# Good Ideas!



## eggplant43

I periodically run across good ideas that make my life better, and I decided it would be a good idea to have a place for us to share things like this with each other, either from what Grandma taught us, or the internet:



> If you drink a lot of coffee, you probably have some nice brown rings in your coffee cups, even after washing them. You can clean those stains out with a bit of baking soda and water.


http://lifehacker.com/5838321/clean-stains-out-of-your-coffee-mug-with-baking-soda


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## eggplant43

> Avoiding the Spam Scam: 5 Tips For Handling Unsolicited Email


http://www.mint.com/blog/consumer-i...ign=Feed:+MyMint+(Mint+Personal+Finance+Blog)


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## dotty999

baby wipes will clean many things! stains on carpets,upholstery, remove makeup and good for baby's bums too


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## eggplant43

dotty999 said:


> baby wipes will clean many things! stains on carpets,upholstery, remove makeup and good for baby's bums too


I didn't know that.


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## dotty999

you can also use them to clean your wash basins, baths, faucets, toilet seats, the list is endless


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## ekim68

Mouthwash does a lot of that too....:up:


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## eggplant43

> Turns out that Americans consume 1.5 pounds of honey per person annually, and there are more than 300 types of honey in the United States alone. That's impressive, and we figured that if honey gets to be honored all month long, the least we could do is give you 20 different uses for it. Enjoy!


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/anna-brones/20-unusual-uses-for-honey_b_949475.html


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## Gabriel

Honey as also a beautiful food. I try to purchase it in pretty jars, and with honeycomb when I can, and place it in the kitchen to catch the light in a way that draws the eye to the honey. Other beautiful foods are garlic braids, pepper wreaths, spice wreaths, spice/herb scented hot food mats, and of course food baskets to name a few. Great holiday gifts, too. My favorite to make are the spice mats.


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## Blackmirror

I came across this tip



> To clean artificial flowers, pour some salt into a paper bag and add the flowers. Shake vigorously as the salt will absorb all the dust and dirt and leave your artificial flowers looking like new!


I will let you know if it works


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## eggplant43

Blackmirror said:


> I came across this tip
> 
> I will let you know if it works


Having a cleaning background, that sounds like an excellent idea, I'm confident it will work.


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## hewee

If the baking soda does not get all the stain out then get bar keeper friend and make a paste and rub and that will clean even better.


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## Blackmirror

eggplant43 said:


> Having a cleaning background, that sounds like an excellent idea, I'm confident it will work.


Maybe you have a tip for cleaning glass shower doors then please ? 
Nothing i buy seem to works


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## poochee

Great hints here!


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## hewee

Blackmirror said:


> Maybe you have a tip for cleaning glass shower doors then please ?
> Nothing i buy seem to works


Get distilled white vinegar, baking soda and lemon.


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## eggplant43

If Hewee's idea doesn't work, then what you're dealing with is one or two things. Soap film, which requires a cleaner/degreaser to remove it, and hard water film, which requires an acid to dissolve it. Once you have it clean spraying it for daily maintenance should mean you'll never have to do it again.

That's what I do.


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## eggplant43

> Perhaps the only thing more annoying than the the "dry clean only" label on your clothes is the "hand wash only" label. How exactly should you wash those delicates? Are you supposed to use soap? How much? Hand washing delicates is actually pretty straightforward, once you have the instructions:


http://lifehacker.com/5840778/how-to-deal-with-hand-wash-only-clothes


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## eggplant43

> Did you toss and turn in bed last night, robbed of a rejuvenating deep sleep? Counting sheep didnt help? Here are some natural home remedies for insomnia that will hopefully help you enjoy a more restful sleep.


http://www.mnn.com/health/fitness-well-being/stories/home-remedies-for-insomnia


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## eggplant43

> Manufacturers of heating and air conditioning appliances and even the U.S. Department of Energy suggest that you should automatically replace your HVAC equipment at the end of its expected service life, commonly estimated at about 10 to 15 years for AC systems and 15 to 20 years for a furnace or boiler. Yet most people don't heed this simplistic advice, and given the cost of replacing these units, who can blame them? While age is a legitimate factor when considering replacement, there are a few telltale signs that a unit is too far gone, as well as more general symptoms that may indicate that replacement is a good idea, if not immediately necessary.


http://www.mnn.com/your-home/at-home/stories/signs-your-hvac-system-needs-replacing


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## eggplant43

_I've always shampooed my hair daily. Probably a compulsive cleanliness habit. I recently decided to reduce the frequency, and I'm pleased with the results. I can also report that my scalp is healthier. _



> Dermatologists and stylists agree that there's little reason to shampoo every day. "Hair is a fiber," says Paradi Mirmirani, MD, a Vallejo, Calif., dermatologist and specialist in hair research. "Think of a wool fiber: The more you wash it, the worse it's going to look. There's no need to wash your hair every day either."


http://www.webmd.com/healthy-beauty/features/how-often-wash-hair?src=RSS_PUBLIC


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## eggplant43

http://www.marthastewart.com/272310/slip-proofing


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## eggplant43

http://boingboing.net/2011/09/20/bi..._campaign=Feed:+boingboing/iBag+(Boing+Boing)


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## Blackmirror

eggplant43 said:


> _I've always shampooed my hair daily. Probably a compulsive cleanliness habit. I recently decided to reduce the frequency, and I'm pleased with the results. I can also report that my scalp is healthier. _
> 
> http://www.webmd.com/healthy-beauty/features/how-often-wash-hair?src=RSS_PUBLIC


How to Get Self Cleaning Hair




> Lose the shampoo and conditioner! Shampoo strips your hair of the oils which prevent a buildup of dirt, making your hair dry. When your hair tries to restore these oils, it overcompensates and makes your hair greasy.


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## ekim68

Blackmirror said:


> How to Get Self Cleaning Hair


I like the number five tip....:up:


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## eggplant43

> The latest release of Firefox contains a bug that hides some of your installed Add-Ons from the Add-Ons menu. This handy extension from Mozilla will bring them back.


http://lifehacker.com/5845069/add+on-recovery-tool-restores-missing-add+ons-in-firefox-7


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## eggplant43

> Hand grips on tools wear out quickly with heavy use, but firefighter blog VentEnterSearch offers up an easy way to create a new grip or repair an old one using wire and heat-shrink tubing.


http://lifehacker.com/5846024/create-your-own-tool-grips-with-heat-shrink-tubing


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## eggplant43

> An Incredibly Simple Way to Escape from Wrist-Binding Zip Ties


http://lifehacker.com/5846172/an-incredibly-simple-way-to-escape-from-wrist+binding-zip-ties


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## Blackmirror

eggplant43 said:


> http://lifehacker.com/5846172/an-incredibly-simple-way-to-escape-from-wrist+binding-zip-ties


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## eggplant43

Blackmirror said:


>


I just thought you might need to know


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## Blackmirror

eggplant43 said:


> I just thought you might need to know


Does it work with furry handcuffs ??


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## eggplant43

Now you go getting all technical on me, but yes..............


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## shannon08

One great tip I noticed is with glass can be cleaned using papers.


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## eggplant43

> Mayonnaise is one of those foods that most people don't think too much about when they slather it on their sandwiches, but it's surprisingly easy to make, easy to add flavor to, makes a huge difference in your sandwiches, and can be made in less then 2 minutes. Here's how.


http://lifehacker.com/5846391/make-your-own-mayo-in-2-minutes-for-better-sandwiches-and-great-flavor


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## eggplant43

> If your zipper's caught on to the surrounding fabric and holding on with the jaws of life, a bit of Windex can make it slide freely once again.


http://lifehacker.com/5846669/fix-stuck-zippers-with-windex


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## eggplant43

If you feel it's time for a change of wallpaper, check this out:

http://lifehacker.com/5846632/give-...season-with-these-autumn-wallpapers/gallery/1


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## poochee

Lots of good ideas here!


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## eggplant43

> Gel air fresheners are easily available at any grocery or department store, but they're not exactly cheap, and you're limited to whatever horrid smells the manufacturers give you. Thankfully, with a little gelatin, essential oil, and water, you can make your own suspended air freshener to keep your home smelling great for weeks for much less.


http://lifehacker.com/5846795/make-...hener-on-the-cheap-for-a-better+smelling-home


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## eggplant43

> The fable goes that the nice white-haired appliance guys are a dying breed and they're way better than their outsourced, van-driving, retail store counterparts. But sometimes the local guy is just as bad as the guy in the store wearing the official colored shirt. When her Kenmore model 417 front-loading washer went bust-o, Jane discovered she was able to save $400 in repair costs by learning how to fix it herself from Youtube videos.


http://consumerist.com/2011/10/use-youtube-to-fix-your-washer.html


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## eggplant43

http://lifehacker.com/5849074/what-foods-dont-i-need-to-refrigerate


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## eggplant43

Keep Your Plants Healthier with Hard-Boiled Egg Water:

http://lifehacker.com/5849170/keep-your-plants-healthier-with-hard+boiled-egg-water


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## hewee

eggplant43 said:


> http://lifehacker.com/5849074/what-foods-dont-i-need-to-refrigerate


I make my own organic almond butter and I keep it on the counter. I have had it out maybe a month or so and it has never gone bad. I get it fresh made at the co-op so I do not need to get a lot because I only want it to last so long and I will get more the next time. I use the tubs to put it in and they are wide and it makes it easy to mix when the oil goes to the top. Plus it better then the organic one that are pre-made in jars that are who know how old and many have other oils etc added to them. 100% organic nut butter you get made fresh is the best.

I also leave out the organic butter that last a couple weeks or more.

Cucumbers, Lemon I keep in the fridge but guess that is wrong.


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## eggplant43

Removing candle wax from carpeting:

http://lifehacker.com/5849786/use-an-iron-and-paper-towels-to-remove-melted-wax-from-rugs-and-carpet


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## eggplant43

> Credit may be difficult to come by, but card issuers still need you and your money more than you need the credit. If you're thinking about signing up for a new credit card, don't just apply online, give the issuer a call and see if you can negotiate some of the terms. According to Credit.com, a little haggling before you sign on the dotted line can save you some serious money.


http://lifehacker.com/5848978/negot...it-card-agreement-to-get-valuable-concessions


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## dotty999

spray furniture polish on curtain rails to make your curtains close with ease


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## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://lifehacker.com/5848978/negot...it-card-agreement-to-get-valuable-concessions


:up:


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## eggplant43

_Love to do this with wheat berries at night, for cereal in the AM._



> Thermos bottles were designed to keep hot beverages from cooling down so workers could have a hot cup of coffee all day long. Their insulating properties make Thermos bottles ideal to cook foods that take a long time to prepare such as oatmeal, dried beans, and whole grain cereals. Simply bring your ingredients to a boil and pour everything into the thermos and give it time to cook.


http://lifehacker.com/5850177/cooking-with-a-thermos-bottle


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## poochee

Lots of good ideas here!


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## eggplant43

I love burning candles. Some years ago, as I was cleaning windows, I became aware of just how sooty they are. The windows I was cleaning had a black sooty residue on them. I realized I was breathing this same soot. So I switched to soy candles, which must be in a container, and beeswax, which don't need to be. I feel much better now. Yes, they cost more, but in the long run, they cost far less.


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## ekim68

3D Printing Community to Crowdsource Saving a Species



> Where does 3D printing and species protection intersect? Hermit crabs, apparently. Makerbot Industries, who make do-it-yourself 3D printers, launched Project Shellter last Tuesday. Project Shellter intends to leverage the Makerbot community's design talent and network of 5,000 3D printers to design and produce shells for hermit crabs who face a species threatening, man-made housing shortage. Hmm, sounds familiar.


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## eggplant43

_Not sure if this is a 'good idea', but makes me chuckle._

http://lifehacker.com/5852903/silen...ansmitting-signals-through-their-own-speakers


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## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> _Not sure if this is a 'good idea', but makes me chuckle._
> 
> http://lifehacker.com/5852903/silen...ansmitting-signals-through-their-own-speakers


s


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## eggplant43

Kryptonite Candy?

http://blog.craftzine.com/archive/2011/10/glowing_kryptonite_candy.html


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## eggplant43

Next weekend is the end of Daylight Savings Time here in the US.

Don't forget to change the battery in your smoke detector.

*And if you don't have one, get one.*

_I know several people who feel their lives were saved by a smoke detector._


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## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> Next weekend is the end of Daylight Savings Time here in the US.
> 
> *Don't forget to change the battery in your smoke detector.*
> 
> *And if you don't have one, get one.*
> 
> _I know several people who feel their lives were saved by a smoke detector._


:up:


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## eggplant43

> TOP STORIESInsulate Windows With Bubble Wrap for a Reusable Storm Window


http://lifehacker.com/5854779/insulate-windows-with-bubble-wrap-for-a-reusable-storm-window


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## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://lifehacker.com/5854779/insulate-windows-with-bubble-wrap-for-a-reusable-storm-window


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## eggplant43

And if you're bored, you can have a popping party...............

But then you lose the insulation


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## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> And if you're bored, you can have a popping party...............
> 
> But then you lose the insulation


s


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## eggplant43

> Finally you have got a home makeover done and the new home looks good; but are you worried about what are you going to do with your old trusty windows that were replaced by new ones? Here is something that may interest you - If you have recently got the old windows replaced and love the rickety panes and frames of the old ones, then here are a few recycling options that you can try. Mostly the old windows, with frames and panels, can serve a greater purpose; you just need to be a little creative. So think out of the box and take tips from the posts below and give your old windows a new look.
> 
> Mentioned here are five creative ideas for recycling your old broken windows.


http://www.ecofriend.com/entry/coolest-ways-reuse-broken-windows/


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## dotty999

eggplant43 said:


> _I've always shampooed my hair daily. Probably a compulsive cleanliness habit. I recently decided to reduce the frequency, and I'm pleased with the results. I can also report that my scalp is healthier. _


For years it has been suggested that the hair self cleans after some time, also that you don't need to use shampoo at all, I decided to give it a try,seemingly after around 6 to 8 weeks your hair will be at its best, I've washed my hair for the past 3 weeks in warm water only and it's amazing how clean it looks and feels! apparently around the fourth week it can appear quite oily but that will clear and from then onwards it's all good!


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## eggplant43

I'm still shampooing 1-2 times a week, maybe I should just let it go. By Christmas, I'll be 'marvelous darlin'.


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## Davec

dotty999 said:


> For years it has been suggested that the hair self cleans after some time, also that you don't need to use shampoo at all, I decided to give it a try,seemingly after around 6 to 8 weeks your hair will be at its best, I've washed my hair for the past 3 weeks in warm water only and it's amazing how clean it looks and feels! apparently around the fourth week it can appear quite oily but that will clear and from then onwards it's all good!


The best shampoo/conditioner you can use is cat spit.


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## dotty999

so is that what you use?


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## hewee

Read this here. Sounds some what like what your doing Dolly.
No Shampoo! The Soap and Shampoo Conspiracy 
http://www.organiclifestylemagazine.com/issue-15/the-soap-and-shampoo-conspiracy.php

I just use these here.
http://www.drbronner.com/DBMS/PEP.htm
http://www.drbronner.com/DBMS/OBPE05/PeppermintOrganicBarSoap.htm
$2.99 a bar on sale and then I stock up on it.

It also soaps up better and last longer. Very hard water here so getting the soap to foam up etc was hard but this works a lot better. Plus it makes you feel good and it smells great.

Prices at his site are sky high.


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## dotty999

Harry, I haven't used soap since I was aged 15 and my complexion has always been clear, soap has a drying effect and really isn't good for your skin, the theory on washing hair without shampoo is upheld by me as I've got to that stage when my hair appears quite oily which isn't normal for me but I know it's just the phase I've reached before my hair becomes totally clean, it saves a fortune on trying different shampoos which I've done over the years and now I feel it's the natural process to achieve clean hair without using additives


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## hewee

So how you clean the rest of your body if no soap is used?

Bed things are added to so many things.

Warning: Johnson & Johnson uses cancer-causing chemicals in their shampoo:
http://www.naturalnews.com/034036_shampoos_cancer-causing_chemicals.html

ttp://www.safecosmetics.org/index

Was using Dawn dishsoap and I wash all dishes by had. Change to another Coconut base green dishsoap I like better. Thought I use up the dawn because I have a very big bottle of it. It cleans better and I used it still on and off to clean some things. But I was using on everything again after I ran out of the other soap. Took a couple days for me to find out what was going on.I get my hand up by my nose and they had this bad burned plastic smell. Lost my smell years ago so really can't smell. But I keep smelling this. Then it hit me the only thing that changed was the soap. I stopped using it and the smell went away. 
I use Dishmate to do the dishes now. Cost more but it's safer and I know all that is in it too. http://www.ecos.com/Dishmate_Almond.html


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## eggplant43

> Avoiding name brands and buying generic can save you some coin, but what knockoff products will give you the best bang for your buck, and what items are worth the extra for the name brand?


http://lifehacker.com/5855621/what-products-should-i-always-buy-generic


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## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://lifehacker.com/5855621/what-products-should-i-always-buy-generic


Good article. My doctor advises generic when he can. A real money saver.


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## hewee

Don't forget the dollar store and 98 cent store. 
Got to watch out on some things but you can save. 

Just go a pack of sharpie - magic markers with 4 colors markers in it. 

I get my razors from both. Two types I get and one from each store. Soap and a brush to shave saves a whole lots of money.


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## poochee

hewee said:


> Don't forget the dollar store and 98 cent store.
> Got to watch out on some things but you can save.
> 
> Just go a pack of sharpie - magic markers with 4 colors markers in it.
> 
> I get my razors from both. Two types I get and one from each store. Soap and a brush to shave saves a whole lots of money.


:up:


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## hewee

poochee said:


> :up:


You like the store too. I like the store over where I used to live better. It was a whole lot bigger and then I had a couple other dollar type stores. 
Lots of junk but you can also get something good.

The ant tins you push the tabs on the sides to open up were junk because they were empty so I saved no money on them because I got taken.


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## eggplant43

> How did you feel when you woke up this morning?
> 
> If your answer is anything other than "refreshed," maybe you should take a closer look at your sleep quality, said Michael Decker, Ph.D., an associate professor at Georgia State University and spokesman for the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/...ontent=FullStory#s449972&title=How_to_Improve


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## hewee

I have to say the lower temps in the room make me sleep better.


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## Davec

dotty999 said:


> so is that what you use?


Of course. Josie! She's not just for ears anymore!


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## dotty999

hewee said:


> So how you clean the rest of your body if no soap is used?


Harry, I use unperfumed body washes that are soap free and for sensitive skin, for washing the dishes I use a product called Surecare which is also fragrance free and kind to your hands, they also have laundry products which can help if you're sensitive to the additives in detergents


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## Davec

dotty999 said:


> for washing the dishes I use a product called Surecare which is also fragrance free and kind to your hands,


I use paper plates or eat directly from the wrappers.


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## dotty999

another good idea!


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## Davec

A Teenager was at his grandfathers for the week. At lunch, the teenager decides to eat lunch with his grandfather

While eating, the teenager looks at his plate and notices a smudge on it.
He asks his grandfather, "Are these Plates Clean?"
His grandfather replies, "They are as clean as Cold Water Can get 'em"

At Dinner, Noticing more smudges then before, he asks "Grandpa, are you sure these plates are clean?"
His Grandfather replies "Yes! They are as clean as cold water can get 'em"

The next day at breakfast, the boy notices another smudge on his plate.... "Grandpa, Your 100% Absolutely sure these plates are clean?"
The Grandfather replies once more "I told ya boy, they are as clean as Cold Water can get 'em!"

As soon as he was done eating, they both get in the van to go to school, When he got in, the Grandfathers dog jumps on the teenager. The grandfather yells, "COLDWATER! BACK TO THE HOUSE! BACK!"


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## eggplant43

Oh, that's bad!


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## hewee

dotty999 said:


> Harry, I use unperfumed body washes that are soap free and for sensitive skin, for washing the dishes I use a product called Surecare which is also fragrance free and kind to your hands, they also have laundry products which can help if you're sensitive to the additives in detergents


Thank you.


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## eggplant43

> We all know it's cheaper to make coffee at home rather than buy it at Starbucks, but weblog The Simple Dollar breaks down how much you'll actually saveeven if the coffee you make at home is on the more expensive side.


http://lifehacker.com/5856593/how-much-youll-actually-save-by-making-your-own-coffee


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## dotty999

does it mean using a coffee maker and experimenting with different brands? I ask because I tried using such a machine which I have to say wasn't a great experience,it cost me a fortune trying various types of coffee and I didn't much care for any of them so it can prove very expensive to find one you really like


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## ekim68

I've been using whole coffee beans for at least 25 years or more. I do use a coffee grinder and I get the beans in bulk which normally costs between 5 and 8 dollars a pound, depending on type. I try different kinds but I do have my favorites. I use a regular drip/filter coffee maker and I think each pot averages about $l.50.....I took some pictures locally and put a song to it.. 

Coffee Blues

(Sorry Eggy, another shameless promotion... )


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## dotty999

it still boils down to the fact in can cost a fortune to find a coffee that suits you, I ended up giving my coffee maker away when I found a strong roast instant that I really like which was a fraction of the cost of buying ground coffee/beans


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## ekim68

A normal pot of coffee for me holds about 8 cups so at my averaged price that's about 20 cents a cup, but to each their own....:up:


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## dotty999

it also depends on how much coffee/caffeine you consume a day, I limit myself to 2 cups as it's not really good for your health


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## hewee

Confront the coffee controversy
(NaturalNews) Just a couple of decades ago, quitting coffee was a prerequisite for establishing a healthy diet and adopting a healthier lifestyle. But gradually, several new research studies into coffee drinking have provided health benefits from drinking...

I buy Organic coffee beans and the Arabica ones are always better. I just buy a small amount to last no more than a couple of weeks.

dotty it looks like you had a bad coffee maker and or did not know how to make coffee because instant is no where as good. Not even close. So if instant taste as or better then you never made the coffee right. 
Just good water can make the coffee so much better like the well water over where I used to live many the coffee many times better.

I get 100% Organic coffee now that is cheaper then the other just Organic coffee.
http://www.cafemam.com
http://www.cafemam.com/node/674

Frank Sinatra _ The Coffee Song


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## eggplant43

I use a French Press, and drink 2 cups a day, grind my own whole organic Arabica beans, and I'm quite pleased with this arrangement. I think we must each find our own path.

One Brand:

http://www.bodum.com/gb/en-us/shop/prodlist/87/


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## ekim68

To add to what Harry said, clean water is key...:up: We filter all of our drinking water and it makes a difference in taste, and probably less hard minerals...:up:


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## hewee

Hear a French Press is a good way to make coffee and have wanted to try it. You got that water heater pot that I bet heats the water up just right for the French Press.

Water is always the key. I use filter water that I get from the fridge to make the coffee. 
Then keep the coffee maker clean is what we all need to do but we fall behind on that and the hard minerals build ups make the coffee take longer to make a pot and that effects the taste also.

I get real cheap white vinegar at Costco so run it tru the pot like they say but then on the 2nd time run the hot white vinegar tru 2 or 3 more times and to just help clear things out. The spray like head on mine does not come off like some and that really needs clean. 
Then I run water tru it 3 times and that next pot of coffee you go WOW that was fast because it is just a little faster.

I even bottle up the used white vinegar that is clean looking in another bottle I use to clean other things because it's still ok for cleaning.


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## dotty999

hewee said:


> dotty it looks like you had a bad coffee maker and or did not know how to make coffee because instant is no where as good. Not even close. So if instant taste as or better then you never made the coffee right.
> Just good water can make the coffee so much better like the well water over where I used to live many the coffee many times better.


Harry, there was nothing wrong with the coffee maker, I normally don't use one but decided to try it out, the problem is that taste testing different types of coffee can prove expensive until you find one that you like,it's nowhere near as cheap to buy here as it is in the USA, also, we don't have well water here so it'll never be the same as you're used to


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## hewee

Dotty if you can buy just the beans at a store where you can also get as little as you want and grind it there at the store then that lets you buy very little at a time to try out. Just be sure to mark what one is what and where you got it and then maybe make a list so you know what you tried and like and your rating on each. 
Then maybe a French Press. If you heat your own water then don't boil it because that's to hot and that will make the coffee taste bad. 
All coffee here is costing a lot more. I can but other brands of brand names and get the 3 pound cans for a whole lot less but it does not taste the same.


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## poochee

Sacramento Bee
*To shred of not to shred.*
Published: Saturday, Nov. 5, 2011 - 11:00 pm | Page 2D

http://www.sacbee.com/2011/11/05/4031594/to-shred-or-not-to-shred.html


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## Blackmirror

It's Seriously A Good Idea To Laugh At Yourself
i do very often lol


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## poochee

Blackmirror said:


> It's Seriously A Good Idea To Laugh At Yourself
> i do very often lol


Same here.


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## eggplant43

_I regularly laugh at both of you_


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## eggplant43

> In the month following the announcement of Bank of America's (subsequently scrapped) plan to charge a $5 fee to some of its debit card users, at least 650,000 Americans consumers have opened accounts at a credit union. According to some reports, that's 50,000 more than the number of new accounts opened in all of 2010.


http://consumerist.com/2011/11/650000-people-joined-credit-unions-in-the-last-month.html


----------



## Blackmirror

eggplant43 said:


> _I regularly laugh at both of you_


I will take that as a compliment


----------



## eggplant43

Absolutely!


----------



## dotty999

hewee said:


> Dotty if you can buy just the beans at a store where you can also get as little as you want and grind it there at the store then that lets you buy very little at a time to try out. Just be sure to mark what one is what and where you got it and then maybe make a list so you know what you tried and like and your rating on each.


Harry, I know they allow you to try before you buy in the USA in some places but that doesn't happen here as they're usually found prepacked in supermarkets which are quite expensive, I've tried a few different types but none of them were good, I'm sure there are speciality shops somewhere but I've never come across any locally nor in the surrounding towns


----------



## dotty999

Blackmirror said:


> It's Seriously A Good Idea To Laugh At Yourself
> i do very often lol


when I look in the mirror I'm too scared to laugh!


----------



## hewee

dotty999 said:


> Harry, I know they allow you to try before you buy in the USA in some places but that doesn't happen here as they're usually found prepacked in supermarkets which are quite expensive, I've tried a few different types but none of them were good, I'm sure there are speciality shops somewhere but I've never come across any locally nor in the surrounding towns


Wow you can't even buy it any other way? That's sad. 

I get beans from a pre-package or from the bins like here on the left where they can have many to pick from and then you can take it home or grind it in the store like in the right of this picture.

It all smells so good too when you smell the beans that you just got grinded up.










I always grind on the course side of the drip setting because it taste better. Also it used to be when you got cans of coffee they had it for the type of coffee maker you was using but now it's all the same but the way you grind it effects how the coffee taste.

You should have it in coffee shops but lots they have can taste bad also. Some of the worse coffee I have had was at Star Bucks.

Plus it's always a treat to have more then one brand of coffee and even more so if I had the smell and taste that I losted that keeps me from some coffees because I can't taste what is added to them.


----------



## dotty999

I love a cup of good strong coffee! when I was in the States I didn't enjoy the coffee on offer at all, I guess it's a matter of taste and what you're used to, this  is my all time favourite, I haven't found any that compares with this rich roast flavoursome coffee that doesn't have that bitter taste that some do


----------



## franca

dotty999 said:


> I love a cup of good strong coffee! when I was in the States I didn't enjoy the coffee on offer at all, I guess it's a matter of taste and what you're used to, this  is my all time favourite, I haven't found any that compares with this rich roast flavoursome coffee that doesn't have that bitter taste that some do


Me to, this is my favorite and the price is just right for me......:up:


----------



## dotty999

Frank, you can most likely agree with me that that in the UK, most people don't use a coffee grinder, it's almost unheard of! some may use a coffee maker but the majority use instant


----------



## hewee

dotty999 said:


> I love a cup of good strong coffee! when I was in the States I didn't enjoy the coffee on offer at all, I guess it's a matter of taste and what you're used to, this  is my all time favourite, I haven't found any that compares with this rich roast flavoursome coffee that doesn't have that bitter taste that some do


He hee that has to be "tasters choice" here in the states. 
http://www.tasterschoice.com

https://encrypted-tbn1.google.com/i...G2gQ-xQGkMp9i0w_6oHXwtZ7zIIJVzhDpA5uD7TzRnntw

http://www.kraftfoodscompany.com/Brands/largest-brands/brands-K/kenco.aspx

But not from same company. I used tasters choice years ago.

http://www.kraftfoodscompany.com/eu/en/brands/coffee.aspx


----------



## eggplant43

Perhaps you could give these folks a try:

http://www.rogersestatecoffees.co.uk/index.php?id=146


----------



## dotty999

thanks but I'd rather stick with my favourite Kenco, it took me a while to find the one that I liked the best and as they say, if it's not broke, don't fix it


----------



## eggplant43

OK, on to other good ideas!


