a record of thoughts

I was on the bus today and at a stop, a woman at around her 50s climbed the bus. The bus isn’t full, just a loose. The woman didn’t walk all the way to the back, instead she stood in front of me, hoping to get a seat because there’s an empty seat, but another man’s things are on it. The man just took a glance at her and did not do anything. He’s a black man. The man just went along with what he was doing and finally gathered his things as he’s nearing his stop. The woman, whom I suspect is Filipino and I can only describe as someone who has the attitude and demeanor of a Spaniard. So if you’re a Filipino reading this, quickly gather your thoughts on what a Kastila is like for a moment. The woman took the seat after the man took everything off of it. (more…)

My fellow CCNY alumnus, Andy Grove, wrote in The American about the future of energy in the United States. There he suggested that America ought to head towards the direction of electric fuel because America’s “exposure to the vagaries of oil supply is growing by the month.” I agree that we must make haste the transition from petroleum to electric fuel, but there’s one problem.

There is one big problem with vehicles fueled solely by electricity and that is the reloading. Electric cars can reach about 100 miles before their batteries need to be recharged. The recharge, unlike petroleum, takes time. That is the problem with electric power reload. That would be the main obstacle that engineers will be facing and are probably facing right now.