Category Archives: Original Duenos

Posts by the original Duenos.net crew.

Another problem with Ethanol

I’ve never been a big fan of ethanol-fueled cars because our system of growing commodity corn, the source of all ethanol, is so drenched in petroleum-based fertilizers and herbicides that I don’t think it actually changes our dependence on oil. As it turns out, there are other reasons to not immediately embrace ethanol, it makes our air less clean. According to a recent study out of Stanford, the air pollution effects of ethanol vs. gasoline emissions are actually worse and would cause more smog-related illnesses and deaths. There’s more on this “here”:http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070418/ap_on_he_me/ethanol_health_risks;_ylt=AlksYcHSz0fQmP.hn.zzG7Ws0NUE or you can just read the report (“PDF”:http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/ap/ap_on_he_me/storytext/ethanol_health_risks/22684790/SIG=121piiffo/*http://www.stanford.edu/group/efmh/jacobson/E85PaperEST0207.pdf).

Save Money – Don't Sell Your Books to the Bookstore


Though many seasoned college students may know already this, the campus book store rips you off while both buying and selling your books. “Half.com”:www.half.com and “Amazon”:www.amazon.com are the two most popular book sites. However, these sites can be limited and typically more expensive than sites like “campus books”:http://www.campusbooks.com/, where you’ll save an average of 61% when purchasing books. When it comes to selling, I’ve personally got 10-15% more than what the book store offers. With the “cost of college”:http://www.collegeboard.com/press/releases/150634.html being as high as it is (and “rising”:http://www.collegeboard.com/prod_downloads/press/cost06/trends_college_pricing_06.pdf), every little bit helps. By cutting out the middle man, students get more for less during your purchase and sale. Everybody wins, except of course the bandits at the bookstore.
Whlie you’re at it, here are “118 other ways”:http://www.scholarships-ar-us.org/student-living/save-money.htm to save money at college,

Killer Apps for Mac – Mac Pilot

Mac Pilot gives you amazing control of your Mac–literally hundreds of unadvertised options (many of which require deeper knowledge of Unix and the Terminal) become readily available to you.
http://www.koingosw.com/products/macpilot.php.

Floating nuclear reactor built by Russians

In a move straight out of a bad James Bond plot (is there another kind?) Russia is building is building a nuclear power plant on a free-floating ship. Developed to power far-off Siberian ports and shipyards, this reactor-ship is the first of seven planned. There’s probably a lot to say about the ludicrous nature of putting a nuclear power generator on a boat, but I’ll leave that to you. For now, here’s a picture:

Here’s a “BBC article”:http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6562925.stm for more information

Home-cooked Indian meals delivered

Kevin Kelly over at the “Street Use blog”:http://www.kk.org/streetuse/ recently posted an “article”:http://www.kk.org/streetuse/archives/2007/04/indian_dabbawallas.php about “Dabbawalas”:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dabbawala, literally ‘those who transport lunch-boxes’ containing home-cooked meals to the workers in India’s factories and offices.

Upon further looking into it, this is an amazingly intricate operation, consisting of 5,000 delivery boys transporting over 175,000-boxes in the three hour lunch period. “MyDabbaWala.com”:http://www.mydabbawala.com/ has some information on the practice, including the beginnings of using technology to reform the century-old system.
Of course, if you’re a tech industry employee in Silicon Valley with a hankering for some good home-made Indian lunches, look no further than “Annadaata.com”:http://www.annadaata.com/, the American (and far pricier) adaptation of the dabbawala.

Free, Personalized Ring Tones

http://money.cnn.com/2006/04/12/commentary/mediabiz/ be a $4.4 billion dollar a global year industry when you can get ring tones for free? All "Mobile17.com":http://www.mobile17.com requires from you is an e-mail address (don’t worry, they detest spam) and your phone model information (which they keep safe and don’t sell). With their easy-to-use site, you simply locate a song file you have on your computer, choose the start time of your ring tone, the duration of your ring tone, and you're set. For their free service, you’ll wait awhile before you’re sent a text message with straightforward instructions to get your ring tone. It’s quick, simple, and free. Caution: If you don’t have an internet phone plan, you’ll pay charges to your phone provider based on the size of your file. Check out this "discussion":http://www.10meters.com/manners--tips.html and these "tips":http://cellphones.about.com/cs/miscellaneous/ht/cell_etiquette.htm for proper cell phone etiquette.

Interactive photography exhibit online

http://photography.si.edu/ _'invites you to explore the world of Smithsonian photography'_ by creating sequences of user-tagged images and sharing them with others. Of the hundreds of available photographs to manipulate, order, and play with, I couldn't find one that wasn't absolutely beautiful. This site is worth visiting just for the great pictures, but the very interactive way in which the photos are presented makes it even more fun, transforming a traditionally passively-enjoyed art form into something more communicative.

Creationist group fundraises with Alaskan cruise

http://www.answersingenesis.org is set to open their "Creationist Museum":http://www.answersingenesis.org/museum/ recently "profiled":http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/6549595.stm by the BBC in less than 2 months. If you'd heard about it before and wondered what exactly is going to make such a place (or a "creationist cruise":http://www.answersingenesis.org/events/details.aspx?Event_ID=5256) all that different, I've done the research. From their website: *What is so different about this museum?* ??Almost all natural history museums proclaim an evolutionary, humanistic worldview. For example, they will typically place dinosaurs on an evolutionary timeline millions of years before man. AiG’s museum will proclaim the authority and accuracy of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, and will show that there is a Creator, and that this Creator is Jesus Christ (Colossians 1:15-20), who is our Savior.?? That's right, dinosaurs existed concurrently with humans, in fact the predatory ones were even vegetarians because "before the sin of Adam, the world was perfect. All creatures were vegetarian." Too much creationism around for your taste? Enjoy some secular science at the "National Center for Science Education":http://www.ncseweb.org/default.asp.

Killer Apps for Mac – Disk Inventory X

If you ever wonder what your hard drive looks like, this is your chance to find out. “Disk Inventory X”:http://www.derlien.com/ analyzes your hard drive and creates an interactive graphical representation of all the information stored on it. I’ve used this program for a long time to figure out how to create more space on my iBook’s 80 gb hard drive, pictured below. It’s fun to see how your computer works, and with the great price (free) there’s no excuse to not try it out.
http://windirstat.info/ and "Linux":http://kdirstat.sourceforge.net/.