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01/31/07 - Video - Wind force driven Car
 United States Patent Application 20060061105 - Yun; Seok Il March 23, 2006 - Wind electricity vehicle - Abstract The car runs on twelve DC 12 volt batteries. One battery is 12 volt and 145 Ampere. So the total equals up to 144 volts and 1740 Ampere. We use a DC motor from 120-144 volts. The car starts from 450 Ampere to 500 Ampere. While it's moving it forms 200-250 Ampere. From this description it travels about a full distance of 1-2 hours. As the car runs it generates energy from the four wheels which is connected to the generators and the generator runs from the wind. From the back two wheels it creates 72 volts and from the two wheels in the front it creates 24 volts. All together it creates 96 volts. From the wind it creates 48-60 volts. Every 12 volts it creates 250 ampere. We can control how much ever energy can be produced depending on the wind and the wheels, also the size of the car. / "Once fully charged it never needs charging again". / [0004] Let me explain my concept. / [0005] 1. We start "forever" with a battery. It has four wheels with a belt connected to each one. Each of these four belts connected to four generators. With one rotation of all four wheels each generators spin 20 times which adds up to 80 times peroration of the wheels which allows the generators to produce large amounts of electricity to recharge the battery. This allows me to recycle 30% to 40% of the electricity which is needed. / [0006] 2. Let's use natural power. The vehicle uses wind to propel itself. / [0007] 20 mph speed makes 20 mph wind / [0008] 50 mph speed makes 50 mph wind / [0009] 100 mph speed makes 100 mph wind. / [0010] I also have a fan which is connected to another generator. All of them generated electricity goes to the main battery to continue to produce energy. There are several generators attached from the front to the bottom of the car and 20 to 30 more on top of the car. We can create momentum and energy from the wind. From the wheels I can recover 30% to 40% of the energy used from the remaining generators. I can recover up to 150% more energy. When the vehicle travels over 10 mph, electricity is created by the wind. When in traffic or during turning points the energy is created from the wheel. So this concept always creates electricity. If we use this "Forever" concept without gas or charging battery, we can use this forever.
01/31/07 - The Windless Sailboat
 The 'Forever Car' technology posted above is of course taking power FROM the wind and motion, but it also reminds me of the propulsion cartoon where a fan drives a sail mounted to a wagon or car. So I had to post these two links for the propulsion side of it. / This one shows a fan really CAN work as a propulsion method, though inefficient. DIY Fan Sail Cart. Put wheels and a jet engine on it, there ya go. An Airboat would be better though.
01/31/07 - Video - Claims of a self-running Generator
 There isn't any information on the page to show what is going on, only this; "The first run of the self-made genset for the Energie.." It appears to be something like a hydrogen reactor or perhaps a Joe cell running a 4 cylinder engine. It also shows what look like two pumps that are blowing air as one guy tests to verify intake.
01/31/07 - Heating it up in the sauna for Health
 Historically, the typical sauna is derived from the engineering of the ancient Finnish sauna. This invention included the usage capabilities of living, cooking and even giving birth in due to the high temperatures creating an almost completely sterile environment. Physiological reactions of sauna use include an increased heart rate, expansion in blood vessels, and an induction in sweating due to an internal body temperature rise to approximately 100.4°F. As a result of blood vessel expansion, a significant increase in blood circulation toward the extremities occurs. This increase has the effect of promoting cellular activity and growth. Dr. Karl Kruszelnicki, ABC science guru, explains that the human body attempts to cool itself when exposed to such high temperatures by excreting sweat from its 2 million eccrine glands located throughout the body, responsible for body temperature maintenance. (As opposed to the apocrine glands located in the armpit and genital regions, which are associated with a foul odor sweat secretion attributed by emotional stress). This expelled sweat is composed of a water, salt and waste product combination. Keeping in mind that the skin is the largest organ of the body where approximately 30 percent of wastes are passed, a sauna session provides a comprehensive and healthy detoxification process simply through sweat induction. Melanie Wood, a writer for Indonesia's leading magazine in lifestyle, entertainment and travel: Jakarta Java KINI, heavily stresses that as a result of simplistic sweat induction, one receives benefits of which most people are unaware, including easing headaches and hangovers. More importantly, a primary benefit of sauna usage includes the skin's enhanced ability to produce collagen, which in turn provides noticeable improvements in elasticity and complexion. The atmosphere of hot steam also offers relief from respiratory complications via stimulating discharge and loosening mucous buildup from the nose, lungs and throat, simultaneously providing relief from congestion and inflammation in these mucous membranes. A sauna session is usually a social affair in which the participants disrobe and sit or recline in temperatures of over 80 °C (176 °F). This induces relaxation and promotes sweating. How to Use a Sauna and .
01/31/07 - Eco-friendly homes 'face tax hike'
 Homeowners who spend money on eco-friendly wind turbines may face higher council taxes, MPs have warned. An all-party Commons trade and industry committee report says that "if home owners invest in solar panels, wind turbines or energy efficiency measures, this is likely to increase the value of their properties and result in higher council tax bills." That is the wrong approach, the report says, suggesting that central and local government must reduce the barriers faced by people and organisations that want to exploit local low-carbon energy sources. It says: "Given the potential climate change and security benefits of such investments, homeowners should not be penalised in this way."
01/31/07 - Video - Cockroach Controller Robot
 By Garnet Hertz (2005) "Cockroach Controlled Mobile Robot" is an experimental mechanism that uses a living Madagascan hissing cockroach atop a modified trackball to control a three-wheeled robot. If the cockroach moves left, the robot moves left. Infrared sensors also provide navigation feedback to the cockroach, striving to create a pseudo-intelligent system with the cockroach as the CPU.
01/31/07 - Behind Ford's scary $12.7 billion loss
An enormous gap still separates the performance of Detroit automakers from their foreign competitors - and it isn't all their fault. The stupefying $12.7 billion loss that Ford Motor Co. reported Thursday for 2006 comes one year after General Motors' equally horrendous $10.6 billion loss for 2005. But for all the bad decisions these companies have made by not listening to their customers, they aren't entirely to blame. Structural inequities between the U.S. and Japan - notably in labor costs and currency - account for a big chunk of Detroit's problems. All in all, the report paints a bleak picture. While Nissan (Charts) was making $1800 per vehicle during the first half of 2006, and Toyota and Honda (Charts) racked up $1,400 apiece, nine-month results for Ford saw them losing $1,400 per vehicle - a number that will go up when the fourth quarter's loss is tallied - while DaimlerChrysler (Charts) dropped $1100 and GM $333.
01/31/07 - Telecommunication black-out a possibility in 2010
 Come the year 2010 and flares from the sun could cause a telecommunication black-out forcing mobile phones and navigational systems to go off, says a leading scientist. As 2010 approaches, more and more scientists around the world will be tuning their telescopes towards the sun to try and detect sudden eruption of highly destructive solar flares which have the ability to cause a "telecommunication black-out" across the globe. "The solar flares are expected to be at its maximum intensity by the year 2010," said Markus Aschwanden, a solar physicists at the solar and astrophysics laboratory, Lockheed Martin Advanced Technology Center (LMATC) in the United States of America. Solar flares and CMES occur when magnetic energy built up in the sun's atmosphere is suddenly released, he said. These flares carrying high amount of energy, travel at high speeds and reach the earth in a matter of hours. It leaves little time to issue a warning, Aschwanden said adding solar flares can emit several (10 raised to the power 32) ergs of energy.
01/31/07 - Smart Shopping Tricks to save Money
Stores are always trying to get you to do what they want. But what if you refuse? What if you do what benefits you and not the store? Aside from outright fraud, what are the things that you can do to come out ahead? We've put together 10 tips that will help you save money, but probably won't help the store. That's why they hate them. And you.
01/31/07 - Fill it up... with electricity please
 Your car may become just another household appliance if a Japanese vehicle developer and former rally driver gets his way. Yoshio Takaoka, in collaboration with Italy's Start Lab SAP, has created the Girasole, a fully functional electric car that can be fuelled from a home power outlet. The highway-worthy two seater reaches speeds of 65 km per hour (41 mp/h) and travels distances of up to a 120 km on a full battery, which costs about $1. "Previously I was a polluter but as I grew older I felt I had to do penance for this and do something good in return," Takaoka, 63, told Fuji TV, referring to his rally driving heydays. The Girasole, which means sunflower in Italian, retails for about $2.2 million but drivers can claim a $6,600 subsidy from the government under an environmental protection clause. Japanese consumers who test drove the car were impressed by its quietness. But the car comes equipped with the clip-clop sound of horse hooves hitting the pavement to alert pedestrians and other drivers.
01/31/07 - Scientists $2 cancer cure, but no one takes notice
(As posted on KeelyNet a few days ago. - JWD) The drug is dichloroacetate, and since it is already used to treat metabolic disorders, we know it should be no problem to use it for other purposes. Doesn't this sound like the kind of news you see on the front page of every paper? The drug also has no patent, which means it could be produced for bargain basement prices in comparison to what drug companies research and develop.
Scientists tested DCA on human cells cultured outside the body where it killed lung, breast and brain cancer cells, but left healthy cells alone. Rats plump with tumors shrank when they were fed water supplemented with DCA. Again, this seems like it should be at the top of the nightly news, right? Cancer cells don't use the little power stations found in most human cells - the mitochondria. Instead, they use glycolysis, which is less effective and more wasteful. Doctors have long believed the reason for this is because the mitochondria were damaged somehow. But, it turns out the mitochondria were just dormant, and DCA starts them back up again. The side effect of this is it also reactivates a process called apoptosis. You see, mitochondria contain an all-too-important self-destruct button that can't be pressed in cancer cells. Without it, tumors grow larger as cells refuse to be extinguished. Fully functioning mitochondria, thanks to DCA, can once again die. With glycolysis turned off, the body produces less lactic acid, so the bad tissue around cancer cells doesn't break down and seed new tumors. Here's the big catch. Pharmaceutical companies probably won't invest in research into DCA because they won't profit from it. It's easy to make, unpatented and could be added to drinking water. Imagine, Gatorade with cancer control.
