Battery went dead again in my 2001 Jeep Cherokee. I use a small inverter to charge my Palm Pre and forgot to unplug the unit before heading in to work. Having stayed late at work I lost access to my boss's car. Besides, I'm getting tired of asking for a jump any time the interior lights are left on by accident. So, I hiked across Telegraph Road and picked up a PSX PowerStation Multi Purpose Vehicle Jumpstarter for $65.99 at Costco. Has to be one of the best buys I've made in a while. The battery was completely dead. No clicks. Nothing.

Thankfully I didn't slip and fall as I ran back across Telegraph to my dead Cherokee. Mind you, this is a heavy bugger, as any 1000ah battery should be. Got to thinking it might not be charged up from the factory. Hooked up the battery, tried to turn it over and nothing. Helps to read instructions ... so that's what the large dial was on the back was for that said "ON". Tried it again and presto - cranked right up.

But that's not all. This unit lives up to its Multi-Purpose name:

• Portable 18aH Sealed Rechargeable Battery with 37"6 awg Jumper Cables
• 400 Amps - 1000 Peak Amps
  
• 260 PSI Air Compressor (with 3 adapters)
  
• 12V 1000mA Charger
  
• LED Work Light (illuminates work area)
• Voltmeter
• Two12-Volt DC Power Cables
• 120-Volt AC Charger
• 1 Year Warranty

For all I'm concerned, this unit was worth its weight in gold.

The future of pneumatic hybrid technology

With four boys (and friends like Eric Diem at work), I know all about air powered rifles, Vulcan Nerf® guns and pneumatically-powered toys like Air Hogs®. To paraphrase a WardsAuto.com article, the Swiss are coming to Detroit in April at the SAE World Congress to "Pump us up" on air power.

Lino Guzzella, a professor of thermotronics in ETH Zurich's department of mechanical and process engineering, states that his tiny 1.0L inline 2-cylinder engine can match the output of a 3.0L V6 engine. Wow! This might be the justification I need to finally buy that air compressor for the garage.

Search Google for "potato gun" and you'll find hundreds of designs for innovative compressed-air powered spud launchers. One of the key ingredients of any successful pneumatic system is the valve. The same applies here as the valve and control system will be the most expensive part of the pneumatic hybrid engine. Many a spud launcher uses a valve from a sprinkler system. Not the Swiss team, they're using an electronically-controlled hydraulic valve from Robert Bosch GmbH / Bosch Rexroth. Haven't seen one of those yet on a spud gun.

Electric motors and batteries will always be better than compressed air in regard to energy storage, but there may be hope for a pneumatic hybrid engine in China or India. Overall cost will be a big factor. I think I'll just put up with my foot pump for a little while longer.