Battle in Seattle

I'm still hacked at myself for not immediately jumping on a Amtrak northbound and joining the protests. My back was a bit nicked up at the time but still...

One of the guys I recently worked with was there with several other local folks as part of the regular WTO meeting business working the agricultural trade angle so I got an interesting report from that view of the events. Sounded like serious fish-out-of-water mode for more than a few of them as one might imagine. Thanks to gordonzola for this one.

( Movie trailer behind cut . . . )

Battle in Seattle

I'm still hacked at myself for not immediately jumping on a Amtrak northbound and joining the protests. My back was a bit nicked up at the time but still...

One of the guys I recently worked with was there with several other local folks as part of the regular WTO meeting business working the agricultural trade angle so I got an interesting report from that view of the events. Sounded like serious fish-out-of-water mode for more than a few of them as one might imagine. Thanks to gordonzola for this one.

( Movie trailer behind cut . . . )

Musical Break

These are new instruments to me. I wants. Thanks to mokie on this one.

( Video behind cut . . . )

Musical Break

These are new instruments to me. I wants. Thanks to mokie on this one.

( Video behind cut . . . )

Good News and Serious Concerns in One

The employee may have just been checking security on his own. No biggie. I'm sure lots of nuclear plant employees fiddle around with TATP on their off hours. Of course, this kind of thing could never happen in the fledgling everythings of the soon to be nuclear powered Freedonias. Let's hope we don't get Al-Q planning something a bit more serious in nature.

Nuclear Arrest: Man Held for Taking Explosives into Power Plant in Sweden - SKY News - 21 May 08

"Plant operator OKG downplayed the incident, saying there was no threat to the safety of the plant, about 150 miles south of Stockholm.

Police said the man carried a plastic bag with an unknown amount of triacetone triperoxide, or TATP, an explosive used in the London bombings in 2007. However, a plant spokesman said there were no explosives inside the bag, but traces of an explosive substance were found on the bag's handle."

Good News and Serious Concerns in One

The employee may have just been checking security on his own. No biggie. I'm sure lots of nuclear plant employees fiddle around with TATP on their off hours. Of course, this kind of thing could never happen in the fledgling everythings of the soon to be nuclear powered Freedonias. Let's hope we don't get Al-Q planning something a bit more serious in nature.

Nuclear Arrest: Man Held for Taking Explosives into Power Plant in Sweden - SKY News - 21 May 08

"Plant operator OKG downplayed the incident, saying there was no threat to the safety of the plant, about 150 miles south of Stockholm.

Police said the man carried a plastic bag with an unknown amount of triacetone triperoxide, or TATP, an explosive used in the London bombings in 2007. However, a plant spokesman said there were no explosives inside the bag, but traces of an explosive substance were found on the bag's handle."

Trouble in Nanoland

I had a feeling this kind of thing might start to crop up. Nanotech being about as unregulated as GMOs. Brilliant morons.

Effects of Nanotubes May Lead to Cancer, Study Says - Washington Post - 21 May 08

"Microscopic, high-tech 'nanotubes' that are being made for use in a wide variety of consumer products cause the same kind of damage in the body as asbestos does, according to a study in mice that is raising alarms among workplace safety experts and others."

Trouble in Nanoland

I had a feeling this kind of thing might start to crop up. Nanotech being about as unregulated as GMOs. Brilliant morons.

Effects of Nanotubes May Lead to Cancer, Study Says - Washington Post - 21 May 08

"Microscopic, high-tech 'nanotubes' that are being made for use in a wide variety of consumer products cause the same kind of damage in the body as asbestos does, according to a study in mice that is raising alarms among workplace safety experts and others."

From the Local Nuclear Beat

More expert atomic priesthood work by our friends at Areva.

Contaminated Shipment - Knoxville News Sentinel - 20 May 08

"According to the release, 'the inspector determined that AREVA's procedures for decontaminating and packaging the equipment were not adequate to ensure external radiation would not exceed regulatory requirements. The inspector identified an apparent violation related to the company's failure to properly prepare the shipment package so dose limits during transportation would not be exceeded.'"

From the Local Nuclear Beat

More expert atomic priesthood work by our friends at Areva.

Contaminated Shipment - Knoxville News Sentinel - 20 May 08

"According to the release, 'the inspector determined that AREVA's procedures for decontaminating and packaging the equipment were not adequate to ensure external radiation would not exceed regulatory requirements. The inspector identified an apparent violation related to the company's failure to properly prepare the shipment package so dose limits during transportation would not be exceeded.'"

Good News on Extreme Hybrids

Hopefully it's more than PR bunk. It's certainly a novel use of the term "zero cost". Nice to see those ultracapacitor thingies at work.

Transportation Tuesday: World's First Zero-Cost Hybrid! - Inhabitat - 20 May 08

". . . dubbed the XH150. The 'Extreme Hybrid SUV' has been lauded as the world’s first 'zero-cost' hybrid because of a patent-pending technology that allows it to go all-electric for the first 40 miles, at which point it switches to gas with an incredible road-tested mileage of 150 MPG. Calculations based on projected energy savings show that it’s possible to recoup the hybrid’s $40,000 cost after 3-5 years!"

"The heart of the XH150 is a dual energy storage system that makes smart use of Lithium-Ion batteries in addition to ultracapacitors. These two sources are linked through AFS Trinity’s trademark 'Fast Energy Storage' system, which employs the ultracapacitors for quick acceleration and regenerative breaking. Lithium ion batteries provide a steady power supply that is rechargeable overnight."

Good News on Extreme Hybrids

Hopefully it's more than PR bunk. It's certainly a novel use of the term "zero cost". Nice to see those ultracapacitor thingies at work.

Transportation Tuesday: World's First Zero-Cost Hybrid! - Inhabitat - 20 May 08

". . . dubbed the XH150. The 'Extreme Hybrid SUV' has been lauded as the world’s first 'zero-cost' hybrid because of a patent-pending technology that allows it to go all-electric for the first 40 miles, at which point it switches to gas with an incredible road-tested mileage of 150 MPG. Calculations based on projected energy savings show that it’s possible to recoup the hybrid’s $40,000 cost after 3-5 years!"

"The heart of the XH150 is a dual energy storage system that makes smart use of Lithium-Ion batteries in addition to ultracapacitors. These two sources are linked through AFS Trinity’s trademark 'Fast Energy Storage' system, which employs the ultracapacitors for quick acceleration and regenerative breaking. Lithium ion batteries provide a steady power supply that is rechargeable overnight."