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).

Ontario bans incandescent bulbs


They won’t be completely eliminated until 2012, but the legislation promises to save Ontarians six million megawatt hours per year, enough power to run 600,000 homes. It looks like the future will be full of CFLs, and no, I don’t mean the “Canadian Football League”:http://www.cfl.ca/.
More about the move (and a good look at the alternatives to incandescent bulbs) at “treehugger”:http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/04/ontario_governm.php and a more detailed/boring “piece”:http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/April2007/18/c6405.html at Canada Newswire.

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.

Introducing Brian Giera

It’s always a good day when I can say that we’ve added a writer to the Duenos staff. Brian is a thoughtful, intelligent, and creative guy who promises to put a lot of interesting content out here on the site. For a number of years, Brian has been in and out of the corporate world while studying chemical engineering and working for a national additives company. His perspectives on American culture, the economy, and almost everything in between will be sure to produce some great articles and and I for one am very excited to read his posts.
Check out his “bio”:http://duenos.net/brian to learn more about Brian and be sure to check in regularly for his contributions.

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.

The Most Sinful Way to Celebrate a Saint

If you’re interested in the biggest party in Mexico, if not the western hemisphere, go to “Aguascalientes”:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aguascalientes, Aguascalientes (city, state) for the Fair of San Marcos.

Before you go, be sure to rest up because there’s almost too much to do: bullfighting, cock fighting, casino, concerts, and 10+ two-story warehouse-sized bars packed with beer, booze, and babes. Starting in mid-April and lasting three to four weeks, this party is the largest attraction Latin America. In a hard to believe four day feat, all of the bars, restaurants, and numerous stages are assembled in extravagant temporary structures – complete with marble walls, fountains, elaborate signs, and sculptures. An average night, weekend or otherwise, has more than 35,000 partiers that don’t quit until 5-7 am. For more touristy information on how to get there, where to stay, and what more to expect, visit “here”:http://www.mexperience.com/guide/colonial/aguascalientes.htm.
The picture is from the official site, “feriadesanmarcos.com”:http://www.feriadesanmarcos.com/. Since the webpage contains only pictures with links, even a good “website translator”:http://translate.google.com/translate_t is ineffective.