Lee Bruno's blog

John and Helen Taylor are pushing the envelope these days. And it doesn’t involve pressing the petal to the metal for a new speed record, but rather pushing every drop of fuel to squeeze out the most mileage.

The couple is driving a Volkswagen Jetta TDI across the 48 contiguous states with the hopes of breaking the current Guinness World Record for the lowest fuel consumption on a nationwide drive, which is 51.58 miles per gallon.

The team, which is sponsored by Volkswagen, is now 14 percent ahead of the record with an average of 58.24 miles per gallon.

So what are these clever techniques the couple are advocating?

This week, Google captured headlines with news of its patent for floating data centers.

Not a classic technology breakthrough, but it is compelling (despite it being only on paper).

Why?

Because of the twist it adds to previous floating platform designs with its reliance on wave energy converters to power the floating grid.

What most people missed, however, was a North Sea plan to build a platform which would be powered by electricity from the mainland.

A major collaborative research venture wants to smarten the electric grid in Australia. The trouble is, $3 million over three years may make for good PR, but doesn't deliver the kind of serious money needed to tackle the big challenge.

This week, the Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research in Australia outlined a three year, $3 million collaborative research venture between government and university research centers focused on developing technology for a smart grid.

Australian government officials refer to the project as the Intelligent Grid Cluster. It's designed to spur innovation and help tackle the monumental challenges of building a next generation smart grid.