Twelve and a half square miles of solar panels --> Produces 1/3 the power of one coal burning power plant.

Two Large Solar Plants Planned in California

That means to get the same output from a solar power facility as you would from a coal plant, that inhabits a few acres, you would need a facility in the neighborhood of 35 square miles.  That's a lot of space to have set aside for generating power.

What is the environmental impact comparison between the two?

The quote at the very end of the article is telling:

Neither approaches the economy of fossil-fuel burning plants, said Ms. Zerwer, the spokeswoman for Pacific Gas & Electric. But they will be competitive with wind power and with power from solar thermal plants, which are equipped with mirrors that use the sun’s heat to boil water into steam. And prices will fall, she predicted.

Then why build them?

Would you like to see the size of an impact crater depending on the size and make-up of an asteroid?

Yes?

I knew you would.  Go over here and check it out: [Impact Calculator]

Orson Scott Card writes a very compelling article that navigates around the issue of intelligent design, Darwin's theory of evolution, scientific dogma and global warming in quite a persuasive manner.

His premise comes down to scientific dogma stifles true science.  Even science that seems "proven" isn't, or it no longer falls under the title "science".  He makes the point that intelligent design is HorseSwaggle, but uses it as a device to talk about the science community.  When it starts censoring new thought and stops the questioning of theories then it is no longer part of science.

I am a skeptic of the global warming hysteria currently gripping the media and political class and eventually he addresses that as well.

Faith in global warming is an orthodox religion, and anyone who questions it is being treated like a heretic, while fakery "in a good cause" is tolerated. The result? Science is over to the degree that the global warming orthodoxy succeed in silencing "dissenters" (i.e., actual science).

It's all a matter of questioning assumptions.  The biggest assumption right now is that humans are causing global warming.  Scientists should be taking this on as the "null hypothesis" and attempting to debunk it.  But they aren't.  They are accepting it as de riguer en masse and moving on to the questions of what to do about it...

To me this is a big problem.  Because all the potential "solutions" are very drastic to society and how humans are developing better lives for more and more people across the world.

If it isn't a problem then we will be doing gargantuan harm to billions of people.  Do we want to do that right now?

...or do we want to make sure?

Me? I think I can wait a bit to be sure before I reduce the world GDP by 2% or more (and you thought the current slowdown is scary.)

Anyway, I'll get off my soapbox.

Seriously go read the article.  It's quite good.

Just saying what a lot of people are thinking.

– Global warming is a “total crock of ****.” Then he added: “I’m a skeptic, not a denier. Having said that, my opinion doesn’t matter. (With the battery-driven Volt), “I’m motivated more by the desire to replace imported oil than by the CO2 (argument).”

I think we are going to wake up from this mass hypnosis in 10 years with the realization that it was exactly as Bob Lutz has so succinctly put it.

techRivet has published more than a few articles about new user interfaces [linky], one of them dealing specifically with Brain Computer Interfaces [BCI]. But here is a company that is actually in the process of bringing BCI to market.

NeuroSky has developed a cost effective bio sensor and signal processing system for the consumer market. Our wearable technology unlocks worlds of new applications such as consumer electronics, health, wellness, education and training.

This is still vapor ware but there is some degree of non-hype to it

Yang is secretive about his company's product lineup because of a non-disclosure agreement with the manufacturer. But he said an international toy manufacturer plans to unveil an inexpensive gizmo with an embedded NeuroSky biosensor at the Japan Toy Association's trade show in late June. A U.S. version is scheduled to debut at the American International Fall Toy Show in October. - USA Today

Cool. Not wetware, but still BCI. If they are able to actual deliver this to market...well we'll just have to wait and see.

This is kinda the opposite of the Morse Code beats SMS interface article from a week ago. This might be snappy new technology, but will its performance surpass the current keyboard/mouse/screen UI? Because that is the most successful / fastest / lowest-barrier-to-learn interface so far developed.

Verdict: cool as a margarita on hot summer day...but I'm gonna wait for version 2.0.

hat tip: Sci Fi Tech

As the launch of the iPhone approaches, I've been thinking a lot about the strategy behind the pricing and realizing how absolutely brilliant it is. The vast majority of people believe the device is over-priced at $499 and $599 for 4GB and 8GB models. I think they've hit the real sweet spot.

I will be attending this [linky] on Wednesday.  Look for a complete round-up to follow. 

I am going into the conference with a healthy dose of skeptisism.  I believe that the success or failure of an online business (or any business) has much more to do with a solid business plan and a revenue stream behind it.  

Web 2.0 is merely chrome on top of your machine.  It can add value, but beware of making it an engine for success.

Lede:

Designed for those building next-generation products and services online, this intensive, day-long course provides a thorough grounding in the revolutionary world of Web 2.0, a set of design patterns and business models that are reshaping the face of the Web today. Web 2.0 describes the most successful rules for doing business online by uncovering the power of using the intrinsic strengths of the World Wide Web that have only recently been fully understood.