Bits and pieces...

Making sure that Romney wins Ohio the Republican way... by voter registration fraud.

Being blackmailed into voting for Romney.  (Krugman)

Air New Zealand and the Hobbit

HFCS or high fructose corn syrup.

What to do when your car falls into the drink.

Making sure the revolution happens.

How does the Queen answer the phone?

What do you do for a friend who is facing death?

Art to Mars to ruined library

Master forger comes clean about tricks that fooled art world for four decades

Mars crater image beamed back by Nasa rover Opportunity

Nasa scientists say crater, formed by an impact billions of years ago, is the largest yet encountered

Dads Reveal How Having Daughters Has Changed Their View Of Women

Sales of plug-in cars

Finding beauty in neglect.

A car that runs on air!!

India's largest automaker is set to start producing the world's first commercial air-powered vehicle. The Air Car, developed by ex-Formula One engineer Guy Nègre for Luxembourg-based MDI, uses compressed air, as opposed to the gas-and-oxygen explosions of internal-combustion models, to push its engine's pistons. Some 6000 zero-emissions Air Cars are scheduled to hit Indian streets in August of 2008.

Barring any last-minute design changes on the way to production, the Air Car should be surprisingly practical. The $12,700 CityCAT, one of a handful of planned Air Car models, can hit 68 mph and has a range of 125 miles. It will take only a few minutes for the CityCAT to refuel at gas stations equipped with custom air compressor units; MDI says it should cost around $2 to fill the car's carbon-fiber tanks with 340 liters of air at 4350 psi. Drivers also will be able to plug into the electrical grid and use the car's built-in compressor to refill the tanks in about 4 hours.

Of course, the Air Car will likely never hit American shores, especially considering its all-glue construction. But that doesn't mean the major automakers can write it off as a bizarre Indian experiment — MDI has signed deals to bring its design to 12 more countries, including Germany, Israel and South Africa.

What?? All glue? Not in the US? Awww.... Why can't we have all glue car lanes on the freeway? All glue special parking? All glue special driving days?

Rats.

Something to get the adrenaline going...

Here.

The end of the world.... in Los Angeles

Feel lucky?

I liked this ad

Just think how this would free up the freeways...

And make the skies much more dangerous....

Terrafugia Transition transforms from car to plane

(tried to post the video, but it's on autoplay and I hate that.)

Do they mean our gas guzzling cars?

World's Largest Dinosaur Graveyard Linked to Mass Death.

Not yet. But soon.

Well... Crap!

Fueling Cars with Feces. The “Q microbe,” as it came to be known, is no ordinary bug. It can ingest—and produce ethanol from—virtually anything that contains cellulose, including human and animal sewage waste. So Qteros, the company Leschine founded to exploit the microbe’s abilities commercially, struck up a partnership with Applied CleanTech (ACT), an Israeli firm that generates alternative energy from wastewater solids. ACT’s sewage-recycling system transforms solids into “recyllose.” It turns out the Q microbe has a sweet tooth for recyllose, converting the cotton-like substance into ethanol for use in automobiles.

Jeff Hausthor, Qteros’ lead researcher, imagines a uniquely local market for this new biofuel. Obviously, waste materials are a burden to farms and municipalities, both financially and ecologically. But by putting the Q microbe to work, small-scale ethanol plants situated around sewage processing plants could become a reality.

How about home ethanol tanks to run our appliances?.... you'd just have to serve a lot of beans with dinner!

Headlines

Sometimes earlier technology is better:

Rare Austin which stood in garage for 50 years discovered... and starts first time!

Try not to piss off your crazy armed-to-the-teeth base!:

In the Wake of Arrests in Three States, Right-Wingers Rush to Defend Terror Suspects, Criticize FBI

In one word: No. In three: PLEASE GOD, NO!:

Is America ‘Yearning For Fascism?'

Frank Rich tries to explain the fever pitch of hysteria:

The Rage Is Not About Health Care

In one word: Yes. In elventy: WTF, just do it! We're drying up and blowing away here!:

Can Wastewater Save California's Parched Farmland?

The destruction of the ocean habitats continues:

Mysterious whale die-off is largest on record

When in doubt... take off clothes:

Man cites boredom after arrest on streaking charge

How many times has your computer crashed?

And why do the car manufacturers assume that computer software won't crash in your car... and make you crash?

Toyota problems 'caused by faulty software' says Steve Wozniak:

Steve Wozniak, the co-founder of Apple and a Toyota Prius owner, has suggested that the "unintended acceleration" problems affecting Toyota's cars may be caused by faulty software.

The comments, from one of the most respected figures in computer technology, will heap more pressure on the manufacturer, which is fighting to defend its reputation for reliability.

