improve the efficiency just as the demand for the cleaner, greener fuel is increasing. Any vegetable oil can become fuel, whether as ethanol or biodiesel, but for the more efficient diesel, the quality is not sufficient until its fatty acids are converted to chemical compounds known as esters. Currently the acids used to convert the fatty acids are on the expensive side when compared to petroleum diesel products. The paper is entitled:

Green chemistry – Biodiesel made with sugar catalyst
Masakazu Toda, Atsushi Takagaki, Mai Okamura, Junko N. Kondo, Shigenobu Hayashi, Kazunari Domen and Michikazu Hara

Although only 2 percent of automobiles in the US are currently diesel, there are many personal vehicles around the world are powered by the efficient diesel internal combustion engine including 40% of personal vehicles in Europe. Also trucks, trains, ships, farm and construction equipment are almost always powered by the durable and long running diesel engine, which by the way was design originally to run on vegetable oil. (Peanut Oil by Rudoph Diesel)

Michikazu Hara, of the Tokyo Institute of Technology in Yokohama, Japan, and his colleagues estimate the cost of the catalyst to be one-tenth to one-fiftieth that of conventional catalysts. This breakthrough could provide cost savings on a large scale because the technique could easily be adopted to current biodiesel refineries.

With current demand for fuel increasing, and biodiesel production on the rise (estimating 75 million gallons in 2006 or tripling 2005 production -National Biodiesel Board) any improvements in production efficiency and cost will be huge. Currently the cost to produce a gallon of biodiesel is higher than the petroleum counterpart, but many including congress and the Whitehouse have endorsed it as an alternative. Tax incentives for ‘blenders’ are given substantial credits to use biodiesel blends as a way to reduce dependency on foriegn imports and encourage continual improvements in the processing infrastructure as demand rises.

The advantages of biodiesel are many; it is renewable, domestic, clean and can be based on a variety of vegetable feed stocks. Some early fleet reviews have also indicated long term maintenance improvement, stay tune for more on this. The current US feed stock is primarily midwestern grown soybeans (and recyled cooking oils), Canada is promoting Canola and in Europe the standard is Rapeseed. Many biodiesel advocates promoting biofuels see the day when algae-based fuels will be a new industry and could out produce any other feedstock. (great for those concerned that traditional farm produce will be used for fuel?) An excellent PDF paper can be downloaded (right-click/save as) and is well worth reading through … it is enlightening for those questioning just how much petroleum that we can displace.

Environmental groups are also praising biofuels as a way to reduce carcinogentic emissions and polutants associated with petroleum diesel fuel. The Department of Energy’s Clean Cities program has been at the forefront in encouraging biofuels and just recently celebrated “Beyond a Billion” day – day in which the 88 Clean Cities mark displacing 1 Billion gallons of petroleum with alternatives. (see my post regarding our Cincinnati based event)

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Posted By RichC on November 11, 2005

For many baby boomers, “The Eagle has landed” and “One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind” (click for audio) were monumental audio moments that recall American success and rekindle proud memories of the Apollo space program. Practically every American alive and countless millions around the world held their breath and watched as Apollo 11 astronauts landed NASA’s spidery looking lunar lander on the moon on July 20th 1969. This was an extraordinary event in human history and the memory was rekindled this past week by a rare interview CBS news program “60 minutes” with Neil Armstrong.
 

What made this interview by Ed Bradley unique is that the first man to walk on the moon has been relatively camera shy about his celebrity status. Until this interview Armstrong has not not made many appearances, preferring to live quietly near Cincinnati, Ohio. A biography has recently (published 10/2005) been written by James R. Hanson, title “First Man – The life of Neil Armstrong” is on my Christmas book list, although weighing iin at 784 pages might take a little midnight oil to read.

