Pulsar Advanced Technologies will next week launch its lead product, the Vulcanus MK4, a water heater USING microwave technology to heat water on demand.
Powered by electricity and unaffected by the volatile gas markets, the Vulcanus MK4 can heat water from 35 degrees Fahrenheit to 140 degrees Fahrenheit in seconds and can source multiple applications at once: showers, dishwasher, sink usages and more. The Vulcanus MK4 is the size of a stereo speaker with a sleek modern look, making it ideal for condos and apartments, while powerful enough to serve the needs of any size family. via Zawodny
Citizens for Tax Justice Reports Released
Via Paul Caron:
Citizens for Tax Justice has published several tax position papers:
- Two New 2006 Tax Cuts Benefit Only Wealthiest Few (11/21)
- Extending Capital Gains and Dividends Loopholes Would Mostly Benefit the Wealthiest 1% (11/18)
- Child Credit Phase-In Rules Hit Hurricane Victims Hardest (11/8)
For further analysis, see Stuart Levine’s Tax Law & Business Commentary
Water Bottle VR Scene
Clever: Life inside a water bottle.
WebSudoku
Sudoku (??) is the number placing game taking the world by storm – see Wikipedia.
The rules of Sudoku are simple. Enter digits from 1 to 9 into the blank spaces. Every row must contain one of each digit. So must every column, as must every 3×3 square.
Each Sudoku has a unique solution that can be reached logically without guessing.
Frontline on Katrina
While much is still being investigated nearly three months after Katrina lashed through the Gulf Coast, government officials and experts on preparedness and national security say they’ve already learned some lessons from the catastrophe. They say it’s a wake-up call for other disasters ahead. Will we be ready?
Commenting here are: Warren Rudman, co-chair, National Security Commission; Tom Ridge, secretary, Department of Homeland Security (2002-2005); Michael Brown, FEMA director (2003-2005); Richard Clarke, National Security Council (1992-2003); Richard Falkenrath, Homeland Security adviser (2001-2005); and Leo Bosner, FEMA National Response and Coordination Center.
Madison, From the Air
I took this photo from a recent Canadair CL-65 Chicago – Madison flight. Doc Searls posted a high altitude view from a BOS – SFO 757 flight.
Local Taxes: Accounting Rule Changes on Retiree Health Care Costs
A looming accounting change is forcing state and local governments to fess up to something that’s been lurking on their books for years: Many have made costly retirement health-care promises without planning how to pay for them.
Under a new accounting rule, governments soon must start recognizing their long-term obligations to pay for retirees’ health benefits — and, for the first time, publicly disclose what it would cost each year to fund that liability.
For many governments, the promised amount is likely to be sizeable enough to prompt big changes such as cutting retiree benefits, borrowing money and diverting tax dollars from other spending priorities — or risk a credit-rating downgrade that could significantly boost borrowing costs. Estimates of obligations for some states range from $500 million to as much as $40 billion.
Bill Ford Seeks Federal Help
Ford Motor Co. Chairman William C. Ford Jr. urged the government yesterday to help struggling U.S. automakers by expanding subsidies for companies that make components for hybrids and other fuel-efficient vehicles, as U.S. automakers race to close a widening technology gap with the Japanese.
In a speech at the National Press Club, Ford asked for more incentives, such as tax credits, to prod consumers to buy hybrids and other vehicles with fuel-saving technology. He also asked Congress for money to retrain workers, and to consider tax incentives to help manufacturers outfit old plants with new equipment. In the speech, Ford said a national strategy is needed to respond to the pressures of globalization, which he called the “economic challenge of our time.”
Fascinating. Ford, along with GM and to a lesser extent, the others, gorged on highly profitable SUV sales for years. That strategy does not have legs any longer…
Tracking You: TIVO & RFID
“working on a PVR that will recognise one of several individual users, and respond to their personal preferences.” The patent application describes the invention as “a multimedia mobile personalization system provides a remote control that detects a user’s electronic tag, e.g. an RFID tag.” It also promises personalized viewing at a variety of locations, detailing how TiVo might forward stored shows from home to a TV in a hotel room, for example. It remains to be seen whether hotels will be eager to help TiVo undermine their pay-per-view video revenue.”
New Mexico’s Rock Art
Some anthropologists now believe that more human beings lived in Southwest New Mexico 1,000 years ago than live there today.
How do they know? Because the region is covered with thousands of archaeological sites. Some areas are positively littered with rock art and artifacts from long-gone ancient cultures.