Brewmaster

The Lazerous Bldg. in downtown Columbus is one of the largest green renovations in the country.

It's official. President Bush says that we're addicted to oil...I'm addicted to Peak Oil. It's fascinating to watch it all unfold. I originally thought that it would take years until we passed the peak before we could see it, but at the rate these declarations are coming, we may be getting the resolution we need right now. Take this statement from Mexico's Energy Secretary and piece it together with all of the other claims about the state of the Saudi fields and China's growth... http://www.rigzone.com/news/article.asp?a_id=34502 Mexico's Deepwater Wells May Double Costs AFX News Limited Tuesday, July 25, 2006 Mexico may have to spend twice as much to find and extract oil in coming years as the country is forced to turn to smaller deposits and search in deep water, energy officials said Tuesday. The changes are due to the decline of the huge Cantarell field in the southern Gulf of Mexico, where production has started falling by an average annual rate of 5 to 6 percent, officials said. "The era of easy oil is over in our country," Energy Secretary Fernando Canales told a news conference.

I don't think that's right. ODOT intended to implement two caps as part of the project to fix the split. I wouldn't see how 10 caps wouldn't be constructed at the same time as well. It's just building a wider bridge.

That one drew a little throw up into my mouth. Yeah jackass...that's all we need. Exibit A - http://www.geturban.com/KyleEzell2.htm

And here's one about the second largest oil field in the world, Cantarell in Mexico. From the LA Times nonetheless. Slowly, but surely, the gravity of this situation seems to be seeping into the MSM. http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-pemex24jul24,1,6754747.story?coll=la-headlines-business&ctrack=1&cset=true Will Mexico Soon Be Tapped Out? A rapid demise of Cantarell, the country's chief oil field, could pose a serious economic threat. By Marla Dickerson, Times Staff Writer July 24, 2006 MEXICO CITY — Output at Mexico's most important oil field has fallen steeply this year, raising fears that wells there that generate 60% of the country's petroleum are in the throes of a major decline. Production at Cantarell, the world's second-largest oil complex, in the shallow gulf waters off the shore of Mexico's southern Campeche state, averaged just over 1.8 million barrels a day in May, according to the most recent government figures. That's a 7% drop from the first of the year and the lowest monthly output since July 2005, when Hurricane Emily forced the evacuation of thousands of oil workers from the region.

The MSM is starting to pick up some peak oil stories lately. This one is from the Atlanta Journal Constitution. For those interested in reading more about the Saudi situation, I highly recommend Matthew Simmons', "Twilight in the Desert". It may be a little dismissive of secondary and tertiary recovery methods, but it provides an interesting look at how the Saudi oil situation got to where it is today and where it may go from here. http://www.energybulletin.net/18474.html Published on 21 Jul 2006 by Atlanta Journal Constitution. Archived on 23 Jul 2006. Saudi Arabia's Oil a Huge Question by Michael E. Kanell From the Saudi Arabian sands pour more than 9 million barrels of crude oil each day, more than 10 percent of the world's production pumped from what is believed to be the largest pool of recoverable crude on Earth. For three decades, it has been Saudi Arabian oil that poured into the market to dampen rapidly rising prices and Saudi cutbacks that pushed prices back up when they were abnormally low. Not anymore.

Here's the rest of the info from the Dispatch... It looks like they want Front to 3rd and Spring to Broad will be capped with plazas and retail. With the pricetag of almost $60 million, I can't see the city justifying either of those plaza caps on the east side.

LOL! I was wondering what the Akron avatar was all about! I thought you may have gone to the dark side.

I enjoyed Eddie George's when I went. Very nice decor for a sports fan, and TONS of TV's! I had the Seared Ahi Tuna Salad, which was excellent. A group of us split the nacho appetizer (probably best for groups over 4). It was enormous! Some of the rest of my group's food was a bit hit or miss. I think a common complaint was that the pastas has way too much sauce, and they were really rich, but that seems to be a trend. Nice beer selection too!

http://www.businessweek.com/investor/content/jul2006/pi20060719_167731.htm?chan=top+news_top+news I can't copy a tidbit of this story, but it's an amusing read. Especially about the guy who is counting on his bonus to pay off his credit card debt at the pump. He's got the option of taking the commuter train from Norwalk, Conn to Manhattan, but he says, "At the end of the day, I'd like to be on my own schedule." Another good quote from the same guy is, "After I fill up I'm probaby upset for awhile, and it passes." Sounds like an addict to me.