Perhaps what make this astronaut interesting to many is that one can relate to his persona. I suppose having a daughter with ambitions to be an astronaut and living only a few miles from Mr. Armstrong that I pay a bit more attention than most. I’m am struck by his humble character and normalcy in how he lives his life. Imagine living near Christopher Columbus or other great explorers of the past; would they be just a normal Joe … yet Neil Armstrong is just that.

He grew up just north of my hometown but lived in several communities, including Warren, Jefferson, Ravenna, St. Mary’s, and Upper Sandusky. Because Armstrong’s father was an auditor for the State of Ohio, Armstrong grew up in several communities, including Warren, Jefferson, Ravenna, St. Mary’s. Wapakoneta is considered his home town and has a unique museum just off Interstate I-75.

As a boy developed an interest in flying at age two when his father took him to the National Air Races in Cleveland, Ohio, according to historian Rit Nosotro. Mr. Nosotro comments that Armstrong’s interest “intensified when he went for his first airplane ride in a Ford Tri-Motor, a “Tin Goose,” in Warren, Ohio, at age six” and “from that time on, he claimed an intense fascination with aviation.” Of course for those learning to fly at Red Stewarts field, you be glad to know that you are in good company flying classic taildraggers as Neil Armstrong learned to fly in an Aeronca Champ.

Armstrong was born in western Ohio near Wapakoneta, on August 5, 1930. He was fascinated with flight at an early age and was flying before he could drive a car. His career started as a Naval aviator and he served in the Korean War as a fighter pilot flying 78 combat missions from USS Essex in a F9F-2 Panther. He received the Air Medal with two Gold Stars.
Armstrong received his degree after the war at Purdue in Aeronautical Engineering in 1955 and earned a masters degree from the University of Southern California a few years later. After school, Armstrong became a civilian test pilot for the NACA which was the predecessor to NASA and worked at Edwards Air Force Base, California. His work in high speed flight gave him seven flights in the North American X-15, reaching an altitude of 207,500 feet in the X-15-3 and a speed of Mach 5.74 (3,989 mph) in the X-15-1. He left the Flight Research Center with a total of 2,450 flying hours in more than 50 types of aircraft.

In 1962 Neil Armstrong was selected as an astronaut candidate and began his training. He was backup command pilot for the Gemini 5 mission in 1965 and commanded Gemini 8, being the first to dock of two orbiting crafts. He also served as backup command pilot for the Gemini 11 mission in 1966 as commander of the backup crew for the 1968 Apollo 8 lunar orbital mission. In his training as pictured in the “60 Minutes” broadcast, Armstrong narrowly escaped death during training in the crash of a lunar landing research vehicle on May 6, 1968.

Finally in July 1969, Armstrong commanded the Apollo 11 lunar landing mission, which was perhaps the most famous and successful NASA accomplishment in history. This historic landing included lunar module pilot Buzz Aldrin and command module pilot Michael Collins.The moon landing took place on after the successful launch from the Cape Kennedy in Florida four days prior. Armstrong took manual control of the Lunar Module Eagle and piloted it away from a rocky area to a safe landing. Upon stepping onto the surface of the moon Neil Armstrong said these now famous words: “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” (click for audio)

The Apollo 11 crew returned safely to earth on July 24, 1969 to worldwide acclaim and fanfare. Armstrong eventually settled to a suburb outside Cincinnati, Ohio accepting a teaching position at the University of Cincinnati and served on several corporate boards. He now lives a relatively quiet life and is publicly reserved considering his notoriety.

Hopefully in time, Neil Armstrong will consider visiting our small ‘rag tag’ Waynesville Ohio EAA chapter, I know we’d love to show him around our hanger.

Category: Aviation, Books, History, Millitary, Science, Space | 6 Comments »
Tags: 60minutes, astronaut, History, Memory, neil armstrong, video

Posted By RichC on November 9, 2005

First … I like Bill O’Reilly and the Fox News program “The Oreilly Factor,” but was irritated with his poor etiquette last night. Check out the ‘conversation’ (if you can call it that) with Ben Stein and Wayne Rogers in a short November 8th .wmv clip on oil companies “gouging the folks.” O’Reilly came off overly rude and arrogant to his guests who more than likely know far more about how oil is priced.

