Eschew Obfuscation comments

"EV Electricity Costs With PG&E" by Randy

Sun, 02 Oct 2011 20:15:39 -0700

Hi Max, You are one busy guy! Hope you can spare a moment… A few of us up here in Santa Rosa are fairly new Zapino owners; I found out almost by accident that ZAP was blowing ‘em out the door for $1000.00. I bought two (knowing that parts would later be hard to come by), and two other friends bought one each. One bought a complete set of replacement plastic for about $200.00. These are the 2008 models, with the 3 kW motor and “analog” voltmeter. I LOVE these things! On the SLA’s, I’m getting between 20 and 25 miles in “turbo” mode, riding hard, fairly flat ground, GPS-verified at 42 mph. There’s been a lot of recent dialog on the V is for Voltage forum. Anyway, we have read & enjoyed your blog relating your conversion to Li-ion. The last post I can find is your short test ride, with the bicycle helmet ;-)) Would be curious to know how it’s doing one year down the road… Mileage to empty, difference in top speed,etc. Do you get enough warning before the cells are depleted? It looks like the discharge curve suddenly flat-lines. With the SLAs, you get plenty of advance notice, as there is a “cogging” feeling on acceleration, and one can usually nurse another 5 miles out of it. Also, what kind of charger did you get? Thanks for any additional info. Cheers, Randy Wells Santa Rosa, CA RadioRan@aol.com

"Do Oil Companies Make Too Much Money?" by Darci Root

Sat, 23 Apr 2011 05:03:22 -0700

Regardless how much money gas companies are making,they need to consider how it is hurting us. I make an average of $150.00 per week $65.00 goes toward gas I have other bills to pay,I am forced to buy vary little groceries,I wish I could have something other than toast,eggs and cereal.

"Solar vs Coal: Who Wins?" by Gary Keene

Fri, 22 Apr 2011 17:44:43 -0700

The U.S. government subsidizes the coal industry for billions of dollars per year. Elsewhere I have read that if coal subsidies were ended, than solar power costs would be on par with coal power costs. Have you included or excluded government subsidies in your cost calculations?

"Per Capita GDP and Oil Consumption" by Chris DePuy

Sun, 10 Apr 2011 20:05:54 -0700

Max, any idea what the stats are for US, Canada, Mexico?

"Scooters in the Bike Lane?" by Moto Guzzi Parts

Fri, 11 Mar 2011 23:37:23 -0800

I dont think that motorcycles should be driven in the bike lanes. I mean, those lanes are made to keep the bikes from accidents since they cannot ride with the momentum of other vehicles.

"Peak Oil in 2012!" by Max Dunn

Wed, 09 Feb 2011 17:25:38 -0800

Thanks to Wikileaks, we now have an indication that the US government believes that Saudi Arabia doesn’t have as much oil left as they are leading the world to believe, and that worldwide peak oil will arrive by 2012.

(Source: Wikileaks: U.S. believes Saudi Arabia is running out of oil)

"Peak oil, not speculation" by Max Dunn

Tue, 08 Feb 2011 13:46:28 -0800

Krugman also supports the theory that the run-up of oil prices was not caused by speculation. He says that speculation can only affect commodity prices through accumulation of physical inventories.

Reference: Signatures of Speculation

"Public EV Charging Station Ratio?" by Max Dunn

Fri, 14 Jan 2011 08:56:33 -0800

Another estimate from Ecotality says that for 2011, there will be two charging stations installed for each PEV sold, but that ratio will drop to 1.3:1 by 2020.

(Reported by Pike Research, Charge Spotting: Determining the Right Mix for Public EV Access)

"Hot Tub Energy: Electric vs Gas" by Bob h

Tue, 11 Jan 2011 13:56:18 -0800

I am considering putting in a hot tub up in ski country new Hampshire. My neighbors who have them claim that it costs, you guessed it, $30/month. Now,maybe that is the average on an annual basis, but it has to be a lot more expensive this time of year when in January the ave temp is about 30 deg f. They say they keep it at 80 and crank it up to 103 for the weekend.

Any thoughts?

Bob

"Peak Oil Prediction" by Max Dunn

Thu, 30 Dec 2010 22:08:53 -0800

It has been 3 years since I made this prediction that oil will hit $200 a barrel and gas will cost $7 per gallon. I am sticking with this prediction but with a slight modification: because of the 2008 recession causing a decrease in oil consumption, I now think we will hit these numbers a year later in 2012.