----------



## eggplant43

> It seems like every laundry detergent makes claims to keep colors lasting for a long time, but according to DIY blog Apartment Therapy, the easiest trick is to add a tablespoon of salt to the load.


http://lifehacker.com/5856200/add-a-pinch-of-salt-to-your-laundry-to-keep-colors-vibrant


----------



## eggplant43

_I know, know, some people hate tofu, But it is good, and good for you._



> Last week we showed you how to make your own soy milk. If you like silken tofu you can make your own using your homemade soy milk, a bit of Epsom salt, and a few ramekins or other small containers. This will make silken tofu that you can further process into firm tofu by pressing out moisture.


http://lifehacker.com/5858955/make-your-own-tofu


----------



## dotty999

I often add salt to my wash load to protect the coloured fabrics from running


----------



## eggplant43

> There are a number of reasons to take the plunge and try your hand at homemade laundry detergent.


http://www.mnn.com/your-home/at-home/stories/homemade-laundry-detergent#


----------



## eggplant43

> Heat a Wet Sponge or Rag in the Microwave to Make Cleaning it a Breeze


http://lifehacker.com/5859200/heat-a-wet-sponge-or-rag-in-the-microwave-to-make-cleaning-a-breeze


----------



## eggplant43

_For those who don't need to make a fashion statement._



> Great shoes and boots can last for years, and when they finally start to decline you'll find small tears or seams that start to come apart. Use popular DIY silicone putty Sugru to repair small problems with your shoe uppers.


http://lifehacker.com/5856852/repair-shoes-with-sugru


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://lifehacker.com/5859200/heat-a-wet-sponge-or-rag-in-the-microwave-to-make-cleaning-a-breeze


:up:


----------



## eggplant43

> 10 Easy Tips to Cut Your Home Energy Bill This Winter


http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/6DUKY...ips-to-cut-your-home-energy-bill-this-winter/


----------



## eggplant43

> This Is How You Should Cook Your Turkey Next Thursday (Or You Could Waste Hours of Your Life)


http://lifehacker.com/5860136/this-...hursday-or-you-could-waste-hours-of-your-life


----------



## ekim68

One of the links from the 'Cooks Illustrated' link from your lifehacker link contained this, Eggy...

William Shatner Shows You How (Not) to Deep Fry a Turkey


----------



## eggplant43

ekim68 said:


> One of the links from the 'Cooks Illustrated' link from your lifehacker link contained this, Eggy...
> 
> William Shatner Shows You How (Not) to Deep Fry a Turkey


Leave it to you to find it!


----------



## eggplant43

> Did you know that you have the right to a free copy of your credit reports once every twelve months from annualcreditreport.com? Did you know that the credit bureaus have to maintain reasonable procedures to ensure the maximum possibly accuracy of your credit report data? Did you know that you have the right to physically walk into a credit bureaus location and get a copy of your credit report?


http://www.mint.com/blog/credit-2/d...ign=Feed:+MyMint+(Mint+Personal+Finance+Blog)


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://www.mint.com/blog/credit-2/d...ign=Feed:+MyMint+(Mint+Personal+Finance+Blog)


:up: I do it!


----------



## eggplant43

> The end of the year is deal time as dealerships rush to clear old inventory and shift their bottom lines from red to black. So many would argue that buying a car, particularly a current year model, is best done nearing year-end. In addition to timing your auto purchase, here are even more great tips to save money when shopping for your next new or used vehicle:


http://www.savingtoinvest.com/2011/...o-save-when-auto-shopping-dealers-beware.html

_On a personal note, I paid off my car payment in July, after 5 long years (well just a little less, as I paid it off a couple of months early), and I now have new car fever, but so far, have controlled myself. The self-talk is "you're 68 years old, and just one time in your life you should have a fun tourer with heated leather seats." Lord, give me the strength._


----------



## eggplant43

> When most of us think about illegal card skimmers on ATMs, we think of free-standing cash machines at convenience stores or on the street. But a sharp-eyed bank customer in Massachusetts spotted a skimmer at the last place you'd expect one: the bank.


http://consumerist.com/2011/11/customer-discovers-card-skimmer-on-bank-atm.html


----------



## eggplant43

> At the time of year seemingly dedicated to stuffing something... ourselves, a turkey, a pie crust, we will all be gathering around tables laden with foods of the season... and agonizing over what to feed the vegetarian coming to dinner.
> 
> This feast could easily help to create new holiday traditions for the whole family... traditions of healthy, compassionate eating. Imagine indulgence with less guilt! Mix and match dishes to fit with your own feast, but I can tell you this...with these yummy choices on the table, no one will miss the bird!


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/christina-pirello/a-vegan-thanksgivingtwelv_b_1093397.html

_Really nice recipes here._


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://www.savingtoinvest.com/2011/...o-save-when-auto-shopping-dealers-beware.html
> 
> _On a personal note, I paid off my car payment in July, after 5 long years (well just a little less, as I paid it off a couple of months early), and I now have new car fever, but so far, have controlled myself. The self-talk is "you're 68 years old, and just one time in your life you should have a fun tourer with heated leather seats." Lord, give me the strength._


Congratulations! Decision time now.


----------



## eggplant43

poochee said:


> Congratulations! Decision time now.


I have to decide every day, no car payments!


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> I have to decide every day, no car payments!


And that is a wonderful feeling!


----------



## eggplant43

Yes, it is.


----------



## eggplant43

> A while ago we explained how important it is to spend your money where you spend your time, and considering we spend at least a third of our lives asleep or in bed, skimping on your mattress or sleeping surface can be detrimental to your health. At the same time, not everyone has the budget for the top of the line, state of the art mattress. We asked some chiropractors and orthopedists what they suggest you look for when shopping for a mattress. Here's what they said.


http://lifehacker.com/5862152/how-to-choose-the-right-mattress-so-you-sleep-peacefully-every-night


----------



## eggplant43

_Some like it, some don't. Tips for dealing with friends in the business._



> The more friends you have, the more likely someone you know will eventually get sucked into a multilevel marketing scheme and start asking you to attend parties to celebrate the guilt-based selling of overpriced household items, magical healing juice, cooking utensils or other annoyances. The business model for these scamtastic enterprises is built on recruiting other saps to sell products as part of your team, as well as getting them to find other victims, even if it requires them to exploit friends and family.


http://consumerist.com/2011/11/how-to-tell-multilevel-marketing-friends-to-buzz-off.html


----------



## eggplant43

> Getting what you want out of customer service is hard, but CNN Money reader Michael Brownholz was able to avoid a delayed flight by suggesting his own simple solution instead of waiting for the representative to come up with their own.


http://lifehacker.com/5862975/propose-your-own-solution-to-customer-service-to-get-what-you-want


----------



## eggplant43

> Cast iron pans can be a great tool in the kitchen, but they require extra care to keep from rusting out. Lifestyle TV host Mar Jennings' solution is lining them with coffee filters to suck of the liquid and grease in storage.


http://lifehacker.com/5862964/line-a-cast-iron-pan-with-coffee-filters-to-keep-it-from-rusting


----------



## eggplant43

> It seems as though printers are made to run out of toner at the exact moment you need to print five important pages, but Reddit user i_exaggerated unearthed an old tip to force your printer into going a little longer by covering up a sensor bar.


http://lifehacker.com/5863700/get-m...-when-the-toner-is-low-by-covering-the-sensor


----------



## eggplant43

> It's all to easy to say the wrong thing; sometimes it's just a matter of how you phrase something that causes etiquette snafus. Real Simple has rounded up 18 common phrases you should avoid, and what to say instead.


http://lifehacker.com/5864105/avoid...-at-work-job-interviews-and-social-situations


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://lifehacker.com/5864105/avoid...-at-work-job-interviews-and-social-situations


I have to admit, I often use a couple of them. His/her loss and you look tired.

The other two, never!


----------



## eggplant43

> Check Holiday Shipping Deadlines for Tons of Stores with This List


http://lifehacker.com/5864232/check-holiday-shipping-deadlines-for-tons-of-stores-with-this-list


----------



## eggplant43

> You can pay off a car loan quicker and cheaper than you think. And if you have a car loan that carries a high interest rate, your number one priority should be to pay it off as early as possible. Fortunately, its not difficult to do.


http://wealthpilgrim.com/pay-off-a-car-loan/


----------



## eggplant43

> If your shoes rub the tops of your feet, your toes feel too restricted, the shoe feels too tight on the top of your feet, or your heels slip up and down you may find that using an alternate shoe lacing method will reduce pain.


http://lifehacker.com/5864915/reduce-foot-pain-with-alternate-shoe-lacing-methods


----------



## hewee

eggplant43 said:


> http://lifehacker.com/5864915/reduce-foot-pain-with-alternate-shoe-lacing-methods


I was showen the one way in the center where I got my gym shoes.

Other page it's the "Loose heel" one I was taking about.


----------



## eggplant43

> Music can often make or break a day. It can change your mood, amp you up for exercise, and help you recover from injury. But how does it work exactly, and how can you use it to your advantage?


http://lifehacker.com/5865032/how-music-affects-the-brain-and-how-you-can-use-it-to-your-advantage


----------



## eggplant43

http://www.thedailymeal.com/10-reasons-eat-slower-slideshow


----------



## ekim68

DIY: How to Make a Terrarium Christmas Ornament!


----------



## eggplant43

ekim68 said:


> DIY: How to Make a Terrarium Christmas Ornament!


OK, that was


----------



## eggplant43

> Dog Poop Poses Disease Risk: Scoop Fido's Feces While It's Still Fresh


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/...&utm_source=Alert-green&utm_content=FullStory


----------



## eggplant43

> When life gives you lemons, use them to clean your house.


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/11/20-unusual-uses-lemon-juice_n_1129986.html


----------



## franca

eggplant43 said:


> http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/11/20-unusual-uses-lemon-juice_n_1129986.html


Cool.I did not know that ....:up:


----------



## eggplant43

> Car repairs can drain your pocketbook fast, but you can do a wide range of repairs yourself, regardless of your technical skill. We're not just talking oil changes; provided you can hold a wrench, you can fix everything ranging from fuel filters to alternators. We'll detail the tools necessary for your DIY toolkit, where to turn to for help when you're making the repairs, and how to tackle some of the most common car problems yourself.


http://lifehacker.com/5868374/the-car-repairs-you-can-seriously-do-yourself-despite-your-abilities


----------



## eggplant43

> Buy a Four-Wheeler Suitcase to Avoid Damage to Your Luggage and Belongings


http://lifehacker.com/5868832/buy-a...o-avoid-damage-to-your-luggage-and-belongings


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://lifehacker.com/5868832/buy-a...o-avoid-damage-to-your-luggage-and-belongings


:up:


----------



## eggplant43

> If youre dreaming of Parisian strolls along the Champs-Elysees or meandering through the canals in Venice via a gondola, now is the time to head to Europe if you want good deals. The off season in Europe is from January to early April, says Chris McGinnis, a travel expert with Best Western. You can get half off your entire trip by going then. Need another added bonus? Fewer tourists and less crowds, says Mark Kahler, the budget travel guide for About.com.


http://www.mint.com/blog/how-to/5-l...ign=Feed:+MyMint+(Mint+Personal+Finance+Blog)


----------



## eggplant43

> As widespread distrust and dislike for big banking spreads across the country, a new online service called Simple is aiming to woo those disgruntled customers with no-hassle, no-fee banking. Its goal? To be everything those other banks aren't.


http://consumerist.com/2011/12/new-...treat-you-like-those-other-big-bad-banks.html


----------



## eggplant43

> If youve been waiting for a good reason to buy a new car, here is the best one of the year: According to car-buying site, TrueCar.com, December is shaping up to be a great month for consumers to hit the dealership lot.


http://www.mint.com/blog/how-to/the...ign=Feed:+MyMint+(Mint+Personal+Finance+Blog)


----------



## eggplant43

> If you just received some new gadgets for the holidays you probably have an excessive amount of small, rectangular pieces of styrofoam lying around. Instructables user shadowfeet recommends converting those pieces into a small window planter.


http://lifehacker.com/5871267/convert-styrofoam-packaging-into-a-planter


----------



## eggplant43

> Why rent a car when you could get a car to drive for free? The Money Talks News blog suggests this little-known way to save a lot on your next travel adventure. All you need is a clean driving record.
> 
> Car delivery companies, the article notes, often use regular people like us to move their customers' cars from one place to another. Here's how to get a car to drive for free:


http://lifehacker.com/5871313/get-a-free-car-to-drive-on-your-next-road-trip


----------



## eggplant43

> It's simple, but often ignored advice: Fix your drafty windows. You're paying for heat. Do you want to see your money drift out the window? I don't think so. I'll explain the easiest and cheapest ways to stop drafts. I'm a carpenter and I fix windows all the time. Trust me, it's easy. Read on.


http://www.mnn.com/your-home/at-home/stories/how-to-fix-drafty-windows-the-common-sense-way


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://www.mnn.com/your-home/at-home/stories/how-to-fix-drafty-windows-the-common-sense-way


And doors!


----------



## eggplant43

> Lots of people are looking for "beater" cars these days. These cars may not have a smooth ride or many features, but they do have the lowest per-mile cost of ownership and they're great for students, debt assassins, and those who need a car but don't want to pay for a newer one. BeaterReview gives the lowdown on 40+ of these cars, from the 3-valve 93-2000 Geo Metro to the 76-86 Mercedes W123 series.


http://lifehacker.com/5872255/beaterreview-rates-and-reviews-used-cars-in-the-500+3000-range


----------



## eggplant43

> What the Common Grocery Store Product Labels Mean and When They Matter


http://lifehacker.com/5872911/what-the-common-grocery-store-product-labels-mean-and-when-they-matter


----------



## eggplant43

> Phishing scams-the ones that try to get you to provide private information by masquerading as a legitimate company-can be easy to uncover with a skeptical eye, but some can easily get you when you let your guard down for just a second. Here's how you can boost your phishing detection skills and protect yourself during those times when you're not at full attention.


http://lifehacker.com/5873050/how-to-boost-your-phishing-scam-detection-skills

_BTW I use WOT, and have for years. It has saved me more than once, usually when I'm tired, and distracted._


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://lifehacker.com/5873050/how-to-boost-your-phishing-scam-detection-skills
> 
> _BTW I use WOT, and have for years. It has saved me more than once, usually when I'm tired, and distracted._


I missed one. #5 Thought was phishing and it was legit. I'm very suspicious.


----------



## eggplant43

> We don't generally think of the tread on tires as a means to improve our driving, but it turns out there are some wear indicators that can help you improve your technique.


http://lifehacker.com/5873277/use-your-tire-wear-to-improve-your-driving


----------



## eggplant43

> TrueCar is trying to take comparison shopping for an automobile to a new level. Instead of going down to area dealerships and kicking tires, since Jan. 1 Yahoo! Autos search, powered by TrueCar, lets you find the best local price with a click of the mouse. I looked at a no-frills Ford Fiesta and discovered that its $12,578 at one outlet 45 miles away and $13,483 at another, only 18 miles away. I think its probably worth the drive to save almost $1,000, dont you?


http://www.mnn.com/green-tech/trans...ow-prices-truecars-transparency-riles-dealers


----------



## eggplant43

> Credit-tracking site Credit Karma has long been a really useful service for getting your credit score for free, and now the company is offering free daily credit monitoring to notify you of any important changes to your credit.


http://lifehacker.com/5872956/credi...onitoring-to-prevent-identity-theft-and-fraud


----------



## eggplant43

_I mentioned TrueCar in a post above. Appears there may be some problems:_

http://www.autoblog.com/2012/01/06/state-regulators-turn-up-the-heat-on-truecar/


----------



## janikPilot

If you have some pots or pans with a copper base, you can use ketchup to clean it. Leave it on for 10 mins, and it'll be sparkly clean.

I learned that from a friend that's a firefighter some time ago 

http://www.realsimple.com/home-orga...ng-natural-cleaners-00000000011572/index.html


----------



## eggplant43

janikPilot said:


> If you have some pots or pans with a copper base, you can use ketchup to clean it. Leave it on for 10 mins, and it'll be sparkly clean.
> 
> I learned that from a friend that's a firefighter some time ago
> 
> http://www.realsimple.com/home-orga...ng-natural-cleaners-00000000011572/index.html


I do, and I think I'll go check it out right now, thanks.


----------



## janikPilot

eggplant43 said:


> I do, and I think I'll go check it out right now, thanks.


Just curious, how well did it work?


----------



## eggplant43

janikPilot said:


> Just curious, how well did it work?


Haven't gone there yet, but will report when I do.


----------



## eggplant43

http://lifehacker.com/5873922/10-stubborn-body-myths-that-just-wont-die-debunked-by-science


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://lifehacker.com/5873922/10-stubborn-body-myths-that-just-wont-die-debunked-by-science


Interesting.

As to the sleep myth...I have never slept more than 5 to 6 hours, unless I was ill. And I feel fine.


----------



## eggplant43

I find that I require 7-8 hours. But I did find the body myths interesting. I suspect many people do not know these "truths" are myths.


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> I find that I require 7-8 hours. But I did find the body myths interesting. I suspect many people do not know these "truths" are myths.


The metabolism and jellyfish one were two I hadn't heard before.


----------



## eggplant43

> If you have a snoopy roommate or a curious sibling, this trick will help you find out if they've been using your computer when you're not around.


http://lifehacker.com/5873538/how-to-find-out-if-someones-secretly-been-using-your-computer


----------



## eggplant43

> How to Turn Off Googles Annoying New Personal Search Results


http://lifehacker.com/5875156


----------



## eggplant43

> A watched pot never boils, but an unwatched pot can go from boiling to overflowing pretty quickly. Redditor slokotkov shows us one way to keep your pot from boiling over.


_I didn't know this, and will use it._

http://lifehacker.com/5876442


----------



## hewee

Good tip there.


----------



## eggplant43

> Dont worry, I wont waste your time with the elementary school lessons about how to accurately pronounce library, February, or arctic although I will take this opportunity to note that if youre discussing a library and still dropping the first R, theres a very good chance that your friends and/or colleagues are laughing at you behind your back.


http://www.primermagazine.com/2008/...onounce-that-make-people-think-youre-an-idiot


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://www.primermagazine.com/2008/...onounce-that-make-people-think-youre-an-idiot


s


----------



## eggplant43

> SuperTracker Is a Personalized Food and Exercise Planner and Tracker


http://lifehacker.com/5875565/supertracker-is-a-personalized-food-and-exercise-planner-and-tracker


----------



## eggplant43

> 11 Health Habits That Will Help You Live To 100


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/18/longevity-health_n_1211700.html


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/18/longevity-health_n_1211700.html


:up:


----------



## eggplant43

> Revive Dried Out Permanent Markers with Rubbing Alcohol


http://lifehacker.com/5878777/revive-dried-out-permanent-markers-with-rubbing-alcohol


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://lifehacker.com/5878777/revive-dried-out-permanent-markers-with-rubbing-alcohol


:up:


----------



## eggplant43

> It's recommended you flip your mattress four times a year, but it's difficult to remember to actually flip it on time. To help you remember, Martha Stewart recommends the same trick hotels use: add labels to the mattress with the month the mattress needs flipping.


http://lifehacker.com/5880866/label-your-mattress-like-a-hotel-to-help-you-remember-to-flip-it

_I'm going to flip mine today._


----------



## franca

eggplant43 said:


> http://lifehacker.com/5880866/label-your-mattress-like-a-hotel-to-help-you-remember-to-flip-it
> 
> _I'm going to flip mine today._


:up:


----------



## eggplant43

> Stains in stone countertops can be a pain to get out. Ideally, you'll have stone sealed regularly so nothing gets through the seal, but if you're in between cycles or haven't had your sealing done recently, a stray spill can turn your countertop an unwanted color. Thankfully, the fix is probably already in your kitchen, according to the folks at This Old House.


http://lifehacker.com/5881940/use-f...in-stone-countertops-tile-and-concrete-floors


----------



## eggplant43

Early on in this thread I posted an idea for cleaning copper ware with Ketchup. It works, as I tried it today. But no better than lemon juice, or vinegar would. It's good to use if you no longer want to use Ketchup as a food, since it's full of HFCS, which I consider industrial poison, but I wouldn't go out to buy it just for cleaning copper.


----------



## ekim68

Fracture Putty can heal a broken bone in days 



> Broken bones can mean weeks of having to wear a cast and the muscle atrophy that comes with that. More severe breaks can take months to mend, result in restricted movement, or in the worst cases the possible loss of a limb. There's also the chance of re-fracture due to the amount of time some breaks take to heal if a patient isn't extremely careful.
> 
> Speeding up the time it takes to heal a broken bone is highly desirable, and a solution may be on the horizon. Research being carried out at the University of Georgia Regenerative Bioscience Center has helped create a new gel being referred to as Fracture Putty. It's major benefit to those suffering broken bones is its ability to heal them in just a few days, or in the case of severe breaks, cut the healing time to weeks instead of months.
> 
> Fracture Putty has yet to be tested on humans, but it has already been proven to work in animals. The putty takes the form of a gel that gets injected into the broken bones. It then goes to work rapidly generating bone much faster than a body can achieve on its own.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Fracture Putty can heal a broken bone in days


:up:


----------



## eggplant43

> Unfortunately, there's no one treatment that will remove all types of stains, but in lieu of that we have this handy stain first aid chart from housekeeping guru Martha Stewart. Post it by your laundry center along with your cleaning supplies and you're good to go.


http://lifehacker.com/5883014/conquer-common-stains-with-the-stain-first-aid-chart


----------



## eggplant43

> Whether you're planning a dinner and a movie with a special someone for Valentine's Day, or you just like to read up on what's worth seeing before you spend your hard earned cash on a theater experience, you have plenty of options to read up on what's new in theaters or what's worth seeing before you go. Here's a look at five of the best movie recommendation and review services, based on your nominations.


http://lifehacker.com/5884202/five-best-movie-recommendation-services


----------



## eggplant43

> Cook Eggs in a Pressure Cooker for Easy-Peel Hard-Cooked Eggs and Quick Brunches


http://www.hippressurecooking.com/2011/04/hip-modernist-soft-medium-and-hard.html


----------



## poochee

Lots of good ideas here.:up:


----------



## ekim68

VW / Audi Pushes Wireless Charging (w/ video)



> Audi's Urban Concept tandem-2-seater first debuted last summer, amid promises of revolutionizing the "city car" concept and wireless, in-road charging for its on-board electric batteries.
> 
> A few days ago, Audi posted a new video to its YouTube channel demonstrating the wireless system's ability to conduct large amounts of electricity through the air at high speeds. Enough electricity, according to the video, to power some pretty serious-looking floodlights. Towards the end of the video (below), Audi shows an (computer-generated) electric A3 "re-fueling" by parking over one of Audi's inductive charging pads.


----------



## eggplant43

> Most people know that the lottery isn't a great way to spend money, but if you're doing it anyway, you might as well do it right. Scientific American breaks down the best practices for betting your cash so you only spend it when it matters.


http://lifehacker.com/5891894/how-to-turn-a-lottery-ticket-into-a-good-bet


----------



## eggplant43

> Bringing potted plants into a living space to liven it up is a trick that's been used by interior designers for years, but did you know that our leafy friends are also powerful filters that purify the air around us? In fact, several studies have been conducted showing that certain plants can rid a room of up to 89% of harmful VOCs like formaldehyde and xylene. If you think about the prices of some of those fancy air filtration systems out there, it's a bit surprising that more of us don't just purchase some plants instead. If you or anyone in your family has allergies, smokes or just wants to breathe fresher, cleaner air in their homes, read on for 7 indoor plants that purify the air around you as well as which specific pollutant each one targets and removes.


http://inhabitat.com/7-indoor-plants-that-purify-the-air-around-you-naturally/


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://inhabitat.com/7-indoor-plants-that-purify-the-air-around-you-naturally/


:up:


----------



## eggplant43

Especially if you have a tree:



> One common way to liven up beverages is to add a slice of lemon or lime, but perhaps less common is to freeze the lemon or lime slice and use it in lieu of an ice cube to chill your drink.


http://lifehacker.com/5893220/freeze-lemon-and-lime-slices-for-refreshing-chilled-drinks


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> Especially if you have a tree:
> 
> http://lifehacker.com/5893220/freeze-lemon-and-lime-slices-for-refreshing-chilled-drinks


Good idea!


----------



## eggplant43

> Yearning for a high-end look in your home, but finding yourself a little short on funds? Marble, granite, tile, crown molding and other types of high-end building materials may be just a phone call away for a fraction of the retail cost. Contact local builders, cabinetmakers, tile and countertop installers, to see what treasures they might be sitting on.


http://homefixated.com/how-to-get-h...source=feed&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=feed


----------



## eggplant43

> Naturally most of us think hard-boiled eggs should be boiled, but a better way to get that perfect hard-"boiled" egg may be to actually bake it, according to Alton Brown. You can bake dozens of creamier eggs at once.


http://lifehacker.com/5893568/make-...s-by-baking-them-in-the-oven-not-boiling-them


----------



## eggplant43

> By the time it becomes obvious that a tree in your yard is dying, it may be too late to save it. In order to avoid a costly, time-consuming removal project, it's helpful to monitor your trees for signs that they're embarking on a death spiral.


http://consumerist.com/2012/03/check-your-tree-for-signs-of-impending-death.html


----------



## franca

These little remedies just might work when you think about it. 

Did you know that drinking two glasses of Gatorade can relieve headache pain almost immediately-without the unpleasant side effects caused by traditional pain relievers? 

Did you know that Colgate Toothpaste makes an excellent salve for burns? 

Before you head to the drugstore for a high-priced inhaler filled with mysterious chemicals, try chewing on a couple of curiously strong Altoids peppermints. They'll clear up your stuffed nose. 


Achy muscles from a bout of the flu? Mix 1 tablespoon horseradish in 1 cup of olive oil. Let the mixture sit for 30 minutes, then apply it as a massage oil for instant relief for aching muscles. 

Sore throat? Just mix 1/4 cup of vinegar with 1/4 cup of honey and take 1 tablespoon six times a day. The vinegar kills the bacteria. 

Cure urinary tract infections with Alka-Seltzer. Just dissolve two tablets in a glass of water and drink it at the onset of the symptoms. Alka-Seltzer begins eliminating urinary tract infections almost instantly-even though the product was never advertised for this use. 

Honey remedy for skin blemishes..... Cover the blemish with a dab of honey and place a Band-Aid over it. Honey kills the bacteria, keeps the skin sterile, and speeds healing. Works overnight. 

Listerine therapy for toenail fungus: Get rid of unsightly toenail fungus by soaking your toes in Listerine Mouthwash. The powerful antiseptic leaves your toenails looking healthy again. 

Easy eyeglass protection... To prevent the screws in eyeglasses from loosening, apply a small drop of Maybelline Crystal Clear Nail Polish to the threads of the screws before tightening them. 

Cleaning liquid that doubles as bug killer... If menacing bees, wasps, hornets, or yellow jackets get in your home and you can't find the insecticide, try a spray of Formula 409.. Insects drop to the ground instantly. 

Smart splinter remover: Just pour a drop of Elmer's Glue- All over the splinter, let dry, and peel the dried glue off the skin. The splinter sticks to the dried glue. 

Hunt's Tomato Paste boil cure... Cover the boil with Hunt's Tomato Paste as a compress. The acids from the tomatoes soothe the pain and bring the boil to a head. 

Balm for broken blisters... To disinfect a broken blister, dab on a few drops of Listerine, a powerful antiseptic. 

Vinegar to heal bruises... Soak a cotton ball in white vinegar and apply it to the bruise for 1 hour. The vinegar reduces the blueness and speeds up the healing process.. 

Quaker Oats for fast pain relief.... it's not for breakfast anymore! Mix 2 cups of Quaker Oats and 1 cup of water in a bowl and warm in the microwave for 1 minute, cool slightly, and apply the mixture to your hands for soothing relief from arthritis pain. 

If you send this to one person who doesn't know about this, then it was worth it.


----------



## poochee

Lots of good ideas here!


----------



## eggplant43

Those were great franca:up:


----------



## eggplant43

> Avoid Hotel Cancellation Fees by Changing Your Stay Dates Before Canceling the Reservation


http://lifehacker.com/5894788/avoid...r-stay-dates-before-canceling-the-reservation


----------



## ekim68

Best LED Lightbulb


----------



## eggplant43

> The age-old curse of the writer is not writers block or carpal tunnel syndrome; its the endless swarm of acquaintances that, upon learning of your profession, immediately blurt out, You should write a book! Publishing a novel isnt as easy as being a Mormon housewife who's obsessed with vampire romance, but it is certainly a lot easier than it used to be. Here, we investigate some ways to get your erotic adventure mystery or paranormal detective novel out of your head and into the hands of some readers.


http://howto.wired.com/wiki/Self-Pu...+wired/index+(Wired:+Index+3+(Top+Stories+2))


----------



## ekim68

JAXA develops camera that can 'see' radioactive contamination



> The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) have developed a prototype camera that can "see" radioactive contamination, officials said on March 29.
> 
> The new camera detects gamma rays emitted by radioactive cesium and other substances, and creates a wide range of images of radioactive contamination.
> 
> The total amount of gamma rays emitted by cesium 137 and 134 are captured in six different colors in an image taken with a wide-angle lens, with red representing the highest and yellow second highest radiation levels.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> JAXA develops camera that can 'see' radioactive contamination


:up:


----------



## eggplant43

> I've been anxiously waiting all winter for the first week of spring to start our first family garden. Since we've had unusually high temps we started a little bit early this year. I wanted to do something fun to show my daughter how seeds grow and turn into food. So we learned how to make simple recycled greenhouses, which can be grown inside or out. Check out the easy 4-step process to make your own greenhouse for your spring family garden!


http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/8i6e6...w-to-grow-seedlings-in-a-recycled-greenhouse/


----------



## eggplant43

> Last week I learned that a 15-20 minute nap between the hours of 1:00 and 3:00 PM could cure your afternoon slowness. Still skeptical, I thought I'd put it to the test and see if it really made a difference. Here's what I discovered.


http://lifehacker.com/5898614/do-mid+afternoon-power-naps-actually-work


----------



## eggplant43

> Hard boiling an egg isn't difficult in theory: just boil some water, add your eggs, let them boil, and take them out. So why are hard boiled eggs often so overdone that the that the yolks are chalky, or so underdone that the whites are almost runny? The answer is all in the timing and the temperature. Here's how you can cook a hard boiled egg perfectly, consistently, every time you want one


http://lifehacker.com/5831336/how-to-hard+boil-an-egg-perfectly-every-time


----------



## ekim68

New Philips Monitor Uses Sensor to Promote Better Posture



> High-tech sensors are everywhere. They alert us to spoiled food. They monitor our stress levels. And they're blowing up in the health and fitness space, too, helping us track our key sleep and activity metrics.
> 
> And now we have the Philips ErgoSensor Monitor, a desktop display that keeps an eye on one's posture.
> 
> The 24-inch LCD monitor uses a built-in CMOS sensor to determine your distance from the screen and your neck angle while sitting. The monitor works with software made by DigitalOptics Corporation, and, like a worried mother, will remind you to straighten your back, keep your distance from the display, and take breaks from sitting at the computer.


