Kyle has a good review of the Teenage Fanclub show over at DCist. He mentions that the sound started off muddled, then got better. Now, just to be clear: there's a great chance that it was a poor sound mix that got corrected, especially if Kyle had already sat through an opener. He's a smart lad and has been to a lot of shows. I'd trust him on this one.

But another possibility exists, and I think it's interesting enough to prattle on about for a while. It's also the reason that earplugs not only make you look lame, but also make shows sound worse (instead of just quieter).

I'm sorry to get all sour grapes on you, but this is retarded. Two Salt Lake City high school students have won a $50,000 "Sustainable Development" scholarship award from Ricoh for creating a new car air conditioning system that doesn't use moving parts or freon.

The system works by using Peltier coolers, which take advantage of an interesting effect whereby applying a current to a properly constructed semiconductor creates a temperature differential -- one side gets hot, and the other gets cool. These kids basically rigged up a bunch of Peltiers and a hairdryer fan to blow air over them. It's a nice science project, but the idea that someone gave them fifty thousand dollars for this boggles my mind.

For one thing, it's not like these kids invented the Peltier Effect, or even built the relevant coolers. Check it out -- you can buy these suckers for $8 on ebay. Idiots who overclock their computers buy them to cool down processors.

I say idiots because Peltier coolers simply don't work that well. For computers, you're usually better off just buying a bigger fan and heatsink or (sigh) a water-cooling kit. Relative to conventional automotive air conditioning systems, Peltiers are terrible. For one thing, they're horribly inefficient, consuming much more energy than they transport. Traditional mechanical refrigeration, by contrast, is extremely efficient -- about seven times moreso than Peltiers.

For another thing, Peltiers take electricity, which is not something car engines produce. Engines make rotary motion, which your alternator turns into electricity. Alternators are also pretty efficient, but by using a thermoelectric solution you invariably end up throwing away some energy in order to produce the electricity needed to power the already-inefficient Peltiers. Compressor-based A/C systems just hook up to your engine via a belt, and skip the electrical step altogether.

So why would you ever, ever try to use the Peltier solution? Well, the short answer is "you wouldn't". But is is compact, lightweight, and pretty cheap. Also, it doesn't use freon. But then, neither do modern automotive air conditioners -- their refrigerant (although still sometimes called freon) doesn't deplete the ozone. It's a greenhouse gas, but if you're worried about automobiles' greenhouse emissions, the A/C system is not the place to concentrate your fretting.

So basically these kids bought $50 worth of computer cooling accessories and rigged a fan to blow over them. It's like if I proposed using glove warmers to replace that bulky, polluting gas furnace in your basement. No emissions! More compact! A great solution... until you actually figure out how much it's going to cost.

I realize that beating up on a couple of kids' failure to develop a revolutionary technology is a little silly. But c'mon -- $50k and writeup that makes them sound like the next Jobs and Wozniak? It's a bit much.

i know, i know. i've been a bad blogger. but trust me - i have nothing of interest to say. the humidity is sapping out all of my energy; dealing with stuff for leaving work, starting school, and moving to chicago is taking up any remaining brainpower; i have decided to commit myself to rereading every harry potter book ever; and i have the awesomest foodie schedule coming up to occupy the rest of my time. i'm going to like six restaurant week dinners (okay, well, two), and next weekend we're finally going to check out dino's, the new italian place.

but otherwise, sigh. summer is draining me. it's been more work and stress than bbqs and alcohol than i'd hoped. a few good things:

i bought an ice cream maker! a small, cheap one, but hopefully sparkly delicious streams of gelato will be forthcoming.
i bought a PDA! tommy told me that bensbargains had a good deal on some sort of axim thing - this one - so i got it!
i think i got an apartment in lakeview! saw a normal-looking one advertised on CL; got sent pictures and talked to the current resident, a very nice guy who is also a former wahoo; the lovely johanna consented to check out the place in person for me, deemed it liveable, and i'm hopefully going to sign the lease in the next week or so. hurrah! that is a considerable load off of my mind.

anyway, i finish up work in about three weeks. until that time, i'm pretty sure my mind will be elsewhere, but i'll blog when i can. until then, go watch the trailer for goblet of fire, and tommy will keep you entertained with how he loves that esurance lady. whore.