In our public talk today, at the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses, the speaker read out Job 26:7-10 while holding up a photograph of the earth taken from space by Apollo astronauts. The scripture describes the earth as seen by Jehovah God.
"7 He [Jehovah] is stretching out the north over the empty place, hanging the earth upon nothing; 8 wrapping up the waters in his clouds, so that the cloud mass is not split under them; 9 enclosing the face of the throne, spreading out over it his cloud. 10 He has described a circle upon the face of the waters, to where light ends in darkness."
From space:
o- The earth hangs upon nothing.
o- Clouds envelope the earth like white blankets covering the blue seas.
o- The earth is a circle, or globe, of light surrounded by the darkness of space.
The only way Moses could have written these words is under inspiration by God. There was no concept amongst most of mankind 3,500 years ago of any of these ideas.
Although the Bible does not set out to be a scientific textbook, when it touches upon science what is says IS accurate.
30 January 2011
16 January 2011
The bucket and stones
The teacher held up a large transparent bucket of big stones. He asked his class of college students, "Is this bucket full?"
"Yes, sir!" most replied.
So, he reached down by his desk, took out a jar of small pebbles and poured them into the bucket. "Is it full now?" he asked.
"Yes, sir!" some replied.
So, he reached down, picked up a jar of sand and carefully poured the sand into the bucket. "NOW it's full," he said.
A student stood up with a bottle of beer. He walked up to the bucket, popped the top off the bottle, and poured the beer into the bucket.
"It's full NOW, sir!" he said.
The moral of the story? No matter how full your life is, there's always room for some beer.
"Yes, sir!" most replied.
So, he reached down by his desk, took out a jar of small pebbles and poured them into the bucket. "Is it full now?" he asked.
"Yes, sir!" some replied.
So, he reached down, picked up a jar of sand and carefully poured the sand into the bucket. "NOW it's full," he said.
A student stood up with a bottle of beer. He walked up to the bucket, popped the top off the bottle, and poured the beer into the bucket.
"It's full NOW, sir!" he said.
The moral of the story? No matter how full your life is, there's always room for some beer.
15 January 2011
Extending the range of EVs
One of the big issues with the use of electric vehicles (EVs) is how far they can go between charges. This is known as their range. The Nissan Leaf can go about 100 miles on one charge, as will the new Ford Focus EV. The Chevy Volt (Vauxhall Ampera) will have an on-board petrol motor to recharge the batteries if they run down before the car can be plugged in. (The Toyota Prius isn't an EV, it's actually a hybrid electric/petrol-drive car.)
What is needed is a radical solution to permit vehicles to go further on electric power alone. It ought to be implemented before too many EVs are around. It could also take advantage of some of the existing refuelling infrastructure.
My idea is to standardise on quick-change batteries.
New EVs would be designed around a standard battery format which would be located under what is now the hood or bonnet of a car. (The electric motors will be at each wheel, as most EVs already have.) The battery would probably have a range of 100 miles or so. Being under the hood/bonnet, it would be designed with fittings for quick removal and replacement.
When the battery charge gets low, you would drive the EV into what are now gas/petrol stations. Instead of fuel, you would pay a fee to have your depleted battery replaced with a fully-charged one. There would be some form of robotic crane at this battery station to swap batteries in a few minutes. It would then be the responsibilty of the fuel station staff to recharge depleted batteries.
The electric companies would wire up the battery stations with high-voltage power lines and quick-charge (4 hours) points in ranks to handle lots of batteries simultaneously. There would be a national pool of batteries distributed to fuel stations by battery manufacturers.
EV owners would never actually own vehicle batteries, just pay a fee for each use, which would include a full charge. Vehicles could travel unlimited distances with battery stations located within about 100 miles of each other, drivers just pausing to exchange batteries as needed.
I realise there are a number of issues with this concept, but it MUST be worth considering.
Some ideas to investigate:
- battery design standardisation;
- the cost of batteries;
- how the supply of batteries would work;
- standardising battery location in EVs;
- devising an automated method for swapping batteries;
- how to ensure battery stations get adequate electricity supplies;
- rolling out battery replacement technology to existing fuel stations;
- the payment model and unit cost for EV battery usage.
Well, that's the bare bones of the idea. What do you think?
What is needed is a radical solution to permit vehicles to go further on electric power alone. It ought to be implemented before too many EVs are around. It could also take advantage of some of the existing refuelling infrastructure.
My idea is to standardise on quick-change batteries.