----------



## eggplant43

I already have a car that does that, I call it "the nag", but this does seem like a good idea.

Perhaps they could develop a texting threshold limiting mechanism, as well.


----------



## franca

Save one month of your life:


----------



## ekim68

Bionic eye to help the blind see



> Giving sight to the blind has always been a dream of science - until now.
> 
> The Monash Vision Group at Australia's Monash University is developing a direct-to-brain bionic eye system that allows blind people to see.
> 
> A patient wears a pair of glasses equipped with a digital camera that acts like a retina and captures low-resolution black-and-white images.
> 
> The images are wirelessly sent to a brain chip, which sends signals to electrodes that penetrate into the visual cortex, the part of the brain that controls vision.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Bionic eye to help the blind see


:up:


----------



## Bat-fish

Blackmirror said:


> I came across this tip: if it is calcium stain use citric accid dissolved in water in a spray bootle.
> Spray and rimse.
> 
> I will let you know if it works


----------



## ekim68

Silly Putty for Potholes



> CLEVELAND, OHIO-So-called non-Newtonian fluids are the stars of high school science demonstrations. In one example, an ooey-gooey batter made from corn starch and water oozes like a liquid when moved slowly. But punch it, or run across a giant puddle of it, and it becomes stiff like a solid. Pour it on top of a speaker cone, and the vibrations cause the fluid to stiffen and form strange tendril-like shapes. Now, a group of college students has figured out a new use for the strange stuff: filler for potholes.


----------



## eggplant43

Now that's neat.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Silly Putty for Potholes


:up:


----------



## eggplant43




----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


>


Neat chart. I am very interested in body language. Especially, when viewing politicians.


----------



## ekim68

Scientists Engineer Stem Cells To Seek Out And Kill HIV



> Stem cells engineered to fight HIV are effective at suppressing the virus in mice, according to a new study. The engineered cells are able to seek out and destroy the virus, giving hope that a cure for HIV could be on the horizon.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Scientists Engineer Stem Cells To Seek Out And Kill HIV


:up:


----------



## poochee

*Pet insurance guards against big vet bills*
TOM MURPHY | April 18, 2012 01:35 PM EST |

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20120418/us-on-the-money-picking-pet-insurance-/


----------



## ekim68

IBM creates breathing, high-density, light-weight lithium-air battery



> As part of its Battery 500 project - an initiative started by IBM in 2009 to produce a battery capable of powering a car for 500 miles - Big Blue has successfully demonstrated a light-weight, ultra-high-density, lithium-air battery.
> 
> In IBM's lithium-air battery, oxygen is reacted with lithium to create lithium peroxide and electrical energy (pictured above). When the battery is recharged, the process is reversed and oxygen is released - in the words of IBM, this is an "air-breathing" battery. While conventional batteries are completely self-contained, the oxygen used in an lithium-air battery obviously comes from the atmosphere, so the battery itself can be much lighter.


----------



## ekim68

Computer game helps kids with depression



> Paris - A computer game designed to lift teenagers out of depression is as effective as one-on-one counselling, New Zealand doctors reported on Thursday in the British Medical Journal (BMJ).





> In addition, 44% of the Sparx group who carried out at least four of the seven challenges recovered completely. In the conventional treatment group, only 26% recovered fully.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Computer game helps kids with depression


:up:


----------



## ekim68

MIT Researchers Invent 'Perfect Glass'



> On Thursday, researchers at MIT announced a major breakthrough in glass-making technology, which basically involves a new way to create surface textures on glass to eliminate all of the drawbacks of glass, including unwanted reflections and glare. In fact, this new "multifunctional" glass is not only crystal clear -- unlike all other glass, which is reflective by nature -- but it also causes water droplets to bounce right off its surface, "like tiny rubber balls."


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> MIT Researchers Invent 'Perfect Glass'


:up:


----------



## eggplant43

> Everyone knows you should soak your beans before cooking them, and while how long you should soak them varies depending on what you want to do, America's Test Kitchen suggests that if you really want a creamy, smooth texture without mushy, gluey beans, you should brine themthat is, soak them in salt waterinstead of letting them soak in the fridge in plain tap water


http://lifehacker.com/5906564/brine...rce=lifehacker_facebook&utm_medium=socialflow


----------



## eggplant43

> Your shower head is prone to buildup of all sorts of nasty stuff, and it can be a pain to clean if you do it the hard way. As Redditor IT_Serpent points out, you can cure your shower head of its grimy blockage with a bag of vinegar. All you have to do is fill the bag, place it around the shower head so it's submerged in the liquid, and tie it to the neck with a twist tie (or anything else, really). Leave it there overnight and the cleaning will be handled for you


http://lifehacker.com/5906391/tie-a...rce=lifehacker_facebook&utm_medium=socialflow


----------



## Wino

eggplant43 said:


> http://lifehacker.com/5906564/brine...rce=lifehacker_facebook&utm_medium=socialflow


Never, in my life or anywhere have I ever seen beans soaking in a fridge. Pinto is the favorite around these parts and an over night soak 8-10 hours with or without salt is the norm. This also applies to any dried bean or pea.


----------



## Wino

eggplant43 said:


> http://lifehacker.com/5906391/tie-a...rce=lifehacker_facebook&utm_medium=socialflow


Have done this for so many years can't remember when I started. I use white 9% acidity vinegar, ziploc bag held in place with a ratcheting wire tie - I don't believe a standard twist tie would support the weight - or may be my vinegar is too heavy.


----------



## eggplant43

> We often hear from readers horrified to discover that their perfectly lovely used car was once another owner's total loss. They only find out much later, once something goes horribly wrong due to the previous damage. But once the vehicle is all fixed up and shiny, how is the average car buyer to know the difference? It turns out that there are distinctive signs that a car was previously in a crash or flood. Some you might notice yourself, and others require a mechanic's eye.


http://consumerist.com/2012/05/10-signs-your-used-car-is-really-a-rebuilt-wreck.html


----------



## ekim68

Wino said:


> Never, in my life or anywhere have I ever seen beans soaking in a fridge. Pinto is the favorite around these parts and an over night soak 8-10 hours with or without salt is the norm. This also applies to any dried bean or pea.


Oh crap! I've been soaking my beans in the fridge for years and now I find out it's wrong.... No wonder they taste like chicken..... We'll, learn something new every twenty years or so.....


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Oh crap! I've been soaking my beans in the fridge for years and now I find out it's wrong.... *No* *wonder they taste like chicken*..... We'll, learn something new every twenty years or so.....


s


----------



## Wino

ekim68 said:


> Oh crap! I've been soaking my beans in the fridge for years and now I find out it's wrong.... No wonder they taste like chicken..... We'll, learn something new every twenty years or so.....


You Nor'wester's are weird.


----------



## ekim68

Wino said:


> You Nor'wester's are weird.


Well I sometimes always learn from my Elders...:up:


----------



## ekim68

Biochemist creates CO2-eating light that runs on algae



> Our atmosphere is filling up with CO2 and we seem to be the major cause of that. The generally accepted solution seems to be cutting back on emissions as quickly as possible, but implementing such cuts is problematic because everyone has to agree to do more, which essentially ends up costing a lot of time and money.
> 
> There is an alternative to such measures, though. Instead of relying entirely on cutting emissions, why don't we start taking CO2 out of the atmosphere? That's exactly what biochemist Pierre Calleja is trying to do, and his solution almost sounds too good to be true.
> 
> Calleja has developed a lighting system that requires no electricity for power. Instead it draws CO2 from the atmosphere and uses it to produce light as well as oxygen as a byproduct. The key ingredient to this eco-friendly light? Algae.


----------



## eggplant43

> Sorting through the Amazon store for free ebooks can be a bit of a mess. To simplify the process Zero Dollar Books is a simple webapp that aggregates all the best selling free ebooks and shows them off in a nice clean view.


http://forums.techguy.org/newreply.php?do=newreply&noquote=1&p=8346439


----------



## hewee

Bruce,

Got a link to the post above?

Your link is to the reply box here.


----------



## ekim68

An Effort to Bury a Throwaway Culture One Repair at a Time



> AMSTERDAM - An unemployed man, a retired pharmacist and an upholsterer took their stations, behind tables covered in red gingham. Screwdrivers and sewing machines stood at the ready. Coffee, tea and cookies circulated. Hilij Held, a neighbor, wheeled in a zebra-striped suitcase and extracted a well-used iron. "It doesn't work anymore," she said. "No steam."
> 
> Ms. Held had come to the right place. At Amsterdam's first Repair Cafe, an event originally held in a theater's foyer, then in a rented room in a former hotel and now in a community center a couple of times a month, people can bring in whatever they want to have repaired, at no cost, by volunteers who just like to fix things.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> An Effort to Bury a Throwaway Culture One Repair at a Time


Great idea!


----------



## ekim68

Paralyzed woman controls robotic arm, sips coffee



> Electrodes implanted in the brain were used to control mechanical motion.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Paralyzed woman controls robotic arm, sips coffee


:up:


----------



## eggplant43

> This Sunday, May 20, the moon will pass directly between the sun and the Earth, casting a shadow across the western United States, Canada and eastern Asia. Most people in western states will see a partial eclipse, like a moon-shaped bite has been taken out of the Sun. But those lucky enough to be in a 185-mile-wide swath from northern California through western Texas will witness the sun transformed into a spectacular ring of fire in a rare event known as an annular eclipse.


http://www.popularmechanics.com/sci...burning-your-eyes-out-8922611?click=pm_latest


----------



## ekim68

We're supposed to be in a good geographical position for the Eclipse tomorrow and we've had a week of clear weather....Guess what? It's supposed to rain tomorrow....*sigh* It's a good thing I decided not to be an Astronomer......


----------



## eggplant43

> Sorting through the Amazon store for free ebooks can be a bit of a mess. To simplify the process Zero Dollar Books is a simple webapp that aggregates all the best selling free ebooks and shows them off in a nice clean view.


http://www.lifehacker.com.au/2012/0...g-kindle-ebooks-currently-available-for-free/

_This should be the correct link for my post above, sorry._


----------



## ekim68

MIT creates superhydrophobic coating for condiment bottles



> Super slippery coatings seem to be quite popular at the moment. We've already shown you the superhydrophobic spray that means no more clothes to wash, and then there was the superhydrophobic film promising to make circuit boards water resistant. Now MIT has come up with another slippery coating, only this one is safe for use with food.
> 
> Why do we need a non-slip coating on food packaging? Well, have you ever tried to get the last few drops of ketchup or mayonnaise out of a bottle? It's impossible without you start scooping the substance out with a spoon, and even then you can't get all of it. Put a non-stick coating on the inside of the bottle though, and the problem disappears.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> MIT creates superhydrophobic coating for condiment bottles


:up:


----------



## eggplant43

> If you need to roast a turkey, chicken, or other meat and don't happen to have a roasting pan on hand Real Simple magazine's weblog shares that you can get the same roasting effect from a bundt cake pan. The cone in the center of the pan will keep the meat from touching the base and provide the same cooking effect.


http://lifehacker.com/5913605/use-a...rce=lifehacker_facebook&utm_medium=socialflow


----------



## ekim68

X-rays and iPads: The network healthcare evolution



> At the rate technology has changed everything else in our lives, by now we should have the equivalent of tricorders in our smartphones-instant access to our health statistics collected by sensors in our clothes and pulled into our individual health history in the cloud. We should be able to Skype our physician, text our pharmacist, and get both a blood sugar measurement and an MRI at Starbucks while waiting for a grande latte.
> 
> Except for the MRI part, all of that is doable today. Thanks to the big stick provided by the Affordable Care Act in the US, some healthcare organizations are pushing more aggressive use of network bandwidth and cloud technology:


----------



## eggplant43

> Heat Up Tortillas Directly On the Stove for a Dish-Free Snack


http://lifehacker.com/5914230/heat-up-tortillas-directly-on-the-stove-for-a-dish+free-snack


----------



## hewee

eggplant43 said:


> http://lifehacker.com/5914230/heat-up-tortillas-directly-on-the-stove-for-a-dish+free-snack


When we moved here on 1966 and then my first friend down the street were mexican and we did all the time at his house on the elec. Stove top and melt butter on it and add sugar to it.


----------



## Wino

eggplant43 said:


> http://lifehacker.com/5914230/heat-up-tortillas-directly-on-the-stove-for-a-dish+free-snack


Who are these people?? That would deliberately over heat / char a tortilla??? I went through their roster and no one appeared to be from a border state of Mexico. Corn or flour, charring destroys the flavor (unless you enjoy burnt food) makes them very hard and extremely crunchy / chewy, impossible to fold / roll without breaking.

Heating on a gas stove top is doable, better on an electric coil type, a no no on a ceramic top (but doable, if you don't mind scraping to clean) - just don't CHAR them.

The best way to heat either type is a seasoned flat cast iron plate w/handle, four at a time, flipping and shuffling, insuring YOU DO NOT CHAR / BURN them, throw them in a container designed for heated tortilla's (only required if the group doesn't have the "munchies"). My flat cast iron plate never has to be cleaned UNLESS I get careless and CHAR a tortilla that sticks to the surface - and then just requires a quick scrape to remove.

 I suspect a bunch of Yankees (anyone north of Austin Texas) as no one below that line would recommend tortilla abuse.:up:


----------



## ekim68

Hmmm......Wino, how do you feel about CHARRING?


----------



## ekim68

An Idea Charged Up in Zuccotti Park



> The idea for the stations hatched when Mr. Mitchell was strolling through the Occupy Wall Street protests in Zuccotti Park last fall. Curious, he asked a protester how he and others were keeping their cellphones and computers charged. The answer surprised him: a hot dog vendor's generator.
> 
> "I was like, 'Well that's awful,'" he said. That's when he began thinking about inventing a device that could harness renewable electricity in a public space without outlets. "It's so practical that you can see it," he said.
> 
> Over the next week, Mr. Mitchell researched how campers rig up makeshift cellphone chargers far from civilization. Then he ordered individual parts from Amazon.com and built his own prototype.
> 
> Invention in hand, he returned to Zuccotti Park and offered the services of his new device. He said it was an instant hit. While cellphone charging stations had been popping up in bars and airports, they usually charge a fee. And most stations require the user to bring a charger that is then plugged into the grid, which is largely powered by burning fossil fuels.
> 
> Mr. Mitchell's station can charge phones at no cost to the user or the environment; in his view, it's a kind of solar holy grail. He's banking on the odds that event planners or park officials will pay to buy or lease his machines.


----------



## eggplant43

> Dan and his wife took a vacation in Hawaii, and rented a car for their use while visiting. Only the car that they rented was in pretty rough shape on the outside. They took it, but carefully documented all of the pre-existing damage. This was handy, since Budget proceeded to try to make Dan and Mrs. Dan accountable for the damage that they had done to the car during their supposed accident. When Dan mentioned having extensive photos and even a video of the car's condition when he picked it up, Budget coincidentally turned up his original paperwork documenting the damage right away. Whew!


http://consumerist.com/2012/06/this-is-why-you-should-photograph-your-rental-car.html


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> An Idea Charged Up in Zuccotti Park


:up:


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://consumerist.com/2012/06/this-is-why-you-should-photograph-your-rental-car.html


:up:


----------



## eggplant43

> Streaming music sites are a dime-a-dozen, but internet radio servicesthe kind where you press play, sit back, and enjoy music that you know you'll love and only interact if you hear something you don'tare a rarer breed. Sometimes you're in the mood to just listen to music, not be a DJ. This week we're going to take a look at five of the best internet radio services, based on your nominations.


http://lifehacker.com/5917063/five-best-internet-radio-services


----------



## eggplant43

> Want to live a healthy life and reach 100 years of age or beyond? If so, you may want to follow some of these anti-aging tips?


http://www.mnn.com/lifestyle/natura...-tips-to-help-you-make-it-to-the-century-mark


----------



## ekim68

Hmm.....I only follow about half on the list....I wonder if that will get me to ninety....


----------



## eggplant43

ekim68 said:


> Hmm.....I only follow about half on the list....I wonder if that will get me to ninety....


If you floss!


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://www.mnn.com/lifestyle/natura...-tips-to-help-you-make-it-to-the-century-mark


I'm in trouble.


----------



## eggplant43

> Everyone's ditching cable these days, and if you're ready to cut the cord, you'll probably want a solid antenna for getting your local stations. Our friends at the Wirecutter have done quite a bit of research, and landed on the powerful ClearStream2 as the best choice.


http://lifehacker.com/5918229/the-c...erful-as-they-come-makes-cutting-cable-a-snap


----------



## hewee

eggplant43 said:


> http://lifehacker.com/5918229/the-c...erful-as-they-come-makes-cutting-cable-a-snap


Thanks Bruce.


----------



## ekim68

Wearable device generates electricity from walking knee movements



> If you've ever worn a knee brace, then you may have noticed what a large change in angle your knee goes through with every step you take, and how quickly it does so. A team of scientists from the U.K.'s Cranfield University, University of Liverpool and University of Salford certainly noticed, and decided that all that movement should be put to use. The result is a wearable piezoelectric device that converts knee movement into electricity, which could in turn be used to power gadgets such as heart rate monitors, pedometers and accelerometers.


----------



## eggplant43

> Just in time for cucumber season, some news that surprises me. Did you know that you should store cucumbers at room temperature?


http://www.rootsimple.com/2012/06/dont-store-your-cucumbers-in-fridge.html


----------



## ekim68

Thanks for that... :up:


----------



## eggplant43

> Between LinkedIn, Zappos, Dreamhost, and other prominent sites recently hacked, you've likely been thinking about your online security lately. But what does it actually mean when one of these sites get hacked, and how can you protect yourself? Here's how your passwords are stored on the internet, and what it means for you when a web site you used is breached.


http://lifehacker.com/5919918/how-y...and-when-your-password-strength-doesnt-matter


----------



## ekim68

If you're using Firefox, type, about:robots, in the address bar......


----------



## ekim68

Vending machine offers tea for tweets



> Launched by South African soft drinks company BOS Ice Tea, the vending machine is called Bev.
> 
> To receive a free sample of BOS Ice Tea, users need to tweet a certain hashtag, the # symbol commonly used on micro-blogging service Twitter to identify topics.
> 
> The drink is made from Rooibos, a local plant used to make traditional tea.
> 
> To make the machine respond to tweets, its developers configured a specific hashtag as a filter.
> 
> When the hashtag appears on Twitter, the vending machine checks it and - if correct - gives out a drink.


----------



## eggplant43

> Iced coffee -- the cooler and more refreshing relative of your morning cup of joe -- is a blessing come summertime. Not only does it provide you with your much needed caffeine fix, but it cools you down during those unbearably hot months. While it sounds deceptively simple to make (just pour coffee over ice, right?), there is an art that's worth perfecting when it comes to making iced coffee; you wouldn't want to suffer three months of not-so-good coffee just because it's served over ice.


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/19/how-to-make-iced-coffee_n_1605543.html


----------



## ekim68

Experts estimate that only 50% of the languages that are alive today will be spoken by the year 2100.


----------



## Wino

I expect rap and tweet speak will take over as major language in USA as the dumbing down continues.


----------



## valis

'idiocracy' was a LOT closer to the truth than anyone cared to admit, I believe......


----------



## eggplant43

> Keep Plants Watered for Days with Nothing But Paper Towels


http://lifehacker.com/5921718/keep-plants-watered-for-days-with-nothing-but-paper-towels


----------



## eggplant43

> Soak Fish in Milk for Odor-Free Cooking


http://lifehacker.com/5921337/soak-fish-in-milk-for-odor+free-cooking-and-eating


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://lifehacker.com/5921337/soak-fish-in-milk-for-odor+free-cooking-and-eating


When I bake fish, I use milk and butter. It works and tastes good.


----------



## ekim68

Well I happen to like the odor of Fish....:up: But I have to cook it outside because my Wife doesn't like the odor of Fish..


----------



## ekim68

US Navy's high-resolution radar can see individual raindrops in a storm



> The US Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) researchers said recently that a Navy very high-resolution Doppler radar can actually spot individual raindrops in a cloudburst, possibly paving the way for new weather monitoring applications that could better track or monitor weather and severe storms.


----------



## ekim68

Unusual Bridges For Animals - Wildlife Overpasses



> Wildlife overpasses, green bridges, and ecoducts all refer to structures that have been built over roads to allow wildlife to cross safely to the other side of the road. The bridges are for the animals; the animals walk over the road, and the vehicles go through the structure. Most of the structures are between 10 m (30 ft) and 60 m (180 ft) wide. They typically have soil, litter, and vegetation on top to provide suitable habitat for a range of different species and species groups. The larger structures are typically intended for large mammals ranging from ungulates (e.g. deer, elk, moose) to large carnivores (e.g. black bear, grizzly bear, Canada lynx, wolverine, wolf).


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Unusual Bridges For Animals - Wildlife Overpasses


:up:


----------



## hewee

Now I like that.


----------



## Knotbored

I live in a forested area and deer and elk sitings ( and acidents) are common.
I overheard a tourist complaining to a clerk that " animals are worse then teenagers and don't stay within thee deer crossing signs"


----------



## poochee

Knotbored said:


> I live in a forested area and deer and elk sitings ( and acidents) are common.
> I overheard a tourist complaining to a clerk that " *animals are worse then teenagers and don't stay within thee deer crossing signs"*


----------



## eggplant43

> Should I Change My Password? Tells You If Your Email Has Been Hacked, Notifies You When More Hacks Happen


http://lifehacker.com/5925790/shoul...en-hacked-notifies-you-when-more-hacks-happen


----------



## eggplant43

> Friday Is a Personal Assistant that Learns All About You and Can Tell You Anything You Need to Remember


http://lifehacker.com/5927914/frida...-then-tells-you-anything-you-need-to-remember


----------



## ekim68

New sensor can detect buried explosives



> STORRS, Conn., Aug. 2 (UPI) -- A new chemical sensor to find landmines and buried explosives can signal their presence to the naked eye without complex instrumentation, U.S. scientists say.
> 
> Researchers at the University of Connecticut say the sensors, made of a nanofibrous film, can detect vapors from buried explosive devices with a chemical reaction visible when the film is exposed to handheld ultraviolet light.


----------



## eggplant43

> DIY Lemon Vinegar Ice Cubes for Cleaning Your Garbage Disposal


http://lifehacker.com/5931900/diy-lemon-vinegar-ice-cubes-for-cleaning-your-garbage-disposal


----------



## poochee

Lots of good ideas posted.


----------



## eggplant43

> A few years ago I decided to add up my grocery receipts for one whole month.
> 
> What I found was shocking. I was spending $1,200 a month for our (then) family of six, and I was grocery shopping nearly every day of the week.
> 
> What was worse (yup, it gets worse)even with all that shopping, we still ate out a few times a week.


http://www.learnvest.com/2012/08/how-i-saved-my-family-600-a-month-on-groceries/


----------



## eggplant43

> We've shown you how to use a sheet of paper to test the sharpness of your knives, but if you're no fan of slicing paper, Master Bladesmith Bob Kramer has a few other ways to make sure your blades are in good condition too. The next time you're prepping a dish that requires tomatoes or onions, pay attention to the way your knife cuts through itthey may be due for a good honing.


http://lifehacker.com/5931425/use-the-onion-test-to-make-sure-your-knives-are-good-and-sharp


----------



## eggplant43

> Protect Your Car Doors from Your Garage with a Pool Noodle


http://lifehacker.com/5931993/protect-your-car-doors-from-your-garage-with-a-pool-noodle


----------



## eggplant43

> Amazon's got a solution for customers worried their packages could be stolen from outside their doors.


http://www.newser.com/story/151606/to-thwart-thieves-amazon-turns-to-virtual-doormen.html


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://www.newser.com/story/151606/to-thwart-thieves-amazon-turns-to-virtual-doormen.html


----------



## ekim68

Sensor uses body's electrical signature to secure devices



> A group of researchers is proposing a sensor that would authenticate mobile and wearable computer systems by using their unique electrical properties of a person's body to recognize their identity.
> 
> In a paper being presented today at the USENIX Workshop on Health Security and Privacy, researchers from Dartmouth University Institute for Security, Technology, and Society defined this security sensor device, known as Amulet, as a "piece of jewelry, not unlike a watch, that would contain small electrodes to measure bioimpedance -- a measure of how the body's tissues oppose a tiny applied alternating current- and learns how a person's body uniquely responds to alternating current of different frequencies." The device uses a recognition algorithm to determine whether the person matches the measured bioimpedance.


----------



## eggplant43

> While plenty of tools exist to help you find the cheapest flights possible, sometimes it's all about timing. The Wall Street Journal suggests that if you're booking airline tickets, the best time to do so is either at the end of August and beginning of September, or at the end of December and early January.


http://lifehacker.com/5932430/purch...d-of-augustearly-september-for-the-best-deals


----------



## KirillBerd

eggplant43 said:


> If Hewee's idea doesn't work, then what you're dealing with is one or two things. Soap film, which requires a cleaner/degreaser to remove it, and hard water film, which requires an acid to dissolve it. Once you have it clean spraying it for daily maintenance should mean you'll never have to do it again.
> 
> That's what I do.


I agree with you 100 percent.


----------



## eggplant43

> Last week, the FCC ruled that Verizon Wireless can't keep its customers from downloading tethering apps, or apps that let you share your phone's internet connection like a hotspot with other devices. It's great news, but does it actually affect you, even if you're not a Verizon Wireless customer? Let's take a look.


http://lifehacker.com/5933152/the-r...rce=lifehacker_facebook&utm_medium=socialflow


----------



## hewee

KirillBerd said:


> I agree with you 100 percent.


I found to clean pots of hardwater the best thing is "Bar Keepers Friend".
http://www.barkeepersfriend.com/

http://www.barkeepersfriend.com/using-bar-keepers-friend

Works on stains etc. also.

best thing I ever used


----------



## ekim68

Nagasaki mayor urges end of nuclear arms



> NAGASAKI, Japan, Aug. 10 (UPI) -- Nagasaki, Japan, Mayor Tomihisa Taue called for the end of nuclear weapons during a ceremony on the 67th anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombing of the city.


:up:


----------



## eggplant43

> How Much Sleep Do You Really Need to Work Productively?


http://lifehacker.com/5933568/how-much-sleep-do-you-really-need-to-work-productively


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://lifehacker.com/5933568/how-much-sleep-do-you-really-need-to-work-productively


I used to worry about not sleeping hours until I read an article by a doctor that said resting makes up for it. I need 5 hours straight and I am ready to go.


----------



## ekim68

A New Energy Source: Major Advance Made in Generating Electricity from Wastewater



> ScienceDaily (Aug. 13, 2012) - Engineers at Oregon State University have made a breakthrough in the performance of microbial fuel cells that can produce electricity directly from wastewater, opening the door to a future in which waste treatment plants not only will power themselves, but will sell excess electricity.


----------



## eggplant43

> Are you being eaten alive by mosquitos? Is the itch driving you completely and utterly insane? Us too! So when we heard about this magic wand that supposedly takes the itch away, we had to call it in to make fun of it.
> 
> We, uh... we were wrong.


http://gizmodo.com/5935350/therapik...et-review-we-cant-believe-this-actually-works

_Looks like something out of China in the 60's, or 70's._


----------



## poochee

Interesting.


----------



## eggplant43

> If you're selling stuff on eBay, it can be hard to know how much it's worth. Redditor outfoxthefox notes that you can actually search eBay's completed listings, so you know how much similar items sold for.


http://lifehacker.com/5937100/searc...rce=lifehacker_facebook&utm_medium=socialflow


----------



## ekim68

Sea Chair Project harvests plastic from the oceans to create furniture



> You may have heard about the huge floating islands of garbage swirling around in the middle of the Earth's oceans. Much of that waterlogged rubbish is made up of plastic and, like Electrolux with its concept vacuum cleaners, U.K.-based Studio Swine and Kieren Jones are looking to put that waste to good use. As part of an ambitious project, they've come up with a system to collect plastic debris and convert it into furniture.
> 
> The Sea Chair project hopes to create a win-win for the marine ecosystem and a fishing industry in crisis. Rather than collecting plastic that washes ashore or is snagged as by-catch in fishing nets, the team hopes to one day go where the trash is, collect and convert it to something useful while still at sea. Sea Chair envisions adapting fishing boats into floating chair factories that trawl for plastic and put it into production on-board.