01/30/07 - Ocean Ethanol - Seawater to Ethanol Reactor
 Last year, an investor partially funded some research that created Ocean Ethanol and it's CO2 conversion activities. Much of our research was based on the works of Professor Inui and the basic experiments performed by Paul Sabatier over 100 years ago. Paul Sabatier (1912 Nobel Prize for work in organic chemistry) found that when you combine CO2 and Hydrogen over a nickel catalyst, you could produce methane. He was the founder of metal hydrogenation catalysts, which gives us many of the products we use today such as margarine, oil hydrogenation and synthetic methanol. Where do we get CO2? There is currently a CO2 pipeline infrastructure in the USA, Canada and many European countries. The current use is for enhanced oil recovery, where it's pumped back into the ground to boost oil production. In Norway, a pipeline was built to sequester CO2 back into the ocean. In addition, there are currently membrane filters that allow us to pump sea-water through a device that separates out the CO2. This is done on a large scale with reverse osmosis desalination plants where the CO2 is usually put back into the drinking water. Using CO2 and hydrogen as the feedstocks, we were able to prove that you can make ethanol from the combination of the gases over a Fischer Tropsch catalyst. Our investor stopped the funding, we we realized that H2 was a necessary component. The byproducts of the reaction were CO (Carbon Monoxide), methanol, acetic acid, oxygenates and water. During one of the experiments, there was one which resulted in a very high output of methanol. Upon further investigation, we realized that by using CO2, CO and H2 as the feedstocks, we could have a effective way to produce methanol. On a small scale, we calculated we could have a process that was 98 percent efficient in the conversion of CO2 to methanol. This process has a lot of promise. Patent Number: 7,146,999 Modular Fluid Handling Device
01/30/07 - More heat = Less oxygen
Long before it gets unbearably hot, researchers find, a mild temperature rise can shrink the population of an animal species. To state it in a nutshell, Hans O. Pörtner and Rainer Knust at Germany's Alfred Wegner Institute for Polar and Marine Research in Bremerhaven have shown that a relatively mild rise in water temperature can reduce the water's ability to hold dissolved oxygen, and, at the same time, it increases the fish's need for more oxygen to maintain its vigor. Drs. Pörtner and Knust take a larger view. They see their work illustrating that a supply-and-demand mismatch for oxygen "is the first mechanism to restrict whole-animal tolerance to thermal extremes." In simpler terms: More heat means less oxygen, and less oxygen means animals have a harder time of it. That mechanism cuts in even before it becomes hot enough to kill the animals or make them migrate.
01/30/07 - Methane Rocket Engine Test Firing
 XCOR Aerospace announced a series of successful test firings of its new 7,500 pound thrust rocket engine. The tests were conducted as part of a $3.3 million subcontract XCOR has with Alliant Techsystems (NYSE: ATK). The tests support NASA’s advanced development program to obtain liquid methane rocket engine technology for future space applications. Six short-duration test fires have been completed. The engine, designated 5M15, uses liquid methane and liquid oxygen as propellants. XCOR and ATK are developing the initial workhorse version of the 7,500 lbf LOX/methane engine for NASA. This regeneratively-cooled version of the rocket engine will also be built and tested in 2007 as part of the contract. ATK will use the workhorse engine as a basis for the design of the prototype version of the engine that will be closer to flight weight.
01/30/07 - Velo-City: A high speed, pollution free transit system
 Toronto Architect Chris Hardwicke wants to do something about it. He proposes "a high speed, all season, pollution free, ultra-quite transit system that makes people healthier. Using an infrastructure of elevated cycle tracks, velo-city creates a network across the City." "The elevated bikeways are enclosed in tubes to provide protection for all season cycling. The bikeway tubes are separated by direction of travel to create a dynamic air circulation loop the crates a natural tail-wind for cyclists. The reduction in air resistance increased the efficiency of cycling by about 90% allowing for speeds up to 40 Km/hr. Velo-City promotes exercise as an urban lifestyle."
01/30/07 - Video - New Water Activated Battery
 A Japanese inventor unveils what he calls the "next generation of eco-friendly energy sources" - batteries powered by water. Susumu Suzuki, the president of Tokyo-based building material maker TSC (Total System Conductor), has invented water-powered batteries, which have an electric current as powerful as that of a standard manganese dioxide battery. Suzuki says these batteries would be cheap to produce and can be recycled several times, making them an essential tool for the future. FEATURED SPEAKER: Susumu Suzuki, President of TSC and inventor of the water-powered battery (Japanese. I don't know what to make of this, it shows him mixing chemicals (one of which appears to be carbon) and putting them inside a battery form to power devices. The voltmeter shows what looks like from 179.0 to 347 milliamps at low voltage.
01/30/07 - Tremendous untapped potential for geothermal
MIT calls them "enhanced geothermal systems" which capture heat miles under the Earth's surface and turns that thermal energy into electricity. This should not be confused with low-temperature geothermal or "Earth systems" -- another large, untapped energy source -- that use ground-source heat pumps or so-called "geoexchange systems" to provide heating and air conditioning for homes and buildings. "Based on growing markets in the United States for clean, base-load capacity, the panel thinks that with a combined public/private investment of about $800 million to $1 billion over a 15-year period, EGS technology could be deployed commercially on a timescale that would produce more than 100,000 MWe or 100 GWe of new capacity by 2050. This amount is approximately equivalent to the total R&D investment made in the past 30 years to EGS internationally, which is still less than the cost of a single, new-generation clean-coal plant." The study's panel urges U.S. authorities to begin making this investment ASAP, given the "enormous potential" and technical progress that has been achieved so far in the area. "Having EGS as an option will strengthen America's energy security for the long term in a manner that complements other renewables, clean fossil, and next-generation nuclear." The beauty with high-temperature geothermal is it provides baseload power, like hydro-electric and nuclear, so unlike solar and wind there's no intermittency issues. Also, the waste heat from electricity generation can be used for district heating and hot water. Another bonus is, like hydro-electric, once the facility is built it lasts for several decades without the need for any fuel.
01/30/07 - Company announces cameras that see through walls
 An Israeli company named Camero has developed a camera that is able to "see" through walls by using wireless signals in the ultra-wideband spectrum. According to reports however, the camera does not actually visually see anything, but instead constructs a 3D image representing what its radio waves see. Called the Xaver800, the camera itself sends out ultra-wideband signals, which are reflected and bounced off of objects in a room or in other rooms -- however far the signals can reach and penetrate. Then, using the reflected signals, the Xaver800 constructs a 3D representation of the area. The technology can potentially help police agencies and military organizations. Camero is only selling its Xaver800 to these types of customers anyway.
01/30/07 - Town says it's lights out for use of solar-powered lighting
The Town of Halton Hills Recreation and Parks Department installed a solar-powered light standard to light a walkway at the parkette on Edwards St. in Georgetown in January 2006. But readings taken in February, July and September showed that illumination was only 20 per cent of the optimum recommended by the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IESNA), and the standard adopted by GTA municipalities and CPTED (Crime Prevent-ion Through Environ-mental Design). The 13-watt compact fluorescent lamp used is restricted by the capacity and efficiency of the energy storage batteries mounted inside the light cabinet. Cold temperatures also further reduce the light output and the efficiency of the storage batteries. In comparison, walkways at the Gellert Community Park are illuminated with a 70-watt high-pressure sodium lamp that meets the IESNA standard. "Although we don't meet the standards that are set out, maybe there is still a role for these solar-power lights where they are not needed to illuminate area where there is high activity, but are sufficient to deter vandalism," added Wards 3 and 4 Regional Councillor Jane Fogal.
01/30/07 - Inflatable Habitats for Polar and Space Colonists
 Humanity has long since established a foothold in the Artic and Antarctic, but extensive colonization of these regions may soon become economically viable. If we can learn to build self-sufficient habitats in these extreme environments, similar technology could be used to live on the Moon or Mars. The Sun provides the Earth and Moon with about 1400 Watts per square meter, which is ample energy to warm a habitat even when the angle of the incident light and losses due to reflection are taken into account. On Mars, the sunshine is a little less than half as strong-which means that the equator of Mars receives about as much solar energy as the higher latitudes of Earth (Iceland, for example). The most efficient way to generate heat from sunlight is, of course, the well-known "greenhouse" effect. Given a transparent or translucent roof, any structure can hold onto the energy of sunlight long enough to transform it into heat. Glass works well for this, but glass is heavy and expensive to transport. In a recent article submitted to arXiv.org [3], Bolonkin and Cathcart have designed an inflatable, translucent dome that can heat its interior to comfortable temperatures using only the weak sunlight of high latitudes. While many details remain to be worked out, the essential concept is sound. To improve the energy efficiency of the structure, they propose adding multiple insulating layers, aluminum-coated shutters, and a fine electrical network to sense damage to the structure. The dome would be supported entirely by the pressure of the air inside, which can be adjusted to compensate for the added buoyancy caused by high winds. The principle advantages of this design are the low weight and flexibility of the material. If only a few people at a time need shelter, an enclosure the size of a small house would weigh only about 65 kg, or as much as a person. This is light enough even for a space mission, and setting up would be as easy as turning on an air pump. For large colonies, enough membrane to enclose 200 hectares would weigh only 145 tons. The interior would be warm and sheltered, a safe environment for the construction of more traditional buildings and gardens.
01/30/07 - Screening for Lifespan-extending Compounds
An unprecedented screening of up to 120,000 chemical compounds for lifespan extension will get underway at the Buck Institute for Age Research. The results of the work, which will involve yeast, nematode worms, fruit flies and mice, will be made public, providing a valuable resource for scientists studying the aging process. “Our aim is to discover and develop novel compounds; at the very least we hope to identify 100 chemically distinct compounds that slow aging, opening up new avenues to treat, prevent or postpone age-related conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, arthritis, and diabetes, among others.”
