When I logged in this evening to post a new blog I noticed last week's blog wasn't there. I discovered it was posted into a duplicate account, which happens if you don't log in using your full email address. I re-submitted the post on this blog.
This week I want to talk about why I like nuclear energy. In my opinion, it is the only readily-available technology which can directly offset global warming without sacrificing modern lifestyle. I'm not ruling out any future technologies from being utilitzed, but if the world were prompted to halt CO2 emissions within the next 20 years without causing a global recession, we would need to maintain the enegry supply we are consuming while eliminating emissions. This is the point where people would mention renewable methods of generating energy. If we have a mix of energy sources such as hydro, wind, and solar power, we can reduce our dependence on purely nuclear energy should the world need to quickly halt CO2 emissions. It would be appropriate to keep developing clean electricity sources beyond nuclear power.
Hydrogen fuel will be a critical component in reducing CO2 levels, as it seems the best-suited fuel to replace gasoline and diesel fuel. I mention Hydrogen fuel as an aspect of a broader nuclear energy solution because enough hydrogen can be created from one pellet of nuclear fuel to power 22 cars for a thousand miles. There are several ways to produce hydrogen fuel, such as using electricity or heat from a nuclear reactor. The most promising methods of creating hydrogen from nuclear energy is through the electrolysis or thermochemical splitting of water. The only byproduct of this process would be oxygen. With the potential for global fuel consumption to shift from fossil fuel to hydrogen fuel and nuclear electricity, we could theoretically revert to pre-industrial revolution CO2 levels.
This is where some might mention success stories such as Brazil's use of sugar cane in the production of ethanol fuel, but ethanol is not as environmentally friendly on a large scale. We would be at the mercy of mother nature to consistently produce the fuels we need. The amount of land required to replace fossil fuels with bio fuels would drastically reduce biodiversity and leave our ecosystem vulnerable. Additionally, mass produced bio fuels would cost significantly more than hydrogen fuel created from nuclear energy.
I can understand the fear nuclear energy may create for some people, but we need to take the situation into context and realize there is a real possibility we might be forced to change either our energy consumption or energy production. I'm inclined to say we will choose to change the way we produce our electricity and fuel rather than give up modern civilization.
I found an interesting PDF from the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Labratory which describes the production of Hydrogen fuel from nuclear energy.
http://nuclear.inl.gov/docs/papers-presentations/nuclear_hydrogen_3-3-03.pdf
Saturday, December 1, 2007
Last Week's Blog
Turkey Day 2007
People may say this a lot, but the year has passed quickly! It's already Thanksgiving and we have roughly three weeks of school left before a beefy winter break. I find myself thankful this year for that extra long winter break, realizing my counterparts at Cal State East Bay or UC Santa Cruz trade nearly a month during the winter for an extra-long summer away from school. Being a commuter from Belmont using a car with no heater makes it advantageous to operate with our current semester schedule.
After replacing the radiator, I can confidently say my car is finally running smoothly and reliably. I think I will use this winter break to drive South in search of warmer weather. I believe I can no longer use my driver's license to get out of Mexico, so unless I get a passport I won't be going that far south this year.
People may say this a lot, but the year has passed quickly! It's already Thanksgiving and we have roughly three weeks of school left before a beefy winter break. I find myself thankful this year for that extra long winter break, realizing my counterparts at Cal State East Bay or UC Santa Cruz trade nearly a month during the winter for an extra-long summer away from school. Being a commuter from Belmont using a car with no heater makes it advantageous to operate with our current semester schedule.
After replacing the radiator, I can confidently say my car is finally running smoothly and reliably. I think I will use this winter break to drive South in search of warmer weather. I believe I can no longer use my driver's license to get out of Mexico, so unless I get a passport I won't be going that far south this year.
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Oops
It seems I haven't posted in a while. I apologize to La Professora and any lurkers who subscribe to my blog. I've been considerably busy this past week.
