stuff 06-28-06

Turning sewage sludge into gasoline

http://tinyurl.com/lm5t4

more stuff

computer controlled light cube

posted jun 22, 2006, 3:00 pm et by eliot phillips
related entries: misc hacks


[alex hornstein] was bored one saturday and decided to do something
with the large pieces of scrap acrylic he had found. he built a cube
and attached 15 rgb led clusters along with 4 gb led sticks. it takes
50w of power. the controller is built from atmega48 and is controlled
via serial commands over a wireless link from spark fun. you can find
schematics, pictures, and video on his site, art is wrong.
http://tinyurl.com/qae9m

Qwikie
Quick paint touch-up


This is a great tool for touching up paint in your home. There is
nothing to clean up at all. Simply unscrew the cap, paint the area
that needs to be touched up, and replace the cap. A real time saver.

-- Phil Slight

Qwikie
3 for $16
Available from Builder Depot

Manufactured by Qwikie

http://tinyurl.com/kday5

New Company to Produce Biodiesel From Algae

June 26, 2006 12:47 PM - Justin Thomas, Virginia


Producing biodiesel from algae has been touted as the most efficient
way to make biodiesel fuel. The advantage being that the land
requirement for growing the biodiesel is very small. Independent
studies have demonstrated that algae is capable of producing 30 times
more oil per acre than the current crops now utilized for the
production of biofuels. Algae biofuel contains no sulfur, is non-
toxic and highly biodegradable. Some species of algae are ideally
suited to biodiesel production due to their high oil content, in
excess of 50%, and extremely rapid growth rates.

Algae BioFuels, a subsidiary of PetroSun Drilling, will be engaged in
the research and development of algae cultivation as an energy source
in the production of biodiesel. The R&D and production facilities for
Algae BioFuels will be based in Arizona and Australia.

:: Business Wire Via Energy Blog

http://tinyurl.com/gl9q9

Phloating Photovoltaics — Sunengy's Liquid Solar Array

June 26, 2006 12:20 PM - Warren McLaren, Sydney


Yet more thinking-out-of-the-box when it comes to solar energy. This
time around Sunengy reckons we should be building floating panels
connected into rafts of solar arrays. A thin film Fresnel sheet, held
distant from the actual photovoltaic cell by a supporting frame,
focuses the sun’s rays. The heat generated on the cell itself, is
dissipated by siting it in contact with the water. The Fresnel lens
will rotate into the water to protect itself in the advent of strong
winds. Because the lens and cell unit rotates it can track the
movement of the sun throughout the day. Sunengy from Australia also
suggest their design uses 50 times less ‘exotic materials’ than
standard solar cells reducing costs per kilowatt. ::Sunengy, via New
Scientist.

http://tinyurl.com/zojkw

Challenge: Build the Solar Powered Air Conditioner

June 26, 2006 07:17 AM - Lloyd Alter, Toronto
We continue to be fascinated by the idea of a solar powered air
conditioner, particularly after reading this in Alternet. Until
central air became common, Florida and Arizona were barely habitable-
you went in winter and cleared out. Now 20% of our energy goes to
power air conditioning, and it defines the peak loads. 5.5% of our
gasoline goes to power our car air conditioning, and four southern
states-California, Arizona, Texas and Florida, account for 35% of it.
Clearly if we are going to use less energy we have to address this
problem. So here is a challenge to all you Lifehacker and Make types-
build it for us. And not a lame ice-cooled pretend air conditioner
but the real thing. Here are some ideas and parameters:

http://tinyurl.com/l6ol9

Design your own Anti-Procrastination Plan UT Learning Center at the
Unversity of Texas has released a design plan for overcoming anti-
procrastination. The plan has first steps - schedule your tasks for
your project, take action, use your friends, and keep a journal - and
take action is probably the most important step within the plan:

_____ When it comes time to do your task and you are tempted to
procrastinate, make yourself sit down for 5 minutes and think about
what you are about to do. Envision the emotional and physical
consequences of procrastinating — and of following through on your
plan to work. After you think this over, go ahead and do what you
judge best … with no apologies or second thoughts!

_____ Imagine how you would behave in the next hour or day if you
were NOT a procrastinator. Get a clear picture in your mind — and
then act out that role, pretend, for the next hour or day, that you
are not a procrastinator. When you are done, evaluate your
“acting”: did you do a good job? How did it feel?

_____ When you feel an impulse to work on your project, follow up on
it: do it at the moment you think of it and keep at it until you
don’t feel like it anymore.

_____ Decide on a specific reward for success — and/or a punishment
for failure — at working on your task. Make it realistic and follow
through. For example, you might decide that you won’t take a bath on
a day when you don’t work on your paper.

Design your own Anti-Procrastination Plan - [UT Learning Center]

http://tinyurl.com/hrykg

Top 10 Signs You’re Made to be an Entrepreneur

Wonder if you can be an entrepreneur? Or you should stay in your job?
Fred Gratzon has complied a list of personality traits that may
suitable for entrepreneurship. I had fun reading it, yet some of them
are smart and well thought:

7. You are always looking for and/or seeing economic opportunity
everywhere and in everything. While at a concert, you occupy yourself
by estimating the evening’s take and its gross margins instead of
listening to the music.

