I have spent the past few months working on a very search centric CMS that I could offer clients, and use myself.  So the idea of upgrading my WordPress is something I didn’t want to deal with.  I admit that WordPress 2.5 looked to be a great step up, especially since I was 3 versions behind with my personal blog.  But I have  a custom theme and some custom plugins that I didn’t want to break, and WordPress is not exactly well coded when it comes to upgrades.  But as fate would have it, the upgrade became more a necessity than a luxury.

About 2 weeks ago, I noticed some changes in my search rankings.  It wasn’t just a drop off, it was actually the wrong pages ranking for terms.  This of course caught my attention right away and I check the Google cache and found that someone had hacked my blog and inserted all sort of nasty stuff.  It’s interesting that I didn’t see this stuff in the page source, but it was being picked up by Google.  As a matter of fact, I think the only way I would have ever seen it is from Google.

So I asked my friend Russ to install the latest version of WordPress.  On the upside, it looks nice.  Media upload is much easier, the admin tool is cleaner, and most importantly the security hole seems to have been plugged.  I re-checked the pages today in Google cache, and it appears that all pages that have been cached since the upgrade are clean.  It will of course take some time for the entire site to get re-indexed, but all should be good by months end.

On the downside, my site is not a bit messed up.  My Asides are no longer…aside.  Most of my right column has been nuked, and a bunch of nasty characters have littered my posts.  It’s going to take some clean up.  Since I’m right around the corner from launching my new blog on the new CMS, I’m not really feeling very motivated to put the work into the clean up right now, so please bare with me for the time being.

Technorati Tags: wordpress, hacked, google

It’s Friday night and I’m not out at a club, or a movie, or even the Olive Garden.  No, I’m at home watching the biggest geek show on the planet, Battlestar Galactica.  This is even worse than my fight against WoW addiction.  Well…maybe not that bad, but it’s not good either.  I have to admit that I love this show.

I’m not declaring it’s as good as Dexter or even 24, but it’s pretty damn good.  All geek issues aside, the writing (not necessarily the dialogue) is good, the acting is better than most shows on TV, and the special effects are well above average.  But it’s the story line that really draws me in.

The first Battlestar Galactica, or BSG as the dateless refer to it, was pretty one dimensional.  You had the good guys, including the good looking guy from the A-Team, and the dad from Bonanza, and you had the bad guys, primarily evil robots wit red strobing eyes.  And there was never any talk of who was right and who was wrong.  Obviously the people were in the right because they were attacked, and of course because they are human.

But in the new BSG our good guys, including the boss from Miami Vice and a hot blonde girl, are fighting more human looking characters with actual emotions.  Thus we start to see some complexity.

This new Sci-fi series, which is on it’s final season, has hit upon some issues that you normally don’t see in the genre.  Issues like religion, communism, politics and cyborg menage a trois are just some of the more complex issues I have seen in the show.  Tonight for example showed the advanced Cylons being attacked by the more primitive Cylons because the advanced Cylons wanted to keep them as working tool instead of letting them evolve.  The irony of course is that this is essential what they feel was the crimes human put upon them.  Humans created machines to work for them, and didn’t like when machines evolved into something that felt they deserved a choice.

Then of course there are the hot women of the show, which have blessed the covers of Many issues of Maxim.  My personal favorite, Nicki Clyne (Cally Tyrol) is not seen in every episode, (nor has Clyne been on the cover of Maxim, which I think is a crime) but appears to play a big role in next week.  The eye candy obviously helps us lonely BSG watchers bare through our Friday nights.  I just look at it as having a date with Nicki Clyne every Friday.  She’s a lucky girl!

Technorati Tags: battlestar galactica, bsg, sci-fi, nicky clyne

I have had a few flame wars online, but I can honestly say that it’s never even come remotely close to physical violence.  But then again few of my flame wars are with teenage girls on MySpace. 

For those who haven’t hear about this, a 16 year old girl named Victoria Lindsay was supposedly lured to a home and beaten by 6 girls, while 2 guys sat outside as a look outs.  The video, which takes place after Victoria was already beaten on for a while, was made by the girls to post to YouTube and MySpace.  The video has received millions of views, so in a way the girls were successful.