01/30/07 - Water Manipulation Motor
 The function of the water engine is based on the fact that the rapid compression of air in a cylinder creates a temperature of 500°C. The means of using the said air to boil water and implode hydrogen created by electrolysis, is as follows: 1. A four cycled fossil fuel compression engine is converted to water by insertion of a steel gasket in the cylinder head. 2. The gasket is designed with built in electronic valves to hold compressed 500°C air and oxygen in the cylinder head “chamber” after the piston reaches top dead centre. Thus, the piston descends leaving a vacuous area above it, 90°C water is injected into the said vacuous area and vaporises. Simultaneously, hydrogen, produced by electrolysis as the engine functions, is similarly injected. 3. Next the electronic valve opens, releasing the 500°C air, expanding the vapour and imploding the hydrogen. Briefly, the functions are as follows: Cycle 1 - Air and oxygen intake / Cycle 2 - Air and oxygen rapidly compressed to T.O.C. / Cycle 3 - 500°C air is released upon hydrogen and water vapour, igniting hydrogen and expanding vapour. Cycle 4 - Exhaust. After vapour is used, it is condensed and re-used. - International Patent Application
PCT/AU2005/000770
01/30/07 - Coin Shortage Means a Penny Could Be Worth 5 Cents Soon
A potential shortage of coins in the United States could mean all those pennies in your piggy bank could be worth five times their current value soon, says an economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. Sharply rising prices of metals such as copper and nickel have meant the face value of pennies and nickels are worth less than the material that they are made of, increasing the risk that speculators could melt the coins and sell them for a profit. Such a risk spurred the U.S. Mint last month to issue regulations limiting melting and exporting of the coins. Raw material prices in general have skyrocketed in the last five years, sending copper prices to record highs of $4.16 a pound in May. Copper pennies number 154 to a pound. Prices have since come down from that peak but could still trek higher, Velde said. Since 1982, the Mint began making copper-coated zinc pennies to prevent metals speculators from taking advantage of lofty base metal prices. Though the penny is losing its importance - it is worth only four seconds of the average American's work time, assuming a 40-hour workweek - the Mint is making more and more pennies.
01/29/07 - Ten years to reverse the global meltdown
 The stark warning comes from scientists who are working on the final draft of a new report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The report, due out this week, will draw together the work of thousands of scientists from around the world who have been studying changes in the world's climate and predicting how they might accelerate. They say that unless mankind rapidly stabilises greenhouse gas emissions and starts reducing them, it will have little chance of keeping global warming within manageable limits. The results could include the destruction of the Amazon rainforest and the Great Barrier Reef, the forced migration of hundreds of millions of people from equatorial regions and the loss of vast tracts of land under rising seas as the ice caps melt. In Europe, the summers could become unbearably hot, especially in southern countries such as Greece, Spain and Italy, while Britain and northern Europe would face summer droughts and wet, stormy winters. Among the scientists' biggest fears is that rising greenhouse gases and temperatures could soon overwhelm the natural systems that normally keep their levels in check. About half the 23.6 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide generated by human activities each year are absorbed by forests and oceans -- a process without which the world might already be several degrees warmer. However, as CO2 levels rise and rising temperatures dry out soils, this process could be reversed, with forests pumping out gases instead of retaining them. Sea water's power to absorb CO2 also declines sharply as it warms. The latest research suggests that the threshold for such disastrous changes will come when CO2 levels reach 550 parts per million (ppm), roughly double their natural levels. This is predicted to happen around 2040-50 at current emission rates.
01/29/07 - Can Polyester Save the World? - Disposable Clothing
 Fashionable clothing that costs £12 but looks like a million bucks. “If it falls apart, you just toss it away!” said Jo Jo, proudly wearing her purchase. Environmentally, that is more and more of a problem. With rainbow piles of sweaters and T-shirts that often cost less than a sandwich, stores like Primark are leaders in the quick-growing “fast fashion” industry, selling cheap garments that can be used and discarded without a second thought. Consumers, especially teenagers, love the concept, pioneered also by stores like H&M internationally and by Old Navy and Target in the United States, since it allows them to shift styles with speed on a low budget. But clothes - and fast clothes in particular - are a large and worsening source of the carbon emissions that contribute to global warming, because of how they are both produced and cared for, concludes a new report from researchers at Cambridge University titled “Well Dressed?” It is hard to imagine how customers who rush after trends, or the stores that serve them, will respond to the report’s suggestions: that people lease clothes and return them at the end of a month or a season, so the garments can be lent again to someone else - like library books - and that they buy more expensive and durable clothing that can be worn for years. In terms of care, the report highlights the benefits of synthetic fabrics that require less hot water to wash and less ironing. It suggests that consumers air-dry clothes and throw away their tumble dryers, which require huge amounts of energy. Consumers spend more than $1 trillion a year on clothing and textiles, an estimated one-third of that in Western Europe, another third in North America, and about a quarter in Asia. In many places, cheap, readily disposable clothes have displaced hand-me-downs as the mainstay of dressing. “My mother had the same wardrobe her entire life,” Ms. Neild said. “For my daughter, styles change every six months and you need to keep up.” Dr. Julian Allwood, who led a team of environmental researchers in conducting the report, noted in an interview that it is now easier for British consumers to toss unwanted clothes than to take them to a recycling center, and easier to throw clothes into the hamper for a quick machine wash and dry than to sponge off stains. He hopes his report will educate shoppers about the costs to the environment, so that they change their behavior.
01/29/07 - 8 technologies for a green future
 The planet's most pressing environmental problems - global warming, energy shortages, over fishing, pollution - may seem just too big to be solved with today's technology. But don't despair: A lot of bright minds are working on futuristic projects that promise to make the world greener while making entrepreneurs some green. 1. Home hydrogen fueling station / 2. Environmental sensor networks / 3. Toxin-eating trees / 4. Nuclear waste neutralizer / 5. Autonomous ocean robots / 6. Sonic water purifier / 7. Endangered-species tracker / 8. The interactive, renewable smart power grid
01/29/07 - Surprising downsides of car pollution
 Particles from car exhausts generate more persistent and longer-lasting clouds but - paradoxically - less rain, new research suggests. Furthermore, putting more of these particles into the atmosphere reduces the low-level winds, which could reduce the amount of wind power available in very polluted regions. The result is that arid but populated regions could suffer a triple blow as a result of vehicle pollution: less water, less hydropower and less wind energy. The US state of California is a prime example. It is home to many of the biggest cities in the US, has tens of millions of cars, has suffered energy cuts and drought, and relies on wind power for 1.5% of its energy. Yet Mark Jacobson of Stanford University in California says that aerosol pollution could be causing a 2% to 5% reduction in water supply. Higher concentrations of aerosols were closely associated with slower ground winds. Jacobson and Kaufman then used computer models to support the idea that there was a cause and effect relationship behind this correlation. "When you take out the aerosols - and that was all we removed - you find that wind speeds go up and rainfall goes up," says Jacobson. The researchers calculated that the net effect in California is that winds are up to 8% slower than they would be if there were no aerosol particles floating around, and rainfall is 2% to 5% lower.
01/29/07 - Making Biofuel from Pond Scum
 "Right now," [Sears] points out, "if we were to use all the normal sources we know about, such as canola oil, soy, things like this to make biodiesel, the industry thinks they could make 3.7 billion liters a year. That sounds like a lot, but Americans currently use 227 billion liters of diesel a year." Fortunately, Sears says, an unconventional crop could produce 100 times more biodiesel per hectare than either canola or soy. It can thrive in places where other crops can't grow at all, and it only requires the equivalent of 5 centimeters of rain a year. It's algae, a small but familiar plant, usually seen as a green scum that forms on ponds or aquarium glass. Sears passes a two-story tall engine that may soon be running on his biodiesel, and heads to a quieter room where test batches of algae grow in glass beakers. The water ranges from pale yellow to soft Irish green, thanks to millions of microscopic algae. Biologist Nick Rancis lifts a favorite specimen. "Here we have a species of green algae that grows in fresh water. As you can see, it grows very high density. You can't even see through it when you hold it up to the light." He says this strain produces enormous amounts of fat: up to 50 percent of its body weight. And while producing oil from soy or canola generally requires a three to five-month growing season, some algae are so prolific, over half a batch can be harvested for oil production every day. "They can double or triple overnight," Rancis says. For industrial production, the researchers are designing enormous growing troughs, wider than two trucks side by side, as long as a football field, and grouped by the thousands around processing plants. In this way, Sears says, algae could supply all the U.S. diesel power on a fraction of the nation's farmland, just one percent of the 400 million hectares now under cultivation. "Actually we wouldn't have to convert any of our arable land," [Sears] observes. "We could use desert land to grow this algae. It doesn't require good soil. Just flat land, carbon dioxide and sunlight." Carbon dioxide helps algae grow fast and fat, so the team plans to siphon it from fossil fuel power plant exhaust, which will reduce greenhouse gas emissions. And Sears says there are other ways to get the gas. "It would actually start with biomass such as switch grass or wood, where in some countries are the only type of fuel that they have anyway. In that case, the grass, the trees, the wood is pulling the carbon dioxide out of the air, then we burn it as fuel and feed the carbon dioxide to the algae." He stresses that no carbon will be added to the atmosphere during all these energy conversion steps, making biofuel from algae is a truly carbon-neutral technology. "It's essentially solar powered fuel." To conserve water, the growing troughs are sealed. The algae grows under a clear plastic lid that allows in plenty of sunlight, but keeps the water the plants are floating in from evaporating. "It is about 1,000 times more efficient to produce fuel from algae than it is from an irrigated crop," Sears says. "There's enough water even in the desert from natural rainfall to support this technology."
