Think-Of-The-Children-ist Jack Thompson is pushing a bit of legislation through the Senate that would require video game raters to have played the entire game before rating it. Yeah, we're back to the "hot coffee" hack in San Andreas again. Just when you thought people could move on. Jack, when is the last time you played a video game, let alone a masterpiece like San Andreas? Techdirt thinks we should make him play it before he gets his way, just so he can see how impossible his proposal is.
That's right, you have to get all the oysters, the horseshoes, the snapshots, the tags. You have to beat all the mini races, all the properties, all the derbies and collect all the cars. The taxi misions, the ambulance missions, the firetruck missions, the vigilante missions, the garbage truck missions, the car dealer missions, the pizza delivery missions, the airplane missions, the hovercraft missions. You have to beat all the arcade games in the convenience stores night clubs, bars and restaurants. Oh, and you have to beat the actually storyline of the game, which is a feat in itself. And after you did all that you still would not have found the hot coffee hack because its not part of any of that stuff. So you have to try out all the cheat codes, all the mod items, the easter eggs, all the post-consumer additions. And when you resurface after about 10 months straight you won't care that a couple of fictional people got it on cause you'll love the game. You'll have played out all your frustrations and realized how wonderful it is. Oh and there's 5 more of them. I'm pretty sure Rockstar can produce this outstanding material faster than you can consume it. Remember, Vice City Stories is coming...
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Cheapskate.
Whatever you did for Valentine's Day sucked. Just check out what you could have done if you really loved her... For a mere $1,069,000 you get a presidential suite, six course dinner, diamond necklace and earrings, gold cuff links, and black and red Bentley Continental GT. Now before you go jumping to conclusions about that being a terribly expensive car, it only accounts for $193,000 of the package. The second course of dinner, that's probably where most of the money is going.
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Ocean Motion
Wave power is something that I don't really think about all that much when I consider clean alternative power sources. Normally my thoughts drift straight to solar and wind and then on to the dreamy hunk that is fusion. But that may be off base. Here's a presentation by Max Carcas of Ocean Power Delivery at a Google Tech Talk.
The presentation is about an hour long but it gives great details about the actual device as well as energy potential, market and economics of wave power. Watch the video if you have the time he's much better at explaining it than I am, but I'll put some of my notes below. Skip to about 26:00 for video of the wave tank simulation.
Solar currently generates 100 watts per square meter, wind 1000 watts per square meter while wave power houses the potential for 20,000- 70,000 watts per square meter depending on teh region. Wave energy can be thought of as compressed stored wind energy.
Waves are a highly forecastable energy source, which is a major concern with wind and solar generation. Output, even without forecasting, can be held constant within a 5 and 10% threshold.
The device is called "Pelamis" (a type of sea snake) for its vertical and horizontal motion as waves pass under it. It resides in an optimal depth of 80m which is 2-10km from shore depending on the region. At this depth the waves are not compressed by the shore and retain more energy while remaining in a non-volatile state (not breaking).
A single unit is 140m long and 3.5m wide with 4 rigid sections and 3 joints that contain pneumatic actuators. The joints move up and down as well as side to side at non uniform angles to induce a kind of harmonic tuning that is used to maximize the power output depending on the type of wave. That single unit will average around 750 KW output which is enough for about 500 homes.
The device is designed to be survivable with "load shedding" as an innate feature of the design. If a large wave is encountered it will simply pass through the wave rather than rising too high on a crest and breaking apart. This is much the same as the way that wind turbines can feather in excess wind or a hydro-electric plant can discharge excess water.
The technology was designed using existing technology as a guide. Natural gas, Oil and various other marine industries have developed standards couplings and materials that are well suited to this type of environment. The device itself employs very few revolutionary, and untested, modules which makes it very reliable.
The current cost of deployment per kwh is above wind but below solar. There is a distinct trend in applications of new technologies that cost drops fairly dramatically as process is streamlined and technologies refined. Wind turbine prices have dropped 80% since the first wind turbine project; so one might make an educated guess that a similar trend will follow for wave power. Government subsidies generally provide incentive to new projects during the first few years to help with this innovation cost hurdle, as we've done for solar and wind.
The presentation is about an hour long but it gives great details about the actual device as well as energy potential, market and economics of wave power. Watch the video if you have the time he's much better at explaining it than I am, but I'll put some of my notes below. Skip to about 26:00 for video of the wave tank simulation.