As I mentioned in a previous passage, my car is having trouble holding coolant. 36 hours after it got out of the shop, the Dam is back to steaming from the hood. It seems as soon as I fix a leak in one area, it finds the next weakest link in my coolant system. The Dam is going back into the shop on Friday, provided it doesn't completely die before then.
I'm going to have to wait until next semester before I consider buying a new car. Thankfully, when I take my car back to the shop on Friday, it will be fixed for free. My budget cannot afford any further car troubles, so lets hope the Dam makes it to the new year.
As I mentioned in a previous passage, my car is having trouble holding coolant. 36 hours after it got out of the shop, the Dam is back to steaming from the hood. It seems as soon as I fix a leak in one area, it finds the next weakest link in my coolant system. The Dam is going back into the shop on Friday, provided it doesn't completely die before then.
I'm going to have to wait until next semester before I consider buying a new car. Thankfully, when I take my car back to the shop on Friday, it will be fixed for free. My budget cannot afford any further car troubles, so lets hope the Dam makes it to the new year.
Thursday, November 1, 2007
The Big Shake
As we all know by now, there was a moderate earthquake Tuesday night near Milpitas. It's been a while since we have had a sizeable quake in the Bay Area. I noticed several things shortly after the quake which concerns me. The most concerning thing to me was the level of reaction people had to the quake. I think people overreacted to Tuesday's situation, causing traffic jams, clogging cell phone airwaves with frivilous calls, and spreading fear for no reason.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems to me that people are becoming incresingly sensitive to these kinds of incidents. I saw a story today in the SJ Mercury which reported a loss in cell phone service to a large amount of people in the South Bay in the 2 hours following the quake, which apparently has sparked outrage. It seems to me that people are setting unrealistic expectations on wireless companies which exist to provide customers with an everyday convenience, not a disaster-proof survival device. Of course there is going to be a surge in calls after an incident such as an earthquake! These companies don't have the ability to maintain the capacity to handle spikes in traffic such as what happened Tuesday because it would cost so much, their business would go bankrupt. The best thing anyone can do to is have a plan of action ready in case a disaster happens which includes dealing with a total loss of electricity, TV, and phone services. It's crazy how dependent people are on modern creature comforts and how helpless they are if it's taken away.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems to me that people are becoming incresingly sensitive to these kinds of incidents. I saw a story today in the SJ Mercury which reported a loss in cell phone service to a large amount of people in the South Bay in the 2 hours following the quake, which apparently has sparked outrage. It seems to me that people are setting unrealistic expectations on wireless companies which exist to provide customers with an everyday convenience, not a disaster-proof survival device. Of course there is going to be a surge in calls after an incident such as an earthquake! These companies don't have the ability to maintain the capacity to handle spikes in traffic such as what happened Tuesday because it would cost so much, their business would go bankrupt. The best thing anyone can do to is have a plan of action ready in case a disaster happens which includes dealing with a total loss of electricity, TV, and phone services. It's crazy how dependent people are on modern creature comforts and how helpless they are if it's taken away.
Sunday, October 28, 2007
The Dam
I've owned a Pontiac Grand Am (a.k.a. The Dam) for about 5 years. During that time I have driven over 130,000 miles behind the wheel. That's equivalent to circling the Earth's Equator 5 times. It's not a very sexy looking car, but it's been through alot with me and I hate to see it go.
The Dam has been plagued with problems lately, ranging from oil leaks to coolant system failures. The paint is beginning to chip and there's a crack in the windshield from 3 rocks hitting the exact same spot on 3 different occaisons while driving on the freeway. I'm very sentimental toward this car, but I'm going to have to start looking for a new one if the Dam gives me any more problems after I fully fix the oil leak and coolant system. I need reliable transportation next semester, but no matter what replacement car I buy, it will have big shoes to fill.