6. You spend more time and energy looking for easier, faster,
cheaper, more effective ways of accomplishing something than if you
just did the task outright.

5. You would enthusiastically trade a life-time pass to Disneyland
for one ride in the Vomit Comet. In other words, you would give up a
secure, even-keeled, bland existence for a life that whipsaws
uncontrollably between exhilaration and terror.

Top 10 Signs You’re Made to be an Entrepreneur - [The Lazy Way to
Success]

http://tinyurl.com/hcf5w

DIY Home Projectors
READ MORE: DIY, HOME ENTERTAINMENT, HOW-TO, KITS, TOP, PROJECTORS


Not unlike homebrew beer kits, DIY projector kits are an easy to make
projectors in the comfort of your own home. Unlike homebrew beer
kits, however, a bottle skunky self-made beer won’t burn your house
down if you make it wrong.
The folks at LumenLab are here to help. They have a full DIY kit,
forums, and free instructions on creating your own HD projector for
pennies. While it may require a degree in electronics and a
underdeveloped fear of death, it seems like an interesting way to
rock your own 120” screen. – JOHN BIGGS
Product Page [LumenLab via TechDigest]
http://tinyurl.com/ryjmc

Build your own laptop at Panasonic


Panasonic's Let's Note laptop line is turning ten years old, and the
company is sponsoring one of the coolest sales promotions that I've
ever seen. Their first annual Let's Note Build Fest invites 50
children from around Kobe, Japan to come buy a notebook, but there's
a catch. The kids are buying a box of parts and they have to assemble
the laptop before they can take it home! Fifty students from nine to
eighteen are being given the chance to pony up $1050 USD for this
great hands-on experience.

Panasonic's T5 is a great choice for a project like this since the
notebook uses standard hardware, and the fourteen available colors
add to the festivities. I can't think of a better way to demystify
the inner workings of computers for children and technical neophytes.
The hands on DIY scene is hot right now and I can see lots of adults
signing up for this type of instructional purchase. Just to
reiterate, Panasonic: If you bring this to the States I would love to
roll my own laptop.

Via IDG's DWT, and here's an auto translation of the original
announcement.

POSTED BY JOHNNY EMAIL THIS | DEL.ICIO.US | DIGG

http://tinyurl.com/mrwww

LandRoller


Bigger is better. Hardly a provocative claim these days, but made
much more impressive when we're talking about the next generation of
inline skates. The LandRoller, (which looks like a pair of
rollerblades on crack) has extra large angled wheels on a short wheel
base which give greater stability and control over a wider range of
terrain. In addition to a smoother ride, the LandRoller also claims
to provide more maneuverability and better braking, making this
latest skate offering the new up and coming challenger to more
traditional products. With Olympic Gold Medalist Apolo Anton Ohno
repping for the company, I can see the LandRoller making a legitimate
grab for a chunk of the blading population. The videos on the website
sure look fun enough. The only detractor might be the steep $249.99
price tag, which will keep these gliders fairly exclusive for the
time being. Then again, that may be a good thing for those who can
afford them.

POSTED BY KATHERINE EMAIL THIS | DEL.ICIO.US | DIGG

http://tinyurl.com/o23vl

Damns Small Linux and DSL-NOT

Damn Small Linux Not So Small
Posted by ScuttleMonkey on Sunday June 25, @02:29PM
from the web-popularity-contest dept.

 
An anonymous reader writes
"According to DistroWatch, Damn Small Linux (DSL) is currently the
most popular microLinux distribution. Linux.com (Also owned by VA)
takes a look at why this might be the case, and how you can best take
advantage of it. From the article: 'What began as a toy project to
stuff the maximum software inside a 50MB ISO file has matured into a
refined community project known for its speed and versatility. DSL
includes the ultra-lightweight FluxBox window manager, two Web
browsers, Slypheed email client and news reader, xpdf PDF viewer,
XMMS with MPEG media file support for playing audio and video,
BashBurn CD burner, XPaint image editing, VNCViewer and rdesktop to
control Windows and Linux desktops remotely, and more. If they could
do all this in 50 megs, imagine what they could do in more space.
Last month the DSL developers released DSL-Not, a.k.a. DSL-N 0.1 RC1.
It's 83.5MB of DSL coated with GTK sugar. Yummy!'"

google does green

http://services.google.com/earth/green/

it appears to be a list of green sites to see and things to do in
cities around the US.
of-course I did not look through it all (almost at all) as I am busy
but I am passing it on as an item of note.

for those with homes

The Value of A High Efficiency Home Furnace

June 22, 2006 07:08 AM - John Laumer, Philadelphia


“Is a high efficiency furnace worth it”? That’s the question
posed by Kim, one of our readers. From a technology standpoint, we
scanned this overview by “HomeTips.com" and decided there are too
many options to offer a yes or no answer. A few efficiency points
added to millions of home furnaces would result in a large cumulative
cutback in greenhouse gas emissions; and, hopefully, much money
saved. But, is it worth that outcome to discard millions of perfectly
good furnaces, taking a chance on newer technology, of unknown
reliability? Could there be unintended consequences? Lets start with
an assumption that your existing furnace burns natural gas or
propane, is quite old, and operates near or below the low end of the
“name plate” efficiency range of modern furnaces. Unfortunately,
if you burn oil, and have no access to natural gas, there is not much
can be done in the way of high efficiency furnace technology. If
thats' the case, skip to the next post!

