BFrank

Well.........yeah! Conn speaks the truth. I'll miss this space - it always seemed like a good combination of free speech without heavyhanded moderation. Must be a LOT of hard work keeping it going - both hardware-wise and software-wise. As far as live chats, Google has some sort of "Chats" module as part of their GMail service. I haven't tried it out, but it might be worth looking into. For that matter, we could probably start a "Google Group" that could function as a message board without the hardware/software headaches of something like this. I sent my email to Chris, BTW.

Hey, Conn........there is something called "Chats" in Google if you have a GMail account. We should look into how that works.

Of course, it's always good to be skeptical - especially from the corporate PR machine. My basic point is, that everything I've heard about hybrids is better than your basic, gas-guzzling internal combustion engine. At least it's a movement in the right direction. It's not a perfect technology for sure. If anything, it's a transitional technology that we'll have to live with until the major auto makers come up with something TOTALLY different that does away with the dependency on fossil fuels. I'm just glad to see SOMEthing new come along that's being accepted by the car-buying public.

Chuck, here's what hybridcars.com has to say about the battery issue. http://www.hybridcars.com/battery-toxicity.html Not all that different from what the nuke industry sold us in the '50s. If you've got other information, let's hear it. As for this - "Toyota and Honda place decals with a toll-free number on their hybrid battery packs. Toyota offers a $200 bounty to ensure that every battery comes back to the company." - is it not true?

Chuck, here's what hybridcars.com has to say about the battery issue. http://www.hybridcars.com/battery-toxicity.html Battery Toxicity Given current trends, there will be more than one million hybrid gas-electric vehicles on American roads by late 2007 or early 2008. Many will celebrate reaching the milestone of one million hybrids zipping around on power from their rechargeable batteries—and burning a lot less petroleum. But some environmentally motivated car buyers are concerned about trading one problem for another. They worry that a hybrid utopia might turn into a toxic nightmare when the nickel metal hydride batteries in today's hybrids end up in landfills. After all, aren't all car batteries —conventional lead acid and hybrid batteries alike—filled with the same nasty corrosive carcinogenic ooze? According to environmental researchers, that's not the case. Jim Kliesch, author of the "Green Book: The Environmental Guide to Cars and Trucks" told HybridCars.com, "There are many types of batteries. Some are far more toxic than others. While batteries like lead acid or nickel cadmium are incredibly bad for the environment, the toxicity levels and environmental impact of nickel metal hydride batteries—the type currently used in hybrids—are much lower." Get the Lead Out There's little argument that lead is extremely toxic. Scientific studies show that long-term exposure to even tiny amounts of lead can cause brain and kidney damage, hearing impairment, and learning problems in children. The auto industry uses over one million metric tons of lead every year, with 90% going to conventional lead-acid vehicle batteries. According to a 2003 report entitled, "Getting the Lead Out," by Environmental Defense and the Ecology Center of Ann Arbor, Mich., an estimated 2.6 million metric tons of lead can be found in the batteries of vehicles on the road today. While lead recycling is a mature industry, it's impossible to rescue every car battery from the dump. More than 40,000 metric tons of lead are lost to landfills every year. According to the federal Toxic Release Inventory, another 70,000 metric tons are released in the lead mining and manufacturing process. Can We Talk? "Lead is so cheap. It's difficult to get people to seriously discuss replacing lead batteries in a conventional vehicle" said Karen Thomas, state policy manager at Environmental Defense, in an interview with HybridCars.com. Ironically, the emergence of hybrid cars, the necessary advancement of alternative batteries to satisfy the hybrid demands, and worries about the toxicity of hybrid batteries, have re-opened the environmental debate about all car battery technology. "It's providing an opportunity for us to talk about it," said Thomas. Hybrid gas-electric vehicles, like the Toyota Prius, are the most visible examples of how cars are becoming more electrical and less mechanical. Vehicles with conventional drivetrains are increasingly using electronic technology, such as drive-by-wire and brake-by-wire. Cars are adding more and more onboard accessories and entertainment. Thomas said, "Lead is so heavy. You can't just add more or larger lead-acid batteries to accommodate the increased electrical demands. Some say lead is at its limit." Lead, Nickel, Lithium—In That Order The need for more robust battery technologies to power vehicles and their accessories prompted Environmental Defense to conduct a three-month research effort in 2005 to examine environmental impacts related to the extraction, manufacture, use, and disposal of nickel metal hydride batteries, as well as lithium ion—which many consider to be the battery of choice in the next five years. Environmental Defense then compared those impacts to lead acid. "Our initial conclusion is that lead is the worst, nickel is next, and lithium is the least harmful," said Thomas. This will greatly depend on what materials are combined with lithium, and how toxic those materials are. Using cobalt, for example, in lithium ion batteries would be problematic. It will also depend on the emerging recycling technologies. While not nearly as dangerous as lead, nickel is not without some environmental risks, and is considered a probable carcinogen. There are also concerns about the environmental impacts of nickel mining, and apparent challenges with fully recycling the nickel used in hybrid batteries. Hybrids are still sold an relatively low numbers. As a result, large-scale environmental threats from hybrid batteries are not immediate. Hybrids were introduced in the United States in 2000. Hybrid batteries are under warranty for eight to 10 years, depending on the manufacturer and your location, most likely won't fail for several years beyond the warranty. In the first few years, hybrids sold in low numbers—growing from less than 10,000 in 2000, to 35,000 in 2002. By all calculations, the challenge of recycling hybrid batteries is at least five years away. Greener Pastures for Car Batteries The carmakers are waiting in the wings. Toyota and Honda place decals with a toll-free number on their hybrid battery packs. Toyota offers a $200 bounty to ensure that every battery comes back to the company. In a press release, Toyota states, "Every part of the battery, from the precious metals to the plastic, plates, steel case and the wiring, is recycled." Honda collects the battery and transfers it to a preferred recycler to follow their prescribed process: disassembling and sorting the materials; shredding the plastic material; recovering and processing the metal; and neutralizing the alkaline material before sending it to a landfill. Honda, Toyota and the entire auto industry are pumping millions of dollars into research regarding lithium ion batteries for tomorrow's cars. Their primary motivation is to reduce the cost and increase the potency of hybrid batteries. Fortunately, supplanting lead and nickel batteries with rechargeable lithium batteries is also promising from an environmental perspective. Instead of clogging landfills with more toxic chemicals, hybrids—especially future hybrids powered by lithium ion batteries—may represent greener pastures for car batteries.

