Keeping my car in the future California

Or:  Connecting the dots to drive without burning fossil fuels.

Here in California we've watched fuel prices rise and fall over the last year, bringing the specter of inflation & economic disruption into the light.  To finally realize how serious the lock is of the fossil fuel companies within our lives.  Without further shocks to the system, we may never seek a solution that can be rolled out world wide.  But if we solve the problem here at home, it could change the world.  Isn't that why we are here in Silicon Valley?

There is a way and it isn't a pipe dream.  And Mike isn't high.  Just an engineer seeking a solution.

Driving in a future California may take on the form of hydrogen powered vehicles.  A time when you refuel at home and it doesn't cost you a dime.  When the first maintenance item on the car is to change the brake pads (no oil changes).  That even on the hottest days, commuting in the car isn't leading to Spare the Air days.

How?  As with all things engineers deal with, the present solution isn't perfect and it isn't put together as a package, but the potential is definitely there.  More iterations need to be run through to iron out bugs and incorporate customer feedback.  As any early adopters know, there are glitches.  But we haven't crossed the chasm yet, though we need to start becoming serious about changing our view of transportation & burning fuels.

The first step is solar panels on your house.  The latest generation out of the lab is at 40% efficiency.  That should allow several kilowatts of available power during the day.  Free power just pouring onto the grid if you don't use it.  But let's use it.

Usually to get hydrogen, electrolysis is used to split H2 off of what ever it is connected to.  Oxygen most likely in the form of water.  Takes a bunch of power.  But what if you could speed that up?  Researchers in South Korea have found a way to break apart molecules very efficiently.  Take their process to create H2 and store it in the garage.  Nearly free fuel.  Granted H2 is hard stuff to store, so have a system that keeps it around for only a day or two.  Vent what you don't put in your car each evening into the air and start over.

What car?  A Honda.  Currently Honda will lease you an FCX Clarity, a real fuel cell car running around in southern California.  Better than a prototype, but not at a stage to make 400k a year.  The biggest issue with the Clarity around town is finding an H2 fueling spot.  Half the time drivers are figuring out if they can make it to the filling station before running out of H2 while on the way home.  No AAA service currently.  But if you can create the H2 at home, for daily commuting, you can top off each evening easily.  

Three pieces to the puzzle.  Ultimate solution for 2020?  Maybe.  I'd like to be a part of it.  As California leads, so does the country in terms of transportation & pollution control.  It isn't a solution for gridlocked traffic on our aging highways.  But it would allow us who need to drive for work & family a way to bridge the car culture to the future that our kids dream up.

-Mike M.

Spinning Vinyl

I got my music bug from my dad.  He collected albums in the 1960's & 1970's, usually with a rock & pop slant.  I grew up learning how to string a reel-to-reel and properly cue up a record.  Age 5 my favorite was "Rubber Ducky".

Visiting my parents this holiday, I pulled out some records to play.  My iPod battery was dead and I didn't feel like pawing through their CD collection to find something listenable.  But I do know the basic order of dad's record collection and what is in it.

So I started with the Beetles.  "Sgt. Pepper" first and then the "White Album" (#6130 to be precise - that is it spinning in the picture).  These are original pressings my dad bought when they were released.  Then some Herbie Mann.  Rolling Stones.  Led Zeppelin.  

It does sound different.  I think the mixes are a little different than the current CD versions (at least in the stereo image & levels of instrument tracks).  Nothing double blind.  Just a gut feel.  Threw on a Symphony and got no bass.  But with America, the strumming guitars, especially the higher registers is clean.  Very clean.  

But it is fun.  Playing music from 40 years ago.  The vinyl heads speak of a connection to the music as analog requires more involvement to make it play & is only 20 minutes at a time.  Maybe there is something to it.  Analog is warm to iPod's cold digital.  Or it is due to needing only one step to play a record (move stylus to play) where it requires many steps to put music onto an iPod.  

In the end it is the music that matters, which is the cool part about spinning vinyl at my parent's house.

-Mike M.

Dogcow Lives!

My mom has a new dog this year.  Her name is Abbi and she is a Havanese.  But truly she is the reincarnation of the Dogcow.

If you are not up on your Apple pre-OS9 Finder trivia, the Dogcow is the animal found in the Page Setup dialog.  She says "Moof!"  It's even trademarked.

Throughout the last couple of decades as OS X came to be, the Dogcow has dropped away as another icon that didn't make the cut from b/w pixels to 32-bit color.  Sidelined to be only seen in nostalgia blogs and at swap meets, where the old timers tell of a time long ago when displays were bulky and 8-bit color all the rage.  But now, she has returned.

In the form of my mom's dog, Clarus the Dogcow has returned to the material world to do something.  Presently with me, she just plays & runs.  I am waiting for a message, enlightenment if you will, on why has she chosen this Macintosh family & the reason to appear this year.  Is it to reward my parents for their nearly 25 years of Mac loyalty?  Or that they are just a happy home for animals?

I don't have an answer yet.  She may be in hiding or waiting to test me on my knowledge of OS 1 through 9.  Prove that I am worthy to learn about something that threatens all Mac users big and small.  

Or she is just a dog that likes to lick my nose.  And ears.  And anything else she can get ahold of.  The Dogcow is real.  Even if she'd rather chew on bones than lead Mac users into a new age.

-Mike M.