AvatarMeet 2012 - Dates Confirmed, and Online Registration Open

Started by Payoang, November 18, 2011, 11:35:22 PM

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Txonä Unil Stä'nìyu Rolyusì

As for food, there is a McDonalds and a Wal-Greens right next to the hotel. Those are the nearest food places I can think of. A cheaper alternative to driving or flying might be Amtrak. That's how I'm getting from SoCal to my house in SW Washington, then to Seattle. My ticket from Bakersfield, CA to Portland, OR is only $115. It's also a greener method of transportation than driving or flying :)

-Txonä Rolyu




AvatarMeet was fantastic. Thanks to all who attended :D

Avatar Nation Karyu :D

Na'vi Kintrrä #70° :D

Keyeyluke ke tsun livu kea tìnusume

Oeri Uniltìrantokxìl txe'lanit nì'aw takeiuk nì'ul txa' fralo

Fpìl na Na'vi. Plltxe na Na'vi. Tìran na Na'vi. Kame na Na'vi

hì'ia tuté

Quote from: Txonä Unil Stä'nìyu Rolyusì on April 19, 2012, 05:13:02 AM
As for food, there is a McDonalds and a Wal-Greens right next to the hotel. Those are the nearest food places I can think of. A cheaper alternative to driving or flying might be Amtrak. That's how I'm getting from SoCal to my house in SW Washington, then to Seattle. My ticket from Bakersfield, CA to Portland, OR is only $115. It's also a greener method of transportation than driving or flying :)

-Txonä Rolyu

I looked at Amtrak and I'd have to leave on the 17th to get to Seattle by the 19th... And I'd have to transfer to a bus for part of the trip... faster to fly.

Alan

Yeah Txonä, definetley a green way to travel ;)  (Sez he flying from the UK.)

Although it is definitely faster to fly, another option that might work out cheaper could be the Greyhound bus.  Worth a look-see.  Could consider it a 'landcruise' adventure.  :D

Alan

Txonä Unil Stä'nìyu Rolyusì

Quote from: hì'i tuté on April 19, 2012, 09:16:28 AM
Quote from: Txonä Unil Stä'nìyu Rolyusì on April 19, 2012, 05:13:02 AM
As for food, there is a McDonalds and a Wal-Greens right next to the hotel. Those are the nearest food places I can think of. A cheaper alternative to driving or flying might be Amtrak. That's how I'm getting from SoCal to my house in SW Washington, then to Seattle. My ticket from Bakersfield, CA to Portland, OR is only $115. It's also a greener method of transportation than driving or flying :)

-Txonä Rolyu

I looked at Amtrak and I'd have to leave on the 17th to get to Seattle by the 19th... And I'd have to transfer to a bus for part of the trip... faster to fly.

Well of course flying would be faster, flying's always faster, but since you were talking about a shortage of funds, I offered up a cheaper method of transport. It may take longer but it would save you money.

-Txonä Rolyu

P.S. Oh yes, do check Greyhound as well they might actually take less time than the train. A word of caution with Greyhound tho, beware of late busses. I had a horrible experience on Greyhound once when a bus was late. Although I also live (temporarily) in southern California, home of THE worst public transportation in the country if not the world. I used to ride Greyhound in OR and never had a problem there. Anyway, your method of transportation is up to you. If you want to pay more to get there faster go ahead. I'm just offering cheaper alternatives.




AvatarMeet was fantastic. Thanks to all who attended :D

Avatar Nation Karyu :D

Na'vi Kintrrä #70° :D

Keyeyluke ke tsun livu kea tìnusume

Oeri Uniltìrantokxìl txe'lanit nì'aw takeiuk nì'ul txa' fralo

Fpìl na Na'vi. Plltxe na Na'vi. Tìran na Na'vi. Kame na Na'vi

hì'ia tuté

hm... I must have been delirious.... or half asleep when I looked at Greyhound the other night, I totally thought it was more expensive than it apparently is.  :D I'd have to transfer buses 4 times and it would take 1 day, 17 hours, 10 minutes, but only $198 as opposed to $350 to fly... unless I can find a deal for $99 airline tickets...