Personally, I don’t question that the extrodinary profits that the big 5 oil giants have been racking up quarter after quarter recently might indicate that they have taken advantage of the shortage of refined fuels, but O’Reilly hardly leaves room to consider other basic Economic 101 influences. It wasn’t so much that I disagree with his opinion that the Oil companies are ‘gouging,’ but more that he barely let his guests speak on the subject. He annoyingly interupted them when each clearly attempted to explain why prices go up when shortages of refine product isn’t available to retail consumers. Both Mr. Stein and Mr. Rogers had insight that viewers would have found educational IMHO if not for the constant interuptions by the host.

I find Bill O’Reilly intelligent and for the most part hosts a good news/commentary program, but I wish he would let his guests share their views before walking all over them.

Category: Misc | 6 Comments »
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Posted By RichC on November 7, 2005

UPDATED 11/14/2005
Occasionally there is over the line commentary that aggitate me enough to respond. One such review in the Orlando Sentinel has me irritated enough to comment. (read full review by Roger Moore, Sentinel staff writer)

To the editor:
I realized that Roger Moore, writing for the Orlando Sentinel, is expressing his ‘opinion’ in writing reviews, but in the case of a November 6th article titled, ” McCarthyism remains in present as much as past,” he has stepped beyond review of the material and has attempted to opine and slander the Fox News organization, and in particular Greta Van Susteren. Mr. Moore has taken his review very personal in slapping attributes of a 1950s Senator on a yet to be born journalist, Greta Van Susteren or for that matter her father of which he takes extraordinary liberty:

Moore writes: “McCarthy’s best friend, the man who loaned him a copy of Mein Kampf, was a fellow Wisconsin conservative, Urban Van Susteren. Progressives won’t be surprised that Greta Van Susteren, a Fox News mainstay and Urban’s daughter, grew up in a home with a cherished edition of Hitler’s famous template for fascist political organization and bigoted scapegoat.”

Regardless of one’s view of Fox News or Greta Van Susteren, I find it irresponsible to allow Sentinel writers the freedom to publicly defame people in this way. The remarks associating Hitler, Mein Kampf, Fascism, Greta Van Susteren and Fox News is wrong and deserves an apology by any fair minded newspaper, editor or honorable reporter in America. Your readers deserve integrity and your readers deserve better from our paper. Please print an apology.

EDIT on 11/14 – The Orlando Sentenel did indeed acknowledge this:

Review reached too far to connect dots
Manning Pynn, PUBLIC EDITOR
November 13, 2005

Sen. Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin led a witch hunt in the 1950s to expose and punish people he suspected of having “un-American” allegiances.

In the end, he exposed instead the dangers of overreaching to assail others’ beliefs.

That revelation has been revived half a century later in a film, Good Night, and Good Luck, and in a book by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Haynes Johnson, The Age of Anxiety, McCarthyism to Terrorism. The Sentinel’s Roger Moore reviewed the book quite favorably a week ago in the Life & Times section, noting parallels in the current war on terror.

The review recounted Urban Van Susteren lending his best friend, McCarthy, his copy of Adolf Hitler’s blueprint for fascism, Mein Kampf. “Progressives won’t be surprised,” Moore wrote, “that Greta Van Susteren, a Fox News mainstay and Urban’s daughter, grew up in a home with a cherished edition” of Hitler’s book.

When the talk-show host saw that, she cried foul. She had good reason.

As Van Susteren explained to readers of her blog, although her father was McCarthy’s campaign manager in 1946, she hadn’t been born at the time, and McCarthy died before her third birthday. She added that she had written a book, herself, in which she acknowledged her father’s McCarthy connection and condemned what the late senator did.

