Eschew Obfuscation comments

"Differences between RewriteRule in .htaccess and httpd.conf" by Kevin

Sun, 28 Feb 2010 08:59:48 -0800

Wow, awesome tips – I spent to long before finding this explanation ;) No, everything works in httpd.conf!

"Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G)" by Max Dunn

Sat, 27 Feb 2010 06:30:40 -0800

Utilities will pay $15 to 55 MWh for electricity supplied for frequency regulation, but the utility does not want to deal with 100,000 car drivers. The utility wants one aggregator in the middle to provide the power. This could eventually be a billion dollar opportunity.

(From: Will Google Charge Your Electric Cars?)

"Is the Global Warming Movement Dead?" by Max Dunn

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 21:35:02 -0800

The UK Institute of Physics had this to say about the ClimateGate emails:

1. The Institute is concerned that, unless the disclosed e-mails are proved to be forgeries or adaptations, worrying implications arise for the integrity of scientific research in this field and for the credibility of the scientific method as practised in this context.

5. The e-mails reveal doubts as to the reliability of some of the reconstructions and raise questions as to the way in which they have been represented; for example, the apparent suppression, in graphics widely used by the IPCC, of proxy results for recent decades that do not agree with contemporary instrumental temperature measurements.

"Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G)" by Max Dunn

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 13:55:46 -0800

Here is an article that calculates that a fleet of EVs providing a megawatt of V2G services would generate between $800-$1000 a day.

ScienceNews: Leasing Car Batteries to the Power Company

"Hydrogen Hype" by Max Dunn

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 08:23:09 -0800

Here is an interesting article that looks deeply into the problems with a hydrogen economy:

The Hydrogen Hoax

Here are some interesting excerpts:

96% of hydrogen is produced from natural gas or coal
Creating hydrogen produces more CO2 than just using the natural gas directly
Liquifying hydrogen takes about 40% of its energy
Compressing hydrogen takes only 20% of its energy, but would then would require a 13 ton truck to deliver enough for 10 fill ups.
If gas stations produced hydrogen through electrolysis, it would cost them about $6,000 per day which would yield only about $200 in profits.

"Is the Global Warming Movement Dead?" by Max Dunn

Tue, 23 Feb 2010 07:10:42 -0800

From the Telegraph UK:

India forms new climate change body

The Indian government has established its own body to monitor the effects of global warming because it “cannot rely” on the IPCC.

“There is a fine line between climate science and climate evangelism. I am for climate science.” said India’s environment minister Mr Jairam Ramesh.

"Is the Global Warming Movement Dead?" by Max Dunn

Sun, 21 Feb 2010 21:37:43 -0800

An article from the Wall Street Journal follows this theme:

Omitted: The Bright Side of Global Warming

“It seems the U.N. IPCC only tabulates the benefits of climate change when they are outweighed by the costs.

“With last month’s news of non-disappearing glaciers, the IPCC’s misuse of data on storm damage, and now its highly selective use of water-availability forecasts, the IPCC’s reputation is increasingly looking as tarnished as that of the rest of the U.N.”

"Is the Global Warming Movement Dead?" by JR

Thu, 11 Feb 2010 22:03:30 -0800

Oh Snap! Wow, that must have been satisfying to find such a perfect quote from exactly the source I said I’d trust. Nicely done. It is a regrettable situation for sure. Upon digging deeper this story is all over the place, also including Science News – why did you choose the “globe and mail?” -JR

"Is the Global Warming Movement Dead?" by Max Dunn

Thu, 11 Feb 2010 07:16:13 -0800

Here is what the Economist is saying about the IPCC Himalayan glaciers mistakes:

Off-base camp

“THE idea that the Himalaya could lose its glaciers by 2035—glaciers which feed rivers across South and East Asia—is a dramatic and apocalyptic one. After the IPCC said such an outcome was very likely in the assessment of the state of climate science that it made in 2007, onlookers (including this newspaper) repeated the claim with alarm. In fact, there is no reason to believe it to be true. This is good news (within limits) for Indian farmers—and bad news for the IPCC.”

A time for introspection

“intemperate defence of mistakes about Himalayan glaciers in the most recent IPCC report had to be followed by a public statement of regret as it became clear that the IPCC had indeed been wrong—and that its source has been a magazine article rather than a piece of scientific literature.”

"Is the Global Warming Movement Dead?" by Max Dunn

Thu, 11 Feb 2010 07:02:02 -0800

You must not be Canadian, eh? ;-)

Here is the description of the Globe and Mail from Wikipedia:

“The Globe and Mail is a Canadian English language nationally distributed newspaper, based in Toronto and printed in six cities across the country. With a weekly readership of 935 000, it is Canada’s largest-circulation national newspaper and second-largest daily newspaper after the Toronto Star.”

"Is the Global Warming Movement Dead?" by JR

Wed, 10 Feb 2010 23:08:36 -0800

Uumm? Never heard of these publications before (Globe and Mail?). What’s the Economist or even the USA Today reporting?

"Gas vs Electric Motor" by morgan price

Mon, 11 Jan 2010 18:18:50 -0800

i am thinkin the small thing is the lectric if its is. SICK MAN

"Oil Production Energy vs EVs" by Max Dunn

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 07:27:38 -0800

Here is an EV World article that says it takes 8% to 12% of the energy in a barrel of oil to refine it to gasoline: America’s Irrational Petroleum Dependence

"Electric Vehicles Produce a Lot Less CO2" by Max Dunn

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 07:19:29 -0800

For a list of over 40 studies that show that electric vehicles are the cleanest cars, see The Cleanest Cars: Well-to=Wheels Emissions Comparisons

"Hot Tub Energy: Electric vs Gas" by Max Dunn

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 07:11:48 -0800

Thanks for this catch – I updated the table. I also checked the calculation and that was correct, so it was just the table entry that was backwards.