Alan

It amazes me that public transport is such an issue in some areas of the US.  Very sad only..not just for the environment but not giving people a choice.

I've only been to New York and Seattle and there it was great.  Seattle was by far the best with trams, trains, trolley buses and diesel buses.  It seemed like a european city!

Anyway, hope you get a cheap deal hì'i tuté.  Have you tried any travel agents to see if they can find anything for you as well as multiple web searches, like www.expedia.com etc?  Hope that helps a little,

Alan

hì'ia tuté

Portland Oregon also has great public transportation, but personally I hate public transport... it takes twice as long to get where ever you're trying to get to... When I lived in Oregon I was 1.3 miles from my college. By car, I could get there in about 5 minutes. By bus, it would take 10 to 15 minutes... Also, I'm horrible at getting ready fast enough to catch a bus... If I drive, I have a bit more wiggle room in case I'm running late... buses are usually 15 minutes apart and if I miss the bus by 1 minute, then I have to wait 14 more minutes, and be that much later, whereas if I drive, I can leave whenever and I won't be late to where I'm going... lol... but that's just me... (being 'on time' is a hard concept for me to master...)

as to flights and stuff, I have checked out travel websites. I also downloaded Southwest Airline's Ding! (deals on airline tickets)... my mom is also very good at finding cheap airline tickets...

However, all this is contingent upon how much money I have left at the end of the semester... My Student Loan money is the only money I have to my name... and so it has to be budgeted very carefully to last the entire semester... Last semester I had $1.00 left over. lol.

Alan

Quote from: hì'i tuté on April 21, 2012, 11:42:18 AM
...whereas if I drive, I can leave whenever and I won't be late to where I'm going... lol...but that's just me...

Well bang goes the environment then, cos it's not just you thinking like that.

1.3 miles you say!  You could walk that in 15 minutes, do your bit for the environment, do a bit of free gentle keep fit, and save some money for the Meet up - Win win :D

I find it amazing how we are all so caught up in the 'car culture' and a slave to it...meh!  Call me a greeny if you want, but it makes us so selfish against the environment and the world that supports us.  Why don't we take heed of Avatar (and what's happening around us)?  Ho-humm...

Alan

hì'ia tuté

Quote from: Alan on April 22, 2012, 07:57:01 AM
Quote from: hì'i tuté on April 21, 2012, 11:42:18 AM
...whereas if I drive, I can leave whenever and I won't be late to where I'm going... lol...but that's just me...

Well bang goes the environment then, cos it's not just you thinking like that.

1.3 miles you say!  You could walk that in 15 minutes, do your bit for the environment, do a bit of free gentle keep fit, and save some money for the Meet up - Win win :D

I find it amazing how we are all so caught up in the 'car culture' and a slave to it...meh!  Call me a greeny if you want, but it makes us so selfish against the environment and the world that supports us.  Why don't we take heed of Avatar (and what's happening around us)?  Ho-humm...

Alan

I don't think we have to give up our cars to save the environment. We just need to honestly find an alternative, renewable resource to use as gasoline for our cars. I remember watching an episode of Top Gear, and they featured a car made by Honda that operated with Hydrogen. It was only available in the LA area, however, it worked the same as a regular gasoline car. You went to the gas station, filled the tank with Hydrogen, and went on  your merry way. The byproduct of this Hydrogen car? Well, think about it... Hydrogen exits the tail pipe, mixes with the air.... what does that make? H2O... water. It would be the perfect solution. Hydrogen is a renewable resource, the byproduct is water, and we would not have to alter our dependance on driving. The only thing that would change, is what we put in our tank. And I would think it might be possible to convert traditional gasoline cars to a hydrogen system (swap the engine, make whatever modifications needed, and maybe for the poor have some kind of government assistance program to help everybody make the switch).

However, oil companies are scared of 'renewable resources' because that would put them out of business they believe... but if they become hydrogen fuel companies instead, and also make the switch... they wouldn't go out of business.

