I wonder how this compares to the OPOC engine that is being developed by the same guy who did the TDI for VW. Check out the nifty flash animation: http://www.ecomotors.com/ . I think the new found focus on economy is starting to (finally) spur some innovation in this area.

Very weak. 40 miles on battery and then ~ 50mpg for the remaining 10 miles and you get the stupid mileage figure. Yes you can average 230mpg over the first 50 miles you drive on a fresh charge. Of course driving just another 10 miles would drop the mileage figure substantially. I guess it's time to have two mileage ratings. The first would be gallons per 100 miles with a fully charged battery, the 2nd would be gallons per 100 miles on a fully depleted battery.

_GP_

I think it will be a lot harder for these researchers to go back and change their headlines than it has been for them to modify the historical temperature data. In a few years time we will be able to look back at these headlines and have a good laugh at what people were willing to say just to keep their funding.

Cheers,
      _GP_

My daughter loves to play tuxpaint and ktuberling on our touch screen laptop (HP tx series). She is 3 now but had mastered tuxpaint with the touch screen (using the sytlus even) before she was two. Great fun and a nice activity after you've done all the playdoh and puzzles you can handle.

She also knows how to launch her videos from their desktop icons etc.

The touchscreen is a must as the coordination neccessary to properly use a mouse and/or keyboard just isn't there at such a young age.

Enjoy!

The only current sea level data that I could find (other than lots of "projections") is at
http://sealevel.colorado.edu/ but they have stopped updating their information until the end of the year.

The good news is that the sea level has been dropping slightly (this is no doubt connected to the massive increase in polar ice). Hopefully they won't pay to much for their insurance.

Cheers,
    _GP_