Teeny, Tiny Batteries

Battery technology is moving faster than many people realize. The problem isn't with the technology but with making that technology financially feasible.

I'm really excited about the prospects for this sort of battery. Nano-pacemakers, clothing made entirely of batteries for charging just about anything, etc.

Tiny battery embedded nanowire smallest battery yet

Tattoos Meet Science

I love tattoos... I find them a very artistic way to augment the body. But now tattoos apparently have merged with science. Pretty darn awesome.

Tattoo Body Modification Gets Futuristically Functional

Water in Space? - Cool

Giant body of water found in space.

The Sun Can Prevent Cancer

I recently posted an article about how the sun's natural cycle is keeping global warming more at bay than we realize. But one thing in that article deserved its own post as I feel it flips most of what we thought we knew the last few decades on its head: Exposure to the sun may prevent cancer more than cause it.

The tid-bit in that article spoke of how the vitamin D that we need to live is also very important in cancer prevention. And as we have moved inside as a society our exposure to the sun is limited - thus limiting our production of vitamin D.

...10-15 minutes of sunbathing will provide us with the same amount of vitamin D as 200 glasses of milk. And this vitamin is one of our most potent anti-cancer agents ... 

Unlike past generations, children today spend a lot more time indoors than they do playing around in the sun. Testing shows that our vitamin D levels are now a small fraction of what we think they were 100 years ago.

So often we hear about putting on sunscreen and the dangers of sun exposure beyond sun burns. Skin cancer is a real threat, and we need to do all we can to eliminate it as a risk... but in doing so, have we unwittingly put ourselves at risk for other cancers due to a lower level of vitamin D in our blood? This article from Lifehacker talks about this interesting twist on the cancer causing sun.

Everyone should use solar power wisely and not go totally bonkers. There's no need to fry. But whatever extra skin cancer risk we might assume certainly seems to me to be a reasonable price to pay, considering the benefits. It now appears that adequate sunlight- mediated vitamin D might prevent as many as 150,000 cancer deaths a year in the United States alone and also reduce infections, bone problems, and perhaps, though more science is needed, even autism and asthma rates. Of course, on the other side of the balance beam, melanoma causes 8,500 US deaths a year. Every activity from bicycle riding to barroom brawling involves some balancing of risks, and the decision of what trade- offs to make is, of course, yours alone.

Could the Sun Save Us from Global Warming?

Climate change is a very real thing, and there are many factors at play. One of those factors is the sun (believe it or not).


I really didn't understand how much of a role the sun plays (except for providing heat) until I read this article.


Could the Sun Save Us from Global Warming?

(NSFW) Tongs for Erectile Dysfunction: FDA approved!

I'm kind of speechless here. I mean, erectile dysfunction is very real and affects a lot of men, but I never would have guessed applying tongs to the penis would help.

Have no idea how it works? Me either... thankfully the video explains it all.
These tongs are actually an FDA approved vibrator for men

"Simultaneous vibratory stimulation of both surfaces of the penis at high frequency (70-110Hz) for about 7-10 minutes can lead to reflexogenic activation of sexual pathways that initiate gradual filling of the penis with arterial blood by activating the Nitric oxide synthase mediated pudendo-cavernosal reflex. Other physiological effects include progressive rhythmic contraction of the ischicavernosus and bulbospongiosus muscles via the bulbocavernosus reflex, which help in strengthening the rigidity of erection."


I'm still speechless...

Games to come to G+

One think I like about Google+ is that there are none of those stuipd games I get pestered with in FB. Granted, over time I've been able to keep the pestering to a minimum, but it is still annoying.

As much as I liked that about G+, I knew it was only a matter of time before they had something like that too. In some ways I'm happy as it will hopefully bring more people to G+ who will then realize it's better than Facebook.

Google Games soon to debut

Homemade Strop for Quick edge on Knives, etc.

I love this blog because it's so full of great things to make life for the DIYer easier. This is one tip I will definitely use as I hate how my utility blades always go dull at the wrong time.

A few swipes and I'd be back in business.

Get a sharp edge on knives, chisels, and planes with a homemade strop

The TSA Means Well, but...

I've been anti-TSA for a long time now. They are there to do a very important job, but I feel that - for many reasons - they are completely inept and do the public very little good whatsoever.

