February 2010

Modern Renditions of Pride & Prejudice, Humor Edition

Lynne Kiesling I’ve been reading, thinking about, and watching lots of Jane Austen lately, and I’ve found two funny renditions of my favorite book, Pride and Prejudice: Austenbook, a Facebook-style retelling of the story, and Pride and Prejudice in emoticons. I guffawed out loud in an unseemly manner ill befitting a lady, but I suspect …

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Court Dismisses Price Fixing and Price Gouging Claims Filed Against Four Martha’s Vineyard Gasoline Retailers

Michael Giberson A federal court in Massachusetts has dismissed a class-action claim filed against four Martha’s Vineyard gasoline retailers.  The suit claimed the stations engaged in price fixing over several years and in price gouging after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in Fall 2005.  Defendants argued that pricing patterns observed by plaintiffs were insufficient to support …

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Energy Storage for Electric Power Systems

Michael Giberson Sandia National Lab has just published a study of energy storage applications for the electric grid: “Energy Storage for the Electricity Grid: Benefits and Market Potential Assessment Guide.” John Petersen at Alt Energy Stocks said: I’ve been following the work in progress on this report since last summer and have eagerly awaited the …

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Bloom Energy Makes the News

Michael Giberson Another Silicon Valley start-up out to solve the world’s energy problems, promising “clean, reliable, affordable energy anywhere.”  Sounds good, hope they can deliver. Today’s energy-problem-solver is Bloom Energy.  The company has been around since 2001, quietly developing what it claims is a new fuel-cell technology, much of it on the dime of Silicon …

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Fracking and Water Quality

Michael Giberson One of the issues surrounding development of shale gas resources has been concern over the effects of resource development (especially fracturing processes) on groundwater quality.  Congress has initiated an investigation of the practice, for example. Geoff Styles looks over the issue in “Shale Gas and Drinking Water“, concluding it isn’t likely to be …

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