CA-40 additive experiment: Does it save 10% fuel as promised?

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Friday June 15, 2007 · 5:57 AM PDT

2007/06/15 · 05:57

A few weeks ago, Ed Schultz interviewed a representative from CMH industries about a new product - a fuel additive called "CA-40". The tagline of the product? "Guaranteed to save 10% on fuel economy".

The website is purposefully vague on the chemistry, but basically it's supposed to both assist in the separation of fuel hydrocarbons, and utilize super-solubilized calcium to generate a "secondary spark" upon heating. The theory is that it provides for a cleaner, more efficient burn, which results in more power during the power stroke of the pistons.

I bought some of the additive, and tested it out in a tank. So, did it work?

Short answer: no, with reservations.

Minutiae and caveats below the fold.

aludlam

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Tuesday June 12, 2007 · 6:23 AM PDT

2007/06/12 · 06:23

Can someone tell me what the hell just happened with the Gonzo story?

Seriously, what better way is there to reinforce the notion that Democrats are spineless wimps than to filibuster (at the drop of a hat, no less) a meaningless, insignificant, nonbinding resolution that has already been declared moot by the one guy it would theoretically make a difference to?

Democrats in congress, I am ashamed of you. This stupid ordeal is the straw that broke the camel's back.

If you care to win back my vote, you can read my suggestions below the fold. For all others, a tasty rant.

aludlam

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Thursday May 24, 2007 · 1:42 PM PDT

2007/05/24 · 13:42

In the President's speech today, he paints a pretty gloomy picture of the near future for his little war.

This summer is going to be a critical time for the new strategy. The last of five reinforcement brigades we are sending to Iraq is scheduled to arrive in Baghdad by mid-June. As these reinforcements carry out their missions the enemies of a free Iraq, including al Qaeda and illegal militias, will continue to bomb and murder in an attempt to stop us. We're going to expect heavy fighting in the weeks and months. We can expect more American and Iraqi casualties.

mmmm hm. I see, I see. What's the definition of success in Iraq again, Mr. President?

(arguments and snark below the fold)

aludlam

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Wednesday May 23, 2007 · 11:17 AM PDT

2007/05/23 · 11:17

I was just listening to the Thom Hartmann program on Air America. In the second segment of his first hour, he made an argument regarding the political implications of giving the President what he wants regarding the Iraq supplemental. Using "defunding or otherwise hampering the war effort is political suicide" as the base assumption, he boils the debate down to the following question.

Would you rather accept a certain amount of chaos, death, and destruction in the short term to ensure Democratic majorities that will restore sanity to domestic and foreign policy, or would you rather cut off the chaos right now and run the risk of Republican majorities who will instigate even worse wars with Iran and Syria?

Tom wisely does not answer the question. But I believe there's an important question to ask before that decision becomes a legitimate topic of debate. If the President gets what he wants and we allow him to continue stepping on the gas with the cliff's edge in sight, can we survive it?

(Details below the fold)

Poll

27 votes Show Results

What do you think?

27 votes Vote Now!

What do you think?

20 more months is not enough time to destroy the economy. Give the Boy King all the rope he needs and start polishing the podium for 2009.

2 votes

He can't possibly do enough damage to completely bankrupt us before he leaves office, but his war should be restricted immediately on principal alone.

1 vote

It'll be bad, but not as bad as you're predicting. We can ride it out, regardless of whether we give him the funds he wants.

0 votes

George W. Bush represents a mortal danger to the country. Impeachment should be considered an act of self-defense.

22 votes

The President is doing what he thinks is right for the country, and your gloom-and-doom isn't helping the budding Iraqi democracy!

