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Ref cutting the university in two, I spent the first half of my college career at City College of San Francisco, a "commuter" community college.  I have to say that the quality of education (and the commitment of the students) there was better than at UC Berkeley. 

posted 3 years, 5 months ago
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I think that says more about the university educational experience than about university sports, and I think those lessons in teamwork could better be learned in intra-mural sports than in the more prestigious inter-school sports.  Intra-mural sports extend the lessons of teamwork to all, not just to the elite athletes.  Would we tolerate a two tier academic approach that only allowed straight A students to participate?

posted 3 years, 5 months ago
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I just heard Lariviere say the most pressing issue is faculty salaries!

EXCUSE ME!  The most pressing issue is affordability! 

Kids these days almost all graduate with large debts and poor prospects of getting a job that will allow them to pay their debts.  I was able to work my way through UC Berkeley in the 70's because I had Viet Nam era GI benefits, a good job, and most importantly, the support of the State of California.

That was a different time- the US was still riding high on the economic effects of WWII and there was at least some genuine support of public education as an investment in the future of our country, made more palatable because there wasn't much public sacrifice involved. 

Now, we're relatively much poorer and relatively unwilling to tax ourselves to invest in our future.  Right now, we're losing the economic race to the bottom- other countries value hard work and education more than we do, and of course, don't live as well as we do.

If we are to maintain the life we've become accustomed to,  affordable high quality education will be a very important part of our national and state governments, but that won't happen until we make the decision to make the sacrifices to invest in our students and I don't hear much discussion of that.

posted 3 years, 5 months ago
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I like this idea. Since the trailer is connected to the electric car's computer, it can have its own braking system, controlled by the car. It could have an oversized battery pack to optimize braking energy recovery. If you're just going to see Grandma, you use the standard trailer generator. If you're helping Grandma move, you rent a big trailer generator. And if you're going to the quarry for a load of gravel, you rent the reeeally big trailer, which has its own auxiliary propulsion system, again tied into the car's computer system.

As suggested, the trailer could also become part of the power grid, which would make the grid more robust- fewer chances for a disabling single point failure. The linemen would probably want a way to tell all the generators to disconnect from the grid at a certain time to allow for safe maintenance in emergencies.

Of course, the downside is that everyone has to learn to parallel park a trailer...

posted 4 years, 5 months ago
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JW, I love those old diesel Wabbits too, but they're losers in the modern American market- no heated cup-holders and you have to wait 30 seconds for the glow plugs to do their job. And I KNOW you're a pretty good mechanic, because you don't maintain a car that old at the local VW dealer- again, the American market just isn't willing to put up with what you enjoy. And face it, even at 50mpg and used fry oil, those old diesels spew a lot of pollution.

posted 4 years, 5 months ago
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Don't worry about it- they only place you can get a new battery is a dealership, and trust me, they're going to recycle the old one- the materials are too valuable to just throw away. Ordinary lead-acid car batteries already have a very high recycling rate, both because it's illegal to dump them and because the lead is valuable. Remember, we're profitably recycling something as cheap as newspaper, and people are stealing catalytic converters because the metals in them are so valuable and recyclable.

posted 4 years, 5 months ago
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It's impossible to efficiently convert a a gas car to electric, either hybrid or plug-in. It can be done, but it's a labor of love, a hobby, an art form in a new medium, not something America will ever embrace- we're the people who will drive around a mall parking lot for five minutes to find a spot a hundred feet closer to the door.

posted 4 years, 5 months ago
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A lot of work is being done on pollution from long-haul trucks- EPA imposes a new set of requirements every 3 years. The 2007 EPA regs required rather complex catalytic converters to reduce emissions, especially particulates, which have always been problematic in diesels and the converters required ultra-low sulfur diesel (one of the reasons diesel fuel has become relatively expensive lately.)

Similarly, fuel economy is very important to truckers- fuel is a major portion of their costs. Reducing pollution motivates a lot of people- increasing profits motivates even more. If your truck is getting 7.34MPG and the next guy's is only getting 7.12MPG, your fuel costs are 2% less than his- that's an extra $40 in your pocket for every cross country run.