If you have access to gas, numbers first. Get three or more directly
competitive bids. Ask each bidder to give you one estimate for a
“budget” system, of high reliability, but low capital cost; and
another bid for a high efficiency furnace. Ask for detailed line
items in the bids, and be certain to ask that the exact Annual Fuel
Utilization Efficiency (AFUE) rating be included on each furnace listed.

If a bidder gives you line item details on one system and not the
other, tell him to try again. Rule of thumb: unresponsive bidders are
the unlikely to provide reliable cost estimates.

Choose bid(s) you like: one high and one low. What is the installed
cost difference between them? Is it hundreds; or is it thousands? If
it’s a few hundred, the decision can rest on reliability.

If the installed cost difference is thousands, you’ll want to know
that the payback period is relatively short for the high performing
furnace. OEM furnace makers usually supply guidance on expected cost
savings. Check their web sites.

For a ‘back of envelope’ projection of annual fuel savings of the
high-end model versus the low-end model, figure out what your fuel
bill was last year. Although even the “budget” system likely could
do substantially better than your existing furnace, use your actual
fuel consumption for a “conservative” baseline. Considering that
the weather and fuel prices are both fairly unpredictable, and likely
to be less predictable in the future, this is about as good as you'll
be able to do with fuel cost basis for your comparison.

Calculate the incremental annual savings of the high-end system by
direct proportion. Here’s a hypothetical example:

79% AFUE budget system
-------------------------- * Last year’s bill = lowered fuel bill.
97.% AFUE high end system

0.814 * $2,400/yr = $1,954 (sample calcultion of fuel expense last
year with new high efficiency v.s. the new budget system for the
duration)

Incremental savings with the high end system would have been just
over $400/last year.

If you can find a furnace model comparable to your existing one and
it has a modern AFUE rating on the sticker (likely to be under AFUE
60), run the calculation again to see what the improvment would be
from your existing, to a new high end model. (In the hypothetical
example calculated savings would have been close to $900/year
assuming a 60 AFUE number for the existing furnace.)

Looking over the process diagram for the high efficiency condensing
gas furnace (see illustration), one of the odd things, both
environmentally and aesthetically, is that the existing chimney would
be abandoned, as only a small plastic pipe is needed to discharge the
cool, dry exhaust. Tearing down the chimney would be an added cost
that would certainly change the look of a building -- some would say
detrimentally. You'd at least want to see that any exterior chimney
bricks be re-used. Or just have it plugged and left in place.

The plastic pipe used for exhaust has has to be corrosion resistant
and very well could be vinyl: not an issue for this writer but some
may find it 'compromising.' Also needed is a condensate discharge
pump and line. Apparently the high efficiency gas furnaces discharge
several gallons of combustion produced water per day. Because natural
gas should be relatively free of metals, it may be possible to at
least consider using the condensate discharge as a feed for things
like toilet flushing, depending on corrosivity.

Bottom line: if the investment pays for itself in 5 to 10 years and
you can afford the cost, its all good for the worlds climate from the
first time you use it until end of its operating life.

http://tinyurl.com/llnuz

stuff 06-20-06

Multi-bot programming language accepting beta testers
Posted Jun 19th 2006 2:49PM by Evan Blass
Filed under: Robots


If you have what it takes to spend countless hours tinkering with
small robots, coding in a brand new language, and filing a stream of
bug reports, then the National Robotics Engineering Center wants you
to beta test its new multi-plaform bot programming software. Tasked
by the educational outreach department at Carnegie Mellon's Robotics
Academy with developing a commercial application capable of
controlling the most popular kits on the market, the team came up
with a language called RobotC, which can be used to write scripts for
both the NXT and RCX varieties of Lego Mindstorms bots as well as
that Vex Robotics kit we featured in our Holiday Gift Guide. As part
of the beta testing program, you'll get a free copy of the software
to play with in exchange for your promise to participate in the Bug
Tracking system -- which probably isn't much of a burden for those
hardcore enthusiasts who spend all day living, breathing, and
blogging this stuff anyway.
http://tinyurl.com/qjafr

Make yourself a human torch with Flash 8 and a webcam
Posted Jun 16th 2006 4:10PM by Jordan Running
Filed under: Fun


Back in December I mentioned a cool little Flash 8 demo by Grant
Skinner that interfaces with your webcam to make it look like you're
being snowed on. Okay, it sounds kinda lame when I explain it that
way, but it is pretty cool. Even cooler, though, is a new demo by
Skinner, which also requires Flash Player 8 and a compatible webcam,
that turns you into the human torch. While I don't have a webcam with
which to test it out, the screenshots look great even though Skinner
says they don't do it justice. Don't bother asking what this is good
for-it exists soley to be neat, and to teach you a bit about Flash
8's features.
http://tinyurl.com/p4xf5

Harvard Business Review: "Building the Green Way"

