Category Archives: Uncategorized

Nuclear reactor for efficient conversion of Tar Sands

I have said for years that Canada would eventually use nuclear energy to process the tar sands. It looks like Toshiba is going to make it happen. Converting tar sand to useful oil takes a lot of energy. Since there’s lots of tar on site, that’s the source of energy. A significant fraction of the energy in the tar goes into processing instead of into the consumer’s gas tank. Putting a nuclear reactor on site means that the processing energy comes from uranium instead. In some sense, it’s a conversion of uranium energy into hydrocarbon energy.

Of course, from a climate standpoint, it could be better. We could convert uranium energy (or solar energy!) into converting carbon dioxide into fuel instead of converting tar sand into fuel. But tar sand is a much more concentrated carbon source than the atmosphere.

What I think it really interesting is the funding model. Buy a nuclear reactor and plug it into your plant. That saves energy so you don’t have to burn your fuel on site. That frees up fuel for sale which pays for the reactor. How long before countries without tar sands figure it’s worth their money to convert other resources (e.g. biomass, municipal waste, natural gas) to fuel?

How grid storage can make solar work economically

A new ARPA-E startup is developing a battery improvement with a target price of $0.17 per watt-hour. I imagine that this price reflects current market prices for materials and so it might not reflect a revised demand scenario as we try to build large scale grid energy storage. However, if lithium batteries can be developed for this price, it seems likely that liquid magnesium (target price $0.05 per watt-hour), iron air (target price $0.10 per watt-hour) or some other advanced battery can get to a similar price point.

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Best Ignobel Prize ever: For Failed Doomsday Prophesies

I have a deep love for failed prophesies. People who make them are so cocksure and so obviously wrong, that they always amuse me. Plus, you can only ever lose once on this kind of bet. The odds are, to put it mildly, in my favor.

Here’s the thing: The end has always been Nigh and always will be Nigh according to someone.

I laughed when Harold Camping was wrong in May. I will get to laugh as loudly again when Harold Camping is wrong again on October 22 (or whenever). I fully expect that, without a lapse in his self-confidence, he will push his prediction back again and I will get to laugh at him a third time. How long can this go on? I’m game as long as he is. [Edit: I can admit when I am wrong – he gave up on predictions]

From the 2011 Ig Nobel Prize awards:

MATHEMATICS PRIZE: Dorothy Martin of the USA (who predicted the world would end in 1954), Pat Robertson of the USA (who predicted the world would end in 1982), Elizabeth Clare Prophet of the USA (who predicted the world would end in 1990), Lee Jang Rim of KOREA (who predicted the world would end in 1992), Credonia Mwerinde of UGANDA (who predicted the world would end in 1999), and Harold Camping of the USA (who predicted the world would end on September 6, 1994 and later predicted that the world will end on October 21, 2011), for teaching the world to be careful when making mathematical assumptions and calculations.

This follows nicely on the Great Randi the Skeptical’s list of failed predictions of the end of the world. Or if you would like some more details on the Millerites and the Great Disappointment have a read at Wikipedia or Britannica.

It blows my mind that people get taken in every time. How many times will these hucksters get it wrong before people stop listening? Well… I think Albert Einstein said it best:

“Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the the universe.”

Zune software suggestions

I wished Zune worked exactly like Amazon.com. I don’t like the Zune software, but I love the subscription service and I like the device itself. It can download music without a PC at all, which is awesome. But I hate the software.

How it works:

  • Connect the Zune
  • Boot software
  • Listen to my fan spin up as it takes 60% of my system resources
  • Search music
  • Click “download”
  • Find it in my collection
  • Drag it to my device
  • Wait for it to download
  • Disconnect the device

How it should work:

  • Go to zune.com
  • Search
  • Click “download it now” button
  • Music magically appears on the Zune

This is completely possible with existing hardware. Kindle does it. The Zune has WiFi. Why the hell do I need to interface my brain with a cumbersome mess of software to put bits onto my Zune? Is this a HP calculator circa 1989 or a Microsoft Next Gen device in 2010?

Remember WinAMP? Back circa 1999 it was great. It enqueued music, it played music, it needed almost no overhead. You want to stream music? Click the link, it enqueues the streaming station. Then AOL bought it, loaded it to the gills with spyware, bloatware, a browser (?!), fancy skins, and I stopped using it.  It’s dead now. Like RealPlayer. Another example: there is an open source Media Player Classic that is VASTLY SUPERIOR to any major company’s bloated hulk of media software. When I want to play an AVI, I want to play the AVI. That’s it. As bottle openers, can openers and scissors go, Swiss army knives are crap.

I absolutely refuse to let Quicktime or iTunes on my PC. I wish I could avoid Media Player 12, but eventually something like Netflix will require it.

-Peter

Tip:

To reduce Zune’s overhead and stop it from bogging down your system:

  • Go to Zune -> Settings -> Display -> Screen Graphics slider
  • Put it far to “basic” so that Zune doesn’t completely dominate your processor