The Kettle is On! The British Steam Car Challenge is going for the "world land steam" record

Once again there are folk from England sweating in the American desert in pursuit of speed. But this is not the world land speed record for cars with jet engines (as claimed and owned by the British Thrust II). This is the speed record for steam-powered cars.

Known as the British Steam Car Challenge, the project is in California right now and is likely to break the record any day now. That means going over 145mph while powered by hot water (heated by propane).

The vehicle specs are amazing. The Inspire, as it is called, stretches 25 feet in length, weighs 3 tons, and has a steam turbine that generates 360 hp. Theoretical top speed of the car is 170mph. Now that might not sound very fast. There are several production sports cars capable of exceeding 200 mph with internal combustion engines. But an IC engine is inherently dirtier than a steam engine, which can be fired by much cleaner fuels. The problem with developing a fast steam powered car is size. It is possible to build steam engines that generate 3,000 hp but they are huge. Indeed, the only place you are likely to find them is in steam locomotives.

The fastest British steam locomotive, arguably the fastest ever (argued in immense detail here) was the Mallard. It was rated around 3,000 hp and at times it achieved speeds in excess of 120 mph. But it weighed over 100 tons! The Inspire is one eighth of the power with one thirtieth of the weight! That is an amazing feat of engineering.

Health Stats Table as a Blog Post

I thought I would present some health care statistics in a handy table. All data is from the World Health Organization.

I was quite surprised to find that the under 5 mortality rate in America is twice what it is in Spain. Unless my math is mistaken, this means children in America are twice as likely to die before they reach the age of 6, even though America spends three times as much on health care.

Here's another chart that I find revealing:

More Government Health Care Facts for Those Who Like the Truth

So, here are some actual facts to consider. In Britain, which is apparently the most despised example of evil Orwellian government health care that the opponents of government health care can think of, people are free to buy and use private health insurance for private health care. I know quite a few British people who do this. These are not people who make things up.

• Britain's NHS sees one million people every 36 hours and 93 per cent of patients rate their care as good or excellent.
• The CIA says that Brits can expect to live longer under government health care than Americans can under the current free market system: http://ff.im/6zU3G
• Measured as a percentage of GDP, Britain spends about half of what America spends on health care, yet Britain enjoys greater life expectancy, lower infant mortality, lower maternal mortality.
• My 80 year-old mother lives in Britain and has never experienced age-related government health care restrictions.
• The World Health Organization ranks Britain's health care as 18th in the world, while the US is in 37th place.

In other words, Britain, along with many other countries, has figured out how to get better health care results while spending a less than America does. Indeed, Spain has even better outcomes than Britain and spends even less.

So, there is no reason that America can't cut medical spending while improving health care. Okay, well there are reasons. I think they are excess profit and inefficiency.

Just the Facts? The CIA, Stephen Hawking, and the government health care option

I had almost abandoned this blog...as 2007 wore on it looked more and more like health care reform in America was just a fading dream. Then came 2008 and candidate Obama. Health care reform went from "distant hope" to solid plank in a triumphant campaign platform. No need to blog about health care reform if it was now a presidential mandate. Then came the reality of extremism, people prepared to twist and distort reality to scare up opposition to health care reform, particularly an expanded government health care option.

(For the record: All Americans already have a government health option if they become physically disabled or poor, it's called Medicaid.)

These opponents of an extended U.S. government health care option are not content to say "I am happy with my private health insurance and don't want change." Instead these people had to make things up. And America's ethically bankrupt mainstream media seems prepared to give voice to these fabrications. Blogging to deconstruct these fabrications is now imperative.

Consider Investor's Business Daily. In an attempt to articulate the argument that Americans should not adopt the same kind of government health care that has existed for over 50 years in the United Kingdom, IBD actually printed this: "Stephen Hawking wouldn't have a chance in the UK."

There is zero basis in fact for this statement, but worse than that, the statement is the exact opposite of the truth. For many decades the UK's government health care option, the National Health Service, has provided Stephen Hawking with great care, at no cost. Indeed, Stephen Hawking, one of the world's most celebrated scientists, was moved to make a statement to the press. He said: "I owe my life to the NHS."

