Monday, August 31, 2009

Cure penut alergy with... penuts!

A study from Duke university outline in a gizmag post shows that by ingesting slowly increasing amounts of peanut flour, children previously allergic to peanuts could rid them selves of the adverse reaction.

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Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Imagine the tenth dimension

Very cool animation of 10 dimesnions; very much the multi universe theory on steroids!

Sonic Ruler

Definatly one of the apps I would buy if I had an iphone..

Sonar Ruler Demo from cc laan on Vimeo.

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

no end to stupidy

Wow... too many people believe what the see on TV. Every now and again a crazy makes it into a science meeting, and you get comments completly off topic, and always at the wrong moment. Humility is what is needed; the ability to think " you know what, I may be wrong sometimes!" But the crazy never lets this happen, and then they start shouting, or asking questions.. erg...

The Daily Show With Jon StewartMon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Healther Skelter
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show
Full Episodes
Political HumorSpinal Tap Performance

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Conferences and Forms on Renewable energy

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Several large conferences/forms are quickly approaching; here is the short list.
Global Renewable Energy Form (GREF); Leon Mexico; 7-9 October 2009
The form is summarized on the web site (concept note):

It is expected that some 1000 officials, planners and energy experts from all world regions will participate in the event, including representatives from governments, international organizations, academia, civil society, and private sector.

The Global Forum will feature a series of plenary sessions around the following themes:

• Energy Poverty, Economic and Financial Crisis, and Climate Change;

• Renewable Energy and Energy Transition;

• Renewable Energy Potential;

• Renewable Energy and the Access Agenda;

• Biofuels;

• Investments in Renewables;

• Policy and Innovative Institutions.



West Coast Green; San Francisco CA USA, 1-3, October 2009. This conference seems to be aimed at the design community with what promises to be a full exibitor floor. The educational track are listed as;

• Building Communities 2.0

• Business Opportunities and the New Economy

• Clean Tech and Cool Products

• Smart Systems

• Social Innovation

• Water and Energy


Cost, Students $250 USD, full pass $795 USD.

Institute of the Americas presents the Cross Border Climate and Renewable Energy discussion; August 13th, 2009, La Jolla CA

The event will convene policy makers from Mexico and the United States, renewable energy project developers, suppliers, analysts, NGO representatives and others for several panels. The focus will be on the significant opportunities that exist in the Cross Border region for renewable energy projects, as well as how to best work together to confront the critical challenges the issues of energy and climate present for us all.

Cost; General Public $100, Academics $25.

Thursday, August 06, 2009

NASA and cafe announce green aircraft challenge

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In an announcement made on July 31, 20009, NASA and the Comparative Aircraft Flight Efficiency (CAFE) have offered a 1.5 million dollar prize to a plane that can average 200 passenger miles per gallon of gas on a 200 mile flight averaging over 100 mph.

These contests are great ways to insight new innovation, and I think inspire new small firms to be formed. I'd love to see many more of these contests with housing, bike design, car design, solar and wind power systems etc...

I think the Mexican government could use this to promote more research. Instead of asking for proposals and giving grant money to the best looking option (which has way too much ability for corruption) offer a prize for someone who satisfies the demand. Where the initial cash comes from, that is still a problem, but companies will be more inclined to offer funding if they see a direct gain from completing the goal. Right now they win patent rights and tax incentives, but hard cash is even better!

Wednesday, August 05, 2009

Steven Pinker; the world is less violent

This is a great video for anyone who thinks that the world is going to shit (saw it about a year back, but it was brought to my attention by onegoodmove.org.) I've heard many times how violet the world is becoming, but here is his talk Mr. Pinter gives a very good argument how the world has become much better. When we think about this, it makes sense. The current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan draw a great deal of attention when 4 or 5 soldiers are killed, when it was 10 thousand lives ended in a battle in the major world wars. Any death caused by a person is regrettable, and it seems that we are finally getting that. The fact that people are caring for homeless dogs and cats is a sign that we are even looking outside of our species. Sound very Buddhist to me; several aspects of the eight-fold-path can be seen.

Tuesday, August 04, 2009

US gas milage hasn't improved in 80 years

A good post on gizmag about the US gas milage. My comment is below. This brings up one of my biggest concerns about cars here in Ensenada. Called 'Chocolate Cars' illegally imported clunkers crowd the streets here. Polluting more then any 100 times more then newer well maintained cars. If the government wanted to clean the air quickly they would run these cars off the street. The poor people who use them are throwing their money away in maintaining blown engines, burning oil, and excessive fuel consumption. They should buy a bike, which would also help with their obesity as well.#displayname#