June 20, 2006 08:50 AM - John Laumer, Philadelphia


Author Charles Lockwood , speaking about his newly published article
in Harvard Business Review, reminds us that, “In the U.S., buildings
account for 39% of the nation’s total annual energy consumption,
whereas transportation (including cars) comprises only 27% of our
total energy use,…” His June 2006 HBR article begins with a
reminder of just how quickly the green building movement has become
practical and business-worthy. Deserving of a read in its entirety,
the full article, online version without photos, is available for a
limited time at this link . Charlie offers ten cardinal rules that
will be helpful for those who’ve not yet looked into the details of
green building (in truth, this probably means most big business
executives and developers). From HBR: “Building green is no longer a
pricey experiment; just about any company can do it on a standard
budget by implementing the following ten rules”.

http://tinyurl.com/o7rj4

Light Sleeper – It Design’s Cardboard Bed

June 20, 2006 08:00 AM - Leonora Oppenheim, Barcelona


Since you all loved the idea of Mothercare’s cardboard cot so much
(arrrgghhh who’d let their child sleep in something made out of
cardboard!) I wonder what you’ll think of this? A bed base made from
cardboard eh? Well we certainly like It Design’s concept, it uses a
sustainable, lightweight and cheap material, which for the urban
nomad is easily transportable. From the photos it looks great; simple
and easy to assemble, but I wonder how sturdy it really is? They have
photos of kids are playing on it, and even people doing yoga on it!
But still you might not want to put it under too much strain. The
Itbed is made from 7mm thick cardboard and is stabilized from head to
foot with by two lengths of webbing. It comes in several widths from
90 to 160cm and in two versions one for a futon, ideal as a guest
bed, and one for a regular mattress. It is a label from Switzerland
that has 'designed and produced compact and flexible furniture for
young and mobile urbanites since 1997. The label has been created by
the two architects Valérie Jomini and Stanislas Zimmermann.' Check
out other their other minimal lightweight designs and mobile
inflatable showroom! Thanks to tippster Zerlina ::It Design.

http://tinyurl.com/qeppn

No, I'm Sorry, It Does.

UPDATE!!: The saga continues at this post.

Every year I get a few kids in my classes who argue with me on this.
And there are arguers all over the web. And I just know I'm going to
get contentious "but it just can't be true" whiners in my comments.
But I feel obliged to step into this fray.

.9 repeating equals one. In other words, .9999999... is the same
number as 1. They're 2 different ways of writing the same number.
Kind of like 1.5, 1 1/2, 3/2, and 99/66. All the same. I know some
of you still don't believe me, so let me say it loudly:

(IT CONTINUES)

http://tinyurl.com/fn44j

Monty Python Toys


True fandom can't exist without product to fixate on. For example,
take a look at the collection of toys, plushies, and paraphernalia
based on the now classic comedy of Monty Python. True genius stands
the test of time, but everything can be helped with a little
marketing! Now you can be a Knight of Ni, or paddle around in your
own Rabbit With Pointy Teeth Slippers. Because even if you can't
appreciate the nuances of a Black Knight mini-plush, you can still
cop a little cool out of owning one, right?

http://tinyurl.com/o6xd6

Unimat 6-in-1 Cool Tool


I remember once someone told me about the best wedding gift they ever
received. He and his wife got matching Makita power drills. Now
that's romantic. Likewise, when I saw the Unimat 6-in-1 Cool Tool I
thought to myself 'who cares about picking out china and flatware?'
For the couple that likes to tinker together something like this
would be infinitely better. The Cool Tool is actually six machines in
one. Depending on the configuration it can be used as a jig-saw, wood
lathe, drill press, sanding machine, metal lathe or horizontal/
vertical mill. And with additional attachments (not included) the
system can be built upon to make additional machining tools! I can
definitely tell you that I'd use something like this much more than I
would nice table linens or a pretty vase.

http://tinyurl.com/ms82l

MAKING GOOD COFFEE

HOW TO GET A GOOD CUP OF COFFEE IN 9 MINUTES:
This is my adaptation of all the coffee making lore I have read or
listened to or watched on the food channel and elsewhere. Much of
what is out there on the net is total bull.

1) boil water, either in an electric pot or on the stove in a
standard tea kettle. While that is boiling:
2) Grind your beans. Do not buy the pre-ground, they lose flavor and
strength very quickly. Do not buy the beans sitting in the open
bins. Buy vacuum packed whole beans. As for storage of beans, many
people will tell you to store them in the freezer, this is fine if
you are not going to take them out more than once. The problem with
taking a bag of beans from the freezer and opening it and then
putting it back is the condensation that forms in step 2 (opening
it). that water leaches flavor from the beans. Some people go nuts
and buy the 60 or 300 dollar coffee grinder with the cold spur
technology. blah. Buy the 10 dollar black and decker bean grinder.
yes the blades do heat up but unless your grinding 12 cups worth of
coffee at a time, its not a big deal. Grind your beans to a course
grind level. Not too fine, it may take some practice to get it right.
3) put your course ground beans into a french press (did I not
mention to buy one of those?) then poor boiling water over it.
IMPORTANT: do not let the water cool for more than a few seconds
before poring it over the coffee. This is not so that you will have
hot coffee, its so that the water will be hot enough to get the
coffee from the grounds. Cooler water will result in less taste and
more bitterness.
4) place the lid onto the french press but do not press it down yet,
set a timer or watch the clock for 5 or 6 minutes.
5) press down the top, thereby filtering the coffee (I find it makes
it easier to press if you do it in a stutter step. ie press down an
inch, pull up half an inch, repeat. This clears the grinds from the
mesh allowing it to move forward. If you push down hard and try to
make it to the bottom in one fast go, you will find great resistance
and risk breaking your french press.... I broke my first one that
way), and poor into a mug (or thermos). Fresh GOOD coffee is now yours.

