Book Of Norm

By and large, I agree with the following feature. I would add that Porsche should get a D, because the only good designs they have are 40 years old, and they should be punished for the Cayenne. Also, I would say that Subaru is right now hovering in the C range, with an impreza which looks like a fat turnip, and the Legacy Outback which looks like a chubby dinosaur, and the Forester, which has as much visual impact as a dentist's ceiling. I would also give Saab an A-, because damn the 9-5 good looking. Finally, I would say that Audi should get an A. It is really in its stride right now, having grown organically out of its duller history of the 90's & 00's, and right now has some of the sexiest cars (ever?) made. The S5 is truly a thing of beauty.. Car Designers Graded - Feature The world's major car designers get their report cards. BY PHIL PATTON, PHOTOGRAPHY BY PATRICK M. HOEY, MARC URBANO, CHARLIE MAGEE, BLAIR BUNTING, AND THE MANUFACTURER, ILL...

Peak Everything You’ve heard of Peak Oil? Well, yeah, thats actually a long way off. But these? These are real. And could have a significant impact. Especially on my plan to build a airship cruise liner which uses Li batteries and super-magnets to distribute phosphorus to farmers. Yeah... Lithium Neodymium Phosphorus Helium The theory There is not enough lithium in the world to make a new generation of battery-powered cars. Rare earth magnets are in everything from disk drives to EVs to wind turbines and there is no end to demand in sight. Fifty years of mining phosphorus for fertilizer has depleted the world’s phosphate mines. The closing of the National Helium Reserve, established in the 1920s to supply military airships, will destroy the market. Why you should worry American-controlled deposits in NV are dwindling. The Chinese, source of 95 percent of the world’s Nd, recently announced that they would be restricting the export of the metal. Between 2003 and 2008, phosphate fertilize...

This is from the WSJ, and it is a great article. If you want to know what really saved the miners - capitalism did. At the same time, it must be said that capitalism is what got them stuck down there in the first place, which this article kind of ignores. Personally, though I think capitalism is the root of all economic good - I also think that accounting for market externalities (safety) should be in the hands of the government - as clearly this mine was operating below a minimum level of safety for its miners. Read on: It needs to be said. The rescue of the Chilean miners is a smashing victory for free-market capitalism. Amid the boundless human joy of the miners' liberation, it may seem churlish to make such a claim. It is churlish. These are churlish times, and the stakes are high. In the United States, with 9.6% unemployment, a notably angry electorate will go to the polls shortly and dump one political party in favor of the other, on which no love is lost. The president of th...