Talk Nerdy to Me Read Online Free PDF

going to happen," Rick said. "You're one smart woman. If
you're building a hovercraft, then I'll bet good money that it'll work."
    Eve
winced and hoped the two guys at the bar hadn't heard that. Maybe she'd better
take steps to contain the information within the circle of people who already
knew. "Tell you what. I only live three blocks away. Why don't we head
over to my place and I'll show you what I have so far?"
    "Sounds
good," Rick said. "I rented a Subaru, so we can all ride over in
that. Unless Charlie wants to follow on his bike."
    "I'll
ride with you," Charlie said quickly, as if unwilling to be odd man out.
    After
Charlie and Eve grabbed their coats, everyone left the tavern. Eve gave Rick
the address as she climbed into the passenger seat. That left Charlie, Manny,
and Kyle crammed into the backseat. Good thing it was only three blocks,
because nobody looked comfy back there.
    As
the shortest, Kyle got the middle, and Charlie ended up behind Eve. He helped
the crush of broad shoulders by leaning forward and talking to her through the
little space between the seat and the door panel.
    "What kind of
silhouette did you go with?" he asked.
    "Round,"
she said. "I wanted it to be multidirectional and aerodynamic."
    "I'm picturing a
Frisbee," Rick said.
    Charlie
ignored him, leaning closer so he could talk more directly with Eve. "So
I'm assuming you decided on fiberglass?"
    "Right."
She twisted her body and talked as best she could through the narrow opening.
"Although the choice was made for me, in a way. I found a flying-saucer
prototype on eBay, and the hull was fiberglass."
    From
the driver's seat came a chuckle. "A fiberglass Frisbee," Rick said.
"Catchy. You could call it that."
    "With
fiberglass you wouldn't need as much thrusting power to give it forward
momentum," Charlie said.
    Eve
nodded. "Fiberglass is great, but I'm still dealing with the safety angle.
Right now it's too fragile to withstand much of an impact. When the engine on
my workbench exploded this afternoon, I was lucky that no pieces hit the
frame."
    Rick
braked at a four-way stop. "You exploded something?" He sounded
worried.
    "A
little glitch with the biofuel," Eve said. "Listen, Charlie, before
you agree to help me, you might as well hear about the fuel situation. You're
liable to think I'm completely bonkers to consider it."
    "I'll
help," Rick said as he pulled through the intersection. "Even before
I hear about the fuel situation. Unless you're running gerbils around in a wire
cage. I'm against that as a fuel source. So's the ASPCA. I—"
    "I'm making the fuel
myself," Eve said.
    "Excellent."
Charlie's tone conveyed total approval.
    Eve had expected doubt and
disbelief. Instead she was getting praise. It was a heady experience. "I
also have a tank of hydrogen that I may end up using, but—"
    "Isn't
that what they had in that blimp that exploded a long time ago?" Rick
said. "The photos of that were awesome."
    "I
don't want to use hydrogen if I can help it," Eve said. "I'm...
exploring the option of using biomass as a feedstock for ethanol. My idea is to
use the hovercraft as a fun teaching tool, to show people we don't have to
depend on oil as a fuel source."
    "Cool." Charlie sounded
excited.
    "If
biomass has something to do with the Catholic church, I'm in trouble."
Rick said. "I am so lapsed."
    Eve
decided to take her cue from Charlie and ignore Rick's comments. "I'm
using my own kitchen scraps," she said. "Leftover veggies from the
salads I make all the time. I want to make fuel options easily
accessible."
    "There
you go," Rick said. "At last, a legitimate use for broccoli
stalks."
    Then
it came to her—Rick wasn't used to being left out of a conversation, especially
one that included a woman. Well, too bad. Charlie was the man of the moment,
and she intended to concentrate on him.
    "So
what are you doing for a converter?" Charlie asked.
    "I designed my
own."
    "Wow."
Charlie blew out a breath. "That's amazing. Good for you."
    "But
the mixture