Its being hailed as a historic first - Boeing, as proof of concept, has successfully flown the first manned hydrogen battery powered airplane.



I tend to have a wild imagination, so when I see developments like this I get really excited. By their own admission they do not believe that this technology could be transferable to larger passenger aircraft but I don't see that as a failure. After all, what is wrong with marketing hydrogen-powered Cessnas that private individuals can fly at a drastically reduced operating cost? Seems like a winner to me. Or even better - perhaps in their quest to find more efficient means of running airplanes on alternative fuels they end up developing even better hydrogen technology that could be use in cars and trucks.

I think our government should be plowing money to companies who are doing work like this so that research can be sped up. After all, as far as I'm concerned anyway, for 30 years we've known how vulnerable our economic and political stability can be when crude prices fluctuate. It has to end, but where do we start? With ingenuity and technological developments like this one, which is being developed in private industry.

I happen to think that the only answer to effective and faster energy independence will be partnerships between government and private industry, in exactly the same way that military technological advancement takes place between the military and say, Skunkworks, or NASA and Northrop Grumman. Its too important - we have to pool public and private resources and intellectual capital to make it happen, just like we have in the past when quick technological advancements were in our best interests.

Then, maybe when China still insists on stealing secret American technology - - perhaps they will incorporate it into their own power scheme. China's pollution rate is climbing faster than its economy, which is scary.

Thats right - I have a fresh news update from hell. Mariah Carey has now trumped Elvis Presley's previous record for #1 singles.

The thing is, I don't appreciate Mariah Carey for her singing voice - I appreciate the fact that at 40 years old she looks amazing and I'd pretty much do anything to her that she asked me to do. A woman like Mariah Carey makes me realize how naughty I actually am.



As a music fan I'm concerned, but as a horny single guy I say, "congratulations!"

But - I can appreciate and acknowledge the place in American history and culture that Yankee Stadium holds. This year, after 85 years of operation, Yankee Stadium will be closing its doors. This may not mean a whole lot to many people who would otherwise read this journal, but I know how intellectually curious you lot are. You may be surprised when a well of nostalgia gets dredged up after checking this out - ESPN really did a great job with this timeline. Click on the "timeline" link below the picture.



Many iconic moments in sports and civic matters that have ended up transcending American culture have occurred at this very place - from Babe Ruth in 1923, Lou Gehrig making his emotional announcement in 1939, countless iconic boxing matches, the place where Knut Rockne gave his "win one for the Gipper" speech at halftime, NFL championships that pre-date the league as we know it now, Roger Maris and his 61th home run, two papal visits (Paul VI and John Paul II) attended by 80,000 parishoners, a speech by Nelson Mandela after he was released from prison, to an interfaith memorial service after 9/11. Mets fans may have chosen to forget that for two years, while the crumbling Yankee Stadium underwent renovations, the Yankees played their home games at Shea Stadium!

Typically when you mention the New York Yankees to baseball fans they look like they want to stick their finger down their throat. Its hard to blame them. For many the Yanks represent everything wrong with American sports. Their home, however, should be appreciated for what it is - an American cathedral by another name.

I'm not a Yankees fan... but I'll be sad when they turn the lights out.

I just mentioned this in a comment that I left Mr. Beatty, but I think it is so awesome that it deserves its own journal entry. Plus, I wanted to do my part in the effort to bloat the journal count to 23,000 with more frivolity!

A little background - this is a microroaster from San Francisco called Blue Bottle Coffee. I heard about them 2.5 months ago when I was in town after reading the food section of the SF Chronicle. They are part of a growing coffee culture that is looking for the next level of quality in coffee by selecting very carefully the beans that they buy, and roasting is done in small batches. Organic is assumed - where the hairs split is whether or not we are talking about wet or dry processed, shade grown, melange roasted etc. but freshness is paramount. If the coffee was roasted longer than 48 hours ago they generally won't serve it. They also will not grind your beans for you, since they strictly adhere to grinding before use and insist that you do too. Blends are only mixed after each coffee has been separately blended - you'd be amazed at how lazy some roasters are and the difference in quality can be drastic. This is why I will not buy Mexican Chiapas anywhere but Blue Bottle.

They make blends for some of SF's best restaurants, who do serve Blue Bottle Coffee only under the agreement that they do so using a french press or ceramic drip filter (a fancier version of what I use and 4x more expensive, but functionally identical). They do a great mail order business as well - I pay $17-$18 a pound (including shipping) and my coffee comes roasted no later than 8 hours prior to shipment. Once I find a local microroaster that I like (yet to find even one, honestly) I will be happy to recommend them.

For locals to SF - I would find it hard to believe if you haven't at least thought about checking out their new cafe! Their kiosk in Hayes Valley is small but supposedly serves lattes that only dreams are made of and they are equally anal about the espresso drinks in general, but where the really interesting stuff happens is the cafe. They are the only US owners of an incredible machine from Japan. Reading about what it took for the owner of Blue Bottle to get one of these machines makes it seem like he was getting a black belt in jujitsu or something.

Slideshow -



Corresponding article -



All those cafes who bought that Clover machine and thought they were sweet have been put to shame!

See? I was at Dyngus Day.



I also wanted to debut the Michael McDonald limited edition iPod 4GB Nano -



Josh