Interesting Article on Biodiesel Boat

From Wired.com:

The eco-conscious adventurers trying to circumnavigate the world in a carbon-neutral biodiesel trimaran are approaching Puerto Rico, where they'll take on more fuel, fix the toilet and repair an inspection hatch that flooded their sleeping quarters with biodiesel. Despite the problems, Earthrace has covered 4,200 miles since leaving Sagunto, Spain, on April 27. The team is making its second attempt to circumnavigate the globe in record time and has braved 18-foot seas since leaving the Azores last week.

"Big waves come racing in and crash-tackle us," Earthrace skipper Pete Bethune said, according to the New Zealand Herald. "Earthrace shudders and rocks as the ... cabin goes dark and we submarine through each wave. Controlling Earthrace in head seas is like trying to control an angry bull."

The broken toilet and two inches of biodiesel sloshing around the sleeping quarters probably didn't make things any easier. [To continue reading, click here.]


I have to admit that I'm actually fairly skeptical of bio diesel. Fuel from food waste (especially forestry by-products) is not a bad idea, but my understanding is that biodiesel is a pretty "dirty" fuel. When you burn it, it pollutes like regular diesel, that is more than a comparable gasoline engine. I know cleaner diesel has been "right around the corner" for a number of years now, but until its here and it can come from surplus biological sources, I'm not on-board.

Ahoy,
B.

Super Girl Looks for Shells and Rocks May 4/08

Super Girl Looks for Shells and Rocks May 4/08
Originally uploaded by Binky's Photos

One of the reasons I'm glad that we live where we do is the short distance to the beach. Ten minutes and we can have sand under our feet.

B.

Action Girl May 4/08 at Beach

Action Girl May 4/08 at Beach
Originally uploaded by Binky's Photos

We love the beach this time of the year. You have to bundle up for the wind, but there are no crowds... More time to explore.

B.

1980s Now Legal in Cuba

According the the BBC, its now legal for individual Cubans to own computers. Here's a reminder that the Cuban regime (sans Castro) continues to be very repressive. More importantly, it fears dissent and free thought. Governments that fear their own people are worse that governments that are merely autocratic.

Its been easy for many people of the centre-left/centre like me to excuse the lack of democracy, citing health care and education. Freedom matters, democracy matters.

Lets hope that the Internet can do its democratizing magic (although we may need to be patient with China).

B.

Why I love Parades...

Originally uploaded by Orange Cremecicle

This is from the 2007 Rose Bowl Parade. I wish I was there.

B.

For my next birthday: lego cupcakes!

lego cupcakes!
Originally uploaded by hello naomi

I found these on Flickr.

Mmmm... Plastic bricky goodness.

First Post in a While!

Wow, what a busy spring we're having! In the last few weeks, we've registered TWO girls for soccer and TWO girls have started swimming lessons. "Action Girl" (now 7.5 years) is enrolled in "Swim Kids 1" and "Super Girl" (age 4.5 years) is now a "Salamander." When you're 4 and a half, you do well to leave the side of the toddler pool, I realize.

The new car is a lot of fun. Its no Hummer or G-Wagon, but it works well for us and we're enjoying having something that isn't 10 years old. That said, we've kept our other ten year old car and have a little bit of a dilemma with it- the catalytic converter is shot and needs to be replaced. Unfortunately the eco-friendly solution (replacing it) will be about $1000 and the not-so-eco-friendly solution will be about $800-900 less. Hmmm....

On the first of this month I returned to my previous job after about 15 moths away. It wasn't my first choice, but its a job I really like with co-workers I like even more than the job.

B.

Two More BSG Stories

"Galactica": Not To Be Pigeonholed
If You Think This Sci-Fi Series Is Just For Fanboys, You're Missing A Phenomenal, Existential Epic... (from CBS.com)

Exclusive: Caprica casting info revealed (fromTV Squad)
(Information on the BSG sequel/prequel)

TV's Best Show?

The end of M.A.S.H., the premiere of Star Trek: The Next Generation, the last episode of Lost’s First Season, and tonight; these are some of my favourite moment in television history. What’s the deal with tonight? The fourth and final season of the best-written science fiction on television premieres.

I could tell you that Battlestar Galactica (in its 2004-now version) is the best most “realistic” and dramatic sci-fi ever on TV, or that it’s the show that’s best portrayed the effect of mass trauma on a society (boring and social-worky, yes I know...) Instead I want to tell you two things:

1) Battlestar Galactica is a gritty, realistic drama that works on themes of family, survival, and equal measures of fear and hope. Few other shows (with or without killer robots) have managed such dramatic excellence.

2) Whether it was entirely intentional or not, BSG has managed to be the only television show that has addressed the way the world (and especially the US) has changed since September 11, 2001. It works like this: The Cylon attack that wipes out humanity’s home worlds is a society-changing event. On personal and societal levels, part of the show is always about defending humanity militarily while trying to preserve its freedoms and laws. Sound familiar? If this sounds cold and academic, somehow its not! Individual decisions are made about what can be acceptable in a society under threat. Torture, genocide, suicide bombing, its in there... At the same time, family, relationships, and hope become more precious than ever.

The show has a minimalist realism that makes it utterly watachable. Clothes look like our clothes, a chair is a chair, and guns fire bullets, not killer lazers. There are no aliens. Let me say that again, there are NO aliens. The main difference between their society and ours is that they are space-faring. People have real problems and very few things work out perfectly in the end. People fall in love and people die. People sacrifice everything for each other and people cheat, lie, and stab each other in the back. People are people.

The single biggest strength of the show is that its story-telling is not exclusively episodic. The whole series exists (we hope) within a large story arc and every episode advances the story. This can make it harder (but far from impossible) to get into the series but if you’re along for the ride, what a ride it is! It works very well on DVD.

