The new Tesla Model S sales have exceeded their forecast. You might remember that the Model S is phase two of owner Elon Musk's grand plan for his electric vehicle line, which just came on the market last summer.
Fastcompany.com says that everything is riding on this model, so at this point Musk's plan appears to be succeeding.
There's just one little disturbance in the force: three battery fires, two of them in the U.S. The National Highway Safety Administration is investigating in this country, while in Germany the federal transport agency finds no manufacturer defects.
What do the owners think of their car fires? They "have all expressed their appreciation for the battery malfunction warning given by the car, offering them the opportunity to safely stop, exit the car, and get to safety before any fire began. Likewise, all three have expressed their desire to purchase new Model Ses to replace the lost vehicles."
Friday, January 31, 2014
Thursday, January 30, 2014
Tesla cross-country
Of course not everyone wants to drive across the country. But if you own a Tesla Model S, and you like road trips, you can do it for free according to the announcement made by Elon Musk last Sunday.
One of the challenges for electric vehicles has been to make charging stations common enough that EV's can compete with gasoline-powered cars which can be re-fueled at over 121,000 American locations. Gradually more charging stations are showing up but there are only 71 now in North America ("All Supercharger locations are GPS-located on Google Maps")
One of the challenges for electric vehicles has been to make charging stations common enough that EV's can compete with gasoline-powered cars which can be re-fueled at over 121,000 American locations. Gradually more charging stations are showing up but there are only 71 now in North America ("All Supercharger locations are GPS-located on Google Maps")
Wednesday, January 29, 2014
Wind today
Those subsidies (see yesterday's post) for wind energy expired in December, yet they'll be going for another ten years: any wind business that was able to start construction by the end of 2013 will get the their ten years' worth when they are up and running.
This expiring of subsidies is as it should be. A viable business model must be able to stand on its own merits. Michael Webber, of the Energy Institute at the University of Texas, says "The wind industry is all grown up now. It’s reasonable to ask if it deserves such a big subsidy.”
Even with 36% growth in this industry during the last five years, today it only accounts for 4% of America's power. How will it fare in the future?
Turbine manufacturer Siebens took a lot of orders for windmills in December. But orders for new equipment must slow down now since there will no longer be government money to make it easier. Or, so it appears at this point, but things change. If we all knew the future, investing would be money in the bank.
This expiring of subsidies is as it should be. A viable business model must be able to stand on its own merits. Michael Webber, of the Energy Institute at the University of Texas, says "The wind industry is all grown up now. It’s reasonable to ask if it deserves such a big subsidy.”
Even with 36% growth in this industry during the last five years, today it only accounts for 4% of America's power. How will it fare in the future?
Turbine manufacturer Siebens took a lot of orders for windmills in December. But orders for new equipment must slow down now since there will no longer be government money to make it easier. Or, so it appears at this point, but things change. If we all knew the future, investing would be money in the bank.
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
Wind subsidies
Wind energy producers in the U.S. have been receiving subsidies from the federal government since 1992.
For the average wind company to keep going, they need to receive about $86 per kilowatt hour from their customers. This is somewhat high among energy companies: nuclear power needs $108 and natural gas suppliers need $67.
But the government gives them $23 per kilowatt hour. So now wind energy producers need only $63 per kilowatt hour from their customers - which is much more competitive and gives them a market advantage.
Something else has happened as a sort of gift to the wind industry: the federal government has given some permission to kill bald eagles, a species still protected by law though no longer on the endangered list.
But the government gives them $23 per kilowatt hour. So now wind energy producers need only $63 per kilowatt hour from their customers - which is much more competitive and gives them a market advantage.
Something else has happened as a sort of gift to the wind industry: the federal government has given some permission to kill bald eagles, a species still protected by law though no longer on the endangered list.
Monday, January 27, 2014
Is evil irrational?
Reason is a tool, says Dennis Prager, that can justify evil or goodness. Most of us have experience both in justifying something we did, and in hearing others use reason to justify what they did.
Evil is not necessarily unreasonable, and goodness can't always be justified by reason alone.
Listen to a 5.5 minute video that may help to unravel some of this.
Evil is not necessarily unreasonable, and goodness can't always be justified by reason alone.
Listen to a 5.5 minute video that may help to unravel some of this.
