Fridays seem to come fast these days...

Another week thoroughly conquered and shuffled into history. I've always detested that Office Space Friday mindset where everyone you bump into greets you with a "happy Friday!" These days, stacked with work, school and exercise, I find myself one of those people, blithely struggling through the week with just a glimmer of hope at the end of the rainbow.

Is it wrong to think it's strange to truly enjoy less then half of your life? I enjoy school as much as anyone who goes back after a break (i.e. I enjoy it more than most, less than some) but, to be perfectly honest, I'd much rather spend my mornings with a paper at a coffeeshop in Coronado, my afternoons reading and writing of my own accord and my evenings sipping syrah on my porch, listening to music before falling asleep to a good movie. Holy crap, I should retire!

Clearly flying off-topic... anyways, what I mean is that I certainly enjoy life, get out of it as much as I can and love the progress but I just hope it all pays off. And I don't mean a 7 figure paycheck, I mean financial stability, a career I love and the time to do what I want to do with my life. I work very hard and have been working few hard for several years with no intention of slowing down. I'm really not looking for any guarantee, just a feeling that the light at the end of the tunnel is really there, taht jumping through hoops is a phase you get over. I have no intention of retiring at 40 or 50 or even 60, I just want to work hard on my own accord, on my own projects... on my book and my own theories and my project car.

I really do need to retire, crap.... how much do I have in my wallet?

Since I'm Published

Two of the best sites out there... sites that "get" me :)

www.explodingdog.com
















http://www.gapingvoid.com/

This Article Sucks

...and I'll tell you why

http://www.fuelcellsworks.com/Supppage5206.html

So let's just assume for the moment that we've already found the technology to halt/reverese global warming and eliminate our dependance of foreign countries for oil (I believe we have but that's not the point). Now let's say everybody agreed on it and were working towards it with a vision. There was no question, we solved the problem, finished the equation, found what "x" equals. What would that look like?

It would look like this bumbling congressman from Washington DC.

"'These technologies truly are the future of the auto market and will be part of the solution to our increasing oil dependence,' Gillmor said. "

Is it? Is it really? Did we find it? Because not everyone agrees and I'm whole-heartedly certain that you're not educated in this field enough to make that proclamation. I believe in hydrogen like someone would believe they're going to recover from a serious illness. I feel like it is going to happen and I've read enough to know that the obstacles it faces are not insurmountable. But this guy leaves no uncertainty... "Hey Guys! Over here! I found it! The solution!"

The first sentence of this article is "Congressman Paul Gilmore. R- Tiffin, took time recently to learn more about alternative fuels." This guy doesn't know anything about this technology but comes out and makes a sweeping statement about where we're going with it. His entire "speech" that was quoted in the article sounds like someone who didn't know anything about it wrote it for him, a man who also knows nothing about it, to say.

I, of course, am very happy when the word gets out (hence the blog) that hydrogen is important but I'm less happy when the messenger knows nothing and pretends like he's Paul freakin' Revere spreading this important and heretofore unknown news.

TGIT

Hybrid -> Ethanol -> Fuel Cell?

Nice, honest language from GM...

http://www.fuelcellsworks.com/Supppage5201.html

"While [GM Vice Chariman Bob] Lutz focused on ethanol, Wagoner also mentioned the eventuality of using hydrogen to power vehicles. However, he said the first of these cars would be “massive money losers.” Nonetheless, GM hopes to bring its first hydrogen offerings to market in 2010. "

And I thought I was behind my getting into the hydro industry now!

What It Look Like?

"Angry motorists, frightened politicians and three-dollar-a-gallon gasoline are stirring new interest in alternative kinds of vehicular transportation that don't weigh two-and-a-half tons and get 13 miles to the gallon.

"In other words, it's car of the future time again."

http://money.cnn.com/2006/05/12/news/companies/pluggedin_fortune/

Good overview of cars of the future! No pics though...

Any Ideas?

"For all those out there tinkering on innovative devices in your garages or basements, Congress is coming up with a handsome $52 million in taxpayer money for a new prize program to entice inventors to develop workable designs for a hydrogen car.

"The measure, which got little opposition when it cleared the House this month, provides up to $1 million in prizes for those who develop innovative ways of dealing with production, storage, distribution and utilization issues involving hydrogen cars, and a $4 million prize for a hydrogen prototype car. A special $10 million prize is available for the inventor of truly "transformational technology" that speeds the conversion from oil to hydrogen power."

To apply, just visit www.dotheDOTsandDOEsworkforthem.com

Just kidding... a great idea IMHO. I'm just jealous because I left my hydrogen prototype running in front of AM/PM the other day and it was stolen. F%#$!

Battle of the Sexes

It's boys vs girls in Winter Park Florida!

http://www.wesh.com/news/9207788/detail.html

The competition? A hydrogen model car race! Girls? Any words before the race?

"We're girls, first of all, our wheels are excellent, and we're pretty, so we're going to win"

Good points, all of them. Boys, a reaction?

"We made the car out of plywood and mini CDs. Nobody knew about that before"

We're all special in our own way I guess. So eloquent for 14! Boys, any reaction after today's win?

"We just had the better car. It works."

Masters of the Universe

http://hydrogen.its.ucdavis.edu/

I've been meaning to look at this for a long time. In an attempt to keep my 1-2 person (optimistically) audience from clamoring for more content, I look up all the stuff I've been meaning to check out for a while... suh-weet.

"Within the Institute of Transportation Studies, interdisciplinary education in understanding the role of engineering, science and policy in addressing important transportation issues is a central priority. The TTP program, which awards MS and PhD degrees, allows our graduate students to study and analyze a wide range of transportation related issues, including those related to hydrogen."

Mark my words... I will be part of that program before I'm 30. Watch.