Hybrids aren't really very important for cross-country trucks- a hybrid only pays off in stop'n'go traffic, because it only recovers energy when it's braking. Your mailperson's little delivery truck is the optimum application- light loads, low speeds, short distances between stops, so the energy needed to get up to 5MPH between mailboxes is easy to recover and use to get to the next mailbox. A UPS delivery truck is less optimum because it's heavier and goes further between stops, so it needs a bigger, heavier, more expensive battery to hold enough energy to be useful. It still won't have the efficiency improvements of the mailtruck, because it spends more time just going and less time stopping.

posted 4 years, 5 months ago
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Being a retired automotive engineer, previously employed by a local truck manufacturer, I have enough experience and education to feel comfortable with my opinions, although I have to admit I HAVEN'T done the math on this compressed air car.

I checked out the ZPM site, specifically, http://zeropollutionmotors.us/?page_id=64. It's basically horsepucky- the diagram on that page is meaningless. It's the graphical equivalent of, "Well, stuff goes in here, and other stuff comes out here, and, well, everything really works good." I've worked w/ pneumatic equipment and I know that compressors are very inefficient, air motors are very inefficient and big high pressure air tanks are very heavy, and to work in this application, would have to be very well insulated. Not really a recipe for efficiency, safety or zero pollution.

I'd also like to take this opportunity to defend American automotive engineers, although not necessarily their employers. Believe it or not, we're not all a bunch of craven, bought-off, dull, uneducated idiots. Turn us loose and we can do wonders, just like the Japanese, Indian, German and Chinese automotive engineers. Unfortunately, management has often asked American engineers to focus on heated cupholders, power sliding doors and various Hummer wannabes. And in the opinion of many knowledgeable people, we have created many cars that are world class in quality, durability, low pollution, styling- you name it.

To quote the engineers who designed GM's EV1, ya gotta realize this IS rocket science- Ronald Reagan already answered all the easy questions- we're left with the hard ones now. It's not easy to design a car that's less polluting than the ones we have now and no one- I repeat, NO ONE- is going to do it in her garage. Do people really not believe that Toyota, Nissan, Honda, and VW are in a battle to the death? Do they not understand that every auto company on the planet is fighting for its life? And, of course, that, mostly because of mismanagement and foolish government policy, US companies are losing that battle?

posted 4 years, 5 months ago
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I HAVE gotten a ticket as a cyclist, back in 1975, Oakland, CA. I'd invented an early form of a "bike box." I'd whiteline to the front of the pack at a red light, then when cross traffic cleared, before I actually got the green, I'd take off and get up some speed before the cars came roaring after me. An Oakland motorcycle cop busted me and the traffic judge said he had to convict me, although he seemed sympathetic to my plight. I pointed out that I weigh a twentieth of what a Cadillac does, so my fine should be pro-rated. He agreed and fined me a dollar.

Back then, I rode all the time, although I don't now. My experience was that a lot of drivers seemed not to see me, or even to subconsciously think, "Oh, that bicycle won't do much damage to my car..."

As far as cars and bicycles obeying the same laws, in general, yes they should, but at the same time, we do have different rules for different vehicles. Semis stay in the right lane and go 55. Bicycles really won't do much damage to a car, or even a pedestrian, but they can get mashed by even a small car.

It's really important for bicyclists to remember "The Law of Lugnuts." The vehicle with the most lugnuts has the right of way, whether the law says so or not. Remember, as Carl Decker said, you're basically riding in fancy underwear with a plastic bowl on your head. You're really vulnerable and you're riding next to people encased in steel.

It's also really important for them to help car drivers by obeying the laws, by riding considerately, by riding predictably, by using lights at all times.

And finally, what is it with drivers? Can't they spare 10 seconds to give a rider a break? Are we really in such a hurry, so self-centered that we will risk someone's life, just to get to work at 8:00 exactly, instead of 8:01?

posted 5 years ago
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