Archive for March, 2007
Wednesday, March 28th, 2007
Totally embrace nuclear power for the United States.
The resistance to nuclear power from fission is due to the concern over the amount and the toxicity of waste. The fact is that nuclear power plants produce far less overall waste than fossil-fuel based plants. In countries with nuclear power, radioactive waste comprises less than 1% of total industrial toxic waste. Plus, if reprocessing was used in the U.S. as it is used in Europe, 95% of the remaining uranium and plutonium in spent nuclear fuel can be recovered.
Once we have a (relatively) clean source of energy in the form of electricity from nuclear power I would set about using electricity for nearly everything. To name a few:
• A national electric powered high speed rail network for the transport of goods and people. This would reduce the need for for fossil fuel based trucking and airline travel.
• An aggressive phase in of electric powered passenger vehicles and trucks.
• Electric home heating systems for air and water.
Basically, I would look at anything that we are currently powering using a fossil fuel and convert it to electricity if possible.
I would also initiate a fully government funded crash program to develop power from nuclear fusion.
Posted by Smithers at 11:17 am in Politics | Permalink | No Comments »
Wednesday, March 28th, 2007
Sheesh, no wonder his back hurts. He looks like he’s riding a BMX bike.
In other news…
A collision with a tractor Tuesday evening has put an end to Andreas Klier’s hopes of a successful Spring Classics season. The crash left the T-Mobile rider with a broken right cheekbone and a concussion.
How do you run into a tractor? Those things only go, like, 5 mph?
Posted by Smithers at 10:46 am in Pro Cycling | Permalink | No Comments »
Wednesday, March 28th, 2007
On the Today show:
I am confident that given the opportunity, we can have success. The consequences of failure are catastrophic because if we come home, bin Laden and Zarqawi, they are going to follow us.
This Zarqawi?
Posted by Smithers at 10:22 am in Politics | Permalink | No Comments »
Wednesday, March 28th, 2007
You’ve been there.
At the point of the arrow. A handful of other riders with you. Working, fighting, struggling to stay off.
Everything starts well enough. The break is working, everyone is doing well.
But, at some point, things start to dry up for you.
You change your gears, adjust your cadence, change your hand position on the bars. You try and figure out the magic formula that is going to keep you in the race.
You start paying closer attention to the other riders as they pass you in the rotation. Is that guy soft peddling because he feels good or because he feels bad? Is this guy stomping because he is strong or desperate?
You quickly develop an appreciation for those riders who can take their short pull and move through smoothly. You curse those who accelerate when they hit the front. Their acceleration causes the rider behind them to match the acceleration causing the rider behind to match as well. This is making it harder for you to get back in the rotation after your turn at the front. Do you say anything? Do you show your weakness?
You can get away with missing a pull in the rotation here and there. Take a drink, stretch your back, something, anything just to get a break from the pain. Start missing too many turns at the front and you are going to catch an ear full from your companions.
Each time you pull off the front it gets that much harder to get on the wheel of the final rider in your group. A few inches are no problem, a half a wheel can be shut down pretty quickly, but soon it’s half a bike length. You just gave your effort at the front and now you are having to give another effort in quick succession just to keep from losing contact.
It’s obvious now, the other riders can tell that you are hurting. You assume that they are feeling as bad as you are but, deep down, doubt creeps in. Are these guys stronger than you?
At that moment one of your companions ups the speed just the slightest amount. It’s probably the maximum that he can do since he is hurting too, but this slight increase in speed is like a knife in your back.
You are at 100%, no longer fighting to stay off the front but fighting just to stay with your companions. If you are dropped your race is over. You are at the breaking point. Your legs are screaming for you to stop, sit up, give up. You are debating if this is worth it. These guys are stronger than you, they have better fitness, it’s just not your day.
This can all be over right now. Just stop pedaling. Stop.
Do you? End the pain? Accept defeat?
Do you fight? Are your companions also at the breaking point? A few more moments and it can be one of them instead of you?
Is your brain stronger than your legs?
Is your victory across the finish line or just across the breaking point?
Are you going to find out?
Posted by Smithers at 12:28 am in Cycling | Permalink | No Comments »
Tuesday, March 27th, 2007
Flood warnings have been issued for Long Prairie River in central Minnesota.
River ice warnings issued in Fargo.
Ass-kicking warnings issued for Wayzata, Long Lake, Orono, and Maple Plain. Tuesday Urthel team rides start tonight.
Posted by Smithers at 3:59 pm in Local Cycling | Permalink | No Comments »
Tuesday, March 27th, 2007
Hexagon on Saturn. What is it?
Posted by Smithers at 2:55 pm in News | Permalink | No Comments »
Tuesday, March 27th, 2007
Dump ethanol.
It’s inefficient to produce. The energy required to go from pumping crude from the ground to getting gasoline into your vehicles tank is about 6% of the energy in gasoline itself. The energy required for the production of ethanol is 75%, over 12 times worse than gasoline.
We can’t grow enough corn to make a real dent in our energy supply. Unless you want to see the rain forests of the world continue to be stripped down in order to plant corn fields, ethanol will never be suitable as a real energy source. Last year ethanol required 12% of the U.S. corn harvest but replaced only 2.8% of U.S. gasoline consumption.
It serves as an unnecessary subsidy for the farm and fuel industries. Corn growers are subsidized to grow the crop and tax credits are provided for ethanol producers. This is great for agriculture states and the fuel industry lobby but it is not a good investment in regards to energy efficiency.
We can get there other ways. If we were to adopt automobile fuel efficiency standards to increase efficiency by 20 percent, that would contribute as much as converting the entire U.S. grain harvest into ethanol.
Posted by Smithers at 11:41 am in Politics | Permalink | No Comments »
Tuesday, March 27th, 2007
Should we feel sorry for sub-prime mortgage holders who end up losing their homes?
Typically, a holder of a sub-prime mortgage is someone with a credit score that did not allow them to qualify for prime financing. The term “prime” has nothing to do with the prime interest rate, but instead refers to the ‘quality’ of the mortgage product. A sub-prime mortgage usually has higher fees than a prime mortgage as well as a higher interest rate or adjustable interest rate. The higher cost and interest rate are to compensate the lender for taking the risk on someone with a lower credit score.
So, a home buyer with less than stellar credit gets into a home thanks to a sub-prime lender. This is someone who may not have qualified for a mortgage any other way.
The sub-prime mortgage industry is getting hammered due to more borrowers defaulting on their house payments. I don’t feel sorry at all for these lenders as they knew the risk that they were taking and took it anyway. But what of the borrower?
In the Alt-A sub-prime market, in which consumers with slightly better credit than the weakest sub-prime borrowers, late payments and defaults are running at four times the historical rate. Should we be concerned with someone who falls behind on a loan that they may not have qualified for under traditional lending rules? Should assistance be provided to allow someone to keep a home that they would not have otherwise been qualified to purchase?
Is this a case of a predatory industry attempting to take advantage of those with less means in order to make a profit or consumers taking out loans that they never had the ability to repay?
Posted by Smithers at 8:53 am in News | Permalink | No Comments »
Monday, March 26th, 2007
Skippy’s wish = my command.
Take the poll.
Posted by Smithers at 10:43 pm in Local Cycling | Permalink | No Comments »
Monday, March 26th, 2007
Hey, Super Rookie is selling his apartment.
Posted by Smithers at 4:00 pm in Miscellaneous | Permalink | No Comments »