Friday, January 24, 2014
Straw bale garden
An entrepreneur kind of guy, Joel Karsten has done a number of things - like teaching community courses and starting a couple of businesses. But in Minnesota, U.S.A., he's known now for inventing a new kind of gardening.
His concept is at www.strawbalegardens.com where you can find out how to completely eliminate the soil aspect of gardening. My backyard seems to have poor soil and I am so going to try the new method this summer.
His concept is at www.strawbalegardens.com where you can find out how to completely eliminate the soil aspect of gardening. My backyard seems to have poor soil and I am so going to try the new method this summer.
Thursday, January 23, 2014
Disinterested
In common conversation today, that word (disinterested) would mean simply that someone had no interest in the subject. But it means something different when historians use the term to refer to a historical figure. If he or she is called disinterested, in the war for example, it means that he or she was not pursuing personal gain but rather acting in the interest of the country.
That would describe General Washington. Loving his Mount Vernon home, thinking of himself as a farmer, he would rather have been there than commanding the war (as he mentioned several times during the war).
He led the army, let's call the army rustic at best, to a victory which maybe only wishful thinking could have foreseen. The army and the nation loved and trusted him for his courage, his leadership through discouraging and almost hopeless circumstances. Some wanted to anoint him king of America.
He turned his back on the tremendous power he'd acquired when the war was won. When King George III heard that Washington planned to go home, he exclaimed:
"If he does that, he will be the greatest man in the world!"
(from The Founders at Home)
That would describe General Washington. Loving his Mount Vernon home, thinking of himself as a farmer, he would rather have been there than commanding the war (as he mentioned several times during the war).
He led the army, let's call the army rustic at best, to a victory which maybe only wishful thinking could have foreseen. The army and the nation loved and trusted him for his courage, his leadership through discouraging and almost hopeless circumstances. Some wanted to anoint him king of America.
He turned his back on the tremendous power he'd acquired when the war was won. When King George III heard that Washington planned to go home, he exclaimed:
"If he does that, he will be the greatest man in the world!"
(from The Founders at Home)
Wednesday, January 22, 2014
Gen. Washington
(from The Founders at Home)
George Washington was one of those who was thinking about the need for independence from England long before the fact - because England's rule was setting up their judges to overturn colonial juries, paying and ranking their own military above colonial military, and of course taxing the colonies without the colonies' consent.
While serving in the First Continental Congress, he wrote, " [T]he crisis is arrived where we must assert our rights, or submit to every imposition that can be heaped upon us." As a farmer and entrepreneur, he wanted the freedom to do as much with his life as possible, freely, and he sensed that Americans needed to pursue their national life the same way without being hemmed in by English tyranny on every side.
At the Revolutionary War's end, he amazed the world by going back to his Mount Vernon farm and home to do what he wanted to do, live his family and business life in freedom.
George Washington was one of those who was thinking about the need for independence from England long before the fact - because England's rule was setting up their judges to overturn colonial juries, paying and ranking their own military above colonial military, and of course taxing the colonies without the colonies' consent.
While serving in the First Continental Congress, he wrote, " [T]he crisis is arrived where we must assert our rights, or submit to every imposition that can be heaped upon us." As a farmer and entrepreneur, he wanted the freedom to do as much with his life as possible, freely, and he sensed that Americans needed to pursue their national life the same way without being hemmed in by English tyranny on every side.
At the Revolutionary War's end, he amazed the world by going back to his Mount Vernon farm and home to do what he wanted to do, live his family and business life in freedom.
Tuesday, January 21, 2014
Early freedoms
(from The Founders at Home)
There were Americans thinking and publishing about the nature of government and liberty decades before the 1776 Declaration of Independence.
William Livingston, a lawyer in Massachusetts, was arguing for liberty in the 1750's. Around 1767 Arthur Lee (of the family from which Robert E. Lee came much later) wrote, "I cannot conceive of the necessity of becoming a slave while there remains a ditch in which one may die free!"
A strong tradition of political freedoms had existed in England for centuries. For instance, the right to trial by a jury of one's peers may go back to Anglo-Saxon law in the early middle ages.
Even Thomas Aquinas himself in the 1200's said "“a scheme should be carefully worked out which would protect the multitude ruled by a king from falling into the hands of a tyrant.”
As English colonists, they knew they had a right to certain freedoms and saw the King trying to withdraw them.