In Memory of The Beloved Dam, 2007
The Dam has been plagued with problems lately, ranging from oil leaks to coolant system failures. The paint is beginning to chip and there's a crack in the windshield from 3 rocks hitting the exact same spot on 3 different occaisons while driving on the freeway. I'm very sentimental toward this car, but I'm going to have to start looking for a new one if the Dam gives me any more problems after I fully fix the oil leak and coolant system. I need reliable transportation next semester, but no matter what replacement car I buy, it will have big shoes to fill.
In Memory of The Beloved Dam, 2007
Friday, October 19, 2007
McDonalds & Phillip Morris
This week's blog will be about two companies which might have more in common than one might initially believe.
Approximately 18 months ago, after a nasty case of food poisoning, I decided to stop eating at McDonalds forever. Today I can say with confidence that I have not touched their food since starting the ban, though I have driven-through several times for other people in my car. Sometimes I miss all the salty treats at the golden arches. Recently McDonalds brought back their Monopoly promotion, which I loved as a kid, and includes a surge in commercials on TV. Of course, the only burger in their ads is my favorite, the Big Mac. I had a nightmare two days ago where I relapsed on McDonalds and stuffed my face with Big Macs. I woke up feeling guilty the rest of the day for no reason, except from the shame of how lucid and pleasurable the dream really was.
I live in a small town called Belmont, which borders San Mateo and has 2 McDonalds to serve a population of 25,000. I found out today that Belmont has recently become the first city in the country to completely ban smoking cigarettes within city limits. It is illegal to smoke in your car, in your home, on the sidewalk, in a parking lot, and anywhere else. While not a criminal offense, a smoker such as myself can be fined up to $1000 for enjoying themselves within view of the bored and over-funded Belmont police. My afinity for cigarettes is no longer welcome here, but I don't plan on changing my habits any time soon.
The fast food industry in Belmont is stronger than ever, but can be just as deadly as smoking. Both cigarettes and fast food are addictive, cheap, widely-available, and kill people by the millions. One can further argue that McDonalds promotes chronic usage of their product to the fullest extent, made famous in the documentary Super Size Me. McDonalds and Phillip Morris share a history of almost identical product promotion. It would only seem logical to ban the consumption of fast food in Belmont as well. Perhaps I should point this out at the next City Council meeting.
Approximately 18 months ago, after a nasty case of food poisoning, I decided to stop eating at McDonalds forever. Today I can say with confidence that I have not touched their food since starting the ban, though I have driven-through several times for other people in my car. Sometimes I miss all the salty treats at the golden arches. Recently McDonalds brought back their Monopoly promotion, which I loved as a kid, and includes a surge in commercials on TV. Of course, the only burger in their ads is my favorite, the Big Mac. I had a nightmare two days ago where I relapsed on McDonalds and stuffed my face with Big Macs. I woke up feeling guilty the rest of the day for no reason, except from the shame of how lucid and pleasurable the dream really was.
I live in a small town called Belmont, which borders San Mateo and has 2 McDonalds to serve a population of 25,000. I found out today that Belmont has recently become the first city in the country to completely ban smoking cigarettes within city limits. It is illegal to smoke in your car, in your home, on the sidewalk, in a parking lot, and anywhere else. While not a criminal offense, a smoker such as myself can be fined up to $1000 for enjoying themselves within view of the bored and over-funded Belmont police. My afinity for cigarettes is no longer welcome here, but I don't plan on changing my habits any time soon.
The fast food industry in Belmont is stronger than ever, but can be just as deadly as smoking. Both cigarettes and fast food are addictive, cheap, widely-available, and kill people by the millions. One can further argue that McDonalds promotes chronic usage of their product to the fullest extent, made famous in the documentary Super Size Me. McDonalds and Phillip Morris share a history of almost identical product promotion. It would only seem logical to ban the consumption of fast food in Belmont as well. Perhaps I should point this out at the next City Council meeting.
Friday, October 12, 2007
Over The Counter
From what I can remember, I've had a grueling week. My battle with a nasty seasonal bug culminated last night when I passed-out some time around 10pm. 13 hours later, I woke up with all my clothes on, but feeling great for the first time in 8 days. It seems as though my body has conquered whatever germs had been occupying it this past week.
