Bankruptcy FAQ

The numbers of bankruptcy filings is not decreasing. The rate of increase may be slowing, but throughout the country people are still in dire straits because they've lost their jobs and continue to live beyond their means. Here is a worthy FAQ on bankruptcy to answer some basic questions.

Pulled Pork Mexican Slow Cooker

If you're cooking something in the slow cooker, like the mexican pulled pork I did a few days ago, remember that keeping the lid tight on anything for prolonged periods will in fact dilute your flavor. Any soup, chili, pulled pokr, etc., will lose flavor as the water that evaporates goes back into the meal. MY tasty pulled pork needed re-seasoning after 5 hours of slow cooking. You could distinctly tell there was dilution in the mix. So keep that in mind and for the ultimate taste you probably want to skip slow cookers (or if you must, increase spices.)

Happy Hallow

Remember if you're trick or treating that you should bundle up, AND maximize what I like to call foot to door ratio. Maximize candy by hitting up places where there are more doors per feet you walk. So townhomes are a great bet, lots of doors, smaller space, more candy. You'll thank me in December when you're still chomping on tootsies.

Republican Gong Show

At least we're not starting the coverage TWO YEARS early, but the same crazy circus now abounds in the political arena as a bunch of ill qualified Republican candidates square off to vie for the top job. They all have their foibles, but not only that, they're all whack jobs with no clear winner emerging. Everyone wants to see the strongest candidate that could even rise to half the charisma Obama has. That probably won't happen, and if it does, the candidate will be so poorly qualified that the election will be a landslide.

California opts for more green

Boy those hippies in California love the environment, but they also love innovation. We love them for it too. The California Energy Commission adopted their annual Investment Plan to help change the types of vehicles Californians drive and the fuels they use. The latest Investment Plan for the Energy Commission’s Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Program prioritizes $100 million in state funds to leverage funding and investments from federal agencies, research institutions, private investors, auto manufacturers and other stakeholders. $100 million invested into the state to reduce the impact vehicles have on the state. http://www.brighterenergy.org/26490/news/transport/california-adopts-100m-clean-transport-investment-plan/

Regulatory Approval Slows Biofuel Innovation

According to new law professors, regulatory hurdles are preventing the commercialization of emerging liquid biofuels. University of Illinois law professor Jay P. Kesan and Timothy A. Slating, a regulatory associate with the University of Illinois Energy Biosciences Institute, argue that regulatory innovations are needed to keep pace with technological innovations in the biofuels industry. Both authored a paper that focussed on biobutanol, an emerging biofuel with the potential to be a viable alternative to petroleum-based fuels. According to Kesan, it’s not clear that the U.S. can meet all the renewable fuel mandates required under the Renewable Fuel Standard.

“Congress has all these mandates on the billions of gallons that need to be made available for sale,” he said. “For example, by 2022, we have a mandate for 21 billion gallons of advanced biofuel. By definition, advanced biofuel excludes corn ethanol, so we have to come up with other fuels to close the gap. Biobutanol might be the way to do that.”

Kesan and Slating note that under existing regulations, biobutanol can lawfully be blended with gasoline in a concentration of roughly 11.5 to 12.5 percent by volume, depending on the density of the finished fuel. Regulations also provide a mechanism whereby fuel manufacturers can seek a fuel waiver from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to allow higher blending limits than current regulations allow. But according to the authors, this is currently a very onerous process. While it might be legal to blend 16 to 17 percent biobutanol with ordinary gasoline based on pre-existing waivers granted in the 1980s, there is a great deal of uncertainty as to whether the EPA would allow this. A fast-track review process should also be created for new fuel waivers relating to emerging biofuels that have been designated as compliant with the Renewable Fuel Standard, the authors argue. Check out the paper for more info; the research will be published in a forthcoming issue of the Wisconsin Law Review.