"Hot Tub Energy: Electric vs Gas" by CAV

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 06:32:02 -0800

In the formula table, I believe that 1 gallon of water = 8 pounds, and not the other way around!

"Electricity vs Water" by Max Dunn

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 08:33:59 -0800

Thanks for clarification: this does refer to salt water (I changed the post to clarify that point).

Interesting that you could save money by desalinating your own water. Of course, you pay a lot more than farmers do for their water, but Carlsbad just authorized a desalination plant that will produce water at a cost that is only $250/acre foot more than regular water (or $0.05 per 70 gallons).

"Electricity vs Water" by JR

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 22:55:38 -0800

Interesting. But I’m a bit lost. Is that drinking water made from salt water? Because reverse osmosis in the home doesn’t use any electricity – just standard water pressure. Anyway, my water bill costs me $3 per 750 gallons. So, 70 gallons would cost me about $0.30. Since 1 kWh costs me about $0.20 it would be cheaper to make my own (assuming I lived at the ocean) than to buy it from the utility company – that can’t be right, can it?

"Alfresco architecture" by tapas.patra1@gmail.com

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 03:02:30 -0800

How to do phonetic search in Alfresco CMS.Please let me the solution as soon as possible.

"Electric Vehicle Battery Costs Per Mile" by Max Dunn

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 08:36:13 -0700

Here is a great post that reports that the costs of the Chevy Volt battery pack will be $8,000 ($500 per kWh) and calculates that it will pay for itself over a Prius at a gas price of $3.35 per gallon.

"Installing MySQL Ruby Gem on Mac OS X 10.4" by Robsteranium

Sat, 10 Oct 2009 17:32:38 -0700

Thanks Thomas! The other method wasn’t working for me!

"Retirement Stress" by quasby4luv@yahoo.com

Sat, 10 Oct 2009 10:01:30 -0700

I want to know all about retirement stress.

""svn: Malformed network data" error in Eclipse" by anshprat@gmail.com

Wed, 23 Sep 2009 08:22:41 -0700

Ha.. Am on leopard and the problem persists till date! Hope your blog helps me with this probs. Thanks in advance. If it doesnt work, I ll come back and ping :)

"Solar PV Energy Payback" by Steve Pierson

Thu, 10 Sep 2009 16:52:06 -0700

According to the handy chart, a current-technology polycrystalline module with the standard aluminum frame has a net energy ratio of about 8 to 1. Not spectacular, but not quite as bleak as the 1 to 1 (why bother) claims of the post-carbon survivalist types. A thin-film module with “anticipated” efficiency and no frame is projected to be closer to 30 to 1, and an anticipated unframed polycrystalline is roughly 13 to 1. Not the glory days of 100 to 1 oil gushing out the ground all by itself, but not wildly mismatched from today’s costly fossil fuel, right?

Also very worthy of note: the racking systems, especially ground-mount installations (probably because of concrete foundations), can cut these net energy ratios by a third to a half in the more optimistic anticipated PV technology cases.

"Installing MySQL Ruby Gem on Mac OS X 10.4" by Thomas

Mon, 07 Sep 2009 04:28:23 -0700

Sorry, my bad, i was meaning -> typelib.h

"Installing MySQL Ruby Gem on Mac OS X 10.4" by Thomas

Mon, 07 Sep 2009 04:27:06 -0700

You could also go into /usr/local/mysql/include and add ’#define ulong unsigned long’ to typedef.h

"Review of "Boy Talk" by Mary Polce-Lynch" by Max Dunn

Sat, 08 Aug 2009 09:04:12 -0700

Here is a great example of how boys and girls just think differently. When my son was about 10, we were outside throwing the ball back and forth. My 7 year old daughter came out and asked if she could play. We reluctantly agreed and threw the ball to her. When she got she held onto it and said, ‘Okay, now let’s pretend that this ball is a baby and we have to pass it around and not let it drop and ….” and continued going on and on. My son and I then both said “Just throw it!”. Having a son and daughter illustrates to us daily the inherent differences between boys and girls.

"Review of "Boy Talk" by Mary Polce-Lynch" by Max Dunn

Sat, 08 Aug 2009 08:48:05 -0700

On Feb 24, 2009, at 10:10 PM, Max Dunn wrote:

Hi Mary,

When I was about 9, I asked my mom: “Why doesn’t dad ever cry?” She replied: “Because men don’t cry.” So for the first 40 years of my life, I tried to be a man and very rarely cried.

However, I have been thinking lately about my mom’s comment those many years ago. And I bet what my mom really meant was that men don’t cry because they are ashamed and feel that it is not manly, but they would be better off if they could. I am trying to be braver about crying now, and doing it a lot more often. Several weeks ago, I even let my son see me cry.

It has been awhile since I wrote that posting about Boy Talk. At the time I wrote it, my son was really struggling in school and I felt that a big part of the reason was that his teachers were not very sensitive to the different learning style of boys.

My son is now 13, and is not much better at showing his emotions. But he still sleeps with his stuffed animals every night and gets very upset if anyone mistreats them. I have been careful to never belittle this in any way, because I know the nurturing that he is now showing these stuffed animals will naturally turn into love and affection for his own children someday.

Several years ago I retired, and then my wife went back to work. I turned into the stay-at-home dad, and she turned into the breadwinner. In addition, she developed a close friendship with her boss and I became intensely jealous. I have spent a lot of energy these past few years dealing with my emotions over that, and trying to figure out why my wife doesn’t get my feelings. My friends have been joking that I have become the “girl” in my marriage, and they are right. But I am okay with that since I am glad that I am growing as a person and becoming more in touch with my emotions.

So I don’t feel as strongly anymore that boys (and men) don’t inherently have as much capacity as girls (and women) to understand and express emotions, and maybe “pack rules” are a bigger factor in these apparent gender differences than I thought.