01/29/07 - Jamming Satellites as a Weapon
 Paris-based satellite company Eutelsat is investigating "unidentified interference" with its satellite broadcast services that temporarily knocked out several television and radio stations. The company declined to say whether it thought the interference was accidental or deliberate. Theresa Hitchens of the Center for Defense Information think-tank in Washington DC, US, says there have been cases of deliberate satellite jamming in the past, but it is hard to see what motivation there would be in this instance. Hitchens points out that there have been cases of deliberate jamming, including one in the 1990s when Indonesia and Tonga had a dispute over which country had the rights to a particular satellite orbital slot. Tonga had leased the slot to a satellite firm based in Hong Kong, but Indonesia had its own satellite in the same slot and proceeded to jam the Hong Kong satellite. In a more recent incident, the US claimed in 2003 that Cuba was jamming its satellite broadcasts into Iran. There are a variety of ways to interfere with a satellite's communications. One is to broadcast a stronger signal, either from the ground or from another satellite, that drowns what the satellite is sending to the ground, preventing people from receiving its signal. Another is to blast a signal at the satellite itself so that it cannot hear what the ground is trying to tell it. Communications satellites act like conduits, listening to the ground and re-broadcasting what they hear. If someone drowns out the uplink signal with noise, then the satellite will re-broadcast the noise instead of the intended television or radio program. Deliberate interference may be more common than is widely recognised, however. The website of the Satellite Users Interference Reduction Group, whose members include Intelsat and other industry players, lists 11 incidents of deliberate interference with satellite communication since January 2005, although this comprises only 0.7% of the total transmissions.
01/29/07 - Certification for Solar Thermal Installers
 Considered one of the most efficient and least expensive of renewable energy technologies, orders for solar hot water systems are up considerably in the U.S. compared with only a few years ago -- and a number of PV system installers, plumbers and HVAC mechanics are now joining the ranks of solar thermal installers nationwide. "It provides a kind of a level of understanding between the renewable energy industry and the utilities so that when grid interconnection occurs it's done safely and reliably to national standards. Not that the work being done now isn't safe or reliable, but having national standards help keep it very consistent throughout the industry," said Queen, noting that national certification will ultimately lead to reduced costs along with the stricter quality and safety requirements. Northwestern Michigan College offers non-credit renewable energy courses and workshops such as Solar Essentials: Siting and Sizing Solar Hot Water Systems, where students learn how to evaluate a prospective site for system placement, solar potential, load measurement and system sizing.
01/29/07 - Disaster Response Truck
 Disaster can strike at any time such as wild fires, tornados, hurricanes, and acts of terrorism. One of the key factors in saving lives is a quick response with the proper equipment. Up until now, coordination of multiple pieces of equipment had to be employed from many different locations and suppliers which can cut down critical response time. This can also add stress or risk to an already tense and confusing situation. Visionary Doug Gettman has developed a convergence of all of the necessary equipment to supply fresh water from any water supply and power to any location. Amazingly this is all housed in a single compact vehicle. This state of the art vehicle can take water from any area, even salt water, and can turn that water through purification, into useable, drinkable water or practical field use. This vehicle can also generate electricity. This vehicle could be an important part of a state or municipality's disaster recovery plan! The specifics of this truck include: Truck: 1995 24 Ft. International Box Truck, Engine DT 466 / Generator: Katolight/John Deere, 150 Horse Power, 45 KW, 110/220, 3 Phase, Diesel, 124 Hours. Pumps: 3000 PSI at 3.5 Gallons per Minute, Electric. Burners/Heaters: Landa 3000 at 3.5 Gallons per minute, propane, Diesel, Thermostat 85 tp 300 Degrees. Fresh Water Reverse Osmosis Unit: 2000 Gallons Per Day with Water Softener. Desalination Unit: 1500 Gallons Per Day. Disinfection Unit: Chlorination Unit with water holding tank and 2 Ultra Violet Lamps. Reclamation System: Refiltering System. Vacuboom: Vacuum system for reclaiming water when washing cars, tracks, aircraft, etc. Air Compressor: 120 PSI Modified for distributing air for tools and liquids, soap, etc. Steel Detachable Tables: 2 tables. Hose Reels: 2 with 300 feet of hose and various attachments for many different jobs. Solar Panel: To Recharge Battery Tanks: 2/550 Gallon Pollyurethane Tanks. Receipts for components purchased in this unit are available upon sale of this unit. This truck is located in Sandusky, Ohio which is on Lake Erie half way between Cleveland and Toledo. eBay listing 200066796871.
01/29/07 - Japan Space Program Lagging While India and Iran Push Forward
 Japan announced earlier this month that it may scrap a lunar mission originally scheduled for lift off in 1995. The mission would have been Japan's first to the surface of the moon, putting them in company with only the United States, Russia and the European Union. While Japan has yet to launch a manned flight of its own, India seems to be inching ever closer to accomplishing its goal of 2008. India's space agency announced the safe return of an orbiting capsule that "was blasted into space as one of four payloads on January 10 from a launch pad 100 km (60 miles) north of the southern city of Chennai. It splashed down in the Bay of Bengal 11 days later, boosting plans for a lunar mission in 2008." Iran also seems on the verge of a space program breakthrough by converting its most powerful ballistic missile into a satellite launch vehicle, which is set to launch in the near future. Some are skeptical of the space exploration aspirations of the country, however, suspecting a "wolf in sheep's clothing" for testing longer-range missile strike technologies.
01/29/07 - Will Wal-Mart sell electricity one day?
Wal-Mart's energy strategy goes far beyond selling squiggly lightbulbs. The world's largest retailer could one day sell the electricity, too. The company recently made big announcements about its environmental goals to sell 100 million compact fluorescent lightbulbs (the corkscrew ones) this year, shift to renewable energy, and install solar panels and windmills at some stores. More quietly, Wal-Mart has created its own electricity company in Texas, called Texas Retail Energy, to supply its stores with cheap power bought at wholesale prices. This saves the world's largest retailer about $15 million annually and gives the company total control over its utility bills. Plus Wal-Mart now has the infrastructure to sell electricity to Texas consumers. That could change the game in a deregulated state where high prices have become a hot political issue. And it could help the giant company to continue to grow, even in one of its most saturated markets. "We've considered it. Whether or not it will ever materialize, we don't know. It boils down to whether the customers and suppliers want that," said Chris Hendrix, general manager of Texas Retail Energy. "Short-term, it's out of our scope. Longer-term, anything's possible."
01/29/07 - International Alchemy Conference this October in Vegas
 "The emphasis is on real alchemy," the website proclaims. "Discover the secret history of alchemy and how it is practiced today! Learn the secret formulae and processes of the alchemists! Learn how to set up an alchemical laboratory in your own home!" Conference takes place October 5-7, in -- where else? -- Las Vegas.
01/29/07 - Government Seeks Dismissal of Spy Suit
The Wired blog 27B Stroke 6 is carrying the news that the US has filed a motion to drop the case the ACLU won in lower court against the government's warrantless wiretapping program. The government's appeal of that ruling will be heard on Wednesday, January 31 in front of the Sixth Circuit court of appeals. The feds argue that the case is now moot because they are now obtaining warrants from the FISA court, and furthermore President Bush did not renew the warrantless program. Turns out there's a Supreme Court precedent saying that if you were doing something illegal, get taken to court, and then stop the illegal activity, you're not off the hook. The feds argue in their petition that this precedent does not apply to them.
01/28/07 - Video - Japanese Rube Goldberg Demonstrations
 Totally wonderful series of devices that do absolutely nothing in the most complicated ways imaginable, yet in the true Rube Goldberg tradition. If you like mechanical devices, you'll love this video. For perpetual motion and mechanical free energy inventors, you should watch this for some of the novel triggering mechanisms. One shows a ball being transferred from a lower to a higher height by the applied kick of a series of croquet like hammers.
01/28/07 - Ban Buster - Grey water recovery for plants
 Watermatic, which is based in Potters Bar, has invented the Ban Buster, which filters 'grey' water from baths, showers and sinks and collects it in an external tank. The system, which is pending a patent application, can then be pumped into the garden via a sprinkler, but with larger tanks, the supply can be turned on or off or redirected to different areas, the St Albans Observer reports. Watermatic says that a family of four can use up to 3,000 litres of water a day through everyday things such as showering and washing up and that the filtered water is perfectly useable for gardens. / The simplest systems pump the water directly to the garden via a sprinkler, but larger tanks enable the householder to turn the supply on and off and direct it to different areas. They can also be used with distribution systems such as the company's product Biodrip, which delivers a steady flow to flower beds through 12mm pipes. Watermatic says the Ban Buster is a legal and eco-friendly way of keeping precious plants alive through the driest weather. According to Watermatic, the filtered water is perfectly usable for gardens, although it warns against using strong chemicals such as bleach. Modern houses which lack external outflow pipes are not suitable for the Ban Buster, but the systems can be installed in 85 per cent of homes. They cost about £2,000, which Ms Blackshaw said was less than the cost of replacing three dead trees, adding there would be savings in water supply and sewage charges. For more about Watermatic's products, see www.greywaterirrigation.co.uk or call 01707 661188.
01/28/07 - Video - MTHEL laser burns anything flying out of the air
 This incredible seek and destroy Israeli mobile laser can detect, acquire and destroy multiple aerial targets. Missiles, artillery shells, rockets, anything airborne can easily be located and neutralized well before reaching its intended target.
01/28/07 - Half of All New Building Built in Next 10 Years will be in China
 This year, for the first time in human history, more people will live in urban areas than rural areas. Some of the quantitative statistics are staggering. Every day in the world, 200,000 people migrate to cities. Half the new buildings in the world in the next 10 years will be built in China. Mexico City has gone from three million to 20 million. In 1950 50 million people a year crossed national borders mainly from cities - last year it was 840 million. But even more interesting is the qualitative: the city has a logic of its own.
