Eric, I loved the back to school tips. Will share with my hs freshman and sophomore. My life advice: when faced with a choice and your feel afraid, examine that one closely and push yourself
Protection devices for catalytic converters are pretty useless. At best they cause a thief to move on to an easier target. My niece had her converter stolen and added an anti-theft device on the replacement, which was stolen about six months later.
Part of the problem is the chop-shop perception that the cat is being sold. It takes only minutes to knock the ceramic matrix out of the cat. These blocks, or broken up blocks, can be readily sold on-line. The chemistry and process for extracting the metals is pretty easy and again can be found on youtube. Anyone that can run a meth lab can run a cat lab, with equally dangerous (if not more) gases and byproducts. A scrapped converter is worth $300 to $700 unprocessed and probably twice that after processing. Again, the processed materials are easily sold.
The best solution is the transition to electric cars. Then we can read about the theft of battery packs.
I am thinking about getting a hybrid with about 30 miles of all electric range. That would cover all of my daily driving electrically and I don't have to worry about road trips because I can get gas for the few annual trips. An all-electric car with 300 miles of range would get me around most of my Midwest trips with a plug in at my destination. I think that an electric that can refuel as fast as a gas car is a long way off.
My big worry is that there seems to be so little planning or requirements for disposal of depleted battery packs. These batteries may have alternate uses but will eventually be scrapped. There will be many more and much more hazardous than the current lead-acid batteries. I would hate to think that the answer is to export them to low-income countries for environmentally devastating processing, as we currently do with lead acid batteries.
One of the best decisions my wife and I ever made was the purchase of a Toyota RAV4 hybrid a couple years ago. Good size vehicle with a very comfortable ride and plenty of power, and we normally get about 40 miles per gallon, and even larger bonus with what gas prices have become! Hybrids are very proven technology and I believe make a lot of sense for most everyone until electric technology advances the battery range and diminishes the charging time.
I had a 2006 Honda CRV which I loved and owned for 12 years, but when it hit 250,000 miles and I decided it was time to get a new car the CRV was not yet made in the hybrid, which is why I got the RAV4 hybrid. With this great proven hybrid technology and fantastic mileage, it seems illogical to even get a regular gas engine now.
P.S. This is a great example of how I believe our society can successfully and smoothly start to transition away from fossil fuels. Instead of governmemtvmandates that restrict our economy, create job losses and put us at a disadvantage with China, India and other nations who are not following suit, we allow our free market to respond to Consumer demand for vehicles and other equipment that both make economic sense and improve the environment. Just like microwave ovens which first came out in the mid-70s, I believe electric cars are going to continue to be improved with much greater range for road trips and much faster recharging times, as well as coming down in price to be competitively affordable with gasoline engine cars. I have much greater faith in our free market than I do government to accomplish good things for our society and all of us.
I agree with you, Eric, and Toyota that manufacturers and activists and governments are welcoming a transition to all-electric cars ahead of schedule. Many manufacturers have decided to leapfrog advanced hybrids to focus on pure electric. I don't get it. I understand that there are waiting lists for current electric offerings, but they remain a small segment of the market, and I don't see universal adoption until they are about as convenient and flexible and inexpensive as cars with an engine and a gas tank, whether part of a hybrid system or not. That means widely available and reliable super-duper-fast charging (a technical term :)) that doesn't dramatically degrade the battery, as well as ample battery and battery component supply -- both wishes at this point. The former seems especially aspirational.
With the Chevy Volt (and a Malibu with a Volt-like system), both now discontinued, GM pioneered the plug-in hybrid -- a terrific option and engineering marvel -- and now says it has no plans to invest in any sort of hybrids. And yet, if we quickly transitioned to plug-in hybrids for all those with a garage and to Prius-style hybrid drivetrains for all those without one (perhaps equipped with theft-resistant catalytic converters) -- both proven technologies that don't require massive batteries -- we'd do wonders for emissions and fuel economy without sacrificing an iota of convenience or performance.
The technology adoption cycle has a phrase -- crossing the chasm -- that refers to the big gap between early adopters and mainstream, mass acceptance. I'm sure that many think that EVs have already crossed the chasm. This may be wishful thinking.
Though you didn't mention it, I hope you've seen RedZone. It's all the close/important football with less of the unimportant parts. Scott Hanson does it non-stop. How he ever catches his breath or goes to the restroom is beyond me.
"Your son and daughter don’t need three words,“ he wrote. “Only one. Passion. Passion will provide a person with perseverance, curiosity and a long-term perspective.”
