Fumesucker
Fumesucker's JournalWhy did Bill Maher contribute $1 million to support Obama's reelection campaign?
There must have been some cunning plan behind that $1 million donation, it couldn't possibly be that Maher thought Barack Obama would make a better president than Mitt Romney.
I'm just not devious minded enough to figure it out though, perhaps some DUer with a better grasp of politics than me can explain this dilemma and put my confusion to rest.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/24/bill-maher-super-pac-obama-_n_1299250.html
During a performance of his comedy special "CrazyStupidPolitics" Thursday night, Maher announced a gift of $1 million to Priorities USA Action, an Obama-supporting super PAC. While he mocked the group's clunky name, saying it was "named by Borat," his publicist said that Maher was deadly serious about the donation and believed a second term for Obama was worth a million dollars."
Space robot researcher seeking room in pterodactyl-free zone (near Evansdale or in Southpark)
http://morgantown.craigslist.org/sha/4335210695.htmlI found a lovely house in South Park, but the person who subleased it to me either (a) seems to have a very bad memory and a deep and creative fantasy life, or (b) is a compulsive liar. So I have to find a new place by May 10th, and roommate(s).
Here is a list of things about other things, because: Things! Ranked in order of importance, obviously.
* I have a deep and abiding apprehension about pterodactyls. I would prefer to live in a neighborhood free of flying dinosaurs (except birds, birds are mostly okay).
* I have excellent skills at giving punny names to animals. My six chickens still live in Austin, and they are named Captain Peckhard (pronounced 'Picard'), Cluck Norris, Hen Solo, Buffy Orpington the Vampire Slayer, Ernestine Heningway (who turned out to be a rooster and now lives happily ever after on a farm with a yurt), Eggenvector, T. Boone Peckens, and Gregory Peck. If you counted more than six it's because a family of raccoons carried off some of them. :,(
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Read the rest of this hilarious ad at the link.
Interesting charts on human powered vehicle performance (2375 mph biking on the Moon!)
Electric assisted cargo bike recharges from built in solar cells in eight hours
http://www.gizmag.com/nts-works-solar-electric-suncycle/30758/?utm_source=Gizmag+Subscribers&utm_campaign=90643ef566-UA-2235360-4&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_65b67362bd-90643ef566-89739818
The 60-watt panel is located on the lid of the cargo box, adding 2 lb (907 g) to the weight of the bike. It utilizes noncrystalline solar cells, and is said to be over 19 percent efficient.
While it's likely that many users won't be able to regularly leave their bike out in the sun for eight hours at a time, they also won't necessarily always be charging the battery from empty, nor will they require a full charge for all trips. In the event that they do require a faster charge, the battery can still be juiced up from a regular electrical outlet as well.
Like NTS' existing 2X4 Cargo Bike, this model has a 250-watt hub motor in its front wheel. This means that when the rider is pedaling and chooses to engage the electric assist, the bike has two-wheel drive a handlebar-mounted display lets them choose the amount of assistance provided. The 36-volt, 14.3-Ah lithium-ion battery provides a claimed average range of 25 miles (40 km) per charge.
John Scalzi: How I knew I'd made it
It's an interesting piece well worth reading the whole thing at the link.
http://whatever.scalzi.com/2014/01/31/how-i-knew-id-made-it/
My moment isnt any one of those. My moment came a couple of years ago, when I was driving out of town and noticed my gas tank was almost empty. So I stopped at the gas station, slid my credit card into the pump, filled up my gas tank, replaced the nozzle, got back into my car and drove away. And then realized a couple of miles down the road that at no point did I look to see how much the gas cost per gallon, or how much the whole tank of gas cost me. I didnt look because I didnt have to. No matter how much it cost, I knew I had it. I knew I could afford it.
That was my moment.
Some of you, I suspect, are looking a bit puzzled at this. So its here that I need to give you a bit of context.
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Doo doo doo lookin' out my back door
And what do I see but ice covering everything.
Announcer for London Underground fantasizes about what she would like to say
"Would the gentleman in the pinstripe suit and the thousand pound glasses who obviously works in the media please take one step forward onto the track as the train arrives, thank you."
http://www.emmaclarke.com/fun/mind-the-gap/spoof-london-underground-announcements
Why do lithium batteries fail prematurely? What can be done to improve reliability?
Doesn't start with a bang and the speaker isn't particularly inspiring but gets down to nitty gritty on the how and why of lithium cells for you geeky types.
You know who you are.
Some Q/A and practical type advice start at about 1:03:00 or so.
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Member since: Sat Mar 29, 2008, 10:11 PMNumber of posts: 45,851