Further notes on good coffee. good coffee requires good beans, and
that goes doubly for decaf (when coffee is decaffeinated it loses
some of its flavor. Even the best decafinated beans are not as
flavorful and true tasting as the same bean with caffeine.
Therefore, higher grade beans make better decaf and that is why good
decaf often costs more than regular). Different kinds have different
tastes plus different amounts of roasting will result in different
levels of the taste coming through. I personally prefer a dark city
roast to anything else. In my opinion french roast is a waste, might
as well drink charcoal. BTW, the darker the roast the more bitter
the coffee and the lower the amount of caffeine that survives the
roasting. Finally the common misperception is that if the coffee is
too bitter you need to use less grounds. That is incorrect. The
first items to get pulled out of the bean by the hot water is the
caffeine and the taste characteristics. The more water that passes
over the grounds the more items it will pull out, the later items
include several phenols and a number of nasty tannins (think bitter
parts of red wine). So if you reduce the amount of grounds, more
water will act on the grounds that are left and more bitterness will
result. Increasing the amount of grinds will decrease bitterness but
increase caffeine as it is the first thing to come out.

All of this assumes you have 20 minutes in the morning for coffee (9
to make it and 11 to enjoy it) or want to take a thermos/travel mug
with you.

and you want to buy beans and a grinder and a french press.

news-stuff-6/15/06

ilicon is easily converted into glass
The Tire Ball prevents flat tyres
(link to this article)

June 15, 2006 The pneumatic tire has been one of the stand-out
commercially-successful inventions of history, with around 1.2
billion car and truck tires sold each year, and an indeterminate
number of bicycle, motorcycle and RV tyres on top of that. Whatsmore,
the better it works, the quicker it wears out, ensuring that
there’ll be a market next year because 75% of the tires sold will be
replacements. Quite remarkably, despite such ubiquitous usage, the
pneumatic tire has a massive Achilles heel – lose the air and it
stops the vehicle.

http://tinyurl.com/mb3l8

Volvo Multi-Fuel high performance prototype that runs on five
different fuels
(link to this article)

Page: 1 2

June 15, 2006 The Michelin Challenge Binendum finished in Paris on
the weekend, completing yet another showcase of the world’s most
interesting clean technologies and energies for motorized vehicles.
Each Bibendum sees a who’s who of the world’s automotive
manufacturers put their latest concept vehicles on the park and this
year some concept vehicles were actually rolled out for the event.
One that really caught our attention was the Volvo Multi-Fuel
prototype, which is optimised for running on five different fuel
types; hythane (10% hydrogen and 90% methane), biomethane, natural
gas, bioethanol E85 and petrol. The idea, according to Volvo, is to
make use of the fuels that are produced locally. This means that less
fuel needs to be transported between continents, and you can fill up
the car on the fuel that is available wherever you are.

http://tinyurl.com/pe7ns

Dry ice creates toughened glass A form of solid carbon dioxide that
could be used to make ultra-hard glass or coatings for
microelectronic devices has been discovered The material, named
amorphous carbonia, was created by scientists from the University of
Florence in Italy. Writing in the journal Nature, the team say the
material was theoretically possible but had never been created. It
was made by squeezing dry ice, a form of carbon dioxide used to
create smoke in stage shows, at huge pressure. Scientists are
interested in the new material because of the potential applications.
Also they believe it could give them clues to the processes that
happen in the centre of huge gas giant planets like Jupiter.
http://tinyurl.com/pajbw

Firms 'to waste £500m of energy' UK businesses will waste more than
£500m worth of energy over the summer months, a report has said. The
study for the Carbon Trust says the "staggering" £570m wastage will
result in more than eight million tonnes of CO2 being released into
the atmosphere. Firms could cut their emissions and bills by 15% if
they used energy more wisely, the trust suggests. The report
coincides with the launch of a £4m campaign to encourage businesses
to become more energy efficient.
http://tinyurl.com/naut5

Report fuels spy plane theories The UK knows more than it is saying
about top secret American aircraft projects, recently declassified
documents reveal. Deep inside a previously secret Ministry of Defence
report are a few pages which will reignite one of the biggest
internet conspiracy questions - Is the US Air Force building secret
spy planes which can cross the sky at 3,000mph? The plane, which is
often referred to as Aurora, is supposed to be a follow on from the
U2 spy plane and the 2,000mph SR71 Blackbird, both of which were
first developed and flown in secrecy as 'Black' projects. The MoD
report from 2000 says the USAF plans to produce "highly supersonic
vehicles at Mach 4 to 6" and hypersonic unmanned craft which will fly
in the upper atmosphere and in space. In 2003, the USAF revealed it
had been working on a hypersonic unmanned craft - the Falcon - but
denied building an Aurora-like Mach 4 to 6 aircraft. The Aurora has
100,000 web pages devoted to it - a lot for an aircraft which may not
exist. According to Jane's Defence Review a third of USAF spending
on research and development and procurement goes on classified
projects. Some of that helps pay for the development of spy
satellites and intelligence activities. But a sizable proportion goes
on the development of secret manned and unmanned aircraft.
http://tinyurl.com/rjg3x

Filson
Traditional wool wear


Filson's gear is made in Washington state and is superior to almost
all of the winter/outdoor gear I've used. They are a bit spendy but
spectacularly well made, and they wear like iron. I imagine my Filson
Mackinaw will be handed down to my daughter and then to her children
before its usefulness has departed. The woolen gear is quiet in the
woods, keeps you warm even if damp or wet, and smells just fine to
boot. Thumbs up.