http://www.sltrib.com/utahpolitics/ci_4064557 TRAX is on track to arrive on ballot Vote expected today: Major hurdles remain, but it appears the county will let voters have a say By Derek P. Jensen The Salt Lake Tribune Want to take TRAX to Draper or West Valley City? How about jumping aboard from the Jordans, perhaps for work? Or hitching a rail ride to the airport? It's up to you. Government leaders are expected to vote today to place the proposed $895 million TRAX expansion on November's ballot, according to a straw poll of the Salt Lake County Council. "It's the right thing to do," Councilwoman Jenny Wilson said Monday.

The mayor's office is on a roll lately! First a major decision about the main st. bridge, and now the major decision to let ODOT go through with it's plans (and placing emphasis were it belongs...on caps, not a grand boulevard). What's next...long awaited news about RiverSouth?!?! 10 caps eh? Here's how I would rank them... 1st tier - Front, High, 3rd, Broad 2nd tier - Long, 4th, Main 3rd tier - Grant, Spring That's 9 right there. The only other possibilities would be Town, Fulton/Livingston at the turn, or 2nd street once it is rebuilt through the Brewery District. I wonder if any of these caps might get the Condo treatment?

My boy Mike didn't let me down! Way to step up and make the call! Eyesore will become soaring arch City picks stylish design for new bridge, opts to replace Town Street span Wednesday, July 19, 2006 Mark Ferenchik THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH A new Main Street bridge, complete with a soaring arch over the Scioto River, will be built Downtown despite its $44.1 million price tag. Columbus also is expected to go ahead with plans to replace the Town Street bridge with one that would connect Rich Street on the east bank of the Scioto to Town Street on the west bank. http://www.dispatch.com/news-story.php?story=dispatch/2006/07/19/20060719-B1-01.html

Do a search for "energy returned on energy invested", or EROEI. An example of the measure would be, if you put 1 unit of energy into bringing gasoline to market from crude, you get anywhere from 40-60 units of energy out (an EROEI = 40-60). Studies vary for ethanol, but due to all of the fertilizing (very energy intensive), farm equipment, processing, and lower energy value, the EROEI ends up being about 1.6 for the rosiest of studies and less than 1 for the average study. An EROEI of less than 1 means that you are actually using more energy to make it than you get out. Where is this energy coming from? The middle east. Brazil uses sugarcane as a feedstock to produce ethanol, which is much more efficient. And it really burns me that the Gov't is subsidizing ethanol for E85. I can deal with subsidies for ethanol as a fuel additive to replace MTBE, but not for E85. I dislike when lobbyists get so involved in the political machine that they get politicians to ignore the science. And forget about Hydrogen. It's not as simple as filling your car with water. It's an energy carrier, not an energy source. When someone finds a naturally occurring form of Hydrogen, then it's an energy source. Otherwise, you're just breaking the bonds in water, and reforming the same bonds again (with the associated losses). On top of that, I don't get that warm fuzzy feeling when I think about getting into a crash with a pressurized hydrogen canister on board. :-o

All that is saying is that a turbocharged engine (or any other engine with a high compression ratio) will be able to close the gap, but not eliminate it. There are some advantages to having 108 octane fuel because you can go to smaller engines with high compression ratios (4 cylinder turbos?). If you were do design an engine like this from the onset, it wouldn't be capable of going to pump gas unless it were somehow smart enough to turn down the boost pressure and seriously derate the engine (in which case it would probably be more efficient to run regular gas). Without that capability, it wouldn't be "fuel flexible" because it would ping like crazy on regular gas and seriously damage the engine. I hope that made sense.

I had to do some cipherin' to answer your question. I looked that heating value up in a text, and found more info on the wiki site for E85... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E85 I'm guessing the 15% gasoline in E85 closes the gap in energy difference from 60% to the 72% that is referrence here. But the moral of the story remains...I would only buy E85 if the price was more than 25% below the price of regular gasoline. For those interested in putting it in non fuel flexible vehicles, there is more info on the wiki site for you.