Here's a website about the Honda Clarity: http://automobiles.honda.com/fcx-clarity/

Top Gear Clip: Top Gear drives Honda FCX Clarity

As for walking 1.3 miles, I have knee injury and I can hardly walk around in Wal-mart or Safeway, etc. In fact, when it's available, I use the electric mobility scooters to get around the store. I can't walk very long distances without my knee hurting. Also, I have activity-induced Asthma which means any cardio type exercise (including walking downhill or uphill, which I lived at the top of a hill, and a dangerous S curve with no sidewalks) I start wheezing and can't breathe. Also, ever since I was 5 years old, any excessive walking/running, my calf muscles would seize up and I wouldn't be able to move for days. The bus that came by my house, came every 30 minutes instead of 15 (and really it was two buses, each came once an hour... one on the hour, one on the half hour) and if I missed the bus, I was screwed getting to school on time. (I have A.D.D. and one of the problems A.D.D. people have, is time management. Like I said, it's very hard for me to be 'on time'.) So for me, It would have been probably more like 30 to 40 minutes to walk that... maybe longer.

Currently, I live 13 miles from my college here in AZ. I have to take the freeway to get to my school. And in AZ, public transport is horrible. It's fairly new to the state. When my mom lived here in the 70's there was *no* public transportation... not even a taxi... So I can't walk to school from where I live now either... and public transport is not an option.

Tsmuktengan

On my side, I think I will not be able to come to this AvatarMeet, not this time yet again.  :(


Alan

A-HAAA!  :D Nothing like a car topic to get the typing juices flowing!  Hehehe   ;)

Quote from: hì'i tuté on April 22, 2012, 10:04:00 AM
I don't think we have to give up our cars to save the environment.
Agreed, but there is a balance to be had.  Mass transit, for those who it suits, is a more energy efficient way of moving people around. The thing is, more energy is required to transport 1 person (or even 4 people) in a 1 ton car compared to 53 people in a 7 to 10 ton bus etc.

Quote from: hì'i tuté on April 22, 2012, 10:04:00 AM
We just need to honestly find an alternative...Hydrogen is a renewable resource, the byproduct is water, and we would not have to alter our dependance on driving.

Irayo for posting the video and link.  I did watch it. (Although I don't watch Top Gear normally as I don't really like that Clarkson fella!)  I long to see that hydrogen car rolled out more swiftly.

Ahhh, Hydrogen.  Sounds like the ideal ticket...until you find out it takes a lot of energy to make it! To split water into a higher energey state of Hydrogen and oxygen means you have to put a lot of energy in.  However, all it not lost if you are able to use renewable energy in the first place to facilitate the hydrogen production.

Talking of energy balance too.  If we really get into the weeds of it, more energy goes into producing a car (per person, per life of vehicle) than mass transit system.  A car may last five to ten years on average, but a bus can last 10 to 20 years.  As for a train; 30 to 40 years of service.

What would be really cool would be if the life of the components in the car could be understood better so they could be reused for their full life.  This would reduce the energy use(d to make them) per vehicle.  Like you say: "swap the engine, make whatever modifications needed, and maybe for the poor have some kind of government assistance program to help everybody make the switch"

Quote from: hì'i tuté on April 22, 2012, 10:04:00 AM
However, oil companies are scared of 'renewable resources' because that would put them out of business they believe... but if they become hydrogen fuel companies instead, and also make the switch... they wouldn't go out of business.

Too true.  They just have too many fingers in too many pies I guess.  I wouldn't be surprised if they have taken specific action to stiffle progress.  I mean; the first internal combustion engine car in the US was in 1877 and we still have the same basic design today, albeit more refined.  Trains were steam powered back then.  Now we have electric trains that can do 186mph, day in, day out!

Quote from: hì'i tuté on April 22, 2012, 10:04:00 AM
As for walking 1.3 miles, I have knee injury and I can hardly walk around in Wal-mart ... Also, I have activity-induced Asthma which means any cardio type exercise ... I start wheezing and can't breathe. Also,... my calf muscles would seize up and I wouldn't be able to move for days. ...I have A.D.D. and one of the problems A.D.D. people have, is time management. ... So for me, It would have been probably more like 30 to 40 minutes to walk that... maybe longer.

