I would guess that most people know about Solar PV — PhotoVoltaic — Those are the “solar cells” that turn light directly into electricity. Now PV tends to be light ad convenient, but it’s also very expensive and, even with recent advances in PV technology, inefficient. Enter Solar Thermal power… a different kind of solar. A Solar Thermal power system works by concentrating the light of the sun to create a thermal differential (a really hot spot) which then allows for power generation. Solar Thermal tends to be big, bulky, and tricky to implement, but it has two big advantages…Efficiency and consistency

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From Reuters: The “Windows Genuine Advantage” program, which turns the user’s screen black if the installed software fails a validation test, is Microsoft’s latest weapon in its war on piracy in China, where the vast majority of 200 million computer users are believed to be using counterfeit software, unwittingly or not.

“Why is Microsoft automatically connected with my computer? The computer is mine!” one angry blogger wrote on popular Chinese web portal Sina.com. “Microsoft has no right to control my hardware without my agreement.”

Ok… I understand why people might be upset. I rally against DRM enough to recognize a few of the complaints including “if it was only cheaper, nobody would pirate the software” but seriously… can we have all that much sympathy for people who are using software that is OBVIOUSLY pirated?

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Long story short… yes it does. Surfing the net boosts your ability to be immaginative, filter data and make decisions. On the down side, it tends to make you ADD… Wait… what was I saying?

From Reuters: Gary Small, a neuroscientist at UCLA in California who specializes in brain function, has found through studies that Internet searching and text messaging has made brains more adept at filtering information and making snap decisions.

But while technology can accelerate learning and boost creativity it can have drawbacks as it can create Internet addicts whose only friends are virtual and has sparked a dramatic rise in Attention Deficit Disorder diagnoses.

I just received an email message from an irate Republican who was complaining about the “liberal media” and the distortions they’ve played on during the campaign. That’s fair… I know that ALL media is biased in one way or another. It’s just not possible to have a completely fair and balanced reporting of world events because as long as we’re human we have biases.

However… this emailer then proceeded to DARE me to find a single instance of Fox news distorting ANYTHING in order to favor McCain. Well… could have brought up the time that a Fox analyst publicly stated that we should kill both Osama Bin Laden AND Barak Obama, but I wanted to do this in good spirits, so I found this little video tidbit that should be funny and thought-provoking at the same time.

From CNN: The bench placement is deliberate and takes into account the feelings and needs of abuse victims.Those who choose not to face the cathedral end up facing a small lake across the street. Father Paul Minnihan, the provost of the cathedral, says it was important to have the garden — for the victims, and for the church to atone for the sins of its past.

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I don’t wish ill on anybody. Even though I’ve had some unkind words for Ted Stevens, it was always written because I thought he was unfit to lead and not because I thought he was a bad person. I mean seriously… he was the head of the commission that governed the use of growth of the Internet and he didn’t even know how the Internet worked! Sill, he has done plenty of good for the state of Alaska and not even this conviction can take that away. However, I think the takeaway from this saga is, “if you’re going to renovate your home it’s probably a good idea to use a building contractor instead of the company to which your state has just awarded millions of dollars in lucrative old deals.”

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Believe it or not, but I’m not against having firearms. I know that as a Catholic priest I should take a stand against violence, but I’m not ready to give up the 2nd amendment even though I don’t own any guns myself. — Still… What-The-Frack was an 8-year old doing with a machine gun? Most 8 year olds can’t even be trusted not to wack their 6-year old brothers with the cardboard tube that comes in a roll of wrapping paper an here is a kid shooting an Uzi??!?!?

From Yahoo: prosecutor said Tuesday he is investigating whether criminal charges should be filed after an 8-year-old boy accidentally killed himself while firing an Uzi submachine gun at a gun fair in western Massachusetts.

Christopher Bizilj (Bah-SEAL) of Ashford, Conn., shot himself in the head when he lost control of the 9mm micro submachine gun as it recoiled while he was firing at a pumpkin. Police have said the shooting at the Machine Gun Shoot and Firearms Expo at the Westfield Sportsman’s Club on Sunday was an accident.