So, here is the strategy adopted by opponents of government health care in America: "Make false and alarming statements about how bad things will be if there is an expanded government health care option in America. Make these statements as often and as loudly as you can. Don't worry about the truth at this point because the ends [killing an expanded government health care option] justify these means."

Guest Post Anyone?

Agrilan would like to encourage those with an interest in rural broadband issues to submit posts to this blog. Please email us at mail at agrilan dot com for more information.

Healthcare Reform: Where I stand

I think some of my friends are beginning to wonder why I have resisted blogging about the current healthcare debate in America, given that I have--as they know all too well by now--a lot of opinions on the subject. The truth is I cannot afford to get drawn into this one.

Why? I am way too busy holding down a job and patching up the hole in the roof and generally doing the things necessary to get by, like figuring out how to pay off the mid-five figure medical bill my wife's current illness has run up, so far (a task made even more challenging now that my credit score is getting perilously close to my IQ--and no, I don't think I'm getting smarter as I get older).

This state of affairs is unfortunate in more ways than one (or two or five). For a start, I feel that I have a useful perspective on healthcare reform. I was born and raised by socialized medicine. It served me and my family well. When my father died of cancer at 50, the family's grief and loss was not compounded by fears that his illness would bankrupt us. We never saw a bill. We never paid a penny, except to send flowers to the nurses who cared for him so mercifully in his final hours.

Since moving to America in 1976, I have observed what damage fate can do to a family through accidents and ill health compounded by the absence of any systematic approach to caring for the less fortunate. Yet  during that time the prevailing American attitude to healthcare appeared to be:

"I will take my chances. Whenever I see someone brought low by pain and suffering and medical bills I will pray for them, maybe make a donation, then remind myself "There but for the grace of God go I."

When I decided to make a new life in America I knew that it was a gamble. Work hard and you can do well. You can rise high and fast. The risk is that you can fall even faster, and way further, than in most "wealthy" countries. The only insurance against all eventualities in America is to have a lot of money in the bank, I'd say high eight figures at a minimum.

About 12 years ago I heard a doctor, who was also a U.S. congressman, describe, in a public speech, the prevailing American sentiment on healthcare:

"I've worked hard all my life. I didn't party in high school, I studied. I went through years of grueling college and post-grad education so I could make a good living. I have earned, and I deserve, better healthcare than the guys who come to mow my lawn every week."

As I said at the outset, I cannot spend much time on this. I can't do the lobbying and blogging and networking that I would like to do in order to change, or at least try to change, this point of view. About all I can do is present my own view on healthcare, stated as a general principle :

"The total bill for providing systematic and equal care to all members of society should be born equally by all members of society and paid by all members, according to their means."

I cannot think of a single reason why a caring and compassionate person would argue against that. Dozens of countries have adopted this principle and made it work. I cannot think of a single valid reason why America cannot do the same. That's where I stand on healthcare.

iPhone 3.0 and Vanilla Bean Crème Brûlée French Toast

I need to post this quick before July is gone and I fail the one post-per-month minimum for this blog. So here goes:

I like the iPhone. With my 3G now upgraded to 3.0 and the ability to cut, paste, and search globally, the device can now serve as a portable computer as well as a phone, camera, music player, GPS, and recording device. I can write decent notes, take decent photos, surf most web sites acceptably, and take care of email. While I don't seem to have much time to play with apps, there are several on my iPhone just in case I get stuck somewhere without a WiFi, 3G, or Edge connection. I will write more about apps in a later post--although you can see some of my choices in the screen shot (and the ease of doing screen shots is no small bonus feature).

While AT&T 3G coverage is still weak in my opinion, I can get an Edge signal most places. That means I can stay in touch with folks in my head office with Yammer while traveling. I can handle both work and personal Twitter accounts while on the move (observing all applicable bylaws officer, honest). At the end of the day I can plug in my Sennheiser PXC 250 Active Noise Canceling Headphones and be lulled to sleep by any number of albums or my favorite Pandora station (currently Tangerine Dream Radio). I can even put the iPhone on the nightstand and play soothing sounds over the built-in speakers.