"Peak Oil in 2012!" by Max Dunn

Thu, 30 Dec 2010 22:07:10 -0800

The former president of Shell Oil predicts that gas will cost $5 a gallon in 2012.

I am still sticking with $7 per gallon. It won’t be long until we will see who is right!

"Lithium batteries - $450 kWh" by Max Dunn

Thu, 23 Dec 2010 09:31:53 -0800

Here are some more data points for battery cost.

Elite Power Solutions offers Li-Ion batteries for $517/kWh including balancers. (This is a 100AH, 12V pack for $620).

It has been reported that the Nissan Leaf battery may cost only $375/kWh to produce. However, another report estimated that it may be twice that amount.

In any event, I think it is fair to use an estimate of $500/kWh for li-ion battery prices today.

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

Thu, 16 Dec 2010 06:06:41 -0800

you have save me :)

"Making Money From Public EV Charging Stations" by Rod Mann

Mon, 13 Dec 2010 14:00:32 -0800

I agree with your conclusion, given the numbers you gave not sure I would want to be in the public charging station business. By the way how much does it cost to build and install a charging station?

"Nissan Leaf to Retain 40% of Value" by Rod Mann

Mon, 13 Dec 2010 13:49:38 -0800

With both the California and Federal governments running such large deficits is it really practical for these rebates to continue? Do we really want other taxpayers to subsidize the spending of the few who are purchasing the vehicles?

"Electric Cars Best Way To Reduce U.S. Oil Dependency" by Rod Mann

Mon, 13 Dec 2010 13:44:57 -0800

Hi Max,

A year ago we were importing about 10 million barrels a day. If decreasing our dependence on foreign oil is really a priority there are more effective ways of reducing this. Producing more ourselves … we do have a lot of untapped reserves, using nuclear power to generate electricity. On that front the relatively small reactors used in nuclear subs have an excellent safety record and could be produced much faster than the larger plants like San Onofre.

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

Mon, 13 Dec 2010 06:31:41 -0800

Though I haven’t read this book yet, I sure will get to it. I am a woman who actually has the opposite problem than what most people would consider the ‘norm’. I have a husband who is very emotional, however I tend to have difficulty (though getting better) with expressing some emotions.

I truly believe in the nurturing aspect of emotional expression over that of biology or ‘wiring’ as you put it. I come from a home where crying was looked at as a weakness and I saw my mother as the ‘weaker’ partner in the marriage. I have since matured and see thing differently but old habits are hard to break.

Logic dictates that, to be able to express your emotions openly and even in fear of ridicule is extremely brave. Early conditioning takes time and effort to reverse.

I am of the mind that in some partnerships one partner may be a ‘dominant’ personality in the home and that partner will have a stronger effect on the children reared in that home. So in these cases, I believe, that personality has a stronger responsibility to show proper emotional expression. Of course this is if the individual or both partners are aware of a dominant personality.

As far as the ‘Pack Rules’ go, I have seen Pack thinking in both males and females and even ‘co-ed’ groups. I don’t believe gender is a factor. I have seen children, especially in a group of three or more, behave a certain way that they would never do alone. (I am around over 100 children every day.)

These are just some of my observations and I like to believe I will continue to learn and grow. I am definitely going to read this book and thanks for sharing your point-of-view on it.

"Typo Google Sitemap fix" by Tom Mailler

Mon, 22 Nov 2010 14:46:22 -0800

I’m also running Typo and think this would help. What gets me is site maps aren’t as important as they once were. What is important are page rankings and behind-the-scenes coding practices.

"Hot Tub Energy: Electric vs Gas" by np

Sun, 07 Nov 2010 19:51:34 -0800

any thoughts on how or where to purchase a gas hot tub in san diego?

"Zapino Li-Ion Conversion: Cost" by Max Dunn

Mon, 25 Oct 2010 10:02:52 -0700

Pete, 11 miles is not good and means your batteries are getting near their end of life. Unfortunately, once it drops to that range it will start dropping fast. If you have the skills, you could take it apart and charge each battery separately. Sometimes one battery can get weak and pull down the whole string.

"Peak Oil in 2012!" by Sttorney Chicago

Mon, 25 Oct 2010 08:50:16 -0700

Some analysts think we are close to world Peak Oil production.Peak oil was predicted to become a reality in 2011 on the basis that the world’s major oil fields were being depleted at a rate of 4,5% a year. The production decline rates of existing fields are an important part of the equation for when Peak Oil happens.

