carbon sequestration, water in the desert, and project appropriation

Today I learned that people at Oak Ridge have figured out how to convert CO₂ to ethanol, and it was easier than they expected. Burning the ethanol would not exactly be carbon sequestration, but recycling carbon is better than pumping more out of the ground. Maybe we can have vast reserves of booze underground for future archaeologists to puzzle over. I don't usually pay much attention to news about things that have only happened in a lab, but I hope this one turns out to be good for something. In related news, the US Government Printing office decided to change the "ae" in "archaeology" to "e," but there is disagreement, so I used the ae.

In other nerd news, a company collaborating with UC Berkeley invented a device that condenses water out of the air -- reportedly 11 gallons per day, even in arid environments. It's not in production yet, but there's a go fund me with a buy-one-send-one-to-a-place-with-water-issues program. I totally want one. I do not need one. I don't really want to bury something 2 m deep in my yard. I still want one.

In yet more news, today you couldn't keep me out of the toys. Spouse wanted to repair the windshield washer squirter problem in the nice car, and in the past, despite my background, I pretty much just held the light and fetched things. Today I was busy taking out screws and breaking little plastic body clips faster than he could catch me. (I felt better when the clips broke for him, too.) Then we found the hose to the squirter had gotten either eaten or cut, and I stuck it back together not at all the way he wanted, but it works, so it was ok that I did whatever I wanted while he wasn't looking. He's going to have to watch out for hijacked projects if I keep feeling better.