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I don't get it. Lately I've seen some cool comments by some people that seem to think kind of like me but when I try to go to their blog, I get one of these.
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What's the deal? They just want to comment? Their blog is top secret?
Their paranoia is even grander than mine?
Just wondering (and bitching a little).

A Thursday Thought

I'm not sure but I bet if Dyson set their mind to it, they could build a hell of a bong.

Algae Huh?

By Amanda Leigh Haag
Published on: March 29, 2007


Just three years ago, Colorado-based inventor Jim Sears shuttered himself in his garage and began tinkering with a design to mass-produce biofuel. His reactor (plastic bags) and his feedstock (algae) may have struck soybean farmers as a laughable gamble. But the experiment worked, and today, Sears’ company, Solix Biofuels in Fort Collins, is among several startups betting their futures on the photosynthetic powers of unicellular green goo.

The science is simple: Algae need water, sunlight and carbon dioxide to grow. The oil they produce can then be harvested and converted into biodiesel; the algae’s carbohydrate content can be fermented into ethanol. Both are much cleaner-burning fuels than petroleum-based diesel or gas.

The reality is more complex. Trying to grow concentrations of the finicky organism is a bit like trying to balance the water in a fish tank. It’s also expensive. The water needs to be just the right temperature for algae to proliferate, and even then open ponds can become choked with invasive species. Atmospheric levels of CO2 also aren’t high enough to spur exponential growth.

Solix addresses these problems by containing the algae in closed “photobioreactors”—triangular chambers made from sheets of polyethylene plastic (similar to a painter’s dropcloth)—and bubbling supplemental carbon dioxide through the system. Eventually, the source of the CO2 will be exhaust from power plants and other industrial processes, providing the added benefit of capturing a potent greenhouse gas before it reaches the atmosphere.

Given the right conditions, algae can double its volume overnight. Unlike other biofuel feedstocks, such as soy or corn, it can be harvested day after day. Up to 50 percent of an alga’s body weight is comprised of oil, whereas oil-palm trees—currently the largest producer of oil to make biofuels—yield just about 20 percent of their weight in oil. Across the board, yields are already impressive: Soy produces some 50 gallons of oil per acre per year; canola, 150 gallons; and palm, 650 gallons. But algae is expected to produce 10,000 gallons per acre per year, and eventually even more.

“If we were to replace all of the diesel that we use in the United States" with an algae derivative, says Solix CEO Douglas Henston, "we could do it on an area of land that’s about one-half of 1 percent of the current farm land that we use now."

Solix plans to complete its second prototype by the end of April and to begin building a pilot plant this fall. That plant will take advantage of CO2 generated from the fermentation and boiler processes of New Belgium Brewery, also in Fort Collins. The company’s initial target is to be competitive with biodiesel, which historically sells for about $2 per gallon, wholesale. They believe they can reach this goal within a few years, and are ultimately aiming to compete with petroleum.

A typical American couple concerned about steroid use by professional athletes.

WNBA Disappointed

A two-year-old Indian girl born with four arms and four legs was due to leave hospital Saturday, more than a month after an operation to remove her extra limbs, a doctor said. A statement was released by the WNBA (The Women's National Basketball Association)
"It's a shame, she might have been a superstar." "Our recruiters already had their eyes on her." "We're very disappointed."

The Haircut

I was sitting in the chair getting my hair cut, listening to a couple of old ladies talk politics. "Hell no, I voted for Hillary." "If that other thing gets to be president, I think I'll leave the country." I was thinking to myself, I guess that's why Clinton won the Oklahoma Democratic primary. There are a bunch of old racist women here that would never vote for any black person but have progressed enough to vote for a woman, as long as she's white. I must have been making a face trying to hold in my outrage because someone quickly said "Let's don't talk about politics, I'm tiered of it." So the old ladies started talking about pain pills and muscle relaxers. One of them saying she was pretty buzzed because she took on of Maggie's pain pills and they must be stronger that hers were, they were a different color. They went on and on about swapping pills and all that. This stuff is fine with me but I'd bet you dollars to donuts that if a story came on the news (which we were watching at the time) saying that they had busted someone for prescription drug abuse, these ladies would be saying "Good! One less druggie on the streets!" They just don't see themselves the way I do.
But I guess that's life in Biblebelt, Oklahoma.

Mixed Results in Marijuana Study

Stopping marijuana use can produce withdrawal symptoms that rival those of nicotine withdrawal, according to a small study published in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence.

The study, which looked at 12 adults who were heavy users of marijuana and cigarettes, found that, similar to nicotine withdrawal, quitting marijuana caused symptoms such as irritability, anxiety, sleep problems and difficulty concentrating.

The study also showed that smoking marijuana helped patients with irritability issues, anxiety disorders, sleep disorders and concentration problems.