Barf. No quality is more overrated than "passion." It's not enough to like or only tolerate whatever it is you're doing. You have to LOOOOVE it with all your heart, like you're on a mission from God. This is an unrealistic standard, and if you make it your expectation, odds are (literally) that you will be disappointed. But, worse than that, it's not even a particularly good or virtuous quality to have. You're lucky if you love your work, but "passion" suggests an unhealthy monomaniacal obsession and self-absorption. In young people, it suggests naivety or excessive confidence. Nothing is more ridiculous than young people acting like they know everything!
Regarding football, I have a friend who is a UM alum, while I went to UI-UC. On attending a game together between the two, I asked her if she thought it was better to be a Michigan fan, with perennial expectations of competing for a national championship (this was years ago), only to have your hopes dashed every year, or an Illini fan, whose rare success would come as a pleasant surprise. Never got a clear answer.
Based on the recent conversation around student loan forgiveness, and Heather Cherone's comments on Mincing Rascals last week, it seems like an economic discussion is necessary for many of the college bound. Since 18-year-olds are adults, it would be useful for them to understand this adult decision. Is the degree that they are pursuing worth the investment? Will post-grad income provide an adequate return on investment? If not, can they afford the cost of indulging their interest? Is the chosen institution the best value? If parents are footing the bill, then is the student giving them value for the money? And, if they fail, can they afford the cost of failure? I was shocked by the comments on MR that many just assumed it was worthwhile or hadn't given the cost any thought at all.
As a corporation, by definition an illicit manipulator of politics and policy, shouldn't the employees of Google be demanding that the corporation make no political contributions and engage in no lobbying? Or alternately, should the management of Google assume that the 650 signatories speak for all 105,000 Google employees? In any case, I doubt that Google management is planning any plebiscites on corporate spending.
Here’s the song I would have played. You have to listen through to the choruses. I saw Michael McDermott at Jeff Fest in Jefferson Park in the mid teens.
Alaska electing Mary Peltola (a very conservative Democrat) in a ranked voting election is an excellent example of how well this works. She got the most #2 votes from a traditional Republican candidate which allowed her to beat Palin (and all others). This was a special election, but I expect that she will do just as well in the November election, unless Palin and her ilk drop out.
I am also excited about football but primarily because of playing fantasy football. The Bears are not expected to do well this year but I get to draft a bunch of great players and will enjoy watching them play, especially if they are getting lots of yards and touchdowns.
Not to be overly picky but I think the David Cassidy tweet is in poor taste. David died five years ago after years of struggling with alcohol and he left behind 3 former wives. Maybe if the sentiment was about men in general I could see the humor but it's too personal toward one late teen idol for me.
Google employees petitioning their executives. Where does this go? Is this a story because it’s Google or will other companies go through same issues? I suppose anyone can “make a demand for change” but what if an equal number of employees support their choices. Does the company even acknowledge either side.
I am opposed to morons and opportunists in any public office. But I agree with Eric, about the effect of reducing mail and drop box voting. I think that it will have similar effects on all voters and particularly in rural states it is likely to reduce GOP turnout. Also, if elected, any candidate that claims there is something wrong with the current election system has one election to get it right because after that, any problems are their fault.
"in rural states it is likely to reduce GOP turnout" So in WY or SD or ND it will reduce the GQP turnout from 70% to 65%, not much of a game changer. So the 2.2 million cumulative residents of these states will continue to enjoy their massively over weighted representation with 6 seats in the Senate vs, for example, the 36 million CA residents who get 2 Senators.
It seems to me like all that has been proven in this article is speculation by a very small correlation and not that causation is demonstrated to exist between Zoloft and depression-homicide. That being true, the claim that Zoloft caused Marilyn Lemak’s murders is unsubstantiated.
The topic of electric cars sent me back to look again at the source of electricity in Illinois and the media/political yak about the transition from fossil fuels. In Illinois there are 44.25 GW of generation capacity - 53.3% Nuclear, 35.4% coal/gas, 11.3% wind/solar/hydro/biomas. To support complete replacement of all cars with electric will double the total current demand. So, we need at least 59.9 GW of new non-fossil fuel generation to replace the current fossil capacity and provide for the cars. This can be accomplished with 8 new nuclear plants of similar size to the existing nuclear plants or with 33,000 wind turbines on 3 million acres of land, similar to existing wind farms. We need to at least double total capacity again to replace home heating, appliances, and industrial uses. It seems obvious to me that we need to get going building new nuclear plants.
Eric, I loved the back to school tips. Will share with my hs freshman and sophomore. My life advice: when faced with a choice and your feel afraid, examine that one closely and push yourself
Protection devices for catalytic converters are pretty useless. At best they cause a thief to move on to an easier target. My niece had her converter stolen and added an anti-theft device on the replacement, which was stolen about six months later.
