We got started about noon today, took a while to get the house completely cleaned up. Made it about 300 miles to Clearfield PA where we’re staying in a nice Holiday Inn Express. Tell me, why is it that smaller hotels tend to have better internet connections than larger ones, plus they’re usually free. The net here is free, rock-solid, open wireless with a no-hassle connection that took maybe 15 seconds to get on. Contrast this with big city hotels that charge $10 a day and have complicated log on procedures and often have flaky service.

Had a nice dinner at Dutch Pantry, a local Pennsylvania Dutch style restaurant that features excellent home-style cooked food. Dinner for two was $20.

We hope to make 500 miles tomorrow. Driving the 16 foot truck with my car on a car carrier turned out to be easy enough on I-80. Haven’t quite mastered backing up with it, so we’re careful to park where we can get out easy!

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Fuel cell technology for railways is becoming a reality. As railroads become increasingly important as a mans of transporting goods, imagine a nationwide grid of fuel cell locomotives powered by hydrogen with no GHG output. Let’s hope it happens.

Hydrail has having their 4th conference and their site features fuel cell efforts for rail worldwide.

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Another World is Necessary: Anarchism, Christianity and the Race from the White House

August 15-16, 2008
Columbus, Ohio

As election fever rises throughout the United States and the contest for the White House becomes more fierce, the masses will clamor for a new Commander in Chief to assume the seat of American power. This year, it seems as if the game has changed as a female candidate appears to fulfill feminist dreams and a viable Black candidate raises hopes for Black freedom and signals the weakening of racism. But is this really the case? For those who follow the One who confronted the powers and embrace the One who came as a Suffering Servant, these changes are not enough to leave
this political system unchallenged. For those who envision an egalitarian world in which order and organization do not rely on the ever-present threat of state violence, bowing before the ballot box will not be an option.

Friends and allies can sometimes be found in seemingly the most unlikely of places.

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Solar thermal takes the heat of the sun and uses it directly to power steam turbines to create power. The heat can also be stored in molten salt and other materials so the turbines can be powered at night, when the sun isn’t shining.

EcoWorldly details the biggest planned and existing projects, many of which will be in the Mojave Desert.

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We leave today, moving to San Francisco. The past couple weeks have been a whirlwind. (We moved to CT fifteen months ago from Los Angeles.)

Blogging may be erratic at times, although I do have lots of posts stacked up and waiting. We’ll be heading out I-84 to I-80, then a straight shot across to S.F, with a loaded rental truck with my car on a car carrier. (I’ve never done a trip like this, Sue has done it lots of times.)

Will blog the trip as I go, will also send tweets out on Twitter via my cell.

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Haven’t done any stock trading for the past few weeks, as we’ve been busy packing and getting ready to move. Also, the market has been irrationally exuberant of late, staging big rallies on bad or nonexistent news. So, I’ll wait until it looks like a top, then buy more puts on financials, as I think there will be at least one more big downdraft.

Not being absorbed in the daily minutiae of the market does bring perspective and helps one to perhaps view the general trends better. Less trees. More forests.

So this break from the market is welcome. Once we get moved, I’ll be back into it again. However, we’ll be on the West Coast where the market opens at 6:30 am, not 9:30 am. Ugh. (Did i mention I’m not a morning person?)

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