"Peak oil, not speculation" by Max Dunn

Thu, 30 Sep 2010 07:57:17 -0700

Here is another analysis that supports the theory that the run-up of oil prices in 2008 was caused by a basic supply and demand imbalance:

Trends in World Oil Supply/Consumption and Net Exports/Imports

"Zapino Li-Ion Conversion: Cost" by Petehansell@excite.com

Mon, 27 Sep 2010 19:57:35 -0700

Hey Max, Just purchased a Zapino. New, but two years on sales floor. I have problems covering 11 miles at 25-30 mph. Do you thin that is acceptable, or are my batteries failing? I was really hoping for 20 mile range at these speeds. When charged, batteries show appr. 13.2v. Afterward ride, the voltage drops to 12.1v. Thanks for any assitance.

"Energy Flow Diagram" by JR

Tue, 14 Sep 2010 19:27:56 -0700

Damn heat losses! If it’s not the ICE, then it’s the power plant. Too bad there isn’t a better way to convert waste heat to electricity.

"Energy Flow Diagram" by Max Dunn

Tue, 14 Sep 2010 09:58:33 -0700

If you look at well-to-wheels, electric vehicles (EVs) save some energy, but not a lot more than gas cars (also called “internal combustion engines” or ICEs). Here is the quick analysis:

Pulling oil out of the ground and refining it doesn’t take a lot of energy, so the majority of energy is lost in the engine itself, so the efficiency of an ICE is about 20%.

From wall-to-wheels in an electric car is very efficient, around 70%. But burning coal or natural gas to make the electricity is only about 35% efficient, giving an overall efficiency of 25% – or about 5% more efficient than an ICE.

However, with newer power plants whose efficiency can be 60%, and with hydro, wind and PV energy, the overall efficiency of an EV goes way up.

So while an EV powered by old, fossil fuel fired power plants is not much more efficient than and ICE, using better sources of electricity can dramatically increase the efficiency of EVs.

"Energy Flow Diagram" by JR

Tue, 14 Sep 2010 09:19:43 -0700

Wow, I had no idea there was so much waste! Especially in transportation – I guess that’s the engine heat. Any idea if electric cars will reduce the total waste since batteries are pretty efficient and don’t generate heat like the ICE.

"Energy Flow Diagram" by Max Dunn

Mon, 13 Sep 2010 10:02:55 -0700

Here is another energy flow chart that provides more detail than the one above:

https://publicaffairs.llnl.gov/news/energy/content/energy/electricity_generation/LLNL_Energy_Chart300.jpg

"Energy Flow Diagram" by Max Dunn

Mon, 13 Sep 2010 09:58:25 -0700

“Rejected energy” is mostly heat I believe.

"Energy Flow Diagram" by Max Dunn

Mon, 13 Sep 2010 09:54:58 -0700

Good question JR about what the chart means by biomass for transportation – I had to look it up. It turns out that it isn’t rotting biomass in the back of pickup; it is just fuel ethanol and biodiesel.

Here are some references:

LLNL Energy Flow Charts: https://publicaffairs.llnl.gov/news/energy/energy.html

AER data sources for this diagram: http://www.eia.gov/aer/contents.html

Renewable Energy Consumption for Transportation: http://www.eia.gov/aer/pdf/pages/sec10_7.pdf

"Energy Flow Diagram" by JR

Mon, 13 Sep 2010 09:34:26 -0700

This is an awesome chart! It answers all kinds of energy use questions. One puzzling observation: a portion of biomass energy is being used for transportation? I am imagining a fleet of pickups with a bed of rotting biomass in the back capturing methane for the engine – probably not ;-)

Also, any idea what ‘rejected energy’ is?

"Electric Vehicle Battery Costs Per Mile" by Max Dunn

Sun, 12 Sep 2010 07:30:42 -0700

Thanks for your comment Rich that most people will not have extra money to pay for the battery in an electric vehicle (EV), which is likely to cost around $12,000.

But the average driver pays over $150 per month for gas, and the all-electric Nissan Leaf can be leased for $350 per month and takes about $30 in electricity. So this means that you can drive the electric Leaf at an equivalent of $230 per month. Now that is a payment that the average Joe can afford!

