Orwell Rolls In His Grave

The documentary Orwell Rolls in His Grave features interviews with a variety of experts, journalists, and politicians who comment on the flagging state of affairs in the media news industry. The main thrust to this documentary is simply that the major news outlets, because of their deeply interdependent relationships with both big business and government, are failing in their prime responsibility as public watch dog. As more and more radio, television, and news paper outlets are bought up by fewer and fewer companies, journalism becomes an exercise in political spin and big business cheer leader.

The documentary is done very well, features a bevy of articulate, interesting interviews, and is definitely worth a watch.

Electric Cars on Earth Day

The Energy Blog features this, an article about two electric cars, the Tesla, and the Th!nk Car. The Tesla is available right now, and you only have to shell out $100,000 for it!

If that's a bit too pricey, the Th!nk Car is much more reasonable, coming to North America in 2009 and only putting you out 20,000 Euros. Featured above is a yellow Th!nk Car.

Peak Oil: Life After the Oil Crash

Whether you are a conspiracy theorist, a post-apocalyptic guru, or obsessed with peak oil, this is a great site that Jen found which I'm adding to the Resources and Links sidebar. It is a link to books, to survival gear, as well as to breaking news associated with the demise of the middle class. Fun, fun, fun!

Mrs. Survival

Jen found Mrs. Survival, a link that I have added to our Resources and Links sidebar. It is an incredibly useful resource with a nice set of survival-type links as well as a very informative group of discussion threads.

Prefab Workspace

To enhance my productivity Jen came up with the idea of building a small, one-room, prefab study where I could set up wall to wall bookshelves, a desk, and a daybed (for naps!) With a wireless network and electrical hookups, it would make for a nice, quiet getaway considering I do all my work from home now. These can be fairly cheap to build, anywhere between $5,000-$10,000. The April/May 2008 issue of Readymade has a great article. Below are some of the websites of companies that sell prefab work spaces.

Modern-Shed

Modern Cabana

M Finity