I just started a Sustainable MBA program at the Presidio School of Management, and won’t have much free time until summer. But I would like to see the follow-up articles and final chapter of the book. I am also going to go back over Boy Talk and will read your second book. Maybe with the new insights into my own emotions, I will see these in a different light.

Thanks for emailing me. I have been thinking about these things lately and it was nice to organize my thoughts and send them to someone who could understand them.

Best, Max

"Review of "Boy Talk" by Mary Polce-Lynch" by Mary Polce-Lynch

Sat, 08 Aug 2009 08:45:56 -0700

On Feb 24, 2009, at 9:01 PM, Mary Polce wrote:

Hi Max,

I Googled my name recently and found your posting about Boy Talk, a book I published several years ago about the importance of supporting boys’ emotional development.

As I contemplate a second edition, I wanted to thank you for your thoughtful critique. It will be especially helpful as I craft tone and word choice. When a psychologist writes for the general population, it is so important to write with tentativeness, since research results and recommendations cannot be generalized to all. Even though I intended to write in that voice, your summary of my main points reminds me how words are not always received as intended.

You are correct that I believe boys benefit when they are able to identify, feel, and express their emotions. But as your criticism suggests, expressing emotions is not the only thing that will complete them. Boys’ (and men’s) health and life solutions are much more complex. The suggestions offered in the book provide some tools and will help some families…and sometimes that’s all an author can hope for. I wish it had been more helpful to you. I have done some follow-up articles (brief and pithy) that may provide more of what you were looking for. Let me know if you want to see them.

I agree that we need more writings by men on this topic. I had included a final chapter in the book called “Boys to Men,” written by my partner, John Lynch. Unfortunately it was cut by the publisher. But John, also a psychologist, has published on men’s issues, so if you search Google or Amazon, you might find his work of interest.

I wanted to be sure to mention that research on sex differences between men’s and women’s brains is still equivocal. And even when differences exist, it is difficult to prove whether the cause was nature or nurture. By the way, I began my gender position with the assumption that differences were directly caused by biology, and only shifted my position after further study. Since earlier sex difference findings were based on animal research, functional MRIs with humans may help flush this out in the future

If you have time, I’m interested in your views on a second book that I published two years ago: Nothing Left Unsaid: Creating a Healing Legacy with Final Words and Letters. Though if you hate it no need to post on the web!

You have a very interesting website, by the way.

Sincerely,

Mary Polce-Lynch

"Review of "Boy Talk" by Mary Polce-Lynch" by boytalkfan

Thu, 30 Jul 2009 15:42:15 -0700

Max, I am hoping that you have reconsidered your position on ‘Boy Talk’. I have read this book and found the information provided was quite accurate and very real-world. I am the father of two sons and this book quite simply hit the nail on the head.

"Typo Google Sitemap fix" by Mike - Music Notation Software

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 10:33:09 -0700

I agree that there is no need to submit a sitemap manually anymore, however this may depend on how often your site gets crawled by Google in the first place. If you have a smaller site, manual submissions will help speed up the process.

"MythTV Trial" by Peter

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 10:30:25 -0700

Great.

""svn: Malformed network data" error in Eclipse" by tom]

Mon, 08 Jun 2009 02:48:07 -0700

thanks u for this help

"Scooters in the Bike Lane?" by Razor e200 Scooters

Sat, 06 Jun 2009 20:32:53 -0700

I would think it is always best to check local laws and ordinances to be on the safe side. But in general I would agree with Galen that it’s always safer to stay out of the way of cars.

Ed – Razor e200 Scooters

"Hot Tub Energy: Electric vs Gas" by hot tubs

Sun, 17 May 2009 14:48:23 -0700

Great calculation, I think it is very useful to my visitors and I will add this link to my site too :) thank you very much…

"Automatically starting Apache with chkconfig" by fiddi

Fri, 15 May 2009 16:04:20 -0700

Thank you

works with Apache 2.2 kubutu 8.01

here are the first 3 lines of my apachectl

#!/bin/sh #chkconfig: -85 15 #description: WWW Server

then in the /etc/init.d

$ sudo ln -s /usr/local/apache2/bin /apache2 $ sudo chkconfig—add apache2 sudo chkconfig—level 2345 apache2 on

"Credit Card Foreign Fee Rip-Off" by roadrunner2

Fri, 08 May 2009 04:20:33 -0700

Try this one on for size: I bought an item from a overseas merchant using my Paypal account. I fund my Paypal account with my CITI credit card. CITI charged me a 3% foreign transaction fee. When I complained, they would not credit my account because it was a foreign merchant. I told them their transaction was with Paypal, not the foreign merchant. Did not matter, they refuse to refund the fee. Am I missing something here? Does anyone know how I should procede?

"AccuRain Watering System" by life_speed@yahoo.com

Fri, 17 Apr 2009 10:58:06 -0700

Update: I have received three new (version IIo) sprinklers, an updated junction box (just looks like they added a filter capacitor) and my old controller with new firmware.

These new sprinklers work great! The design is entirely new. The valve mechanism has obviously been redesigned. It works smoothly and positively shuts off the water when commanded. The stream of water is more solid and coherent. The sprinklers water an area more quickly than version “IIm”.

My only comment is that one will need to install a ‘damper’ or ‘arrestor’ device to prevent water hammer in the pipes. I installed a single device at the interface between the house plumbing and 160’ of pipe. This is true for any solenoid-valve connected to a water line; a washing machine is one common example. Even though the previous sprinklers did not so obviously need a damper, the new ones do. Also, jumps in the water stream as it traverses can be cured by said damper. They are just a smaller manifestation of water hammer pressure spikes.

