The New Juice
No one is really sure why “juice” is a common slang term for electricity, but it’s a safe bet that it has no connection with the potential of grapefruit to generate current. Juice was used as a metaphor for life-force as far back as the 17th century, but it’s since been adopted by gossip, venture […]
Stuff Happens When You Fool Mother Nature
Butter is milk fat that is rapidly converted by the body into people fat. Butter had been around for 4000 years with no real competition until 1869, when French chemist Hippolyte Mège-Mouriès horrified American dairy farmers with his patented, lower-priced spread known as margarine. Frantic political lobbying and prohibitive licensing fees ensued. Margarine was blamed […]
The Many Looks of Innovation
My first thought when I saw the “Drill Bike” was that this was something I probably would have tried when I was 14, and it would have gotten me in big trouble for burning out my Dad’s drill. Now, after 50 years of experience and formal engineering training, the thought of trying it at […]
Butterflies and Burritos
According to Chaos Theory, a butterfly flapping its wings in Mexico can cause a hurricane in China. Most of us find that hard to believe. We are accustomed to scientific certainty, derived from proven cause or, for the less discriminating, well-documented correlation. We humans are a species with very little faith. This gives rise to […]
EV Anxiety
In April of 2012, Nissan sold 370 Leaf electric cars. Toyota sold nearly 37,000 Camry’s. My cousin and a good friend of mine, both of them motorheads, each have a Leaf. They are terrific cars; the only maintenance is to rotate the tires every six months. If we are going anywhere more than […]
Energy Demand
I drive a 2008 Prius, not because I am on a personal campaign to save the planet, but because gas is $4 a gallon and there are other things I would rather spend my money on. I am always a bit amused when my friends in their all-electric Nissan Leaves (nobody in my neighborhood can […]