“A portable instrument based on an ultrasensitive nanoscale sensor could detect bacteria in minutes, helping to catch infectious diseases early and prevent their spread. The simple, low-cost device should be available within three years, says Benjamin Miller, professor of dermatology and biomedical engineering at the University of Rochester Medical Center, and codeveloper of the sensor.”
http://www.technologyreview.com/biomedicine/23575/?nlid=2403
Glowing DNA: A CCD camera sensor captures the glow of hairpin-shaped DNA nanosensors when they bind with a target gene sequence of anthrax bacteria.
Credit: Benjamin Miller, University of Rochester Medical Center
October 20, 2009
Ultrafast DNA Nanosensor
Red Light Cameras
Can you believe this? Hmm, looks like the city of Riverside has a real revenue stream going with the camera.
“A single red light camera in Riverside, California issued $1 million worth of right-hand turn on red tickets in just one month. The automated ticketing machine installed in March at Tyler Street at the entrance to the 91 Freeway has become the most productive of the city’s cameras and now accounts for half of the citations issued by Riverside’s vendor, Redflex Traffic Systems of Australia. The camera helped boost the grand total of citations mailed since January 2007 to 82,448 tickets worth $32,532,203.”
This is a trend that is happening all over the US and Europe. Everyone needs to pay close attention to where they are and what they are doing or you will find your checkbook in a dismal state.
June 27, 2009
Panasonic – Poor Marketing Decision
The following is a quote from Panasonic’s camera web site.
“Panasonic Digital Cameras now include a technology that can identify a genuine Panasonic battery. For the protection of our customers Panasonic developed this technology after it was discovered that some aftermarket 3rd party batteries do not meet the rigid safety standards Panasonic uses.”
http://panasonic.jp/support/global/cs/info/dsc_battery.htm
Based upon the quote above I would suggest that you boycott Panasonic products and send then an email stating that restricting what batteries are used in their camera is an unfair trade practice. What happens when you are in a remote location or in an area that doesn’t stock Panasonic batteries and you batteries die? Yup, just what I thought.
June 20, 2009
Oil in the US!
It seems from A U.S. Geological Survey assessment, released April 10, 2008 that a 25-fold increase in the amount of oil that can be recovered compared to the agency’s 1995 estimate of 151 million barrels of oil is still available in Montana and North Dakota. The total is some where around 3 to 4 billion barrels of oil. So why are we not drilling and producing fuel from this area?
Quote for North Dakota Senator Dorgan…
“It is clear that the Bakken formation contains a significant amount of oil – the question is how much of that oil is recoverable using today’s technology?” said Senator Byron Dorgan, of North Dakota. “To get an answer to this important question, I requested that the U.S. Geological Survey complete this study, which will provide an up-to-date estimate on the amount of technically recoverable oil resources in the Bakken Shale formation.”
Now it seems that after much testing and checking that 3.4 Billion barrels are available to recover with current technology. Again so why are we not drilling and still relying to much on foreign oil?
The full report is available at the following location.
http://www.usgs.gov/newsroom/article.asp?ID=1911
Quotes from the past apply to today
Right now I feel that our country and us are so far in debt that it may be generations before
we even balance the budget. Just a quick question, do you have to balance your personal budget?
I do, and I can only borrow so much before I can’t make ends meet. Then what? Bankruptcy?
What happens if our country goes bankrupt? Oh that can’t happen you say?
Inflation sure can and it can make our dollar worth so little that is might as well be worthless.
Read the words of the past. They might surprise you.
“The budget should be balanced, the Treasury should be refilled,
public debt should be reduced, the arrogance of officialdom should be
tempered and controlled, and the assistance to foreign lands should be
curtailed lest Rome become bankrupt. People must again learn to work,
instead of living on public assistance. — Cicero , 55 BC
You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich.
You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.
You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift.
You cannot lift the wage earner up by pulling the wage payer down.
You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred.
You cannot build character and courage by taking away people’s initiative
and independence.
You cannot help people permanently by doing for them, what they could and
should do for themselves.
……Abraham Lincoln
So now what?
June 2, 2009
Are police radar cameras accurate? Maybe not.
I just read an article from a web site that follows “the politics of driving’. Quite interesting. It seems the radar gun used by the Italian police were bought from a company that didn’t check the calibration of the units before they shipped them. Also the same serial number showed up on multiple devices in different townships.
Why does this not surprise me? These radar guns should be banned, especially one used by small towns in rural America for generating local revenue.
Check out the article for yourself.
http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/27/2795.asp
August 31, 2008
A Presidental Speech
“Since congress does not want to spend any more money on this war, our mission in Iraq is complete.
This morning I gave the order for a complete removal of all American forces from Iraq This action will be complete within 30 days. It is now time to begin the reckoning.