Ever since 9/11 our country has been in a heightened state of concern when it comes to travel, specifically air. Under the guise of helping, politicians went to work and created any number of rules to keep us safer. However, being politicians, really what they were doing was finding ways to protect future elections as the measures taken to keep us safe are questionable in their ability to do so.

I have always been a supporter of well trained staff doing the job. Given quality training, pay, and structure many things can go right to keep this country safe -- AND not have to violate the public much more than before 9/11. There have been many things written about the TSA and things it does wrong. The most recent (I've read) being one where the author likened the TSA workers to be being dermatologists. Previously they required inspection of an elderly lady's diaper. And I'm sure that most everyone has heard at least one story of the 'horrific' pat down of a young child.

Now I don't fully believe all of these stories, nor do I think they are representative of the overall day to day experience... "So why do you even bother writing this. I mean, if it's the minority experience, why does it matter if it keeps us all safe?"
 
Excellent question! The reason I'm writing about this is because it doesn't need to happen at all. Sure sometimes the wrong people will be pulled aside, but it doesn't have to happen like the above stories suggest. I haven't even started talking about the full body scanners delivering questionably safe amounts of radiation through out our entire body and being able to identify what I had for lunch (no, not literally, but they see a lot).


This country has put a lot of money into revamping the TSA. This article mentions 80 million spent with 73 million of that in stimulus funds (please note that I take Fox News articles with a grain of salt... point is that TSA has spent a lot. I'm not going to quibble about number or the source of the funds here). Isn't there a better way to protect us with out having to violate us? I believe there is.

There are parts of this world that have existed with real concerns of terrorism on a daily basis - not to take away from the pain and suffering from 9/11, but there are people in this world that go to work/school each and every day not knowing if they or someplace they are going will be blown up. Within one of these areas is, what most everyone agrees is, the safest airport in the world: Ben Gurion International, in Tel Aviv.

Why are they the safest? It's not because they have body scanners every 3 feet or have agents giving you a rub down without even buying dinner first. It's because of training. Here two articles talk about what the airport does (1); (2).The training is in profiling, but not the sort of profiling US citizens think of. Granted, as the article states, racial/ethic profiling is most likely involved, but everyone gets questioned - everyone. But it's just questioning and how you respond that determines whether you are in column A or column B. The overall security at this airport is also above and beyond what we generally expect, but it's not as intrusive as our TSA practices are now. From this article: "Israeli airport security, much of it invisible to the untrained eye, begins before passengers even enter the terminal. Officials constantly monitor behavior, alert to clues that may hint at danger..." Yes, TSA questions you, but they don't do it consistently and they aren't trained to ask specific questions to look for specific responses. I spoke with one person who was in line for a flight and one TSA agent asked everyone a few questions looking at them while checking the paperwork. The next line over had a TSA agent that barely said anything as he / she looked at the paperwork. This sort of inconsistency doesn't work.
 
Only 2-5 % of people are selected into column B. Now column B is no picnic. If you are selected you stand to lose hours of your life and have it looked through (as well as all of your luggage) with a fine toothed comb. Also included could be a intense interrogation. But the rest of the passengers pass through with little to no problems.

To put this in perspective I've pulled together numbers from a wiki article for global flight stats. I can't speak to how accurate they are, but they seem reasonable to my untrained eye. Based on the data I took the top US passengers total / 365 / 2. To get a daily departure estimate (assumed 50/50 split arrival and departure). So my assumptions are the following: 872,496 people get on flights in the US daily, 13 airports host these passengers. So based on a 2-5 % column B number, anywhere from 1342-3355 passengers would be set aside from the over 67 thousand passengers that travel per airport per day. This is as opposed to 67 thousand passengers waiting in line for who knows how long to be patted down or scanned and potentially pulled aside for who knows why.

I don't know about you, but I'd much prefer that. Partly because I have nothing to hide, so I think my chances of being in the 2-5 % are pretty low. But also because I feel that properly trained personnel - both in overall security as well as the polyglots who do the questioning - would make flying highly more efficient for the 95-98 % of us who are non-risks.