I know there’s a good chance that tomorrow there will be profit-takers and we’ll see another big slide in the DOW, but here’s hoping that at least SOME of this good news will stay.

From CNN: The Dow rallied as much as 906 points during Tuesday’s session, as investors dove back into stocks near the end of one of the worst months in Wall Street history.

The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) added 889 points after having risen as much as 906 points earlier in the session. It was the Dow’s second-biggest one-day point gain ever, following a 936-point rally two weeks ago. The advance of 10.9% was the sixth-biggest ever.

There is not denying that there is a lot of anger in the American people from the economic crisis. Right now the sentiment seems to be a secondary consideration, masked for the most part by the devastating effects that the banking and credit crisis has had on personal finances, but it is inevitable that this anger will eventually surface and bring a host of consequences for those who were most responsible.

Of course they’ll try to offer a few low-level scapegoats… some analysts, a rogue trader or two, perhaps a CEO and a CFO… but will we be appeased until some of these people are put behind bars and their lives of leisure are stripped away? — Unfortunately the truth is that there are some who are necks-deep in the mess who will walk away with their fortunes and reputations intact, but there is no way that the boys club are going to be able to wait out this storm.

From CNBC: Investors and taxpayers angry about the government bailout of seemingly mismanaged financial firms can probably count on a wave of criminal indictments in the coming months, say white- collar crime experts.

“I think we’re going to see some ‘perp’ walks,” says Columbia Law School Professor John Coffee, referring to the law enforcement practice of having the accused appear in public wearing handcuffs.

From AFP: Under the plan, the three cities will each have a network of between 200,000 and 250,000 charge stations by 2012 where drivers can plug in and power up their electric cars.

In addition, 150 switch stations will be built in each city and on major freeways, where electric batteries can be automatically replaced in drive-in stations similar to a car wash.

I find this story fascinating because it does several things. First, it shows that a determined nation CAN push along alternative energy infrastructure with enough political will. Second, it shows that the technology exists to engage in such a massive project. And third… it shows us where WE need to go in just a few years…

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I don’t know if this is legal or not, but I know that it’s awfully strange to have a 58 year-old bishop, who is in charge of a number of priests and a diocese of the faithful, suddenly adopt a woman who is legally and adult. Add to that the quote that they use in which the Bishops says, “I have only fatherly love toward the woman who has spiritual powers. This relation is giving me spiritual refreshment” and the creepy-ometer goes through the roof.

From CNN: Bishop John Thattungal, 58, will be barred from performing any religious or administrative duties until a formal inquiry into his conduct is completed, said the Rev. Stephen Alathara, a spokesman for the Kerala Catholic Bishops’ Council, in a telephone interview from the southern Indian city of Kochi.

“The majority of the priests were unhappy and asked for his resignation,” he said, adding that the Vatican ordered the suspension on Thursday.”

This article is heavy in geek-speak, but the feeling is universal… You’re on a deadline, you’ve got pressure to get your work done and there are people counting on you. You’re just about ready to complete your work after weeks of arduous and meticulous planning, only when you execute your plan everything goes to heck and all eyes are on you to fix it…

In this case, what SHOULD have been an exciting but rather uneventful switch to the backup communications channel ended up with one of the most productive scientific instruments ever created by man being transformed into a multi-ton blind, deaf and dumb hunk of space debris hurtling through space in Earth orbit. — I once deleted a file I needed for a presentation the next day… I wonder if that’s anything like this….

From Space.com: One of the glitches occurred when a component of Hubble’s main camera returned a lower than normal voltage, while the other involved a communications drop between the spacecraft’s main computer and the one that controls its science instruments, called the payload computer.

What exactly caused the reset is remains a mystery, Hubble managers said.

Times are tough… we all know that. People are smarting from the tanking of the economy, the protracted wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and a presidential election that is sure to leave half of the country calling the other half a group of idiots. Our country’s prestige is at an all-time low and lately it seems that the little guy is taking the brunt of punishment. However, if there is a “shiny side” to all this angst, perhaps it will be a systematic and countrywide ponderance of a single question: do I have more stuff than I need? This is a basic question that all of us consumers need to ask ourselves. (I include myself in this group.) Seriously, as I look around my house and see all the crap that I’ve accumulated (even if it is for work, ministry, etc.) I wonder how much I can do away with and not even notice its passing.

