http://groklab.org/geb Coming by my ignorance the hard way Tue, 04 Nov 2008 18:49:06 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en A patagonian tree fungus converts cellulose to long-chain hydrocarbons, which can be used as fuel.  Cellulose is a common waste product in modern farming.  Talk about green energy! http://groklab.org/geb/2008/11/04/scientists-discover-tree-fungus-that-makes-oil/ It's been a long time since I've done much physics, but Gray sent along this CERN rap video to help me get up to speed.It's great. http://groklab.org/geb/2008/11/04/cern-turns-on-2/ Very nice motors with complete specs for a new electric bike I'm thinking of designing. http://groklab.org/geb/2008/09/18/cool-electric-bike-motors/ It's been a long time since I've done much physics, but Gray sent along this CERN rap video to help me get up to speed.It's great. http://groklab.org/geb/2008/09/10/cern-turns-on/ I was glad to see some detailed numbers on vegetable farming costs. Most of these are calculated for a 100'x4' row. Since there are 43,560 square feet/acre, and these calculations are for 400 square feet, they can be multiplied by 109 to find the costs/profits per acre. ... http://groklab.org/geb/2008/08/17/vegitable-farming-costs/ After a hiatus for the summer, I'm back to blogging. I'm going to try to focus more on design and construction of ideas and a little less on the purely academic, with the hope that my practical efforts will yield something more practical to work on. I'm also thinking that I should ... http://groklab.org/geb/2008/08/17/back-to-blogging/ This video shows the sky-blue ancient sea ice being revealed as an ice shelf 5 times the size of Manhattan collapses into the sea, caused by the 3 degree rise in average temperatures in the Antarctic. Beautiful stuff, but sad when you think about the dramatic climate changes this ... http://groklab.org/geb/2008/03/26/antarctic-shelf-collapses/ The New York Times reports that rich people live longer, on average, than poor people (79.2 versus 74.7 years). Research suggests the following reasons: Doctors can detect and treat many forms of cancer and heart disease because of advances in medical science and technology. People who are affluent and better ... http://groklab.org/geb/2008/03/23/life-expectancy-varies-with-income/ I am impressed by the level of seriousness and decorum our representatives are able to bring to important matters of war oversight while they eat chips (funneling crumbs from the bag into their mouths) and slurp their sodas. http://groklab.org/geb/2008/03/22/congressional-oversight/ A great victory for pastafarians everywhere. "May you be touched by his noodly appendage." Ramen. http://groklab.org/geb/2008/03/21/flying-spaghetti-monster-on-courthouse-lawn/