"Differences between RewriteRule in .htaccess and httpd.conf" by frederic sidler

Fri, 17 Apr 2009 01:17:10 -0700

lost also one hour with rewrite logs to try to understand ;-) thank you very much for the tip

"Installing MySQL Ruby Gem on Mac OS X 10.4" by AJ

Mon, 23 Mar 2009 11:46:49 -0800

Thanks for the help. A bit more detail here:

http://jlaine.net/2006/10/3/installing-ruby-mysql-driver-on-os-x

"Zapino Batteries Weakening" by piersnewberry

Sat, 21 Mar 2009 07:40:29 -0800

Oh one final thing is to be aware that the contacts must be shiny clean. Most people think that light grey will do – absolutely not, it can give the impression of a dud battery even when new. A very fine grade sand paper is best for polishing them up.

Relating to this is that it is best to get connectors which screw down from above rather from the side. This makes it far quicker to bolt down the contacts as hard as you dare.

"Zapino Batteries Weakening" by piersnewberry@googlemail.com

Sat, 21 Mar 2009 06:05:14 -0800

Hello Max

Have not had a great time replacing batteries. You have to be incredibly careful switching them over.

I took a photo by way of a wiring diagram, however due to multiple wiring crossovers it was not clear enough – in fact it was darn right deceptive, I wired up wrong and blew them.

I would really recommend using a load of white paper labels, and labelling every single one of the 22 wiring ends with battery number and polarity.

Also it is incredibly easy to short circuit the batteries – all those spring wires bouncing around – and they can be destroyed in less than a second. Yes however expensive the batteries – completely down the drain if you short circuit. So you have to then tape up all the loose ends as soon as they are free.

Finally even though you may not have half the batteries wired in, it is still possible to burn out a chunk of flesh. DC current is horribly dangerous as it disables your nervous system and you cannot move your arm – just like in the old movies.

It looks like more expensive gel batteries work out cheaper in the long run. They seem to have better complete discharge resistance.

Very good luck. And keep up the electric vehicle campaigning. But Hydrogen ain’t so bad!!!

"Hydrogen Hype" by piersnewberry@googlemail.com

Sat, 21 Mar 2009 05:50:40 -0800

Answering

1 this is an aside, it does not matter what label you put on Hydrogen

2 yes Hydrogen comes from fossil fuels currently, but we are looking at a possible future here. I do remember reading somewhere that there is a surplus of hydrogen as it is a biproduct of some industrial process

3 Yes due to the above, but again if you look at the future where H comes from nuclear etc, H produces no CO2. None.

4 There is no reason why Hydrogen cars cannot be very cheap too, and over the long term, as there is less maintenance, cheaper than a petrol car. This is definitely true in a combustion engine conversion.

5 Hydrogen leaks, no, not in compressed gas confinement at least – http://www1.eere.energy.gov/hydrogenandfuelcells/storage/hydrogen_storage.html

7 In west africa it still takes 15 mins to fill up a car. There are various ways around this refill time problem

"Peak Oil in 2012!" by Max Dunn

Wed, 18 Mar 2009 20:53:36 -0800

Here is an analysis that puts peak oil at 2008. However, due to the economic slowdown, I still think "No Gas" signs won’t be seen until 2012.

Peak Oil 2008 Graph

(Reference: World Oil Production Peaked in 2008)

"Ruby on Rails Advanced Page Caching" by cornflakesuperstar/kangarooit.com

Mon, 16 Mar 2009 07:53:45 -0800

On a side note, it’s always a good idea to cache and minify your javascript!

Check out minify_cache to get a nice monkey patch to rails javascript_include_tag.

"Zapino Batteries Weakening" by piersnewberry@googlemail.com

Tue, 10 Mar 2009 08:16:36 -0800

Interesting thread. Have to order some more today. Batteries just badly made really I guess. I have had very limited use out of them – about 200 cycles, but they were left standing for a few months before use. Am going for some batteries which withstand complete discharge well. Possibly Yuasa NPL38-12i. Please campaign for Nickle Hyrdrid patents to be released by Texaco oil company. They are what we should be using, better power, lighter, and they last longer.

"Zapino Batteries Weakening" by Max Dunn

Wed, 04 Mar 2009 20:27:32 -0800

I haven’t replaced them yet, although my usable range is down to about 3 miles – just enough to go shopping and drop off my daughter at school.

I could replace them with similar AGMs for about $500, but I have my eye on lithium, which would be like $1,200. However, I definitely would want a good BMS for the lithium, and that is the hold-up right now.

"Zapino Batteries Weakening" by Danyel Ramelow

Wed, 04 Mar 2009 20:06:19 -0800

Did you ever replace the Zapino batteries? I am now getting about 7 miles a charge after about 2000 miles (1 year) on the batteries. Looking to upgrade the batteries but would like a good recommendation specifically for the zapino

"Sustainable Banking - Lending Club" by Danyel Ramelow

Tue, 03 Mar 2009 20:54:30 -0800

I have had a poor experience with Lending Club. I loaned out $1000. and have had many people default. I’ll be lucky if I get my $1000 back.

"Hot Tub Energy: Electric vs Gas" by Hot Tub Heater

Sat, 28 Feb 2009 11:07:23 -0800

Very clear calculation from you.

I will add this link to this site for my visitor to read.

Thanks, Frank Wong

"Hydrogen Hype" by Max Dunn

Wed, 25 Feb 2009 16:03:09 -0800

Hi JJPro,

Thanks for your feedback. You made a good point that it is important to get our facts straight.

To educate myself on this subject, I have done a lot online research, taken classes and attended seminars. I also provided references for each statement I made in this post so that anyone can double-check my sources.

I am curious about your statement that “hydrogen does not leak in systems designed for hydrogen” – can you provide a reference for this assertion?

I do recognize the shortfalls of battery powered vehicles (I have an electric scooter and electric car) and would be interested in hearing more about your thoughts on their limitations.

Thanks for your willingness to discuss this topic!

"Hydrogen Hype" by JJPRO

Wed, 25 Feb 2009 09:17:14 -0800

Please, please get your facts straight before you publish your comments. First, learn more about hydrogen before you unduly criticize it.