----------



## Wino

ekim68 said:


> Sea Chair Project harvests plastic from the oceans to create furniture


I did business with the following link for years (sold them equipment & components). Quite an operation. They have an almost endless source of cedar fiber wood waste that has been steamed for the cedar oils by several area companies and of course recycled plastics are running out every one's kazoo.

http://www.aertinc.com/history.htm

This process could easily be placed on an ocean going vessell to produce the same. Supply vessels could bring waste wood materials and return with finished product or raw extruded to be made into a finished product on shore, since this material can be treated (sawn, routed, nailed) just like real wood.


----------



## eggplant43

> If you need to inexpensively cover a bare concrete floor and have it look halfway decent you can use paper bag pieces, white glue, and polyurethane to give a finish that looks a lot like leather.


http://lifehacker.com/5937874/paper-bags-make-a-surprisingly-attractive-floor-finish

_I have not seen this as a floor covering, but as a wall covering, it was fantastic._


----------



## Wino

They still make paper bags??


----------



## eggplant43

Yes, if you beg.

You can also buy brown paper in a roll, crinkle it, and then flatten for a very nice effect.


----------



## Wino

Yes. I and others discussed this yesterday about lack of brown paper bags and rolls of Kraft wrapping paper was brought up.. I have mostly bare concrete floors after ripping out old carpet. The bare concrete doesn't bother me, but it always seems to bother my guest, who always want to know when I'm going to put down some tile, or paint or recarpet - the answer is never - ask my heirs what they are going to do cause I don't care.


----------



## hewee

Wino said:


> Yes. I and others discussed this yesterday about lack of brown paper bags and rolls of Kraft wrapping paper was brought up.. I have mostly bare concrete floors after ripping out old carpet. The bare concrete doesn't bother me, but it always seems to bother my guest, who always want to know when I'm going to put down some tile, or paint or recarpet - the answer is never - ask my heirs what they are going to do cause I don't care.


Paint the bare concrete and seal it or seal it first and then paint and seal it. Your home will be cooler because you have to cooling come up thru the ground and slab.


----------



## Wino

hewee said:


> Paint the bare concrete and seal it or seal it first and then paint and seal it. Your home will be cooler because you have to cooling come up thru the ground and slab.


Hiya , hewee,

Sounds like too much work for me. I'll let the future owners worry about it since I'm quite contented (kinda like California cows) with my bare concrete. Some of the concrete floor stains made during construct of house probably have some interesting stories behind them.


----------



## hewee

Wino said:


> Hiya , hewee,
> 
> Sounds like too much work for me. I'll let the future owners worry about it since I'm quite contented (kinda like California cows) with my bare concrete. Some of the concrete floor stains made during construct of house probably have some interesting stories behind them.


So where you moving off to? 
I have left my mark in many new homes as they are getting build but most no one will ever see unless they open the walls up or get under the tub or shower etc. Then they can find saying, name, date and funny drawings.


----------



## eggplant43

_I find that when I eat out, or eat packaged foods, I gain weight, and don't feel as well as I do when I cook wisely at home. Here's a guide that you can read, and if you find it useful, print out:_

http://www.ewg.org/goodfood/index.php


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> _I find that when I eat out, or eat packaged foods, I gain weight, and don't feel as well as I do when I cook wisely at home. Here's a guide that you can read, and if you find it useful, print out:_
> 
> http://www.ewg.org/goodfood/index.php


Thanks!


----------



## ekim68

Fruits of old: Chicago gears up for an urban heirloom fruit orchard 



> The last tweaks to the plan have been finalized by the city, and ground breaking will begin in early 2013. And when completed, what was once a derelict, potholed, and trash-strewn pie-shaped swath of land will transform into one of the first urban orchards dedicated to juicy fruits from long ago.
> 
> Along with 70 apple, peach, and cherry trees, as well as vine and shrub berries, Chicago's Logan Square orchard will be a public plaza with seating and walking paths, finally bringing some green space to a neighborhood once known for its lush boulevards.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Fruits of old: Chicago gears up for an urban heirloom fruit orchard


:up:

When I was a kid in Chicago, one of my aunt's rented a plot of land and raised a garden! I used to go with her when she worked it. We went by street car to get there.


----------



## eggplant43

> Hidden behind Google's search box are a slew of shortcuts leading to so-called "OneBox" results that provide awesome tools and display helpful information quickly and directly. You might think you know them all, but a few are more hidden than others.


http://lifehacker.com/5940946/20-google-search-shortcuts-to-hone-your-google+fu


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://lifehacker.com/5940946/20-google-search-shortcuts-to-hone-your-google+fu


:up:


----------



## eggplant43

> We've previously mentioned a few ways to naturally get rid of ants, but I recently found out that the majority of your pantry is suitable for warding off the pests. On top of the more common solutions of mint and bay leaves, it turns out you can use a variety of other spices and extracts as well.


http://lifehacker.com/5940605/keep-the-ants-away-with-spices-and-extracts-you-already-have


----------



## ekim68

eggplant43 said:


> http://lifehacker.com/5940946/20-google-search-shortcuts-to-hone-your-google+fu


Played around with this today and I was impressed....Well done Google....:up:


----------



## eggplant43

> Want to cut back on grass-cutting costs and go green at the same time? Buy a few sheep and goats to chomp on your lawn. That's been the solution in one Vermont town that wanted to save money without letting its cemeteries become overgrown with grass and weeds, NPR reports. The chair of the Cemetery Commission in Charlotte, Vermont, figures the town is saving at least $2,000 annually on fuel costs.


http://www.newser.com/story/154554/town-buys-livestock-to-go-green-save-dough.html


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://www.newser.com/story/154554/town-buys-livestock-to-go-green-save-dough.html


Good idea!


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Played around with this today and I was impressed....Well done Google....:up:


Google is the greatest!


----------



## eggplant43

> Facebook has started working with a data mining service to pair together your email address and other information stored on Facebook with advertising products to see what (and if) you're clicking on ads. Privacy advocates aren't too fond of this, but thankfully you can keep it from happening.
> 
> We've known that Facebook is already tracking your every move online, but the data Facebook is using now isn't just about browser cookies. Facebook is pairing what you buy offline with what you see online.


http://lifehacker.com/5946030/how-t...empts-to-track-everything-you-do-even-offline


----------



## ekim68

Self-inflating tire tech saves you at the pump



> When was the last time you checked your tire pressure? If you're scratching your head, you might want to put a set of Goodyear's new self-inflating tires on your ride.


----------



## eggplant43

> If you rent a steam or hot water extraction carpet cleaner you may be tempted to buy the expensive branded cleaning solutions offered by the rental company but white vinegar also works quite well and for a fraction of the cost.


http://lifehacker.com/5947670/save-money-by-using-vinegar-in-rental-carpet-cleaners

_I have expertise in this area. While this method would work in the situation described, and lightly soiled carpets, it is not suitable for all soiled carpet situations, especially those involving oils, and greases. It will never hurt the machine used, as most cleaners are alkaline, and can leave a residue in the machine akin to what forms in coffee makers, whereas the vinegar will clean this build-up out. This is an excellent rinse, if you are cleaning more than once on the same carpet, which I'd generally recommend._


----------



## eggplant43

I buy my dish soap in bulk, and use a pump dispenser, which recently broke. One of the problems with it, is that it would develop a crust at the end, and then pump sloppily, if I didn't remember to remove the soap plug, periodically. So I went shopping for a new pump, but saw a syrup dispenser, and decided to try it out, instead.









It has been a happy choice.


----------



## poochee

Good idea!


----------



## ekim68

Hitachi Airport boarding gate with built-in explosives detector can detect presence of explosives within seconds 



> Hitachi in collaboration with Nippon Signal and the University of Yamanashi, have successfully prototyped a boarding gate with built-in explosives detection equipment as part of efforts to increase safety in public facilities such as airports. The prototype boarding gate efficiently collects minute particles which have affixed themselves to IC cards or portable devices used as boarding passes, and can detect within 1-2 seconds the presence of explosive compounds using internalized equipment. With this method, it is possible to inspect 1,200 passengers per hour.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Hitachi Airport boarding gate with built-in explosives detector can detect presence of explosives within seconds


:up:


----------



## eggplant43

> We've all been there: You're sitting at home, watching The Matrix, and the dialogue is so quiet that you turn up the volume to hear it, when BAM! An action scene comes in, shakes your floor and wakes up all your neighbors. Sound Lock is a simple app for Windows that will save you from these embarrassing moments.


http://lifehacker.com/5951284/how-to-fix-movies-that-are-really-quiet-then-really-loudredux


----------



## ekim68

Electric pants aim to stop bedsores



> Underwear designed to jolt the buttocks with electricity may be able to prevent dangerous open wounds called pressure sores, claim researchers.


----------



## eggplant43

ekim68 said:


> Electric pants aim to stop bedsores


Don't knock it until you've tried it.


----------



## ekim68

eggplant43 said:


> Don't knock it until you've tried it.


Hmm, sounds like a Christmas Gift....


----------



## Davec

Those were originally developed to give electroshock therapy to attorneys.


----------



## poochee

Davec said:


> Those were originally developed to give electroshock therapy to attorneys.


----------



## ekim68

Cancer-Detecting Smart Bra Could Soon Surpass Mammograms in Accuracy



> Jokingly, we expect our bras to work miracles, but soon they may actually do just that - save you from breast cancer. Reno-based First Warning Systems is working on a new bra that could detect if you are developing breast cancer. Integrated sensors and a data controller regularly monitor your breasts and can watch for irregularities which may signal the growth of tumors. Tests so far are showing that the bra is far superior and may be able to detect cancerous growth up to 6 years sooner than self-exams or mammograms.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Cancer-Detecting Smart Bra Could Soon Surpass Mammograms in Accuracy


:up:


----------



## eggplant43

http://www.mountainwest.aaa.com/aut...235947&tid=591229928&med=email&grp=&zip=82443


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://www.mountainwest.aaa.com/aut...235947&tid=591229928&med=email&grp=&zip=82443


Good information.


----------



## ekim68

New HAL Exoskeleton: Brain-Controlled Full Body Suit to Be Used In Fukushima Cleanup



> Japanese company Cyberdyne announced today an improved version of HAL (Hybrid Assistive Limb), the exoskeleton which we wrote about almost two years ago, when a tech journalist took a few steps at CES 2011 wearing the brain-controlled cyber-trousers.
> 
> The latest version of HAL has remained brain-controlled but evolved to a full body robot suit that protects against heavy radiation without feeling the weight of the suit. Eventually it could be used by workers dismantling the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant.


----------



## eggplant43

> Most of us don't think about how long our baking powder has been in the pantrywe buy it, use it, and leave it until we need it again. Unfortunately, baking powder has a shelf life, and if it's too old, it can ruin the dish or recipe you're making. Here's how to check if it's still good.


http://lifehacker.com/5952794/test-your-baking-powder-before-use-to-avoid-flat-busted-baked-goods


----------



## eggplant43

> It's getting on in the season, and before you know it the news will be full of horror stories of people setting their homes aflame because they didn't do it safely. Thankfully, the New York Times' Sam Sifton and the folks at Bon Appetit magazine are ahead of the season, and have a simple guide to doing it the right way without setting letting it get out of control.


http://lifehacker.com/5952692/the-right-way-to-deep-fry-a-turkey


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://lifehacker.com/5952692/the-right-way-to-deep-fry-a-turkey


:up:


----------



## ekim68

Netherlands highways will glow in the dark from mid-2013



> A smart road design that features glow in the dark tarmac and illuminated weather indicators will be installed in the Netherlands from mid-2013.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Netherlands highways will glow in the dark from mid-2013


Interesting.


----------



## eggplant43

Repairing device screens:

http://boingboing.net/2012/10/31/an..._campaign=Feed:+boingboing/iBag+(Boing+Boing)


----------



## ekim68

Vanderbilt University steps into the exoskeleton market



> For people who are unable to walk under their own power, exoskeletons offer what is perhaps the next-best thing. Essentially "wearable robots," the devices not only let their users stand, but they also move their legs for them, allowing them to walk. While groups such as Berkeley Bionics, NASA, Rex Bionics, and ReWalk are all working on systems, Nashville's Vanderbilt University has just announced the development of its own exoskeleton. It is claimed to offer some important advantages over its competitors.
> 
> The Vanderbilt device attaches to the user's torso, legs and feet. Computer-controlled electric motors in its hip and knee joints are activated by the wearer, bending their legs for them and moving them forward. As with other exoskeletons for the physically-challenged, the wearer still needs to use crutches or a walker in order to keep their balance.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Vanderbilt University steps into the exoskeleton market


----------



## ekim68

Perpetual motion: A piezoelectric pacemaker that is powered by your heartbeat



> It sounds like the theoretical impossibility of perpetual motion, but engineers at the University of Michigan have created a pacemaker that is powered by the beating of your heart - no batteries required.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Perpetual motion: A piezoelectric pacemaker that is powered by your heartbeat


----------



## ekim68

Air-Powered Motorcycle Runs on Scuba Tank, Rotary Engine



> If you haven't already accepted that motorcycles running on something other than dead dino juice are the real deal, then you probably should come around. In many cases, they perform just as well as their fuel-burning brethren, and, depending on from where you get the electricity, they run cleanly. Now, they're getting even cleaner with the introduction of the air-powered bike.
> 
> The O2 Pursuit, a project from an engineering school graduate in Australia, runs off compressed air stored in an on-board tank. Dean Benstead's project began with a rotary air compression engine, around which he built a dirt bike. He started with a Yamaha WR250R frame, and added a scuba-diving tank and a 25-pound engine to power the rear wheel. Squeeze the throttle and air is released to accelerate the bike. And its stats are impressive. The O2 Pursuit gets 62 miles of travel on a full tank, and can hit a top speed of 87 mph.


----------



## ekim68

Soluble circuit boards to reduce e-waste



> LONDON, Nov. 7 (UPI) -- British researchers say they're working on developing water-soluble circuit boards that could significantly improve e-waste recycling.
> 
> Britain's National Physics Laboratory, working with companies In2Tec and Gwent Electronic Materials, say the new printable electronics circuit board will dissolve when placed in hot water.
> 
> The circuit boards are made of polymeric layers that can withstand prolonged thermal cycling and damp heat stressing during normal use in electronic devices, but can easily be separated into their constituent parts after immersion in hot water, TG Daily reported Wednesday.


----------



## eggplant43

> Did you know that one third of the heat your house produces through your central heating system is rapidly lost? There are five main areas that heat is lost and these include the roof, walls, floors, windows and ceilings.
> 
> But you can save your pennies and preserve the heat to make sure you stay toasty and warm over the approaching chilly months; and you can do this by eliminating the loss with some simple measures.


http://cleantechnica.com/2012/11/08...mpaign=Feed:+IM-cleantechnica+(CleanTechnica)


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://cleantechnica.com/2012/11/08...mpaign=Feed:+IM-cleantechnica+(CleanTechnica)


Good ideas!


----------



## ekim68

'Talking' glove helps stroke victims 



> SHEFFIELD, England, Nov. 19 (UPI) -- A 73-year-old U.K. stroke victim unable to talk for two years is "speaking" again with a "talking" glove that translates gestures into words, researchers say.
> 
> Bill Broad of Sheffield, who suffered a stroke in 2010 that left him unable to communicate with his family, wears a leather glove equipped with sensors on his left hand that can monitor his hand movements and convert them into a synthesized voice, The Daily Telegraph reported Monday.


----------



## eggplant43

Wow, that's wonderful.

If you've ever known someone who has suffered a stroke that has affected their speech center, you'll know how significant this is.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> 'Talking' glove helps stroke victims


:up:


----------



## ekim68

Water Bottle Harvests Water From Air



> A company called NBD Nano is implementing this technology originally found only in nature into water bottles, with the hope that they'll continually fill themselves while you're on the go. In an interview with Public Radio International, we learn that the conceptual self-filling bottle can operate using a rechargeable battery or solar cell to speed-up accumulation and filter the water.
> 
> NBD Nano co-founder Deckard Sorensen wants this green technology available in all walks of life; installing it on people, cars, homes and anything else you can imagine. Sorensen believes that in a climate with 75% humidity, his device can harvest "three liters per square meter per hour".


----------



## ekim68

A Step Toward a Universal Cancer Blood Test



> People usually find out that they have cancer after developing symptoms or through a screening test such as a mammogram-signs that may appear only after the cancer has grown or spread so much that it can't be cured. But what if you could find out from a simple, highly accurate blood test that you had an incipient tumor? By sequencing the abnormal DNA that a tumor releases into a person's bloodstream, researchers are now one step closer to a universal cancer test. Although the technique is now only sensitive enough to detect advanced cancers, that may be a matter of money: As sequencing costs decrease, the developers of the method say, the test could eventually pick up early tumors as well.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> A Step Toward a Universal Cancer Blood Test


:up:


----------



## eggplant43

> If you've ever taken your clothes out of the drier only to find out they're still a little (or a lot) wet, you're not alone. Nevertheless, two simple changes to the way you do your laundry can avoid this problem.


http://lifehacker.com/5964191/make-sure-your-dryer-actually-dries-your-laundry


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://lifehacker.com/5964191/make-sure-your-dryer-actually-dries-your-laundry


:up:


----------



## eggplant43

http://www.mnn.com/health/healthy-spaces/stories/best-air-filtering-houseplants-according-to-nasa


----------



## gordon russell

Food money saving and waste reduction ideas:
under 'Any Recipe type' there is 'Cook once, eat twice' 'Timesavers' Rescue recipes' and more :

http://england.lovefoodhatewaste.com/


----------



## ekim68

Thanks for the link...:up:


----------



## ekim68

Tool use by an African grey parrot



> Proving that robots aren't just for people any longer, African grey parrot, Pepper, has learned to drive a robot that was specially designed for him. Pepper, whose wing feathers are clipped to preventing him from flying around his humans' house and destroying their things, now manipulates the joystick on his riding robot to guide it to where ever he wishes to go.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Tool use by an African grey parrot


----------



## gordon russell

Bringing Light to the poor



> We will gift them to villagers in both Africa and India to use regularly.


----------



## poochee

gordon russell said:


> Bringing Light to the poor


----------



## ekim68

Wow, what a great idea....:up:


----------



## eggplant43

What a wonderful idea, and here's a link if you wish to contribute:

www.indiegogo.com/projects/282006/x/1848870


----------



## ekim68

Water-Activated Seat-Belt Release Could Prevent Drowning Deaths



> Unfortunately, around 400 U.S. motorists die each year from drowning when their vehicle plunges into water. To help eliminate the chances of being restrained in a submerged car, a new seat belt mechanism has been designed to make sure that occupants can extract themselves quickly and safely when underwater.
> 
> The Escape Belt looks like the traditional female latch that plugs into a car's buckle. When water hits the interior, a salt pill inside the latch dissolves, causing a hammer to release the male section of the belt to free the occupant. It's the same technology used by airlines in self-inflating life jackets, and while you'll still need to open the door, popping the seat belt won't be an issue.


----------



## eggplant43

> If you're looking to save some money on your holiday travel arrangements, we definitely suggest shopping around and doing your homework, but the folks at The Simple Dollar have another suggestion: pick up the phone and call the hotel manager where you want to stay. Often they have the power to authorize discount rates.


http://lifehacker.com/5968099/call-local-hotels-directly-and-negotiate-room-rates-for-lower-prices


----------



## eggplant43

> Many holiday foods can be particularly troublesome if they happen to land on your clothes or tablecloth. PartSelect offers this holiday stain removal guide covering everything from gravy to sticky candy canes so your feasting won't permanently stain your stuff.


http://lifehacker.com/5968505/the-h...d-of-gravy-turkey-fat-eggnog-and-other-stains


----------



## eggplant43

> In a world where computers are increasingly powerful and are concealed within ever more glossy slabs of aluminum, the Raspberry Pi (RPi) offers surprising proof for the virtue of moderation.


http://www.cnn.com/2012/12/21/tech/innovation/raspberry-pi-computer-upton/


----------



## ekim68

I've had it on order for several months now...

Hello?


----------



## ekim68

Stanford University researchers create peel-and-stick solar cells



> Traditionally, thin-film solar cells are made with rigid glass substrates, limiting their potential applications. Flexible versions do exist, although they require special production techniques and/or materials. Now, however, scientists from Stanford University have created thin, flexible solar cells that are made from standard materials - and they can applied to just about any surface, like a sticker.


----------



## eggplant43

> BetterWorldBooks isn't a new service by any means, but if you're doing a little decluttering for the new year, the service can help you donate old books and textbooks easily. They even send you a free shipping label to send them away to be resold on their site, where the proceeds go to schools, libraries, and literacy programs.


http://lifehacker.com/5971699/bette...rity-so-easy-you-dont-have-to-leave-the-house


----------



## eggplant43

> Chrome/Firefox/Safari/IE: We've always loved coupon sites like RetailMeNot for finding discounts at a moment's notice, but Coupon Follow decided to take it a step further by integrating their coupon data into the checkout process. Their extension, Coupons at Checkout, suggests available discounts and promo codes on available online store pages so you don't even have to look them up.


http://lifehacker.com/5972541/coupo...rce=lifehacker_facebook&utm_medium=socialflow


----------



## ekim68

Why Can't We Have Glow-in-the-Dark Highways Like the Netherlands?



> Wired UK reported in October that the Dutch design firm Studio Roosegaarde and infrastructure management group Heijmans have come up with a "smart highway" concept that will replace standard road markings with photoluminescent powder that charges in the daylight and glows through the night. When the temperature drops below freezing, the road will automatically light up with snowflake indicators to warn drivers of possible ice, sort of like the Coors beer cans that turn blue when they're extra cold.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Why Can't We Have Glow-in-the-Dark Highways Like the Netherlands?


----------



## eggplant43

What a phenomenal idea!


----------



## eggplant43

> Heres an easy way to determine what should, and shouldnt, be on a universal remote: If a toddler can, within minutes of picking it up, change the language to French, completely screw up the color balance and program the TV to shut off every 30 minutes, the remote has too many buttons.


http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2013...mpaign=Feed:+wired/index+(Wired:+Top+Stories)


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2013...mpaign=Feed:+wired/index+(Wired:+Top+Stories)


:up:


----------



## eggplant43

> In an effort to bring fresh water to rural Kenyans, School of International Affairs (SIA) students Kory Hansen and Jin Ju Kim participated in Penn State's Humanitarian Engineering and Social Entrepreneurship (HESE) program to develop a ceramic water filtration system for parts of the sub Saharan African nation.
> 
> Every year, 3.4 million people die from lack of access to fresh water globally. In East Africa, daily routines include women venturing miles to secure fresh water, and bearing the heavy weight of water containers to secure less-than-desirable water.


http://phys.org/news/2013-01-students-low-cost-filtering-african-nation.html


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://phys.org/news/2013-01-students-low-cost-filtering-african-nation.html


:up:


----------



## ekim68

Finding Signs Of Life With Ion Mobility Spectrometry



> The researchers compared the gas chromatography and ion mobility data to those in a database and identified 12 chemicals, including acetone and benzaldehyde, known to be present in human breath. The concentration of these chemicals was higher in the box than in an air sample taken outside the laboratory. The researchers concluded that searching for high levels of these 12 chemicals could help rescue workers find evidence of a living person in a hidden space.


----------



## eggplant43

> If you're getting your own business cards printed and you don't have a ton of money or access to professional printers, there are great online services willing to help you out. Most of them offer high quality cards, great selection of size, card stock, and designs, and fast delivery. Last week we asked you which sites you thought were the best, and then we took a look at the five best business card printing sites based on your nominations. Now we're back to crown the winner.


http://lifehacker.com/5974070/most-popular-business-card-printing-site-moo


----------



## eggplant43

> Whether youre giving a gift or you just purchased something nice for yourself, the new item is bound to have a price tag on it. And that means youll be spending time trying to scratch off the residual adhesive that can ruin the look of glasses and other household items. Luckily Dumb Little Man found a great way to remove sticky price tags


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/...butter_n_2415955.html?utm_hp_ref=food&ir=Food


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/...butter_n_2415955.html?utm_hp_ref=food&ir=Food


:up:


----------



## ekim68

Lung infection identified using 'breath-print'



> Identifying the "smell" of different types of lung bacteria could lead to a simple breath test to diagnose infections, a study on mice, in the Journal of Breath Research, suggests.
> 
> Breath analysis could reduce lung infection diagnosis times from weeks to minutes, the Vermont researchers said.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Lung infection identified using 'breath-print'


----------



## eggplant43

> Zippers haven't changed much since they were first invented, and neither have the problems we all have with them. From stuck zippers to teeth that just won't clinch, here's how to fix all the problems you'll run into with anything that zips.


http://lifehacker.com/5975700/how-to-fix-every-common-zipper-problem


----------



## ekim68

New Nanoscale Coating Won't Get Wet; Repels Most Liquids



> Jan. 16, 2013 - A nanoscale coating that's at least 95 percent air repels the broadest range of liquids of any material in its class, causing them to bounce off the treated surface, according to the University of Michigan engineering researchers who developed it.
> 
> In addition to super stain-resistant clothes, the coating could lead to breathable garments to protect soldiers and scientists from chemicals, and advanced waterproof paints that dramatically reduce drag on ships.


----------



## eggplant43

This is a big deal.


----------



## ekim68

Scientists hail 'potential cure for AIDS'



> Scientists from the Queensland Institute of Medical Research say they have made a breakthrough that could lead to a potential cure for AIDS.
> 
> Associate Professor David Harrich says they have discovered how to modify a protein in HIV so that, instead of replicating, it protects against the infection.
> 
> "I consider that this is fighting fire with fire," he said.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Scientists hail 'potential cure for AIDS'


:up:


----------



## eggplant43

Wow, if true, this is huge.


----------



## ekim68

A new world record for solar cell efficiency



> In a remarkable feat, scientists at Empa, the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, have developed thin film solar cells on flexible polymer foils with a new record efficiency of 20.4% for converting sunlight into electricity. The cells are based on CIGS semiconducting material (copper indium gallium (di)selenide) known for its potential to provide cost-effective solar electricity. The technology is currently awaiting scale-up for industrial applications.


----------



## gordon russell

> This Solar-Powered Airship Could Bring Doctors to the World's Poorest People


http://www.indiegogo.com/solarship

http://motherboard.vice.com/read/this-solar-powered-airship-delivers-medicine-where-nothing-else-can


----------



## eggplant43

> If You Could Only Give One Piece Of Health Advice, What Would It Be?


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/...thy-living&utm_content=Title#slide=more274316


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/...thy-living&utm_content=Title#slide=more274316


:up:


----------



## eggplant43

> SeatGuru has long been a great resource for pinpointing the best seats on an airplane. The site has recently introduced a flight search tool, so you can plan your trip and take a look a the plane seat maps all in one place.


http://lifehacker.com/5978271/seatg...rches-tells-you-if-youll-love-a-flight-or-not

Take a look:

http://www.seatguru.com/


----------



## ekim68

Silicon nanoparticles could lead to on-demand hydrogen generation



> Researchers at the University of Buffalo have created spherical silicon nanoparticles they claim could lead to hydrogen generation on demand becoming a "just add water" affair. When the particles are combined with water, they rapidly form hydrogen and silicic acid, a nontoxic byproduct, in a reaction that requires no light, heat or electricity. In experiments, the hydrogen produced was shown to be relatively pure by successfully being used to power a small fan via a small fuel cell.


----------



## eggplant43

I've always liked the idea of Hydrogen power.


----------



## eggplant43

> If you have a spare crockpot and immersion blender, you have just about everything you need to make your own homemade soap. The simple project takes just an hour and you can customize your bar soap with any essential oils or fragrances if you so desire.


http://lifehacker.com/5978995/make-soap-in-a-crockpot


----------



## ekim68

Illegally logged trees to start calling for help



> Illegal loggers beware: trees will soon be calling-literally-for backup. The Brazilian government has begun fixing trees with a wireless device, known as Invisible Tracck, which will allow trees to contact authorities after being felled and moved.
> 
> Here's how it works: Brazilian authorities fix the Invisible Tracck-smaller than a deck of cards-onto a tree. An illegal logger cuts down the tree and puts it onto a truck for removal, unaware that they are carrying a tracking device. Once Invisible Tracck comes within 20 miles (32 kilometers) of a cellular network it will 'wake up' and send a signal to Instituto Brasileiro do Meio Ambiente (IBAMA), who will then be able to track the moving tree to the mill and arrest the criminals at will.


----------



## eggplant43

> There are blocked drains that can be quickly fixed with a plunger or some Drano, and then there are drains that block up again and again, no matter what you do. These drains, too, can be unclogged and fixed for good, and there's a good chance you can do it yourself. The DIY experts at Q&A network Stack Exchange offer answers on unblocking chronically clogged plumbing.


http://lifehacker.com/5980913/what-can-you-do-about-drains-that-constantly-clog


----------



## eggplant43

> Sometimes you just need to take a vacation, and where you go isn't especially important. Nowcation is a site that shows you all the cheap flights departing from your city within the next few weeks so you can score a deal and get out of town quickly.


http://lifehacker.com/5981405/nowcation-shows-you-cheap-flights-departing-within-a-month


----------



## eggplant43

!

http://thinkprogress.org/climate/20...tensive-tar-sands-industry-to-grow-unimpeded/

A discussion of the lynchpin of the Keystone XL Pipeline.


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> A discussion of the lynchpin of the Keystone XL Pipeline.


Informative!


