Posts by Andrew Stevenson
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Technological solution for howling, class 5 ear muffs. You can still hear and attend, but the soul piercing component that makes you want to scream yourself is gone...
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Intersting interpretation, any other reference points for sources of slavery (energy) runs out and empire/entity contracts?
There will have been other cultures that used slavery and then had the supply cut off. The one that leaps to mind is the US, or rather the confederacy. But this has technological changes as well, I seem to recall the invention of the cotton gin (its a [slave] labour saving machine, not a drink) had a large impact on the Southern economy.
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Also worth looking at is British Energy link, a nuclear power generator in the UK that was set up to compete with other energy suppliers - they couldn't and had to get a government bailout.
Anyone for more experimentation with the NZ energy market? -
David - you can't just drop a 37 page paper combining physics and economics on us in the moring and expect answers/comments in the afternoon. Not, at least, coherent and relevant ones - we're not lounging around at home, catching up on reading while spending quality time with loved ones and their excreta. Give us a chance, there is a lot of websurfing that must be done and work related bovine excreta to shovel before we can get to the fun stuff.
[**REPLY**: Er, when you put it like that, fair enough, I guess... -- DH]
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Its a mouse
A thing you need to be careful of, but no one tells you, is to consider what toys to supply your child with. Sure, they look cute with the four foot mouse/rabbit/thing and other hangers on.
But down the track when they're a blubbering writhing mess screaming they must have all the toys and you are trying to pack for a trip, or even fit them all in the bed at night, you will be cursing.
Make sure they are small (see above), colourful (easy to spot against furnishings - like hi viz jackets, a lost favourite toy is a traumatic for all) machine washable and dryer safe (accidents will happen)My wife's first meals post delivery were soft cheeses, pate, sushi, shrimp, smoked fish and just about everything on the warning list for pregnent women.
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Grace and economy of prose style in fiction?
For grace I'd pick Guy Gavriel Kay (not economy though) the man can write, Connie Willis too. David Drake might not be to most people's taste, but he does care about the craft of writing.
Does G.K. Chesterton's essays count as fiction? I'd say they fit Russell's requirements. I started reading Chesterton because he was recommended by both Neil Gaiman and Terry Prachett (Good Omens)
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The only reason I forced myself to finish the Da Vinci Code (it was a near thing) was to see if he could fit in an evil twin, which was the only hackneyed plot device he needed for the complete set.
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Mmmmm DKD fish in a bowl and a slice of the huge chocolate cherry cake (salivate).
Back when I could handle the calories (way back when) it was a staple part of my diet
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My first full time job out of Uni was contracting for an NZ organisation, where the contract was rolled over week by week. You knew you were not a valued employee, but a resource to be used.
After some time I started to apply for other jobs and was duly offered an interview, arranged to take 2 hours off and on the day went out for my meeting.
Upon returning to work I was asked to step into the manager's office with a witness and given a formal warning about disrupting the workplace. The reason... wearing a suit to work and obviously looking for another job.
Handed in my resignation later that week with a smile -
David, first off best of luck with your other bio based production/genetic engineering experiment
I did read your conclusion and agree with it as far as it goes. What I was trying to communicate (and obviously failing) was that it appears premature to talk about preparing a roadmap for the path to an ethanol future when (to mangle the metaphor) the we're still not able to say if the vehicle we are going to drive in will run properly.
An enzyme is a catalyst ie it is unchanged by the reaction whose rate it accelerates. It seems reasonable to assume that once you have enough catalyst for a reactor, you don't need much more after that then to top up what is lost as product is removed. So the cost of your enzyme production would seem to be a small part of the total operation which are dominated by feedstocks, labour, capital and energy. These costs, combined with the sale price of the products will determine the profitability of the process.
OK maybe I'm wrong and the pesky proteins cost more then diamonds, or they can't be seperated from the reaction products and are lost or destroyed. But it seems from a process engineering point of view that its more the enzyme effectiveness, or how fast it can do the job, compared to the other cost factors thats the main issue rather then the cost of the enzyme itself.
So the whole edifice appears to depend on tweeking the enzyme effectivness, which "involves a high degree of risk and uncertainty"In what form are Scion planning to produce the ethanol, hydrous or anhydrous? This will have a significant impact on costs and markets for the product. Brazil use hydrous ethanol for flexi fuel vehicles, but Anchor in NZ appear to make more money out of fine anhydrous ethanol produced from whey.
[**REPLY**: okay, I see what you're saying now. Dr Stuthridge told me that the enzymes were the key to reducing costs for the process. Unfortunately, I don't know if this implies that they are consumed in the process, or if they need 'faster' enzymes, or if Diversa charges an arm and a leg to recover their original R&D costs. I should have asked. If I have time, I'll try to find out -- DH]