-- Tex

Filson's Mackinaw Cruiser
$265
Available from Filson

http://tinyurl.com/pnbkz

Solar Powered Air Conditioning: an Overview June 15, 2006 06:22 AM -
Lloyd Alter, Toronto Some concepts just make sense- like when the
developer of a solar powered pontoon boat pointed out-"Since most
recreational boating is done when the weather is nice, solar power is
particularly well adapted to the task." We were thinking that way
while looking for a solar powered air conditioner- when do you need
it? When it is hot and sunny.We looked at Justin's SolCool but we
knew that natural gas fired AC units or propane fridges existed and
thought heat is heat- there must be one somewhere, and put google to
work. This is the first of a series- the Direct-Fired Absorption
system.(DFA) Gas fired air conditioners work on the absorption
principle. "The distinguishing characteristic of absorption cooling
equipment is that it produces cooling by using heat energy as an
input, rather than by using mechanical energy. For this reason,
absorption chillers were once common in facilities that had large
boiler plants with excess capacity during the cooling season.
Unfortunately, absorption cooling is inefficient, and absorption
chillers appeared destined for extinction." ...In large absorption
machines, the actual refrigerant is water at very low pressure. An
absorber, usually the salt lithium bromide, is used to move water
vapor through the system. Crystallization of the salt is a major
operating problem that the design of an absorption chiller seeks to
avoid." Direct Absorption (DFA) was developed in Japan in the 60's
and now the world's largest maufacturer is Broad Air Conditioning in
China. "To power our absorption cycles, BROAD absorption chillers use
a wide range of energy sources: oil, gas, as well as solar power,
steam, hot water and exhaust. As our chillers do not use electricity
as an energy source, they have the potential to dramatically reduce
investment in electricity infrastructure in both public and private
sectors." They now appear to be extremely efficient and save lots of
electricity.
finally, we find on their site: " BROAD strives to be like our
ancestors that mastered the miracle of fire, like James Watt who
harnessed the power of steam, like Thomas Edison with his devotion to
testing and retesting. Our goal is to limit the use of fossil fuels
and exploit the use of renewable energies such as solar energy to
provide cooling and heating needs. Two years ago, BROAD provided an
American customer with our first solar energy powered air
conditioning system. This system has performed exceptionally well to
date. BROAD's solar energy engineers and salespeople have drafted an
ambitious plan to commercialize the solar energy air conditioning
system worldwide." We did not find the home-sized unit we were
looking for, but the peak loads in North America are driven by air
conditioning in summer- this looks like a good way of taking much of
that off the grid. Visit the surprisingly complete and thorough
website at ::Broad Air Conditioning and read their ::environmental
manifesto here

http://tinyurl.com/lgov5

GTD® on MindManager Template

My GTD® on MindManager template is now available for download as a a
zip file.

All feedback most welcomed.

For more information on Getting Things Done ® visit the website of
the David Allen Company, read his books and attend his seminars.

There were problems with the file download earlier, but it now seem
to be solved. If not please leave a comment. Many thanks in advance.

http://tinyurl.com/rqlf8

New LCD Technology Outperforms CRT This is something we’d thought
would happen eventually, but not this soon. eCinema Systems announced
that they’ve developed an LCD that surpasses CRT display quality,
and is planning to launch it it by Q4 of this year. The previous
shortcoming of LCD monitors was that they couldn’t support deep
blacks and real dark colors compared to CRT monitors. To solve this
problem, the new technology supports “deep color”—compatible
with the HDMI 1.3 spec we talked about yesterday—and can go up to 48-
bit colors. That’s the point at which humans can’t distinguish
onscreen color artifacts. Their DMC40HDR 40-inch LCD boasts these
features:

Darkest black level output of any TFT in the market
Can be used for professional color grading — previously done using
only CRTs
Can be used for professional critical picture evaluation —
previously done using only CRTs
Allows accurate viewing of intra-field motion on interlaced standards
Video displayed at true frame rates for all standards
Rugged shock mounted components for field operations
eCinema is also looking to make a 57-inch 1920x1080 LCD and a 82-inch
1920x1080 LCD. – JASON CHEN
eCinema Systems announces new LCD technology [SyphaOnline via Daily
Tech]
http://tinyurl.com/nfgbx

FOR THOSE BUYING HOUSES IN LA
Make a Quake Scientists have been working to uncover safer methods of
construction and new structural technologies that “mitigate” the
effects of earthquakes. And they’re finding that where a building is
erected is just as important as how it’s engineered

Discovery Channel has a cool earthquake simulator in which you are
able to pick from 2 options - type of ground and prevention - that
your building will have, and then pick the magnitude of the
Earthquake (tremor, quake or superquake) to make take the simulation.