It's not all sunshine and roses however. I found this short article that sites the Israeli methods are not scale-able to the US. There's actually a few nice comments on this. I think it's very scale-able... it's just a question of how much the US want's to pay. Passengers are always complaining about the price of tickets, baggage costs, etc. If the overall experience of getting to your flight can be improved, it might actually be worth it.

Cool Off Your Car Interior

Ok, it's stuipd hot outside because of the heat wave going through the nation. So this is some very good advice to keep some cool in your car. It will also make it easier for AC to overcome the heat for quicker comfort.

I especially like the Japanese narration.
How to Quickly Cool Down your Car's Oven Like Interior

Clean Your Ceiling Fan Easily

No one I know really likes to clean. And cleaning the fins of a ceiling fan are probably right up there with doing the windows. This is a really cool method to use to get them clean without getting dust everywhere else.

Now I don't know if this means I'll actually clean the ceiling fan more (read: ever), but at least there's a way to do it without making more of a mess.

Clean Your Ceiling Fan Easily with a Pillow Case

Burglary Lessons Learned

Please share this: Recently some friends of mine had their home burglarized and lost approximately 4000$ worth of stuff. While there is nothing I or we (internet readers) can do about this event, there is definitely some lessons that can be learned and applied across the globe. What follows is correspondence from the woman's mother advising all of us of steps that should be taken to ensure rebound from such an event is as easy as possible.

Names and places have been changed to protect the family involved.

---------------------------------------------------------------

I want to share with all of you the trials Jane has gone through in the last week and a half because some thieves broke in her house and stole about $4000 in various items.  She feels lucky that they did not vandalize anything, and they were very selective in what they stole – nothing that is irreplaceable or of great sentimental value.  It has been a real eye opener for all of us though, and we’d like to share what we have learned, so some good can come of this.  Thinking about this has brought to mind other lessons we have learned from theft and losses we have gone through, so those lessons are added here too.

Lesson one:

Make sure you have renters or home owners insurance and that it is up to date – Your address needs to be correct, or they limit what they pay (Jane & John moved from Town A and did not update the address to the Town B address – fortunately the limit for what the insurance company will pay is higher than what was stolen, but there was a day of angst waiting for the decision about whether they would cover anything).  If you have particularly valuable items, they should be on a separate rider with appraisals, or receipts with original purchase prices (did not apply to Jane & John this time, but we learned this when Jill’s computer was stolen at college – we did have it on a rider and received a check for the replacement value within 2 days of her computer being stolen).  Get insurance for replacement value – otherwise they depreciate everything and your insurance will never cover replacing it.

If you are cohabitating with someone you are not married to, and co-mingling possessions, get a combined insurance policy – otherwise you are dealing with two deductibles, and the issues of deciding who owns what for insurance coverage.  It is much easier to combine them all for insurance purposes, under one policy, and State Farm suggested Jane & John do this in the future.

Lesson two:

Document everything you own!!!  Either save all your receipts and document everything you buy, including serial numbers, model numbers or take photos of absolutely everything including shots of the serial number plate, with the dates showing for when purchased.  Jane & John are having to document they really owned what they are claiming was stolen….not an easy thing to do unless you keep very detailed records.  Fortunately they still had the box for their 42” TV, so they had the serial number and model number, and they have an Xbox account and a Satellite radio account, so they can use that as evidence they owned those items.

Doesn’t help with the laptop, Ipod, binoculars, CDs, Xbox games, dvd player or John’s bike.  If they had photos of everything it would help a lot, but still not be perfect.  Receipts would be best.  Do not keep these photos on your camera or computer, in case they get stolen – keep them somewhere besides the insured location, in case of tornado, hurricane or fire.  Additional back-up – I know from having my wallet stolen in Country A that keeping photocopies of all your credit cards, ATM cards etc – (everything in your wallet) front and back of everything is a life saver if you wallet is lost or stolen.  Again – keep it someplace besides your home, in case of theft – safety deposit box, sibling’s home, place of work.  I was very lucky when my wallet was stolen in Country A – I had just copied everything and left it with my administrative assistant before we went to Country A in 1995.

I was able to tell her where I had the copies in my office desk drawer and she was able to call and cancel all my credit cards, and when I got home I was able to replace everything.  It helped to be able to take a copy of my license in when I went for a replacement driver’s license.  I redo this every couple of years.

