Went 1 for 2 today. Here is the quarry taken on an orange floss purple marabou streamer.

Rosey Glow of Spring

This 16" Buck took the egg sparrow around the gill plate

oh, dude

An extraordinary 11?+ lb. spawning buck steelhead was taken on a size 6 egg sucking stonefly nymph. A true alpha, he was on the redd nuzzling up with his chromer honey and it wasn't hard or long before he was induced to lash out at the rude intruder. He dragged me out well into my backing, leapt and thrashed around and just kept going and going downstream. When I landed him I noticed the fine spotting and rosy cheeked perfection that marked the impeccable genetic credentials of this rainbow.

Bahrain World Trade Center's Turbines

Bahrain World Trade Center: world's first building integrated Wind Turbines

Hagel Talks Impeachment

Blackwater: A Short Video Expose by Jeremy Scahill of The Nation

Kucinich talks Impeachment

Gore Speaks To Congress On Climate, Energy Agenda

In a highly charged house hearing on energy and air quality, an otherwise buttoned down Albert Gore (replete with Reaganesque brilleen coif) delivered a message of urgency regarding the reasons for an energy infrasture transition to a low hydrocarbon economy. Gore called for Kyoto level commitments, possibly more, immediately. He urged mandates from the banning of incandescent light bulbs, to the expansion of incentives needed for independent windfarms and solar technologies, to a carbon cap and trade scheme. In his presentation, Gore dismissed those allegations that he had overplayed the science and he responded to some of the softpeddling critics of global warming in the house, including one representative who cited a "recent studyof economists in copenhagen" (presumably referencing models from the now thoroughly discredited Bjorn Lomborg) denying the severe effects Gore countenances in his model. Gore railed back, reasoning from the consensus view of the climate scientists for the critical window of the next ten years before the escalator effects (such as the reversal of the albedo, the release of methane from the permafrost and so on) kick in and the situation becomes such that it is truly out of human hands. In addition to an ambitious platform for reforming health care, Gore laid out a vision of energy production independence calling for the implementation of net metering programs in which state law requires utilities to buy back customer generated energy (particularly green energy) at a favorable rate. At one point, Gore addressed the issue of nuclear energy and, insodoing, also addressed his commitment to decentralized, local power generation. Gore said, "...I'm not a reflexive opponent of nuclear power Congressman, I'm just a skeptic about nuclear power's viability in the marketplace. I think that if we let the market allow the most competitive forms to surface what we'll see is decentralized generation, widely distributed, we'll see an emphasis on conservation and efficiency and renewable energy". Gore affirmed the need for a carbon cap and trade scheme drawn with a clear bottom line, arguing that producers will be under the same regulatory scheme and there will be no incentive to defect. The production of the infrasture needed to bring this regulatory scheme about, no doubt, can be the basis of a new technological wave of production. Gore's interest in the auto industry, for instance, as a site of such revolution indicated this commitment. Recorded in Congress, 3/21/07. First Day of Spring.

seisachtheia

"Golden Trout" or Red-Headed Stepchild?

Here is a photo of a 1 lb."golden trout" purchased at the St. Paul Seafood Company for about 6 dollars. Not to be confused with the true Golden Trout of the High Sierra (Oncorrhynchus aguabonita), this is a strain of Rainbow Trout (Oncorrhynchus mykiss) that have been selectively bred for the red coloration of the back, which is normally olive green in color. Cultivated from a naturally occuring mutation, this is no GMO. The High-Vis red back variation of this trout would naturally be a target of predation and so the mutation could not enjoy any sizable numbers within a natural population in a wild river. But in the breeder's pen, what magic occurs! Proving yet again the magnificent diversity and excellence of the Rainbow's form.

***Note, as of 3/22/07 the trout remains uneaten. I just couldn't eat the red headed stepchild. I'm going to be depositing it in the compost heap.

Process engineer at Nanosolar with rolls of the metal substrate upon which the solar cells are printed: a video of the nanosolar technology here:

http://www.nanosolar.com/video/ModernMarvelsTV.MPG and here: http://www.nanosolar.com/cache/CNNvideo.wmv

revolution solution, oh I long for you

I was obsessed with a certain thought experiment this past week. It came to my attention that the netmetering rules in southeastern wisconsin are unlike any other in the country in that if you, as a customer-generator, provide more surplus to the grid you receive a check in compensation for the excess. Other states, like Wyoming, just credit your utility bill and offer an 'at cost' credit to the customer for his excess. These numbers can be very low. In California, the greatest paradox is that the customer generator can have his surplus credited to his utility bill but at the end of the year the surplus is "granted to the utility". So, not only does Wisconsin buy back the power, but they buy it back at preferred rates. The rate of electricity to the customer in Wisconsin is about 7 or 8 cents a kwh. The states net metering law requires the purchase of electricity by customer-generators of solar power (and some wind) of about 22 cents a kwh. The limit here is 100kw capacity per customer. In addition, government rebates and recompense are virtually assured for investments in solar up to about 500,000 dollars or so I gather.

Leasing a two acre parcel of well exposed farmland, near a three way cable, a drop and the shanty with the net meter in it. And, layed out in horizontal rows, an array of 1,667 60 watt solar panels following the arc of the sun. The colder weather in wisconsin improves the efficiency of the circuit. With a 100kw capacity (130kw installed, assume 70% efficiency), we can calculate the kwh per annum. Assuming a 1 kw system will produce roughly 2000kwh in a calendar year, 100 x 2000=200,000 kwh. At a rate of 22 cents per kwh, thats 44,000 dollars.

The great capital expense at the beginning--totalling 1 million dollars for installation makes this virtually impossible. The sheer cost of traditional solar panels using wafers of purified silicon are where the major expense lie. A new wave of thinfilm solar technologies are in the gate now, such as nanosolar's printable roll technique that can produce 97% materials utilization (compare 20% with standard silicon wafer cells)with an energy return of less than one month compared with three years in traditional technology. See: http://www.nanosolar.com/technology.htm Now, suppose that the price of photovoltaic panels were slashed by 75%....it becomes clear that solar's competitiveness becomes more apparent.

Winter's steel, Tom Lynch, Pere Marquette

gift of the north. Traylor's bow. Havre, MT?

Where the suicider really goes

"...that we men are in a kind of prison and that one must not free oneself or run away...and would you not be angry if one of your possessions killed itself when you had not given any sign that you wished it to die, and if you had any punishment you could inflict, you would inflict it?"

"by all means O Socrates" replied Cebes

Plato Phaedo 62b-c
cf. Plato Phaedo 108-115

In the dream of the mind of the suicider
he goes to gardens lush with quince and tangerine
hashish pipes and orthodox harlots sucking his cock
but in reality his blood flows through the sands
of his arab land to a great cavern below
A black Stygian flow into a great hollow
in the sulphurous air the dripping of black oil
off limestone stalagtites of Cyclopean dimension
dropped into the pool he settled to the bottom
where he lay in suffocating torment in a hydrocarbon form
the loud accusations of those he had taken with him
locked up with him in this black hell yelling at him
the burden of their charges echoing through the vast limestone chamber
until he is triangulated, echo-sounded, found and sucked out
through the obtrusive head of a searching mechanical serpent
and pumped a thousand miles to the refinery
where he is burned down to half his weight through
torments of hellfire and distilled into petroleum
that is pumped into aerosol sprays and ignited
into a spark-flash of light and energy, incinerated
by the pistons and cylinders of the engine that
runs the mechanical serpent
that feeds the beast
that he had tried to slay

He perdures now as CO2 vapor in the atmosphere,
without self-awareness and heating the planet.