Now that I am somewhat sober, I want to warn you about over the counter drugs. Consistent use of nasal decongestants and antihistamines can severely impair you, diminishing alertness and general functionality. If you find yourself sick, your main defense should be water and plenty of rest. Don't use these drugs as crutch like I did, you might end up passed-out in a compromising position.
Now that I am somewhat sober, I want to warn you about over the counter drugs. Consistent use of nasal decongestants and antihistamines can severely impair you, diminishing alertness and general functionality. If you find yourself sick, your main defense should be water and plenty of rest. Don't use these drugs as crutch like I did, you might end up passed-out in a compromising position.
Friday, October 5, 2007
Detour Off Highway 92
Tonight, after dropping my friend off in Alameda, I was on my way back to San Mateo and realized I didn't have enough cash to pay the bridge toll. I stopped at a Burger King right before the toll plaza to use their ATM and bought some fries to break my 20. I noticed an old bum sitting at a table with a push-basket full of various papers and books. He noticed me right away and mumbled something I couldn't hear, so I sat down near him to talk while I ate my fries.
The man introduced himself as the original Pink Cloud, and immediately began talking about music. He asked me if I play any instruments, which I don't, but I said I played the Sax when I was younger. He began talking about various artists and how he used to teach music. There was a Neil Young song playing on the Burger King sound system, so he fumbled through his cart and pulled out a notebook and flipped to the particular song. Impressed, I watched as he guided me through the various guitar notes to the song.
Pink Cloud then started talking about his life. His wife divorced him 13 years ago, which he said is how long it has been since he's seen his son. I felt sorry for the guy, but Pink Cloud is a term often used in Alcoholics Anonymous to describe someone who is over-confident in their recovery and on the verge of relapse. I'm sure his estranged wife would have plenty of reasons to give for kicking him out of the family, but she nor her son can be located, according to Pink Cloud.
Before leaving, I purchased a back-issue of The Onion from Mr. Cloud for 78 cents and wished him good luck on finding his son. If Cal-Trans hadn't raised the toll fee from $3 to $4 this year, I would have never met Pink Cloud, but I didn't mind taking a detour tonight.
The man introduced himself as the original Pink Cloud, and immediately began talking about music. He asked me if I play any instruments, which I don't, but I said I played the Sax when I was younger. He began talking about various artists and how he used to teach music. There was a Neil Young song playing on the Burger King sound system, so he fumbled through his cart and pulled out a notebook and flipped to the particular song. Impressed, I watched as he guided me through the various guitar notes to the song.
Pink Cloud then started talking about his life. His wife divorced him 13 years ago, which he said is how long it has been since he's seen his son. I felt sorry for the guy, but Pink Cloud is a term often used in Alcoholics Anonymous to describe someone who is over-confident in their recovery and on the verge of relapse. I'm sure his estranged wife would have plenty of reasons to give for kicking him out of the family, but she nor her son can be located, according to Pink Cloud.
Before leaving, I purchased a back-issue of The Onion from Mr. Cloud for 78 cents and wished him good luck on finding his son. If Cal-Trans hadn't raised the toll fee from $3 to $4 this year, I would have never met Pink Cloud, but I didn't mind taking a detour tonight.
Friday, September 28, 2007
I'm Jealous of My Dad
My dad is living the easy life. He's been retired for over 3 years now and seems to get better at it each year. Now a full-time golfer, he has a year-round golfer's tan and raccoon eyes from sunglasses. He even gets rewards for having such a laid-back lifestyle. He has been in Mexico all week, soaking up the nice weather with my mom, which happened to be a trip he won in a golf raffle. I'm totally jealous how easy he has it, but the man has worked for decades to be able to do what he's doing now.
