Reading more about the spill over the weekend.. the situation looks much worse than it did on friday. The visible surface area of the spill has grown much faster over the last few days than it should have if it were leaking at the rate of 5k barrels a day. The fear is that the piping will totally open up and release on the order of 165 – 250k barrels a day making it a bigger spill than the Valdez in as little as a couple days. Worse.. there is a pretty good chance at this point that the oil is going to migrate east and get caught up in the [gulf stream][2] which will carry it around to the east coast of Florida and potentially as far as NC affecting roughly half the east coast.
As BP is my favorite integrated oil company I’ve been following this gulf story closely. It certainly sounds like this mess with the blown well is going to take a long time.. maybe months to fix and you just know it’s going to be a daily story. Of course BP is insured.. and there are other companies involved that are taking a hit but every time the story comes up it’s BP getting trashed.
I was able to take in the final Charlotte Checkers game tonight and while they didn’t win they made a good showing for the playoffs. Nice job.. looking forward to the new team next season.
Nearly half of US households escape fed income tax
Don’t worry.. be happy… unless you are the half stuck with the bill that is.
This is an update to my initial posting last July. It didn’t take long to figure out the lead batteries were not going to cut it for the sort of high performance bike I had in mind. So shortly after I moved I replaced them with a LiFePO4 pack from Yesa. I got this straight from the manufacturer in China at a considerable savings over other similar quality packs from retailers here. I can only speak for my experience.. but the guys at Yesa were top notch to deal with and after more than 6 months putting their batteries to work I’ve had no problems. The Li pack is lighter and I relocated it for better balance on the bike. With a fresh charge on level ground it can sustain 40… but 35 is a normal top speed once you get past the first few miles.If I had it to do over.. I might go with a 72v setup and a motor with more windings. That would allow for lower power draw but still ample speed when you need it. Continue Reading for more technical details..
I’ve been meaning to write this document for a while… but only just did. It took me a while to figure out how to do this ‘right’ so I thought it would be a good idea to write it all down and post it out here.. both for my reference and for yours. I lay out exactly how to do useful and easy to manage traffic shaping on your linux router to make your VOIP calls sound good and keep all your other data traffic happy.
A good turnout at the first state level NC tea party. I see a few signs and pitchforks… but overall a peaceful gathering… speeches, music, cheering and clapping. The local media is keeping a low profile but I do see the channel 9 news van and someone from channel 3. I also see a few photographers working their way through the crowd.. interesting to see how this gets covered. Sent via BlackBerry
If you believe the problem is man made global warming and the solution is Cap and Trade… think again. Like most everything the federal government does this effort is a day late and 500 billion dollars short. Have you noticed how cold the winters have been lately and how mild the summers? Real scientists have noticed too and they have been talking about it for a while now… not that you would notice if you listen to Obama or get your news from the major media.
This quote from Voltaire is a good one to keep in mind when you find yourself trapped and unable to make forward progress with something. In particular I’m talking to our ‘best and brightest’ who are running the market and the economy into the ground with their doom and gloom.. and lack of a specific plan. There are lots of good ideas being put out there… just not by anyone in DC.
