Hello

I'd just like to introduce myself: my name is Robert McLeod. I am currently a student in the Mechanical Engineering program at the University of Victoria, having previously done my undergrad work in physics & computer science. My specialty is in fact imaging, but I have a long-standing interest in energy systems. Since energy isn't my research area, I don't think I have too many intellectual debts to pay off.

My blog title was chosen just to be a little clever. The 'energy' industry is of course a bit of a misnomer, since they are not involved in the production of energy per say. Instead, the 'energy' industry is mostly concerned with making pockets of low entropy that they can fill in later to liberate work from. It has a nice analogy to the depression-era task of digging ditches in the morning and filling them back up in the afternoon. It also has a bit of a double entendre meaning, since it could also be interpreted as meaning the production of hot air. Just a little self-deprecation to keep me at least slightly humble.

I hope to talk about a wide variety of energy issues. I have a particular interest in the development of the electrical grid and innovations in electricity storage.