There were Americans thinking and publishing about the nature of government and liberty decades before the 1776 Declaration of Independence.
William Livingston, a lawyer in Massachusetts, was arguing for liberty in the 1750's. Around 1767 Arthur Lee (of the family from which Robert E. Lee came much later) wrote, "I cannot conceive of the necessity of becoming a slave while there remains a ditch in which one may die free!"
A strong tradition of political freedoms had existed in England for centuries. For instance, the right to trial by a jury of one's peers may go back to Anglo-Saxon law in the early middle ages.
Even Thomas Aquinas himself in the 1200's said "“a scheme should be carefully worked out which would protect the multitude ruled by a king from falling into the hands of a tyrant.”
As English colonists, they knew they had a right to certain freedoms and saw the King trying to withdraw them.
Monday, January 20, 2014
Revolution vision
Revolution occurred in England's American colonies in 1775, in the nation of France in 1789, in the nation of Russia in 1917, and in other lands at other times. Each is different in the details of results, motives, and methods, but they're alike in producing big changes.
America's revolutionary war of 1775-1783 ended English rule and began a whole new nation. The people central to the War of Independence and the founding of the new nation are called (in American history): The Founders.
The Founders at Home links the homes of these American founders with their ideals - the kind of life they valued for themselves and visualized for their fellow Americans. George Washington's home was not ostentatious but rather comfortable. That of Thomas Jefferson, on the other hand, was "breathtaking."
Understanding the vision of these individuals may reveal reasons why the American revolution was different in substantial ways from other revolutions.
America's revolutionary war of 1775-1783 ended English rule and began a whole new nation. The people central to the War of Independence and the founding of the new nation are called (in American history): The Founders.
The Founders at Home links the homes of these American founders with their ideals - the kind of life they valued for themselves and visualized for their fellow Americans. George Washington's home was not ostentatious but rather comfortable. That of Thomas Jefferson, on the other hand, was "breathtaking."
Understanding the vision of these individuals may reveal reasons why the American revolution was different in substantial ways from other revolutions.
Friday, January 17, 2014
Tech vocab
Technology and social media are not only affecting everyone's lives, but changing the vocabulary we use. If you're not intensely into social media or do not use technology too much in your work, you can start to realize you're missing things in conversations - like the meaning of terms they use.
Dark Data, Bacn, Meme, Showrooming, The Cloud, Skeuomorphic, 3-D Printer, Crowdfunding, Paywall, The Second Screen - all defined here.
Dark Data, Bacn, Meme, Showrooming, The Cloud, Skeuomorphic, 3-D Printer, Crowdfunding, Paywall, The Second Screen - all defined here.
Thursday, January 16, 2014
No to $3B
Last fall Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook) offered Evan Spiegel and Bobby Murphy $3,000,000,000 for their app, "Snapchat." They said, "No." "NO" to "terms so generous, on paper, they seemed preposterous: $3 billion in cash, according to people familiar with the offer, for a two-year-old app with no revenue and no timetable for revenue."
Snapchat is an app that enables users to send a photo that will last only seconds and then disappear. So therefore that perhaps-inappropriate photo cannot hang around and embarrass them in the future, as it can on, say, Facebook.
Murphy is 25 years old, Spiegel is 23: yet another story of college kids starting a brilliant and successful business. Maybe they were crazy to turn down Zuckerberg's offer. Get the details here.
Snapchat is an app that enables users to send a photo that will last only seconds and then disappear. So therefore that perhaps-inappropriate photo cannot hang around and embarrass them in the future, as it can on, say, Facebook.
Murphy is 25 years old, Spiegel is 23: yet another story of college kids starting a brilliant and successful business. Maybe they were crazy to turn down Zuckerberg's offer. Get the details here.
Wednesday, January 15, 2014
His own words
In a different interview from that of yesterday's post, Malcolm Gladwell gives a bit more of his take on the fact that he's come back to Christianity.
In his recent book, David and Goliath, that Bible story and other stories demonstrate that "sometimes our instinct about where power comes from is wrong." Sometimes it is true that "people who appear to have no material advantage are much more powerful than they appear."
Religionnews.com has the interview, where he comments on Jesus and on the reason writing this book brought him back to his faith.