Try it out and think twice before picking your next house ;P

Make a Quake at Discovery Channel

http://tinyurl.com/rm3xd

stuff 6-13-06

THE DIAMOND AGE IS APON US - - - ROD LOGIC IS HERE (see the pic)
Intel and TI brag about chip tech advancements

Posted Jun 12th 2006 4:18PM by Paul Miller
Filed under: Laptops
Two of the biggest names in chips, Intel and Texas Instruments, have
taken this fine Monday to announce independent advancements made by
their R&D departments in the never-ending search to continue Moore's
law. TI kicked things off by unveiling their new 45nm manufacturing
process that uses some immersion lithography trickery to trump
Intel's current 65nm chips by 30 percent. They plan to use the tech
for memory chips. Intel, of course, is not to be outdone, and
announced a new better way to insulate circuits. Their new "tri-gate
transistors," which should be on the scene by 2010, reduce the power
leak problems experienced when transistors are dropped lower than
90nm. The tech could cut power consumption by as much as 35 percent
or boost performance by 45 percent. "This will be an option for chips
somewhere beyond 45 nm--in the 32 or 22 nm mode--so that gives us
confidence we can continue scaling Moore's Law into the next decade,"
said Intel's Mike Mayberry. The tech also does away with the
troublesome carbon nanotubes that IBM has been proposing, which are
currently too costly to produce chips with. Now we're just waiting
for AMD to announce a 22nm chip due next week and for half the cost,
then our day will be complete. Don't let us down, guys!
http://tinyurl.com/jvj6j

Gas station looks at gas-free future
SAN DIEGO, California (AP) -- If the United States is going to end
its addiction to oil, the fuel station of the future might look like
Pearson Ford Fuel Depot.
Along with gasoline and diesel, the one-of-a-kind station -- part of
a dealership near busy Interstate 15 -- offers a full range of clean-
burning alternative fuels from ethanol to propane to BioWillie, a
brand of biodiesel made from soybeans and promoted by country music
legend Willie Nelson.
The station isn't profitable yet. But co-owner Mike Lewis said that
could change if oil prices force consumers to seriously consider
other fuels -- especially in San Diego, which regularly pays among
America's highest gas prices. (Watch what's the lesser of two evils
with gas prices -- 2:01)
"If you could make it profitable, you could do a whole lot more to
preserve the environment than all the mandates in the world," Lewis
said.
http://tinyurl.com/zekvb

OVERPRICED CRAPPY LOOKING ECO-FURNITURE FOR PEOPLE WHO YEARN FOR THAT
1970s FUAX MODERN LOOK!
http://www.inmod.com/fucotalo.html


TODAY IS A SHORT NEWSDAY FOR SOME REASON SO HERE ARE SOME THINGS I
DID NOT GET TO SHOW YOU FROM ANOTHER DAY:

Chinese remedy 'treats diabetes' Gardenia jasminoides The chemical
was taken from a form of gardenia A gardenia fruit extract used in
Chinese medicine for centuries to treat adult onset diabetes is
effective, scientists have found. The US team found a chemical from
the fruit blocks the action of an enzyme which stops the production
of insulin.
http://tinyurl.com/otm2k

In Israel, a Little Oil Goes a Long Way
June 7, 2006 08:00 AM - Karin Kloosterman, Israel
The Irish call it "the troubles"; over in Israel, we euphemistically
call political problems "the situation". As sad and complicated as
the situation may be for every human being involved, a few
individuals have risen above the crowd, like oil on water, and banded
together to make business over a much-loved Middle Eastern commodity:
olive oil. And converts to organic farming are emerging from unlikely
places. Thanks to the help of the environmental group Green Action
and the braveness of some entrepreneurial Palestinian farmers,
organic and fair trade olive oil is now available in Israeli shops.
http://tinyurl.com/od8f5

South Africa To Phase Out Incandescent Bulbs South Africa has plans
to phase out certain types of incandescent bulbs and replace them
with more efficient compact fluorescent bulbs. Malebo Mahape, a
spokeperson for the Minerals and Energy Department, said the project
would first be looking to phase out more readily replaceable bulbs
like the 60 watt and 100 watt incandescent bulbs currently widely
used in South Africa. “It will not be possible to phase out all
kinds of incandescent or halogen type bulbs until readily available
alternative fluorescent ones are on the market,” Mahape said. She
said the department of trade and industry had been approached to
start drafting regulations to prohibit the import of certain classes
of bulbs. Investigations would also need to be completed on types of
bulbs, possible impact on local manufacturers and economic impact,
created by the phasing out of incandescent bulbs. A fluorescent bulb,
while more expensive than regular bulbs, lasts up to eight times as
long and uses 80% less energy, saving the consumer on lighting bills
and the replacement cost of bulbs.
http://tinyurl.com/mxrdx