Part of the problem is the chop-shop perception that the cat is being sold. It takes only minutes to knock the ceramic matrix out of the cat. These blocks, or broken up blocks, can be readily sold on-line. The chemistry and process for extracting the metals is pretty easy and again can be found on youtube. Anyone that can run a meth lab can run a cat lab, with equally dangerous (if not more) gases and byproducts. A scrapped converter is worth $300 to $700 unprocessed and probably twice that after processing. Again, the processed materials are easily sold.
The best solution is the transition to electric cars. Then we can read about the theft of battery packs.
Can you share some links to YouTube videos that you've found illustrative? I should have thought to look for them.
This guy just likes to try stuff, none too safely, but shows how easy it is with a little knowledge. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHStZrQ3OP4
This is a guy talking about how to get the best prices for legit scrapping of cats. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4VCXL69KPUg
Cats have been required since the 70's so there are millions of them being legitimately recycled.
I am thinking about getting a hybrid with about 30 miles of all electric range. That would cover all of my daily driving electrically and I don't have to worry about road trips because I can get gas for the few annual trips. An all-electric car with 300 miles of range would get me around most of my Midwest trips with a plug in at my destination. I think that an electric that can refuel as fast as a gas car is a long way off.
My big worry is that there seems to be so little planning or requirements for disposal of depleted battery packs. These batteries may have alternate uses but will eventually be scrapped. There will be many more and much more hazardous than the current lead-acid batteries. I would hate to think that the answer is to export them to low-income countries for environmentally devastating processing, as we currently do with lead acid batteries.
One of the best decisions my wife and I ever made was the purchase of a Toyota RAV4 hybrid a couple years ago. Good size vehicle with a very comfortable ride and plenty of power, and we normally get about 40 miles per gallon, and even larger bonus with what gas prices have become! Hybrids are very proven technology and I believe make a lot of sense for most everyone until electric technology advances the battery range and diminishes the charging time.
We really like our Honda CRV hybrid, which we narrowly preferred to the RAV4 for reasons I can't even remember.
I had a 2006 Honda CRV which I loved and owned for 12 years, but when it hit 250,000 miles and I decided it was time to get a new car the CRV was not yet made in the hybrid, which is why I got the RAV4 hybrid. With this great proven hybrid technology and fantastic mileage, it seems illogical to even get a regular gas engine now.
P.S. This is a great example of how I believe our society can successfully and smoothly start to transition away from fossil fuels. Instead of governmemtvmandates that restrict our economy, create job losses and put us at a disadvantage with China, India and other nations who are not following suit, we allow our free market to respond to Consumer demand for vehicles and other equipment that both make economic sense and improve the environment. Just like microwave ovens which first came out in the mid-70s, I believe electric cars are going to continue to be improved with much greater range for road trips and much faster recharging times, as well as coming down in price to be competitively affordable with gasoline engine cars. I have much greater faith in our free market than I do government to accomplish good things for our society and all of us.
I agree with you, Eric, and Toyota that manufacturers and activists and governments are welcoming a transition to all-electric cars ahead of schedule. Many manufacturers have decided to leapfrog advanced hybrids to focus on pure electric. I don't get it. I understand that there are waiting lists for current electric offerings, but they remain a small segment of the market, and I don't see universal adoption until they are about as convenient and flexible and inexpensive as cars with an engine and a gas tank, whether part of a hybrid system or not. That means widely available and reliable super-duper-fast charging (a technical term :)) that doesn't dramatically degrade the battery, as well as ample battery and battery component supply -- both wishes at this point. The former seems especially aspirational.
With the Chevy Volt (and a Malibu with a Volt-like system), both now discontinued, GM pioneered the plug-in hybrid -- a terrific option and engineering marvel -- and now says it has no plans to invest in any sort of hybrids. And yet, if we quickly transitioned to plug-in hybrids for all those with a garage and to Prius-style hybrid drivetrains for all those without one (perhaps equipped with theft-resistant catalytic converters) -- both proven technologies that don't require massive batteries -- we'd do wonders for emissions and fuel economy without sacrificing an iota of convenience or performance.
The technology adoption cycle has a phrase -- crossing the chasm -- that refers to the big gap between early adopters and mainstream, mass acceptance. I'm sure that many think that EVs have already crossed the chasm. This may be wishful thinking.
Though you didn't mention it, I hope you've seen RedZone. It's all the close/important football with less of the unimportant parts. Scott Hanson does it non-stop. How he ever catches his breath or goes to the restroom is beyond me.
"Your son and daughter don’t need three words,“ he wrote. “Only one. Passion. Passion will provide a person with perseverance, curiosity and a long-term perspective.”
