Cafe Jack - Yahoo!

Japanese scientists have created a microscopic noodle bowl using nanotechnology.

Just thought you might like to know.

Posted by Jack at 09:22 PM | Permalink

Instructables is a fun site to browse through for a huge variety of interesting and sometimes off-beat projects, recipes, computer tips, crafts and ideas. Categories include art, craft, food, games, green, home, kids, life, offbeat, pets, photography, ride and tech.

Some samples - How to Make a Chicken Costume, How to Hit The Road on The Cheap, Get Big Money for Dead Batteries, How to Patch a Flat Tire on a Bicycle , World's Best Shoe Knot and How to Amuse Toddlers.

Posted by Jack at 06:18 PM | Permalink

"The current emphasis on standardized testing highlights analysis and procedure - meaning that few of us inherently use our innovative and collaborative modes of thought.

“This is the major rule in the American belief system — that anyone can do anything,” explains M. J. Ryan - “That’s a lie that we have perpetuated, and it fosters mediocrity. Knowing what you’re good at and doing even more of it creates excellence.”"

Source: Can You Become a Creature of New Habits? - New York Times

Posted by Jack at 07:36 PM | Permalink

Algae is the fastest growing plant on the planet. As much as 50% of it's weight is high grade vegetable oil (a lipid). It can be grown on non-arable land so it does not compete with food crops - although it can be used as a food product as well.

Estimates for gallons of oil produced per acre range from 5,000 to 20,000 gallons for an open pond system, 100,000 gallons for a closed-loop vertical system vs. about 20 to 30 gallons per acre for corn.

Here Comes Pond Scum Power
Algaculture - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Aquatic Species Program - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
DOE Biomass Publications
Valcent Products

Posted by jackcrossen at 03:59 PM | Permalink

Posted by jackcrossen at 06:17 AM | Permalink

I heard on the radio that a truck driver paid over 1000 dollars to fill up a semi. I wasn't sure if that was reasonable or not, but it seems like it is.

A big Peterbilt can have two 150 gallon tanks and diesel is going for 4 dollars or more a gallon....so if a trucker was on empty he'd pay 1200 dollars to fill up.

Letting market forces determine the price (and indirectly the supply and demand) of oil may end up being a little more free-market than people want, if it ends up meaning we can't transport the goods we depend on over-the-road truckers to deliver.

If Jimmy Carter's plan to raise CAFE standards in the late 70's would have been followed by Ronald Reagan and subsequent leaders we would at least have some more time to come up with a viable plan to provide our nations energy needs.

Posted by jackcrossen at 04:40 PM | Permalink

The Seattle Mariners open the 2008 season at Safeco Field this afternoon at 3:40 pm with a game against the Texas Rangers. The game will be televised on FSN channel 30 with radio coverage on KOMO AM 1000. The Mariners play the Rangers again on Tuesday and Wednesday at 7:10 pm and then head to Baltimore to play the Orioles on Friday at 4:05 pm.

The Mariners have added a couple of new starting pitchers to their starting lineup this year. Erik Bedard, aquired from the Orioles, is number 1 in the rotation and Carlos Silva aquired from the Twins is number 3.

Bedard had a 13-5 win/loss record with a 3.16 ERA with the Orioles last year. Silva had a 13-14 win/loss record and a 4.19 ERA with the Twins last year.

Starting lineup

1. CF Ichiro Suzuki
2. 2B Jose Lopez
3. LF Raul Ibanez
4. 1B Richie Sexson
5. 3B Adrian Beltre
6. RF Brad Wilkerson
7. DH Jose Vidro
8. C Kenji Johjima
9. SS Yuniesky Betancourt

Pitching rotation

1. LHP Erik Bedard
2. RHP Felix Hernandez
3. RHP Carlos Silva
4. LHP Jarrod Washburn
5. RHP Miguel Batista

Bullpen

Closer: RHP J.J. Putz
Setup: RHP Brandon Morrow
Setup: LHP Eric O'Flaherty
Middle: RHP Sean Green
Middle: LHP Ryan Rowland-Smith
Long: RHP R.A. Dickey

Posted by jackcrossen at 05:42 AM | Permalink

The March 10th Meaning of Work program from KPLU featured Svetlana Spassova a young mechanical engineer from Bulgaria working at The Boeing Company.

It's inspirational to listen to her describe how happy she was to get a chance to come to the United States and how much she like working at Boeing.

Posted by jackcrossen at 04:39 PM | Permalink

According to this MSN Careers Advice Article, by Tag Goulet of FabJob Dream Careers you aren't getting our work done because -

1. You have too many distractions
2. You don't have the resources you need
3. You don't know what you're doing

Continue reading "10 Reasons You’re Not Getting Your Work Done" »

Posted by jackcrossen at 05:24 AM | Permalink

Posted by jackcrossen at 05:23 PM | Permalink

Created by co-founders of Orbitz, Travelocity and Expedia, Kayak.com is a search engine that helps consumers find great travel deals from over 100 other travel sites.

Posted by jackcrossen at 06:14 PM | Permalink

If you are in the market for a desktop, laptop, camera, hard drive, memory, computer components or other electronic equipment, I'd check them out.

Posted by jackcrossen at 07:17 PM | Permalink

Natural Aviation Proposed covers Aeronomadics, Skysteading, Earth & Sky Repair, Edible & Compostable Aircraft. It is some super creative thinking, and sort of tongue in cheek, but not really so far out that you can't imagine some things like this coming to pass in the future.

A couple of snips -

"Gourmet Edible Aircraft deliver themselves self-cooked to the hungry. Chitin (from fungus) for tensile fibers and membranes, calcium and chitin for compression tubes, lipid (linseed, walnut, or hemp oil) for moisture barriers, frozen sauce nose ballast, spice paint job, the recipe needs work."