Of course the father is doing what any good father would do, finding the deepest pockets to blame.  And since MySpace is owned by Rupert Murdoch and YouTube by Google, he’s blaming them.  “MySpace is the anti-christ for teens” he says. Those sound like the words of someone who has already consulted with a lawyer.

Of course I would like to debunk the theory that MySpace, or any part of the Internet was responsible for this attack.  MySpace didn’t beat Victoria, cheerleaders did.  They didn’t use MySpace to lure Victoria to the house, they used a cell phone.  Hey Mr. Lindsay, AT&T has deep pockets too.  I’m kidding of course, these are T-Mobile customers if ever I saw one.

When a girl gets lured by some pervert on MySpace, we blame MySpace for not somehow keeping adults and teens apart, and I guess keeping criminals off MySpace.  So they add a firewall between users by age, and they kick out convicted pedophiles.  Which works well because no one will ever think about setting up an account under a false name.

Since this is being dubbed as the MySpace beating, what role did MySpace play in this exactly?  Well I guess Victoria “talked trash” (which, from the video, appears to be their native language) on MySpace about the girls.  Well that sounds like a good reason to blame MySpace.  Why stop there?  How many gang members get killed for tagging the wrong wall?  Why not sue the contractor who put up the wall?  Or maybe even the brick manufacturer.  Or at least sue the guy who owns the wall that gets vandalized.  Why is he not monitoring that wall?  Does he not know someone may get angry about what’s written on the wall and kill someone?

Before I let the Internet off the hook completely here, I will say there are a couple disturbing trends.  First, I see a lot of people doing stupid things on video just to get popular on YouTube or Break.com.  Most of these people seem to have trampolines in their yard (the official backyard accessory of white trash America) and have no fear of getting hurt.  Thank god for them it looks like we’ll all have universal health care soon.  The fact that the girls were so into posting the video that one shouted out that they only have 17 seconds left, and to “make them count”? is a little disturbing.  Although it sounds like she is a better director than Uwe Boll.

I also am a little surprised at how fast information has come out.  I know every person in the situations name, and here is a link to a little site called Yahoo that supposedly lists their address and phone numbers.  These are juveniles we’re talking about, and their information is clearly on the internet.

Information like this is going to be difficult to stop in the age of MySpace and YouTube.  This next generation will be living a good part of their life online, often documenting the types of things that my generation had the luxury of forgetting and not sharing with the world.

So Mr. Patrick Lindsay, I’m sorry about what happened to your daughter, and I hope all the people who beat her go to prison and enjoy their own little beat down.  But to blame MySpace is about as crazy as blaming the “tubes“? that cary it.  Get well soon Victoria.

Technorati Tags: victoria lindsay, patrick lindsay, myspace, youtube, cheeleaders, beating

The world is embracing the challenge of reducing greenhouse gases as evident by the Kyoto Agreement. Biofuels are substitutes for fossil-fuels that are developed from renewable green plants. However, when governmental monies are in play, some programs get funded that otherwise would not or should not. (guest post by Elizabeth Rathgeber)

Ethanol is a great example of a biofuel “solution” that may be creating more harm than good. Ethanol, produced naturally from fermentation by yeasts and other microorganisms, is subsidized heavily by the federal government. Currently in the United States, corn grain is the main feedstock for ethanol production. American taxpayers are billed heavily to subsidize the country’s privately owned ethanol plants. When a large amount of ethanol is produced from corn this creates problems.

Corn is a primary source of livestock feed, and feedlot owners have seen their costs rise dramatically because of ethanol production and these costs are passed on to consumers. Also, these crops are not sustainable. They are grown on fertile land and when crops are harvested, the nutrients are removed and not replaced through the natural process of recycling dead plants back into the land to provide nutrients for the next cycle. Water is a precious resource and Ethanol production uses large amounts of it. This could increase the water shortage worldwide, which is already occurring in some arid countries, including a drought in the southeast United States. Another problem is that farm machinery and vehicles burn fossil fuels to harvest and transport the crops. This process contributes considerable amounts of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere.

