04 October 2008
03 October 2008
Tesla Motors
Tesla v2.0, er, v1.5 Hits the Road
Tesla Motors has released the much-awaited upgrade to the gearbox in the all-electric Roadster, and in typical Silicon Valley fashion calls it Powertrain 1.5 -- even though it's a different transmission and so ought to be called v2.0.
Nomenclature aside, the slick one-speed Borg-Warner transmission joins a stouter power inverter and revised engine in a package said to deliver 30 percent more torque and 10 percent more range. That lets the Roadster make good on its promised zero to 60 time of 4.0 seconds while squeezing 244 miles from the battery. "The new setup is superior in almost every way," says J.B. Straubel, Tesla's chief technology officer.
Tesla says it's already putting Powertrain 2.0, er, 1.5, in Roadsters that have made the trip from the factory in Hethel, England to San Carlos, California, for final assembly. So what's different about Powertrain 1.5, and what happens to the 27 people driving Roadsters with Powertrain 1.0?
The new one-speed transmission weighs 17 pounds less and creates less drag on the motor, increasing efficiency and bumping the car's range. A revised power inverter puts out 850 amps, up from 650, and the motor had redesigned terminals to reduce resistance. It's beefier, too, and torque rises from 211 foot-pounds to 280.
Tesla started developing Powertrain 1.5 after realizing the two-speed transmission it planned to use "had many durability, efficiency and cost challenges," Straubel wrote on the Tesla blog. Eager to start building cars, Tesla slapped an interim one-speed transmission in the Roadster when it fired up the assembly line at the Lotus plant in Hethel, and although early reviews of those cars were positive, the stop-gap tranny significantly cut into its performance. Early adopters got a car that did zero to 60 in 5.7 seconds -- about as fast as the Toyota Tundra pickup. Powertrain 1.5 cuts that to the promised 4.0 seconds, putting the Roadster on par with the Porsche 911 GT3.
The Recent Financial Upheavals
This is the world we live in - this article explains the complicated issues in an understandable and horrifying way.
Good-bye Daddy
A father put his three year old daughter to bed, told her a story and
listened to her prayers which she ended by saying: "God bless Mommy,
God bless Daddy, God bless Grandma and good-bye Grandpa."
The father asked, "Why did you say good-bye grandpa?"
The little girl said, "I don't know daddy, it just seemed like the thing to do."
The next day grandpa died. The father thought it was a strange coincidence.
A few months later the father put the girl to bed and listened to her
prayers which went like this:
"God bless Mommy, God Bless Daddy and good-bye Grandma.."
The next day the grandmother died Oh my gosh, thought the father,
this kid is in contact with the other side. Several weeks later when the girl was
going to bed the dad heard her say:
"God bless Mommy and good-bye Daddy."
He practically went into shock. He couldn't sleep all night and got up at
the crack! of dawn to go to his office. He was nervous as a cat all day,
had lunch sent in and watched the clock. He figured if he could get by
until midnight he would be okay.
He felt safe in the office, so instead of going home at the end of the day
he stayed there, drinking coffee, looking at his watch and jumping at
every sound. Finally midnight arrived, he breathed a sigh of relief and
went home.
When he got home his wife said "I've never seen you work so late, what's
the matter?"
He said "I don't want to talk about it, I've just spent the worst day of my life."
She said "You think you had a bad day, you'll never believe what happened
to me. This morning my golf pro dropped dead in the middle of my lesson!"
listened to her prayers which she ended by saying: "God bless Mommy,
God bless Daddy, God bless Grandma and good-bye Grandpa."
The father asked, "Why did you say good-bye grandpa?"
The little girl said, "I don't know daddy, it just seemed like the thing to do."
The next day grandpa died. The father thought it was a strange coincidence.
A few months later the father put the girl to bed and listened to her
prayers which went like this:
"God bless Mommy, God Bless Daddy and good-bye Grandma.."
The next day the grandmother died Oh my gosh, thought the father,
this kid is in contact with the other side. Several weeks later when the girl was
going to bed the dad heard her say:
"God bless Mommy and good-bye Daddy."
He practically went into shock. He couldn't sleep all night and got up at
the crack! of dawn to go to his office. He was nervous as a cat all day,
had lunch sent in and watched the clock. He figured if he could get by
until midnight he would be okay.
He felt safe in the office, so instead of going home at the end of the day
he stayed there, drinking coffee, looking at his watch and jumping at
every sound. Finally midnight arrived, he breathed a sigh of relief and
went home.
When he got home his wife said "I've never seen you work so late, what's
the matter?"
He said "I don't want to talk about it, I've just spent the worst day of my life."
She said "You think you had a bad day, you'll never believe what happened
to me. This morning my golf pro dropped dead in the middle of my lesson!"
02 October 2008
Timeline: Global credit crunch
BBC
A year ago, few people had heard of the term credit crunch, but the phrase has now entered dictionaries.
01 October 2008
Soros floats alternative bailout plan with Dems
The billionaire financier George Soros , a major Democratic financial backer, is floating his own rescue plan among Democratic lawmakers who are uncertain what to do in the wake of a surprise defeat of a proposed $700 billion rescue package proposed by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson. Soros has outlined his plan in an opinion editorial in the Financial Times and circulated a concept paper among decision-makers.
Specifically, the liberal philanthropist has proposed that government funds should be used to recapitalize the American banking system by purchasing equity in banks and investment firms.
30 September 2008
Democracy Now!
Democracy Now!
As Bush Admin Pushes $700B for Wall Street, Ralph Nader Asks, "Why Is There Need for a Bailout?"
As the Bush administration intensifies its pressure for Congress to quickly approve a $700 billion bailout of the financial industry, we get reaction from Independent presidential candidate and consumer advocate Ralph Nader. Nader calls Democratic claims of White House concessions "wish fulfillment" and says the bailout might not be needed in the first place.
29 September 2008
"Money as Debt" -
Paul Grignon's 47-minute animated presentation of "Money as Debt" tells in very simple and effective graphic terms what money is and how it is being created.
Today, more relevant than ever - you must view this video!
Buzka - Share the web your way!
Buzka is a social web application that helps you share, save and organize all your favorites on the web with friends.
Here is the Sigalon Stuff - masses of interesting things
BloggersMosaic
Bloggersmosaic
We now have 4808 spots open that you can use to proudly display yourself and your blog! Each spot consists of a certain dimension of X*Y pixels.
In return for every spot you buy we will plant a tree !. The number of pixels is completely up to you! You can buy as many spots as you like, big or little, or you can purchase one very large spot.
Once you buy a spot, the space is yours to display your own picture or someone else in the space you have purchased. The image you showcase on our site will link to your own weblog.
28 September 2008
Quotation
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