Sorry to hear that ma 'eylan.  I certainly did not want to cause any offence.  This is the vagueries of internet chatting - that all we see are the words on the screen.  Who people really are is hidden until explanation.   For what it's worth I have a bad left eye and I'm colour blind!  But that is nothing compared to the situation you find youself in.  Eywa ngahu ma 'eylan.

Quote from: hì'i tuté on April 22, 2012, 10:04:00 AM
Currently, I live 13 miles from my college here in AZ. I have to take the freeway to get to my school. And in AZ, public transport is horrible. It's fairly new to the state. When my mom lived here in the 70's there was *no* public transportation... not even a taxi... So I can't walk to school from where I live now either... and public transport is not an option.

Wow!  That is so sad that you have no choice where you are.  It's like it is forced on you to drive.  Roll on better mass transit and hydrogen cars for you over your way.  The sooner the better.

Although the UK Public transport system is far from being the best in the world, I live next to an average size town and we have 24 hour buses to the local airport every 1/2 hour and other buses in between during the day.  There is also an good train service to get you places like London, Wales and Scotland are regular intervals...

Seems like we strayed a bit off topic here.  So just to bring it back, Seattle has an excellent public transport system.  If you fly in, there is a tram that takes you directly to the city centre for $2.75 and then it is a hop on the lift upto the Mono rail for a $2 ride to the EMP museum and a 2 minute walk to the Best Western Executive Inn.  How cool is that!  Certainly cheaper than transport costs over here in the UK.

Anyway, that was great hì'i tuté.  It's good to talk about these things.  We all learn a bit.  Well I certainly do, like that hydrogen car.  Hope you can still make it to the Meet Up.  All the best.

Quote from: Tsmuktengan on April 22, 2012, 10:46:27 AM
On my side, I think I will not be able to come to this AvatarMeet, not this time yet again.  :(

Sorry to hear that Tsmuktengen :(  I hope we have another one next year so you can definitely come.  But do keep a watch out on the forum whilst we are there as we hope to keep posting updates, so you can virtually be there with us. :)

Eywa ngahu,

Alan

hì'ia tuté

Quote from: Alan on April 22, 2012, 12:59:55 PM
Wow!  That is so sad that you have no choice where you are.  It's like it is forced on you to drive.  Roll on better mass transit and hydrogen cars for you over your way.  The sooner the better.

Although the UK Public transport system is far from being the best in the world, I live next to an average size town and we have 24 hour buses to the local airport every 1/2 hour and other buses in between during the day.  There is also an good train service to get you places like London, Wales and Scotland are regular intervals...

Seems like we strayed a bit off topic here.  So just to bring it back, Seattle has an excellent public transport system.  If you fly in, there is a tram that takes you directly to the city centre for $2.75 and then it is a hop on the lift upto the Mono rail for a $2 ride to the EMP museum and a 2 minute walk to the Best Western Executive Inn.  How cool is that!  Certainly cheaper than transport costs over here in the UK.

Anyway, that was great hì'i tuté.  It's good to talk about these things.  We all learn a bit.  Well I certainly do, like that hydrogen car.  Hope you can still make it to the Meet Up.  All the best.

I don't feel forced to drive... I love to drive... I've been driving for about 8 years now (permit from 04 to 07, licensed in '07) and I love to drive. That's why I'm excited about the hydrogen car... except we need more filling stations than just southern California. What I hate are gas prices... while I've been trying to figure out how much money I would need to have left over in order to make this trip a reality, I looked up gas prices for that area of Seattle (www.gasbuddy.com most awesome cheap gas site ever... not sure if it works outside of the US though...) and I was shocked that the gas prices were over 4 dollars, but closer to 5 dollars... where I live, gas prices are around $3.79 to $3.90 and that's shocking enough... I would hope that hydrogen, being the most abundant element on earth, would be less expensive per gallon than gasoline.

And to sort of get back on topic, does anybody know of any really cheap car rental places?

Alan

Well must be great to be, I guess one of the many, who love to drive.  Not everyone does though.  For them it may be forced on them with no choice.