Lesson 3:

If you give a workman a key, or let them know where you hide your key, change your locks after the work is done.  It is not that expensive.  Whoever broke into Jane & John’s had a key.  We had not changed the lock since we bought the house because we were having a lot of people work on the house, and we gave all the contractors keys.  We had not changed the locks, so it appears someone copied the key, or someone the prior owners gave a key to, broke in the house.  Locksmiths can re-key a lock with a different key if your lock will be hard to replace.  We ended up doing this since the lock set for the Anderson Sliding door – which is the main entrance to the house – is discontinued.  If you have tall ladders that can be used to enter a second story window, make sure they are locked up.  Thieves looking for an easy way in will go for an open window and then unlock doors from the inside.

  

This has been very time consuming, working with the police and the insurance companies, so prevention is the best advice, but good documentation of some sort helps make the process easier and less time consuming.

Harry Potter Based on Trailers

Harry Potter fans should be able to appreciate this. Believe it or not there are people who know nothing of the series, and to base all judgement on the film trailers is just funny.

6 Harry Potter Films According to Someone Who Never Saw Them

Why do some Americanisms irritate people?

Not much is more 'American' than taking something from another culture and bastardizing it into something just similar enough to recognize. But to slowly pass our bastardizations back over to the original culture? That's just pure power.

I tend to agree that England should strive not to lose all of their culture to existing Americanisms, but part of what makes global communication great is the melding of cultures from around the world.

Why do some Americanisms irritate people?

Apple vs. Google: Patent Violations Change the Game

The entire Android platform could be at risk because of this. I haven't been following all of this super closely, but it makes me nervous. I like the competition between Apple and Google because consumers win in that we get better product all the time. If the ruling is held up, how long before Apple starts going after everyone else?

Worse case scenario and Apple shuts down all Android phone imports (and will not license the patents) would you wait for an Android phone that does not violate patents or would you get an Apple phone?
Apple vs. Google: Inside an Android Patent Violation

Google+ as its own Chrome App

I've seen a lot of talk lately about the use of  Fluid and WebRunner to make G+ it's own desktop app for mac / Firefox systems. That's really cool as it helps make it more streamlined to use.

Google Chrome already has some of this functionality built in: In Chrome, while on G+, click the wrench (settings) go to tools, and select "Create Application Shortcut". It gives you various options for the start menu, desktop, etc. One thing that is nice in Windows 7 is that you can pin it to the task bar. What this does is make G+ really easy to access and have it as a separate window from your browser.

To make this even better, install the G+ count in title extension. It will place the number of unread notifications in parenthesis. So now you have a stand alone app that will let you see if you have new things to check up on while you work outside of your browser (see pic below). If you don't have the app pinned, the unread notifications will appear in the tab.

Thanks to all of our troops, past, present, and future...

There are stories like this all over for our brave troops serving overseas. All of them are heroes in their own right and we are indebted to them for what they have sacrificed for us.

Only a few are alive who have received the Medal of Honor. This man completely rocked and went back for more. Where all troops are amazing for their sacrifices, this is one bad ass mofo. Tours of duty are a huge burden even if you come home fine. But to go back for more after various trauma... Rock On.

This Medal of Honor Recipient Threw a Live Grenade Back at the Enemy

World's Steepest Roller Coaster

At a 121 degree fall, you fall not straight down but behind you. I get queezy just thinking about it... but I would love to ride it! I have a fascination with roller coasters and their design. They test the laws of physics by bringing the ride to the brink of failure before bringing it back to reality.

Designing the ride itself is seems pretty easy (note that I am speaking directly from my ass here since I am not an engineer or a designer) since the materials can handle a fair amount of stress. In my opinion the real tough part is finding that good mix that thrashes and scares riders at the same time of staying within the realm of what our body can take - sans NASA training.

Check out the video and the time lapse. There are many roller coasters worth riding on, and this definitely looks like a good one.

World’s Steepest Roller Coaster Makes Me Shudder Just By Looking at the Video

Sleeping in an Underwater Bedroom

I wish I could see some more pictures from this... I've always loved strange eclectic architecture. I also love the water / ocean, so this is a near dream come true. In my wildest, money is no object, dreams I have entire sections of home underwater so I can watch the entire aquatic world before me.

