Matthew's Weblog

I’ve been wanting a PAN since I heard about the MIT research in signals-via-skin. Now NTT has come up with a new system using lasers (!) that finally looks to be fast enough for people to start utilizing it. Now, to make it commercially feasible…

Well, sounds like thousands of shouting voters finally got the politicians to take privacy more seriously. Good for them… listening is hard.

Although the automakers don’t want to make them, people who had a chance before the California government wimped out are still raving about them – and the SF Chronicle did a nice piece recapping the issues. No real news, although it was put on the top of the front page, so that was disheartening. I wish they had searched deeper into what it takes to have a current car converted and why the automakers won’t do it themselves if only for folks willing to pay double.

In the paper this morning was an article about an essay about ‘The Death of Environmentalism’ [PDF] which sparked quite an uproar in the environmental-organizer community and is generating noisy discussions… but the few bits quoted in the article make me very interested. Now I’m going to have to read the rest of it…

For example, the focus on the environment being driven by fear instead of hope – that really struck home with me. I always envision my future as a pastoral place with no PG&E bills and a silent car, which is why I’m pushing to get solar panels, a hybrid auto, and other stuff that makes me sound pretty darn environmentally friendly. While I’d love to claim it is a great big heart beating in my chest to make the world a great place, it’s really pretty selfish at its core. I want my area, my world, to be better. That’s my dream. I’m concerned that if more people don’t share the same dream, I may not get it, so then I get pushy… but it is for selfish reasons.

Maybe that would work for more people…

So I was alerted to a new website that purports to give the real deal about hybrids – excoriating the GM truck as not a true hybrid since they only improved it by 1-2 mpg. I’m still investigating, but I’m most intrigued by the Hybrids Under The Hood area where they compare how each type of hybrid is built…

So there’s a press release that got me thinking about solar in commercial uses and how it’s an interesting difference in repayment points… the claim is that residential payoff is 10-12 years and commercial is 4-5 years. I much prefer the 4-5 years, and since I run a small business from my home I’m wondering if I could figure out a way to use a system exclusively for the business and pay it off faster. Hmmm…

An interesting article about using science for environmental good… I like the idea but don’t see how it is addressing the issue of profit (the currently largest driver for scientific research) in fixing environmental issues. And I’m still wary of GM foods… can’t help it. Not enough data to make me happy yet.

As the economy heats up, this will become more and more the case… watch out, employers, the pendulum doesn’t stay still…

Well, this is one way to get the electric car that the automakers won’t produce… I’d rather have a full electric option, but I’d take a 60-mile range since that’ll make it to work and back.

Somebody please come up with a Shipstone soon!

Hoo boy, this is a good one. He’s not holding back… a sample: “The company knew that the story was coming for months, yet it violated nearly every basic principle of crisis public relations.”

Payback time? I’m pretty into personal privacy, and this is something I think could actually drive the masses to realize how naked the emperor is…

(originally found through MIT TechReview)