I'm through the first 3 (of 4) disks of "Love Is the Song We Sing - SF Nuggets". Highly recommended for a serious dose of flash-back-iness into the 60's in the Bay Area. Filled with both well known groups and very obscure suburban bands. Extensively documented and presented in book format with the CDs inserted in a cardboard cutout arrangement inside the back cover.

I went to Enterprise to rent a "compact" car for a brief trip south to visit my mother. When I got to the lot I saw a black Prius sitting there. I asked if it was available and he said it was, so of COURSE I had to take it. He only charged me $5 more than the $150 I was paying for the regular compact. I'll be putting over 700 miles on the thing so, I'll be saving some $$ on gas this time. Whenever I've tried to rent one of these, they've either been horribly expensive (Hertz - around $400) or not reservable in advance (Enterprise). So, I lucked out, for sure. ... and it's black!

Thanks, Bbbbbbbbb!

Hey, thanks, guys! Woulda been better if I didn't have to work today, but ... they bought me a cake, so it wasn't so bad.

Good answer, Free.

Not crazy about the new design. Too busy. I don't mind them revamping it, but I'm not sure this layout works.

That explains why "Love Is the Song We Sing: San Francisco Nuggets 1965-1970" showed up on sale on my shopping list today for $31.99.

This makes total sense as PT certainly has some serious KC influences.

"Conn's a dick". Whew! GOOD answer, Free. Dodged a bullet on THAT one. [don't tell rachel]

Please fill us in (the uninitiated) re: Conn = 'dick' There's a running joke in the Live Chat Room that as soon as someone logs off the system, the rest of the group (typically Conn, Free For All, Noj, Aggie and others) types in "[whoever] is a dick". I"m not sure if Conn started it, but let's say he did anyway.

"100 Days, 100 Nights" - Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings is #14 with a bullet on the eMusic charts.

Nothing about Conn???

Got the "Not Just the Best of the Larry Sanders Show" DVD set recently, but still haven't cracked it open. I need to do that (one of these days).

On Charlie Rose tonight. (Joni Mitchell tomorrow)

This is a VERY interesting note in the Welcome to the New Blue Note Website page: That growth and expansion will include offering high quality DRM-free MP3 downloads of our full catalog of tracks, albums, out of print titles and unique releases exclusive to the Blue Note store.

Todd is the artistic director at Dizzy's Lincoln Center in NYC. I didn't know that until I saw him there earlier this year when I saw Hank & Joe. I went up to him afterwards and tried to talk about the old days at KK, but he didn't seem too interested in talking.

I gather you didn't much care for "Blood Simple", "Miller's Crossing", "Fargo", "The Man Who Wasn't There" either. They all have their fair share of violence but are in varying degrees, wonderful Coen Brothers films. Haven't seen Blood Simple since it came out. I didn't think that The Man Who Wasn't There was all that violent, plus it was in B&W and somewhat "cartoon-y". As for Miller's Crossing, I've never seen the entire film so I can't comment. I did have trouble with some of the violence in Fargo.

Not a huge problem, but I'm finding that I have to repeatedly log in. The cookie doesn't seem to be working.

Been getting great reviews, but sounds too violent for my taste. ... and I really like the Coens.

Maybe they're selective in some way. The new Fogerty album showed up as it was released, so the label is still active on the site.