Links for 2007-04-04 [del.icio.us]

Links for 2007-04-04 [del.icio.us]

• Richard's Weblog: The Way I See I.T. (and other stuff) : (Virtually) Everything You Need to Know About Microsoft Virtualisation Technologies
• Video Hybrid
• Ext JS - JavaScript Library
• How to Use English Punctuation Correctly - WikiHow
• Green Laser Pointer In Black Matte Finish With Metal Case - Green Laser Pointer with Silver Chrome Finish and Metal Case
• Official Website for the Titanic truth movement.
• Tom Shirley's Blog
• Fear and Loathing : Automagically updating themes
• Chris Johnson : Feature Stapling in WSS V3
• SharePoint Solutions Blog: Anatomy of a SharePoint WSS v3 Feature Project in Visual Studio 2005
• Tom Shirley's Blog : Apply Theme to all webs based off any Site Def
• Anyone Out There? in Development and Programming
• Portals & Integration blog : WSS v3 Solution and Feature framework applied to the FlexListViewer webpart

Link - Feed (1 subs) - RPost

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Links for 2006-10-30 [del.icio.us]

• DataSet Watch 2.0 - The Code Project - .NET
• Compello Software - Document and Invoice Workflow
• Home watch - Skype Forums
• Investor's Business Daily: Business Process Management Becoming Big Software Sector
• WSSWorkflowBeta2OM.pdf (application/pdf Object)
• Hybrid Mileage Database - GreenHybrid

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A Different Kind of Hybrid

MIT researchers at the startup company Ethanol Boosting Systems, LLC, claim to have come up with a gasoline/ethanol hybrid engine that approaches the efficiency of today's gasoline/electric hybrids.

From an article at Power Online ("A VertMarkets Marketplace for Industry Professionals"), the design is based on boosting engine output through a combination of a turbo and ethanol injection.  By using ethanol rather than gasoline, the effective octane rating increases to more than 130 which greatly reduces the chances of engine knock.  This allows for a much higher compression ratio; for compared to a conventional engine, in EBS' design more than twice the amount of air and fuel can be combusted, producing a proportional increase in power over a conventional design with the same engine volume.

The additional efficiency appears to be gained purely from smaller engine sizes, with less weight.  However it is achieved, EBS estimates efficiency gains over a regular turbo-charged engine to be in the range of 25-30%.

While a classic gasoline/electric hybrid also uses the electric motor to boost performance when needed, there doesn't seem to be any reason why these two technologies couldn't be combined to form a gasoline/ethanol/electric hybrid.  Make it a plug-in on top of that, and we'll have a gasoline/ethanol/coal & nuclear (providing the electricity) hybrid car...  I envision a car that operates like an electric car at speeds upto 35 mph, uses the ethanol injection to accelerate to highway speeds, then continues to cruise on gasoline.  Then, when braking, it recouperates some of the lost energy through regenerative braking.

Of course my vision is not likely to come to fruition: this all comes at a cost - about $3000-4000 above that of a conventional design (gas/electric hybrid premium of ~$3000, plus gas/ethanol premium of $500-1000).  Gas would have to come back to well over $3/gallon and stay there to make that worthwhile in the US. In Europe however, it seems like it ought to be an attractive option.

Tags: ethanol hybrid efficiency car

Links for 2006-09-29 [del.icio.us]

• Hybrid Mileage Database - GreenHybrid
• Joe Mathlete Explains Today's Marmaduke
• Arno Nel 2.0 - the Information Worker : Sharepoint 2007: Document/Records Management resource list V0.1
• Microsoft SharePoint Products and Technologies Team Blog : New online training content available
• Using Backup and Restore (Beta 2)
• Joel Oleson's SharePoint Land : Extranets and Intranet Planning Resources with WSS v3 & SharePoint Server 2007
• Fear and Loathing : The Big Dummies Guide to Setting up your SharePoint Virtual Development Environment
• Master Pages and Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 - The Code Project - ASP.NET
• ScottGu's Blog : Great New Atlas Videos Published (All Free)
• Fear and Loathing : Enabling anonymous access in SharePoint 2007

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10 Talking Points for Plug-In Hybrids

The California Cars Initiative provide 10 Talking Points for Plug-In Hybrids. The second point is key:

Plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) simply add a second cleaner, cheaper, and domestic energy source for your car: electricity.

More on hybrid/electric cars

From the GREEN CAR JOURNAL ONLINE:

Paul MacCready Speaks Out ...on efficiencies, energy, and why we need electric cars

On Ethanol's Energy Balance

There's been some talk in the media lately about the Plug-In Hybrids' 500 miles per gallon (imported) gasoline fuel efficiency; based on these cars' 100 mpg capacity and the fact that they could theoretically run on 80% biofuel and 20% (imported) gas.

But more coverage was recently given to David Pimentel and Tad Patzek and their report that stated

"it takes at least 29% more energy to convert maize and other biomass feed stocks into ethanol than the amount of fuel produced by the process."

Now, of course, the study has been solidly refuted, and these refutations have also been widely covered in the media, though mostly in the mid-west.

So - one biased study claims a -29% energy balance, another equally biased study claims a +167% energy balance. They call this science? With as much as $1/gallon in tax incentives for ethanol producers, it's hard to know who to believe.

Outcome Grim at Oil War Game

The problem: Outcome Grim at Oil War Game
A (partial) solution: Plug-In Hybrids

As Toyota Goes ...

Thomas Friedman endorses hybrids: As Toyota Goes ... - New York Times

AC Propulsion -- Plug-In HEV with Vehicle to Grid Power Flow

AC Propulsion converted a Jetta to a serial hybrid, with plug-in and vehicle-to-grid power flow capabilities. Interesting stuff: Business Information: AC Propulsion -- Plug-In HEV with Vehicle to Grid Power Flow

They also have a 3.6 sec 0-60 all-electric sports car with a 300 mile range. Why do we need hydrogen-based fuel cell vehicles?

More on Plug-In Hybrids

EV World: The World of Electric, Plug-in Hybrid, Fuel Cell and Alternative Fuel Vehicles

Air/Electric Hybrid

For a completely different type of hybrid: Pneumatic Hybrid Electric Vehicle.
Wonder what the energy losses are in "filling the tank" (pumping ambient air to 300 bar)?

Plug-In Hybrids

Why should a hybrid vehicle not be able to be plugged-in at night to recharge the batteries?

• The New York Times > Business > Hybrid-Car Tinkerers Scoff at No-Plug-In Rule
• CalCars Prius Plus
• AFS Trinity's Flywheel-based plug-in technology

Cloning Yields Human-Rabbit Hybrid Embryo (washingtonpost.com)

The Washington Post (and others) reports that Chinese scientists have recently created 'hybrid embryos" - the term used to describe an embryo with DNA from mixed species - containing human and rabbit DNA. This has obviously raised all sorts of ethical questions. I'm not sure where I stand on this issue - on one hand there's no doubt this could open the door to fruitful stem-cell research which could lead to cures for all sorts of congenital diseases; on the other hand it seems inevitable that someone will try - and succeed - in carrying a human hybrid fetus to term. Maybe some X-Men reading is required.