In his recent book, David and Goliath, that Bible story and other stories demonstrate that "sometimes our instinct about where power comes from is wrong." Sometimes it is true that "people who appear to have no material advantage are much more powerful than they appear."
Religionnews.com has the interview, where he comments on Jesus and on the reason writing this book brought him back to his faith.
Tuesday, January 14, 2014
Gladwell faith
Malcolm Gladwell is a best-selling author (Tipping Point, Outliers, Blink) and a well-known writer at the New Yorker since 1996. He has a page at amazon.com, and a page at TED Talks.com. But who knew he grew up in a Christian home.
He says he was the only one of his family to walk away from "the church" and from his native country, Canada. Researching for a new book, he began to understand something he had not understood before:
"I have always believed in God. I have grasped the logic of Christian faith. What I have had a hard time seeing is God’s power." He began to see this power apparently in the strength of spirit to be found in very ordinary Christians.
Read his story here.
He says he was the only one of his family to walk away from "the church" and from his native country, Canada. Researching for a new book, he began to understand something he had not understood before:
"I have always believed in God. I have grasped the logic of Christian faith. What I have had a hard time seeing is God’s power." He began to see this power apparently in the strength of spirit to be found in very ordinary Christians.
Read his story here.
Monday, January 13, 2014
Don't diet
If you have experience with diets that require deprivation and a lot of discipline, you will appreciate the observations of this neuro-scientist. She explains why diets don't usually work and may do more harm than good.
Weight can come back after dieting even if you are able to keep it off for . . . what, seven years? That's what she says.
Her information is both encouraging and discouraging:
Weight can come back after dieting even if you are able to keep it off for . . . what, seven years? That's what she says.
Her information is both encouraging and discouraging:
Friday, January 10, 2014
Rwandan survivors
Rwanda has worked hard (see this blog Dec. 11-13 posts) at recovering and moving on from the calamity of 1994, where up to one million people of the group called "Tutsi" were killed in masses by extremists in the other group called "Hutu."
Forgiveness has been urged on the few Tutsi who remain, but it's not easy. Some Hutus have confessed, others not. But apparently they are intermixed to the point where some people are living among murderers of their family members.
It's remarkable. Go here for The Guardian's contemporary story of this effort to leave the past behind, but only if you are prepared to endure some grisly details.
Forgiveness has been urged on the few Tutsi who remain, but it's not easy. Some Hutus have confessed, others not. But apparently they are intermixed to the point where some people are living among murderers of their family members.
It's remarkable. Go here for The Guardian's contemporary story of this effort to leave the past behind, but only if you are prepared to endure some grisly details.
Thursday, January 9, 2014
Gas wells froze
Last Monday, January 6, was so cold that gas wells froze shut in the Marcellus shale region of Pennsylvania. Inconveniently, it was also the day a new record was hit in demand for natural gas.
Prices went up as companies used their reserves. Coal and nuclear power made up a bigger part of the supply of power this week as companies struggled to provide for their customers.
Shale gas fracking is producing near-record supplies of natural gas to meet record demand.
Prices went up as companies used their reserves. Coal and nuclear power made up a bigger part of the supply of power this week as companies struggled to provide for their customers.
Shale gas fracking is producing near-record supplies of natural gas to meet record demand.
Wednesday, January 8, 2014
Walter Mitty
You may have read the short story by James Thurber, "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty," in high school. The movie doesn't totally stick with that plot, but it is a terrific movie - just understand that there are no explosions or car chases.
Walter admires and envies his friend's adventurous life, but his own life has been one of quiet, consistent craftsmanship. So should we queue up the plot where he gets brave, goes wild, and becomes someone else? No. It's better than that.
"It’s true that at the end of the film, Walter has changed and grown: he is braver, bolder. . But his character, which was always constant and good, is still the same. .
"His strengths, once hidden in the dark as negative assets, were revealed as he stopped [just] imagining, started doing, and began living in the light."
Yay for character revealed and appreciated.
Walter admires and envies his friend's adventurous life, but his own life has been one of quiet, consistent craftsmanship. So should we queue up the plot where he gets brave, goes wild, and becomes someone else? No. It's better than that.
"It’s true that at the end of the film, Walter has changed and grown: he is braver, bolder. . But his character, which was always constant and good, is still the same. .