Before me, I have two lists. One list contains the names of countries which have stood by our side during the Iraq conflict. This list is short . The United Kingdom, Spain , Bulgaria, Australia, and Poland are some of the countries listed there.
The other list contains every one not on the first list. Most of the world’s nations are on that list. My press secretary will be distributing copies of both lists later this evening.
Let me start by saying that effective immediately, foreign aid to those nations on List 2 ceases immediately and indefinitely. The money saved during the first year alone will pretty much pay for the costs of the Iraqi war.
THEN EVERY YEAR THERE AFTER IT’ ll GO TO OUR SOCIAL SECURITY SYSTEM SO IT WONT GO BROKE IN 20 YEARS.
The American people are no longer going to pour money into third world Hell holes and watch those government leaders grow fat on corruption.
Need help with a famine? Wrestling with an epidemic? Call France .
In the future, together with Congress, I will work to redirect this money toward solving the vexing social problems we still have at home .
On that note, a word to terrorist organizations. Screw with us and we will hunt you down and eliminate you and all your friends from the face of the earth.
Thirsting for a gutsy country to terrorize? Try France or maybe China
I am ordering the immediate severing of diplomatic relations with France and Russia . Thanks for all your help, comrades. We are retiring from NATO as well. Bonne chance, mezamies.
I have instructed the Mayor of New York City to begin towing the many UN diplomatic vehicles located in Manhattan with more than two unpaid parking tickets to sites where those vehicles will be stripped, shredded and crushed. I don’t care about whatever treaty pertains to this. You creeps have tens of thousands of unpaid tickets. Pay those tickets tomorrow or watch your precious Benzes, Beamers and limos be turned over to some of the finest chop shops in the world. I love New York
Mexico is also on List 2 its president and his entire corrupt government really need an attitude adjustment. I will have a couple extra thousand tanks and infantry divisions sitting around. Guess where I am going to put ‘em?Yep, border security.
Oh, On another note; In the past 100 yrs, the US government has LOANED billions of dollars to most of the countries on list 2 in time of crisis. Have any of them ever considered paying us back????
Oh, by the way, the United States is abrogating the NAFTA treaty – starting now.
We are tired of the one-way highway. Immediately, we’ll be drilling for oil in Alaska- which will take care of this country’s oil needs for decades to come. If you’re an environmentalist who opposes this decision, I refer you to List 2 above: pick a country and move there
It is time for America to focus on its own welfare and its own citizens. Some will accuse us of isolationism.
I answer them by saying, ‘darn tootin.’
Nearly a century of trying to help folks live a decent life around the world has only earned us the undying enmity of just about everyone on the planet.
It is time to eliminate hunger in America.
It is time to eliminate homelessness in America.
To the nations on List 1, a final thought. Thank you guys. We owe you and we won’t forget.
To the nations on List 2, a final thought: You might want to learn to speak Arabic.
God bless America . Thank you and good night.”
June 22, 2008
Newsletter 6/22/2008
I just found out the Scotch makes removable Magic Tape. The stuff works great for taping thing that you know will have to be removed in a day or two. Much easier that use any type of glue or some form of Post IT notes to hold stuff.
tape? Yeah, Scotch makes that stuff too. All this was gleamed from my cruising the web site of Scotch Tape.
http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3M/en_US/scotch
Last posting I told you about a cool tool from Swiss Tech called 8 in 1 tool. Continuing will small handy tools, take a look at “Doc Allen’s Versa Tool”. Quote from the web site, “This little gem is the handiest, most compact torque tool we’ve ever used. Invented by an outdoorsman who got tired of carrying multiple screwdrivers, Allen-wrenches and sockets with him, the VersaTool has a palm-sized swivel handle that functions like a screwdriver, T-wrench or high-torque wrench.”
http://www.duluthtrading.com/store/department/tools_shop/tools_shop2/specialty_tools/92294.aspx
While I am at work I like to listen to music but I don’t have any access to a server or large free space to store MP3 files. So I listen to streaming music from online radio stations. Depending on your preference for music, there may be many or just a few stations that broadcast your particular genre. So just go to iheard.com and search for a station that you might enjoy. Currently in beta, but the results are quite good. Check them out.
http://www.iheard.com/
Most of us have either traveled by commercial airline of stopped at an airport to pick up a friend, family member, or business partner. Wouldn’t it be great if you knew if there were a delay in the flight they were on in real time? How about getting instant text message updates on the flight status as you are traveling to the airport? Now you can. I use flightstat.com and I am sure there are others that perform this function, but this has many other options, and air traffic information. Put this site in your bookmarks.
http://www.flightstats.com/go/Home/home.do
I hope you have been using the new Firefox 3.0. It was released last week. So far it seems to work just fine. I have found some changes that I don’t like but they can be modified so in all, well worth the upgrade if you haven’t done so already.
http://getfirefox.com
I know most of you use Google to do your Internet searching, but is it you home page? What about Yahoo? I use Google and Yahoo both. Some searches give better results in Yahoo. Experiment yourself. I still prefer Yahoo generally. Oh, there are a few things that Yahoo can do the Google can’t. Check out this web page to find out.
http://www.labnol.org/internet/search/better-yahoo-search-features-not-in-google/1690/
November 25, 2007
Newsletter 11-25-2007
Government data and lots of it can be found here.