Solar currently generates 100 watts per square meter, wind 1000 watts per square meter while wave power houses the potential for 20,000- 70,000 watts per square meter depending on teh region. Wave energy can be thought of as compressed stored wind energy.
Waves are a highly forecastable energy source, which is a major concern with wind and solar generation. Output, even without forecasting, can be held constant within a 5 and 10% threshold.
The device is called "Pelamis" (a type of sea snake) for its vertical and horizontal motion as waves pass under it. It resides in an optimal depth of 80m which is 2-10km from shore depending on the region. At this depth the waves are not compressed by the shore and retain more energy while remaining in a non-volatile state (not breaking).
A single unit is 140m long and 3.5m wide with 4 rigid sections and 3 joints that contain pneumatic actuators. The joints move up and down as well as side to side at non uniform angles to induce a kind of harmonic tuning that is used to maximize the power output depending on the type of wave. That single unit will average around 750 KW output which is enough for about 500 homes.
The device is designed to be survivable with "load shedding" as an innate feature of the design. If a large wave is encountered it will simply pass through the wave rather than rising too high on a crest and breaking apart. This is much the same as the way that wind turbines can feather in excess wind or a hydro-electric plant can discharge excess water.
The technology was designed using existing technology as a guide. Natural gas, Oil and various other marine industries have developed standards couplings and materials that are well suited to this type of environment. The device itself employs very few revolutionary, and untested, modules which makes it very reliable.
The current cost of deployment per kwh is above wind but below solar. There is a distinct trend in applications of new technologies that cost drops fairly dramatically as process is streamlined and technologies refined. Wind turbine prices have dropped 80% since the first wind turbine project; so one might make an educated guess that a similar trend will follow for wave power. Government subsidies generally provide incentive to new projects during the first few years to help with this innovation cost hurdle, as we've done for solar and wind.
Shoveling Out.
Here's a few time sensitive links that I'm just now clearing out of the bottom of the tray. I know they would have been much better on time, but better late than never, right?
Ah good, political maneuvering isn't just restricted to "think of the children" internet and tv campaigns. We shall, slowly but surely, ban being stupid in the United States. Either that or choke everyone to death in paperwork trying.
I made some wild claims about electric power and cars the other day and this was what I was thinking of. 330 GW might seem like a lot of power, but its only enough to provide for: Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina. AND allow for a 50% increase in usage in those states. Lets go dig up Alaska and ship fuel across the continent or burn food instead of building some damn windmills. (whoa, the sarcasmometer is off the chart!) They also talk about using cars to help store energy for peak hours.
And just in case you didn't hear, the less optimistic bunch (or more prepared bunch, depending on your outlook) are just assuming that something bad (I mean worse that what we've got now) is going to happen to our environment. And in true bomb-shelter-in-the-backyard style are building a doomsday vault to house specimen of seed. Cause whether you think we'll be repopulating the world, colonizing mars or terraforming a whole new planet after we blow ours up, its harder without plants. Mostly the food part. Or the shade. Or the oxygen. I mean, sure, we could probably work out ways around some of that stuff. But if you ever get egotistical enough to think we don't need plants, or that we're more valuable than plants are, just notice that you don't see plants digging a bunker to store your seed for after the end of the world..
Ah good, political maneuvering isn't just restricted to "think of the children" internet and tv campaigns. We shall, slowly but surely, ban being stupid in the United States. Either that or choke everyone to death in paperwork trying.
- Techdirt: If even the police don't follow driving while phoning rules...
- Techdirt: You can't ban stupidity, no matter how hard you try.
- Techdirt: What's next? A ban on walking?
- Techdirt: After we ban Driving while Drowsy, can we just ban legislating while stupid?
I made some wild claims about electric power and cars the other day and this was what I was thinking of. 330 GW might seem like a lot of power, but its only enough to provide for: Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina. AND allow for a 50% increase in usage in those states. Lets go dig up Alaska and ship fuel across the continent or burn food instead of building some damn windmills. (whoa, the sarcasmometer is off the chart!) They also talk about using cars to help store energy for peak hours.