----------



## ekim68

Turn on, plug in, drop out: An electric car manifesto 



> First, electric driving is dirt cheap. Electricity is about five times cheaper [PDF] than gasoline. Skeptical? Let's compare. How much do you spend on fuel to drive 10,000 miles? For a gasoline car, you'll typically need about 400 gallons, which costs around $1,500. For an electric car, you'll need about 2,600 kilowatt-hours of juice, which costs around $300. Of course, your results may vary.


----------



## gordon russell

Planet techguy !! 

http://internet-map.net/#8-172.61523118700975-78.03270433093721


----------



## poochee

gordon russell said:


> Planet techguy !!
> 
> http://internet-map.net/#8-172.61523118700975-78.03270433093721


----------



## eggplant43

> Block Telemarketers and Robocalls for Good with the Raspberry Pi-Powered Banana Phone


http://lifehacker.com/5981063/block...od-with-the-raspberry-pi+powered-banana-phone


----------



## eggplant43

> Until Kayak Explore debuted in 2011, rapidly comparing the prices of various trips was all but impossible. Since then it has -- thanks to the app's questionable functionality -- been merely difficult. Now, Google has googlified the whole thing, making it possible for travelers to dynamically search for affordable airfares to a region, rather than playing an endless game of guess and check.
> 
> The problem with guess and check, or looking up fares to one destination then another, was and is that airfares are not governed by any sort logic transparent to those outside the airline industry. No one would guess that a flight from New York to Paris in February would cost basically the same as a flight to Tashkent. The whole thing is illogical. The joy of Google Flights' new regions feature, which allows potential bookers to see costs throughout regions, is that it gives travelers a chance to take advantage of airlines' illogic.


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/andre...time-wasters_b_2621447.html?utm_hp_ref=travel

_I just tried it out using the googlified hyper link, and like it. Although I really don't want to fly, if I need to, I'll use this option next time._


----------



## ekim68

Combining Synthetic, Natural Toxins Could Disarm Cancer, Drug-Resistant Bacteria



> Feb. 11, 2013 - Cancer researchers from Rice University suggest that a new human-made drug that's already proven effective at killing cancer and drug-resistant bacteria could best deliver its knockout blow when used in combination with drugs made from naturally occurring toxins.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Combining Synthetic, Natural Toxins Could Disarm Cancer, Drug-Resistant Bacteria


:up:


----------



## eggplant43

> Reducing body fat isn't a simple affair. We've written plenty of diet and exercise posts to help you get in better shape, good routines require quite a bit of planning. What's a simple way to start? Figure out exactly how many calories your burn each day and how many you have to burn to reach your goal.


http://lifehacker.com/5983496/use-simple-calorie-calculations-to-plan-your-weight-loss-goals


----------



## eggplant43

http://www.mnn.com/money/personal-finance/blogs/when-is-the-best-time-to-buy-everything-infographic


----------



## eggplant43

> Amazon's Lending Library is a great treat for Kindle-owning Prime members: You get nearly 300,000 books to read for free. Browsing the selection on a Kindle is easy enough, but Amazon doesn't offer a direct link to these titles on its site. To get to it, you need to jump through a little hoop.


http://lifehacker.com/5985336/heres...row-for-free-on-your-kindle-from-your-browser


----------



## ekim68

Bombardier to test electric buses that charge wirelessly



> Bombardier's electric transit technology will be tested next winter on buses in Montreal, followed in early 2014 on a route in the German city of Mannheim.
> 
> The transportation giant's Primove technology is designed to allow buses to be charged by underground induction stations when they stop to let passengers hop on and off.


----------



## valis

man oh man, wish I'd have thought of this.

http://blog.qr4.nl/QR-Code-WiFi.aspx


----------



## ekim68

New Coal Technology Harnesses Energy Without Burning, Nears Pilot-Scale Development 



> COLUMBUS, Ohio-A new form of clean coal technology reached an important milestone recently, with the successful operation of a research-scale combustion system at Ohio State University. The technology is now ready for testing at a larger scale.
> 
> For 203 continuous hours, the Ohio State combustion unit produced heat from coal while capturing 99 percent of the carbon dioxide produced in the reaction.


----------



## eggplant43

Wow, if affective, and practical, this could be huge.:up:


----------



## eggplant43

> Windows: If you find yourself regularly adjusting the volume on your computer, you'll want to normalize the sound volume. Although some apps (such as VLC) have normalization options and you can normalize the audio in your media collection with software and hardware solutions, Windows has a built-in setting that could also help.


http://lifehacker.com/5986236/norma...pc-with-windows-loudness-equalization-setting


----------



## eggplant43

_Why did I never think of this?_



> If you run out of counter space while cooking, you can quickly add a little space by taking a cutting board, pulling open a kitchen drawer, and putting the cutting board on top of the drawer. It's not perfect and it comes with some caveats, but if you're in a pinch and need somewhere to set down a bowl or plate while you grab something else, it gives you a little more space.


http://lifehacker.com/5986158/place...kitchen-drawer-to-instantly-add-counter-space


----------



## poochee

Lots of good ideas here!


----------



## gordon russell

Thanks for the volume equaliser AND the 'When is the best time to buy' *eggplant*
 
and * ekim* that coal burning clean technology could be huge.


----------



## ekim68

I agree gordon....I have faith in technology, both machine and human, and everything's getting better, energy wise...The new LED lights are even on a grand scale, reducing energy flow by 90 percent, and thereby energy costs. And think of the savings so everyone could buy more on Christmas... 

(As an aside, I've been in a number of good size cities and the amount of light emitted from every building everywhere makes me think that half of the money to maintain these buildings must be for Electricity..)


----------



## gordon russell

The Global Village Construction Set, maybe a good idea in the huge areas of the poor world where farming is vital to survival................ and maybe even in the richer world if things get really bad 

http://ted.com/talks/marcin_jakubowski.html


----------



## ekim68

gordon russell said:


> The Global Village Construction Set, maybe a good idea in the huge areas of the poor world where farming is vital to survival................ and maybe even in the richer world if things get really bad
> 
> http://ted.com/talks/marcin_jakubowski.html


Good Stuff....:up:


----------



## ekim68

Fujitsu makes 'smart walking stick' to help elderly



> A walking stick with built-in sat-nav has been developed by Japanese technology giant Fujitsu.
> 
> The Next Generation Cane is designed to help elderly people find their way, as well as monitor things such as heart rate and temperature.


----------



## ekim68

Amazon, Facebook, Google attempt to cure cancer with Big Data



> Amazon, Facebook and Google have all pitched in to help Cancer Research UK run a weekend hackathon, to see how mobile apps might help cure cancer through gamification of cell analysis.
> 
> The event runs over this weekend, and will see 40 of Silicon Roundabout's finest holed up in Google's East London Campus for a couple of days to come up with a way to help Cancer Research analyse the mountains of data it collects as part of the ongoing battle with cancer, ideally with a bit of gamification.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Amazon, Facebook, Google attempt to cure cancer with Big Data


:up:


----------



## eggplant43

> We all know that plastic mini blinds are magnets for filth, and they're nearly impossible to clean without kicking a ton of dust into the air. Next time you tidy up the house, try giving the blinds a bath.


http://lifehacker.com/5988014/clean-mini-blinds-in-your-bathtub-to-eradicate-dust

_I find it easier to leave them open, and extended. Then I spray them with Scrubbing Bubbles in the shower. Rinse. let them drip for awhile, then lay them on a bath sheet, then rehang._


----------



## poochee

*Consumer Topics *

Every day, we make important decisions about finances, health, privacy, technology and more.

NCPW.gov offers consumers a wealth of tips and information from federal and state government and non-profit partner organizations. You can download and print the materials and share them with friends and neighbors, or order materials from select partners if you're planning a larger event such as a conference or workshop.

Just look through the categories listed below for resources that will help you make your best choices.

http://www.ncpw.gov/consumer-topics?utm_source=030913&utm_medium=blog&utm_campaign=daily


----------



## ekim68

Plate tech-tonics: How smartphones can help stop food waste



> From farm to table, we waste an estimated 40 percent of all the food produced in this country. Meanwhile, 50 million people in the United States don't know where their next meal is coming from.
> 
> We all deserve some of the credit for this waste - from farmers to grocers to you and me letting our leftovers grow mold in the fridge. But now, a bunch of smart people are harnessing mobile technology to cut down on the amount of food that ends up in the dumpster - and get more of it to people in need.


----------



## eggplant43

> Your credit card provides over $1,000 of benefits you may not even know about. As a huge nerd, over the last few years I systematically tested each of these benefits to figure out what the best ones are.


http://lifehacker.com/5989659/how-to-get-up-to-1000-in-hidden-credit-card-benefits


----------



## eggplant43

> It's easy to fall in love with an item when you're out shopping and find a way to justify purchasing it, especially during tax refund season. But before making a rash purchase, try to think of at least five reasons reasons why you don't need to buy it.


http://lifehacker.com/5992034/befor...rchase-think-of-five-reasons-why-you-shouldnt


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://lifehacker.com/5992034/befor...rchase-think-of-five-reasons-why-you-shouldnt


:up:


----------



## ekim68

Solar Impulse Airplane to Launch First Sun-Powered Flight Across America!



> So far we've seen the Solar Impulse airplane soar over Paris, Switzerland, and Morocco - and now the aircraft is set to fly across the United States on the first sun-powered cross-America flight in history. The Solar Impulse just landed at Moffett Field in Mountain View, California, and we had a chance to check it out in person before it embarks on a journey that will take it from San Francisco to New York without using a single drop of fuel. Read on for a closer look at this amazing vehicle - and find out if it's coming soon to city near you!


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Solar Impulse Airplane to Launch First Sun-Powered Flight Across America!


Wow!


----------



## ekim68

poochee said:


> Wow!


Wow is right...:up: Key Words are 'Not One Drop of Fuel'.....:up:


----------



## ekim68

Nanoparticles formed using human viruses, to fight human viruses



> Biology and nanotechnology are moving ever closer together. Ars recently wrote about the use of nanoparticles to aid delivery of stem cells in cardiac therapy. Now, Swiss researchers have developed nanoparticles that can detect, and one day could combat, viruses.


----------



## gordon russell

" The planes average speed clocks in at 43 miles per hour, and it runs on about as much power as a tiny motor scooter."

http://inhabitat.com/solar-impulse-airplane-lands-in-california-to-launch-first-sun-powered-flight-across-america/

Fantastic * ekim* :up:

For all cyclists, this one's from * ekim*'s solar plane site:
http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/uon-lights

and could save lives if it gets mainstream.


----------



## eggplant43

> Ambient noise can do a lot to help boost your creativity. The Rainy Cafe Machine is a simple little site that plays both the bustle of a coffee shop and the soothing sound of gradually increasing rainfall.


http://lifehacker.com/5993513/rainy...mbient-noise-to-soothe-and-boost-productivity


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://lifehacker.com/5993513/rainy...mbient-noise-to-soothe-and-boost-productivity


----------



## ekim68

Phinergy's metal-air battery could eliminate EV range anxiety



> Israel-based company Phinergy claims to have developed metal-air battery technology that promises to end the range anxiety associated with electric vehicles. The company's battery currently consists of 50 aluminum plates, each providing energy for around 20 miles (32 km) of driving. This adds up to a total potential range of 1,000 miles (1,609 km), with stops required only every couple of hundred miles to refill the system with water.


----------



## eggplant43

> Scientists looking for new ways to combat bedbug infestations have found that Eastern European housewives hit on a pretty good strategy centuries ago. Researchers found that leaving kidney bean leaves near beds and burning them the next day, as was long done in Bulgaria and Serbia, is remarkably effective because of hooked hairs on the leaves that trap the bloodsuckers by impaling their feet, the BBC reports.


http://www.newser.com/story/165972/balkan-folk-remedy-beats-bedbugs.html


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://www.newser.com/story/165972/balkan-folk-remedy-beats-bedbugs.html


Interesting.


----------



## ekim68

A couple of articles on batteries and it's all just getting better....

Boffins build ant-sized battery, claim it's tough enough to start a car

And:

Microbatteries: 30 times smaller, 1000 times faster charging

:up:


----------



## gordon russell

Hope small is increasingly beautiful *ekim*.

 :up:

Who's up for a money-saving painless vaccination ?

http://www.geek.com/science/painless-micro-needle-vaccine-patch-set-for-human-trials-this-year-1552729/


----------



## ekim68

Wow, Good Stuff.......:up: Thanks gordon....:up:


----------



## ekim68

Group kicks off planting of ancient tree clones



> COPEMISH, Mich. (AP) - A team led by a nurseryman from northern Michigan and his sons has raced against time for two decades, snipping branches from some of the world's biggest and most durable trees with plans to produce clones that could restore ancient forests and help fight climate change.
> 
> Now comes the most ambitious phase of the quest: getting the new trees into the ground.
> 
> Ceremonial plantings of two dozen clones from California's mighty coastal redwoods were taking place Monday in seven nations: Australia, New Zealand, Great Britain, Ireland, Canada, Germany and the U.S.


----------



## eggplant43

What a great idea. :up:


----------



## ekim68

Bacteria churn out first ever petrol-like biofuel



> To be used as a mainstream alternative to fossil fuels - desirable because biofuels are carbon-neutral over their lifetime - engines would have to be redesigned, or an extra processing step employed to convert the fuel into a more usable form.
> 
> To try to bypass that, John Love from the University of Exeter in the UK and colleagues took genes from the camphor tree, soil bacteria and blue-green algae and spliced them into DNA from Escherichia coli bacteria. When the modified E. coli were fed glucose, the enzymes they produced converted the sugar into fatty acids and then turned these into hydrocarbons that were chemically and structurally identical to those found in commercial fuel.


----------



## ekim68

Rooftop Solar Seen Protecting U.S. Power Grid From Attack



> The U.S. power grid is vulnerable to terrorist attacks, and the growing use of rooftop solar panels will provide protection against lengthy blackouts, the chairman of the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission said.


:up:


----------



## ekim68

Grocery delivery service is greener than driving to the store



> At the end of a long day, it can be more convenient to order your groceries online while sitting on the living room couch instead of making a late-night run to the store. New research shows it's also much more environmentally friendly to leave the car parked and opt for groceries delivered to your doorstep.
> 
> University of Washington engineers have found that using a grocery delivery service can cut carbon dioxide emissions by at least half when compared with individual household trips to the store. Trucks filled to capacity that deliver to customers clustered in neighborhoods produced the most savings in carbon dioxide emissions.


----------



## hewee

Was at a Farmers Market store and seen this guy taking pictures of all the veggies and fruit and the prices. So I said something and we stared talking. He was shopping on the best prices on local Organic foods. I also told him of other places to go.
He worked for *superfoods in motion* that makes meals from local organic foods. 
http://www.superfoodsinmotion.com/

Sorry it's only around here.

If I had more money I would get this here. So many great meals and the menu changes each week

Bison Lasagna sounds good and other Bison meals.


----------



## ekim68

Solar plane lands in Ariz., 1st leg of major trip



> PHOENIX (AP) - Alone in the single-seat cockpit and high above the American Southwest, pilot Bertrand Piccard could hear only his plane's gear box and the quiet whine of four electric motors. No noisy jet engines.
> 
> He's flying Solar Impulse, considered the world's most advanced sun-powered plane.
> 
> Piccard piloted the craft for 20 hours, first cruising along the California coast after taking off from Moffett Field in Mountain View near San Francisco just after dawn Friday. He passed over Edwards Air Force Base, where other aviation milestones have been made, and then touched down early Saturday morning at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport.
> 
> He landed having used only three-quarters of the plane's battery power.


----------



## ekim68

New device can extract human DNA with full genetic data in minutes



> Conventional methods use a centrifuge to spin and separate DNA molecules or strain them from a fluid sample with a micro-filter, but these processes take 20 to 30 minutes to complete and can require excessive toxic chemicals.
> 
> UW engineers designed microscopic probes that dip into a fluid sample - saliva, sputum or blood - and apply an electric field within the liquid. That draws particles to concentrate around the surface of the tiny probe. Larger particles hit the tip and swerve away, but DNA-sized molecules stick to the probe and are trapped on the surface. It takes two or three minutes to separate and purify DNA using this technology.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> New device can extract human DNA with full genetic data in minutes


:up:


----------



## ekim68

The Tesla Model S is our top-scoring car



> There, we said it. The Tesla Model S outscores every other car in our test Ratings. It does so even though it's an electric car. In fact, it does so because it is electric.


----------



## hewee

I want one. Also want the money for one.


----------



## ekim68

Power plants: UGA researchers explore how to harvest electricity directly from plants



> Athens, Ga. - The sun provides the most abundant source of energy on the planet. However, only a tiny fraction of the solar radiation on Earth is converted into useful energy.
> 
> To help solve this problem, researchers at the University of Georgia looked to nature for inspiration, and they are now developing a new technology that makes it possible to use plants to generate electricity.


----------



## ekim68

The 16-Year-Old Who Changed Medicine Is Out to Change It Again



> At 16 years old, Jack Andraka is already a superstar in the field of science. Earlier this year, he won Intel's prestigious Gordon E. Moore Award, when he created a groundbreaking testing method that can detect pancreatic cancer in its earliest stages. His work is expected to save thousands of lives.
> 
> And in the few short months since then, Andraka has already begun work on his next invention-a handheld device that he hopes will have the ability to scan the human body, read vital signs and detect any disease instantly.
> 
> While it sounds straight off the set of Star Trek, Andraka's tricorder is part of a global science competition started by the XPRIZE foundation. The challenge is to create a mobile device that can diagnose 15 diseases across 30 patients, and at stake is a $10 million prize.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> The 16-Year-Old Who Changed Medicine Is Out to Change It Again


:up:


----------



## ekim68

Printable A3-sized solar cells hit a new milestone in green energy



> Imagine a future where solar panels speed off the presses like newspaper. Australian scientists have brought us one step closer to that reality.
> 
> Researchers from the Victorian Organic Solar Cell Consortium (VICOSC) developed a printer that can print 10 meters (about 33 feet) of flexible solar cells a minute. Unlike traditional silicon solar cells, printed solar cells are made using organic semi-conducting polymers. These can be dissolved in a solvent and used like an ink, allowing solar cells to be printed.


----------



## ekim68

Engineers Devise New Way to Produce Clean Hydrogen



> Duke University engineers have developed a novel method for producing clean hydrogen, which could prove essential to weaning society off of fossil fuels and their environmental implications.
> 
> While hydrogen is ubiquitous in the environment, producing and collecting molecular hydrogen for transportation and industrial uses is expensive and complicated. Just as importantly, a byproduct of most current methods of producing hydrogen is carbon monoxide, which is toxic to humans and animals.
> 
> The Duke engineers, using a new catalytic approach, have shown in the laboratory that they can reduce carbon monoxide levels to nearly zero in the presence of hydrogen and the harmless byproducts of carbon dioxide and water. They also demonstrated that they could produce hydrogen by reforming fuel at much lower temperatures than conventional methods, which makes it a more practical option.


----------



## ekim68

Bandages Silence Genes



> Medical researchers think specially tailored RNA sequences could turn off genes in patients' cells to encourage wound healing or to kill tumor cells. Now researchers have developed a nanocoating for bandages that could deliver these fragile gene-silencing RNAs right where they're needed (ACS Nano 2013, DOI: 10.1021/nn401011n). The team hopes to produce a bandage that shuts down genes standing in the way of healing in chronic wounds.


----------



## eggplant43

> As the director of Funeral Consumers Alliance, a nonprofit that helps people avoid funeral fraud, I know all about mortuary mythology. (Thats what I call the collective "wisdom" about death, dying, funerals, and dead people.) Most Americans get their information about how to bury the dead from the people we pay to do it for usnot exactly the most disinterested source.
> 
> Funeral directors arent all crooks and making your living burying the dead is a perfectly respectable career. But they are in business to pay their bills. Even super-savvy shoppers let their brains go on vacation when they buy one of the most emotionally fraught and potential costly services. You dont walk into the car dealer with a blank check and you shouldnt do it at the undertakers.
> 
> Heres how to get the send-off that fits your tastes and your budget.


http://lifehacker.com/you-dont-have-to-spend-a-ton-on-a-funeral-heres-why-509099464


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://lifehacker.com/you-dont-have-to-spend-a-ton-on-a-funeral-heres-why-509099464


:up:


----------



## ekim68

Scientists develop CO2 sequestration technique that produces 'supergreen' hydrogen fuel



> (Phys.org) -Lawrence Livermore scientists have discovered and demonstrated a new technique to remove and store atmospheric carbon dioxide while generating carbon-negative hydrogen and producing alkalinity, which can be used to offset ocean acidification.
> 
> The team demonstrated, at a laboratory scale, a system that uses the acidity normally produced in saline water electrolysis to accelerate silicate mineral dissolution while producing hydrogen fuel and other gases. The resulting electrolyte solution was shown to be significantly elevated in hydroxide concentration that in turn proved strongly absorptive and retentive of atmospheric CO2.
> 
> Further, the researchers suggest that the carbonate and bicarbonate produced in the process could be used to mitigate ongoing ocean acidification, similar to how an Alka Seltzer neutralizes excess acid in the stomach.


----------



## GentsBabe

There's so many great things in here! I didn't even realize this thread was here until I was looking for an appropriate place to ask about our dog. Which leads me to post a few hints of my own:

*Pet dishes:* ever notice that their water and food dishes get that slimy feeling? It's gross and drove me nuts till I finally found a fix for it. Now, we have one of the bigger bowls as we used to have a part Belgium Sheppard and part Black Lab, that we now use for our Shih Tzu's water. I put in 2 capfuls of white vinegar, a drop of dish soap and fill the rest of the way with hot water. Let soak for about 20 mins. Wash as usual and no more slimy!
[This also works on the white freezer burn residue left in ice cube trays and anything else I've tried it on that had a water residue left on it.]

*Got rust stains on your counter?* We just have the cheapy kind, not really sure what it's made of, but not stone, tile or metal, and it worked great on it even though this was meant for stone and tile. Make a paste of baking soda and vinegar and rub it on the rust. Depending on how badly rusted and how much is there will mean longer soaking times. There was a lot of rust on ours and it was BAD. Since it was there when we moved in, I've no idea how long it was there for. I rubbed the paste on, and, quite honestly, forgot about it for several hours. I used a scrubbie that has the sponge on one side and the scrubbie part on the other and got a good majority of it off. Hopefully it works better on newer stains.

*Does your microwave look like someone made spaghetti meatloaf in it and it threw up in there?* It happens so quickly once your children learn how to use one  They don't like cleaning it and the more the mic gets used, the harder it is to get the crud out. Well, not anymore! Use a thick bowl that will withstand high heat. It needs to hold at least 2 Cups of water. Put it in the microwave and nuke it for 5 minutes on High. If the crud is old and/or really baked in, let the mic sit for a minute and nuke it again for 5 mins. You can use a cloth and literally just wipe it clean


----------



## eggplant43

Great suggestions, and healthy. I'm going to use the microwave tip right away, and thanks.



> A well-equipped toolbox is essential for completing jobs around the homeeverything from hanging a picture frame to putting together furniture or doing major home improvements. Here are the tools everyone should own, from the most minimalist toolbox to a kit for the experienced DIYer.


http://lifehacker.com/how-to-build-...rce=lifehacker_facebook&utm_medium=socialflow


----------



## ekim68

NY to LA for Free: Tesla Plans Dramatic Expansion of Charger Network



> Buy a Model S and Tesla promises that in six months you'll be able to drive from Los Angeles to New York without paying a dime to top up your batteries.
> 
> That's just one part of an ambitious plan to expand Tesla's Supercharger network, a series of solar-powered charging stations that will stretch from coast to coast by next year and allow Model S owners to recharge their rides in 20 to 30 minutes. For free. Forever.


----------



## eggplant43

> We're fans of Amazon's Subscribe and Save subscription that allows you to get household items shipped to you on a regular basis, but it has always been arguable whether it actually saves you that much money. The Simple Dollar took a look at Subscribe and Save and compared it to a local warehouse club to see just what the savings might be.


http://lifehacker.com/how-much-amazons-subscribe-and-save-can-actually-sav-510651921

_I can say unequivocally that this program saves me a lot, as I live in a rural setting. It might not be as true in the larger metropolitan areas._


----------



## ekim68

Surgeons Implant Bioengineered Vein: Kidney Dialysis Patient First in U.S. to Receive Lab-Grown Blood Vessel



> June 6, 2013 - In a first-of-its-kind operation in the United States, a team of doctors at Duke University Hospital helped create a bioengineered blood vessel and implanted it into the arm of a patient with end-stage kidney disease.
> 
> The procedure, the first U.S. clinical trial to test the safety and effectiveness of the bioengineered blood vessel, is a milestone in the field of tissue engineering. The new vein is an off-the-shelf, human cell-based product with no biological properties that would cause organ rejection.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Surgeons Implant Bioengineered Vein: Kidney Dialysis Patient First in U.S. to Receive Lab-Grown Blood Vessel


:up:


----------



## eggplant43

> When it's time to pick a mutual fund for your investments, there's one number you should always look for. No, it's not the Morningstar 5-star rating or ranking on a "top funds" list. The key number is the expense ratio.


http://lifehacker.com/the-first-number-you-should-look-for-when-choosing-a-mu-511049734


----------



## gordon russell

Make it compulsory for all elected officials...................... and a good idea to be on all school curriculums:

*Meditation and Compassion*

*If we'd just be 10% nicer to each other, we could transform the world*. :up:............ Way to go * eggplant*


----------



## poochee

gordon russell said:


> Make it compulsory for all elected officials...................... and a good idea to be on all school curriculums:
> 
> *Meditation and Compassion*
> 
> *If we'd just be 10% nicer to each other, we could transform the world*. :up:............ Way to go * eggplant*


:up:


----------



## eggplant43

> As a homeowner, there are countless tweaks and additions you can make to your abode. If youre enthusiastic, Home Depot can eventually start to feel like an all-you-can-eat home improvement buffet of fun.
> 
> But before you go into project-planning overdrive, slow down! Its important to be selective with your add-ons because some changes can actually devalue your home.


http://www.mint.com/blog/housing/6-...ign=Feed:+MyMint+(Mint+Personal+Finance+Blog)


----------



## eggplant43

> Part of being prepared is being resourceful and using items for more than one purpose. Its important to be able to know how to use items like Baking Soda again and again to help you in different regards.
> 
> Baking soda is a great tool in your multi-use arsenal! You can use it for cleaning, cooking, refreshing, maintaining and more! Here are a few ideas!


http://www.thereadystore.com/dehydrated-food-storage/4399/30-amazing-uses-for-baking-soda/


----------



## poochee

Many good ideas in this thread.


----------



## eggplant43

> To check out a used car's history before you buy it, you can order an AutoCheck or CarFax report for $30 or $40 or use this hidden search technique to get a free report.


http://lifehacker.com/get-a-free-vehicle-history-report-before-you-buy-a-car-512856477


----------



## gordon russell

> Its vital that we consider fresh approaches to boosting recycling rates and capturing the value of materials which would otherwise be sent straight to landfill," added Iain Gulland, director of Zero Waste Scotland.
> 
> Through this pilot, we want to assess the impact of this approach which has proved successful around the world, including in Germany, South Australia and Scandinavia.


http://www.reversevending.co.uk/Reverse_Vending_Machines.html


----------



## ekim68

Teen's biofuel invention turns algae into fuel



> For a fifth-grade science fair, Evie Sobczak found that the acid in fruit could power clocks; she connected a cut-up orange to a clock with wire and watched it tick. In seventh grade, she generated power by engineering paddles that could harness wind. And in eighth grade, she started a project that eventually would become her passion: She wanted to grow algae and turn it into biofuel.
> 
> After four years of tinkering in her garage for about an hour each day, Sobczak (pronounced sob-chek) has finally figured it out. Her algae-to-fuel project won first place and best in category at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in Phoenix, beating 1,600 other finalists from 70 countries.


----------



## poochee

*Eesha Khare, 18-Year-Old, Invents Device That Charges Cell Phone Battery In Under 30 Seconds (VIDEO) *
The Huffington Post | By Krystie Yandoli Posted: 05/20/2013 5:36 pm EDT | Updated: 05/28/2013 3:05 pm EDT

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/...d-inv_n_3307519.html?utm_hp_ref=girls-in-stem


----------



## ekim68

Electric car maker Tesla unveils 90-second battery pack swap



> LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Tesla Motors Inc on Thursday unveiled a system to swap battery packs in its electric cars in about 90 seconds, a service Chief Executive Elon Musk said will help overcome fears about their driving range.
> 
> The automaker will roll out the battery-swapping stations later this year, beginning along the heavily-traveled route between Los Angeles and San Francisco and then in the Washington-to-Boston corridor.
> 
> "There are some people, they take a lot of convincing," Musk said at an event at Tesla's Los Angeles design studio. "Hopefully this is what convinces people finally that electric cars are the future."


----------



## ekim68

Chipotle First U.S. Chain Restaurant to Label GMOs



> In a display of effective consumer activism, Chipotle Mexican Grill has become the first US restaurant chain to go ahead and label all GMOs sold through their locations on the menu. And unlike Whole Foods and other grocers, who are making similar strides but are actually years away from actual implementation, Chipotle has already launched the labeling initiative into existence.


----------



## hewee

ekim68 said:


> Chipotle First U.S. Chain Restaurant to Label GMOs


Good to know they are doing this.

Has good and bad effects because now I don't want anything but now maybe they will change and stop the GMO as others stop eating there so money will make them change when no one buys from them.


