Let Me Get Back to You On That

I'm not sure what to make with this McCain gaff. Could be he just didn't know the head of Spain and wrongly assumed he was being asked about a Latin American leader and thus pulled out what seemed to be a safe generic reply.

I have poor hearing and often mess up what it is that people are asking me. People with high pitched voices are the hardest for me to hear. I'm sure that can be annoying as hell to those trying to communicate with me. Also maybe the accent threw him a bit. Or he was just tired. Or all of it on the uptake side of the equation.

Then again, if I were running for president, and had oodles of dough, I probably have hearing aids to help correct that. You don't want to do a General James Stockdale for Vice President impersonation. Stockdale was a fellow POW with McCain and was Ross Perot's running mate in 1992. Audio clip with the link.

Spain and McCain - Rolling Stone - 18 Sep 08

"It’s clear that McCain thinks that NATO ally and Spanish president Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero is a dicey Latin American up-and-comer. But that’s not what I find most disturbing about this clip of an exchange between McCain and a Spanish reporter. It’s that he’s clearly either hard of hearing or incredibly slow on the uptake."

Vice-Admiral James Stockdale - Obituaries - Telegraph (UK) - 07 Jul 05

"His opening remarks - 'Who am I? Why am I here?' - turned him instantly into the butt of countless jokes. He was often at a loss for words: 'I'm out of ammunition on this one,' he said at one point when asked to exercise his right of reply, and his plea to the moderator - 'I didn't have my hearing aid on. Tell me again' - effectively killed off Perot's White House challenge."

Let Me Get Back to You On That

I'm not sure what to make with this McCain gaff. Could be he just didn't know the head of Spain and wrongly assumed he was being asked about a Latin American leader and thus pulled out what seemed to be a safe generic reply.

I have poor hearing and often mess up what it is that people are asking me. People with high pitched voices are the hardest for me to hear. I'm sure that can be annoying as hell to those trying to communicate with me. Also maybe the accent threw him a bit. Or he was just tired. Or all of it on the uptake side of the equation.

Then again, if I were running for president, and had oodles of dough, I probably have hearing aids to help correct that. You don't want to do a General James Stockdale for Vice President impersonation. Stockdale was a fellow POW with McCain and was Ross Perot's running mate in 1992. Audio clip with the link.

Spain and McCain - Rolling Stone - 18 Sep 08

"It’s clear that McCain thinks that NATO ally and Spanish president Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero is a dicey Latin American up-and-comer. But that’s not what I find most disturbing about this clip of an exchange between McCain and a Spanish reporter. It’s that he’s clearly either hard of hearing or incredibly slow on the uptake."

Vice-Admiral James Stockdale - Obituaries - Telegraph (UK) - 07 Jul 05

"His opening remarks - 'Who am I? Why am I here?' - turned him instantly into the butt of countless jokes. He was often at a loss for words: 'I'm out of ammunition on this one,' he said at one point when asked to exercise his right of reply, and his plea to the moderator - 'I didn't have my hearing aid on. Tell me again' - effectively killed off Perot's White House challenge."

Solar Juice On The Loose

Applied Materials Activates Largest Solar Deployment on a Corporate Campus on U.S. - Prnewswire - 19 Sep 08

"Applied Materials (Nasdaq: AMAT) and SunPower Corporation (Nasdaq: SPWR) today announced completion of two SunPower solar power systems totaling 2.1 megawatts at Applied Materials' corporate facilities in Sunnyvale, Calif. The systems represent the largest solar power deployment at a corporate facility in the United States."

Solar Juice On The Loose

Applied Materials Activates Largest Solar Deployment on a Corporate Campus on U.S. - Prnewswire - 19 Sep 08

"Applied Materials (Nasdaq: AMAT) and SunPower Corporation (Nasdaq: SPWR) today announced completion of two SunPower solar power systems totaling 2.1 megawatts at Applied Materials' corporate facilities in Sunnyvale, Calif. The systems represent the largest solar power deployment at a corporate facility in the United States."

"Clean" Coal Start in Germany

I wonder what the numbers are looking like on this plant. That's been the killer in the US of A.

Clean-Coal Debut in Germany - Technology Review - 19 Sep 08

"It used to be called stinky town, because the pollution from burning dirty coal was so appalling. But now, if a new pilot plant works, Spremberg, in eastern Germany, could become the birthplace of a clean-coal revolution.

Earlier this month, the world's first coal-fired power plant designed to capture and store carbon dioxide that it produces began operations in Spremberg. The pilot plant has been built at a power station that, under Communist rule last century, used to belch out clouds of sulfurous smoke from burning brown coal, or lignite."

"Clean" Coal Start in Germany

I wonder what the numbers are looking like on this plant. That's been the killer in the US of A.

Clean-Coal Debut in Germany - Technology Review - 19 Sep 08

"It used to be called stinky town, because the pollution from burning dirty coal was so appalling. But now, if a new pilot plant works, Spremberg, in eastern Germany, could become the birthplace of a clean-coal revolution.

Earlier this month, the world's first coal-fired power plant designed to capture and store carbon dioxide that it produces began operations in Spremberg. The pilot plant has been built at a power station that, under Communist rule last century, used to belch out clouds of sulfurous smoke from burning brown coal, or lignite."

My First Meme Picture Didn't Work Out

Somehow, I couldn't get my webcam properly adjusted.

( Earlier efforts . . . )

My First Meme Picture Didn't Work Out

Somehow, I couldn't get my webcam properly adjusted.

( Earlier efforts . . . )