And just in case you didn't hear, the less optimistic bunch (or more prepared bunch, depending on your outlook) are just assuming that something bad (I mean worse that what we've got now) is going to happen to our environment. And in true bomb-shelter-in-the-backyard style are building a doomsday vault to house specimen of seed. Cause whether you think we'll be repopulating the world, colonizing mars or terraforming a whole new planet after we blow ours up, its harder without plants. Mostly the food part. Or the shade. Or the oxygen. I mean, sure, we could probably work out ways around some of that stuff. But if you ever get egotistical enough to think we don't need plants, or that we're more valuable than plants are, just notice that you don't see plants digging a bunker to store your seed for after the end of the world..
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Work-From-Home Soldiering
OK, so this video has to be fake. Otherwise why do we have any people over there at all? The adaptiveness and anthropomorphism of this robot are definitely past the uncanny valley where human beings reject robots because they act too human-like. Something about robots carrying Ak-47's just rubs me the wrong way. I mean they should have built-in weapons systems, so that there's a chance something might misfire. Ak's are money every whichway you test them. Watch how it moves; recoiling from nearby bullet hits. There's no way a real robot reacts that way yet; right? Otherwise, watch out Boston and the overactive graffiti crowd that like to patronize your provocatively vacant walls...Send Grandma Up The River.
That means 'to jail', right? The new anti-gambling frenzy the US has taken lately is fairly bizarre. They're taking to jailing anyone even associated with online gambling. Well watch out cause they've got one high profile bar matron in custody for running a $50 superbowl pool. Yeah that's right, a 73 year old great-grandmother could face a year in the slammer for something that pretty much everyone in your office did. We've got to make an example out of her though, otherwise people might start thinking that gambling is reasonable.Asleep Is The New Brown Bag.
Apparently some people take sleep walking to the next level; which is, of course, sleep copulating. Yes, these folk are dead asleep but their spouses can attest they are by no means tranquil. Subjects are often quite different in style and virtually no idea what happens while asleep. Wow, wake me when its over takes on all new meaning.
Monday, February 12, 2007
Rack Em Up.
Yeah, people should put their damn carts back, not leave them drifting around in the parking lot. (or try to take them home) And I'm pretty sure if I was one of those "cart boys" I'd yell at everyone who just pushes it aside when they're done. But honestly, how long of an article do you need about "return carts to the supermarket month"?
I Bet Crude Oil Tastes Great!
Ethanol gets me so riled up. I mean, sure its a great way to stop using foreign oil and prop up the sagging farm industry. You know, aside from its general inefficiency, its failure to address the Neanderthalic burning-stuff-for-power lack of innovation, and the destruction of a perfectly useful commodity. People have been taking it up lately because that's a great way to impress the middle of the country. You know that same, unimproved commodity you're been growing all your life? Well turns out that it just got 7 times more expensive! Bullshit.You want to grow power? Plant a field full of photo voltaic cells that do a much better job of harnessing sunlight and turning it into usable fuel. And I won't need to subsidize you cause it won't be ridiculously expensive to turn a mild profit.
Sorry I finally got around to watching "Who Killed the Electric Car" so I'm very angry about inferior alternatives being pushed out because they may benefit a small subset of people for a short time. These hydrogen and ethanol technologies that are the "salvation of the energy dependence" completely fail to address the issue of environmental efficacy. Electric cars have been around since the beginning of cars, but we've been distracted all this time by a better advertised, but less effective, alternative. Don't get suckered in again. Don't buy an "efficient" 42mpg hybrid, don't wait around 5 years for a "where the hell will the fuel come from, oh its expensive and inefficient to create" hydrogen drive vehicle. There are gigawatts of electricity out there in wind, sunlight, and waves just waiting to be harvested. And electric cars the possess durability and performance to make use of that free power NOW, without the need to throw billions into "future research".
So next time you feel pressured to use one of these "new innovations" in fuel, reply that you're more temped to crack open a can of 10W-30 instead of Gatorade at the gym.
Friday, February 09, 2007
What? This ISN'T My Car?
Ah the old switcheroo turned accidental car thief. Its a story as old as the '85 Camry. A mother went to pick up her daughter's car from school and used the key to open, start and drive home in the wrong grey Camry. The victim doesn't blame the mother but said " Her key fit not only my lock, but my ignition as well - so high-five for Toyota, I guess." A spokesman from Toyota said this was due to the key technology of two decades ago. Hmm... yeah 4,000 years of using locks, but in the last 20 we finally figured out how to make different keys. Sounds like you guys were just lazy.
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