EQLateral will play on Abraxas again at Burningman
Like last year we will play on the Dragonmuff art car called Abraxas again this year for the BM art works press tour. I just got pictures from last year from the BM press office. See them here
Natacha with the $100000 Dowry in Gold Buillion
What a news story, you cant make this up! A 56 year old Australian sheep farmer responded to a personal internet ad of a 22 year old extremely attractive woman from Mali, who offered him not only her hand in marriage but also 100000 Dollars of dowry in the form, yes, of gold bullions! The love struck sheep farmer flew to Mali, was promptly kidnapped by his “internet bride” (who turned out to be a couple of shady guys with a home made pistol and a machete), bound, beaten and almost lost his limbs. The australien officials managed to trick the tricksters though in making them believe a huge sum of ransom money had arrived at the Canadian embassy where said sheep farmer went to pick up the non existing ransom and was rescued. The bride’s name was “Natacha” - so if you are ever offered a hand in marriage and 100000K in gold buillion as dowry maybe ask for some buillion first before meeting the bride,eh? .. More here 
Panama Trip Pictures Posted
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Click here to see my pictures from Panama!
Bach’s Proof Of The Existence of God, between 5:20 and 3:50 rem.
These are the first 9 minutes of the ca 13-16 minute long Chaconne by J.S.Bach, which is the final movement of the 2nd solo partita for violin. It is one of the reasons I will play violin for the rest of my life and maybe one day I can play an easy segment from it… It is one of the hardest pieces ever written and is a testament and musical offering. Bach wrote the piece after he discovered upon his return from a stay away from home that his wife had just died, alone, and had been burried a week before his return. The Latin translation of the piece can mean not only “For solo violin” but apparently also “you are all alone”. This piece is a prayer, love letter, reflection of our mortality and an expression of Bach’s certainty of the existence of God.
BTW You will need to stop the audio player in the side bar to the left of this post so you wont have two separate music tracks playing at the same time
Peru Pictures Posted!
I have posted a few of the pictures I took during my jungle journey to Peru. Please see album here!
FlowCamp Location 3:00 and Grassland!
Our Camp has been placed at 3:00 and Grassland. For the detailed map, please click here
Posted Biodiesel Resource Page
Click here for the evolving biodiesel resource page!
Getting off the fossil fuel grid! Seattle to Eugene on half a tank of B99 Biodiesel!
Wed the 11th of July was my birthday and I finally did something I had been considering for a very long time: I traded in my old beaten up black VW GTI for a 2002 Golf TDI - capable of running Biodiesel fuel and promptly took it on a road trip to the Oregon Country Fair, a ca 350 mi trip on less than 8 gallons of biodiesel. Why did I do this?
Alternative to fossil fuel - fossil fuels are non renewable, toxic and a main contributor to global climate change
Renewable energy source - fuel from plants represents an energy source that is renewable
Non toxic biodegradable fuel source - Biodiesel is a processed vegetable oil with the glycerol removed. Biodiesel is supposedly ten times less toxic than table salt and degrades faster than sugar. The EPA declared it a non-toxic substance to humans.
Domestic Fuel Source - Biodiesel can be entierly produced domestically, many fuel stations in the Northwest use Biodiesel produced locally or in the mid west. However, as demand for Biodiesel increases, so does the danger of creating new global agrocultural inequities, mono-culture and environment exploitation (see here ). As with any other product, you have to be an informed consumer and buy from sources that ensure you that the fuel is produced domestically.
Cleaner Burning Fuel - Overall Biodiesel is a much cleaner burning fuel than petroleum gas or diesel. Compared to regular Diesel engines Biodiesel engines emit 78% less CO2 (using B100) which is a prime cause for global warming. Emission of the poisonous gas Carbon Monoxide, Sulfur which causes Acid Rain, particulate matter (another health hazard) and other emissions are also down by ca 50% (or more) across the board. See here or here for an emissions summary. There is a drawback to this rosy picture: Nitrogen Oxide emissions (NOx contributes to local smog and ozone formation) are up by ca 6%-10% over regular petro Diesel emissions. These numbers seem to be in dispute and there are various sources which claim that in practice biodiesel cars do not produce additional NOx emissions (see here ). Even if true,as most respected sites cite a 6%-10% increase, NOx can be regulated with a different catalytic converter and there is research that shows that fuel additives can reduce or negate NOx emissions. So the overall upshot for me was that despite the additional NOx emissions, the net emissions my driving causes is far reduced over regular gas and diesel engines.
Better Fuel Economy - Driving down to the Oregon country fair I used roughly half a tank of the 14.5 Gal TDI tank, giving me ca 45 - 48 mpg fuel efficiency! So even if I put petro diesel in my car, I would still use 4 to 5 times less fuel resources than a Hummer H2, or around the same as a Honda Civic Hybrid! (The prius gets ca 60 mpg, see here for a fuel efficiency chart of Hybrids). In other words, the TDI is in the same fuel efficiency league of a hybrid, yet I dont need to use any fossil fuels! To be honest I was just amazed that at the end of my 7 hour road trip I still had half a tank of biodiesel left!
Can be converted to run SVO or home made biodiesel: If push come to shove you could make your own biodiesel fuel at home! Or you can convert the TDI to run on pure vegetable oil, thats right, on the stuff you can pick up in the super market. Kits start around a thousand bucks plus installation.
Why not a Hybrid? There seem to be some semi religious wars of words between the biodiesel and hybrid camps. I believe both technologies are fantastic transition technologies on our way to a new energy economy and anyone who makes ethical and environmental concerns part of their personal transportation choice should be applauded. Here are my personal reasons why I went for a biodiesel as opposed to a Hybrid vehicle: a) the TDI has a fuel economy that is comparable to the Honda Hybrid vehicles, so I already get Hybrid fuel class economy with the TDI b) Hybrids use petro fuels: that toxic global warming inducing stuff that allowed Al to make an Oscar receiving documentary, so why not chose a car that does not require fossil fuels and has similar fuel economy?! c) Hybrids have large batteries that have the potential of becoming an environmental hazard of their own (though Toyota has a unique recycling program that may avert some of these dangers) d) I like hatch backs, I like VW Golfs, so this was also an aesthetic maybe even cultural heritge driven choice (being German an all)
BM Art Project
My friend John and I will be working on an installation for BM this year - an instrument tree and performance stage. The tree will be made up of cellos and violins (decommisioned instruments mind you) and under the tree will be a performance stage. If you are at Burningman this year come and check us out.