In less-than-vitriolic tone, she asked her readers, “Ready for some Monday-morning mischief?” She suggested that they “drop Moore a line or call and tell him to apologize.” She added, generously, “We all make mistakes.”

The “mischief” wasn’t necessary. The Sentinel’s standard for correction is inaccuracy not pressure. It acknowledged the error Friday.

Before that correction appeared, however, more than 200 of Van Susteren’s readers did just as she asked, inundating Moore and Sentinel Editor Charlotte Hall with complaints.

Marie LeFevers of Dallas, mother of an Orlando nurse, wrote, “How dare you accuse the daughter of a man who followed his political beliefs as far as he saw fit of being something that even he himself may not have been? How dare you relate Greta Van Susteren’s opinions to those of her father — or anyone else for that matter?”

Ross Williams wrote, “In classical rhetoric terms, what Moore did to GvS is called ‘poisoning the well’; associate the name of someone you don’t like with a well-known No-Good, and let the ‘ill-informed public’ draw their own conclusions.”

Moore agreed that his review “went beyond the factual associations made in the book” but explained, “I wasn’t suggesting she [Van Susteren] was fascist in the least.” His dart, he intimated, was aimed at the perceived political leanings of her employer, which professes balance but tilts right.

If that missed its mark, so did the description of the talk-show host’s childhood household. Johnson, The Age of Anxiety’s author, told me he didn’t know if, as the review stated, Urban Van Susteren kept his copy of Mein Kampf at home.

Was Hitler’s book “cherished” in that house?

“I can’t say,” he stated. “Van Susteren was a captain during WWII, and there is nothing to suggest he admired Hitler.”

The night before the Sentinel corrected those references, Greta Van Susteren recounted to me coming home as a little girl with a colorful flag she had found at a yard sale. When her father saw the banner flying outside their home, he pulled it down and explained that it was the symbol of a man who had done very bad things. That was her introduction, she said, to the swastika of the Third Reich.

Symbols aside, conservatism is not fascism, and overreaching to assail others’ beliefs — on the left or the right — is as objectionable today as it was in McCarthy’s time.

Manning Pynn can be reached at Public@orlandosentinel.com or 407-650-6410.

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Posted By RichC on November 3, 2005

A123 is a “geek-name” that comes from a mathematical formula describing the interaction between nano-scale materials. It was then used to name a company based out of Watertown, MA founded by an MIT professor. A123 Systems has developed new lithium-ion battery that is more powerful and has a lighter weight than existing batteries; perhaps only 20% of the weight of current lithium-ion batteries. Current products have a high cost, but the potential huge.

Black and Decker has been an early adopter of this new battery and has introduced it in a new line of 36 volt power tools under the DeWalt brand (see 36 volt tools). “It was the first thing we saw that could meet all our needs, particularly on durability and run time,” commented Christine Potter, DeWalt’s cordless-product manager according to WSJ reporter William Bulkeley. “In DeWalt tests, drills with the new batteries bored 200 to 300 holes through a two-by-four on a single charge versus 100 holes with the 18-volt model.” Who knows when this technology will makes it way to other products including hybrids?

The company, A123 Systems was founded in 2001 by MIT professor Yet-Ming Chiang, a materials scientist, who’s technology is improving batteries by coating an aluminum electrode with nano-scale particles, a few hundred atoms in size, of lithium metal phosphate. The actual research and production details are not public, but suffice to say, they have been impressive enough for A123 System’s to be able to raised $32 million from investors. Motorola Inc. and Silicon Valley’s Sequoia Capital are a couple of the names believing in this new technology. (Sequoia Capital backed Google and Yahoo) Dr. Chiang says the phosphate is safer than the oxide-based chemistry used in lithium-ion batteries today and that when compared with the same weight of larger particles, the nano-scale particles release more ions, thereby freeing electrons to create an electric current. “Research in batteries is very seductive,” says Dr. Chiang as his company competes for the ‘latest and greatest’ against Germany’s Robert Bosch GmbH, Milwaukee Electric Tool Corp. (a unit of Hong Kong’s TechTronics Ltd), and Taiwan’s E-One Moli Energy Corp.

