Recent Comments:
Is a Yaris cheaper to own and operate than a Prius? {Autoblog Green}
Aug 22nd 2008 11:43AM It's troubling to see so many commenters slam the Yaris for lack of luxury, space, or comfort, which is typically the same argument used by SUV owners trying to justify their purchase. I thought we were all supposed to be shifting to smaller cars, making compromises, rethinking our ways to keep the world greener?
Disclaimer: I bought a Yaris last year, after investigating hybrids and smaller cars. I'm 6 feet tall, and no problems driving whatsoever. I don't haul around a family of seven, two canoes, three baby seats, and a trunk full of junk from Wally World on a regular basis. But then I also play a little game here in LA called "spot the single-occupant Prius" and it doesn't look like other people need the room, either.
Amtrak ridership up along with gas prices {Autoblog Green}
Aug 12th 2008 6:01PM The TSA screens rail, too:
http://www.tsa.gov/what_we_do/layers/rail/index.shtm
They don't screen every single passenger and bag like they do with air travel, but give'em time.
Obama calls for $1,000 consumer energy rebates {Autoblog Green}
Aug 1st 2008 5:31PM Wait a second - you give out a rebate now, and hope to lower oil prices in the future - but you pay for it by taxing oil companies in the future for windfall profits? Wouldn't lower oil prices mean no more windfall profits, and no way to pay this back in five years?
Monorail + Automobile = MonoMobile {Autoblog Green}
Jul 15th 2008 2:28AM Amtrak has a system to carry your car on the same train as you, but it's only set up for the 17-hour trip between DC and central Florida. Your one-way ticket is about $140 (meals included), your standard-sized car starts at $190.
It's by no means a drive-on/drive-off technology that lets you grab the train magically at every block, but it's existing technology, and it's there. And by the fact that these aren't on every single Amtrak line says something about the feasibility level.
The Dugout: The Umps Fix the Rockies Game {Fanhouse MLB Blog}
Oct 2nd 2007 11:45PM Maybe if the 'roids help your vision, Barry Bonds could get a job as an ump next year.
Sony announces SOCOM Confrontation for PS3 {Joystiq}
May 18th 2007 12:18PM I believe the technical term for a "half-ass holdover with downloadable maps until full version in 2010" is the "Gran Turismo HD" concept. Maybe we can just use that as an ongoing term instead of having to describe this each time it comes up in the future.
Absolutely loved SOCOM I and II (3 got a little odd) but it wasn't for the graphics. It was much more the team strategy stuff in single-user. The spray-and-pray online FPS stuff is okay, but I also like games with a little more logic in them. A shame this one won't be there initially.
That said, I thought the graphics weren't bad, but I was more impressed with the sound. The gunshots sounded excellent, which I love, but my neighbors won't.
Japanese movie theaters to get Internet-controlled "Smell-O-Vision" {Engadget}
Apr 12th 2006 5:27PM I remember when EPCOT center first opened, there was some sort of "world of energy"-type ride with a bunch of dinosaurs in it, and the smello-machine blasted out an odor that smelled basically like bronto dung. Wonderful.
Rig of the Day: Apple //c {The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)}
Apr 10th 2006 10:42AM
Of course it dual boots - 40 or 80 columns!
DIFRWear's RFID wallet-wear {Engadget}
Mar 15th 2006 12:12PM If you're paranoid about the RFID in your American Express card, you can call them and have the ExpressPay functionality disabled. It makes the RFID useless - no need to ruin your microwave or wrap your head in tin foil.
US issues first RFID passports {Engadget}
Mar 13th 2006 4:43PM No need for wrapping your Passport in foil - it already comes with a shield in it that limits the range of the passive chip so you need to put it right on the reader in order for it to work. People aren't going to be scanning your data from across the airport or in a passing car. This isn't WiFi.
And as far as "biometric data" stored in the chip, all of the same info is already stored on the inside front cover, in the form of your picture, height, weight, etc. This won't enable the black helicopters to find you any faster when you buy a copy of _Catcher in the Rye_.
