Plugs into an outlet, connects to Wi-Fi, monitors for earthquakes, loud noises, humidity, motion sensor, night vision. Cool!
Wednesday, September 24, 2014
Saturday, September 20, 2014
Watch These Ants Use Teamwork
Ants make a bridge - amazing teamwork.
Shape of an ant colony - cool! They poured molten aluminum into an anthill.
Thursday, September 18, 2014
Nature's GPS
Scientists have figured out which part if a butterfly's brain computes migration paths, assessing the sun's height and direction and compensating for time of day, even using polarized light on cloudy days.
Razor clam
"A razor clam can dig one-third of a mile through underwater soil on the amount of energy in a double-A battery: it squeezes its shells together. Surrounding sand falls into the newly created space. Further squeezing draws water into the mix, making a pocket of quicksand that the clam pulls itself through." - Popular Science August 2014, p. 33
Fearless Genius
"Many at Apple were intrigued to learn that contrary to Wall Street's hyper-short-term thinking and the typical American business plan, Nintendo had conceived a hundred-year business model for itself." p. 74
"Apple had worked on this [handwriting] recognition software for years, but they could not solve the tricky challenge... By chance, one night in 1987 in Moscow, in the final years of the Cold War, an Apple board member answered a frantic knock at his hotel door. A Russian engineer nervously handed him a disk [that] contained the handwriting-recognition software that Apple desperately needed." p. 79
-Fearless Genius: The Digital Revolution in Silicon Valley. Doug Menuez. Atria Books 2014.
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Wednesday, September 17, 2014
Third world water box - cool!
A bright red shipping container...Solar panels on the roof power [it] and two faucets dispense free purified drinking water to anyone who wants it...the container is meant to be a kind of "downtown in a box": a web-connected bodega-cum-community center that can be dropped into underdeveloped villages all over the world. Coke calls it an Ekocenter.
Inside the big red box sits a smaller one, about the size of a dorm fridge...Using a process called vapor compression distillation, a single [one] can purify more than 250,000 liters of water per year, enough to satisfy the needs of about 300 people... [Their design incorporates] a "counterflow heat exchanger" that would run cool incoming liquid past superheated distilled water that had been vaporized and compressed.
The question was how to get the purifiers mass-produced and into the hands of those who needed them...
The medical and pharmaceutical companies Kamen had worked with over the years weren't much better positioned to help. They had infrastructure in developed nations but not in the 100-odd countries where he hoped to see the technology deployed.
Frustrated, Kamen had another obvious-in-retrospect insight. 'If there's one thing you can buy anywhere in the world, it's a Coke.' ...Coke is something you drink, and they have coolers that are about the size of our machine, and they have bottling partnerships around the world.
Inside the big red box sits a smaller one, about the size of a dorm fridge...Using a process called vapor compression distillation, a single [one] can purify more than 250,000 liters of water per year, enough to satisfy the needs of about 300 people... [Their design incorporates] a "counterflow heat exchanger" that would run cool incoming liquid past superheated distilled water that had been vaporized and compressed.
The question was how to get the purifiers mass-produced and into the hands of those who needed them...
The medical and pharmaceutical companies Kamen had worked with over the years weren't much better positioned to help. They had infrastructure in developed nations but not in the 100-odd countries where he hoped to see the technology deployed.
Frustrated, Kamen had another obvious-in-retrospect insight. 'If there's one thing you can buy anywhere in the world, it's a Coke.' ...Coke is something you drink, and they have coolers that are about the size of our machine, and they have bottling partnerships around the world.
http://www.coca-colacompany.com/stories/slingshot-inventor-dean-kamens-revolutionary-clean-water-machine#TCCC
What about maintenance?
For the first manufacturing run of 50 Slingshot machines, Kamen has created tooling to make the devices more robust than ever before. They have plastic parts that won't corrode, and each one is equipped with a phone chip to send remote monitoring data regularly back.