Battlestar Galactica airs tonight on Space: the Imagination Station. Try it, its good for you.

B.

(From MSN.ca) 'Battlestar Galactica': Why It Might Save Your Marriage

A married couple discusses this sci-fi series' cross-gender appeal
By Adam Berliant and Martha Brockenbrough
Special to MSN

TVRemote-control couch fights are an ugly thing. Worse is the sad spectacle of his-and-hers TV sets positioned on opposite sides of the house to prevent the hideous cacophony of his televised explosions mixing with her weeping-orphan monologues.
There is hope, though, for the modern couple torn apart by differing tastes in TV. And, thank the gods, there's no reality TV involved. We're talking about "Battlestar Galactica" — the show that just might save your marriage. It's the Reese's peanut butter cup of programming, mixing his peanut butter in with her chocolate for a delicious blend of sex, cyborgs and good old-fashioned space opera. ..

[Read the rest of the artcle here.]

(From Salon.com) Everything you were afraid to ask about "Battlestar Galactica"

Everything you were afraid to ask about "Battlestar Galactica"
A complete primer on the smartest sci-fi TV show ... maybe ever.
By Thomas Rogers

Sci Fi Channel / Art Streiber

April 2, 2008 When the "Battlestar Galactica" miniseries premiered in 2003, viewers could be forgiven for having low expectations. At the time, the Sci Fi Channel, on which "Battlestar" aired, was a niche cable channel known mostly for "Stargate SG-1" and "Star Trek" reruns, and the show's source material, a cheesy '70s flop for ABC, wasn't exactly "The Sopranos." The series' premise, furthermore, involved enough clichéd science fiction elements -- an evil race of robots, a hotshot fighter pilot and characters with names like "Apollo" -- to make the show's fans wince when explaining it to their friends.
Three seasons later, "Battlestar Galactica" has become one of TV's smartest series. It has won a Peabody Award, made the Sci Fi Channel a semireputable cable outlet and revolutionized science fiction on television. It has proved that the genre, when liberated from the body-hugging Lycra jumpsuits and staid dialogue that have plagued most post-"Trek" science fiction series, can be a vehicle for both scathing political commentary and genuine pathos. The network recently greenlighted a prequel spinoff series called "Caprica," and on Friday, April 4, "Battlestar" returns to Sci Fi after a yearlong hiatus for its fourth and final season...

2009 Corolla 1

2009 Corolla 1
Originally uploaded by Binky's Photos

Okay, here is our actual new car- a black 2009 Toyota Corolla with LE trim.

Yaaaaay.

"A new car every ten year whether we need it or not..."

The "More to Follow" Update

A very good point was made by an old friend and loyal reader not to leave you folks hanging, so:

1) The thing about the cat: Super Girl (age 4) does not want to get a cat. She's talking about how our last cat used to scratch her and how scared she is that the new one might come into her room at night. Gently, she doesn't want to seem to budge.

2) We should get our new car Thursday or Friday. Yaaaay!

B.

March Break TO DO List:
[X] Take girls to regional indoor amusement park
[X] Get new car
[ ] Get new cat (May be canceled... More to follow)
[X] Rip up carpet in basement
[X] Interesting visits from fabulous people
[ ] Add to list

2009 Corolla... Ours!

Here is our new car! (Note- not actually our new car, just one we test drove and the same colour as the one we will own in a couple of days).

March 25th Update:
Okay, maybe black, not dark grey like the one pictured here. More to follow....

Interesting Blog for the Visual Learner in All of Us

Life, explained through index card-sized diagrams:

I N D E X E D

Thanks to CCC for the tip.

B.

Helicopters with Floats and Orange Blankets Mar 5-08

Helicopters with Floats and Orange Blankets Mar 5-08
Originally uploaded by Binky's Photos

The seal hunt is here, er... there and the helicopters are here.

B.

Lost: March 6, 2008: "The Other Woman"

Once again, have fallen asleep and missed Lost. Am trying to watch this ep. to comment on it.

More to follow,

B.

LOST: "The Constant" Feb 28-08 Part II

Last night, we had a chance to watch a copy of the "The Constant." As someone had suggested me to on Facebook, I think this was one of, if not "the", best episode so far this year. Desmond's tightly written back-story was coupled with the urgency of his time hopping made for an exciting ride for which I was glad to be on the bus. In fairness, the taped copy someone had lent me had no commercials and this added to the experience.

I've been hoping for some Desmond back-story for a while. When did they shoot it to get him with short hair. Realistically, they must have filmed it some time ago/at the same time as his original shooting. This fills me with some confidence as its the best evidence I've seen in a while that the writers have a plan (and that its a good plan).

I would love to "read" the Black Rock ship's log. That would be a back-story episode I could stay awake to watch.

A Couple of nit-picky points: Desmond's squad leader orders the squad to make a "right face." This is solely an American term, not a British (or Canadian) term. Also, Penny Whitmore has wedding and engagement rings on her right hand when she's talking to Desmond on the phone. By the way, how exactly do telephone calls to mysterious islands (which may or may not be Purgatory) work? Do they have their own area code? Or, is it a party line? How is it that Penny keeps "calling" the ship when she's trying to get the Island?

Does anyone else think that Charles Whitmore was a little scared of Desmond? There was something a little off in their interactions...

I'd like to see some more Desmond back-story. In fact I'd love to see what he gets charged for- now that we know that he's in the Army in 1996, too late for the first Iraqi War and probably too early for the second. This means no Sayid/Desmond in Iraq connection. Oh well...

B.

LOST: "The Constant" Feb 28-08

Greetings,
After a great deal of refection and consideration I have come to the conclusion that if I fall asleep 30 minutes before the episode actually starts, its probably not fair to write a great deal about it.

Hmmmm....

B.