^ That's really strange that you think it increased your gas mileage. All of the studies show that it drastically decreases mileage. Ethanol has a heating value of about 60% of gasoline. That just means there's less energy per gallon. I just think all of this ethanol talk is misguided at best. It's being driven by the lobbyists and pork loving politicians in congress. The energy returned on energy invested is marginal at best (maybe even negative), and there are some ethical considerations for putting something in your fuel tank that could feed a village for a few days. And as of this spring, all gasoline in the US has either 10 or 15% ethanol as an additive. This replaced MTBE due to it's harmful effects on groundwater supplies. I wouldn't compare E15 with E85 and would definitely check with your auto manufacturer.

http://www.dispatch.com/business-story.php?story=dispatch/2006/07/18/20060718-E1-04.html Columbus among ‘best places to live’ Tuesday, July 18, 2006 Marla Matzer Rose THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH Confirming its place as one of the biggest small towns or smallest big cities in the country, Columbus has made Money magazine’s just-released Best Places to Live issue, ranking eighth in the magazine’s picks for 10 best big cities. Columbus was one of only three cities with populations of more than 700,000 on the list, putting it in a league with San Diego (No. 5) and New York City (No. 10). The annual rankings appear in the magazine’s August issue, due at newstands by next week. Tara Kalwarski, a Money editor who worked on the feature, said the list of 10 big cities was culled from 59 considered. She said Columbus ranked first in safety and second (behind Austin, Texas) in arts and leisure offerings. Other factors taken into consideration included education, job climate and park space. Paul Astleford, president and CEO of Experience Columbus, the city’s convention and visitors bureau, said such accolades are important to the perceived attractiveness of a city, not only to potential residents, but to visitors. "There have been recent studies showing that people in the 20- to 35-year-old range actually first choose where they want to live, then worry about finding a job," Astleford said. "And the way people determine where they want to live is by making weekend visits to a place." Even if they don’t end up moving here, Astelford said, those visitors help support the cultural institutions, restaurants and other amenities that make Columbus an attractive place to live. Astleford cautioned that Columbus can maximize the benefit of such praise only if it builds on this kind of buzz. "This community is so unknown. There’s a lack of marketing mentality in our leadership today," Astleford said. "You have to take something like this and use it in a full-blown brand presentation to the outside world. What that could do for our community is enormous." He pointed to Austin as a prime example of a city that has reaped the benefits from promoting a consistent brand image for more than two decades. Ty Marsh, president of the Columbus Chamber, called the magazine’s recognition "very helpful" in getting the word out about Columbus to business leaders. "We know from a nationwide poll of CEOs we released two years ago that only 56 percent had even heard of Columbus," Marsh said. "This is an awareness issue. It’s not what decisions are based on, but it just helps spread the news that this is a great region to live in, to work in, to have a family and to run a business." Mentor, in northern Ohio, was the only city in Ohio to make the main list, landing at No. 68. The list was topped by Fort Collins, Colo.; Colorado Springs topped the list of big cities. [email protected]

Don't be jealous guys. Just move to Columbus! :-D

^ What a travesty. And here I thought we had it bad. Talk about a shortsighted decision with very little downside.

Idonno...it's only 2.77%, while Mesa's is an astonishing 13.32%! You can click on the cities from the list to see thier stats. I'm guessing that these were weighted with different values to come up with the Top-10 list.

I hate to be too critical because I'm generally a fan of Mayor Coleman and City Council's pro-downtown stance, but it seems like everyone gets gunshy on major projects.

Fixed! I'm an idiot.

Well...the secret is getting out. :clap: http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bplive/2006/top100/bigcities.html Rank City Population 1 Colorado Springs, CO 369,800 2 Austin, TX 690,300 3 Mesa, AZ 442,800 4 Raleigh, NC 341,500 5 San Diego, CA 1,255,500 6 Virginia Beach, VA 438,400 7 Omaha, NE 414,500 8 Columbus, OH 730,700 9 Wichita, KS 354,900 10 New York, NY 8,143,200 I'm glad to see Austin getting some love. IMO, that's the city that Columbus needs to model itself after. Big University, no pro sports, great arts scene, and a lively downtown. They also managed to create a well populated downtown without being landlocked by a major geographical feature to stop sprawl.

And 125 mpg! I'm 6'4...is that a little too big for one of these?