Barf. No quality is more overrated than "passion." It's not enough to like or only tolerate whatever it is you're doing. You have to LOOOOVE it with all your heart, like you're on a mission from God. This is an unrealistic standard, and if you make it your expectation, odds are (literally) that you will be disappointed. But, worse than that, it's not even a particularly good or virtuous quality to have. You're lucky if you love your work, but "passion" suggests an unhealthy monomaniacal obsession and self-absorption. In young people, it suggests naivety or excessive confidence. Nothing is more ridiculous than young people acting like they know everything!
Listening to the Brahms now, very beautiful!
Regarding football, I have a friend who is a UM alum, while I went to UI-UC. On attending a game together between the two, I asked her if she thought it was better to be a Michigan fan, with perennial expectations of competing for a national championship (this was years ago), only to have your hopes dashed every year, or an Illini fan, whose rare success would come as a pleasant surprise. Never got a clear answer.
It is better to be a Michigan fan. Now you know!
Based on the recent conversation around student loan forgiveness, and Heather Cherone's comments on Mincing Rascals last week, it seems like an economic discussion is necessary for many of the college bound. Since 18-year-olds are adults, it would be useful for them to understand this adult decision. Is the degree that they are pursuing worth the investment? Will post-grad income provide an adequate return on investment? If not, can they afford the cost of indulging their interest? Is the chosen institution the best value? If parents are footing the bill, then is the student giving them value for the money? And, if they fail, can they afford the cost of failure? I was shocked by the comments on MR that many just assumed it was worthwhile or hadn't given the cost any thought at all.
As a corporation, by definition an illicit manipulator of politics and policy, shouldn't the employees of Google be demanding that the corporation make no political contributions and engage in no lobbying? Or alternately, should the management of Google assume that the 650 signatories speak for all 105,000 Google employees? In any case, I doubt that Google management is planning any plebiscites on corporate spending.
Here’s the song I would have played. You have to listen through to the choruses. I saw Michael McDermott at Jeff Fest in Jefferson Park in the mid teens.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5Cmz_R-jkeU
I saw what you did there - citing "another Trib columnist" prognosticating the eventual downfall of American Football. A sly devil, you are.
What is the time limit on Moutzas?
Alaska electing Mary Peltola (a very conservative Democrat) in a ranked voting election is an excellent example of how well this works. She got the most #2 votes from a traditional Republican candidate which allowed her to beat Palin (and all others). This was a special election, but I expect that she will do just as well in the November election, unless Palin and her ilk drop out.
I am also excited about football but primarily because of playing fantasy football. The Bears are not expected to do well this year but I get to draft a bunch of great players and will enjoy watching them play, especially if they are getting lots of yards and touchdowns.
Not to be overly picky but I think the David Cassidy tweet is in poor taste. David died five years ago after years of struggling with alcohol and he left behind 3 former wives. Maybe if the sentiment was about men in general I could see the humor but it's too personal toward one late teen idol for me.
So what, jokes about anyone that’s ever died are now off limits? The punchline didn’t reference his boozing, so I don’t see how it’s in poor taste.
Google employees petitioning their executives. Where does this go? Is this a story because it’s Google or will other companies go through same issues? I suppose anyone can “make a demand for change” but what if an equal number of employees support their choices. Does the company even acknowledge either side.
I am opposed to morons and opportunists in any public office. But I agree with Eric, about the effect of reducing mail and drop box voting. I think that it will have similar effects on all voters and particularly in rural states it is likely to reduce GOP turnout. Also, if elected, any candidate that claims there is something wrong with the current election system has one election to get it right because after that, any problems are their fault.
"in rural states it is likely to reduce GOP turnout" So in WY or SD or ND it will reduce the GQP turnout from 70% to 65%, not much of a game changer. So the 2.2 million cumulative residents of these states will continue to enjoy their massively over weighted representation with 6 seats in the Senate vs, for example, the 36 million CA residents who get 2 Senators.
Correlation does not prove causation:
It seems to me like all that has been proven in this article is speculation by a very small correlation and not that causation is demonstrated to exist between Zoloft and depression-homicide. That being true, the claim that Zoloft caused Marilyn Lemak’s murders is unsubstantiated.
The topic of electric cars sent me back to look again at the source of electricity in Illinois and the media/political yak about the transition from fossil fuels. In Illinois there are 44.25 GW of generation capacity - 53.3% Nuclear, 35.4% coal/gas, 11.3% wind/solar/hydro/biomas. To support complete replacement of all cars with electric will double the total current demand. So, we need at least 59.9 GW of new non-fossil fuel generation to replace the current fossil capacity and provide for the cars. This can be accomplished with 8 new nuclear plants of similar size to the existing nuclear plants or with 33,000 wind turbines on 3 million acres of land, similar to existing wind farms. We need to at least double total capacity again to replace home heating, appliances, and industrial uses. It seems obvious to me that we need to get going building new nuclear plants.