"His strengths, once hidden in the dark as negative assets, were revealed as he stopped [just] imagining, started doing, and began living in the light."
Yay for character revealed and appreciated.
Tuesday, January 7, 2014
Not marijuana
All those reasons to not smoke marijuana given in yesterday's post are pretty good. But the next reason David Brooks gives as to why they eventually quit is really interesting.
Other things in their lives, "higher pleasures," took its place: "a state of going somewhere, becoming better at something, learning more about something, overcoming difficulty and experiencing a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment."
"One close friend devoted himself to track. Others fell deeply in love and got thrills from the enlargements of the heart. A few developed passions for science or literature."
He says that, like most of us, they were "trying to become more integrated, coherent and responsible people. This process usually involves using the powers of reason, temperance and self-control — not qualities one associates with being high."
Elevate your life; choose the higher pleasures.
Other things in their lives, "higher pleasures," took its place: "a state of going somewhere, becoming better at something, learning more about something, overcoming difficulty and experiencing a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment."
"One close friend devoted himself to track. Others fell deeply in love and got thrills from the enlargements of the heart. A few developed passions for science or literature."
He says that, like most of us, they were "trying to become more integrated, coherent and responsible people. This process usually involves using the powers of reason, temperance and self-control — not qualities one associates with being high."
Elevate your life; choose the higher pleasures.
Monday, January 6, 2014
Marijuana
David Brooks, columnist at the NY Times, smoked marijuana with some friends as a teenager. They did it for fun - of course - but it just petered out for most of them after a while.
It wasn't that health reasons motivated them to quit (driving under the influence can get you killed, it can be addictive, you can suffer I.Q. loss).
On the contrary, they just had some unpleasant experiences.
"I smoked one day during lunch and then had to give a presentation in English class. I stumbled through it, incapable of putting together simple phrases, feeling like a total loser. It is still one of those embarrassing memories that pop up unbidden at 4 in the morning.
"We gave it up, second, I think, because one member of our clique became a full-on stoner. He may have been the smartest of us, but something sad happened to him as he sunk deeper into pothead life."
A third factor in giving it up is the most interesting to me: tomorrow's post.
From: NY Times article, "Weed - Been There. Done That."
It wasn't that health reasons motivated them to quit (driving under the influence can get you killed, it can be addictive, you can suffer I.Q. loss).
On the contrary, they just had some unpleasant experiences.
"I smoked one day during lunch and then had to give a presentation in English class. I stumbled through it, incapable of putting together simple phrases, feeling like a total loser. It is still one of those embarrassing memories that pop up unbidden at 4 in the morning.
"We gave it up, second, I think, because one member of our clique became a full-on stoner. He may have been the smartest of us, but something sad happened to him as he sunk deeper into pothead life."
A third factor in giving it up is the most interesting to me: tomorrow's post.
From: NY Times article, "Weed - Been There. Done That."
Friday, January 3, 2014
Fast growth
Joe K. Mensah, Country General Manager, IBM Ghana, has a good platform from which to observe development issues in Ghana and Africa in general.
Fast growth brings challenges, like an urgent need for more infrastructure.
Thursday, January 2, 2014
Rich scammer
Jesse Willms might be an entrepreneurial genius, still one more of those teenagers who built a muti-million dollar online business before he was twenty. But intelligence and aptitude are not enough.
Unfortunately, it looks like Willms built his empire on morally questionable and downright unethical practices - looks like he made a fortune tricking and scamming customers. He has some very big organizations trying to sue him.
The story is at The Atlantic.
Unfortunately, it looks like Willms built his empire on morally questionable and downright unethical practices - looks like he made a fortune tricking and scamming customers. He has some very big organizations trying to sue him.
The story is at The Atlantic.
Wednesday, January 1, 2014
Aspiration
Here's what I think about my life: there's probably nothing that I can't improve if I make the effort to practice it. So, I can be optimistic about getting better at something that I really want to be better at. Yes, the word is "better," not perfect. "Better" is good enough to improve our lives.
What about fitness? If you would welcome a kick to get yourself on track to better health, this article might help:
"New Year's Resolution Motivation From a Quadriplegic"
Wishing you a good new year!
What about fitness? If you would welcome a kick to get yourself on track to better health, this article might help:
"New Year's Resolution Motivation From a Quadriplegic"
Wishing you a good new year!
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