As Toyota tries to resolve issues with "sticky" accelerator pedals, The Times has learnt that the company is also conducting an internal investigation into alleged problems with the brake systems on the Prius.

Under direct instructions from the Japanese Land and Transport Ministry, Toyota is examining 13 instances since December 2009 where the brakes have failed on new Priuses sold in Japan and the United States.

We used the Cash for Clunkers program and now have a keyless car. (Don't have to get the keys out for anything except locking it... how lazy are we?) It bothers me they think this is an improvement. (In case your key battery dies or gets wet, there's a hidden key within the remote and an override that needs screw drivers and a clip to pop at the gear box.....) It's going to be one more thing to break and adds big bucks to any repairs.

I'd rather have less bells and whistles and more traditional car mechanics.

Just a few legos under the tree would be welcome...

When we run out of gasoline

We won't have to give up getting the newest model car!



12/18 Updated to give proper credit.

Run! Dear god, RUN!

h/t to Watertiger of Dependable Renegade.

Guess which country these Toyota cars were made in

Toyota, the world's biggest carmaker, is recalling almost 690,000 cars made in China because of faulty electrical window switches.

The recall affects the company's Camry, Corolla, Vios and Yaris models made at two joint ventures in China - Guangzhou Auto and Tianjin FAW.

This represents Toyota's biggest recall of cars in China.

The company said that no injuries or accidents had been reported as a result of the faulty electrics.

I know other countries have been involved in massive recalls, the US included.

But here is just one more thing to add to the list of toxic, dangerous, or sloppy products coming out of China.

Buying a new car

Is a pain in the effing ass.

That is all.

It's WTF Tuesday!

Soldier: Obama not U.S. born, can't send me to Afghanistan:

MACON — U.S. Army Maj. Stefan Frederick Cook is seeking a federal court order to stall and eventually prevent an upcoming deployment to Afghanistan.

In the 20-page document — filed July 8 with the United States District Court, Middle District of Georgia — Cook's California-based attorney, Orly Taitz, asks the court to consider granting his client's request based upon Cook's belief that President Barrack Obama is not a natural-born citizen of the United States and is therefore ineligible to serve as commander-in-chief of U.S Armed Forces.

Major Cook is very brave to bring attention to the fact that he wasn't paying attention in history class. Hawaii isn't part of the United States but one of those weird island nations filled with exotic natives and stuff, apparently.

Why didn't soldiers think of this excuse with Bush? "He wasn't elected but selected, so doesn't have the right to send me to his Neocon war of choice." That excuse would at least been based on the truth!
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That's a lot of fake brake repairs....

Rarely do stories generate the kind of consumer response that The Bee received after the state attorney general's office sued a Modesto businessman and his 22 Midas Automotive Service franchises.

The civil lawsuit, which seeks $222 million in penalties, claims the shops owned by Maurice "Mike" Irving Glad used false advertising and fraudulent business practices to sell consumers unnecessary parts and services. The case stems from a four-year investigation and 30 undercover sting operations.

For his part, Glad says he was the victim of overzealous enforcement by the state Bureau of Automotive Repair that was designed to deceive his mechanics. He defended his business practices and workers, vowing to fight the lawsuit aggressively.

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Chan Akya of The Asia Times digs a hole trying to explain why he took offense to Krugman's ... use of slang which makes his economic theories all wrong?

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Ya give a kid a credit card....

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Speaking of money, we'd like to see this corporation's uncooked books:

US bank Goldman Sachs reported a net profit of $3.44bn (£2.1bn) for April to June, beating analysts' forecasts.

Less volatility in stock markets, rises in global share prices and involvement in many firms' rights issues and takeovers had boosted profits, it said.

The bank said it had set aside $6.65bn for pay and bonuses in the quarter - an average of $226,000 per employee.

Goldman has recently paid off $10bn of government loans it had taken as part of a government bail-out programme.

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But lead is a natural substance... and makes you feel full!:

A new study by Consumer Lab found that many multivitamins contain potentially dangerous levels of lead, and many did not contain the vitamins and minerals their labels proclaim.

[snip]

Almost no vitamins were found to be free of lead, according to the Sacramento Bee (the study results are by subscription only). Indeed, lead-free may be an impossible goal because fruits and vegetables absorb lead from soil and water.

What's a person to do? Your best bet is to buy a well known brand and look for a stamp on the bottle from USP, NSF or Consumer Lab.com. Living in California helps, because our state is the only one to regulate vitamins. By California law, 15 percent of the vitamins evaluated ought to carry a warning label.

Say no more!

Scientists unveil chocolate-fueled race car.

This will really make freeway driving more interesting!

Invisible cars!