According to a 2005 Cornell University and UC Berkeley study, they found that turning plants such as corn, soybeans and sunflowers into fuel uses much more energy than the resulting ethanol or biodiesel generates.  In fact, their data found that in terms of energy output compared with energy input for ethanol production, corn requires 29 percent more fossil energy than fuel produced.

Biodiesel developed from vegetable oil is a more economical and environmental solution. The oil is extracted from a variety of crops, including soybean, rapeseed and palm oil. However, these sources have significant problems as well. They also require arable land use, which displaces food crops, and are not the most productive or efficient source of vegetable oil. According to the same 2005 study, in terms of energy output compared with the energy input for biodiesel production; soybean plants requires 27 percent more fossil energy than the fuel produced, and sunflower plants requires 118 percent more fossil energy than the fuel produced. The following chart illustrates the vegetable oil yield for some of the most common biofuel sources.
However there is hope on the horizon coming from an unlikely hero, algae. Exploration of algae as a potent biofuel is exploding. Many companies and Universities are researching various methods and strains of algae to solve the world’s fossil fuel dependency problem. It is estimated that algae cultivated in open ponds could yield about 10,000 gallons of oil per acre. It is considered a “carbon neutral”? fuel because algae requires CO2 gas to grow.  90% by weight of the algae is captured carbon dioxide and as it grows it releases oxygen into the air, but the CO2 gas does finally get released when the fuel is use. For about 15 years up to 1996, the U.S. government took an active roll researching algae’s potential, but continually ran into problems. Open ponds used a lot of water; it was difficult to keep contaminants out of the ponds; and the overall costs versus the amount of oil collected compared to the price for fossil fuels just didn’t add up. However with the current price of crude oil reaching more than $100 a barrel on the stock market; the realization that within 50 years the planet’s supply of petroleum will be exhausted; and the rising interest in environmental causes; algae is getting a second look.

Recently in the news, Virgin Atlantic became the first airline to fly with biofuel. On Sunday February 24, 2008, a Boeing 747-400 flew from London to Amsterdam with a 20% mixture of biofuel derived from coconut and babassu oil in one of its four tanks. Richard Branson said, “the historic flight marks the first step toward reducing the airline industry’s carbon footprint.” Branson and Boeing don’t think that using coconut or babassu oil is a realistic option for regular commercial use for the transportation industry because the quantity needed would deplete arable land, contribute to deforestation and drive up food costs. This is why they are spending “lot of time and money investigating algal fuels because commercial fuel will almost certainly be derived from algae.”

Also in the news, at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival a Mercedes Benz C320 diesel demonstrated the “first real-world road test of biodiesel made from algae”, developed by Solazyme, a California Biotech firm. Solazyme is featured in the Josh Tickell’s film “Fields of Fuel,” a documentary about renewable fuel. Algae is considered a promising source of fuel because many species contain high amounts of oil that can be extracted, processed and refined into fuel. They also are abundant and grow quickly, feeding on carbon dioxide and releasing oxygen.

Probably the most exciting research with algae is being carried out by scientist Glen Kertz in El Paso, Texas with Vertigro. Algae is grown inside of high-density bioreactors constructed from plastic sheeting inside of a greenhouse. Flow paths formed within the plastic sheeting allow water and algae to constantly circulate through the system. Algae can reproduce six times in a 24 hour period, so it grows very quickly and is constantly being syphoned off. The algae is then refined and the oil is extracted, but nothing is wasted. The benefits to Vertigro are numerous. First, since the plastic sheeting is hung vertically, 100,000- 200,000 gallons of oil per acre can be produced. Second, the greenhouses can be placed on non-arable land as long as it receives plenty of sunlight, so deserts are a perfect location. Third, it uses a minimal amount of water because it cycles the water through a closed circuit system. Forth, the biomass that remains after the oil is extracted can be used in various ways. Lastly, with Vertigro, there is no need for heavy farm equipment that pollutes the air to harvest the algae. The algae is easily collected in receptacles.