http://www.wired.co.uk/magazine/archive/2013/08/features/engine-of-progress
"Almost every project we do starts out with most people thinking we are nuts." Yet he's made an enviable career out of proving such doubters wrong...in the next few weeks, Kamen's device -- named the Slingshot -- will begin shipping to Paraguay, South Africa and Mexico...The statistics of the global water problem are startling: 783 million people around the world don't have access to clean water... In the late 80s, he and the engineers at DEKA had been approached by Baxter Healthcare to develop a portable device that would let kidney patients treat themselves at home, cleaning their blood using a technique called peritoneal dialysis...But distillation also requires water to evaporate into steam before then condensing back into a liquid, and Kamen wanted to do it at a rate of ten litres an hour. "It turns out it would take 25kW of continuous input power," he says. "Your electric bill would be $50 a night." Instead, Kamen realised that, if he could recover the energy usually lost as radiated heat when the steam condensed back into water, he could use it to help warm more cold water as it entered the system, drastically reducing the amount of power the system required...He recognised that the machine could remove contaminants from water and purify it. In seeking an improvement to a medical practice necessary for a few thousand people worldwide, he realised he may have stumbled upon a way of saving millions of lives...Coca-Cola -- with its web of international bottling franchises bringing their products to every country on Earth (with the exception of North Korea and Iran), and a distribution network that enabled them to deliver bottles of Coke into the most remote communities -- might be the one organisation that could help him with Slingshot. "To me, Coca-Cola is not a soft-drinks company. Coca-Cola is the largest, most efficient logistics operation ever put on this planet," Kamen says. "...and the poorest people in the world get access to it."...Kamen has created tooling to make the devices more robust than ever before. They have plastic parts that won't corrode, and each one is equipped with a phone chip to send remote monitoring data regularly back to DEKA. He expects they'll require no expert maintenance for as long as five years...DEKA project for Coke, the company intends to make this first generation of Slingshots a core element of its EKOCENTER plan, in which full-size shipping containers -- outfitted with a shop, a water machine, solar power, a phone-charging station, TV and an internet connection -- will provide what he calls a "downtown in a box" in even the most remote communities.
What about maintenance?
For the first manufacturing run of 50 Slingshot machines, Kamen has created tooling to make the devices more robust than ever before. They have plastic parts that won't corrode, and each one is equipped with a phone chip to send remote monitoring data regularly back.
http://www.wired.co.uk/magazine/archive/2013/08/features/engine-of-progress
"Almost every project we do starts out with most people thinking we are nuts." Yet he's made an enviable career out of proving such doubters wrong...in the next few weeks, Kamen's device -- named the Slingshot -- will begin shipping to Paraguay, South Africa and Mexico...The statistics of the global water problem are startling: 783 million people around the world don't have access to clean water... In the late 80s, he and the engineers at DEKA had been approached by Baxter Healthcare to develop a portable device that would let kidney patients treat themselves at home, cleaning their blood using a technique called peritoneal dialysis...But distillation also requires water to evaporate into steam before then condensing back into a liquid, and Kamen wanted to do it at a rate of ten litres an hour. "It turns out it would take 25kW of continuous input power," he says. "Your electric bill would be $50 a night." Instead, Kamen realised that, if he could recover the energy usually lost as radiated heat when the steam condensed back into water, he could use it to help warm more cold water as it entered the system, drastically reducing the amount of power the system required...He recognised that the machine could remove contaminants from water and purify it. In seeking an improvement to a medical practice necessary for a few thousand people worldwide, he realised he may have stumbled upon a way of saving millions of lives...Coca-Cola -- with its web of international bottling franchises bringing their products to every country on Earth (with the exception of North Korea and Iran), and a distribution network that enabled them to deliver bottles of Coke into the most remote communities -- might be the one organisation that could help him with Slingshot. "To me, Coca-Cola is not a soft-drinks company. Coca-Cola is the largest, most efficient logistics operation ever put on this planet," Kamen says. "...and the poorest people in the world get access to it."...Kamen has created tooling to make the devices more robust than ever before. They have plastic parts that won't corrode, and each one is equipped with a phone chip to send remote monitoring data regularly back to DEKA. He expects they'll require no expert maintenance for as long as five years...DEKA project for Coke, the company intends to make this first generation of Slingshots a core element of its EKOCENTER plan, in which full-size shipping containers -- outfitted with a shop, a water machine, solar power, a phone-charging station, TV and an internet connection -- will provide what he calls a "downtown in a box" in even the most remote communities.
Men slower than women
Finally there's proof that men are slower than women. At least, their healing is slower than women.
Men heal slower than women.
"significant wound repair delay that correlated with increasing testosterone levels (P = 0.001) in the healthy elderly men"
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/524313_5
Ashcroft GS, Mills SJ. Androgen receptor-mediated inhibition of cutaneous wound healing. J Clin Invest. 2002;110(5):615-624.
Sent from my iPhone
Men heal slower than women.
"significant wound repair delay that correlated with increasing testosterone levels (P = 0.001) in the healthy elderly men"
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/524313_5
Ashcroft GS, Mills SJ. Androgen receptor-mediated inhibition of cutaneous wound healing. J Clin Invest. 2002;110(5):615-624.
Sent from my iPhone
Sunday, September 14, 2014
How to sell your old stuff
Find an auctioneer at auctioneers.org
Write detailed descriptions of items for the auctioneer.