The Department of Energy is working with A123 Systems to develop and test a battery package for vehicular use. They have provided $850,000 in early funding towards this development and are studying whether it can replace the 100-pound batteries in hybrid vehicles with lithium-ion batteries lighter than 20 pounds … now that would be interesting. Imagine a hybrid vehicle with 100 pounds of the A123 batteries offering 5 times the range under electric power of today’s hybrids? Couple that with the capablility of nightly plug-ins at home? The potential petroleum savings for daily commuting would be huge!

EDIT: The Wall Street Journal did a podcast (11/5/2005) after news of this advancement in battery technology. Click to listen to WSJ.mp3 audio file.

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Posted By RichC on November 1, 2005

As winter and cold weather nears, those of us running ‘Biodiesel’ need to re-evaluate our alternative fueling strategies. Many return to petroleum diesel (D2) in order to avoid potential gelling and fuel starvation problems associated with untreated biodiesel. Even those running treated biodiesel are concerned as most treatments only lower the cloud and gell points of B100 (100% biodiesel) to just under the freezing point. Usually I just blend biodiesel with a treated D2 for simplicity and settle for about a B20 mix.

Lately though, I’ve been reading with some interest about Cuphea (Lythraceae). The flowering Cuphea plant produces a tiny oilseed, which contains lauric acid and other natural fatty acids. Modified lauric acid is used in a variety of household products, including soaps, detergents, shampoos and toothpastes. The hybrid version of the Midwestern US grown crop is currently being monitored by a couple university ag programs and is planted in less than 100 acres nationwide. A primary benefit for biodiesel is that it seems to have outstanding properties that could address the cold climate issues. Cuphea oil “has been used in the development of a model diesel fuel and lubricant where superior physical properties compared to petroleum products were observed. In the case of lubricants, estolides were synthesized using Cuphea fatty acids and oleic acid to give a material with a pour point of -42 deg C and a rotating bomb oxygen test (RBOT) time of 420 minutes.” (see USDA Agracultural Research Service study.)

I’ve clipped couple of quotes from an email that I’ll include below:

“This is a specialty crop that literally has the potential to be a major new oilseed crop,” said Andrew Hebard, CEO of Technology Crops International, a global specialty crop production company that is leading commercialization of the crop. ”We will be looking to significantly increase our contract crop production of cuphea in 2006 and are seeking qualified growers interested in spearheading its commercialization at the farm level.”

For example, below -20 degrees C, aircraft fuel thickens, creating pumping problems, but the addition of oil extracted from cuphea reduces the fuel’s freezing point. The project is administrated by EERC’s Center for Biomass Utilization, which is co funded by the Department of Energy and various corporate partners, and promotes research and development in converting biomass to energy, fuels and marketable products.

Technology Crops International will hold grower sign-up meetings in the Midwest in December and January.

Category: Biodiesel | No Comments »
Tags: alternative, biodiesel, cuphea, fuel

Posted By RichC on October 31, 2005

A friend of mine is always coming up with interesting ‘car related’ news and emails … he has forwarded me this one for Halloween; its a bit of a stretch to see the ‘ghost,’ but worth ‘scaring’ … I mean ‘sharing’ here.

This is a car advertisement from Great Britain. When they finished filming the ad, the film editor noticed something moving along the side of the car, like a ghostly white mist. They found out that a person had been killed a year earlier in that exact same spot.

Is it a ghost, or is it simply mist? You decide. If you listen to the ad, you’ll even hear the cameraman whispering in the background about it near the end of the commercial. A little creepy but pretty cool!

A Short “less than one meg” WMV Video Clip: GhostlyCarAd.wmv.

Category: Automotive, Humor, Video | No Comments »
Tags: advertising, mp4, scary