"Electric Vehicle Battery Costs Per Mile" by Rich

Sun, 12 Sep 2010 02:00:13 -0700

I’m thinking, who has that much money to put out when you have to replace them. And if you do not have the money, there will be a lot of electric cars for sale, at a low price, it seems to me these cars are for people with money. Most people will have to make a loan to keep the car. And are you figuring the cost of the loan! I have doubt about these cars. I don’t have 8,000 dollars, for batterys. Who are these cars made for. They sound good for fleet opperation,But not for average joe.

"Cheap Solar PV" by Connie

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 12:54:44 -0700

Miasole just broke the record with 14% CIGS. Cheap solar is on its way http://compoundsemiconductor.net/csc/news-details.php?cat=news&id=19732359

"Oil Company Tax Breaks" by Connie

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 12:52:22 -0700

Very educational! Thank you!

"Do Oil Companies Make Too Much Money?" by rafael fernandez rodriguez

Tue, 24 Aug 2010 06:55:51 -0700

oil companies are abusers but oil is soon going extinct. they wont make money no longer

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

Tue, 24 Aug 2010 06:53:58 -0700

they make too much money for hurting the enviornment

"Zapino Li-Ion Conversion: Cost" by Max Dunn

Sun, 22 Aug 2010 21:27:02 -0700

The lower weight definitely hopes with acceleration (and to reduce bottoming out the shocks!), but I think the real performance boost is because the voltage of Li-ion batteries don’t sag very much.

For instance, with my old AGM lead-acid batteries, the first few miles it had a lot of pep as voltage stayed above 60 volts. But then it would start to drop to 55 or even 50 volts and performance suffered.

With Li-ion, the voltage rarely goes below 60, and usually stays above 62 even with hard acceleration. This means that performance stays peppy all the time.

"Zapino Li-Ion Conversion: Cost" by Gregg Meyer

Sun, 22 Aug 2010 21:26:02 -0700

Do you suppose the performance boost is mostly due to reduced mass, or do they put out a slightly higher voltage?

"Zapino Li-Ion Conversion: First Ride" by Max Dunn

Sun, 22 Aug 2010 09:48:00 -0700

A friend commented that in the picture I am wearing a bicycle helmet. I wanted to let everyone know that I now have a full motorcycle helmet and also an armored motorcycle jacket. My philosophy is that sooner or later, I will end up skidding on the pavement and I should be protected when I do!

"SVN Connection problem" by Philip Murphy

Tue, 17 Aug 2010 15:39:58 -0700

Ya saved my bacon – cheers Max.

"Elite Power Thundersky Balancers" by JR

Sun, 15 Aug 2010 10:43:05 -0700

That makes perfect sense – I’d always wondered about that. Thx

"Elite Power Thundersky Balancers" by Max Dunn

Thu, 12 Aug 2010 21:22:16 -0700

It would be great if all cells discharged equally, however, that is not what normally happens. The problem is that batteries are connected in series and once a battery has become fully charged, it blocks the charge from reaching the other batteries. Over time, especially when some batteries are hotter than others, they will become increasingly out of balance. This is why balancers are needed to make let the weaker batteries get a full charge too.

"Electric Power Plant Cost Comparison" by Conveyors pennsylvania

Thu, 05 Aug 2010 02:21:05 -0700

The cost must be in nominal rates….

"Elite Power Thundersky Balancers" by JR

Wed, 04 Aug 2010 23:13:42 -0700

So what are battery balancers? Something to ensure all the cells discharge equally – Wouldn’t that happen naturally?

"Hot Tub Energy: Electric vs Gas" by luke

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 11:20:23 -0700

To calculate the overall savings for the whole year (in California) you should probably assume this amount of heat loss for the winter months (4-5 months of the year) and much lower heat loss during the summer months (7-8 months) ...

"Are Buses Bad for the Environment?" by Max Dunn

Fri, 23 Jul 2010 22:14:08 -0700

Here is another study which looks at energy used per mile per passenger and shows similar results: http://www.templetons.com/brad/transit-myth.html

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

Sat, 17 Jul 2010 13:51:07 -0700

Blog about marriage and family counseling with100’s of articles written by a Sig Yanosway.

"Shale Oil Extraction Energy - Put In EVs Instead" by Rudi

Tue, 13 Jul 2010 02:18:47 -0700

Because we are “addicted to oil” and remain committed to producing it at any costs.

