“Gas Stations” of the Future [Old Content]

Kyle Brady — Tue, 26 May 2009 21:22:15 +0000

I recently found a NewScientist piece on "robotic battery swappers" for electric vehicles, and was highly impressed. The concept is relatively simple: pull into a computerized facility, remove the easy-access battery pack from beneath the car, replace it with an identical fully-charged pack, and let the car move on its way. This whole operation takes less than the average trip to the modern gas station for a fill-up, without all the worry of dangerous explosions.

Don't believe me? There's a video of a demo facility:

The discovery/release of this concept coincides with the passage of federal standards for higher gas mileage, because producing hydrogen-based vehicles is apparently too dangerous and full electric vehicles neither have a market nor can be cheaply produced... at least according to the oil-fed industries of the moment.

Of course, I don't buy it, because I'm too smart to be fed the company line, and the obvious next step is to question both the movement towards the future and the industry itself.

Future Gas Station

One of the many reactions to fully electric cars is "I have to ... plug it in?", which the auto industry obviously loves to hear - no matter how many miles you get per night of charging, the idea of running out of power mid-trip, without a quick recharge, is fearsome to many.

The result is the hybrid cars now on the roads, a combo electric-fuel engine, that uses the electric engine in manners ranging from under a certain velocity to all the time (using the fuel engine as a recharging system, as necessary). Imagine that these cars become immensely popular in the future... great, but we're still dependent on oil, and, by association, the Middle East and its lovely little cartel.

Having a "gas station" that will quickly swap out your entire battery assemblage provides the end-user with the immediacy of a modern tank fillup, without the need to have fuel involved whatsoever.

Hydrogen

Hydrogen should be a viable "alternative fuel" source for vehicles, since it produces no pollution as a byproduct of use, but the oil industry has successfully prevented its rise (so far). Hydrogen vehicles would require fillup stations much like the gasoline ones of today, but since hydrogen is more than abundant, the distributor would likely see very little profit... not to mention it's a naturally volatile gas.

If the past is any indication of the future, we should be expecting significant push-back from the oil industry for these "battery swap" stations, since they pose as much of a threat to their profits as hydrogen: anything that makes an alternative fuel attractive and easy to use is worrisome.

Federal Control

We have a hope, however. As anyone who paid attention to the media in the last few months knows, the Federal Government now has large stakes in the American "Big Three" auto makers, and has been exerting considerable influence. Within weeks of achieving this, higher standards for gas mileage were passed - who's to say the influence can't extend to "suggesting" a standard battery assembly on the undercarriage of the cars, and "suggesting" higher volumes of production, with more model options?

Combine these "suggestions" with some sort of incentive to companies and entrepreneurs to build these battery-swap stations, and there could be an all-electric revolution within a few short years. The technology exists for both the vehicles and the stations... they merely need to be joined together.

I would hope that the interests of the old world companies can be pushed aside (oil companies, fuel resellers, etc.) for the benefit of our future and continued innovation towards a "cleaner, better tomorrow".

Joining the Air Force [Self]

Kyle Brady — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 08:09:40 +0000

I haven't made many "real" posts here recently, because I've been busy deciding what the hell I'm doing with my life. And I have the results:

I'm enlisting with the Air Force.

This may sound drastic, and completely random, but if you're truly interested in the "Why? When? How?" then read the rest of this post... it's long, but full of lots of data- no rambling or ranting.

Why?

As most of you know, I decided to not finish school at the end of May, and went job hunting for a full-time software position here in Silicon Valley. I spent a large portion of two months on the phone talking to both recruiters who I neither understood nor cared to deal with, and actual real people.

Some of those phone conversations turned into phone screens. Some of those turned into in-person interviews. But there was a major problem.

The end result of every interview fell into one of two categories:

They brought me in under one set of requirements, and decided to grill me on a completely different set. For example, if my job description is to work primarily with PHP, how are esoteric data structures in C relevant? These situations obviously ended horribly because they were looking for "God"... or because the economy is so bad that they want someone with Senior-level experience, in a Junior-level position. Take your pick.

The interview went fine, or even fantastically, and then I got a random made-up response as to why I wasn't going to fit. "We're looking for someone more senior" is one I heard alot (even for Junior-level positions where I was overqualified), and I even heard "you're not enough of a gamer" once.

Predictably, after three or four months of this circus act, I became very angry and jaded with the whole "scene".

The clock was running down on my window to find a job, since as soon as the insurance company realized I wasn't a student anymore, that would get pulled. So, not being able to find a job, I went back to school, only being two classes short of an A.S. in Computer Information Systems, which I'm finishing up now.

But, thinking forward, I realized there was a problem. Four, or even nine, months from now, the job situation wasn't going to change. An Associates of Science degree wasn't going to make any difference in how people saw my age, and the economy is only going to get worse. The end result is that after I'd have my degree, I still wouldn't be able to find a job.

I then realized the military would be a good way to circumvent the whole corporate world. Before going to college, I had considered Air Force ROTC, but hadn't committed, since they wouldn't pay for full tuition. So I once again contacted them.

As it turns out, I can be guaranteed a position as a programmer in the Air Force if I pass a test of theirs, after which I'll be sent to a highly specialized AF Tech School for 1-2 years, with the minimum tour of duty being 4 years. I've talked with the same AF recruiter a number of times, and did some digging into the military lifestyle through people I know either in ROTC, ex-military, or currently in a military academy.

And as of the last few days, I've decided to pursue that course of action.

My college experience will put me at the rank of E-3, or "Airman, First Class" (see table), which mostly just means a difference in how much money I earn. All of which is "expendable" (aka "used to pay back loan debt"), since I will have essentially no bills... food, clothing, and housing are all taken care of.

When?

Basically, the timeline for the next few years is going to look like this:

"Graduate" with an A.S. in CIS late May 2009

Deploy to AF Boot Camp in July 2009

1-2 years of AF Tech School

Remaining years working on some very cool military-grade technology

Decide to re-enlist? / Officer Candidate School?

It's pretty cut and dry. But one of the things most people don't realize is that I'll have 30 days of paid vacation every year... compared to 2 weeks of unpaid vacation in the corporate world. So I won't be disappearing like most people imagine.

How?

Essentially, I'll be leaving California. Some of the things I've acquired will be put into local (San Jose) storage, some will be sold, and others will go back East with me. I'll be closing up shop in my apartment, and dividing things into "eventually need/want on base" and "goes home for when I'm on leave" categories.

After Boot Camp and school, I may end up at a base here in California, or maybe elsewhere. But in the long run, after I leave the military (whenever that is), I'll most likely be back in the San Jose area... hence the storage.

Other than that, I'll have to make a few other changes in my life... cut my hair, remove the piercings, and live a little differently, but it'll be worth it.

End Game

The "endgame" to all of this is that I get to have exposure to some very interesting technology, and doing things that actually matter, as opposed to grinding away for a few years in the corporate world trying to move up the ladder enough to not hate my everyday existence.

Whether I become a civilian after four years or twenty, there's one thing I know for sure...

People will never question my talents again.

Kyle Brady: Blog » Tech

“Gas Stations” of the Future [Old Content]

Joining the Air Force [Self]