In an interview with Scott Fulbright, a recent graduate from Michigan State University and research assistant with Valcent, he was able to answer some questions regarding the Vertigro project.

Q: If the greenhouses that you use to grow your algae is located out in the desert on non-arable land, where is the quantity of CO2 needed to grow the algae coming from?

A: At this point we are using CO2 tanks and injecting our closed reactor. There have been previous studies utilizing CO2 sequestered from breweries and flue gas from industrial areas. People want to grow algae on non arable land, next to factories for this reason. However, in order for algae to be financially viable at this point, “algae cake” or dried biomass after oil extraction must be used for other applications. An example being, feed for livestock. Flue gas contains some nasty chemicals that would not allow for ingestion to be safe. However, numerous companies and universities are advancing technologies in hope of making this viable in the near future.

If the United States places more emphasis on carbon credits, algae could also be a lucrative industry in capturing CO2 from the atmosphere. There are companies all over the world being fined billions of dollars a year because of their large amounts of CO2 emissions. What’s better than saving money, reducing CO2 while creating a clean fuel?

Q: I did not know about the flue gases and the chemicals that would contaminate the biomass. Is it correct that another use for the biomass would be as fertilizer? Anything else?

A: Yes, it can be used as fertilizer as well. Also, there are some organizations that use certain algal cells in cancer inhibition drugs.

Q: Are using CO2 tanks realistic moving forward? Are they costly or is your company investigating alternatives to using the CO2 tanks?

A: CO2 tanks are presently injecting CO2 and will not be finically realistic with several acres of algae reactors. We are collaborating with an engineering firm studying the viability of flue gas and breweries. Several companies around the world have used both. Technology is progressing giving us confidence that this component will be successful.

Q: About a week ago Virgin airlines flew its first commercial flight using a mixture of 20% biofuels with petroleum based fuel. In the article Boeing and Richard Branson mention that Algae Biofuel is the only realistic viable source to be used in air transportation and that they are putting a lot of time and money into the development of this technology. Do you or anyone at Valcent have any comments on this and do you have any projections on when Algae Biofuel may be put into commercial use?

A: Biodiesel and jet fuel are the primary fuels we are looking at. The length of the lipid carbon chains will differentiate the kind of fuel we can produce. Obviously we do believe algae fuel is a reality and could play an instrumental role in the replacement of fossil fuels. It’s tough to say when this will become a commercial system because there are so many intricate parts to work out.

Presently we consider ourselves a research and development company working on trying to perfect the reactor itself. One of my jobs is go around the country taking samples to bring back to the lab. We then can use lab instruments to display growth rates and lipid content in the specific algae species. Finding the right species is also a major component in creating a successful reactor.

Q: Does the variety of algae that you use effect the carbon strands that it is capable of producing? For instance, do you think that Algae oil possible to produce C3- C12 for gasoline or mostly C12 - C16 for Kerosene?

A: Yes, various species of algae will yield lipids with differing carbon chain lengths. We are not looking at gasoline at this point, but focus is on biodiesel and jet fuel. We are still setting up a lab to differentiate the carbon chain lengths. I would say C8-C20 is what we will be interested in.

Q: If you are ever in Southern Oregon on your travels would you be willing to talk some of the students at SOU about the research that your company is doing with algae? I know that it is a complete long shot, but it never hurts to ask.
A: I will definitely let you know if a member of our company will be heading up to Oregon, but it probably is a long shot. Never hurts to ask though.

Source Reference List

http://www.valcent.net - accessed 2/25/08

http://www.physorg.com/news4942.html - accessed 2/25/08

http://blog.wired.com/cars/2008/01/driving-around.html - accessed 2/25/08

http://blog.wired.com/cars/2008/02/virgin-atlantic.html - accessed 2/25/08

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/tech/2008/02/01/solutions.fuel.from.scum.cnn -  CNN online video report by Miles O’Brian - accessed 2/25/08

http://www.globalgreensolutionsinc.com/i/pdf/2007-03-27_AfricanBioFuelsPresentation.pdf - accessed 2/25/08

Technorati Tags: algae biofuel, biofuel, oilgae, ethanol, e85

This is the first year I was in town for the Ashland Film Festival, and I’m happy I finally got to attend.  I just got back from SXSW a couple weeks ago, so I was missing film festival life. 