New EVs would be designed around a standard battery format which would be located under what is now the hood or bonnet of a car. (The electric motors will be at each wheel, as most EVs already have.) The battery would probably have a range of 100 miles or so. Being under the hood/bonnet, it would be designed with fittings for quick removal and replacement.
When the battery charge gets low, you would drive the EV into what are now gas/petrol stations. Instead of fuel, you would pay a fee to have your depleted battery replaced with a fully-charged one. There would be some form of robotic crane at this battery station to swap batteries in a few minutes. It would then be the responsibilty of the fuel station staff to recharge depleted batteries.
The electric companies would wire up the battery stations with high-voltage power lines and quick-charge (4 hours) points in ranks to handle lots of batteries simultaneously. There would be a national pool of batteries distributed to fuel stations by battery manufacturers.
EV owners would never actually own vehicle batteries, just pay a fee for each use, which would include a full charge. Vehicles could travel unlimited distances with battery stations located within about 100 miles of each other, drivers just pausing to exchange batteries as needed.
I realise there are a number of issues with this concept, but it MUST be worth considering.
Some ideas to investigate:
- battery design standardisation;
- the cost of batteries;
- how the supply of batteries would work;
- standardising battery location in EVs;
- devising an automated method for swapping batteries;
- how to ensure battery stations get adequate electricity supplies;
- rolling out battery replacement technology to existing fuel stations;
- the payment model and unit cost for EV battery usage.
Well, that's the bare bones of the idea. What do you think?
31 December 2010
Do you need a computer to get on in life?
An unemployed man goes to try for a job with Microsoft as a cleaner. The manager there arranges for an aptitude test (Section: Floors, sweeping and cleaning).
After the test, the manager says: "You will be appointed on the scale of $30 per day. Let me have your e-mail address, so that I can send you a form to complete and advise you where to report for work on your first day."
Taken aback, the unemployed man protests that he is neither in possession of a computer nor of an e-mail address. To this the MS manager replies: "Well, then, that really means that you virtually don't exist and can therefore hardly expect to be employed."
Stunned, the man leaves. Not knowing where to turn and only having about $10 left, he decides to buy a 10 kg box of tomatoes at the supermarket. Within less than 2 hours, he sells the tomatoes singly at 100% profit. Repeating the process several times more that day, he ends up with almost $100 before going to sleep that night. And thus it dawns on the man that he could quite easily make a living selling tomatoes.
Getting up early and earlier every day and going to bed late and later, he multiplies his hoard of profits in quite a short time. Not too long thereafter, he acquires a cart to transport several dozen boxes of tomatoes, only to have to trade it in again shortly afterwards for a pickup truck. By the end of the second year, he is the owner of a fleet of pickup trucks and manages a staff of a hundred former unemployed people, all selling tomatoes.
Considering the future of his wife and children, he decides to buy some life assurance. Calling an insurance adviser, he picks an insurance plan to fit his new circumstances. At the end of the telephone conversation, the adviser asks him for his e-mail address in order that he might forward the documentation. When the man replies that he has no e-mail, the adviser is stunned: "What, you don't even have e-mail? How on earth have you managed to amass such wealth without the Internet, e-mail and e-commerce? Just imagine where you would have been by now, if you had been connected from the very start!"
After a moment's silence, the tomato millionaire replied: "Sure! I would have been a cleaner at Microsoft!"
Moral of the story:
1: The Internet, e-mail and e-commerce do not need to rule your life.
2: If you don't have e-mail, but work hard, you can still become a millionaire.
3: Seeing that you got this story via a computer, you're probably closer to becoming a cleaner than you are to becoming a millionaire.
4: If you do have a computer and e-mail, you're already being taken to the cleaners by Microsoft.
After the test, the manager says: "You will be appointed on the scale of $30 per day. Let me have your e-mail address, so that I can send you a form to complete and advise you where to report for work on your first day."
Taken aback, the unemployed man protests that he is neither in possession of a computer nor of an e-mail address. To this the MS manager replies: "Well, then, that really means that you virtually don't exist and can therefore hardly expect to be employed."
Stunned, the man leaves. Not knowing where to turn and only having about $10 left, he decides to buy a 10 kg box of tomatoes at the supermarket. Within less than 2 hours, he sells the tomatoes singly at 100% profit. Repeating the process several times more that day, he ends up with almost $100 before going to sleep that night. And thus it dawns on the man that he could quite easily make a living selling tomatoes.