Don’t get me started with how far we could have moved battery technology with the amount of money that has been spent protecting hour oil supply for the last 20+ years.

I thought it would be interesting to point at that while a standard electric vehicle get 3 miles per kWh, we really don’t need standard full size vehicles for for all of the errands we run and short – medium trips we made during the week. Electric Scooters can run as efficiently as 30 or more miles per kWh while performing reliability, and being purchased at significant lower prices than cars.

As long as we depend on foreign oil, and oil extracted off shore and at great expense and danger, to power massive vehicles with weight in excess of 10x of our own body weight, efficiency and sustainability won’t even be an option.

"Peak Oil in 2012!" by quibids

Tue, 06 Jul 2010 03:09:53 -0700

This theory is very interesting. So, according to this, there will be a peak in 2012 again. We will have to wait till this 2010 for this inflation to get down to a reasonable level. I think Georjetset really has a point here if we start learning from these mistakes and make our some changes in our attitude and lifestyle, everything can be handled pretty easily and life will be lot more easy.

"Peak Oil in 2012!" by Georjetset

Mon, 07 Jun 2010 18:07:04 -0700

I have to wonder why this isn’t front page news? Seems to me like people need to start weening themselves off of (myself included) hmmm, EVERYTHING! and start learning how to talk to neighbors, share, grow food, walk, and just living the good life again with a closer relationship to the Earth. Life will be good again…just hope we make it through the transition ;o)

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

Sun, 02 May 2010 10:52:12 -0700

Thank you very much for this post, it was exactly what i was looking for. :)

"Electric Power Plant Cost Comparison" by RUDYMALDONADO@HOTMAIL.COM

Wed, 21 Apr 2010 09:49:54 -0700

What is the cost for generation, gas turbine combined cycle, for 200 to 500 megawatts?

"US Military Warns of Oil Shortages by 2015" by Max Dunn

Sat, 17 Apr 2010 09:29:15 -0700

Here is another review of this military report that warns that “The implications for future conflict are ominous.”:

Joint Operating Environment 2010: Oil Supply Concerns

Here is the source report itself:

Joint Operating Environment

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

Mon, 29 Mar 2010 21:29:19 -0800

谢谢

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

Mon, 29 Mar 2010 21:28:56 -0800

thanks ,it’ very helpful.

"Shale Oil Extraction Energy - Put In EVs Instead" by JR

Sun, 28 Mar 2010 11:47:26 -0800

Another interesting observation though.

"Shale Oil Extraction Energy - Put In EVs Instead" by JR

Sun, 28 Mar 2010 11:46:41 -0800

Because the cost of electricity is not the limiting factor for EV’s. The biggest variable cost is still the batteries, right?

"Petrobras: Peak Oil in 2010" by Max Dunn

Sun, 28 Mar 2010 06:54:36 -0800

An interesting warning from the US DOE which dances around the term “peak oil” but says that we might experience a decline in 2011, then an undulating plateau for several years, then a decline. Sure sounds like peak oil to me!

“The U.S. Department of Energy admits that “a chance exists that we may experience a decline” of world liquid fuels production between 2011 and 2015 “if the investment is not there”, according to an exclusive interview with Glen Sweetnam, main official expert on oil market in the Obama administration.”

(From: Washington considers decline of world oil production as of 2011)

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

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 11:13:07 -0800

Here is the latest from The Economist regarding climate change:

“Action on climate is justified, not because the science is certain, but precisely because it is not.”

And from their “Editor’s Highlight” email:

“We reckon that, while recent scandals have encouraged scepticism and huge uncertainties remain—especially around the issue of whether clouds will warm or cool the atmosphere—the chances of a dangerous outcome are still serious enough to justify investing in mitigating climate change.”

I couldn’t agree more!

"Petrobras: Peak Oil in 2010" by Max Dunn

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 20:48:34 -0800

Here’s another study that puts peak oil a few years later:

2014: New and Improved Peak Oil Forecast

"Zapino Batteries Weakening" by piersnewberry

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 11:25:40 -0800

LEAD ACIDS ARE NO GOOD FOR 60V BIKES.

It took me ages to find this out and 3 sets of batteries (I thought the first couple were unlucky buys!). You actually cannot find this out from the manufacturers because they don’t test them at very high discharge rates. For 60v bike, 2500w motor, you are looking at 40 amps continuous discharge rate which means Lithium.

"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

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