But there is a big difference between Austin and Ashland.  How both are liberal towns, Ashland suffers from the poor organizational skills and the internal bickering that is well known in extreme liberals.  Therefore things always seem to be done half-assed here.

The film festival is not any different.  How we had some great films, and I respect the people in charge for putting in the effort, it’s just total chaos.  And by chaos I don’t mean the type that comes from the unexpected, I mean they just don’t care a lot about the details.

For example, every time I see a movie at the Varsity theatre it’s as though they have never before used a projector.  The picture is off the screen, the sound is off, etc…  The first movie I attended this year, August Evening, contained sub-titles.  But for the first part of the movie they were off the screen so no one could understand the movie, unless of course they spoke fluent Spanish.

This type of problem persisted through the last film I saw, The Sensation of Sight.  The bottom quarter of the shot was cut off in the opening scene.  So the audience didn’t understand that there was a body laying on the lawn.  These are important details to help you understand a film.

When I went to see The Last Queen of the Earth, I couldn’t stay because it’s an especially quiet film, and the loud noise from the next theatre was too distracting.

It would be nice that since these are high quality films, the team at the Varsity would make sure the camera is all set up to show them properly.  They worry so much about the experience that they ask us to turn our phones off, not just vibrate, but they don’t make sure that you can hear the movie, or that the movie is on the screen properly.

There is also the total lack of organization, but that can be excused because of the unusually high volume of people attending.

I offer this criticism not out of disrespect for the festival, but in the hopes that we can see it grow into something really great.  I would love to see something that continues to attract some great film makers.  And I think it could be great for the town of Ashland.

To their benefit, some of the staff really go out of their way to make sure people are happy in line.  And there is still a small town feel to the event, which is nice.  I’m pretty sure I’m the biggest ass there.

Best Films of the Ashland Film Festival
I was very happy to see that August Evening won the Best Feature honor.  That was absolutely my choice as well.  August Evening is the best film I have seen since seeing The Visitor at SXSW. It’s perfect.

Of the other films I saw, I’m going to give runner up status to Eden.  Eden was a nice surprise and one of the movies I find my mind going back to.  If I was going to chose a third place winner, I would have to say Outsourced.  It’s the best romantic comedy I have seen in a very long time.

So if you get the chance, check these films out.  Outsourced is available on DVD on their website right now.

Technorati Tags: ashland film festival, august evening, eden, outsourced

The movie Fair Trade was playing along with 7,500 Miles to Redemption at the Ashland Film Festival and is the third documentary I saw at the festival.  The Fair Trade movie is directed by Lauralee Farrer and follows the life of Tamara Johnston, a young women with a promising future who suffers the loss of her long time friend and boyfriend to a auto accident.

Feeling the pressure of the stress, and facing the reality of a life without the person she loved, Tamara falls into a deep depression that results in a pact with god. “I’ll give you 5 years, and if you show me a life worth living I’ll go on.”  Tamara decides to make some changes in her life and quits her job with Dreamworks to go into business with her twin sister and brother in law.  Their business, Anti-Bodies will not be focused solely on profits, but rather on the concept of Fair Trade.

For those who are not familiar with the concept of Fair Trade, here is a brief description from Wikipedia:

“Fair trade is an organized social movement and market-based approach to alleviating global poverty and promoting sustainability. The movement advocates the payment of a fair price as well as social and environmental standards in areas related to the production of a wide variety of goods. It focuses in particular on exports from developing countries to developed countries, most notably handicrafts, coffee, cocoa, sugar, tea, bananas, honey, cotton, wine, fresh fruit, and so on.

Fair trade’s strategic intent is to deliberately work with marginalized producers and workers in order to help them move from a position of vulnerability to security and economic self-sufficiency. It also aims at empowering them to become stakeholders in their own organizations and actively play a wider role in the global arena to achieve greater equity in international trade.”