----------



## ekim68

I think GMO's are gonna get noticed more and more...:up:


----------



## hewee

Need the States to get label laws pass and the Feds are trying to stop the State laws. 
Need to all food in the store and eating out listed like Chipotle. 

Also I stopped using the microwave I think on 2009.

You can go out to eat and they will use a microwave on your food. Hello they should cook it. 

Only safe food is what you grow and have control of and that is only if the seeds are not GMO.


----------



## eggplant43

> Replace Worn-Off Appliance Lettering with Sugru
> 
> If you have some old appliances, gadgets, stereo equipment, or anything else with imprinted lettering that's worn off, Sugru user Deborah P shows off how to fix those grooves using Sugru.


http://lifehacker.com/replace-worn-off-appliance-lettering-with-sugru-558011257


----------



## ekim68

15-year-old creates flashlight that runs on body heat 



> A very impressive 15-year-old from Victoria, Canada, has invented a flashlight that could free us all from the tyranny of AA batteries. It runs on the power of your body heat.
> 
> The concept is pretty simple. The flashlight gets its power from plates that create electricity using a heat differential - one side needs to be hot and the other cool. In this case, the heat comes from the palm of a person's hand. The flashlight is hollow, so that air can cool the other side of the plate.
> 
> It works!


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> 15-year-old creates flashlight that runs on body heat


----------



## ekim68

Ran into this frequently and just thought of it on this hot day.....If you have a Desktop computer, be sure to give at least eight inch clearance from the wall in the back. And if you have a laptop on a hot day, put it on a cookie cooler tray and it will breathe easier.....


----------



## ekim68

Lasers Could Help Identify Malaria and Other Diseases Early



> Combining lasers with a principle discovered by Alexander Graham Bell over 100 years ago, researchers have developed a new way to collect high-resolution information about the shape of red blood cells. Because diseases like malaria can alter the shape of the body's cells, the device may provide a way to accurately diagnose various blood disorders.
> 
> The study relies on a physical principle, known as "the photoacoustic effect," originally discovered by Bell in 1880. The famed inventor observed that when a material absorbs light from a pulsing light source, it produces sound waves. Since then, scientists have learned that the effect occurs because the object heats up as it absorbs light; the heat causes the object to expand, and this physical change leads to the emission of sound waves.
> 
> Today, researchers can induce the photoacoustic effect by using lasers.


----------



## ekim68

Is This 3-D Printed Cast the Future of Healing Broken Bones?



> Evill figured there had to be a better solution (there wasn't). So the young designer set about creating his own. Called the Cortex cast, Evill's new take on the plaster cast is a 3D-printed brace that follows the contours of the arm. Though still just a concept, Evill's Cortex will be an injury-localized exoskeleton that is lightweight, washable, ventilated and recyclable. Not bad for a school project.


----------



## ekim68

Solar-powered sedan hits Dutch streets 



> 'Stella' is the first 'energy-positive car' with room for four people, a trunk, intuitive steering and a range of 600 kilometers.
> 
> By combining aerodynamic design with lightweight materials like carbon and aluminum, a very fuel-efficient car has been designed, which also has ingenious applications like a LED strip and touchscreen that make all the buttons and knobs we know today superfluous. Intuitive driving is enabled by a steering wheel that expands or contracts when you are driving too fast or too slowly.


----------



## eggplant43

> We've shown you how to get your Google Reader data now that the service is dead, but you don't get everything available. If you really want to sweep up all that data from Google Reader, Reader is Dead is a tool that helps you do just that.


http://lifehacker.com/reader-is-dead-pulls-out-all-the-google-reader-data-tha-645016987


----------



## ekim68

Ikea Develops a Smart Flat-Pack Shelter for Disaster Refugees



> Ikea's flat-pack furniture has been the source of many frustrated moments thanks to its deconstructed, DIY nature. But the very design methodology that has made you rage-throw your allen wrench against the wall could be the solution to a major problem in refugee housing.
> 
> The Ikea Foundation, the Swedish furniture maker's philanthropic branch, is working with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and a team of designers from the Refugee Housing Unit (RHU) to completely overhaul the current housing situation for millions of refugees. Much like your Hemnes bed or Expedit shelving unit, Ikea's flat-pack shelter will come deconstructed in cardboard boxes. But unlike the furniture that fills your bedroom, these units will be shipped around the world when natural disasters and conflicts displace families from their homes. "From the start we knew two things," said Johan Karlsson, a project manager from RHU who helped lead the design process. "We needed to balance the needs of millions of people living in different cultures, climates and regions with rational production where you ideally only want to have only one solution."


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Ikea Develops a Smart Flat-Pack Shelter for Disaster Refugees


----------



## hewee

Worse part of that is putting it together but worth it when you need a place.


----------



## ekim68

Beats a Canvas tent, eh?


----------



## hewee

Sure does and after you rebuild you can use it for storage.


----------



## eggplant43

> Some materials were just made for DIY miracles. Binder clips are one example. Another is Sugru, the moldable silicone that can fix or improve just about anything. Here are 10 awesome ways you can put it Sugru to work in your projects.


http://lifehacker.com/top-10-diy-miracles-you-can-accomplish-with-sugru-756259927


----------



## ekim68

New thermocell could harvest 'waste heat'



> Harvesting waste heat from power stations and even vehicle exhaust pipes could soon provide a valuable supply of electricity.
> 
> A small team of Monash University researchers working under the Australian Research Council (ARC) Centre of Excellence for Electromaterials Science (ACES) has developed an ionic liquid-based thermocell. Thermocell technology is based on harnessing the thermal energy from the difference in temperature between two surfaces and converting that energy into electricity.


----------



## ekim68

Genetic test fingers viral, bacterial infections



> By differentiating between bacterial and viral fevers, a new test may help doctors decide whether to prescribe antibiotics.
> 
> Fevers are a common symptom of many infectious diseases, but it can be difficult to tell whether viruses or bacteria are the cause. By measuring gene activity in the blood of 22 sick children, Gregory Storch, a pediatrician and infectious disease researcher at Washington University in St. Louis and colleagues were able to distinguish bacteria-sparked fevers from ones kindled by viruses. The activity of hundreds of genes changed as the children's immune systems responded to the pathogens, but the team found that gauging the response of just 18 genes could correctly distinguish between viral and bacterial infections about 90 percent of the time. The gene activity test could also determine, for viral infections, which specific microbes caused the illness, the team reports July 15 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Genetic test fingers viral, bacterial infections


:up:


----------



## ekim68

Scientists silence extra chromosome in Down syndrome cells



> The discovery provides the first evidence that the underlying genetic defect responsible for Down syndrome can be suppressed in cells in culture (in vitro). This paves the way for researchers to study the cell pathologies and identify genome-wide pathways implicated in the disorder, a goal that has so far proven elusive. Doing so will improve scientists' understanding of the basic biology underlying Down syndrome and may one day help establish potential therapeutic targets for future therapies. Details of the study by Jiang et al. were published online in Nature.


----------



## ekim68

'Invisibility wetsuit' to protect against sharks launched in Western Australia



> An "invisibility cloak" to protect surfers from sharks has been launched in Western Australia, the scene of five fatal shark attacks in recent years.
> 
> Scientists from the University of Western Australia, with designers Shark Attack Mitigation Systems (SAMS), have unveiled two new wetsuits that they say could save lives in the water.


----------



## eggplant43

> When I'm out shopping, I'm always presented with the option to use debit or credit when I check out. I've heard there are benefits to using credit, but aren't there fees involved that can drive up the price or put a strain on the owner of the shop I'm in? When should I use which? Is there even a difference?


http://lifehacker.com/when-should-i...rce=lifehacker_facebook&utm_medium=socialflow


----------



## gordon russell

That could save me / YOU a right few bob ! 
http://lifehacker.com/top-10-diy-miracles-you-can-accomplish-with-sugru-756259927
Thank you so much
xxx


----------



## ekim68

N-Fix tech could drastically reduce agricultural fertilizer use



> Synthetic crop fertilizers are a huge source of pollution. This is particularly true when they're washed from fields (or leach out of them) and enter our waterways. Unfortunately, most commercial crops need the fertilizer, because it provides the nitrogen that they require to survive. Now, however, a scientist at the University of Nottingham has developed what he claims is an environmentally-friendly process, that allows virtually any type of plant to obtain naturally-occurring nitrogen directly from the atmosphere.


----------



## ekim68

Team develops new water splitting technique that could produce hydrogen fuel



> A University of Colorado Boulder team has developed a radically new technique that uses the power of sunlight to efficiently split water into its components of hydrogen and oxygen, paving the way for the broad use of hydrogen as a clean, green fuel.


----------



## eggplant43

I've always liked the idea of hydrogen fuel.


----------



## ekim68

New Wearable Device Helps Blind Patients See Shapes and Colors



> The Argus, named after the all-seeing Greek god with 100 eyes, is a wearable computer that helps blind people see borders and boundaries at very low resolution. We first reported on the device some eight years ago, when it was still in testing. Now, at long last, the Food and Drug Administration has approved its use in the U.S. for people with Lloyd's condition, and the device will begin selling shortly at select medical centers, including the University of California, San Francisco.
> 
> The Argus is not a true "eyes for the blind" device - patients can't see objects in the same way people with normal eyesight can. Instead, they see black-and-white edges and contrast points, and the brain can be trained to use this artificial data as a visual guide. It provides enough visual information for the patient to gain some independence, allowing them to cross a street safely, or navigate an unfamiliar room.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> New Wearable Device Helps Blind Patients See Shapes and Colors


----------



## ekim68

This Little Sticker Works Like an Anti-Mosquito Force Field



> Essentially, the Kite Patch is a little square sticker that emits a cloak of chemical compounds that blocks a mosquito's ability to sense humans. According to its developers, users simply have to place the patch onto their clothes, and they become invisible to mosquitoes for up to 48 hours. This is big news for developing countries like Uganda, where residents have little beyond mosquito nets and toxic sprays to combat the illness-spreading insects.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> This Little Sticker Works Like an Anti-Mosquito Force Field


:up:


----------



## poochee

*Why Putting Gardens on Top of Buses Makes Total Sense*
This is a bus. This is a bus with a rooftop garden. Any questions?
August 8, 2013 
Salvatore Cardoni



> My mission is to expand the garden area in urban environments, increase the absorption of CO2 and give public transport a new ecological and tourist attraction," says designer Marc Granen of his concept, which he's confusingly calling Phyto Kinetic.


http://www.takepart.com/article/201...-buses-rooftop-gardens?cmpid=tp-ptnr-upworthy


----------



## ekim68

Redox Power Plans To Roll Out Dishwasher-Sized Fuel Cells That Cost 90% Less Than Currently Available Fuel Cells



> Redox Power Systems, a Fulton, MD-based start-up company founded last year, sealed the deal on a partnership with researchers at the University of Maryland to commercialize a potentially game-changing distributed generation technology.
> 
> Redox says that it plans to bring to market a fuel cell that is about one-tenth the size and one-tenth the cost of currently commercial fuel cells by 2014.


----------



## ekim68

3D Printed Robotic Arm: Colorado Teen Designs $500 Prosthetic Controlled By Bluetooth Headband



> A Colorado teenager has used 3D printing to create a robotic prosthetic arm that costs less than $500 and is fully functional. At TedxMileHigh in Denver, Easton LaChappelle, 17, demonstrated his robotic arm, and how he constructed it to keep costs low.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> 3D Printed Robotic Arm: Colorado Teen Designs $500 Prosthetic Controlled By Bluetooth Headband


:up:


----------



## ekim68

A decade later, Tesla now officially a threat to the auto industry



> It's funny, electric car company Tesla has been building its business for a decade now, but it's just in recent months that the auto industry seems to be taking Tesla's innovations as an actual threat to their businesses. That's because it's only been in 2013 that Tesla has shown how it can make a small profit and use its popular electric car to compete with competitors in the auto biz. But reacting to a threat when it's finally arrived, versus skating to where the puck is going isn't necessarily the best way to run a business. The tech industry is littered with late-movers like Blockbuster or Kodak.


----------



## ekim68

World-first pilot plant to turn carbon dioxide into rock



> A research pilot plant in Newcastle will trial world-first technology that turns carbon emissions into bricks and pavers for the construction industry.


----------



## ekim68

One Simple Tip That Could Save a Cyclist's Life



> But I've recently seen a few mentions of what seems to be the simplest and most elegant fix of all: train drivers to open their doors with their right hands when they're exiting the car, forcing them to turn their bodies so that they are automatically looking over their shoulders (in countries with right-wheel drive, obviously, the hands would be reversed).


----------



## ekim68

Single gene change increases mouse lifespan by 20 percent



> By lowering the expression of a single gene, researchers at the National Institutes of Health have extended the average lifespan of a group of mice by about 20 percent -- the equivalent of raising the average human lifespan by 16 years, from 79 to 95. The research team targeted a gene called mTOR, which is involved in metabolism and energy balance, and may be connected with the increased lifespan associated with caloric restriction.


----------



## ekim68

A 16-year-old's new cancer test could save hundreds of lives



> Jack's method of cancer detection, which is being touted as a faster, cheaper and more effective option, checks patients for high levels of mesothelin, a cancer biomarker which can be detected in blood or urine at earlier stages than previous tests for pancreatic and lung cancers.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> A 16-year-olds new cancer test could save hundreds of lives


:up:


----------



## ekim68

New ship will remain stable by creating its own inner waves



> When offshore oil drilling rigs are being installed, serviced or dismantled, the workers typically stay in cabins located on adjacent floating platforms. These semi-submersible platforms are towed into place (or travel under their own power) and then their hulls are partially filled with water, allowing them to remain somewhat stable in the pitching seas. Now, a ship is being built to serve the same purpose, but that will be a much more mobile alternative. It will keep from rolling with the waves by generating its own waves, *inside* its hull.


----------



## eggplant43

> In the past, you could press pound to escape Robocall hell, but that's not so much the case anymore. These days robocalls are like spam: If you press anything, even the number they say you should press to be removed from the list, you'll get more calls. The solution? Hang up immediately.


http://lifehacker.com/why-you-shoul...m_campaign=Feed:+lifehacker/full+(Lifehacker)


----------



## ekim68

That's why Caller ID is such a good idea, too. If I don't recognize the number, I don't pick it up....


----------



## hewee

ekim68 said:


> That's why Caller ID is such a good idea, too. If I don't recognize the number, I don't pick it up....


That is what I do


----------



## ekim68

Bears are using the special, pretty overpasses built for them



> Bear bridges aren't just beautiful - they work! That's what you learn when, instead of sunning yourself and running through the sprinkler, you spend three summers working on your collection of bear fur:
> 
> For three years, researchers from Montana State University spent their summers collecting bear hair. The samples, collected on both sides of the 50 mile stretch of the Trans-Canada Highway that cuts through Banff National Park, prove what the researchers had suspected: wildlife underpasses and bridges were helping enough bears move back and forth across the highway to keep the populations healthy.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Bears are using the special, pretty overpasses built for them


:up:


----------



## ekim68

Promising vaccine candidate could lead to a definitive cure for HIV



> A very promising vaccine candidate for HIV/AIDS has shown the ability to completely clear the simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV), a very aggressive form of HIV that leads to AIDS in monkeys. Developed at the Vaccine and Gene Therapy Institute at the Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU), the vaccine proved successful in about fifty percent of the subjects tested and could lead to a human vaccine preventing the onset of HIV/AIDS and even cure patients currently on anti-retroviral drugs.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Promising vaccine candidate could lead to a definitive cure for HIV


:up:


----------



## ekim68

Frameless Geodesic Dome



> Its a frameless geodesic dome designed to be easy to fabricate and build.
> 
> It is 18 feet wide at the widest point and about 13 feet tall. It feels very spacious for its 209 square foot floor.


(Not promoting it but I liked this: )


> The dome shell is also extremely easy to disassemble making it a portable structure.


----------



## ekim68

UW engineers get grant to make cookstoves 10 times cleaner for developing world



> Nearly 500 million households - roughly 3 billion people, or 42 percent of the world's population - rely on burning materials such as wood, animal dung or coal in stoves for cooking and heating their homes. Often these stoves are crudely designed, and poor ventilation and damp wood can create a smoky, hazardous indoor environment - day after day.
> 
> A recent study published in The Lancet estimates that 3.5 million people die each year as a result of indoor air pollution from open fires or rudimentary stoves in their homes. More than 900,000 people die from pneumonia alone, which has been linked to indoor air pollution.
> 
> University of Washington engineers hope to make a dent in these numbers by designing a cookstove that meets a stringent set of emission and efficiency standards while still being affordable and attractive to families who cook over a flame each day.


----------



## ekim68

Google's Maps For Business A Key Ingredient For HALO Trust's Mine Clearing Efforts In Kosovo



> Google's Maps and Earth products are a good way to pass some idle time, zooming around the globe, but they're also tools that can be put to use in scenarios with considerable social impact. The search giant has detailed its partnership with mine-clearing not-for-profit agency The HALO Trust in the past, but today the official Google blog has posted a guest entry from HALO Trust director Guy Willoughby that provides an update on the project's progress and shines the spotlight on Kosovo.
> 
> The UK-based organization is using Google Earth Pro to help deploy its mine clearing teams effectively, as well as to help build maps of areas that remain to be cleared based on information provided by the local population and governments.


----------



## eggplant43

> The vast majority of us arent always too quick to turn off our devices every time we leave our desks or walk out of a room. Instead, computer monitors, printers, lamps and the like are either left switched on or on standby, sapping power and wasting money. Birkeland Currents RFID-controlled Pinch system, however, provides a seemingly fool-proof system that can save a potential 35 percent of energy usage. With no set up required, the Pinch will automatically power down your devices when you walk away, and boot them back up upon your return.


http://inhabitat.com/rfid-controlled-pinch-power-strip-switches-off-devices-when-you-walk-away/


----------



## eggplant43

> We already know that incandescent light-bulbs are on the way out because they're incredibly wasteful, being better at producing heat than light. And most people know that LEDs have started replacing compact fluorescents (CFLs) and should become the next gold standard for producing light. But are LED bulbs truly better than CFLs? If so, by how much? To really know, it's not enough to just look at lumens-per-watt efficiency; you have to do a full life-cycle analysis to truly figure out which one comes out on top when everything is taken into account  including manufacturing, usage, transportation, how many bulbs are used over time for those that don't last as long, etc.


http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/energy/stories/should-i-buy-led-or-cfl-light-bulbs


----------



## ekim68

New test aims to better detect viral infections



> WASHINGTON (AP) - It happens too often: A doctor isn't sure what's causing someone's feverish illness but prescribes antibiotics just in case, drugs that don't work if a virus is the real culprit.
> 
> Now Duke University researchers are developing a blood test to more easily tell when a respiratory illness is due to a virus and not a bacterial infection, hoping to cut the dangerous overuse of antibiotics and speed the right diagnosis.


----------



## valis

anyone wanna join me in NM?

http://webecoist.momtastic.com/2008/12/21/air-sky-wind-art/8-star-axis-monumental-observatory/

http://www.collectorsguide.com/sf/sffa07.shtml

I've been to that place a few dozen times, and sweet jebus, it's always more impressive than the last.


----------



## ekim68

Simulation suggests Musk's Hyperloop 'quite viable'



> Specifications of Elon Musk's Hyperloop were fed into a computer at Ansys with no red flags resulting, according to Sandeep Sovani.


----------



## ekim68

Smart Phones Snap Pictures Of Individual Virus Particles



> By attaching a lightweight, inexpensive device to the back of a smart phone, scientists can convert the phone into a sensitive fluorescence microscope. The attachment allows the phone's camera to take pictures of single nanoparticles and viruses, possibly providing a portable diagnostic tool for health care workers in developing countries.


----------



## eggplant43

> Whether it's your nice furniture or the backyard garden, there are some places you just don't want your (or the neighborhood) cats getting into. A little vinegar can help with that.


http://lifehacker.com/keep-cats-off...m_campaign=Feed:+lifehacker/full+(Lifehacker)


----------



## eggplant43

> If you read financial books and magazines, visit financial websites, and watch money-focused TV, you'll come to the conclusion that managing money is complicated. The issues associated with handling money are vast, technical, and can not possibly be accomplished by the average person. At least that's what they'd have you believe


http://lifehacker.com/the-two-simpl...rce=lifehacker_facebook&utm_medium=socialflow


----------



## eggplant43

> Laptops are our indispensable lifeline to the majesty that is the Internet. We use them to work and play from anywhere in the world. But if youre like most people, you probably keep yours plugged in when youre at work or home. Stop doing that.


http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2013/09/laptop-battery/?cid=12494134


----------



## gordon russell

Korea Constructs Road that Wirelessly Charges Buses

http://www.trueactivist.com/korea-constructs-road-that-wirelessly-charges-electric-buses/

*I wonder if this is applicable to mobile phone batteries* ???


----------



## ekim68

In Silicon Valley hub, new homes must be wired for electric cars



> The Palo Alto, Calif., City Council recently endorsed a building-code change that would require builders to include wiring in new homes that can easily be connected to a charger. The council also directed city staff to figure out how to make it easier and cheaper to obtain permits for new EV chargers.
> 
> To wire a new house for an electric vehicle charger, it costs under $200 - a quarter of the price tag for installing a charger at an existing home, Palo Alto Mayor Greg Scharff told the San Jose Mercury News.


On to the Future...:up:


----------



## eggplant43

> How do I Grind My Coffee? What Equipment do I need? What Grind Level? Sounds like hell for the amateur, and heaven for the Coffee Nerd. Mainly because it means one more quantifiable way of measurement, and one more way to spend cash on yet another gadget.
> 
> In terms of equipment, you may have to replace that whirley blade grinder you got from the last divorce. The amount you spend depends on what kind of coffee you are making.


http://www.ineedcoffee.com/03/coffeegrind/


----------



## eggplant43

> The story of the tortoise and the hare is particularly applicable as an investment metaphor. Instead of trying to time the market and buying stocks that could either make you a fortune or lose you everything, a far more lucrative option is just to set a steady course and automatically buy a set amount every month.


http://www.moneyunder30.com/invest-just-50-a-month


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://www.moneyunder30.com/invest-just-50-a-month


Indeed!


----------



## ekim68

10 Food Preservation Tips in 60 Seconds


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> 10 Food Preservation Tips in 60 Seconds


Great tips.


----------



## ekim68

U.S. flips switch on massive solar power array that also stores electricity



> Computerworld - The switch has been flipped on a massive solar array field near Phoenix, producing up to 280 megawatts of electricity - enough to power 70,000 households.
> 
> Arizona's largest public utility, Arizona Public Service (APS), will purchase all of the electricity produced by the solar plant for 30 years through a power purchase agreement with Abengoa Solar, the company that built the array.
> 
> The solar array, financed in part by a Department of Energy loan guarantee, is the county's first large-scale solar plant with thermal energy storage system.


----------



## eggplant43

> Your first bet is to take everything out of the mailbox that's addressed to that other person, and write "return to sender" on it. Then just put it back in the mailbox. This should let your letter carrier know that the addressee doesn't live there anymore, and since the mail will ultimately get back to the person or company that sent it, they'll get the message too and update their records. Keep a pen velcroed to the inside of your mailbox if it's that bad, or put a post-it inside your mailbox noting that mail addressed to X person shouldn't be delivered because they don't live there. Let your letter carrier know, too.


http://lifehacker.com/how-can-i-sto...rce=lifehacker_facebook&utm_medium=socialflow


----------



## eggplant43

Quick, easy scratch repair:

http://www.domesticblisssquared.com/2013/06/diy-fix-scratches-in-wood-furniture.html


----------



## valis

I say, Bruce, is that a cake next to your avatar? Happy birthday! Obviously I missed the thread....


----------



## poochee

Many good ideas here!


----------



## ekim68

The Future of Prosthetics Could Be This Brain-Controlled Bionic Leg



> About a year ago, Zac Vawter climbed all 103 flights of stairs of the Willis Tower in Chicago. On its own, this accomplishment would be pretty unremarkable, but Vawter, who lost his leg four years ago during a motorcycle accident, happened climb more than 2,000 steps while wearing a prosthetic leg. Even crazier yet? Vawter could control this prosthetic leg with his mind, sending instructions from his brain, down through nerves that would communicate with his mechanical limb.


----------



## hewee

eggplant43 said:


> Quick, easy scratch repair:
> 
> http://www.domesticblisssquared.com/2013/06/diy-fix-scratches-in-wood-furniture.html


Wow that is a great tip.

Wonder how long it last?


----------



## ekim68

Shipping container conversion provides clean water in developing countries



> Joining forces with engineering firm Deka R&D, Coca-Cola has launched a project which will see the transformation of approximately 2,000 shipping containers into water purifying stations. Dubbed Ekocenter, the shipping container module has been designed to provide isolated and developing communities with facilities to produce safe drinking water, as well as access to wireless internet technology and solar powered charging.
> 
> The first Ekocenter prototype is currently being tested in Heidelberg, South Africa. It consists of a bright red 20 ft (6 m) long shipping container covered with solar panels. The facility comes equipped with a Slingshot water purification device which uses vapor compression distillation to produce clean drinking water.


----------



## ekim68

Volvo Shows Body Panels That Could Replace Batteries in Electric Cars



> Volvo is working together with independent research groups to develop a means of energy storage for future electric cars that does away completely with traditional battery and super capacitor systems, which typically carry considerable weight and take up a lot of space. The solution is a new type of material that integrates nano structured batteries and super capacitors together with carbon fiber, and which can be formed into body panels for a car.


----------



## eggplant43

> Youre finally ready to get out of the rental market and buy a home of your own. But how do you know how much house you can afford?
> 
> Before you head out on your house-hunting adventure, you can easily do those affordability calculations yourself before you officially begin shopping for a mortgage.
> 
> Here are the top factors lenders typically consider when determining how much house you can afford.


https://www.mint.com/blog/housing/h...ign=Feed:+MyMint+(Mint+Personal+Finance+Blog)


----------



## ekim68

Army's Amazing Exoskeleton Restores Power to Injured Legs



> After surgery, military personnel whose legs have been crushed or blasted can end up with a limb that looks healthy but is debilitated by pain and weakness. Some patients even ask for amputations. The Army solution is a sort of scaffold for intact but malfunctioning legs called the Intrepid Dynamic Exoskeletal Orthosis, and now, thanks to a company called Hangar, it's going to be available to civilians too.
> 
> Basically, the IDEO is a carbon-fiber exoskeleton that attaches below the knee and connects to a foot plate that fits into a shoe. Taking a step and pushing off the plate loads the IDEO with energy just like a prosthetic running blade. Then it releases, providing auxiliary power to the leg.


----------



## ekim68

Finnish team makes diabetes vaccine breakthrough



> A team working at Tampere University has discovered the virus that causes type 1 diabetes. The enterovirus penetrates the pancreas and destroys insulin-producing cells, eventually causing diabetes.
> 
> Researchers have looked at more than a hundred different strains of the virus and pinpointed five that could cause diabetes. They believe they could produce a vaccine against those strains.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Finnish team makes diabetes vaccine breakthrough


:up:


----------



## eggplant43

> Here's WebMD's list of common pain pill mistakes, compiled with the help of pharmacist Kristen A. Binaso, RPh, spokeswoman for the American Pharmacists Association; and pain specialist Eric R. Haynes, MD, founder of Comprehensive Pain Management Partners in Trinity, Fla.


http://www.webmd.com/pain-management/chronic-pain-11/9-pain-pill-mistakes?src=RSS_PUBLIC


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://www.webmd.com/pain-management/chronic-pain-11/9-pain-pill-mistakes?src=RSS_PUBLIC


Good info.


----------



## ekim68

Spinal Stimulation Gets Paralyzed Patients Moving



> Spinal stimulation: In both animal and human experiments, researchers are using electricity to restore function to paralyzed lower limbs.


----------



## poochee

*8 Key Money Moves After Paying Off Your Mortgage*
_Take these steps if you're about to retire your home loan early_
By Dan Rafter | October 25, 2013 
This article previously appeared on Hsh.com.



> Sending that final check to your mortgage lender is reason for celebration. But paying off your mortgage loan doesn't end your financial duties as a homeowner.
> 
> You'll still have to pay property taxes and homeowners insurance; you'll need to make sure your county knows that you now own your home free and clear and, perhaps most important, you'll have to figure out what to do with those dollars you'll no longer be spending on your mortgage each month.


http://www.nextavenue.org/article/2...source=PBS&utm_medium=web&utm_campaign=merlin


----------



## eggplant43

> When you have even remotely sensitive skin, shaving can irritate it like nothing else. If you want to get rid of the hair, however, you don't have a lot of other options. Most people try to repair the damage of shaving afterwards, but Redditor johadalin suggests more preventative measures.


http://lifehacker.com/treat-your-sk...m_campaign=Feed:+lifehacker/full+(Lifehacker)

Comments contain some wise advice.