Be honest about batteries’ shortcomings. Don’t just read a journalist’s point of view. Read what the engineers and scientists have to say.

I could go on and on like batteries are just an energy carrier, and not an energy source; hydrogen does not leak in systems designed for hydrogen; the Clarity is 50% more efficient than the Prius; fuel-cell cars can go 3x as far on a single charge and take a fraction of the time to recharge over BEVS, etc. etc. Let’s have an honest debate.

Thank you.

"Automatically starting Apache with chkconfig" by John Stromgren

Thu, 19 Feb 2009 11:05:32 -0800

Fabulous! Thanks. jstromgren

"Farting Along With Air Cars" by avagadro

Thu, 19 Feb 2009 08:04:36 -0800

In their own test the air car traveled 7.22 KM., that is less that 5 miles. everything else that they claim is just words, not proven at all. They prey upon the public’s ignorance of science and their desire for alternative energy. Even their plan for many factories is inconsistent with economics, they plan to have factories producing 10,000 cars per year, that is 40 per work day. What ever happened to economies of scale, maximizing the use of capital resources etc? The more factories the more downpayments on factories they can accept, it all comes down to money. A thorough analysis of the entirety of their claims and press release reveals a company that will say and claim anything, proof is not something they provide.

"What is a "Moped"?" by Max Dunn

Mon, 16 Feb 2009 22:12:10 -0800

Different states have different definitions of bicycle, motorized bicycle (moped), motor driven cycle and motorcycle.

However, when I bought the Zapino, the dealer did the registration paperwork and registered it as a motorcycle rather than a moped.

This is a grey area, so it probably be registered either way in California.

"What is a "Moped"?" by Chris

Mon, 16 Feb 2009 19:18:12 -0800

So then can it be registered then at the DMV to get a proper license plate or whatever?

Do you then register as a motorcycle/motor driven cycle?

Or is this a “grey” area still?

Please let me know, I’m thinking about getting one of these soon!

"AGM Battery Charging - Temperature Dependent" by Lawrence

Mon, 09 Feb 2009 21:53:50 -0800

The Deka pdf file that you have a link to has a lot of good information, but the most important is probably on page 11 where the temperature/peak charge voltages are listed (both for bulk and float levels).

About a half a year ago a solar installer had actually referred me to that page.

It is depressing to think that so many people (myself included) have been misled by the simplistic or plain inaccurate information that has been disseminated about peak voltage levels . . .

However, another important factor that I have discovered is that neither of my charge controllers (one my Xantrex, and the other by Blue Sky) change the voltage much due to varying temperature, despite both having temperature sensors connected (and both affixed securely to their respective battery banks) . . .

I don’t think this is unique to these charge controllers. There needs to be a critical look at how little charge controllers with “temperature sensors” actually alter the voltage.

While I respect the solar publications out there, such as Home Power, I don’t expect them to really say much about this under-reported issue, or report about it in their reviews . . .

What we need is the kind of consumer reporting by those that not only know their stuff (as in HomePower), but are not afraid to talk about it candidly, even when reputable manufacturers make mistakes like this.

"Carbon Indulgences" by Max Dunn

Mon, 09 Feb 2009 20:32:50 -0800

Thanks for your comments Erik. You bring up a good point that people that are buying carbon offsets are usually already making big efforts to lower their carbon footprint. I wasn’t trying to make fun of people, and maybe my post was a little harsh, so I will try to re-word it to acknowledge these efforts while still encouraging everyone not to use carbon offsets to indulge needless consumption.

"Carbon Indulgences" by Erik Blachford

Mon, 09 Feb 2009 09:52:03 -0800

Hi Max,

Erik from TerraPass here. You’ve got a better grasp of additionality than most, and I appreciate your helping everyone understand the concept.

On the indulgence topic, though, you might be interested to know that our customers are by and large folks who decide to buy carbon offsets after making huge efforts to lower their carbon footprints through direct reductions. I’m not aware of anyone who has successfully lowered his or her footprint to zero, and am appreciative of the folks who make the decision to balance their remaining footprints using carbon offsets. You can make fun of them if you like, I guess, but the reality is their actions and purchases are making a difference.

In terms of which offsets are most helpful, the reality is that we need offset projects that prevent greenhouse gases from entering the atmosphere AND offset projects that attempt to sequester greenhouse gases already in the atmosphere. All that matters is the total carbon concentration, and both sides of the effort are important in getting it down.

For those intersted, the TerraPass customer profile is posted on our website at http://www.terrapass.com/images/blogposts/terrapass-survey-2008.pdf.

"Carbon Indulgences" by Max Dunn

Mon, 09 Feb 2009 07:45:58 -0800

Hi Harry, I am glad that you brought up the fact that Methane (CH4) has 25 times more global warming potential (GWP) than CO2, because some people might not know that there are other greenhouse gases (GHGs) with higher GWP potential than CO2 based on their radiative forcing and lifetime in the atmosphere.

Some of the other GHGs that have a higher GWP than CO2 are Nitrous Oxide (N2O) – 298 times, Triflouromethane (CHF3) – 14,800 times, and Sulfur Hexaflouride (SF6) – 22,800 times! (Reference: EIA Global Warming Potentials)

However, the IPCC AR4’s radiative forcing analysis does make it clear that CO2 is still the predominant GHG.

My point of this post, however, is that putting in more CO2 into the atmosphere and then supporting an effort that causes less CH4 to be released is not equivalent. While this might balance the radiative forcing, you still end up with an atmosphere with more CO2 and less CH4.

Thanks again Harry, for bringing up this point.

"Carbon Indulgences" by Harry

Mon, 09 Feb 2009 05:49:17 -0800

Your negative comment about carbon credits being used to reduce methane emissions is off target. With a little digging, you will find that methane’s effectiveness as a greenhouse gas is something like 20 times that of CO2, so that each ton of methane avoided is the equivalent of 20 tons of CO2 as far as GHG effect goes.