Pallet-House: Modular Refugee Housing
http://www.treehugger.com/files/th_images/pallet.jpg
Emergency shelters should always be an important and prescient
subject for designers. However the need for efficient shelters to
help house displaced people seems more urgent than ever after the
series of natural disasters over the last year and very recently
again in Java. The work being taken on by groups such as Architecture
For Humanity and Habitat For Humanity is on an unimaginable scale and
they need all the help they can get. Various design solutions have
been put forward time and again over the years, some with more
success than others. Today we learnt of a proposal by I-Beam Design
called The Pallet-House, which uses wooden shipping pallet as a
modular construction material. New York based designers Azin Valy and
Suzan Wines originally developed the concept as transitional housing
for the returning refugees of Kosovo. ‘The competition guidelines
defined transitional housing as that which bridges the gap between
temporary tent shelter and permanent home. They stipulated that the
house last about five years, the time it takes a Kosovar family to
rebuild a typical stone house.’
http://tinyurl.com/rrakd

Sage Baby Connects Parents to Healthy Products With so many organic
and all-natural products out there today, it’s sometimes hard to
decide what to purchase, especially when it comes to your children.
Sage Baby is a new online resource dedicated to helping new and
expectant parents make the right organic and healthy choices for a
green lifestyle. From the nursery to toddler, Sage Baby wants to
share great products and advice by teaching parents one step at a
time, one choice at a time, that they can make sound, eco-conscious
choices that are good for their families. Sage Baby’s website is
very organized and easy to click through, making online shopping a
breeze. Sage Baby's wide range of product categories includes stylish
organic clothing, bedding, sheets and mattresses and natural skincare
products that avoid harmful chemicals and preservatives. We really
like the “Healthy Room” section, where they even have all-natural
cleaning products, air purifiers (shown here) and furniture made
especially for the little one. See Bonnie's post from earlier today
for more ideas on healthy baby products. ::Sage Baby
http://tinyurl.com/m4yy5

Pull, not Push for Overcoming Procrastination By default, we try to
push ourselves to overcome procastination - “I must finish this by
Friday” - “Let’s try harder”. Instead of this, there maybe a
better way - how about you are in control instead of the task/
environment control you?
… 2. Advice such as “just buckle down and do it,” “get
organized,” and “try harder” are based on a dysfunctional
definition of procrastination. What they’re really saying is: “If
you weren’t such a lazy bum you could do this. No fooling around.
Life is dull and hard. There’s no time for fun. Work is a horrible
thing to contemplate, but you have to do it anyway.” Most
procrastination happens because through procrastinating we are
temporarily able to relieve fears: fear of failure, fear of being
imperfect, fear of impossible expectations. Most of these fears, in
turn, are ultimately based in the idea that work and life are awful
struggles which we must somehow get through and that this whole
horrible process will somehow make us better people in the long run…
Read the page and look for a possible solution.
http://tinyurl.com/oqfp7

Seven Habits of Highly Effective People Condensed Summaries
If you don’t have time to read the great book, Seven Habits of
Highly Effective People by Steven Covey, Michael Gray has released
his summary notes for the book:
* From Dependence to Interdependence
* Personality vs. Character Ethics
* Proactive, Personal Vision
* Beginning with the End in Mind
* Personal Management
* Paradigms of Interdependence
* Think Win-Win
* Seek to Understand, Then Be Understood
* Principles of Creative Cooperation
* Principles of Balanced Self-Renewal
* Conclusion
http://tinyurl.com/orkce

MIGHT BE USEFUL:
Clip-n-Seal Bag Clips - Variety 3 Pack
http://tinyurl.com/ruofy

Special forces to use strap-on 'Batwings'
By MATTHEW HICKLEY, Daily Mail 13:33pm 6th June 2006
Elite special forces troops being dropped behind enemy lines on
covert missions are to ditch their traditional parachutes in favour
of strap-on stealth wings.
The lightweight carbon fibre mono-wings will allow them to jump from
high altitudes and then glide 120 miles or more before landing -
making them almost impossible to spot, as their aircraft can avoid
flying anywhere near the target.
The technology was demonstrated in spectacular fashion three years
ago when Austrian daredevil Felix Baumgartner - a pioneer of freefall
gliding - famously 'flew' across the English Channel, leaping out of
an aircraft 30,000ft above Dover and landing safely near Calais 12
minutes later.
http://tinyurl.com/z4dp2

Wormbots poised to invade your gut Posted Jun 6th 2006 10:34PM by
Evan Blass
Filed under: Robots It's likely that many of our readers are vocal
proponents of the benefits derived from robotics research, but how
many of you would be willing to put your money a robot where your
mouth is -- literally -- and let it crawl down your throat to explore
your guts? While we would certainly never volunteer to be guinea pigs
for such a nascent technology, a team of European researchers are
surely going to have to find someone to test out their latest medical
device: a small bot whose locomotion was inspired by so-called
"paddle worms" (and which sounds very similar to a Korean invention
we once saw). It turns out that mimicking their fleshy counterparts
allows the wormbots to effortlessly navigate the slippery, elastic
walls of human intestines, and equipping them with cameras would
offer doctors a degree of investigative freedom that's impossible
with traditional "smart pills" or endoscopic procedures. Sounds good,
but we're gonna wait until at least several thousand people have
successfully ingested these bots -- and more importantly,
successfully purged them afterwards-- before we sign up to star in
our own personal remake of Fantastic Voyage.
http://tinyurl.com/gxsqo