All Things Yummy

Next time someone complains about how GM, Ford, and Chrysler (or even Honda and Toyota!) are not working on a Pure Electric Vehicle (a la Tesla), I’m just going to point them at this editorial. The problem here is that people are looking at the rate at which the consumer electronics industry is moving and telling the automobile industry to keep up. “Look at my iPod!”, people say. “I get twice the storage in half the price and the thing’s 1/10th the size of the original iPod!”. Well, maybe they’re just not realizing that you have to replace your iPod every 2 years because the battery is not replaceable and the damned thing just breaks down after a while. Just imagine what would happen if the same thing happened to the cars and trucks that we drive.

On top of the safety thing (and this is a big thing - I’ve witnessed aftermaths of battery fires and it ain’t pretty), there are two other issues that the writer only makes oblique references to - the cost and the lifespan. Lithium Ion batteries are expensive. For the solar car, the budget set aside for it alone would’ve been good enough for a nice car (new or used, depending on the solar car ). Prices have been going down due to the proliferation of consumer electronics but for a full size car, you’re going to need a lot of those 18650’s. Factor in the 300 or so (might be higher now) charge cycles and the natural degradation that happens, we’re going to end up with something that will require an expensive battery replacement every 2~3 years or so. People are gushing about the plug-in hybrids but since their battery reserve is far smaller than that of a full electric vehicles, it just means that the plug-in’s are going to hit the battery wall that much sooner.

At the end, as long as we’re talking about chemical reactions, it comes down to this simple equation:

More Energy In Smaller Volume = Bigger Explosion!

I realize that I’m basically mouthing things off without providing any real alternatives… but maybe I just believe that informed skepticism is better than uninformed exuberance.

Every now and then, I come across something completely wonderful and amazing that makes me feel energized and empowered.  Not empowered in a metaphorical sense, but in more literal sense where my head becomes so full of creative ideas, melodies, code, or prose that I have to get it out of me into a physical medium.  It could be some random melody or a news article - everything from Franz Liszt to a red rose lying next to a statue has gotten me into this state.  Well, I guess I can add another thing to that every growing list.

I’ve just finished reading A Wild Sheep Chase by Haruki Murakami.  There’s not much to say about the plot since that’s not really the point of the book.  In very simple and straight-forward sentences, Murakami forges disjointed and digressive plot involving tiny little details and thoughts that are easily dismissed in a normal day-to-day life.  Reading through the pages felt like looking at a crowded picture where only an odd item to the side is in focus, with everything else veiled by pleasant, surreal, and enveloping fuzziness.  The line between fantasy and reality is just one of things that’s blurred out.

The biggest thing about the book, though, is that it resulted in endless stream of scenes, dialogues, and characters in my brain.  For all I know, they may languish in my head until they die a slow, painful retreat into the oblivion….  but I still appreciate having them.  Who knows, maybe I’ll actually sit down with couple of sharpened pencils and actually dump them out into the physical world.

Interestingly enough, I also went to watch Pan’s Labyrinth with couple of friends - though (I presume by necessity) the movie follows much more linear plot than the book, the two seems to share a bond in the way it merges reality with fantasy by surrounding with beautiful but surreal images and attention to little details.  It was wonderful and beautiful movie, though it did make me a bit squirmish…  Your mileage may vary, but it’s definitely not for little kids.  Time to hit the bed, maybe I’ll go dream about the sheepman hanging out with faun or something silly like that.

When I sit down to use a Mac, the first thing I think is, “I hate Macs”, and then I think, “Why has this rubbish aspirational ornament only got one mouse button?” Losing that second mouse button feels like losing a limb. If the ads were really honest, Webb would be standing there with one arm, struggling to open a packet of peanuts while Mitchell effortlessly tore his apart with both hands.

Haha, that little diatribe is almost exactly the thought that goes through my mind whenever I see Macs.  Check the comments for throngs of indignant Mac users firing back.