It could that the use of carbon offsets to decrease methane emissions may be the most effective use of such ‘indulgences’. It could be why some very knowledgeable companies are going into the business of using such offsets in that manner.

"How Much Does Clean Coal Cost?" by Max Dunn

Sun, 08 Feb 2009 08:24:13 -0800

To put this in cost per ton of CO2, a coal-fired power plant produces about 2 lbs of CO2 emissions for every kWh of electricity produced. So at an extra cost $0.03 per kWh to capture all CO2 emissions, that would work out to $30 per ton of CO2.

"Electric Vehicle Battery Costs Per Mile" by Mike Saad

Mon, 02 Feb 2009 18:31:20 -0800

You state that the original cost of $4700 for the RAV4-EV battery array “is a lot lower than we can get today” and go on to cite costs of between $14 and $15,000 today. What you fail to account for is the decrease in battery cost that would surely have occured if Toyota had been allowed to continue and increase production of these EV’s (as well as other companies). Although new technology is always expensive as it emerges on the market, prices quickly fall as the product penetrates the market.

"The True Cost of Gas" by JR

Wed, 28 Jan 2009 20:59:33 -0800

Perhaps if one added the cost of the Iraq war at about $100B per year (outside the running DOD budget I’ve heard), your true cost of gasoline from just our military efforts would triple to around $1.50 per gallon.

"Cost of Reducing CO2 with Electric Vehicles" by JR

Wed, 28 Jan 2009 20:52:06 -0800

It is surprising that even when considering the fuel savings the electric vehicle will have, that it still has an ownership cost penalty – even when batteries get 4x cheaper in the future! Did I miss something? Also surprising is just how good “Advanced” diesel is – it achieves better than 30% CO2 reduction for a fraction of the incremental cost of electric.

"AccuRain Watering System" by life_speed@yahoo.com

Mon, 19 Jan 2009 15:41:27 -0800

I bought one of the first IIm systems in April 2007. These were very early production (brass nozzles), so all the sprinklers were replaced with newer versions that had stainless steel nozzles and a revised cover in August 2007. The circuit board states “revision 7”.

These worked for the remainder of the season before I turned them off for a couple months. It has been a dry winter, so I turned them back on again. One refused to rotate. The other two behave a little ‘sticky’ as Ian Johnson above aluded to. One would not reach it’s maximum distance, causing the valve to buzz as if it were unsuccessfully attempting to open further. The third sprinkler valve would stick as it was attempting to traverse the water from near to far, just watering one spot alot, then jumping to the full programmed distance before rapidly retreating.

I have sent all three sprinklers, the controller, and the junction box in for replacement. In talking with Galen, the engineer at Accurain, they are now having components mass-produced rather than hand-built as previously. Supposedly this should contribute to more-reliable operation.

I really hope they work a good long while. At this point I am committed, as the piping in the ground is entirely different than the pop-up type of systems. To be fair, pop-ups have plenty of issues too. It is a great idea, but I can only imagine that a system exposed to water and minerals needs to be robust.

So far Accurain have resolved any problems I have had.

"Getting Started With Flickr on Rails" by Max Dunn

Thu, 15 Jan 2009 21:58:39 -0800

Davin, these libraries do allow you to authenticate and view private images, but it is a little more tricky to get working right.

"Getting Started With Flickr on Rails" by Davin Singh

Thu, 15 Jan 2009 11:37:03 -0800

Great post.

Max, Does the flickr api only view public flickr images or is it possible to authenticate and view private images as well?

"CFL versus LED bulbs" by Raymond

Sun, 11 Jan 2009 23:22:43 -0800

I bought LED lights to replace my halogen MR16 bulbs the other day from a website called Eaglelight.com that I would recommend enthusiastically. They had good service (good phone and email support), great FAQs so I knew what I needed, and competitive prices; also, their shipping was fast and the LEDs were as good as advertised. www.Eaglelight.com. Excellent online shopping experience.

"Easy CO2 Calculation for Vehicles" by Sage

Mon, 05 Jan 2009 17:41:33 -0800

Ha! I had to read your entry several times to figure out why I was puzzled—I inverted the units.

It drives me crazy I’ll read something about a battery capacity, but the author often doesn’t say whether that is the full charge (which isn’t available), or the rated depth-of-discharge for the battery. Most studies indicate 80% D-0-D. Do you know if the 27kw battery is 27 overall? Or 27 available before recharge is needed?

Regional energy generation where I live makes the CO2 savings questionable. :( I embarked on a study assuming I would see a big CO2 reduction. I may still be wrong – it is really dependent on the upstream coal emissions. I’m a huge proponent of PHEV or EV, especially as it ushers in a market for renewable energy. With all those batteries available for storing wind-generated power, a big issue with renewables is eliminated. And of course, those same batteries can be available for ancillary grid service – which doubles the CO2 savings by removing the need for that supply.

Thanks for the explanation.

"Easy CO2 Calculation for Vehicles" by Max Dunn

Sun, 04 Jan 2009 22:01:30 -0800

Glad you found this information useful Sage. :-)

For real-world electric vehicle numbers, I like to look at the RAV4-EV since these have been on the road for 10 years and there are about 300 still being driven.

The raw figures for the RAV4-EV show a 27kWh battery pack that can power the car 100 miles. So this would give it about 3.6mi/wKh from the battery. From the wall, you have to count in the losses in the charger and the batteries. Assuming both are about 90% efficient, this gives us just about 3mi/kWh from the wall.

Some tests of RAV4-EVs showed that the 3mi/kWh applied in the city, but on the highway it was more like 2.5mi/kWh.

I hope this helps!

"Easy CO2 Calculation for Vehicles" by Sage

Sun, 04 Jan 2009 21:35:19 -0800

THANKS A TON for this blog entry. I had been combing the internet for hours trying to find regional data on CO2 emissions per kwh from coal plants. I’d seen your reference before, but it was truncated and didn’t include the regional data. I could kiss you.

