know thyself...
Years ago, a ex-coworker of mine (and good friend- shout out, Sandbo!) shot down my expressed love of Tom Waits's music by saying, "No one really loves Tom Waits. People just say that to make them sound smart."
I was devastated.
Isn't there a special level of hell reserved for those who claim intelligence by association? And now I was one of them. This naturally flung open the doors of neuroses- what else is wrong with me? Come to think of it, I haven't quite recovered from that yet.
This story has a happy ending, however: I realized that I've never made myself sound smart by talking about Tom Waits. Actually, I almost never talk about Tom Waits. I just listen.
What's not to love?
non-ironic earwig...
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tags:
music
Can't vouch for the videos, but:
This song came up on a cheesy CD at work:
...which reminded me of this one:
Seriously, y'all. The original is the best:
This song came up on a cheesy CD at work:
...which reminded me of this one:
Seriously, y'all. The original is the best:
the future is coming...
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tags:
better place,
cars,
environment
I have been waiting for the following video, with baited breath, for the past few weeks.
Unfortunately, I don't have time to do this topic justice.
Recently in Japan, a company called Better Place set up a demo of their battery swap station concept, a carwash-like structure that removes a depleted batter from an electric car and inserts a fully charged battery, all in less time than it takes to fill any gasoline car's tank.
This is the future of cars, if we'll have it.
American car makers are struggling to make fuel efficient cars, and one of the biggest challenges they face is the fact that battery technology is not advanced enough to make a single battery that can 1) power a car for 200+ miles, 2) charge quickly. The can continues to be kicked down the road because of this limitation.
But the battery is just a receptacle, why can't it be modular? And, in actual day to day use, the vast majority of a car's time is spent in park. If you charge it during those moments- at home, work, the mall- you'll have a fully charged car 95% of the time (this number is figurative).
This is just an intro, and I'm not the man to sell it. Fortunately, Better Place's CEO Shai Agassi is a very good speaker. The swap station video is last but I want everyone to get the concept first, especially to hear how thoroughly complete the entire concept is:
- If you have 25 minutes to spare:
- Or here's a 45-minute podcast via On Point (one of my go-to radio shows).
Last, but not least:
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