01/28/07 - Smart Fuel Cells
 A fuel cell that efficiently regulates its own power output based on the amount of hydrogen it is fed has been developed by US researchers. The simple control mechanism could extend the range of devices that can practically be powered using fuel cells. Although the system sounds simple enough, controlling a fuel cell's power output by feeding in more or less hydrogen has not been practical until now, says Jay Benziger, the chemical engineer at Princeton University in New Jersey, US, who developed the new fuel cell. Engineers have tended to feed a steady supply of hydrogen and oxygen into their cells, in part to ensure that the gases will force waste water out of the system. But this causes some of the hydrogen to flow through the cell unused, meaning it must then be captured and recycled. It also means the power output cannot be throttled back by simply lowering the input of gases, unlike a simple petrol engine. If it is necessary to lower the power output, conventional systems simply shunt current to attached resistors, which is less efficient. The new cell instead harnesses its own waste water to ensure that the hydrogen fed is matched by the power output. The reaction chamber, in which hydrogen and oxygen combine to generate water and produce electricity, is connected to a reservoir containing water. Gravity pulls waste water produced by the cell's reaction down into this chamber. When more hydrogen is fed to the cell, pressure in the reaction chamber increases, which pushing more water out of the reservoir. This in turn leaves more of the anode exposed to react with the hydrogen, generating more power. Similarly, when less hydrogen is fed into the system, pressure drops and more water is drawn back into the reaction chamber from the reservoir, covering more of the anode and throttling back the chemical reaction. The water at the bottom of the pan also keeps the fuel cell humidified, which prevents damage that can occur as it begins to dry out.
01/28/07 - Video - The Physics of Something Awful
 An interesting mashup of various physics inspired actions and reactions highly reminiscent of a cross between Monty Python and Rube Goldberg with more than a touch of the macabre.
01/28/07 - Lawmakers Target Credit Card Fees
 Democratic lawmakers challenged credit card executives Thursday over rising late fees and other penalties and marketing practices they portrayed as predatory. Credit cards have become a ubiquitous and indispensable part of the culture, with an estimated 640 million cards in Americans' wallets and more than $1.8 trillion charged on them in 2005. Many depend on them to pay their bills and buy groceries or gasoline. But consumer groups and other critics say fees are excessive and information provided to consumers is confusing. "I would like to put the credit card industry ... on notice," said Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., the committee's chairman. "If you currently engage in any business practice that you would be ashamed to discuss before this committee, I would strongly encourage you to cease and desist that practice." Banks and other credit card issuers "should take a long, hard look at how you treat your customers," he said. A study by congressional investigators released in October found that fees for paying credit card bills late averaged $34, up from $13 in 1995, while some card issuers impose penalty interest rates of more than 30 percent on consumers who pay late or exceed the credit limit. Among other practices cited at Thursday's hearing: * Some credit card issuers use a billing method that charges interest on credit card debt already paid by the consumer. * The massive solicitations mailed to consumers _ an estimated 6 billion in 2005 _ and targeting of college students and the elderly.
01/28/07 - Details about the Eneco miracle heat chip
 The Thermoionic energy conversion chip had been developed by US-based development company Eneco and promised to capture waste heat energy - produced in industrial environments, IT equipment or cars for example - and convert up to 30 percent of it into electricity. The patent is for Tunneling-effect energy converters, US Patent No 6,946,596. Useful thermionic devices need to achieve active conversion areas with characteristic dimensions of millimeters and centimeters. We overcame this severe limitation by moving to an entirely different approach with our Thermal Chips, which use a semiconductor “gap” instead of a vacuum separator and use a semiconductor “emitter” instead of the metal electrodes. You can see this difference by referring to our patent, Solid state energy converter, US Patent No 7,109,408. Thermal chips need NO vacuum system, their manufacturability derives from standard semiconductor industry processes and practice, and they can have arbitrary sized areas to match the application. Plainly stated, we can make these, they work and we can demonstrate that 24-7. Of the heat energy that passes through the chip, 30% is converted to electricity that available to the electrical load. Peltier devices are the thermoelectric heat pumps. We are not a thermoelectric device. We DO share the characteristic that we can use a power supply to provide electrical energy to the device and we also will work as a heat pump. The conversion efficiency only depends on the High and Low Temperatures available, not the number of intermediate stops.
01/28/07 - 2007 Smooth Skin Report - Best wrinkle Remover
 Consumer Reports recently tested nine popular anti-wrinkle creams to find out if the fountain of youth -- or at least youthful appearance -- can be found in a jar. The tests included everything from moderately priced lines like L'Oréal and Neutrogena to more expensive creams like La Prairie, a day-night regimen that costs $335. "We focused on the crow's-foot area around the eye because that's where wrinkles are quite visible and easy to measure," said Nancy Metcalf, a tester with Consumer Reports. About 200 women participated in the tests, which lasted 12 weeks. Testers said that is a good length of time to see whether a product really works. Using a high-tech optical device, testers precisely measured changes in wrinkle depth and skin roughness. Later, sensory panelists examined enlarged photos taken before, during and at the end of the 12-week trial. Panelists didn't know which photo was taken when to allow them to rate the depth and length of the wrinkles objectively. "We didn't find any relationship between price and performance," Metcalf said. In fact, La Prairie Cellular was less effective than most. Olay Regenerist earned top ratings. The manufacturer said the product has been improved since Consumer Reports' testing. Olay's UV Defense Regenerating Lotion SPF 15, Deep Hydration Regenerating Cream and Daily Regenerating Serum cost a total of $57.
01/27/07 - 25 Percent of All Computers in a Botnet?
 An Ars Technica article reports news out of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Vint Cerf, one of the 'fathers of the internet', has stated that the number of botnets online is larger than believed. So large, in fact, that he estimates that at this point one in four computers is infected with botnet software. We've discussed the rise of botnets numerous times here on Slashdot, but the image of 150 million infected computers is more than a little bit sobering. With the extremely lucrative activities that can be done with botnets (such as password ripping, spamming, DDoSing), as well as reports of organized crime adopting 'cyber-terrorism' as a new line of income, is it likely that law enforcement will ever be able to curb this particular bane?
01/27/07 - Giant magnet used to pull steel splinters from eye
 800 pound magnet treats eye injury. An eye magnet so powerful that it will pull a flatiron across a room has recently been installed in Minneapolis, Minn., hospital to remove steel cinders from patient's eyes. It is the largest eye magnet in the world and weighs over 800 pounds. One and one-half miles of copper wire are wound in the apparatus, which uses a 220-volt current.
01/27/07 - Jedi Good or Evil?
 The core point is that the Jedi are not to be trusted: 1. The Jedi and Jedi-in-training sell out like crazy. Even the evil Count Dooku was once a Jedi knight. 2. What do the Jedi Council want anyway? The Anakin critique of the Jedi Council rings somewhat true (this is from the new movie, alas I cannot say more, but the argument could be strengthened by citing the relevant detail). Aren't they a kind of out-of-control Supreme Court, not even requiring Senate approval (with or without filibuster), and heavily armed at that? As I understand it, they vote each other into the office, have license to kill, and seek to control galactic affairs. Talk about unaccountable power used toward secret and mysterious ends. 3. Obi-Wan told Luke scores of lies, including the big whopper that his dad was dead. 4. The Jedi can't even keep us safe. 5. The bad guys have sex and do all the procreating. The Jedi are not supposed to marry, or presumably have children. Not ESS, if you ask me. Anakin gets Natalie Portman; Luke spends two episodes with a perverse and distant crush on his sister Leia, leading only to one chaste kiss.
01/27/07 - 10 common sense diet tips
 Kyle Pott details how he lost 50 pounds in 3 months by following a few simple rules. Make your diet public. Tell people you're on a diet. There's no reason to be ashamed to be on a diet. I found that trying to keep my diet a secret was harder than just telling people. In fact, telling your coworkers, girlfriend, family, etc. will increase your accountability. This diet is based on moderation, compromise, and a bit more exercise - staples of any decent diet.
01/27/07 - Maine Lawmakers Protest National ID Plan
 Maine lawmakers on Thursday became the first in the nation to demand repeal of a federal law tightening identification requirements for drivers' licenses, a post-September 11 security measure that states say will cost them billions of dollars to administer. The lawmakers said it would cost Maine about $185 million, fail to boost security and put people at greater risk of identity theft. Maine's resolution is the strongest stand yet by a state against the law, which Congress passed in May 2004 and gave states three years to implement. Similar repeal measures are pending in eight other states. The ID act sets national standards for licenses which will have to include a digital photo, anti-counterfeiting features and machine-readable technology. States will have to verify documents presented with license applications such as birth certificates, Social Security cards and utility bills, and will have to link their license databases so they can all be accessed as a single network. States also will have to verify that a person applying for a license is in the country legally. States will be able to issue separate credentials to illegal aliens so that they will still be able to drive.
01/27/07 - Scientists Develop Unlimited Energy
 Scientists in Czechoslovakia have found a way to solve the world energy problem - the "Heetch-Rense Intensifier". Working on the same principles as a household cigar, the Intensifier converts energy from everyday objects - such as a cenotaph - into useable power. It has been estimated that the energy obtained from a single corduroy suit could supply enough energy to run Neptune for a week. Prof Heetch says, "We do not know the precise mechanism, but we think that this process has something to do with atoms and stuff like that. When all the data has been collected, we will feed it into our Special Computer - the only one of its type - and see what comes out. We believe - and this is only a hypothesis - that this is the same type of energy as utilised by The Tin Man from The Wizard Of Oz, who - although made entirely of old tin cans - was able to function effectively as a human being". This is not the first time such claims have been made for "unlimited energy" devices. In 1834, a little-known physicist from Krakatoa, Dr Rimbaud Sluice, maintained that he had developed a system that converted heat into what he termed "cold", and then back into heat again. Although he himself died in poverty, after tripping on a roller-skate and careering down some stairs into a cellar, his ideas were later picked up by fellow scientists - the result being the invention of the "fridge".
01/27/07 - Scanners spark union cries of 'geoslavery'
 The use of hand geometry and other biometric data, like facial and iris recognition, is not new -- the University of Georgia pioneered the use of hand geometry when it installed scanners in its student dining hall in 1974. But the planned roll-out of hand geometry scanners in all New York City government agencies has sparked union cries of "geoslavery" and assertions that technology developed for security will be used to track, label and control workforces. "It's frustrating, it's kind of an insult," Colson, 53, told Reuters. "They are talking about going to voice and retina scanners and that's an invasion of privacy in that they can track you wherever you go." "The unions' arguments keep changing, but the tracking workers throughout the day is not true. It's just for clicking in and out," said Stu Loeser, spokesman for New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, adding that there were no plans to install voice recognition or iris scanners.