Anyway good for you. :)  It means it will never be a problem...well apart from gas prices.  Yeah I totally agree with you the sooner we can convert to hydrogen the better.  If you think gas prices are expensive over your way, in the UK it is the equivalent of $2.27 a litre, which I think works out at about $10.37 per gallon!  Eeeek!!!  Yep, you got it good over your way.  Bring on the hydrogen, I say. :D

Afraid I don't know about cheap car rental places, other than perhaps an internet search.

Alan

Human No More

#73
Quote from: Alan on April 22, 2012, 12:59:55 PM
A-HAAA!  :D Nothing like a car topic to get the typing juices flowing!  Hehehe   ;)

Quote from: hì'i tuté on April 22, 2012, 10:04:00 AM
I don't think we have to give up our cars to save the environment.
Agreed, but there is a balance to be had.  Mass transit, for those who it suits, is a more energy efficient way of moving people around. The thing is, more energy is required to transport 1 person (or even 4 people) in a 1 ton car compared to 53 people in a 7 to 10 ton bus etc.
It also restricts people in terms of schedule, independence, and opportunity.

Quote
Quote from: hì'i tuté on April 22, 2012, 10:04:00 AM
We just need to honestly find an alternative...Hydrogen is a renewable resource, the byproduct is water, and we would not have to alter our dependance on driving.

Irayo for posting the video and link.  I did watch it. (Although I don't watch Top Gear normally as I don't really like that Clarkson fella!)  I long to see that hydrogen car rolled out more swiftly.

Ahhh, Hydrogen.  Sounds like the ideal ticket...until you find out it takes a lot of energy to make it! To split water into a higher energey state of Hydrogen and oxygen means you have to put a lot of energy in.  However, all it not lost if you are able to use renewable energy in the first place to facilitate the hydrogen production.
True enough; but the water itself is usable for that; deuterium is one of the important components of almost all fusion reactor designs and comes from some water in place of hydrogen.

QuoteTalking of energy balance too.  If we really get into the weeds of it, more energy goes into producing a car (per person, per life of vehicle) than mass transit system.  A car may last five to ten years on average, but a bus can last 10 to 20 years.  As for a train; 30 to 40 years of service.
Sounds like you're pulling those figures out of the air to me.

QuoteWhat would be really cool would be if the life of the components in the car could be understood better so they could be reused for their full life.  This would reduce the energy use(d to make them) per vehicle.  Like you say: "swap the engine, make whatever modifications needed, and maybe for the poor have some kind of government assistance program to help everybody make the switch"
It's doable, especially with 3D printers.

QuoteToo true.  They just have too many fingers in too many pies I guess.  I wouldn't be surprised if they have taken specific action to stiffle progress.  I mean; the first internal combustion engine car in the US was in 1877 and we still have the same basic design today, albeit more refined.  Trains were steam powered back then.  Now we have electric trains that can do 186mph, day in, day out!
They have vested interests against it, but all that 'suppressed progress' talk is just tinfoil hattery, sorry to say. Remember that AC current was discovered in the 1880s :P
The reason electric cars remain commercial and critical failures is because they are systematically flawed. They have too low performance, too long downtime between use, are too expensive, and have a far greater negative environmental impact than a normal car over average usage patterns; not to mention how the majority of them are powered form coal, oil or natural gas at the point of grid feed-in.

I like driving. I can't afford a car right now, but it's planned when I can since it's a pain to get to and from work without one (and the financial saving of not having one is tiny thanks to stupidly expensive and unreliable trains, and nonexistent if wasted time is factored in), and it's far more convenient in so many other cases.
Perhaps one day, they can be partly replaced by PRT (essentially semi-private buses that go to where you actually want rather than some stop miles away leaving you to walk, and actually run at night), but that's decades off.
"I can barely remember my old life. I don't know who I am any more."

HNM, not 'Human' :)

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"God was invented to explain mystery. God is always invented to explain those things that you do not understand."
- Richard P. Feynman

hì'ia tuté

Quote from: Alan on April 22, 2012, 03:46:56 PMIf you think gas prices are expensive over your way, in the UK it is the equivalent of $2.27 a litre, which I think works out at about $10.37 per gallon!  Eeeek!!!  Yep, you got it good over your way.  Bring on the hydrogen, I say. :D
Alan

close... at $2.27/liter (which to make a US gallon is about 3.79 liters), it would be about $8.60/gallon(US) or about £5.33/gallon(US). Which is one reason I hate the Metric system. :D lol I've always wondered why the UK sticks with Liters in terms of gasoline as opposed to adopting the US Gallons for gasoline... I mean we borrow the Metric system for things here, like medication doses and stuff like that... lol.

