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Monthly Archives: September 2008

Low-Tech Magazine: How to Reduce Global Fuel Consumption by 75%

Kris De Decker has returned from summer vacation and has written an interesting and provocative article for his Low-tech Magazine:
If we cut the average speed of all vehicles by half, fuel consumption would decrease by a whopping 75 percent.

Breaking speed records was an almost daily occurence throughout the 20th century. Cars, ships, planes and trains [...]

Low-Tech Way to Thwart Mugger

WTOP News has a nice story posted by Freeman Klopott of a woman in Washington, DC who thwarted a mugger using a low-tech technique. The story shows a hi-tech taser may not be necessary to stop robbery:
A sly Northeast resident was able to get the better of a late afternoon mugger by passing [...]

The Independent: Cell Phone Use Raises Children’s Risk of Brain Cancer by 5X

Geoffrey Lean, environmental editor, writes another interesting piece for The Independent in a series of health risks brought on by mobile phones:
Children and teenagers are five times more likely to get brain cancer if they use mobile phones, startling new research indicates.
The study, experts say, raises fears that today’s young people may suffer an “epidemic” [...]

Why We Cancelled Netflix

 
Netflix.com launched with a really good idea.  You can conveniently rent movies through the mail and never pay any late fees.  Additionally, their catalog of DVDs is vastly superior to any brick-and-mortar store.  Chris Anderson referenced Netflix to help make his point in The Long Tail:  Why The Future of Business is Selling Less of [...]

Virginia Events This Weekend

For local readers of this blog, I want to mention a couple of events going on in Virginia this weekend.

The Watermelon Park Fest in Berryville is taking place September 18th-20th.  It is a fine bluegrass festival at a great location along the Shenandoah River.   Crooked Still is a fine band playing Friday night in the [...]