Henry Phish

An interesting video piece on the impact of the recession on a per state basis. Interestingly enough, the midwest, including Minnesota, has been less impacted by recession than states on the coasts. Also note New Hampshire…why New Hampshire? I have no idea, but it would be interesting to find out.

Recession map: Which states have been hit the hardest?

A good friend of mine was on the I-35 Minnesota bridge collapse last year. KARE11 had him on a news cast last night. It’s pretty good to see. Glad you’re alright Justin.

Interview with Man from Minnesota Bridge Collapse

I saw a couple of articles the other day on the creation of two new Solar Plants in California, which is interesting to me since the plants are being created by Pacific Gas and Electric, which uses photovolaic cells developed by SunPower, which is itself partially owned by Cypress Semiconductor, which is in turn a Minnesota based company. It’s an interesting connection that makes me wish I owned one of these companies, since the power industry is turning out to be big business…if it wasn’t already.

For more info, check out:

New Solar Plants in California

Cypress Soars on Solar Power Deal

With the recent release of data for the new Chevy Volt, GM’s marketing of fuel economic vehicles in general, and a quickly rising interest in hybrid technology across the industry, it’s no wonder articles for alternative energy resources have been appearing all over the internet. Among them are two new solar plants in California as well as an article on geothermal heating in the New York Times.

Being from Minnesota, reading these articles got me thinking about what sort of resources are available a bit closer to home. Of several topics I’ve written about before were Anderson Inc’s use of fibrous biomass to create ethanol in my article, Rumplestiltskin, but several other alternative energy types can also be found throughout the state, and continue to thrive with the aid of federal and state incentive programs and rebates.

Of special note are tax exemptions on real and personal property of wind systems, though taxes on production still apply. Other incentives include $1,000 to $20,000 rebate for grid connected solar electric systems. Both systems currently in wide use by farms and business throughout the state.

Companies in Minnesota supporting windpower include Xcel Energy Inc (XCJ), which is required by the state to produce nearly a third of its energy from renewable sources by 2020, and MidAmerica Energy (MDPWK). Solar companies include Innovative Power Systems which contracts solar energy systems and Cypress Semiconductor, which produces photovoltaic cells.

Among others are incentives for ethanol and biomass production as well as the federal hybrid vehicle tax credit.

I’m not entirely sure how Minnesota stacks up with the rest of the country, but it seems like a start in the right direction. With continued funding and research, these systems continue to grow in acceptance.

For more information on Minnesota Alternate Power Incentives, check out:

Minnesota Renewable and Efficiency Incentives

Sometimes you just have to make fun of your neighbors to the west.

Overpopulation Concerns Force U.S. To Reopen South Dakota

Apparently those swords that people have hanging on their walls do work. A local Minnesota man defended his apartment with a sword. The three would be robbers sure picked the wrong apartment. Just because the apartment owner is a Dungeons and Dragons fan does not mean that he won’t be able to defend himself.

According to police, once the burglars were inside, they got into a fight with one of the residents who grabbed his roommates sword and started slashing the intruders. His feisty attack send the invaders running, but not before he wounded several.

Shortly after Minneapolis police arrived, they were called by doctors at HCMC about the arrival of three people to the ER with severed fingers and lacerations.

Man uses sword to fight off burglars

Good thing he didn’t start throwing fireballs at him. Those 1D20 rolls can sure hurt.

You need to watch this video. The Boston bat boy takes out a roudy fan who had just slid into home. It’s a solid takedown.

One ran by Torii Hunter, giving the Twins center fielder a high five. The other raced onto the infield, rounded third and dove head first into home plate.

Right after the sliding fan got to his feet, Boston batboy Nate Reese dropped him with a tackle that earned a standing ovation from fans and players in both dugouts.

Bat Boy tackles errant fan

Via - Katie (No site, I work with her)

If you ever wanted someone else to be responsible for your TV habits you should copy a Minnesota man’s latest project. He has opened up his TV viewing schedule to public and allowed them to determine what he watches. Aric McKeown is one brave guy. I’m not sure I would trust the collective of unknown strangers. I know I voted for some fairly terrible things. Sorry.
Make Me Watch TV

Via - Collision Detection

Here is another reason to prefer Twin Cities based Target over Wal-Mart. Target apparently has one of the nations most advanced crime labs. Target even uses its resources to help law enforcement agencies.

Chief executive Robert J. Ulrich made cooperating with law enforcement a priority in the mid-1990s, when crime rates skyrocketed and his hometown of Minneapolis was nicknamed “Murderopolis.”

Retailer Target Branches Out Into Police Work

The amount of resources that they share with law enforcement is impressive.

…Target has taken it a step further in working with the government on cases that have nothing to do with its business. The Post reports that Target forensics investigators spend 45 percent of their time offering pro-bono assistance to law enforcement.

CSI: Target Corp.

Cryptomundo is reporting that a man named Richard Sade has posted a video of a sasquatch recorded earlier this winter in Ely, MN.

Video

Video - Zoomed

Information regarding the footage. I was on highway 169 in Ely, Northern Minnesota. The date was January 26th, 2006. The time that it happened was around 4:30 a.m.

Alot of people agree that this Sasquatch is actually picking up a ‘baby bigfoot’ before trudging up the hill.

Via - Cryptomundo