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From the New York Times: Stung by what it called “a dramatic collapse” in crude prices, the OPEC cartel said on Friday that it would reduce output by a steeper-than-expected 1.5 million barrels a day. But that action failed to brake the price decline, and oil dropped 5 percent more by the end of the day.

The stunning decline of oil prices in recent weeks has left oil-exporting countries fearful that they will have to cut government budgets, including the popular social programs that cement many leaders’ hold on power.

It’s interesting to thing that the economic crisis might have the added effect of reminding some of the “less-than-friendly to western countries” nations that ultimately WE are one of their bigges customers. They may hate us, and sometimes for good reason, but in the end they want us to buy something that they have for sale.

I am absolutly thrilled anytime I hear news like this because it’s exactly what the Catholic Church needs… to show the world that it’s not a monolithic, unchanging, unfeeling juggernaut of dogma, but an institution made up of indiviuals who think, create and imagine even as they dedicate their lives to their faith.

From CNN: “In February they recorded a demo in Belfast which they sent off — as Eugene O’Hagan puts it — to “the powers that be.” Sony BMG responded almost instantly with a very nice offering indeed, a record deal reportedly to the tune of somewhere north of $2 million.

The Priests’ debut album will be released on November 18 and was produced by Mike Hedges, known for his work with U2 and — ironically — Manic Street Preachers (who, of course, are not clergy but punky Welshmen). Some recording took place in St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City, and the priests maintain they’d like some of the profits from their music endeavors donated to a charity of their choice.”

One of these videos is of Coldplay, the alternative rock band our of London that has toured the world and sold millions of records. The other is of Boyce Avenue, a garage band who covered the Coldplay hit, “Viva la Vida.” — It shouldn’t be all that difficult to tell which one is which, but what IS interesting is that the official Coldplay video has about 1.3 million views the garage band has more than 3 million. — and they deserve it too… it’s a darn good cover!

Ahhhh… I love the Internet!

I can’t say that those of us who were watching are very much surprised by this turn of events. The world saw the same thing happen in Zimbabwe, Bolivia and a handful of other countries when their leaders decided to nationalize basic resources like oil, power, water and the like. Oh it may work for a short time, and in the case of Chavez it has worked for the better part of a decade, but eventually the lack of competition within the various industries makes impossible things like upkeep of equipment and infrastructure, expansion and upgrading, and the basics of business.

From CNN: Shoddy electrical service is now one of Venezuelans’ top concerns, according to a recent poll, and may be a factor in elections next month for governors and mayors in which Chavez allies are expected to lose key posts, in part on complaints of poor services.

“With so much energy in Venezuela, how can we be without power?” asked Fernando Aponte, 49, whose slum neighborhood of Las Delicias in San Felix spent 15 days without electricity — leading him to block a nearby avenue with burning tires in protest.

I don’t want to make this about Islam… because it’s really not about Islam. It’s about religious zealots who believe that challenging their faith in any way, shape, or form is blasphemy. Christianity has those… so does Judaism… and I’m pretty sure that I’ve read a few stories about Hindu and Buddhist fanatics doing crazy things from time to time.

Still, like the Imam who blamed rape on the victims who he compared to “meat”, or the Saudi courts that actually punished a rape victim more than they did the rapists, there do seem to be a lot of Muslims who are using their religion to ignore that fact that women make up 50% of the world’s population and that they deserve all the same basic human rights as the other 50%.

From the LA Times: Reported from Kabul, Afghanistan — In a case that has illustrated Afghanistan’s drift toward a more radically conservative brand of Islam as well as the fragility of its legal system, an appeals court Tuesday overturned a death sentence for a student convicted of blasphemy but sentenced him to 20 years in prison.

The student, Parwez Kambakhsh, 24, ran afoul of Afghan authorities last year when he circulated an article about women’s rights under Islam after downloading it from the Internet. He was studying at the time in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif, where he also worked as a part-time journalist for local newspapers.