I was wondering where you got the 3mi/kWh figure. I’ve seen/figured anywhere from .21 mi to 3+ mi. How did you figure it?

""svn: Malformed network data" error in Eclipse" by Praveen

Wed, 24 Dec 2008 01:40:10 -0800

Hi Max,

This post really helps me. Thanks!!!

Praveen

""svn: Malformed network data" error in Eclipse" by Matt

Thu, 20 Nov 2008 17:23:56 -0800

Oh uh.. nevermind. Still getting hanging issue. Spoke too soon :-x

""svn: Malformed network data" error in Eclipse" by Matt

Thu, 20 Nov 2008 17:14:38 -0800

I wouldn’t normally yell but: THANK YOU SO MUCH. I have been periodically searching for solutions to my consistent hanging/dropped commit issues and your post was EXACTLY the solution I was looking for. Clear and precise as well. You rock. Thank you again!

"Installing MySQL Ruby Gem on Mac OS X 10.4" by Andrew

Sun, 09 Nov 2008 22:14:06 -0800

Oh my goodness, why is it such a pain

"Zapino Batteries Weakening" by Mike O'Donnell

Sat, 25 Oct 2008 15:39:23 -0700

I have a rather new Zapino. Delivered late July 2008, but the charger burned out, and I couldn’t ride much until recently. They sent a different model of charger, and it seems to be OK.

I have experienced 15-17 mile range at full speed on flat roads. I weigh 195 pounds. My scooter is wired to go no more than about 28 mph. My speedometer agrees well with a roadside radar unit (are you guys sure you’re reading the mph and not the kph scale?). They may wire the limit only for particular states—-Illinois for me, but the scooter was delivered to Wisconsin, so who knows what standards they used.

I still had power at the end of the 15 and 17 mile trips(converted the odometer km-mi, and checked against the mileage from Google maps), but acceleration was very weak from a stop in the last few yards. On another occasion, I ran the batteries all the way down (little trips while waiting for the new charger), and found the motor cutting out entirely. But I neglected to note the mileage after the previous charge, so I don’t know how far I had gone.

For my purposes, full speed is important to avoid traffic trouble, and 15 mile round trips are the most I usually want to do, anyway.

I think that a better program in the control unit could soften the startup. The motor control appears to contain a microprocessor, so in principle they can deliver almost any sort of response with the right program.

I often find that the startup is softer if I turn the speed control (“throttle,” but it’s not really a throttle) with the brake on, then pop the brake. Perhaps the shutoff that the brake triggers comes on softer than the handle control.

Cheers,

Mike O’Donnell

"Does Protecting Old Forests Help Reduce CO2?" by JR

Thu, 23 Oct 2008 17:06:02 -0700

I enthusiastically agree with the need to avoid simplistic conclusions. And it is interesting to consider the idea that growing forests may use more CO2 than mature ones. But I would argue that when a forest is harvested, the CO2 sequestration rate drops precipitously for several years until a sufficient biomass of new trees emerge. Having recently traveled extensively thru vast areas of “managed” forest, I can tell you clearcutting appears to be the norm. Even when they leave a stand of trees along the road, or rotate sectors by clearcutting one at a time, it is still reducing the carbon sequestration dramatically for that plot of land.

Also, I’d be curious what fraction of the wood that is harvested becomes useful building materials vs. the sawdust and scraps that become “fuel” (thus defeating the purpose of sequestering carbon).

"Do Oil Companies Make Too Much Money?" by Ron Parmele

Wed, 15 Oct 2008 20:14:53 -0700

Corporations don’t pay taxes! They add it to the cost of their products and we who buy it pay the added cost.

The owners of the Corp pay taxes from the money they personal are paid for their service to the corp just the way we all do.

If the taxes are to high the corp can’t exspand, nor can they compete with foreign companies and have to go off shore to stay in business. The jobs are lost to the USA.

To say you want to tax the big Corps only rises the cost to those whom you claim you aren’t rising taxes on.

"Zapino Batteries Weakening" by Max Dunn

Wed, 15 Oct 2008 11:09:55 -0700

Battery Update

I am now getting only about 7 miles out of my Zapino batteries. Yesterday, I charged them up and then tested them to see if they were out of balance. But they all looked good. Here are the voltages I measured when there was a small load (the scooter on its stand and the back wheel spinning at top speed):

Battery #, Voltage
1: 13.05
2: 13.11
3: 13.05
4: 13:09
5: 13.10

I am going to ride it a while to drain the batteries and do the test again to see if they get out of balance.

"Farting Along With Air Cars" by G.J.

Sat, 04 Oct 2008 03:06:47 -0700

Regular servicing of compressors should be feesable to ensure a long life, just like your car now…..you don’t go more than 6 months without aat least an oil/filter change?? or coolant check what about your servicing of your vehicle? Or even servicing the air con compressor???

why should an compressor in your air car be any different…..

Here in Australia compressor manufacturers are looking at better, quieter and cheaper compressors that using solar energy can re-compress the used air and refill the cylinders. failing that a large tank of compressed air at your nearest fuel station just like the lpg gas should suffice

"Typo Google Sitemap fix" by gorsky

Fri, 03 Oct 2008 16:52:57 -0700

Hello there,

I’m running Typo 5.1.3 and it’s fixed now. Hope this late post would be helpful for someone :)

"AccuRain Watering System" by Ian Johnson

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 16:55:01 -0700

I have had accurain sprinklers for about 3 years now, and until this summer customer service had always been prompt. Most of my units are the older round “Death Stars”, but I have a couple 2m robots that are definately more reliable. However one started leaking last spring so I sent it in for repair and haven’t got it back yet. They were waiting for some new molds to arrive, and it seemed the replacement would be 2 versions newer than the one I had.