I'd lose hours just staring, but on the plus side, I'd have less lawn to mow. What are your favorite examples of eclectic architecture?

Sleeping in an Underwater Bedroom Would be Amazing

Privacy Key in Google vs Facebook Race

I couldn't agree with this article more. No matter how awesome FB or G+ is, neither will end up surviving if privacy is not conserved - as perceived by the user.

Personally, this has been my major issue with FB for a while. All too often FB implemented changes making our information more 'shareable' and turned on by default. We could change this setting if we wanted (although navigating FB privacy is less than intuitive), but it's more the principle behind the change. Moreover, users were rarely notified (in a unified manner) about the change and the effect on privacy. People complained but stayed in the end - partly because FB was the only game in town.

I hope Google does not go down that path. So far I believe they are winning the privacy war, but it is far from over.

In the Google-Facebook race, privacy will determine the winner - Fortune Tech

How the Sound Effects of Transformers 3 Were Made

If you love behind the scenes stuff, this is a nice video of how some of the sounds were made for Transformers 3. I always think that being one of those sound guys would be a dream job because it is so very awesome what they get to do: Make not-so-every-day sounds out of every day sounds.

Unfortunately, I completely lack the creativity to envision some of this. Sure I can record all sorts of things, but being able to put random sounds into movies is a true art. Watch and enjoy!

Listen and Watch How the Sound Effects of Transformers 3 Were Made

Prosthetic eye digital camera

Kickstarter is such a great site. Anyone can pitch, and raise money for, any idea they have. The good ones raise their money and move on. There are so many good ideas out there and so much money to fund them, but so often the two never quite meet. Thanks to the internet for bringing cool ideas to fruition!

I'm in awe of this invention primarily because I think it's just the beginning of some really interesting prosthetics. Perhaps one day this sort of thing may actually be able to sync to the optic nerve and deliver real time digital vision.
Insert Coin: Prosthetic eye digital camera (video) -- Engadget

"Vlach turned to Kickstarter for donations that would allow her to install a unique, waterproof in-eye camera, theoretically capable of transmitting 720p HD video wirelessly to a mobile app, and zooming and capturing still images using a blink-activated sensor."

Giant Hammock House

I love hammocks. I always have. But I still have yet to have had the right area to set one up permanently... I'd love to see one of these in the states. Just the perfect place to go relax. The boob tower is just a bonus. Although I'm curious why it's there in the first place.

That's a blog for a different time. Hammocks are amazing, comfortable, and take up little space. So any developers state-side that are reading, get to building!

A Giant House Filled with Hammocks to Hang Out In. Don't Mind the Boobs Tower

Concrete Speakers Sound Solid

I have always wanted a really nice set of speakers. They are both nice to look at (pleases the wife) as well as amazing to listen to (pleases the man).

These speakers seem to fit that bill. My house is not a high-end concert, but for these I might make an exception and bring them on board.

Concrete Speakers Sound Solid

"It is worth pointing out that concrete is an awful medium for making traditional speakers. Its stiffness distorts any sound it comes in contact with. That's why most speakers tend to be made of wood or plastic which can vibrate with the sound waves. Linski embraced this "problem" by selecting special Horn drivers which work with the material rather than against it"

Surgeons Perform the World’s First Synthetic Organ Transplant

This is why stem cell research must continue. Making body parts for you from you is very cool tech. The liver can regenerate itself to a point, but this takes it all to the next leve. The debate will rage on for years but I think instances like this really outweigh some of the concerns.

All we need now is enough tech so I can live forever! ::insert ominous music::

Surgeons Perform the World’s First Synthetic Organ Transplant

U.S. Climate: The New Normal : Image of the Day

This debate has been going on for a long time. I've always believed in global warming (read: the overall change in global climate causing increasingly different weather patterns, but this graphic is really neat.

Note how some areas are cooler than before and some areas hotter. I'd like to see this animated for a 30 year range in 1 year increments. (1900-1930, 1901-1931, etc.) That would really paint a nice picture of how our climate has been changing.

U.S. Climate: The New Normal : Image of the Day

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