There are things about my dad's lifestyle which I find questionable. He has a big SUV, which is nice, but sucks an incredible amount of gas. The other problem I have with my dad is that he owns shares in Wal-Mart! When he first mentioned this to me, I rattled-off several reasons why he shouldn't buy in to such an evil empire, but then I realized his portfolio had more influence than my cheap facts. I'll tell this to my dad and any other holders of Wal-Mart stock: I hope you can sleep at night! My dad chuckled and said "Very comfortably."
There are things about my dad's lifestyle which I find questionable. He has a big SUV, which is nice, but sucks an incredible amount of gas. The other problem I have with my dad is that he owns shares in Wal-Mart! When he first mentioned this to me, I rattled-off several reasons why he shouldn't buy in to such an evil empire, but then I realized his portfolio had more influence than my cheap facts. I'll tell this to my dad and any other holders of Wal-Mart stock: I hope you can sleep at night! My dad chuckled and said "Very comfortably."
Friday, September 14, 2007
El Nino
Damn you El Nino!
Why did you have to revisit us this year? Don't get me wrong, I love sunny skies, but heat waves and dry spells cause me trouble. When I'm driving to San Jose on Highway 280, I notice the waterline is considerably lower than usual this year. While I haven't heard of any local droughts as a result of the extremely dry year, I know the native plant life has been affected.
The most annoying part of El Nino, for me personally, is the horrid allergies I've had all year. I'm literally writing sentences of this blog between sneezing fits. My trusty 24-hour Claritin lost its effectiveness months ago and I haven't had the budget to try out new kinds of allergy medications. I heard somewhere that our air is coming from China. If this is true, we can add air to the list of defective product recalls. Don't ask me how.
Why did you have to revisit us this year? Don't get me wrong, I love sunny skies, but heat waves and dry spells cause me trouble. When I'm driving to San Jose on Highway 280, I notice the waterline is considerably lower than usual this year. While I haven't heard of any local droughts as a result of the extremely dry year, I know the native plant life has been affected.
The most annoying part of El Nino, for me personally, is the horrid allergies I've had all year. I'm literally writing sentences of this blog between sneezing fits. My trusty 24-hour Claritin lost its effectiveness months ago and I haven't had the budget to try out new kinds of allergy medications. I heard somewhere that our air is coming from China. If this is true, we can add air to the list of defective product recalls. Don't ask me how.
Friday, September 7, 2007
My Dear Younger Sister
Emily has always been the most energetic and eccentric sibling in the family. Her voice projects across the room quite easily, especially when she's excited during a conversation in a restaurant. Irregardless of any public embarrassment, I love my sister very much.
It's tough when I see Emily struggle with her health problem. Last year, on the morning of Thanksgiving, she had her first seizure while staying at my parent's house. My mom was the first person to hear disturbing noises from my sister's room. Because it was locked, they had to break the door down to help her. The doctors at the emergency room couldn't figure out why it happened. She never had a major health problem until now. For all we knew, it could have been an isolated incident triggered by stress. This proved to be more than a random occurrence.
My sister had another seizure a couple weeks after Thanksgiving. Over the past 10 months she has had 11 seizures. This has been extremely frustrating for everyone in my family. Each time she has a seizure, she is sore for several days afterward. Seizure patients often look like they just had a stroke. They took her license away for obvious reasons. She lives in San Francisco, so thankfully she can walk around everywhere she needs to go. Unfortunately, this also means she is far from family in Gilroy if she needs our help. I am the closest family member, so I'm usually the one in the emergency room with her when there's a problem.
I will refrain from going over most of the medical details surrounding her treatment, but they have run quite a few tests on Emily over the months. The doctors at Kaiser have been mystified as to why she continues having episodes when she is on medication that's supposed to prevent it. My parents decided to send her to Stanford which is where they found a growth in her brain. Thankfully it wasn't a malignant brain tumor, but nonetheless troubling that there is something abnormal there. This week, Emily has been in the hospital for a sleep-study. They wanted to monitor her while inducing a seizure (by taking her off the anticonvulsants and manipulating her sleep patterns). She had a seizure while they were monitoring her. The source of the seizure came from the abnormal part of her brain. Now they are likely going to perform brain surgery and remove the defective area.
