payback

I replaced all the lightbulbs in my apartment today with CFL bulbs. The store had them for a buck each and they are compact enough to actually fit in the socket, so I went all out. I'm keeping the old bulbs in a bag to swap back when I move out, because the CFL bulbs are supposed to last for years and they're too neat to leave behind.

I got the latest issue of Car and Driver. They had some cool stuff about the new Corvette Z06 and the Pontiac Solstice. However, there was an article I took offense to. The guy was talking about how hydrogen isn't a primary energy source, which is right. But then he said that solar cells don't make back the energy it requires to make them, and ripped on wind power too. I'm still very new to the renewable energy scene, but I've heard this energy payback rumor several times now. It's FALSE.

Even if it were true, do these people think it would stay that way? All you have to do is increase lifespan, increase efficiency, or decrease input cost, or some combination of the above. It's called technological progress, morons.

I'm probably going to finish rereading The Idea Factory tonight. Parts of the book hit a little close to home. The most depressing part is still ahead, so I'll be bummed out later. After this book I think I'm going to reread William Gibson's Sprawl trilogy - after Ghost in the Shell I'm hungry for more cyberpunk.

I'm recuperated from all my travelling and now I have too much energy. I wish I had a bike to burn it off. I should look into that before classes start.