----------



## eggplant43

> Garbage disposals are gross, wet, and they smell bad over time. You can clean them out, however, with some lemon and vinegar ice cubes.
> 
> The cubes only take a few minutes to make. Cut up some lemons and place a piece in each section of an ice cube tray. Fill them up with vinegar (no water) and freeze. Then, whenever you need to clean your garbage disposal, toss a few in and turn it on. The cubes will help clean out the muck-filled disposal as well as mask any odors making their way out of the sink.


http://lifehacker.com/clean-and-de-...m_campaign=Feed:+lifehacker/full+(Lifehacker)


----------



## ekim68

Marylanders Asked to Snap and Share High Tide Photos



> With Maryland set to experience the first King Tides of the fall season November 3-6, the Department of Natural Resources is asking residents in coastal areas to take and share photos of the resulting high waters and flooding. While not all communities may experience flooding, in some areas, these unusually high tides *give planners a look at what potential future sea level rise may look like.*


----------



## eggplant43

ekim68 said:


> Marylanders Asked to Snap and Share High Tide Photos


I was listening to a report on coastal flooding, and real estate in Florida a couple of days ago, tidal flooding was not in the equation, _caveat emptor._


----------



## gordon russell

A way to try 3D ideas and if your lucky enough to have a 3D printer ideas for that too.

http://www.123dapp.com/


----------



## ekim68

I've been thinking about checking into a 3D Printer so thanks for the Link... (Being a repair guy it would be nice to make my own parts, eh?  )


----------



## ekim68

Germany Finances Major Push Into Home Battery Storage for Solar



> The German government has responded to the next big challenge in its energy transition - storing the output from the solar boom it has created - by doing exactly what it has successfully done to date: greasing the wheels of finance to bring down the cost of new technology.
> 
> Over the past five years, Germany has been largely responsible for priming an 80 per cent fall in the price of solar modules. Now it is looking at bringing down the cost of the next piece in the puzzle of its energy transition - battery storage.


----------



## ekim68

Futuristic water-recycling shower cuts bills by over $1,000



> (CNN) -- In space, astronauts go for years without a fresh supply of water. Floating in a capsule in outer space they wash and drink from the same continuously recycled source. So why, asked Swedish industrial designer Mehrdad Mahdjoubi, do we not do the same on Earth?
> 
> This was the concept behind the OrbSys Shower -- a high-tech purification system that recycles water while you wash. In the eyes of Mahdjoubi, we should start doing it now, before it becomes a necessity.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Futuristic water-recycling shower cuts bills by over $1,000


Wow!


----------



## ekim68

Implantable bio-patch grows bone where it's needed



> Help could be on the way for people who don't have enough bone to support dental implants, who are missing bone due to a birth defect, or who have suffered bone-damaging injuries. Scientists at the University of Iowa have created an implantable collagen patch seeded with particles containing synthetic DNA, that instructs the patient's own cells to produce the protein that leads to bone growth.


----------



## ekim68

Desert Farming Experiment Yields First Results



> A project to "green" desert areas with an innovative mix of technologies-producing food, biofuel, clean water, energy, and salt-reached a milestone this week in the Gulf state of Qatar. A pilot plant built by the Sahara Forest Project (SFP) produced 75 kilograms of vegetables per square meter in three crops annually, comparable to commercial farms in Europe, while consuming only sunlight and seawater. The heart of the SFP concept is a specially designed greenhouse. At one end, salt water is trickled over a gridlike curtain so that the prevailing wind blows the resulting cool, moist air over the plants inside. This cooling effect allowed the Qatar facility to grow three crops per year, even in the scorching summer. At the other end of the greenhouse is a network of pipes with cold seawater running through them. Some of the moisture in the air condenses on the pipes and is collected, providing a source of fresh water.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Desert Farming Experiment Yields First Results


:up:


----------



## eggplant43

> Hotel room thermometers normally don't let you adjust the temperature above or below a certain point, which can lead to some pretty warm rooms in the summer time or chilly ones in the winter. If you want more control, here's how to override your hotel thermometer, put it in "VIP" mode, and tweak it where you like it.P


http://lifehacker.com/override-your...rce=lifehacker_facebook&utm_medium=socialflow


----------



## hewee

I know the one we had at Indian Wells at the Hyatt worked great but was warning on the patio door saying when you open the door the AC will go off. Good way to control people turning AC down and keeping the door open that cost a lot.


----------



## ekim68

Put Dryer Sheets at the Bottom of Trash Cans to Ward Off Stench



> Dryer sheets are pretty awesome, whether it's for detangling a thread or keeping basboards dust-free. And apparently they can also keep your trash cans from smelling.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Put Dryer Sheets at the Bottom of Trash Cans to Ward Off Stench


:up:


----------



## ekim68

Get Fresh Herbs Off the Stems With a Mesh Strainer



> With fresh herbs, you want the leaves. But getting them off the stems or the twiglets can be tedious. Say hello to your new best friends: a mesh strainer and a pestle. It's the easiest way to get herbs off the stalk, says The Kitchn.


----------



## ekim68

Google will build another six solar power plants in the U.S.



> Google has announced plans to continue its rollout of solar energy plants in the U.S. with one of its larger investments to date: $80 million for six new facilities.


----------



## eggplant43

> With so many options available, picking the right laptop can prove awfully difficult. How do you know you'll end up with a reliable model? Or one that will last you at least three years without feeling outdated? While you can't predict the future, you can use information from the past to figure out your best bet before you make your purchase.


http://lifehacker.com/computer-manu...rce=lifehacker_facebook&utm_medium=socialflow


----------



## ekim68

Smart glasses let nurses see veins through skin



> Computerworld - Epson and Evena Medical today unveiled smart glasses that allow nurses at the bedside to see "through" a patient's skin to the vasculature beneath.
> 
> The companies claim the new Eyes-On Glasses System technology makes even hard-to-locate veins easy to find for intravenous placement.


----------



## ekim68

New waterproof surface is 'driest ever'



> The new "super-hydrophobic" surface could keep clothes dry and stop aircraft engines icing over, they say.
> 
> The lotus leaf was thought to be the gold standard for staying dry in nature, but now a team from MIT in Boston say they have surpassed it.
> 
> Adding tiny ridges to a silicon surface made water bounce off it 40% faster than the previous "limit".
> 
> Similar ridges are found in nature on the wings of the Morpho butterfly and the veins of nasturtium leaves.


----------



## ekim68

A little meter that shows the big differences in charging plugs and cables



> The Practical Meter shows you the nerdy truth about which USB thing charges which USB thing faster.


(Not promoting the product, just the idea.. )


----------



## hewee

ekim68 said:


> A little meter that shows the big differences in charging plugs and cables
> 
> (Not promoting the product, just the idea.. )


I just get a blank page.

Is that the whole link?


----------



## ekim68

It shows up for me...


----------



## eggplant43

> We've featured a ton of survival and MacGyver tips over the years that could help you out of a fix, but what if you're next to someone else who's having an emergency? Don't just stand there as the person chokes or faints! Know what to do in these life-or-death situations.


http://lifehacker.com/8-basic-life-...rce=lifehacker_facebook&utm_medium=socialflow


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://lifehacker.com/8-basic-life-...rce=lifehacker_facebook&utm_medium=socialflow


Good info to know.


----------



## gordon russell

Heating a room for 8 pence/ 0.13$ a day:


----------



## poochee




----------



## hewee

That is cheap way to heat. Bet your walls etc will look like a smoker was living there.


----------



## ekim68

Tongue pierce lets the paralyzed drive wheelchairs



> WASHINGTON (AP) - An experimental device is letting paralyzed people drive wheelchairs simply by flicking their tongue in the right direction.
> 
> Key to this wireless system: Users get their tongue pierced with a magnetic stud that resembles jewelry and acts like a joystick, in hopes of offering them more mobility and independence.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Tongue pierce lets the paralyzed drive wheelchairs


:up:


----------



## ekim68

Black silicon slices and dices bacteria



> Originally discovered by accident in the 1980s, black silicon is silicon with a surface that has been modified to feature nanoscale spike structures which give the material very low reflectivity. Researchers have now found that these spikes can also destroy a wide range of bacteria, potentially paving the way for a new generation of antibacterial surfaces.


----------



## ekim68

New York Transforms World's Largest Landfill Into City's Biggest Solar Array



> New York City selected its smallest borough for the site of its largest solar energy installation.
> 
> Staten Island's Freshkills Parks will be home to 10 megawatts (MW) of solar power, Mayor Mike Bloomberg announced on his website.
> 
> Freshkills Park was once known as the world's largest landfill, Bloomberg said. The solar development is part of an ongoing transformation of the land over the past 12 years, which has already included the restoration of wetlands and vegetation.


----------



## ekim68

Solspaces project to test year-round solar heating system



> Researchers at the University of Stuttgart are preparing to test a solar heating system capable of long term storage as part of "Solspaces," a three-year project that kicked off in March 2012. The heating concept uses a solar thermal system in conjunction with a sorption tank for storing heat collected by solar cells throughout the warmer months that can then be released when the mercury drops.
> 
> The Solspaces concept has the potential to reduce the required storage space for solar heating systems and address the issue of heat retention. It involves a thermochemical heat storage tank with three to four times the energy density of water and improved thermal insulation, enabling more compact storage with less susceptibility to heat loss than conventional solar thermal systems relying on water as the heat storage medium.


----------



## poochee

*How To Open A Can Without A Can Opener (VIDEO) *
Posted: 12/03/2013 9:03 am EST

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/03/open-can-without-can-opener-video_n_4372906.html


----------



## ekim68

Christmas appeal: how solar lamps are transforming life in one Kenyan county



> She quickly realised the £5 orang plastic lamps, branded as d.lights, would pay for themselves because she and her husband, who farms a small plot, would no longer have to pay £8 a month in fuel for their paraffin lamp.


----------



## ekim68

How offshore wind farms could protect us from hurricanes



> It's time to turn the tables on hurricanes. Instead of allowing their ferocious winds to tear apart our cities and infrastructure, why not use those winds to produce clean electricity?
> 
> Stanford University researchers used computer simulations to calculate that a protective wall of 70,000 offshore wind turbines built 60 miles offshore from New Orleans would have reduced Hurricane Katrina's wind speeds by 50 percent by the time it reached land. The storm surges that toppled levees would have been reduced by nearly three-quarters. And a lot of electricity would have been produced, to boot, with the spinning of the wind turbines absorbing much of the storm's power.


----------



## ekim68

Germans 'cut HIV out of infected cells'



> Biomedicine researchers at Dresden's Technical University succeeded in curing several HIV-infected mice with the new method which uses an enzyme to cut the virus from the DNA of infected cells.
> 
> "There are various methods and similar approaches, but removing the virus from infected cells is unique," said Professor Joachim Hauber, head of the antiviral strategy section at partner research institute, Hamburg's Heinrich Pette Institute.
> 
> He said this approach was the only one so far which could actually reverse an HIV infection, leaving the treated cells healthy.


----------



## ekim68

Solar Cells Could Help Windows Generate Power



> The vast real estate of windows in office buildings and skyscrapers could be a fruitful field for harvesting solar energy-if lightweight solar cells could be made with a high enough efficiency and appealing aesthetics. Now researchers at Oxford University report semitransparent solar cells that might do the trick (ACS Nano 2013, DOI: 10.1021/nn4052309).


----------



## ekim68

Carmat self-regulating artificial heart implanted in first human subject



> Last Wednesday in Paris, a 75 year-old man received an artificial heart. That in itself might not be newsworthy, as such devices have been in use since the early 80s. In this case, however, the gadget in question was the first Carmat bioprosthetic artificial heart to ever be implanted in a human. According to its inventor, cardiac surgeon Alain Carpentier, it's the world's first self-regulating artificial heart.


----------



## eggplant43

> Whether you've gotten a gift you really don't like or you're just prone to losing receipts, returning items without a receipt can sometimes be a minefield. Here are some tips and techniques to make sure you get your money back


http://lifehacker.com/5853626/how-t...m_campaign=Feed:+lifehacker/full+(Lifehacker)


----------



## ekim68

Video Games Charity Raises Over $10 Million



> Gaming for Good, a charity established and fronted by celebrity gamer Bachir Boumaaza, aka Athene, has this week passed the significant milestone. At time of writing the group's tally stands at $10,035,284.


----------



## ekim68

Imprint Bicycle Grips take on the shape of the rider's hands



> If you've ever been thundering along on your mountain bike and suddenly had one of your hands slip off the handlebar, you'll know just how "unsettling" it can be. The guys at UK-based TMR Designs certainly know, which is why they developed Imprint Bicycle Grips. Utilizing a proprietary material, they can be custom-molded to the size and shape of each of your hands.


----------



## eggplant43

> If you don't want to overwear your favorite outfit, Real Simple suggests a neat trick: always hang worn or washed outfits on the left of your closet and pick up what to wear from the right


http://lifehacker.com/arrange-outfi...m_campaign=Feed:+lifehacker/full+(Lifehacker)


----------



## eggplant43

> I prepared my breakfast of hard-boiled eggs a bit differently this morning. I added a teaspoon of baking soda to the boiling water. When the eggs were done, I cooled each one in ice water, then cracked both ends of the shell, held it in my fist and blew. Each time, the shell shook a bit and whistled, then out popped the egg, shell-less and delicious.


http://www.npr.org/2014/01/02/25911...prfacebook&utm_source=npr&utm_medium=facebook


----------



## ekim68

4 Ways to Recycle Your Christmas Tree for Wildlife



> Each year, about 25-30 million real Christmas trees are sold in the United States, mostly from a selection of about 16 species of tree that we commonly call a "Christmas Tree." They are decorated with lights and ornaments, become backdrops for annual family photos, and serve as a traditional umbrella for gifts to loved ones. Ultimately, the day comes when they need to be disposed of. What's often overlooked though, is that these trees can benefit your local wildlife, the soil in your yard, or even nearby restoration projects.


----------



## ekim68

Wirelessly charged electric buses set for Milton Keynes



> Electric buses which their developers say can run all day are set to begin service.
> 
> A fleet of eight new electric vehicles will operate along a busy route in Milton Keynes from late January.
> 
> The buses can run for longer by virtue of a wireless booster charge they receive at the start and end of the route from plates in the road.
> 
> The buses are the first of their kind to operate in the UK.


----------



## ekim68

Organic battery hailed as cheap renewable energy solution



> A cheap rechargeable battery that harnesses energy by using the electrochemistry of organic molecules rather than metals is being touted by Harvard researchers as a breakthrough for renewable energy.
> 
> The Harvard team reports that the battery, which they say can be applied on a power-grid scale, uses naturally abundant and small organic compounds called quinones rather than electrocatalysts from costly precious metals such as platinum.


----------



## ekim68

Laundering money - literally - could save billions of dollars



> A dollar bill gets around, passing from hand to hand, falling on streets and sidewalks, eventually getting so grimy that a bank machine flags it and sends it to the shredder. Rather than destroying it, scientists have developed a new way to clean paper money to prolong its life. The research, which appears in the ACS journal Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, could save billions and minimize the environmental impact of banknote disposal.


----------



## ekim68

Leukemia treatment given shot in the arm by artificial bone marrow development



> One of the main treatments for the blood cancer is the injection of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs). These HSCs can either be harvested from a compatible donor or cultivated from the patient's own bone marrow in the lab.
> 
> The greatest challenges in producing HSCs in the lab has been their limited longevity outside of the bone marrow environment. This problem may soon be circumvented with the creation of an artificial bone marrow by the Young Investigators Group for Stem Cell- Material Interactions.


----------



## eggplant43

> The firm ISI Technology of South Carolina will soon begin producing a smart water heater, which is designed to cut energy use by 40% over conventional water heaters. They have recently successfully met their funding goal of $125,000 through Kickstarter to begin the production. The Heatworks MODEL 1 compact water heater will measure 12.5 inches by 6.5 inches, meaning that it will fit in most spaces. The water heater will also have Wi-Fi connectivity, so that temperature, power levels and duration can all be monitored and controlled remotely.


http://www.jetsongreen.com/2014/01/...tm_campaign=Feed:+jetson_green+(Jetson+Green)


----------



## poochee

*Seven warning signs your identity may have been stolen*
Herb Weisbaum NBC News contributor 
Jan. 20, 2014 at 9:38 AM ET



> Surveys show nine out of 10 people dont check their financial statements, Siciliano said. Thats irresponsible. You shouldnt be waiting for a retailer to tell you theres been a breach. You should be checking your financial statements more than you check your Facebook page, but peoples priorities are skewed.
> 
> *Here are seven of the key warning signs that youre the victim of identity theft:*


http://www.today.com/money/7-warning-signs-your-identity-may-have-been-stolen-2D11944420


----------



## eggplant43

> Windows: Whether you're troubleshooting poor performance on your own wireless network, or you're trying to figure out how overloaded the hotel Wi-Fi is where you're staying, Who Is On My Wi-Fi is a free Windows utility that can show you exactly what the name implies.


http://lifehacker.com/who-is-on-my-...rce=lifehacker_facebook&utm_medium=socialflow


----------



## ekim68

Thanks Bruce, I'm gonna check it out...:up:


----------



## eggplant43

> This week, Ars Technica and How-To Geek released some pretty startling news: a lot of browser extensions are either injecting ads into the sites you visit, or are tracking your entire browsing historypossibly without you knowing. Here's what's going on.


http://lifehacker.com/many-browser-...m_campaign=Feed:+lifehacker/full+(Lifehacker)


----------



## ekim68

Hmm, a Community looking after its own interests rather than Corporate Interests....:up:

Small Alberta town gets massive 1,000 Mbps broadband boost



> Ultrafast internet speeds that most Canadian city dwellers can only dream of will soon be available to all 8,500 residents in a rural Alberta community for as little as $57 a month, thanks to a project by the town's non-profit economic development foundation.


----------



## ekim68

Experimental contact lens aims to offer tactile sight for the blind



> Researchers from the Faculty of Engineering at Israel's Bar Ilan University have developed a prototype contact lens that could enable the visually impaired to see the world in a whole new light. Developed by Professor Zeev Zalevsky, the contact lens processes digital images and translates them into tactile sensations which can then be felt on the user's cornea, allowing them to form a picture of their physical surroundings.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Experimental contact lens aims to offer tactile sight for the blind


:up:


----------



## ekim68

New laser-printed material is lighter than water, as strong as steel



> Materials shape human progress-think Stone Age or Bronze Age. The 21st century has been referred to as the molecular age, a time when scientists are beginning to manipulate materials at the atomic level to create new substances with astounding properties.
> 
> Taking a step in that direction, Jens Bauer, at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), and his colleagues have developed a bone-like material that is less dense than water but as strong as some forms of steel. "This is the first experimental proof that such materials can exist," Bauer said.


----------



## ekim68

Steel Wool: 13 Uses That May Be News to You



> Steel wool, now commonplace in the modern home, came about somewhat by accident. It is believed that 19th-century mechanics used to gather up the metal waste shavings from below their lathes and use them to polish metal surfaces. By the 20th century, steel wool was being mass-produced. The process begins with steel rods that are thinned and shaved; the resulting strands are then woven together to form long spools of steel wool. It is then either sold in smaller rolls or formed into pads (sometimes soaked in soap) for use in homes and shops everywhere.


----------



## hewee

Use the 0000 Steel wool also to clean the hard water spots etc from dishes. I know my mom and dad would get the glasses that get clouded looking over time and buy a new set of glasses.
Well the 0000 Steel wool and soapy water you can clean them up and have them looking new again. 
It will save you money buying new ones too and they will shine.


----------



## poochee

*Bionic hand allows amputee to feel again*
Mary Bowerman, USATODAY 4:54 p.m. EST February 5, 2014
_With a new prosthetic, researchers have managed to restore the sense of touch for a Denmark man who lost his left hand nine years ago._

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/02/05/bionic-hand-amputee-feels/5229665/


----------



## ekim68

3D-printed hip implant lets teenager walk again



> Much of the fanfare surrounding 3D printing has centered on its enabling consumers to create objects themselves, potentially circumventing traditional production models. Alongside NBA figurines and 3D printed pizza, however, the technology continues to provide valuable solutions in the field of medicine. Mobelife, a Belgium-based implant design company, has 3D printed a custom hip implant and given a once wheelchair-consigned teenager the ability to walk on her own.


----------



## ekim68

No more laptop fires: Researchers build a better battery



> The (rare) explosions are the result of a process known as thermal runaway-a positive feedback loop where increased temperatures accelerate the breakdown reaction of the battery's electrolyte, which produces more heat, which then speeds up the reaction even more.
> 
> The electrolyte facilitates the movement of the lithium ions from the anode to the cathode and in commercial batteries and is made with organic solvents. A common solvent, dimethyl carbonate, DMC, has a high risk of ignition. Finding a non-flammable replacement for the solvent would open up the battery technology to safer use and new applications, and many researchers are on the hunt.
> 
> A team of scientists based at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill recently shared their findings on a promising replacement-a fluoride polymer known as perfluoropolyether, PFPE. The polymer is similar to another well-studied poly-ether potential electrolyte, which was found to have relatively low conductivity.


----------



## ekim68

Learn to build a tiny house from salvaged building materials



> It's pretty telling that there's a lot of interest these days in the tiny house movement, both as a way to save money and live with a smaller footprint, and also as a method of embracing the concept of living more simply. There is no shortage of plans on the market for building your own tiny house, and for those who want to live in a tiny house but don't want to (or can't) build their own, readymade micro-houses are available to purchase from builders, so there are plenty of options for those wanting to make the move to living more minimally.


----------



## ekim68

Timbersled's Mountain Horse kit converts motorbikes into snow machines



> Do you hate not being able to use your dirt bike, all winter long? Well, it turns out that there's a way of pressing it into service, even once the snow has fallen - aside from swapping in studded tires, that is. Timbersled's Mountain Horse kit replaces a motorbike's front wheel with a ski, and its rear wheel with a snowmobile-like track.


----------



## valis

ekim68 said:


> Steel Wool: 13 Uses That May Be News to You


generally have either that (the fine grain kind) or dryer lint in my hiking backpack for those 'just in case' moments when you need a fire.


----------



## ekim68

12-year-old builds low-cost Lego braille printer



> Shubham Banerjee, a California seventh grader, is one of those kids whose heart and mind extend well beyond his own life and into the the wider world beyond. For a science fair project, he contemplated the issue of braille printers, which can cost upwards of $2,000, and decided there must be a better way.
> 
> The better way he came up with involved the clever use of a $350 Lego Mindstorms EV3 kit along with a few bucks worth of hardware from Home Depot. He took a basic, preexisting pattern for a printer and reworked it with new software and hardware enhancements to print out letters in braille. The result is called the Braigo.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> 12-year-old builds low-cost Lego braille printer


----------



## DaveBurnett

Is that the one that is read by the feet stepping on it.........??



Brilliant kid will hopefully get the chances he deserves!


----------



## ekim68

Buy this gizmo, and you'll only ever need one candle for the rest of your life 



> This very clever gizmo solves a problem that humans have struggled with for hundreds of years: the stupid mess of dripping wax that happens every time you light a candle.


----------



## ekim68

Spongy material could charge phones using vibrations from cars



> While it's already possible to wirelessly recharge smartphones in cars, those cars need to be equipped with a special charging pad that the phone has to be placed on. Thanks to a newly-developed "nanogenerator," however, it might eventually be possible to place the phone anywhere in any car, letting the vehicle's vibrations provide the power.
> 
> Developed by a team of scientists from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the University of Minnesota Duluth, and China's Sun Yat-sen University, the nanogenerator could be incorporated directly into a phone's housing.


----------



## ekim68

Pantry Items that Double as Cleaning Tools, Part II



> It might not be spring yet, but that shouldn't stop you from getting a head start on some spring cleaning. You know you don't need to add a trip to the store to your to-do list -- you're already familiar with 9 pantry items that double as cleaning tools. Here's round two, with 8 more items you already have in your kitchen.


----------



## ekim68

Nissan Surveys Tesla Owners For Intelligence On Electric Cars



> Nissan launched its 2011 Leaf, the world's first modern mass-production all-electric vehicle, more than three years ago. The first U.S. delivery was in December 2010 in California.
> 
> But sales have not met Nissan's goals, for a variety of reasons. And now Nissan has two competitors in volume electric cars: Tesla, and more recently BMW.
> 
> So Nissan is doing a smart thing: It's talking to Tesla owners about their cars, presumably in hopes of understanding better how to compete with the German technology brand and the Silicon Valley upstart.


----------



## ekim68

The Mobile Homeless Shelter Of The Future



> Winfried Baumann's creations look like some sort of art joke. Over the past 13 years, the German artist has affixed solar panels and laptop trays to shopping carts, stuffed padded mattresses in what appear to be hot dog carts, and created what can only be described as a suitcase for your body. But these aren't any sort of parody: Built in response to a set of real needs for those living on the street, Baumann's "Instant Housing" pieces imagine a future in which those who want to can comfortably live nomadic urban lifestyles, with as much as possible packed in as little space as necessary.


----------



## ekim68

California Launches Country's First All-Electric School Bus



> It may not be capable of space travel, but one California district has found a magic school bus.
> 
> The Kings Canyon Unified School District recently launched the first all-electric school bus in the United States, Inhabitat reports.
> 
> The bus is a modified SST Trans Tech model based on a Ford E-Series van chassis, with an electric powertrain from Motiv Power Systems. It can carry 25 students and has an estimated range of between 80 and 100 miles.


----------



## ekim68

World's first Passive House-certified pet door unveiled at Ecobuild 2014



> Of the many new gadgets to help you go green that were on offer at London's Ecobuild 2014 last week, one of the standout innovations was from Petwalk. The company's new, highly-insulated, automated pet door lets pets move in and out of the house at will, without squeezing through small openings or knocking on a plastic flap. It opens and closes electronically without being pushed open by a dog or cat, or by anyone else. Once closed, the doors form a draught-free seal that conforms to Passive House standards for thermal exclusion.


----------



## ekim68

Cell therapy shows remarkable ability to eradicate cancer in clinical study



> The largest clinical study ever conducted to date of patients with advanced leukemia found that 88 percent achieved complete remissions after being treated with genetically modified versions of their own immune cells. "These extraordinary results demonstrate that cell therapy is a powerful treatment for patients who have exhausted all conventional therapies," said a senior author. "Our initial findings have held up in a larger cohort of patients, and we are already looking at new clinical studies to advance this novel therapeutic approach in fighting cancer."


----------



## ekim68

Farm-to-Table Living Takes Root



> GILBERT, Ariz. - In many American suburbs, outward signs of life are limited to the blue glow of television screens flickering behind energy-efficient windows. But in a subdivision of this bedroom community outside Phoenix, amid precision-cut lawns and Craftsman-style homes, lambs caper in common green areas, chickens scratch in a citrus grove and residents roam rows of heirloom vegetables to see what might be good for dinner.
> 
> The neighborhood is called Agritopia, and it's one of a growing number of so-called agrihoods, residential developments where a working farm is the central feature, in the same way that other communities may cluster around a golf course, pool or fitness center.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Farm-to-Table Living Takes Root


----------



## ekim68

Electric Scooter In A Briefcase: Would You Pay $6,000 For It?



> You only need witness the success of the Transformers movie franchise to know that people like the idea of things changing into other things.
> 
> Let's assume that a Camaro that turns into an Autobot isn't suitable for your commute however. How about a briefcase that turns into an electric scooter?
> 
> That's what Green Energy Motors Corp. can sell you for the princely sum of $6,000.


----------



## ekim68

Polaris-H detector maps nuclear radiation in real time



> Turn on any old science fiction film and odds are that you'll see someone listening to the ominous chirping of a Geiger counter. It's very dramatic, but not very precise and, unfortunately, nuclear scientists and engineers of today are stuck with the same problem. Now, researchers at the University of Michigan have developed a faster, cheaper way for nuclear power plants to detect and map dangerous hot spots and leaky fuel rods using a camera that maps radiation in real time.





> The University of Michigan solution is the Polaris-H detector. Based on technology based on a project to track down nuclear terrorists, it's marketed by the spin off company H3D. The Polaris-H is a handheld radiation camera containing a cadmium-zinc-tellurium, room-temperature gamma ray detector of unprecedented precision that's much lighter and half the cost of cryogenic devices that lays a gamma-ray map over an image of an area.


----------



## hewee

ekim68 said:


> Polaris-H detector maps nuclear radiation in real time


Just what we need because it's getting closer to us out west here.


----------



## ekim68

This tandem bike shrinks to a solo one for after you've been dumped



> Calfee Design makes some pretty sweet bamboo bikes, but now it's even anticipating your change in Facebook relationship status. To make breakups a little less painful - or just make tandem bikes more versatile - the cycle company created a convertible tandem that you can turn into a solo bike. (It's a bicycle built for two! Slash one!)


----------



## ekim68

Aesent four-man dome tent features a built-in air mattress



> Inflatable tents are nothing new, with offerings such as the Wedge, the Cave and the Kelty Mach 6 built around inflatable frames to speed up pitching times. But Utah-based start-up Aescent is turning things upside down with its four-man domed tent that features an inflatable mattress built into the base to provide a comfortable place to rest your weary bones after a day's hiking.


----------



## ekim68

Cefaly migraine prevention headband gets FDA approval



> Though using electrical stimulation of the brain as a means of treating migraines has provided an alternative to over-the-counter medication, the administering of the electrical currents can be complex, involving bulky equipment or even surgically implanted electrodes. Celafy, a battery-operated headband, has now been approved by the FDA (US Food and Drug Administration) and is claimed to not only treat migraines, but possibly prevent them altogether.


----------



## ekim68

IBM's Watson Takes Aim At Cancer



> Collaboration between IBM and the New York Genome Center will use Watson to match cancer mutations to potential treatments, compressing process from *months to minutes.*


----------



## ekim68

Good news for Seattle: These solar panels work best in overcast weather



> Next time someone snarks, "Too bad solar panels don't work in when it's overcast," spike this fact-volleyball into their thoughtmaker: SOME solar panels actually work BETTER when it's cloudy out. Bam!
> 
> British scientists at the National Physical Laboratory this week created organic photovoltaics, which not only sound delicious but perform better in diffuse light. According to PSFK, they're 13 percent efficient when it's overcast, compared to 10 percent when it's sunny.