I'm worried about what will happen to my sister. At the same time, I'm relieved that there is now a tangible problem for the doctors to work on. All I can hope for is that she has a successful surgery with minimal side-effects and her seizures go away. Toward the end of the semester, I will write another blog with an update on her status.
It's tough when I see Emily struggle with her health problem. Last year, on the morning of Thanksgiving, she had her first seizure while staying at my parent's house. My mom was the first person to hear disturbing noises from my sister's room. Because it was locked, they had to break the door down to help her. The doctors at the emergency room couldn't figure out why it happened. She never had a major health problem until now. For all we knew, it could have been an isolated incident triggered by stress. This proved to be more than a random occurrence.
My sister had another seizure a couple weeks after Thanksgiving. Over the past 10 months she has had 11 seizures. This has been extremely frustrating for everyone in my family. Each time she has a seizure, she is sore for several days afterward. Seizure patients often look like they just had a stroke. They took her license away for obvious reasons. She lives in San Francisco, so thankfully she can walk around everywhere she needs to go. Unfortunately, this also means she is far from family in Gilroy if she needs our help. I am the closest family member, so I'm usually the one in the emergency room with her when there's a problem.
I will refrain from going over most of the medical details surrounding her treatment, but they have run quite a few tests on Emily over the months. The doctors at Kaiser have been mystified as to why she continues having episodes when she is on medication that's supposed to prevent it. My parents decided to send her to Stanford which is where they found a growth in her brain. Thankfully it wasn't a malignant brain tumor, but nonetheless troubling that there is something abnormal there. This week, Emily has been in the hospital for a sleep-study. They wanted to monitor her while inducing a seizure (by taking her off the anticonvulsants and manipulating her sleep patterns). She had a seizure while they were monitoring her. The source of the seizure came from the abnormal part of her brain. Now they are likely going to perform brain surgery and remove the defective area.
I'm worried about what will happen to my sister. At the same time, I'm relieved that there is now a tangible problem for the doctors to work on. All I can hope for is that she has a successful surgery with minimal side-effects and her seizures go away. Toward the end of the semester, I will write another blog with an update on her status.
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Nate
Welcome to my first blog. I'm Nate and I have been a student at San Jose State longer than most students. My first semester was Fall 2001 at the tender age of 18. I lived in the old brick dorms where a brand new dorm complex now exists. I worked for Student Services for about two years. In 2003 I left San Jose State and traveled extensively for approximately two years. I didn't have the opportunity to travel overseas, but I managed to see most of California, Baja Mexico, Nevada, New York, Seattle, Alaska, and Utah. Much of my time on sabbatical was spent living with friends in San Diego. Additionally, I have to mention that I lived in Cupertino with my friend Jen, who was a devout follower of Rotten.com's Daily Rotten.
In 2006 I settled down and moved to San Mateo with my girlfriend Kathryn. That year I re-applied to San Jose State part-time as a Political Science major. This is my first semester back as a full-time student again. I have always enjoyed Politics and Philosophy (which is my minor). I'm one of those people who enjoy watching C-SPAN on a Friday night. In fact as I write this blog I am listening to two people squabble at each other during a Center for Immigration Studies press conference. I plan on having a lot of fun with this blog this semester. As this is my first time blogging, I will have much to say, so I hope I keep you interested.
In 2006 I settled down and moved to San Mateo with my girlfriend Kathryn. That year I re-applied to San Jose State part-time as a Political Science major. This is my first semester back as a full-time student again. I have always enjoyed Politics and Philosophy (which is my minor). I'm one of those people who enjoy watching C-SPAN on a Friday night. In fact as I write this blog I am listening to two people squabble at each other during a Center for Immigration Studies press conference. I plan on having a lot of fun with this blog this semester. As this is my first time blogging, I will have much to say, so I hope I keep you interested.
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