Attend a few sales. See what different houses specialize in to see which ones pull in a good crowd. Ask how sales are promoted, and whether auctions are simulcast online. Find out why the "sell-through" rate is - what percentage of sales are actually completed. A good rate is above 75%.
Beware if your item doesn't sell the auction house may charge you a percentage of the reserve price.
Virtual consignment shops that specialize in fashion clothing: TheRealReal, Rodeo Drive resale, Linda's stuff. What will they charge, how much is shipping (and return shipping if the item doesn't sell) and who pays credit card and paypal fees.
Find thrift stores on NARTS.org and click on "Whatever your needs..Find it here" Bring photos of your items to an appointment with the shop owner - expect them to keep 50% of sales. Get a contract for who's responsible for stolen goods, the payment schedule, and what happens if your goods don't sell.
Get an idea of items' value at Statricks.com
Garage sale: check if you need a license. Star on Thu or Fri early, at 6 or 7 am, to catch the crowd going to work. Think security - lock your house and keep your money and phone with you at all times. Beware of counterfeit bills which are often large bills.
From "Sell Your Stuff," Consumer Reports Sept '14
Sent from my iPhone
Write detailed descriptions of items for the auctioneer.
Attend a few sales. See what different houses specialize in to see which ones pull in a good crowd. Ask how sales are promoted, and whether auctions are simulcast online. Find out why the "sell-through" rate is - what percentage of sales are actually completed. A good rate is above 75%.
Beware if your item doesn't sell the auction house may charge you a percentage of the reserve price.
Virtual consignment shops that specialize in fashion clothing: TheRealReal, Rodeo Drive resale, Linda's stuff. What will they charge, how much is shipping (and return shipping if the item doesn't sell) and who pays credit card and paypal fees.
Find thrift stores on NARTS.org and click on "Whatever your needs..Find it here" Bring photos of your items to an appointment with the shop owner - expect them to keep 50% of sales. Get a contract for who's responsible for stolen goods, the payment schedule, and what happens if your goods don't sell.
Get an idea of items' value at Statricks.com
Garage sale: check if you need a license. Star on Thu or Fri early, at 6 or 7 am, to catch the crowd going to work. Think security - lock your house and keep your money and phone with you at all times. Beware of counterfeit bills which are often large bills.
From "Sell Your Stuff," Consumer Reports Sept '14
Sent from my iPhone
Saturday, September 13, 2014
How to charge up your BMW i3 with a Honda - AutoblogGreen
A half hour of charging the i3 with a rented portable charger gave them 4 miles of driving.
Oh well.
http://m.green.autoblog.com/2014/09/13/how-to-charge-up-your-bmw-i3-with-a-honda/
Here's the video where they tested the idea.
Oh well.
http://m.green.autoblog.com/2014/09/13/how-to-charge-up-your-bmw-i3-with-a-honda/
Here's the video where they tested the idea.
Monday, September 8, 2014
Big brother is watching your car, legally
Repossessing cars is tricky because it's hard to predict where the car may be. In this article, a fleet of vehicles is described that drive around and capture massive databases of license plates and GPS locations and build a profile of cars and locations just in case they are one day going to be repossessed. An alarm goes off in the surveillance vehicle if it's a currently wanted vehicle.
Although the same could be done with facial recognition or cell phone location histories, but privacy laws intervene there.
Access to such databases of car license plates and their locations are available from skiptracers, Merlin data, TLO.com and lexisnexis, but these repossession scouts just work for the local tow truck company, toting around $23,000 in hidden camera equipment.
http://www.popsci.com/article/technology/scan-artist
Update: now the police are using the same technique, to track vehiclesnd keep a database:
https://youtu.be/DH7edXaZS0A
https://www.popsci.com/article/cars/car-buyers-repo-man-just-click-away/
"some lenders are protecting their investments by making sure the cars are never really out of their control. Thanks to GPS, phone apps, and ignition locking devices, lenders can remotely shut down the car of someone who's behind on payments."
http://www.popsci.com/article/technology/scan-artist
Update: now the police are using the same technique, to track vehiclesnd keep a database:
https://youtu.be/DH7edXaZS0A
https://www.popsci.com/article/cars/car-buyers-repo-man-just-click-away/
"some lenders are protecting their investments by making sure the cars are never really out of their control. Thanks to GPS, phone apps, and ignition locking devices, lenders can remotely shut down the car of someone who's behind on payments."
Friday, September 5, 2014
Wednesday, September 3, 2014
The Wilderness Cabin | Nimpo Lake Resort
Amazing wilderness cabin near Bella Coola BC.
http://nimpolakeresort.com/accommodations/the-wilderness-cabin/
Photos
http://nimpolakeresort.com/accommodations/the-wilderness-cabin/
Photos
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