FedStats provides easy access to statistics and information produced by more than 100 U.S. Federal Government agencies. The site provides data from U.S. Government statistics on various demographic indicators such as aging, agriculture, equal opportunity, population, etc.
http://www.fedstats.gov/fast.html
Continuing with government data, we have to include the largest government agency with respect to data, the Census Bureau. As the nation’s largest statistical agency, their website provides a vital national resource. The pages contain a wealth of statistical information about the nation’s people and its economy – information that is used by the general public and researchers, as well as federal, state, and local governments, in making important decisions. Their website also provides information about the surveys they conduct and the information that is available.
http://www.census.gov/
Keeping on out data theme for this week, The Annual Reports Service from Yahoo, is a FREE Service provided by PrecisionIR for the readers of Yahoo! Finance. The Annual Reports Service provides you with quick access to annual reports and other information on select companies. New companies are added weekly. You’ll receive the latest edition, and where possible, be registered for the new report once it’s received. Use the following search options to find the information in which you are interested.
http://yahoo.ar.wilink.com/asp/YAH1_search_ENG.asp
What about your personal financial data? How is your credit report doing these days?
The following site allows you to request a free credit file disclosure, commonly called a credit report, once every 12 months from each of the nationwide consumer credit reporting companies: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.
AnnualCreditReport.com is the official site to help consumers to obtain their free credit report.
https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/index.jsp
Ok, back to the large data collector, the US government, also provides useful info like the Consumer Price Index.
The Consumer Price Indexes program produces monthly data on changes in the prices paid by urban consumers for a representative basket of goods and services. This site is by the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics.
http://www.bls.gov/cpi/
IF you managed to read all the above data, Project Gutenberg was started to make as many books as possible free in electronic format. There are over 20,000 free books in the Project Gutenberg Online Book Catalog. A grand total of over 100,000 titles is available at Project Gutenberg Partners, Affiliates and Resources.
http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Main_Page
“The heartfelt counsel of a friend is as sweet as perfume and incense.”
November 12, 2007
Newsletter 11-11-2007
Please remember all the veterans that served proudly defending our country.
Armistice Day officially became a holiday in the United States in 1926, and a national holiday 12 years later. On June 1, 1954, the name was changed to Veterans Day to honor all U.S. veterans. In 1968, new legislation changed the national commemoration of Veterans Day to the fourth Monday in October. It soon became apparent, however, that November 11 was a date of historic significance to many Americans. Therefore, in 1978 Congress returned the observance to its traditional date.
http://www1.va.gov/opa/vetsday
What is America’s oldest continuously published periodical that features the best in home, garden, history, food, and fun? Don’t know? Well check the following link and you will know.
http://www.almanac.com/
“This site is dedicated to poetry and to the people who make poetry possible: poets and their readers. FamousPoetsAndPoems.com is a free poetry site. On our site you can find a large collection of poems and quotes from over 628 poets.”
http://www.famouspoetsandpoems.com/
Asserting that one must first know the rules to break them, this classic reference book is a must-have for any student and conscientious writer. Intended for use in which the practice of composition is combined with the study of literature, it gives in brief space the principal requirements of plain English style and concentrates attention on the rules of usage and principles of composition most commonly violated.
http://www.bartleby.com/141/index.html
Do you have this great idea that for an invention? If so read on.
This handbook was created by the Lemelson-MIT Program to address the independent inventor’s and aspiring entrepreneur’s most frequently asked questions regarding United States patents. We hope that this handbook will provide some helpful information on the patenting and commercialization processes.
http://web.mit.edu/invent/h-main.html
Need to know if a commercial flight is on time? How about its current location in flight? FlightAware is a free flight tracker that will change what you think about live flight tracking and aviation information. Tracking 4,337 airborne aircraft with 54,421,683 total flights in the database.
FlightAware has tracked 39,657 arrivals in the last 24 hours.
http://flightaware.com/
With the cost of gasoline rising it pays to know what to expect to pay and if you are getting a reasonable price. AAA’s Daily Fuel Gauge Report is updated each day and is the most comprehensive retail gasoline survey available. Everyday up to 85,000 self-serve stations are surveyed.
http://www.fuelgaugereport.com/