"A Radical Aeronomadic Flight Plan- Pedal your skybike up the east face of the Sierra Madre Oriental, camp, jump into morning slope thermal, ridge soar gulf trades north, hop valleys and coastal plains on thermals, ridge cross early afternoon, late west side lee rotor thermal ridge soar, near-summit land, camp, repeat."

"Natural Aviation Proposed" is the work of David Santos a bike-riding social activist, artist, writer - from Austin Texas.

Posted by jackcrossen at 01:40 PM | Permalink

Motoart has some really cool things made from salvaged airplane parts. The first picture is a table made from a 707 wheel, the second table is made from a B-52's engine spinner.

Posted by jackcrossen at 04:57 PM | Permalink

From an article in Earthtoys - Emagazine

Unlike other solar systems that you design and then custom install, the Pyron electric generator is a fully self-contained unit. It uses fresnel lenses to concentrate the sunlight and the world’s most powerful photovoltaic cells developed by Boeing Spectrolab.

Their first prototype, which is 23 feet in diameter and 16 inches high, produces an astonishing 6.5 KW of electricity. That’s enough to power 6 average homes. A comparable photovoltaic panel roof system would take ten times as much space.

The 6.5 KW Pyron generator will be priced at around $13,000 - $15,000.

Read more at -

Hyper-Powerful and Inexpensive Solar by Pyron (TreeHugger)

Department of Energy - New World Record Achieved in Solar Cell Technology

Posted by jackcrossen at 11:36 AM | Permalink

The Stirling engine dates from the 1800's but it is finding applications currently to generate electricity using sunlight.

A large scale application using this technology is being built by Sterling Energy Systems in Southern California.

Stephen F. Austin State University provides plans and instructions for making a Stirling Engine for people interested in some hands-on learning about how these engines work.

This is the parts list -

» Three diet shake tin cans (e.g. Slim Fast, Adkins, etc.)
» Three soft drink aluminum cans (one taller 12 oz can if available)
» JB Weld Epoxy
» Red High-Temp RTV Silicon Gasket Maker
» 2" or longer straight pin (e.g. yarn darner)
» 3/4" to 1/2" PVC Elbow (outer diameters 1-1/4" and 1")
» Small balloon
» Flat washer and nut
» Metal coat hanger
» Old CD
» Wire nut to connect coat hanger to CD (optional)
» Wooden base and wood screws (optional)
» Tin snips or stainless steel scissors, pliers, can opener, hammer

Posted by jackcrossen at 05:42 AM | Permalink

I read an entry from a pilot on an aviation related blog about a hand held GPS receiver, intended for use by general aviation pilots, that in his opinion was "designed by people who like games."

I can sympathize with that statement. There are all sorts of bells and whistles, features and options that can be relatively cheap to implement in software but can end up leaving the user feeling like they are trying to solve a puzzle.

We all have experienced the frustration of using consumer devices and software applications, that have way more "features" than they need, sometimes at the expense of proper functionality of the basic purpose of the tool. A good tool is only as complex as necessary, a bad tool is the equivalent of a fake swiss army knife that has 15 tools but isn't much good for anything.

It can be particularly frustrating when a software application that performed it's intended function is constantly changed, sometimes to the point where users finally opt out of using it, or will once a better option becomes available such as what happened with Firefox and Internet Explorer.

Whether we are talking about software, consumer devices, traditional single purpose tools or multi-purpose tools there are some that are high quality and some that aren't.

This scrapbook of Bad Human Factors compiled by Michael J. Darnell has some good examples of poor designs in everyday objects.

Posted by jackcrossen at 10:07 PM | Permalink

Kathleen Schalch's piece on NPR talks about the reduction in airline accidents due to onboard systems that help pilots avoid contact with terrain, windshear and other airplanes.

The risk of a major airplane accident is about 1/5 what it was in the 1990's. A MIT statistician says you could take one flight a day for 200,000 years before the odds that you would die in a crash start to become probable.

Posted by jackcrossen at 02:28 AM | Permalink

Don Bateman and a dedicated team of engineers, pilots and regulators have contributed a great deal to making flying safer.

Controlled flight into terrain (CFIT) accidents began to decline with the advent of the Ground Proximity Warning System in 1975, and there have been no aircraft losses due to CFIT, for airplanes equipped with the Enhanced Ground Proximity System which was launched in 1996.

Posted by jackcrossen at 06:16 AM | Permalink

From Boeing News Release SEATTLE, June 28, 2007 -

Matching airplane model numbers to the dates, Boeing will launch one video per day leading up to the 787 rollout - beginning June 30 with the 707 and continuing through July 8 with the 787. The videos will be available at Boeing Commercial Airplanes - Seven Series.

Boeing has produced jetliners that have set the pace for aviation history for more than 50 years. The debut of the 787 Dreamliner is the perfect time to feature Boeing's 7-Series family and how the marvels of each airplane redefined flight and passenger travel--just as the 787 will.

This special series of videos celebrates Boeing's 7-Series family of passenger airplanes--the 707 through the 787. The videos are historical perspectives of the 7-Series of passenger airplanes--showcasing the wonder and glamour of flight since the 707's debut in 1958. "Fast Facts" accompanies each video--touching on the historical, technical and milestone facts about each passenger airplane.

When each 7-Series plane launched, each introduced innovative technology that dramatically changed flight and passenger travel for generations ahead. The video series honors the legacy created by the thousands of men and women who have crafted the airplanes that continue to bring the ideals, cultures and people of the world together. In that spirit, the videos are narrated by Boeing employees who served on one or more of the 7-Series airplane programs and who now work on the 787.

Posted by jackcrossen at 05:27 PM | Permalink