Alan

Quote from: Human No More on April 22, 2012, 05:05:43 PM
It also restricts people in terms of schedule, independence, and opportunity.
True.  It can, which is why I said 'for those it suits'.


Quote from: Human No More on April 22, 2012, 05:05:43 PMTrue enough; but the water itself is usable for that; deuterium is one of the important components of almost all fusion reactor designs and comes from some water in place of hydrogen.
Yeah, which will be great once the technology is up and running.

Quote from: Human No More on April 22, 2012, 05:05:43 PM
Sounds like you're pulling those figures out of the air to me..
Steady on there  :)  I do know that these are generally the life expectancy for the types of vehicles I listed.

Quote from: Human No More on April 22, 2012, 05:05:43 PM
It's doable, especially with 3D printers.
Yep, Selective Laser Sintering of metals is technology we have now, but I understand there is still a few materials to develop as well as the size of the machines to make components.

Quote from: Human No More on April 22, 2012, 05:05:43 PM
They have vested interests against it, but all that 'suppressed progress' talk is just tinfoil hattery, sorry to say. Remember that AC current was discovered in the 1880s :P
Sorry if I was incorrect there

Quote from: Human No More on April 22, 2012, 05:05:43 PM
The reason electric cars remain commercial and critical failures is because they are systematically flawed. They have too low performance, too long downtime between use, are too expensive, and have a far greater negative environmental impact than a normal car over average usage patterns; not to mention how the majority of them are powered form coal, oil or natural gas at the point of grid feed-in.

Well, from hì'i tuté's link to the Top Gear article the hydrogen car doesn't seem that flawed compared to the battery equivalents...apart from the lack of hydrogen infrastructure.  You're definitely right about the fosil fuel generation of the energy in the first place which does make a mockery of it.  But like I said, if the initial energy could be generated by renewables then there is a clean route through.  It won't happen over night, but that is no excuse for us to start to evolved towards clean energy generation and use.

Quote from: Human No More on April 22, 2012, 05:05:43 PMI like driving. I can't afford a car right now, but it's planned when I can since it's a pain to get to and from work without one (and the financial saving of not having one is tiny thanks to stupidly expensive and unreliable trains, and nonexistent if wasted time is factored in), and it's far more convenient in so many other cases.
Perhaps one day, they can be partly replaced by PRT (essentially semi-private buses that go to where you actually want rather than some stop miles away leaving you to walk, and actually run at night), but that's decades off.

I'm guess most people love to drive, which is why so many do and like watching Top Gear.  Yeah, transport over in the UK is hellishly expensive.  Where I live I wouldn't say the trains are unreliable.  They used to be in the mid 90s, but they are pretty much bob-on now...but still expensive.  The idea of PRTs sounds really good.  Thanks for enlightening me on that one.  :)  Now they would be an improvement.

Quote from: hì'i tuté on April 22, 2012, 06:05:55 PM
close... at $2.27/liter (which to make a US gallon is about 3.79 liters), it would be about $8.60/gallon(US) or about £5.33/gallon(US). Which is one reason I hate the Metric system. :D lol I've always wondered why the UK sticks with Liters in terms of gasoline as opposed to adopting the US Gallons for gasoline... I mean we borrow the Metric system for things here, like medication doses and stuff like that... lol.

Ah..Thanks for correcting me there hì'i tuté.  Looks like we still end up paying about twice as much for fuel as you folks do.  As for units, yep we have a mix in the UK.  Distance is measured in miles, but petrol is sold by the litre!