A problem that has been common to all of them for me so far has been that the range will drop off. It will be trying to water out to the maximum flow (255) but once it hits say, 180 it will stop and water the same spot while the program ramps to the end point and back down again. There isn’t any lack of pressure because if you press the valve with your finger it will open and shoot out to 30ft but for some reason the robot can no longer make it open that far.

It’s been a little frustrating at times, but it’s no less reliable than my underground sprinklers were. I was constantly replacing heads, fixing broken risers, and trying to figure out why a circuit would no longer get enough pressure to pop the sprinklers. All without the ability to fine tune the spray to compensate for extra sun at one end of the yard.

"Cost Breakdown of a Gallon of Gas" by Max Dunn

Mon, 29 Sep 2008 07:54:42 -0700

Good question jrs. I believe that it is just about a 1-to-1 ratio, that is, it takes 1 gallon of oil to produce 1 gallon of gas. I am basing this on the fact that the density and energy content of oil is just about the same as gas.

"Cost Breakdown of a Gallon of Gas" by jrsmoney@access4less.net

Sat, 27 Sep 2008 15:32:47 -0700

how many gallons of oil does

it take to produce 1 gallon

of gas thank you jrs

"Scooters in the Bike Lane?" by Galen

Wed, 24 Sep 2008 10:17:54 -0700

It should be noted that the poster stated it was an all electric scooter not a gas powered one. My electric scooter does about 25-30 tops and I ride in the bike lane whenever it’s clear. It’s just safer to stay out of the way of the cars when possible. When I pass bikes I just merge back into the main lane and give them plenty of room. It’s probably only a matter of time before I get pulled over by a cop who doesn’t know the electric scooter laws but I figure I’ll deal with that when it happens.

Electric scooters definitely should be able to ride in the bike lane since they can’t keep up with normal traffic all the time. In fact I believe the law requires them to be in the bike lane when they can’t go the speed limit.

"Nanosolar 1GW Machine" by David

Mon, 22 Sep 2008 15:09:33 -0700

If solar really is that cheap, then sooner or later, it’ll be mass produced and eventually adopted. Just takes time…patience,patience.

"Cost Breakdown of a Gallon of Gas" by Max Dunn

Thu, 18 Sep 2008 07:07:11 -0700

One thing I didn’t take into account in this calculation is how much of a barrel of oil is converted to gas.

Traditionally, 3 gallons of oil produce 2 gallons of gas and 1 gallon of heating fuel (known as the 3-2-1 equation). However, refineries can be tuned to produce different ratios and many are using hydrogen infusion to produce a higher percentage of gas, more like 50%.

However, refineries do sell the other products they produce, so assuming that oil is processed only into gas gives us a good rough estimate.

"Cost Breakdown of a Gallon of Gas" by aj

Wed, 17 Sep 2008 22:37:30 -0700

only 47% of a barrel of oil makes 19.5 gallons of gas your figures are incorrect

"Do Oil Companies Make Too Much Money?" by nikki R.

Thu, 11 Sep 2008 10:45:31 -0700

im only 11 yet i already hate oil companys they are mking to much money!!! people send all there mony on gas!

"On-Demand Document Management" by Max Dunn

Thu, 11 Sep 2008 08:03:10 -0700

Thanks for the correction. I updated the link.

"On-Demand Document Management" by WebDrive

Thu, 11 Sep 2008 07:50:34 -0700

The URL link for WebDrive is incorrect. The correct link is: http://www.southrivertech.com/products/webdrive/index.html

""svn: Malformed network data" error in Eclipse" by Eric Troyer

Tue, 09 Sep 2008 11:17:34 -0700

I’m running EasyEclipse Server Java 1.2.2.2 on my Mac. I tried updating svn using http://subclipse.tigris.org/update_1.2.x but I get an error “Unable to complete action for feature “Subclipse” due to errors. The error says (Permission Denied). Any one know the solution?

"AccuRain Watering System" by Max Dunn

Mon, 08 Sep 2008 17:02:04 -0700

Hi Bill,

Unfortunately, the Accurain people are not responding very well to customer problems and it is necessary to repeatedly contact them to get a response. You might try an email to see if that works. Some of the email addresses they have used in the past are:

florrie@accur...
galen@accur...
service@accur...
sales@accur..

(These are all @accurain.com, I didn’t include the whole email address to prevent spammers from getting these email addresses.)

—Max

"AccuRain Watering System" by Bill Hagerbaumer

Mon, 08 Sep 2008 15:08:30 -0700

I have installed a 5 head IIM system and two of the heads are not working properly. One no longer controls distance at all shooting water 30 feet against the neighbor’s windows at night, and the other will only shoot water a few feet at most until it for some reason or other decides to work properly.

I have called Steve and left many messages. He has not answered. Is there any other way to reach someone at Accurain?

Thanks,

Bill Hagerbaumer

"Differences between RewriteRule in .htaccess and httpd.conf" by Mark Sennott

Thu, 04 Sep 2008 12:00:39 -0700

I would add that query strings (the part after the ? in a URL) is part of the URI for matching purposes in .htaccess, but gets stripped off for httpd.conf rules.

""svn: Malformed network data" error in Eclipse" by Martin Saeta

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 04:05:43 -0700

Thanks for your help, this has been bugging me. I agree with Michael here, today it is September 08, and this bug is still not fixed, ridiculous.

"Do Oil Companies Make Too Much Money?" by SigTau

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 06:24:30 -0700

Well played Max.

"Slippery Slope: Cantarell Leading the Way?" by Max Dunn

Sat, 23 Aug 2008 21:45:47 -0700

Wow, the decline in Cantarell is happening much faster than anyone every imagined. In the first 7 months of 2008, Cantarell produced 1.12 mbd, a fall of 36% over the same period in 2007!

Pemex annual oil output slides

Pemex Financial Results June 2008 (See Table A1, Page 30)

"Automatically starting Apache with chkconfig" by ajlyon

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 11:44:26 -0700

Useful hint.