Cool idea: 

"The United States could generate as much electricity by 2050 as that flowing today from all of the country’s nuclear power plants by developing technologies that tap heat locked in deep layers of granite, according to a new study commissioned by the Energy Department.

There are already dozens of power plants worldwide that have long exploited hot spots of geothermal energy to drive steam turbines, but they are restricted to a few areas.

The new report, published online yesterday, focuses on a process that it said could affordably harvest heat locked in deep layers of granite that exist almost everywhere on earth. The technique, called enhanced geothermal, involves drilling several holes — some two to three miles deep — into granite that has been held at chicken-roasting temperatures, around 400 degrees or more, by insulating layers of rock above.

In the right geological conditions, pressurized water can be used to widen natural mazelike arrays of cracks in the granite, creating a vast, porous subterranean reservoir.

In a typical setup, water pumped down into the reservoir through one hole absorbs heat from the rock and flows up another hole to a power plant, giving up its heat to generate steam and electricity before it is recirculated in the rock below.

There are successful plants harvesting heat from deep hot rock in Australia, Europe and Japan, the report noted, adding that studies of the technology largely stopped in the United States after a brief burst of research during the oil crises of the 1970s.

Source:
Study Says Tapping of Granite Could Unleash Energy Source
ANDREW C. REVKIN
NYT, January 23, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/23/business/23thermal.html

The Future of Geothermal Energy
The Impact of Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS)
on the United States in the 21st Century
http://geothermal.inel.gov/publications/future_of_geothermal_energy.pdf

Posted at 03:39 PM in Current Affairs | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Gorgeous car, huh?

"The consensus among enthusiasts is that Ford’s reign over Aston Martin has been largely benevolent. Still, the question among collectors is how a change of ownership may affect the value of older Aston Martins.

Just as Fender Stratocasters and Telecasters made before the company’s takeover by CBS are the only instruments that matter for collectors, most of the collecting activity in Aston Martins is with cars produced during the marque’s golden era of 1947 to 1972, when it was owned by David Brown, a British industrialist.

The DB4 and DB5 of 1958-65 are generally considered the apex of the David Brown era (he’s the DB in the model names) and are among the loveliest front-engine grand touring cars ever produced. Built using the complicated Italian superleggera method — draping hand-wrought alloy body panels over a frame of tiny steel tubes — they were built to blast safely across European motorways, autostradas, autobahns and routes nationale, at speeds in excess of 100 miles an hour. And they had to look good parked in front of places like Brenner’s Park-Hotel and Spa in Baden-Baden, Germany, or the Gstaad Palace hotel in Switzerland."

There's a lot more Astom martin info here, here and here.

>

Source:
Classic Aston Martins Holding Their Appeal
ROB SASS
NYT, January 21, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/21/automobiles/collectibles/21ASTON.html

Posted at 12:56 PM in Automobiles | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

The recording of the song at Abbey Road Studios

Posted at 06:38 AM in Music | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

46 minutes of commercial free Extreme Machines:

via smashing telly

Discovery Channel Extreme Machines Million Dollar Motors

Posted at 06:27 AM in Automobiles, Television | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

flickr via Reddit

see the full size version here:

Posted at 05:50 PM in Photo Caption Contest! | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Ray LaMontagne has a great concert up at NPR:

Concert (Real Audio)

Interview (Real Audio)

Gnarls Barclay Cover (MP3)

click for Audio

Set List
Empty
Be Here Now
Barfly
Gone Away From Me
Hold You In My Arms
Shelter
Three More Days
Trouble
Forever My Friend
How Come
You Can Bring Me Flowers
Lesson Learned
Till the Sun Turns Black
To Love Somebody
Jolene
Burn
Can I Stay

Enjoy the mellow goodness!

~~~

Trouble

Till the Sun Turns Black

Posted at 05:55 AM in Music | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

The NY Post got its freak on yesterday, covering a sex survey by Esquire and Marie Claire.

Here are some of the findings of the random-sample survey of more than 1,700 people between the ages of 21 and 49:

• Frequency
90% of American men and 94% of women are having sex five or fewer times per week;

• Cheating
Nearly 50% of men said they have cheated (or would do so, given the chance)
34% of women cheat;

• "What do you want more of?"
Men:  Oral sex
Women: erotic massage

• Sex partners
Men: on average, have had sex with 14 people;
Women: 11

• Surfing the 'Net for pornography
Men: 2.5 hours per week
Women said they for 1.5 hours per week
(Men are more than twice as likely to peruse porn at work than women).

• Favorite Sexual positions
Men:  31% said Doggy-style was the preferred position;
Women:  31% of women preferred missionary position.

• Waxing
16% percent of women in their 20s go "all natural;"
45% percent of women in their 40s did;

• Masturbation
Men:  4.9 times per week
Women 2.8 times

• Peer Group
Women are more attracted to a man if they think other women like him;
The opposite is true of men - possibly because they're more competitive.

Source:
HOW WE 'DO IT'
DAN MANGAN, dan.mangan@nypost.com
NYPost, January 17, 2007
http://tinyurl.com/2738m6

Posted at 05:55 PM in Humor, Science | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Back in March of 2003, I posted this little blurb on Joshua Radin, with step by step instrcutions on how to get to the music.

Funny thing is, that was pre-YouTube. Now, I can just embed and go!

There's even a "making of Closer" video.

Posted at 06:09 AM in Music | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

I love the name of this band, Ferocious Bubbles. They have a new disc, "Save Yourself and Run Away," available on CD Baby). They are the band of the week on PASTE (where there is also a nice review

You can stream the entire disc here.

Other sites worth noting:

C/Net Download (2 free mp3s)

Download their album at iTunes Music Store.

At the Band's MySpace page, (4 streaming songs)

Official Website: Ferocious Bubbles

Posted at 06:15 PM in Music | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Go ahead -- I dare you . . .

Posted at 05:42 AM in Humor, Television | Permalink | Comments (9) | TrackBack