Tom Elwood -best of the internet.: March 2012

Thursday, March 29, 2012

No More GPS Voice: Haptic Steering Wheel Buzzes to Give You Directions from Popular Science

No More GPS Voice: Haptic Steering Wheel Buzzes to Give You Directions

Monday, March 26, 2012

Swimming On The Hot Side | Popular Science

Intriguing article about the people who dive in radioactive water, and the pressures they're under.

"it was darkly glamorous"

"the pay was poor - as little as $12 am hour"

"Nuclear plants may be the most earnest places in America. People speak clearly and say what they mean. At the same time, they're incredibly friendly..."

"once in a while, a feeling of eeriness will come over you, like 'Boy, if something went wrong, it would really be bad right now.'"

"Since so many vital parts of nuclear-energy production take place under water, it follows that divers will play an increasingly central rôle in the ongoing life of the plants."

"...living with the threat of radiation. Again, she brushed the question aside. The topic was so all-encompassing as to be unexplainable."

"They keep track of their dose levels the way most people keep track of their weight. And just as people are hard pressed to say no to food, divers find it difficult to turn down a job, no matter how dangerous."

http://m.popsci.com/science/article/2012-03/swimming-hot-side

-Tom.

Saturday, March 24, 2012

Sorbet vs. sherbert or sherbet

"The name comes from the Latin verb "sorbere" and the modern Italian verb sorbire, meaning to eat and drink at the same time. The noun form, sorbetto, is a mixture of a solid and liquid food. The term sherbet or charbet is derived from the Turkish şerbet, "sorbet", from the Persian sharbat, which in turn comes from the Arabic شرباتsharbāt meaning "drink(s)" or "juice."

"Sherbet in the United States must include dairy ingredients such as milk or cream to reach a milk-fat content between 1% and 2%. Products with higher milk-fat content of 10% or higher are defined as ice cream, while those between 2% and 10% milkfat are termed "frozen dairy dessert"; products with lower milkfat content and not using any milk or cream ingredients, and no egg ingredients other than the egg white, are defined as water ice.^[4] The use of the term "sorbet" is unregulated and is most commonly used with non-dairy, fruit juice "italian ice" products"

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sorbet

-Tom.

Friday, March 23, 2012

$$ spent to get rid of graffiti

Graffiti on Washington's highways – Big problem, few resources.
" We use fencing in target areas to block access, install additional lighting where possible, and even use motion sensitive sprinklers. It is a never ending battle of who will get there first"

http://wsdotblog.blogspot.com/2012/03/graffiti-on-washingtons-highways-big.html

"Graffiti removal for just our Seattle office (which covers the Canadian border to the King/Pierce county line) costs between $120,000 and $145,000 annually."
What it costs to remove graffiti - a full time job.