01/27/07 - Berger wants government to review movie scripts, before filming
 North Carolina state law denies the incentive to films that are obscene. In state law, obscenity is defined as depicting sexual conduct presented in an offensive way that appeals to prurient interest, lacks any "serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value" and is not free speech protected by the state or federal constitutions. Berger said the film-incentive ban should be broadened to include material considered objectionable. He said there should be no First Amendment concerns because the producer would be seeking money from the state government. But he did say that if constitutional questions confused the matter, it would be better not to have a film incentive at all.
01/26/07 - Chinese ZPE to EM generator
 The Wang Shum Ho Prototype Electricity Generator was reportedly demonstrated to five Chinese Officials on Jan 15, 2007. Lawrence Tseung, a colleague of the inventor, has said the plan is to initially build four 5kW working units. One of these will be located in Beijing, another in Hong Kong and the third one at the United Nations in New York The fourth unit is to serve as a portable demonstration device. All will be made available to universities for academic validation. Then, 200 more will be produced. They intend to present one of these to each member country of the United Nations, as a gift from China. Mass production may begin in 2008. Tseung has written: Devices of this nature are “converting the electromagnetic wave energy that surrounds us all the time. Some call this Zero Point Energy. That energy is due to the rotational motion of the electrons. Unless the electrons stop spinning and fall into the nucleus, that electromagnetic energy exists.” Tseung states: “The World Energy Crisis is effectively over.” (from zpenergy.com) / We are actually immersed in electromagnetic waves. When electrons rotating around the nucleus change orbits, they give rise to electromagnetic waves. Light is only one form of electromagnetic waves. We emit and receive electromagnetic waves all the time. Unless the electrons stop rotating and fall into the nuclei, there will be electromagnetic waves. Thus we are never in a CLOSED system. We are always in an OPEN system with energy interchanges. For example, we were in calm waters and good sunshine. If we did not know how to use solar panels, we might conclude that we were in a CLOSED system. We should use our muscle power to row the boat. The Lee-Tseung Patent information (PCT/IB2005/000138) states that Energy can be extracted (Lead Out, Lead Out, and Lead Out with Pulse Force) from Energy Fields via oscillation, vibration, rotation or flux changes. Energy Fields can be gravitational, magnetic, electric or electromagnetic. - LEE Cheung Kin, WANG Shum Ho and TSEUNG Lawrence Chun Ning / Email: ltseung@hotmail.com
01/26/07 - (WO 2006/077451) EXTRACTING ENERGY FROM GRAVITY
 The invention extracts energy from gravity based on the corrected theory of the pendulum. When the pendulum is pushed, it will 'lead out' gravitational energy at the same time. If a source of pulse force (F) is applied to the pendulum at resonance, it will keep 'lead out' gravitational energy. This gravitational energy can be extracted by techniques such as allowing the metallic wired pendulum to cut across the lines of magnetic force to generate electricity. The swinging motion of the pendulum will be slowed dow because the mechanical energy is converted to electrical energy. However, such slowing down is speeded up via pulse force (F). The swinging motion can be changed into a constant rotational motion for a more efficient operation. / Mankind has played with the swing for Centuries. They do not realize that when they push the swing, they get Energy from Gravity at the same time. Many people, especially little boys, have deliberately allowed the swing (or the punch bag) to knock them after pushing the swing a couple of times. They all suspected that the force knocking them was much more than the energy they supplied in the couple of pushes. However, the existing textbooks do not consider the Energy from Gravity term and attribute the force to resonance only. They assume that all the energy must come from the couple of pushes. This misunderstanding has prevented scientists and engineers to design methods or devices that Extract Energy from Gravity for Centuries. Some inventors actually produced inventions that could Extract Energy from Gravity. However, they did not have the theoretical basis to justify their inventions. Many of these inventions were classified as impossible "perpetual motion machines" and were rejected by scientists and many Patent Offices worldwide. / The best mode of carrying out the invention is Embodiment 2 (use of a constant speed rotating wheel) as described in Section 3. If the invention were used to generate electricity only, we can draw electrical energy out directly by placing the rotating wheel in a magnetic field. The rotating mechanical energy will be converted into electrical energy directly. The rotating speed will decrease but the Pulse Circuits will "lead out" more gravitational energy to replenish the speed. If more electricity is required, we can increase the rotating speed or increase the number of pulses per revolution. In our explanation of the corrected theory of the pendulum, we have effectively removed the mysterious source of energy in the prior art. The same theory can be used to explain the extraction of energy from magnetic fields, etc.
01/26/07 - Video - Energy from Water
 This is a brief clip showing how energy can be extracted from a falling weight which reloads itself in a waterfilled tube. Weight with density 0.6 drops down to generate electricity. Floats up via two doors to trap water in tube. The video was shared with youtube, courtesy of Lawrence Tseung, a colleague of the inventor Wang Shum Ho.
01/26/07 - Cuba studies alternative energy source
Cuban researchers are studying thermo-oceanic energy as a feasible and ecological source that may generate electric power and drinkable water at low cost, Latin America News Agency reported on Tuesday. In Cuba, use of this technology could supply 45,000 people with potable water, under the established UN regulation of over 13 gallons of water per person, Cuban researcher Juan Evangelista Rosalesit told the 15th National Science and Technology Forum, which opened in Havana on Tuesday. That would facilitate moving forward on two problems: electric power generation and obtaining enough drinkable water for human consumption.
01/26/07 - Indonesian mud volcano 'caused by gas drilling
 A mud volcano that is erupting in Indonesia was most probably caused by drilling for gas, according to the first published scientific study. The event forced the evacuation of many villages, and will leave 11,000 people permanently displaced. The study concludes that the eruption "appears to have been triggered by drilling of over-pressured porous and permeable limestones". The study is published in the magazine of the Geological Society of America, GSA Today. The volcano is disgorging between 7000 and 150,000 cubic metres (245,000 and 5.25 million cubic feet, respectively) of mud every day and the flow "will continue for many months and possibly years to come", the report warns. In the coming months, subsidence will occur over an area several kilometres wide and there is likely to be "more dramatic collapse" around the main vent, forming a crater. An area of at least 10 square kilometres (3.9 square miles) around the volcano will be uninhabitable for years, say the researchers, led by Richard Davies, at the University of Durham, UK. The British experts analysed satellite images of the area to make their study.
01/26/07 - Video - David Copperfield Flying
 A totally delightful video short showing what it WILL be like when we learn to control gravity. In this video, check out the various things he does to show no use of wires as well as picking a young lady out of the audience to fly her around the stage. I liked the end where the bird flew off with him. It's all very artistic and very well done. Can you say 'diamagnetic'?
01/26/07 - Dead cattle could become power source
A WASTE management company has revealed controversial plans to produce "green" electricity by incinerating cattle carcases. The Oran Group wants to build a £24 million renewable energy plant at Kintore, next to its rendering facility in the Aberdeenshire town. It would be capable of producing enough clean energy to power 9,000 homes.
The plant would be built at the 130-acre site of the former Dundas Brothers abattoir, which closed three years ago after a public outcry over the "intolerable stench". It would also burn wood, dried sludge pellets and bone meal and is expected to be operational by late next year, creating 25 permanent jobs.
01/26/07 - US Military Tests Non-Lethal Heat Ray
 CNN and the BBC are reporting on a US military test of a new antipersonnel heat ray. The weapon focuses non-lethal millimeter-wave radiation onto humans, raising their skin surface temperature to an uncomfortable 130 F. The goal is to make the targets drop any weapons and flee the scene. The device was apparently tested on two soldiers and a group of ten reporters, which makes me wonder how thoroughly this thing has been safety tested. The government is also appealing to the scientific community for help in creating another innovative military technology: artificial 'black ice'. They hope to deploy the 'ice' in chase scenarios to slow fleeing vehicles."
01/26/07 - How best to disinfect kitchen sponges? Nuke 'em
Kitchen sponges can contain 10,000 bacteria per inch -- potentially including gnarly pathogens like E. coli and salmonella. But nuking your damp kitchen sponges in the microwave for just two minutes can kill 99% of them, according to a study in the Journal of Environmental Health. / A team at the University of Florida found that two minutes in the microwave at full power could kill a range of bacteria, viruses and parasites on kitchen sponges. They described how they soaked the sponges in wastewater and then zapped them. But several experimenters evidently left out the crucial step of wetting the sponge. One person trying this without wetting his sponge, wrote, "it caught fire, smoked up the house, ruined my microwave, and pissed me off."
01/26/07 - Monorail made from wingless airplanes
 It remains to be even prototyped, but this company has plans to convert old airplane fuselages into hanging monorails. # The actual Tram car is constructed from de-commissioned Boeing 727's, 737's, and 757's that are stripped of their wings, engines, and tails. # The fuselages become compartments equipped with solar cells and battery storage. # These compartments are attached to a rail system by permanent magnet regenerative motorized wheels. # Power is provided through solar electricity, wind power, regenerative breaking and fuel cells. # The system of single rails is hung from suspension cables, made level with support cables.
01/26/07 - Tax-authorities deploy anti-cheat web-spider
Tax authorities in the Netherlands, Austria, Denmark, Britain and Canada have deployed a stealthy web-spider called "Xenon" that looks for people earning unreported online income, and subsequently busts them as tax-cheats:
The spider can also be configured and trained to look at particular economic niches -- a useful feature for compiling lists of business in industries that traditionally have high rates of non-filing. "For instance, weight control (yields) 85,000 hits, some for products ... also services," says Sweden's Hardyson. Once the web pages are screen-scraped, Xenon's Identity Information Extraction Module interfaces with national databases containing information like street and city names. It uses that data to automatically identify mailing addresses and other identity information present on the websites it has crawled, which it puts into a database that can be matched in bulk with national tax records. As illuminating as Xenon is for the tax man, the data-mining effort poses dangers to citizen privacy, said Par Strom, a noted privacy advocate in the world of Swedish IT. "Of course it's not illegal," said Strom. "I don't feel quite comfortable having a tax office sending out those kind of spiders." (via boingboing.net)
01/25/07 - Dichloroacetate (DCA) - A cheap and simple cure for cancer?