Ok, well, it seems I was wrong about most things there.  I do sincerely thank you both for correcting me.  One thing I was right about, though, and that was that a topic about cars causes a lively debate!   :)

Alan

`Eylan Ayfalulukanä

We also have the situation here in the US that everything is widely spaced out, compared to Europe. There is a lot of space between cities. People enjoy the freedom of driving their car, and I can't blame them for that. I just drove to Las Vegas and back. I could fly, but driving made everything so much easier. And I could instantly adapt to the chaotic schedule I usually face during the NAB convention. I was also able to save 66+ percent on my hotel bill by not staying in a 'strip' hotel (which have monorail and bus service to NAB).

I drove to "Na'viCon" last year, and having the car proved to be very useful. I was able to help a lot of people out who needed transportation. Although certainly practical to do again, I decided to take the train. I can relax, read and watch 'Avatar' during the trip and arrive relaxed. I can use public transportation (or a taxi) to get from the train station to the hotel. (I also do not need to visit a bunch of TV stations on the way up/back, like I did last year.)

Hydrogen is almost the ideal fuel for a car-- zero undesirable emissions. The biggest problems with it is energy density-- better than a battery, but not as good as gasoline. The most practical current storage form of hydrogen is as a liquid. It is extremely dangerous in this form, as it is super cold. But I feel that hydrogen has so many advantages that huge sums of money should be sunk into finding a way to make it practical. Unfortunately, this not being done. So, the current goal is to design underpowered, dangerous-to-drive 'smart cars', which would not be good for long distance driving.

I don't own a 'luxury car', but a small, practical car with a big (for its size) engine. I have power when I need it, and still get great (about 30 MPG highway) gas mileage. The whole secret of driving a car with a big engine is driving in such a way to get good fuel economy.

DJ Makto and I spent a good part of a day together at NAB. We toured some of James Cameron's new production trucks (pictures forthcoming!) and had a great time together. We are both looking forward to "Na'viCon"!

Yawey ngahu!
pamrel si ro [email protected]

Alan

Yeah, I guess it is all a question of balance.  Choosing the right mode of transport for the journey or activity at hand.  In a big city a car might be a hinderance, in the country you will be waiting a long while for a non-existant bus!

For me going to work I catch the train and then have a 20 minute walk to work from the station.  I guess a car would be quicker, but it's the only exercise I get and it kinda wakes me up in the morning.  If the weather is good through, I take my bike on the train and then cycle home in the evening.

One of the things that troubles me, rightly or wrongly, is that when young people get to the age where they can learn to drive, it is almost expected that they do.  I guess they all want to anyway and depending on geographical location, like you say, they may have no choice.  But it does mean that they have to start polluting.  Again no choice in the matter...although there are alternatives out there, but still in their infancy.

Maybe I have the wrong end of the stick and need recalibrating...or something.  But it just seems sad to me.  So the sooner hydrogen car technology comes out the better.  It may not pack the same energy as gasoline, but if the supply route is renewable and uses renewable energy to make it, then it wont matter.  It becomes plentiful.

When I was in Seattle last year I was amazed at the choice available to get around.  It seemed like somewhere that you could actually live and work without a car!  A lot better than over here.  You have the plane for very long distances, the train for long distance, the tram/rapid transit/monorail for cross city transport (linking to the airport), as well as buses and trolley buses/electric buses for local transport.

There the balance seems just right; a choice for the different distances that people might travel.  And if they don't take your fancy or don't cover where you are there is the car and routes like interstate 5 (I think) to get you there and around the place.  To me this is a good balance offering choice and at a very good rate too!  So for those coming to Seattle (just to hopefully bring us back on topic) transport won't be a problem.  :)

Alan

hì'ia tuté

Greyhound seems to be the cheapest mode of travel to get to Seattle... $198 if I buy the tickets at least 3 wks in advance... and I forgot that Seattle had such awesome public transportation... I think I'm still going to hold out and try and find either a better deal on Amtrak or Airfare just because it's a little nicer way to travel than by bus... but I think if I use public transport in Seattle and find a cheap method of getting to Seattle... it *might* be a little more possible to go... fingers crossed...  :D

mikkowilson

Once you are at the meetup, you won't need much transport.
Our hotel is across the street from the EMP; and most attractions are well within walking distance.

- Mikko
Mikko Wilson
Juneau, Alaska, USA
[email protected] - www.mikkowilson.com - +1 (907) 321-8387