I’ve blogged about ethanol before (and I’m sure I will again). My last discussion was in response to the movie “Freedom”. (By the way, the filmmakers promised to send a reply and never did.) I believe we need to develop alternative sources for our energy needs- for balance of payments issues, for security issues, and for improving our economy (jobs).
Continue reading Grain alcohol
This post is an experiment. You’ve heard and probably watched a TV/Radio Simulcast. Well, Elise Boysaw (KESA Collections) had this great idea to have a blog post written about the subject of her newest painting, 65 degrees. (Yes, Elise uses Fahrenheit; I use Centigrade.) So, I am writing this post about sleep.
Continue reading Simulcast? 2 Blogs in a Pod? You tell us!
It turns out that there are genetic traits that determine whether we are leaders or followers. Outgoing nature, intelligence, dominance, and physical attractiveness are traits that are associated with leaders. But, so followers have these same traits, too. Which means that given these traits, one can be made into a leader OR a follower.
Continue reading Leaders are made- so are followers!
When it comes to power generation, there are some truisms. Unless we develop new engine technology, we are going to need fluid (liquids or gases) fuels or batteries to run our cars. But, the bulk of commercial and residential energy demand beyond transportation is for heating and cooling our buildings. There is no reason that this need be met by liquid fuels. Given the stationary aspect of these needs, hydropower, solar, wind, and other technologies make perfect sense as the source of this energy.
Continue reading Solar to Steam Plant Operational
Not surprisingly, about 50% of our energy consumption is devoted to heating and cooling our buildings. (This data is substantiated by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development). And, that means that we should pay more attention to these needs- both in the design of our buildings and in the development of new apparati.
Continue reading Solar Cooling- now!
So, there I sat. In this cavernous room. Recently painted, an exquisitely curtained ark, with the rest of the room unadorned. And, I notice each congregant. Their clothes, their demeanor. Who’s dressed to the nines, who’s not. Crystal clear.
Continue reading How’s YOUR vision?
This looks like it’s going to be a problem. We have a deadline of 1 January 2014 and we are nowhere close to meeting this goal. To make matters worse, that is not really the due date, but the drop-dead date, since the states will have to connect by the Fall of 2013 to insure this required start date. What am I talking about? The insurance exchanges (part of Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act-PPACA [Obamacare] )that are to be operational in each state. And, that means that the Federal exchange that coordinates these state systems must also be operational.
Continue reading Times a’wasting- and we are the ones who will be hosed
I have written about the advances in neuroscience- and the fact that many of these advances are being turned towards law enforcement. After all, if the brain can tell (give away?) our motivations and ideas (how the brain affects behavior)- it’s not surprising that police and the courts would find these items of great interest (since their function is to attempt to regulate behavior).
Continue reading The Law is NOT Science
We have been seeking the ‘Holy Grail’ to treat Parkinson’s Disease with stem cells for some time. Given the restrictions on embryonic stem cells, research has been focused on integumentary and pluripotent stem cells. A big step forward has been made by a group of researchers working together, all from different institution. Drs. Lorenz Studer, Sonja Kriks & Jae-Won Shim of the Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in NY, along with other researchers there, plus researchers at the Cornell Medical School, Northwestern Medical, and Rush Memorial (the last two in Chicago, IL) published the results of their study in Nature on 10 November 2011.
Continue reading Stem Cell Therapy for Parkinson’s Moves Closer
ABCC9. No, I didn’t stutter- and I’m not talking television, either. ABCC9 is a specific gene that may explain my habits to you. It affords its ‘owners’ the ability to sleep for shorter periods than those that lack this genetic marker. By the way, the larger a person’s BMI [body mass index], the less sleep that person generally needs- but that characteristic is also associated with diabetes and heart disease. (Given these facts, it is unclear if these maladies are associated with shorter sleep or larger BMI.)
Continue reading It’s my genes- really?