 In 1930, biochemist Otto Warburg, proposed that cells turn cancerous through a fundamental change in the way they generate their energy. Normally, cells use specialised organelles called mitochondria to supply their energy. Cancer cells shift to a process called glycolysis which takes place in the main body of the cell. Glycolysis is an inefficient system of making energy which normal cells employ only when oxygen is in short supply, switching to mitochondrial energy production when oxygen levels increase. Curiously, Warburg discovered that cancer cells continue to use glycolysis even when oxygen is plentiful. He called this the “Warburg effect”, and claimed it was common to all cancer cells. Enter DCA, which has been used for years to treat people with mitochondrial disease. The drug boosts the ability of mitochondria to generate energy. When given to cancer cells it did the same: the cells switched from glycolysis to mitochondrial energy production. What's more, functional mitochondria help cells recognise functional abnormalities and trigger cell death. In tests, the DCA caused cancer cells to lose their “immortality” and die. When the drug was given to rats with human tumours, the tumours shrank. So why not rush straight into clinical trials with this drug? It is cheap, does not appear to affect normal cells, we know its side effects, and it should work on all cancers. There's a hitch: dichloroacetate is an old drug and so cannot be patented. The upshot is that pharmaceutical companies can’t stop rivals making and selling it more cheaply, so it’s not worth their while to go to the huge expense of testing it in clinical trials.
01/25/07 - He believes in flying saucers
 Thirty years ago, when Carrington was 27 and obsessed with science fiction, he set out to build a UFO look-alike. But something inside him cried out for more. Inspired by ordinary Americans like Orville and Wilbur Wright, who piloted the first heavier-than-air aircraft 103 years ago, Carrington pored over books, magazines and studies about aviation. Never mind his lack of engineering experience. He has spent nearly $60,000 for some of the materials he believes are needed to launch his creation -- a lot for a man who drives a rusted 1986 Mercury Cougar. Carrington does it because he believes he has discovered a simple design for an aircraft that aeronautical engineers have spent countless millions trying to build. "Why drive when you can fly 500 mph?" he asked. Carrington has two patents on the design and a company called Vertex Aerospace. His work caught the attention of NASA, which invited him to a conference in the mid-1990s where engineers scratched their heads when he confessed he knew nothing about computers. His idea is to fire up the vessel with a rotary engine to stimulate a magnetic levitation system to rotate the ship's two discs. The discs would draw air into propeller blades. "It's a simple concept," Carrington said. "There is no way this thing can't get off the ground because 40 percent of it is rotating." Aeronautical engineers aren't so confident, especially considering the rotation speeds needed to lift the aircraft.
01/25/07 - Video - DIY - Take Infrared Pictures With Your Digital Camera
 A well made, easy to follow instruction guide to make a simple attachment for your camera which will let you take IR photos. Most digital cameras can see infrared so its simply a matter of filtering out the ambient light and adjusting your camera settings to make this project work for you.
01/25/07 - Monitor your Home or Business easily with Active WebCam
 Active WebCam allows you to capture up to 30 frames per second from video devices like USB webcams, TV-tuners, analog cameras, camcorders or network IP cameras. You can record and broadcast simultaneously, from an unlimited number of cameras, to a Web Server, FTP Server or using it's built-in HTTP Server. The captured video can be seen using any web browser. The program also has a Motion Detection feature which can trigger any number of actions, like start recording or broadcasting. It also supports AVI, MPEG, encryption and password protection. So what are you waiting for? Start planning your vacation without any worries and enjoy yourself. Active WebCam is $29.
01/25/07 - Futuristic Driver-less Bus
 The bus is electric and will be controlled by magnets, satellite and cruise control so that's probably bad news for bus drivers all over the world. Not only does it look cool, but people will be able to 'hail' this bus with their cell phones. I guess the only bad thing about it is that it doesn't have that many seats.
01/25/07 - Video - Rocket Scooter goes Airborne
 Using dual jets on a 3 wheeled tripod push scooter, these guys take their lives in their hands with this maverick rocket test. This unsanctioned event took place in the parking lot behind an unnamed hobby shop in Carrollton, TX on Jan 21st, 2007.
01/25/07 - 3D Nanobatteries - Away with Exploding Batteries
 A new, safer type of Li-Ion nanobattery that might help prevent future fires and explosions related to conventional Li-Ion battery use has been developed by researchers at Tel Aviv University. Using a silicon or glass substrate, the team from TAU created a matrix of tiny holes each 50 microns in diameter and 500 micron deep. Each of these holes functions as an independent micro battery or microchannel with an output power of around 8-10 microW. The power of a 1 cm2 3D nanobattery is about 150-200mW. One of the most important aspects of this new technology compared to existing battery types is its safety. Since each nanobattery is comprised of thousands of small batteries, even if one of these small batteries has a short circuit and fails, the entire battery can keep functioning, lossing only a very small amount of power. Similar damage to a conventional Li-Ion battery could result in substantial loss of power or a complete malfunction and in extreme cases even fire or explosion.
01/25/07 - Rescue workers use water jet cutters to rescue accident victims
 The Fire and Disaster Management Agency has decided to introduce water jet cutters to help carve through debris and rescue accident victims without the risk of sparks starting a fire, it has been learned. One of the water cutter trucks that the agency will use was displayed to reporters in Tokyo in a demonstration on Jan. 17. The cutters operate by combining a high-pressure blast of water with sand, and can make a 1.5-centimeter cut through a 2-centimeter-thick steel plate in just one minute. A major benefit of the cutters is that they do not pose a fire risk, meaning they can be used at accident sites where flammable substances have been spilled. In the demonstration on Jan. 17, the agency also introduced "blower" vehicles that can create blasts of wind of up to 45 meters per second. These can be used to disperse clouds of harmful gases from work areas. A total of five blower vehicles and five water jet cutter vehicles will be put into action, being distributed to fire departments in Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka, Fukuoka and Sapporo.
01/25/07 - Sonic Caffeine - Boosing your brain with FFR
 With the discovery of brainwaves came the discovery that electrical activity in the brain will change depending on what the person is doing. For instance, the brainwaves of a sleeping person are vastly different than the brainwaves of someone wide awake. Over the years, more sensitive equipment has brought us closer to figuring out exactly what brainwaves represent and with that, what they mean about a person's health and state of mind. Brainwave Entrainment refers to the brain's electrical response to rhythmic sensory stimulation, such as pulses of sound or light. When the brain is given a stimulus, through the ears, eyes or other senses, it emits an electrical charge in response, called a Cortical Evoked Response. These electrical responses travel throughout the brain to become what you "see and hear". This activity can be measured using sensitive electrodes attached to the scalp. When the brain is presented with a rhythmic stimulus, such as a drum beat for example, the rhythm is reproduced in the brain in the form of these electrical impulses. If the rhythm becomes fast and consistent enough, it can start to resemble the natural internal rhythms of the brain, called brainwaves. When this happens, the brain responds by synchronizing its own electric cycles to the same rhythm. This is commonly called the Frequency Following Response (or FFR): FFR can be useful because brainwaves are very much related to mental state. For example, a 4 Hz brainwave is associated with sleep, so a 4 Hz sound pattern would help reproduce the sleep state in your brain. The same concept can be applied to nearly all mental states, including concentration, creativity and many others. It can even act as a gateway to exotic or extraordinary experiences, such as deep meditation or "lucid dreaming" type states. I created and I'm posting here a 20 minutes duration brainwave file [in MP3 format] that I called "Coffee Replacement" because of its feature to keep you in an energizing state giving you a "caffeine" energetic boost.
01/25/07 - Legality of Burning Water
 On September 5th, 2006, I got this legality data verbally from lawyer Mr. Bastida, but when customers started asking to see written proof of legality, and especially when an auto mechanic pointed at one of my Water4Gas installations and said (without showing me anything in writing) "It is illegal to mess with the emissions" - I decided to contact the attorney once again. I asked for the written law. Repeating and stressing his evaluation as of 9-5-06 regarding the legality of Water4Gas devices and Water4Gas vehicle upgrades, Mr. Bastida does not see any legal conflict - as long as we REDUCE emissions rather than add emissions (as in the case of boosting gasoline flow to gain more power, or something of the sort - his clarifying comment). The written laws Mr. Bastida specifically referred me to are contained within the "California Vehicle Code". He pointed out the following sections in particular: * Emissions Control, sections 38393 to 38397 * Also 24000 to 28114 "EQUIPMENT OF VEHICLES". * Engine Change/Rebuild, section 9563. Some of these sections mention "off-highway motor vehicles". Section 38010 (see below) will provide you with a clear idea of what the law defines as "off-highway motor vehicle".
01/25/07 - Morons say civil liberty restrictions ok to fight terror
 An overwhelming majority of people in Britain are willing to give up freedom in the hyped up, paranoid inducing, 'fight against terror', including agreeing to compulsory ID cards, warrantless wiretapping and house arrest for unconvicted terror suspects. Research finds most support compulsory ID cards, with phone tapping, curfews and tagging for suspects. It also found greater stress at work and a yearning among working parents to spend more time with their children, as well as overwhelming public support for euthanasia, allowing a doctor to end the life of a patient with an incurable or painful illness who asks to be helped to die.
01/25/07 - Big Brother's New Toy to spy on us
 The prototype is called the High Altitude Airship, or HAA. Lockheed Martin Maritime Systems & Sensors in Akron won the $40 million contract from the Missile Defense Agency to build HAA in 2003. It is essentially another blimp. A giant one. Seventeen times the size of the Goodyear dirigible. It’s designed to float 12 miles above the earth, far above planes and weather systems. It will be powered by solar energy, and will stay in a geocentric orbit for up to a year, undetectable by ground-based radar. You can’t see it from the ground. But it can see you. According to a summary released by the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command, the HAA can watch over a circle of countryside 600 miles in diameter. That's everything between Toledo and New York City. And they want to build 11. With high-res cameras, that could mean constant surveillance of every square inch of American soil. "If you had a fleet of them, this could be used for border surveillance," suggests Dunlap. Launch date: 2009. Of course, mimicking its defense of warrantless wiretapping and phone-log data mining, the government maintains it only wants to protect its citizens from external threats. But as any geek can tell you, blimps were ubiquitous in The Watchmen, the seminal '80s graphic novel in which heroes have been driven underground and Nixon is still president. Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they're not watching you.