Getting up early and earlier every day and going to bed late and later, he multiplies his hoard of profits in quite a short time. Not too long thereafter, he acquires a cart to transport several dozen boxes of tomatoes, only to have to trade it in again shortly afterwards for a pickup truck. By the end of the second year, he is the owner of a fleet of pickup trucks and manages a staff of a hundred former unemployed people, all selling tomatoes.
Considering the future of his wife and children, he decides to buy some life assurance. Calling an insurance adviser, he picks an insurance plan to fit his new circumstances. At the end of the telephone conversation, the adviser asks him for his e-mail address in order that he might forward the documentation. When the man replies that he has no e-mail, the adviser is stunned: "What, you don't even have e-mail? How on earth have you managed to amass such wealth without the Internet, e-mail and e-commerce? Just imagine where you would have been by now, if you had been connected from the very start!"
After a moment's silence, the tomato millionaire replied: "Sure! I would have been a cleaner at Microsoft!"
Moral of the story:
1: The Internet, e-mail and e-commerce do not need to rule your life.
2: If you don't have e-mail, but work hard, you can still become a millionaire.
3: Seeing that you got this story via a computer, you're probably closer to becoming a cleaner than you are to becoming a millionaire.
4: If you do have a computer and e-mail, you're already being taken to the cleaners by Microsoft.
The teacher's bad back
A school teacher injured his back and had to wear a plaster cast around the upper part of his body. It fit under his shirt and was not noticeable at all.
On the first day of the term, still with the cast under his shirt, he found himself assigned to the toughest students in school.
Walking confidently into the rowdy classroom, he opened the window as wide as possible and then busied himself with desk work. When a strong breeze made his tie flap, he took the desk stapler and stapled the tie to his chest.
He had no trouble with discipline that term.
Grounds for divorce?
A judge was interviewing a woman regarding her pending divorce, "What are the grounds for your divorce?"
She replied, "About four acres and a nice little home in the middle of the property."
"I mean," he continued, "What are your relations like?"
"I have an aunt and uncle living here in town, and so do my husband's parents."
He said, "Do you have a real grudge?"
"No," she replied, "We have a two-car carport and have never really needed one."
"Please," he tried again, "is there any infidelity in your marriage?"
"Yes, both my son and daughter have stereo sets. We don't necessarily like the music, but the answer to your question is 'yes'."
"Ma'am, does your husband ever beat you up?"
"Yes," she responded, "most days he gets up earlier than I do."
Finally, in frustration, the judge asked, "Lady, why do you want a divorce?"
"Oh, I don't want a divorce," she replied. "I never wanted a divorce. It's my husband. He says he can't communicate with me."
She replied, "About four acres and a nice little home in the middle of the property."
"I mean," he continued, "What are your relations like?"
"I have an aunt and uncle living here in town, and so do my husband's parents."
He said, "Do you have a real grudge?"
"No," she replied, "We have a two-car carport and have never really needed one."
"Please," he tried again, "is there any infidelity in your marriage?"
"Yes, both my son and daughter have stereo sets. We don't necessarily like the music, but the answer to your question is 'yes'."
"Ma'am, does your husband ever beat you up?"
"Yes," she responded, "most days he gets up earlier than I do."
Finally, in frustration, the judge asked, "Lady, why do you want a divorce?"
"Oh, I don't want a divorce," she replied. "I never wanted a divorce. It's my husband. He says he can't communicate with me."
How he got rich
A young man asked an old rich man how he made his money.
The old guy fingered his worsted wool vest and said, "Well, son, it was 1932. The depth of the Great Depression. I was down to my last nickel.
"I invested that nickel in an apple. I spent the entire day polishing the apple and, at the end of the day, I sold the apple for ten cents.
"The next morning, I invested those ten cents in two apples. I spent the entire day polishing them and sold them at 5:00 pm for 20 cents. I continued this system for a month, by the end of which I'd accumulated a fortune of $1.37.
"Then my wife's father died and left us two million dollars."
The old guy fingered his worsted wool vest and said, "Well, son, it was 1932. The depth of the Great Depression. I was down to my last nickel.
"I invested that nickel in an apple. I spent the entire day polishing the apple and, at the end of the day, I sold the apple for ten cents.
"The next morning, I invested those ten cents in two apples. I spent the entire day polishing them and sold them at 5:00 pm for 20 cents. I continued this system for a month, by the end of which I'd accumulated a fortune of $1.37.
"Then my wife's father died and left us two million dollars."
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