Speaking of sounds, I have now used the Voice Memo feature to record several interviews. The quality is surprisingly good if you are in a controlled environment, like an office with a door on it. The recordings are easy on the ears when transcribing and acceptable for podcasting. I don't like the fact that voice recordings are stored as m4a files (although these are easily converted to MP3 by iTunes). And it would be nice if I could copy voice files off the phone some other way than syncing within iTunes (mailing memos longer than one minute in length doesn't seem to work and you can't yet see your iPhone as a drag-n-drop NAS device or BlueTooth drive).

The iPhone has taken many mobile device features beyond the gimmick phase to downright useful. I actually turned to the iPhone GPS to get out of a sticky situation in Boston where I was on a deadline and needed to walk the city's crooked streets from my hotel to one of several Staples. Worked like a charm.

Of course, some people are going to read this and say: "See, we told you the iPhone was awesome." To which I reply, "And you were wrong." It is awesome now, it wasn't awesome a year ago. Back then it had a lot of potential, but until 3.0 it was missing vital functions. Even now, I would limit the plaudit of "awesome" to the 3GS, which adds video recording, digital compass, and voice control to the 3G, together with a performance boost.

So, my 3G is cool and I'm really enjoying it. I haven't had time to dig into the complex math of how much money it would take for me to become a 3GS user. And I haven't had time to berate AT&T for the failure to support tethering (I have a hack for that which takes the edge off, so to speak). Now I'm off to enjoy the world's best decaff latté at StageCoach Coffee. I may have to order a piece of the amazing Vanilla Bean Crème Brûlée French Toast, just so I can use my iPhone to post a 2 megapixel, non-auto-focus picture of it on Twitpics.

How to Lose Customers: A one-act, two-scene play performed in three tweets

Here is the original form of the play, a short blog post:



Act I, Scene I: A United States Postal Service office.

Me: I want to send this package to England.

Postal Clerk: You can't send it like that, you have the wrong tape on it. And this paperwork's not complete.

[Me exits building, walks down the street carrying package.]

Act I, Scene II: A UPS shipping office.

Me: I want to send this package to England.
[Hands clerk the same package seen in Scene I.]

Clerk: No problem, just write your name here and the address it's going to. We'll do the rest.

[The End]

This play was recently performed as a series of three tweets on Twitter, as shown below. Literary scholars will note that, as posted live, the original tweets said "Me exists" where it should have said "Me exits" thus prompting speculation as to the playwright's state of mind at the time.

Tweet 1. How to Lose Customers: A one-act play in 3 tweets. Act I, Scene I: A United States Post Office. Me: I want to send this package to England.

Tweet 2. USPS Clerk: You can’t send it like that, you've got the wrong tape on it. And this paperwork’s not complete. [Me exits, carrying package.]

Tweet 3. Scene II: UPS office. Me: I want to send this package to England. Clerk: Write your name and address it’s going to. We’ll do the rest. [End]

NBC News: 62% of Americans don't have acess to broadband

Great to see NBC do a piece on the "62% of Americans who don't have access to affordable high speed broadband." For those who have broadband, here it is:

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

And the Damage Done: Hemochromatosis recap

The following is a recap of things I have learned from my partner's experience with hemochromatosis, a.k.a iron overload. I wrote this up for a support forum which is private, but I thought it would be helpful to make it available to anyone looking for information on this insidious condition. BTW, the circle+arrow symbol on the left is the alchemical symbol for iron, and yes, it is the same symbol that is used for the planet Mars and for the male of the species (I'm not going to touch that one, I have a hard enough time avoiding "ironic" puns when writing about this stuff).

[Disclaimer: I am not a doctor. Seek medical advice before acting on, or drawing conclusions from, anything I say here. By all means Google this stuff, but do so sensibly (check the bona fides of the folks writing what you read, distrust any site that is selling a cure, and look for the HONcode which is a good sign).]

When blogs or online forums mention hemochromatosis, also known as iron overload, they often leave you with more questions than answers. This is not surprising because hemochromatosis is widely misunderstood (and widely under-diagnosed e.g. if you know someone who has been diagnosed with chronic fatigue or fibromyalgia you really should check out hemochromatosis--if untreated it can kill).

You often hear "hemochromatosis can be treated" as though that was the end of the story. Not so...