01/25/07 - Easy Circuit Boards
 This site offers free printed circuit board design software. You design your circuit using the software, then send up the output and they will produce as many circuit boards as you want. They can make from 100-10,000 boards, single or double sided. Samples as low as 2 boards for $44 each, 20 boards for $8.00 each, 50 boards for $5.60 each or 100 boards for $4.80 each.
01/24/07 - Sad News - Walter Rosenthal R.I.P. January 13th, 2007
 >(This is a reprisal due to changes in the original. - Thanks to Gary Vesperman for letting us know. I have asked for a photo from Walts daughter since in his last days. Updated further 02/19/07. Attached is the photo Gretchen courteously provided, writing that it was used in Walter's obituary, thank you Gretchen! If you knew Walter and would like to post your remembrance of him in the GuestBook, click on the Obit link above to get to it. I suspect the family would appreciate how many friends he had and his impact on the alt science community. - JWD) From Walter Rosenthal's Daughter; "If you have already received this information previously, my apologies. I found an email list on my Dad's desk and thought I should send out this announcement. My Father Walter (Walt) Rosenthal passed away on January 13th of this year from cardio miapothy and heart failure. Memorial service will be held Sat. Jan 27th at 2pm at: The Gate Vineyard Fellowship 4799 Bradley Road in Santa Maria. If traveling on the 101 you will get off on the Clark Ave. exit and head West. Go a mile or so until you get to Bradley Rd. (Light) on the corners will be a gas station and Orcutt Burgers. Turn right. On the left side right behind the shopping center is the church. I am sure that my Father appreciated your friendship and your correspondence with him. - Sincerely, Gretchen England (Walt's Daughter) / Walter L. Rosenthal - - Spent most of his working life employed by several defense contractors at Vandenberg AFB as a member of many different missile launch crews, spanning over 35 years. He has tested at numerous locations an extensive number of energy machines, using a collection of test equipment manufactured by Yokogawa, Tektronix and Hewlett Packard. This equipment was selected to allow measurement and recording of multiple isolated voltage waveforms from DC to 50 MHZ and levels from millivolts to 15,000 volts, along with multiple current waveforms from DC to 50 MHZ at levels of milliamps to 1000 amps. The data recorded on the four channel digital sampling oscilloscope can be dumped to an X - Y plotter for permanent record. The digital scope has computation capability for multiplying voltage times current for displaying power generation waveforms. Walter has also designed and built special purpose electronic circuits for inventors who lacked this expertise.
01/24/07 - Hydrogen Powered Lawnmowers?
In a breakthrough that could make fuel cells practical for such small machines as lawnmowers and chainsaws, researchers have developed a new mechanism to efficiently control hydrogen fuel cell power. The new process controls the hydrogen feed to match the required power output, just as one controls the feed of gasoline into an internal combustion engine. The system functions as a closed system that uses the waste water to regulate the size of the reaction chamber, the site where the gasses combine to form water, heat and electricity.The researchers believe the first applications for their technology will be in smaller engines. Fuel cells are currently inefficient on such scales due to the need for fuel recycling and excess hydrogen in standard designs. The researchers' new design is closed, so 100 percent of the fuel is used and there is no need for a costly fuel recycling system. "The system is ideal for small internal combustion engines that lack emissions controls and are highly polluting," said Benziger. "There is also no need for an extensive hydrogen distribution system for these small motors; the hydrogen could be supplied in returnable tanks such as the propane tanks used for gas grills." Benziger's next goal is to connect several of the new fuel cells together to increase power, a system that could potentially compete with cells now being tested in the automotive industry.
01/24/07 - Hydraulic Water Lawnmower
 A group of Purdue University undergraduates built an industrial riding lawn mower that's a cut above the rest. The students created what is thought to be the first vehicle that uses water in all of its hydraulic systems, including power steering, power brakes and transmission. Recent advances in water hydraulic systems have allowed them to perform as well as petroleum hydraulic systems. Because water offers several environmental and economic advantages over petroleum hydraulic fluid, the students teamed up to demonstrate that such a vehicle is now possible. Although the mower was redesigned to prove a point, it does have a practical purpose. Mowers leak some hydraulic fluid, and on golf courses that fluid can kill grass on greens that often cost tens of thousands of dollars to construct and maintain. Jacobsen, a division of Textron Inc. of Racine, Wis., donated the Greens King IV mower, which is a 31-horsepower, front-wheel drive mower with three sets of gang mowers that are raised and lowered hydraulically. Gary Krutz, professor of agricultural and biological engineering and the students’ advisor, says water hydraulic systems only would be practical in vehicles that use high-pressure systems, such as heavy equipment used in construction, agriculture, forestry and mining. (Automobiles have hydraulic brake and steering systems, but these are not typically highly pressurized.) The water used in the mower isn't straight from the tap; ordinary city water contains too many minerals and impurities and could cause build-up and corrosion. Instead, the system uses distilled water that has been de-ionized to remove any electrical charges that could cause corrosion. Corrosion also is the reason parts for water hydraulics systems have to be made of stainless steel, plastic or ceramics. But the more expensive parts would be worth it because using water in hydraulic systems makes machinery more energy efficient, saving money. The boost in energy efficiency is due to water’s lower viscosity. Viscosity is the measure of how fast a liquid flows. Water flows up to 1,000 times faster than hydraulic fluid at normal air temperatures. Once the machine is warmed up, water is still less viscous. Improved viscosity means less energy is required to push the hydraulic fluid through the system, making it more efficient. An engine that uses direct gearing is 95 percent efficient; one that uses hydraulic systems is 60 percent efficient. (Hydraulic systems are used in place of gears because they offer variable speed and can be placed in different locations around the vehicle.) By using water instead of heavier petroleum fluid, Krutz estimates the efficiency could be boosted at least 10 percent.
01/24/07 - Programs Let Homes Produce Green Power
(The problem remains..how long does it take to pay the consumer back for their investment in renewable energy tech? We need something a lot cheaper to produce local power without requiring a 10-30 year mortgage. - JWD) When the sun shines bright on their home in New York's Hudson Valley, John and Anna Bagnall live out a homeowner's fantasy. Their electricity meter runs backward. Solar panels on their barn roof can often provide enough for all their electricity needs. Sometimes _ and this is the best part _ their solar setup actually pushes power back into the system. The Bagnalls 'net meter,' a state-sanctioned setup that allows homeowners to adopt renewable energy without taking the more radical step of disconnecting from their local electric utility, Central Hudson Gas & Electric. Net metering essentially allows people to become mini-power producers. Programs vary state to state, but they are typically coupled with financial incentives that make it easier to invest thousands of dollars for photovoltaic panels, windmills or fuel cells. Since sun and wind are intermittent, customers still rely on the grid for steady service. The meter runs backward when more energy is produced than a customer consumes. Prices vary depending on how big a system is installed, but prices in the $8,000 range are common. New York offers rebates based on wattage that shave thousands off the costs and there are tax credits from the state and the federal government, according to John Wright of Hudson Valley Clean Energy, which installs the systems. Wright said systems can provide 80 to 90 percent of a home's electricity, so they are able to pay for themselves usually in 10 to 12 years. John Bagnall, a retired anesthesiologist, said he spent about $40,000 after rebates for a 15 kilowatt system. But in nearby Rhinebeck, Michael Trimble and his wife spent about $14,000 for a 3 kilowatt system, which is enough to power their guest house. At the end of one year, Trimble's local utility calculated that he produced more power than he consumed, so they wrote him a check for $23. Trimble plans to frame it.
01/24/07 - Obvio Tribrid Runs on Virtually any Fuel
 The Obvio vehicle can run on any combination of regular gas, bio ethanol, natural gas or electricity. An odd layout allows for side by side seating for three people and the car is slated for availability at the end of 2008. The car is expected to sell for about $59,000 if it makes it to the US. If you can live without having to plug your car in a non-electric version of the multi fuel car will sell for about $28,000 and is claimed to be able to hit 160 MPH.
01/24/07 - Video - Science Experiment Explosion
 There wasn't any information about what this high school chemistry teacher was trying to do, but geez, could he BE any more careless? No goggles, no protection and way too much volume for whatever he was combusting in a closed room with kids watching. Notice the window blinds when the pressure hits them, maybe even broke the room windows! (via boingboing.net)
01/24/07 - Neural "Extension Cord" Developed
"Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have developed a 'neural extension cord' by growing neurons attached to a microchip. The cord is made by gradually moving two batches of neurons apart, as they naturally grow towards one another. This biological 'data cable' could then interface with the brain once implanted, the researchers say." From the article: "...in the long run, it may not be necessary to interface directly with nerves at all. 'In Europe most researchers in this field are using non-invasive EEG,' [an outside researcher] explains... 'The signals are weaker so more complex processing is needed, but not having to perform surgery on the nervous system has many advantages,' [he] says."
01/24/07 - The Psychology of Magical Thinking
 (Fascinating topic...I think we can influence matter and reality outside our bodies. Its about trackable 'cause and effect' with variables that might interfere with or enhance the intent. - JWD) Magical thinking is the belief that your thoughts, words, or actions can have a causal impact beyond normal cause and effect--for example, believing that crossing your fingers will bring good luck, wishing bad thoughts on someone could make them sick, or the odd rituals a baseball player runs through when he goes up to bat. In today's New York Times, Benedict Carey explores the psychology of magical thinking. New research suggests that magical thinking is surprisingly common because it helps people deal with stress, boost confidence, and overcome feelings of helplessness. Too much magical thinking though can be bad news though, say, for those who suffer from obsessive-compulsive disorder. “The question is why do people create this illusion of magical power?” said the lead author, Emily Pronin, an assistant professor of psychology and public affairs at Princeton. “I think in part it’s because we are constantly exposed to our own thoughts, they are most salient to us” - and thus we are like |