In short, Fair Trade does business direct with co-ops in foreign countries and pays a living wage.  Obviously this means products cost more.  According to Tamara’s brother in law in the movie the company pays 600% more for their main ingredient than most companies.

Tamara and her partners decide to make soap, thinking this would be an easy product to manufacture.  Part of the humor of the story is that soap ends up being quite difficult to properly make.

As the story unfolds we see Tamara find a cause she can wake up in the mornings to support.  We see Tamara visit the co-op first hand and meet the people in Africa she is helping by offering them a living wage, as opposed to taking advantage of the pricing she could receive.  As she starts to realize the impact she is having on the world, she starts to value her own life more.

In the end this is a simple story of someone finding their purpose in life.  We get the chance to see in a very big way that feeling we all have; a life without a greater purpose isn’t really very fulfilling.  In Tamara’s case she was striped of something that provided her that fulfillment, so she must go out and find it elsewhere.

I enjoyed the movie, but I admit my interest was more on a business side, and I wished I could have learned more about their business in the film.  The idea of Fair Trade interests me.

I would give the film a 2.75 out of 5.  It’s worth checking out if you’re interested in this type of documentary.  But one thing that is a no brainer is trying to purchase Fair Trade items.  It’s a little more expensive, but it’s the right thing to do.  Here is a link to Tamara’s business which sells Fair Trade Soap.

Technorati Tags: fair trade, movie, ashland film festival, tamara Johnston, Larualee farrer, anti-bodies

I feel bad for what I’m about to say…but I didn’t like it.  I wanted to like it.  I feel like I should have liked it.  I even went online to see if others liked it, which they clearly did.  But something about this film just didn’t click for me.

The film is written and directed by Aaron Wiederspahn and stars David Strathairn.  Strathairn play Finn, a former teacher who is working through a tragedy that he feels responsible for.  Throughout following Finn on his journey through crises, we meet other characters who Finn touches in his own way.  Dylan (Daniel Gillies), a former student with a grudge and family problems of his own.  Alice (Jane Adams), a single mom dealing with a separation.  Daisy (Elisabeth Waterston) and Tucker (Scott Wilson), a daughter and father dealing with their own loss.

The above cast does a phenomenal job.  There is not a weak link in this ensemble, right down to the children (Cassidy Hinkle and Tony Swingle).  David Strathairn does an amazing job with the complex role of Finn.  He pulls of the persona of someone who is troubled and confused, by exceptionally intelligent.  And even though the character is obviously having problems, he never slips over to insane.  It was exceptionally well done.

Ian Somerhalder plays a large part in this film.  Somerhalder is mostly known for his role on the ABC show Lost, but despite the insistence of everyone around me, I don’t watch Lost.  But I was really impressed with him on HBO’s Tell Me You Love Me.  After watching this I am certain that Ian Somerhalder is going to be a very big star.  He holds his own in a very emotional scene with Strathairn, and really has a star moment in his scene with Tony Swingle.

Another great talent in this film is Jane Adams.  I remember thinking last year after Little Children that Jane Adams is an actress that never seems to have that lead, but always does an amazing job.  I know some actors are made to support, and there is no doubt that Adams has been an important member to many ensemble casts.  But I would really like to see her in a starring role.

The Sensation of Sight also stars Elisabeth Waterston, whom I had never seen before.  I wasn’t aware until I checked IMDB that she was Sam Waterston’s daughter.  Waterston really pops off the screen in this film.  She has as scene where she is helping her father shave, and it’s in my opinion the most natural interaction of the film.  I’m certain we’re going to see some great work from her in the future.

So with all the great performances why didn’t I like the film?  I don’t know.  It’s just one of those films that seem to not pull together for me.  It ends with an oh, I get it now? moment, but it feels like more of a device that was meant to hold my interest.  I can see why people would really like this movie, I just can’t say that I did.

I genuinely feel bad for not liking this film, so I’m including a link to a second opinion.  Personally I would give this film a 3 out of 5.

[tags]sensation of sight, ashland film festival, david strathairn, Ian Somerhalder, Elisabeth Waterston, Jane Adams[tags]