2 votes

More bad news for Michiganders - Pfizer to close plants

aludlam

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Monday January 22, 2007 · 11:54 AM PST

2007/01/22 · 11:54

Link to the CNN article here

Pfizer to cut 10,000 jobs, shut 5 plants

I understand that the progressive community really doesn't like big Pharma that much. Indeed, there's little reason to like them. But this is some extremely bad news for Michigan's economy. First foundering auto sales began crippling Detroit, and now the second largest employer in the Ann Arbor area is closing its gates and packing it in, leaving some 2,400 people, many of them skilled professionals, without jobs.

aludlam

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Tuesday January 09, 2007 · 8:26 AM PST

2007/01/09 · 08:26

The Democratic Congress is bound to take some heat. In some ways, they already are. I have heard from multiple sources - from comments here at Daily Kos to blunt statements of fact from progressive talk radio hosts - that we are expecting a lot from them. Even the slightest whiff of "politics as usual" could send the netroots into a feeding frenzy.

As always, I plead for a little perspective. To that regard, I offer an attempt at an extended metaphor.

You are a facilities manager. You just landed a great job managing a large, luxurious apartment complex - indeed, one of the best in town. The residents selected you themselves to take care of their pressing facilities problems. Your first day, you see what their one, major, overriding concern is.

In the field adjacent to the complex is a gigantic, rotting pile of shit.

(Metaphor extended below the fold)

aludlam

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Wednesday December 20, 2006 · 7:20 AM PST

2006/12/20 · 07:20

Am I missing something?

The Democratic "first 100 hours" sounds like a great plan to me. Certainly it's better for common, everyday Americans than anything the Republican congress even thought about passing during its tenure. But there's a little something about it that's bugging me - I'm not certain the Democratic leadership has really thought things through, particularly in respect to the near-term ramifications of a minimum wage increase.

More below the fold.

aludlam

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Friday September 29, 2006 · 8:55 AM PDT

2006/09/29 · 08:55

File this under "Strange encounters with the political right".

A hard-right colleague of mine thinks George W. Bush is the bees knees. He's not a fundamentalist Christian. He's not a corporate CEO. He's a scientist. The reason he thinks the Decider is the man to lead this country? Because "Islam is a dangerous religion which must be contained". And the example given - Dhimmitude.

Below the fold - what Dhimmitude is, and why we shouldn't care.
Read More

Why I hate money

aludlam

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Thursday August 10, 2006 · 11:52 AM PDT

2006/08/10 · 11:52

Or, more appropriately, why I hate wealth.

Sometimes you just have to shake your head and ask yourself "how did we get here"? In today's global economy, Money is both a means and an end. It affords unthinkable privilege to those that have it, and dooms those that don't to a life filled with hardship and sacrifice. What is it about those scraps of paper that turn men (and women) into Gods?

Follow me below the fold, wherein I pontificate on the history and meaning of the almighty dollar.

------------------------------------------ Read More

Most useless degree

aludlam

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Friday July 21, 2006 · 6:08 AM PDT

2006/07/21 · 06:08

So, I was watching my local fox affiliate this morning - yes, I know. Please don't give me that look. My wife watches it for local news, and it covers my daily commute.

Anyhow, they did a short bit on a new Master's degree being offered at universities - in intelligence analysis. And I thought to myself (as well as expressing to my wife, who promptly "shushed" me so she could find out how much intelligence people get payed) "That has got to be the most useless degree to have right now".

(More below the fold) Read More

The Overton Window applied to the Stem Cell debate

aludlam

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Thursday July 20, 2006 · 6:29 AM PDT

2006/07/20 · 06:29

There has been a fairly lengthy discussion here dealing with President Bush's first veto. In that discussion, the large majority seemed to be of the opinion that, at the very least, the President is not only a huge hypocrite, but also flat out wrong.

There are, of course, dissenting opinions. How could there not be with such a potentially moral issue? This diary is not about arguing with the religious beliefs of others, or attempting to defend stem cell research in the frame of logic or practicality. Rather, I intend to explore the Republican playbook and apply one of their winning strategies to the debate.

More below the fold. Read More

RSS

CA-40 additive experiment: Does it save 10% fuel as promised?

Failure on Gonzo deal is the last straw

What, exactly, is so catastrophic about a timeline?

20 Months: Can we survive?

More bad news for Michiganders - Pfizer to close plants

The Iraq War is a Pile of Shit

Linking Minimum Wage to Immigration Reform

Christian Dhimmitude

Why I hate money

Most useless degree

The Overton Window applied to the Stem Cell debate