----------



## DaveBurnett

What tosh! will they come up with next. 
Read the article properly and it very specifically states the they will NOT produce more power - which is implied - , but just happen to be 3% more efficient than the non-organic ones in lower light levels. It doesn't state the efficiency at higher light levels, which may actually be a lot lower.


----------



## ekim68

I didn't think it was implied that more power was produced, but good on you for reading the article :up:.....Most people don't....Having said that, where I live in the Northwest we have cloudy weather nine months out of the year and this is welcome news...(If I can ever afford it... )


----------



## DaveBurnett

Well I took the headline to say that they "work best in overcast weather"  

Splitting hairs perhaps, but I suspect they knew what they were saying. Well I suppose it DID generate discussion, which is what headlines are for.


----------



## ekim68

Contact lenses with night vision could be on the way thanks to graphene breakthrough



> Night vision technology has been around for a while, but it's only really used by professionals (or professional creeps) due to its prohibitive size.
> 
> But what if night vision was something you could fit into a pair of contact lenses? You could keep a pair in your bag to slip in if you were going to be walking home alone in the dark, or even use them to take a night-time jaunt through a forest without spooking all the animals.
> 
> All this and more could be possible in the future thanks to a new development by researchers in the US using graphene lenses to sense "the full infrared spectrum" plus visible and ultraviolet light.


----------



## eggplant43

> Cleaning the shower is one of those tasks that you know you should be doing more often than you are. The Prairie Homestead has come up with a DIY shower cleaner that slows down grime build-up, thus letting you take your time between cleanings.


http://lifehacker.com/diy-shower-cl...m_campaign=Feed:+lifehacker/full+(Lifehacker)


----------



## ekim68

No Time To Garden At Home? At This Train Station, You Can Garden On Your Commute



> For people who spend long hours at work, it's getting easier to get things done while you wait for a train headed home: Virtual grocery stores are popping up on subway platforms, Shanghai residents can pick up library books while riding on the train, and services like Amazon Locker are delivering packages to local transit stations in cities like London. And in Tokyo, locals who don't have the time or space to garden at home can rent out a plot in a series of urban farms on top of train stations.
> 
> "We're promoting the greening of the city," says Makoto Kawada, a spokesperson for East Japan Railway Company, which runs train lines throughout Japan. "We started this vegetable garden business out of a desire to contribute to the environmental maintenance and the revitalization of the area along the train line."


----------



## ekim68

Panasonic's Power Supply Container: A solar power plant in a box



> In an effort to bring reliable electricity supplies to emerging regions and remote island communities, Panasonic has developed an expandable, portable, self-contained photovoltaic system. The "Power Supply Container" comes equipped with 12 of Panasonic's HIT240 solar modules on the roof and generates approximately 3 kW of electricity, with 24 lead-acid batteries capable of storing 17.2 kWh of energy used to store excess electricity.


----------



## ekim68

Spray-On Polymer Mats Seal Surgical Incisions



> To supplement or even replace sutures, researchers have proposed applying sticky, biodegradable mats of polymer nanofibers onto surgical incisions to seal them and promote healing. But existing methods of depositing such mats aren't compatible with living cells and tissues. Now, researchers have demonstrated that they can spray polymer nanofibers directly onto biological tissues using an airbrush from a hardware store.


----------



## ekim68

Save on Groceries by Shopping Late in the Evening (Especially Wednesdays)



> The best time to shop for food may be the evenings, when supermarkets are likely to have already reduced prices on items that are expiring soon. Depending on your area, Wednesdays may also be the best day to grocery shop due to sales timing.
> 
> Each supermarket chain will reduce their bargains at different times, but it stands to reason that the best discounts will usually be found later in the day for things like bakery goods, meat, and produce that have limited shelf life.


----------



## ekim68

Cancer vaccine a step closer as natural killer cells are rightly activated 



> Natural killer (NK) cells in our immune system are like the soldiers of an army, they mediate a rapid response to an infection or a growing tumor. They constitute the first line of body's defence mechanism. These cells can also inhibit the spread of cancer to different parts of the body, which is not only beyond the scope of current treatments such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy, but also accounts for more than 90% of deaths due to cancer.
> 
> Penninger has now shown, using mice that act as proxy for humans, that natural killer cells can be activated to inhibit the spread of cancer, and thus the survival of cancer patients can be prolonged, without any side effects.


----------



## ekim68

A Hospital Door Handle That Sanitizes Hands With a Touch



> One in 25 patients in U.S. hospitals acquires an infection during their stay in the hospital, according to a comprehensive study released this week by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Clean hands can help mitigate the problem, but getting hospital workers to use sanitizer regularly has proven tough. One design studio's clever solution? A door handle that encourages people to clean their hands every time they use it.
> 
> The handle, PullClean, was developed by the British studio Agency of Design for Altitude Medical. It's a simple column that can be fitted on any pull door, with a blue paddle on bottom that dispenses a dab of hand sanitizer when pushed. The aim, the designers explain, is to "make it so simple that sanitizing becomes habitual every time you open the door."


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> A Hospital Door Handle That Sanitizes Hands With a Touch


----------



## ekim68

Teen to government: Change your typeface, save millions



> Using the General Services Administration's estimated annual cost of ink -- $467 million -- Suvir concluded that if the federal government used Garamond exclusively it could save nearly 30% -- or $136 million per year. An additional $234 million could be saved annually if state governments also jumped on board, he reported.


----------



## ekim68

This Danish Island Powered By Renewables Is Creating Followers Worldwide



> At first glance, the small Danish island of Samsø doesn´t look like a place that would attract international fame. With less than 4,000 inhabitants living on under 115 square kilometers of land, it's not exactly a geopolitical player. But a visit to Samsø reveals an island with outsized ambitions for moving into a clean energy future - and others around the world are starting to take notice.
> 
> Here, wind turbines are aligned in straight rows in the ocean that surrounds the island. Solar panels dot the roofs of houses and farms everywhere, as well as parks. Initiatives have involved the local population and private investors in helping Samsø realize its green, clean energy potential - and *since 2005 it has been producing more electricity than it consumes, all from the sun and wind.*


----------



## ekim68

Smoking bans cut premature births



> Banning smoking in public places has helped to cut premature births by 10%, according to new research from the United States and Europe.
> 
> A study in the Lancet medical journal found that while the impact of anti-smoking laws varied between countries, the overall effect on child health around the world had been positive.


:up:


----------



## DaveBurnett

How can they tell that?
Another set of statistics massaged to prove what they wanted them to.
Child care has been improving overall around the world.


----------



## eggplant43

> An international team comprised of English, Spanish, and Brazilian researchers may have developed a new type of cement made from ceramic waste such as toilets, bathtubs, and basins. And the new mixture has the potential to be even stronger than conventional cement used worldwide. The team is also experimenting with a mixture that uses rice husks instead of chemical compounds, a process that would result in a cement made entirely from reclaimed waste materials.


http://inhabitat.com/green-cement-m...bs-may-be-stronger-than-traditional-mixtures/


----------



## DaveBurnett

> The team is also experimenting with a mixture that uses rice husks instead of chemical compounds, a process that would result in a cement made entirely from reclaimed waste materials.


That gives a whole new meaning to the phrase "S%£tting bricks"


----------



## poochee

DaveBurnett said:


> That gives a whole new meaning to the phrase "S%£tting bricks"


----------



## ekim68

High-tech items giving deaf-blind online access



> Tanisha Verdejo loves to surf the Internet for shopping deals. She chats on Facebook, learns about new recipes and enjoys sending emails to friends and family.
> 
> Verdejo, who can't see or hear, could do none of that a year ago.
> 
> The 40-year-old New Yorker lives in a group home in Port Washington and is among the thousands of people with combined hearing and vision loss to have benefited from a pilot program called iCanConnect. The initiative provides low-income deaf-blind individuals with the most up-to-date telecommunications devices for free and special training to use them.


----------



## ekim68

Scale Model WWII Craft Takes Flight With Fuel From the Sea Concept



> Using an innovative and proprietary NRL electrolytic cation exchange module (E-CEM), both dissolved and bound CO2 are removed from seawater at 92 percent efficiency by re-equilibrating carbonate and bicarbonate to CO2 and simultaneously producing H2. The gases are then converted to liquid hydrocarbons by a metal catalyst in a reactor system.





> CO2 in the air and in seawater is an abundant carbon resource, but the concentration in the ocean (100 milligrams per liter [mg/L]) is about 140 times greater than that in air, and 1/3 the concentration of CO2 from a stack gas (296 mg/L). Two to three percent of the CO2 in seawater is dissolved CO2 gas in the form of carbonic acid, one percent is carbonate, and the remaining 96 to 97 percent is bound in bicarbonate.


----------



## ekim68

Panasonic's HIT solar cell hits record 25.6 percent conversion efficiency



> Panasonic is reporting a 25.6 percent conversion efficiency for its HIT (Heterojunction with Intrinsic Thin layer) solar cells. This is an improvement of almost 1 percent over the 24.7 percent conversion efficiency Panasonic achieved in February 2013, with the company claiming it as a world record for crystalline silicon-based solar cells of a "practical size."


----------



## ekim68

Commuter X4 bike light helps drivers judge distance and width of cyclists



> When Ed Ward was knocked off his bike and into a busy London junction, he was determined it wouldn't happen again. But, rather than give up cycling, he set out to improve bike safety lights. His latest creation, the Commuter X4, is a wearable, fiber optic rear bike light designed to help drivers spot cyclists, as well as judge their distance, width and speed.


----------



## ekim68

This Massive Solar-Powered Airplane Can Fly Forever



> Solar Impulse is a Swiss aircraft designed for long-range flights, traveling under the power of nothing more than sunlight, and it's gearing up to complete a flight around the world in 2015.
> 
> The plane employs 17,248 solar cells to harness the sun's energy. As the sun sets, the plane switches over to the energy stored in its batteries. Solar Impulse can, in theory, perpetually stay aloft for as long as a pilot wants to fly.


----------



## ekim68

IKEA makes big investment in wind energy



> IKEA - though not exactly a friend to forests, and way too fond of dubious meatballs for our taste - still wins greenie points for having a Scandinavian way with alternative energy. Ninety percent of its massive warehouse stores will soon host rooftop solar panels, including sunny south Florida's largest solar array, and Brits will be able to buy solar panels in U.K. stores starting this summer. On Thursday, the company one-upped its own clean cred by announcing its investment in a giant wind farm in Illinois.


----------



## ekim68

In a cloning first, scientists create stem cells from adults



> Scientists have moved a step closer to the goal of creating stem cells perfectly matched to a patient's DNA in order to treat diseases, they announced on Thursday, creating patient-specific cell lines out of the skin cells of two adult men.
> 
> The advance, described online in the journal Cell Stem Cell, is the first time researchers have achieved "therapeutic cloning" of adults. Technically called somatic-cell nuclear transfer, therapeutic cloning means producing embryonic cells genetically identical to a donor, usually for the purpose of using those cells to treat disease.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> In a cloning first, scientists create stem cells from adults


:up:


----------



## ekim68

EU Makes Bold Commitment to Sustainable Fishing



> The European Union's Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) comes up for renewal every decade, but for the first time, Parliament clearly dedicated itself to ensuring sustainable practices.
> 
> Passing by a whopping 473-to-52 vote count, Parliament approved reform of the CFP, including objectives to rebuild fish stocks, reduce fishing's impact on the ecosystem and deny financial help to those with records of illegal fishing. The CFP's approval makes way for a € 6.5 billion European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) that would last through 2020. Fisheries ministers will now receive a final vote, but most believe that will be a formality.


:up:


----------



## ekim68

Plant Breeders Release First 'Open Source Seeds'



> A group of scientists and food activists is launching a Thursday to change the rules that govern seeds. They're releasing 29 new varieties of crops under a new "open source pledge" that's intended to safeguard the ability of farmers, gardeners and plant breeders to share those seeds freely.
> 
> It's inspired by the example of open source software, which is freely available for anyone to use but cannot legally be converted into anyone's proprietary product.


----------



## ekim68

Man Compares His $42k Prosthetic Hand to a $50 3D Printed Cyborg Beast



> After some time had passed, Simon decided to meet up with Delgado once more, this time to work on the setup of the tendons within the Beast. To his amazement, Delgado had told him that the 3D printed hand has been functioning better than the myoelectric device, and he had preferred it to the $42,000 hand he had used for over a year. Sure, a piece may break every once in a while, as ABS plastic is not the strongest material in the world, but the solution is simple, print a replacement.


----------



## ekim68

Re-growing auditory nerves



> Researchers have for the first time used electrical pulses delivered from a cochlear implant to deliver gene therapy, thereby successfully regrowing auditory nerves. The research also heralds a possible new way of treating a range of neurological disorders, including Parkinson's disease, and psychiatric conditions such as depression through this novel way of delivering gene therapy.


----------



## ekim68

Anonymous' Airchat Aims to Allow Communication Without Needing Phone or Internet Access



> Online hacktivist collective Anonymous has announced that it is working on a new tool called Airchat which could allow people to communicate without the need for a phone or an internet connection - using radio waves instead.





> The idea is that people all over the world, including those in rural areas and developing countries, will one day be able to communicate for free without the need for a mobile phone network, phone line or internet access.


----------



## ekim68

Video....

The "Forever Lock". Un-pickable lock with an amazing design!


----------



## ekim68

How to Survive a Lightning Strike: An Illustrated Guide


----------



## ekim68

WSU innovation improves drowsy driver detection



> SPOKANE, Wash.-Researchers at Washington State University Spokane have developed a new way to detect when drivers are about to nod off behind the wheel.
> 
> Their recently patented technology is based on steering wheel movements-which are more variable in drowsy drivers-and offers an affordable and more reliable alternative to currently available video-based driver drowsiness detection systems.


:up:


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> WSU innovation improves drowsy driver detection
> 
> :up:


----------



## ekim68

"Solar" jet fuel created from water and carbon dioxide



> In a move that could help address our insatiable thirst for fuel while at the same time help cut CO2 emissions, scientists with the SOLAR-JET (Solar chemical reactor demonstration and Optimization for Long-term Availability of Renewable Jet fuel) project have recently shown that through a multi-step process, concentrated sunlight can be used to convert carbon dioxide into kerosene, which can then be used as jet fuel.


----------



## gordon russell

"Gazan student shows that necessity is the mother of all inventions "

{Hope this has not been posted before, if so* poochee *, please delete;}

https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/news/middle-east/7555-gazan-student-shows-that-necessity-is-the-mother-of-all-inventions


----------



## poochee

gordon russell said:


> "Gazan student shows that necessity is the mother of all inventions "
> 
> {Hope this has not been posted before, if so* poochee *, please delete;}
> 
> https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/news/middle-east/7555-gazan-student-shows-that-necessity-is-the-mother-of-all-inventions


Hi Gordon, I'm not a Moderator.

However. I don't recall seeing it before.


----------



## ekim68

MARS prototype puts retinal scanning technology in the palm of a hand



> Retinal scans are based on the fact that the pattern of blood vessels in the eye's retina are as individual as a fingerprint. However, they are currently limited as a general means of identification because the equipment tends to be on the expensive and immobile side. With their Mobile Authentication via Retina Scanner (MARS), Fraunhofer scientists have been able to reduce the size of the optical components required for a retinal scanning system so it is portable, thereby opening up the possibility of retinal scans one day being used to unlock mobile devices.


----------



## ekim68

New antibacterial fabric kills infectious bacteria within 10 minutes



> With a well established ability to kill off bacteria, silver has come to play a significant role in the development of antimicrobial materials. Indeed, we've seen it used in keyboards, built into water filtration systems and deployed in washing machines as a means of fending off germs. The latest effort to harness the bacteria-fighting qualities of silver comes from researchers at Australia's RMIT University working with scientists from the CSIRO, who have developed an antibacterial fabric capable of killing off E. coli and other infectious bacteria within 10 minutes of contact.


----------



## hewee

So then sterling silver dishes and silverware may also be good for you and they look so nice too. 
Also use them every day and they will look good.


----------



## ekim68

Promising solution to plastic pollution



> For many people, "plastic" is a one-word analog for environmental disaster. It is made from precious petroleum, after all, and once discarded in landfills and oceans, it takes centuries to degrade.
> 
> Then came apparent salvation: "bioplastics," durable substances made from renewable cellulose, a plant-based polysaccharide. But problems remained. For one, the current bioplastics do not fully degrade in the environment. For another, their use is now limited to packaging material or simple containers for food and drink.
> 
> Now researchers at Harvard's Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering have introduced a new bioplastic isolated from shrimp shells. It's made from chitosan, a form of chitin - the second-most abundant organic material on Earth.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Promising solution to plastic pollution


:up:


----------



## ekim68

BMW Solar Charging Carport Concept Is Stunning Functional Art



> In addition to being greener than charging from the grid, the solar energy carport allows the BMW i owner to be more self-sufficient in their energy supply. To harness the energy from the solar panels, a BMW i Wallbox Pro is needed. Once integrated, the carport and Wallbox Pro can then directly charge either the i3 or i8. With the Wallbox Pro's features, excess solar energy not needed to charge the car can be used by the connected house.


----------



## eggplant43

> One of the best ways to save a little money is to buy stuff usedwhether we're talking computers, smartphones, or even cars. Buying used comes with a bit of extra responsibility, though. Here are some guides on how to avoid getting screwed, no matter what you're buying.


http://lifehacker.com/the-essential...rce=lifehacker_facebook&utm_medium=socialflow


----------



## ekim68

An Ingenious Shock-Absorbing Wheel for Bikes and Wheelchairs



> When Israeli farmer Gilad Wolf broke his pelvis in 2008, he resolved not to lets his crops wither on the vine and became determined to turn his wheelchair into a workhorse. After suffering the pain that came from traversing the bumpy rows of his field in a stock chair he began developing new designs better suited to off-road applications. He experimented with solutions based on farm equipment and ultimately took his concepts to the Rad-BioMed Technology Accelerator in Tel Aviv where he got the help required to transform concept sketch into a patent-pending product called SoftWheel.


----------



## eggplant43

> What is a simple way to improve your critical thinking skills?
> 
> Ask Why?, What Else?, and What if?


http://sourcesofinsight.com/think-critically/


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://sourcesofinsight.com/think-critically/


:up:


----------



## eggplant43

http://www.rdawson.com/articles/vise.html


----------



## ekim68

Liberating devices from their power cords



> The new device that Pint and Westover has developed is a supercapacitor that stores electricity by assembling electrically charged ions on the surface of a porous material, instead of storing it in chemical reactions the way batteries do. As a result, supercaps can charge and discharge in minutes, instead of hours, and operate for millions of cycles, instead of thousands of cycles like batteries.


----------



## ekim68

Good idea, even if a bit expensive right now....

Hi-tech glasses aim to assist the blind with directions and obstacle detection



> Researchers from the Center for Research and Advanced Studies (CINVESTAV) in Mexico have developed a pair of glasses that use a combination of ultrasound, GPS, stereoscopic vision and artificial intelligence to help the visually impaired to navigate their environment.


----------



## ekim68

Promising discovery in the fight against antibiotic-resistant bacteria



> Researchers at the University of British Columbia have identified a small molecule that prevents bacteria from forming into biofilms, a frequent cause of infections. The anti-biofilm peptide works on a range of bacteria including many that cannot be treated by antibiotics.
> 
> "Currently there is a severe problem with antibiotic-resistant organisms," says Bob Hancock, a professor in UBC's Dept. of Microbiology and Immunology and lead author of the study published today in PLOS Pathogens. "Our entire arsenal of antibiotics is gradually losing effectiveness."
> 
> Many bacteria that grow on skin, lung, heart and other human tissue surfaces form biofilms, highly structured communities of bacteria that are responsible for two-thirds of all human infections. There are currently no approved treatments for biofilm infections and bacteria in biofilms are considerably more resistant to standard antibiotics.
> 
> Hancock and his colleagues found that the peptide known as 1018-consisting of just 12 amino acids, the building blocks of protein-destroyed biofilms and prevented them from forming.


----------



## poochee

:up:


----------



## ekim68

Baltimore Inner Harbor Getting Cleaner With Water Wheel Trash Interceptor



> BALTIMORE (WJZ)-Most have us have seen it or smelled it. Trash in the Inner Harbor is a major problem and waterfront activists now have a new tool in fighting.
> 
> The water wheel is officially up and running. Waterfront supporters say it's expected to play a key role in reaching the goal of making the Inner Harbor swimmable and fishable by 2020.


----------



## ekim68

Scientists from CERN and MIT launch encrypted email service



> The privacy of the data that we put online has been a hot topic over the last year. In order to protect against unwanted snooping, a group of scientists has created a new secure email service. ProtonMail provides end-to-end encryption, meaning that even the company itself can't even see the content of your messages.


----------



## ekim68

Sunseeker Duo makes first solar-powered passenger flight



> Last month, Solar Flight revealed that the team was working hard to get its Sunseeker Duo ready for the first passenger flights this (northern) summer. Today, the company announced that husband and wife team Eric and Irena Raymond have taken to the skies together, making the Duo the first solar-powered airplane to carry two people.





> Solar Flight says that the Raymonds took off together in the company's third powered airplane from its test facility near Milan, Italy. For take off, the Duo uses energy harvested from the 1,510 solar cells on its wings and tail and stored in a battery pack in the fuselage. Once in the air, the airplane then cruises directly on solar power. The company claims that, with two people on board, it's capable of flights of 12 hours or more.


----------



## ekim68

Cleaning the Air with Roof Tiles



> Students develop titanium dioxide roof tile coating that removes up to 97 percent of smog-causing nitrogen oxides


----------



## ekim68

World's first waste-to-biofuels facility opens in Edmonton



> EDMONTON - The world's first municipal facility to convert household garbage into biofuels opened Wednesday at the Edmonton Waste Management Centre. It's expected that by 2016, 90 per cent of the city's waste will be diverted out of the landfill due to this new facility. Currently, Edmonton recycles and composts 60 per cent of its waste.


----------



## ekim68

Mercedes Details 2015 S-Class Coupe's Curve Tilting Function



> You won't be getting your knee on the ground through every corner, but Mercedes-Benz's latest technology replicates at least one of the sensations of cornering in a motorcycle--leaning into bends.


----------



## ekim68

Artificial human blood substitute could help meet donor blood shortfall



> According to the World Health Organization (WHO), over 107 million blood donations are collected around the globe every year, most of which goes on to help save lives. However, while the need for blood is global, much of that which is donated is not accessible to many who need it, such as those in developing countries. And of the blood donated in industrialized countries, the amount often falls short of requirements. To help address this imbalance, scientists at the University of Essex are developing an artificial blood substitute that would provide a benign, virus-free alternative for blood transfusions.


----------



## ekim68

A Beautiful At-Home Medical Device That Cuts Out Trips to the Doctor



> The iPhone has enabled all sorts of crazy interactions, but a new device called Cue could be the first iOS accessory that uses boogers as a primary user input. The tabletop analyzer brings the power of a medical laboratory into the home and allows people to test their levels of testosterone, inflammation, vitamin D, and fertility with small amounts of blood, saliva, or nasal swabs.


----------



## ekim68

Health min plans to give 50 essential medicines free



> After recently prescribing the need for 'bitter medicine' to resuscitate the ailing economy, the Narendra Modi government is, seemingly, working on contours of a social welfare healthcare project to sweeten the deal for the citizenry. For starters, the health ministry's vision is to provide 50 essential generic medicines, free of cost, from "birth to death" to all Indians across the nation.
> 
> "Fifty basic essential drugs address 75% of the healthcare needs of the majority, and we plan to make these available free to everyone, from birth to death," Union health minister Harsh Vardhan told HT.


:up:


----------



## ekim68

Stem-cell advances may quell ethics debate



> LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Robert Waddell says he's glad the stem cells that healed him came from "a guy who was 50 years old" and not a human embryo.
> 
> As a Catholic, Waddell opposes the destruction of embryos and didn't want to rely on embryonic stem cells to cure his kidney disease. But he avoided this moral dilemma by getting bone marrow stem cells from a friend who donated a kidney as part of a University of Louisville study.


----------



## ekim68

The best way to peel a whole bucket of potatoes in seconds



> Leo Morten Lund has a great trick to peel an entire two-pound sack of potatoes in less than a minute. All he needs is a drill, a round (clean) toilet brush head, a hose, and a bucket full of water.


(Video)


----------



## ekim68

$8 Homemade Air Conditioner - Works Flawlessly! 

(Video)


----------



## ekim68

Penguin device checks your food for antibiotic residue



> We've already heard about a biosensor developed in Brazil for detecting pesticide content in food. Now at CE Week, a Seoul-based company called BioSensor Laboratories has presented Penguin, a home-use sensor that detects the presence of antibiotics in animal products.
> 
> The system, described as a lab-on-a-chip solution, detects traces of electrons produced by chemical reactions of enzymes and antibiotics using signal-to-noise technology commonly used in medical devices. Biosensor Solutions says it can detect all antibiotics with an accuracy of 10 ppb (parts per billion).


----------



## ekim68

3D-printed composite is lighter than wood and stiffer than concrete



> Reseachers at Harvard University have developed a way to 3D-print a cellular composite with record lightness and stiffness using an epoxy resin. This marks the first time that epoxy is used for 3D-printing, and the advance could lead to the development of new lightweight architectures for more efficient wind turbines, faster cars, and lighter airplanes.


----------



## ekim68

Tofu ingredient could clean up solar cell recipe



> Dr Jon Major says magnesium chloride could replace toxic cadmium chloride in CdTe solar cells without impacting efficiency.


----------



## ekim68

PowerCube pop-up solar generator provides relief to disaster-struck areas



> It was seven years ago that Ecosphere Technologies revealed its first iteration of a self-contained relief unit for disaster-struck areas. The company has since been busy refining the system's form and function and has now announced the completion of what it says to be the world's largest deployable solar power generator. Capable of generating 15 kW of electricity, PowerCube is transported as a standard shipping container and can morph into a solar-powered shelter, water treatment plant and communications base, all with a push of a button.


----------



## ekim68

3D printer constructs 10 buildings in one day from recycled materials



> A Chinese company has become the first to construct multiple buildings using 3D printers that extrude recycled building materials at breakneck speed.
> 
> Using four huge 3D printers, Yingchuang New Materials Inc. was able to print the shells of 10 one-room structures in 24 hours and at a cost of only about $5,000 per building. The buildings had to harden at the factory and then be transported and assembled on site.


----------



## ekim68

'Sensing Skin' Quickly Detects Cracks, Damage in Concrete Structures



> Researchers from North Carolina State University and the University of Eastern Finland have developed new "sensing skin" technology designed to serve as an early warning system for concrete structures, allowing authorities to respond quickly to damage in everything from nuclear facilities to bridges.


----------



## ekim68

Airbus: Pilots don't really need windows



> Future airliner flight decks may do away with windows and move out of the nose of the aircraft, according to Airbus.
> 
> The European airplane maker filed a patent application Dec. 23, published June 26, for a flight deck that relies mostly or entirely on electronic viewscreens.
> 
> The first advantage is aerodynamic, since flight deck windows require interrupting the ideal scalpel shape of the nose, Airbus wrote. Also, big windows and the reinforcement required for them add weight to the aircraft.


----------



## poochee

*Prescription drug drop-off boxes spread across U.S.
*Paulina Firozi, USA TODAY 11:51 p.m. EDT July 11, 2014



> A growing number of police departments across the U.S. are adding prescription drug drop-off boxes at stations to allow people to properly dispose of expired or unneeded drugs.





> One common concern is people flushing old prescriptions down the toilet, which he called the "worst thing you can do." The drugs could eventually end up back in the water supply.


http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/07/11/prescription-drug-disposal-grants/12416887/


----------



## ekim68

British rocket scientist says he's designed a better saucepan



> Cooking isn't rocket science, but maybe designing cookware is. A professor of engineering at Oxford University has designed a new saucepan that he says heats up faster and uses 40% less energy than conventional saucepans.


----------



## ekim68

Urban Skyfarm concept would provide inner city farming space



> Two problems caused by increasing overpopulation in cities are how to use space productively and how to feed everyone. A new concept design suggests a means of addressing both these issues. Aprilli Design Studio's Urban Skyfarm is a tree-like skyscraper that provides space for crop farming.


----------



## ekim68

A Pocket-Sized Antenna That Lets You Text Even in a Disaster Like Sandy



> On October 29, 2012 Hurricane Sandy descended upon the New York and New Jersey coastlines. Among the storm's many casualties were some of the area's cellphone towers, leaving millions of residents stripped of both electrical power and their usual cell phone service. "I was thinking, 'Is there any way to make cell phones communicate, so even in the worst case scenario like Sandy, when you have no power or Wi-Fi, you can still communicate?'" Daniela Perdomo says. "The only thing that does that is Bluetooth, and for that you have to be within 20 feet, so you might as well just speak loudly. We figured out that the only way to do that was an external piece of hardware."
> 
> By November 2-less than a week later-Perdomo had sketched out a plan for goTenna, a gadget that could have given people stuck without service the ability to use their phones again. By February 2013, she had physical prototypes.


----------



## ekim68

Cubii under-desk elliptical trainer lets you pedal to fitness at work



> For workers who are sat at a desk all day, health and fitness can be a concern. There are various solutions for desk-based workouts, such as the OfficeGym chair attachment and Active Desk workspace/exercise bike. The Cubii, meanwhile, is a compact elliptical trainer that fits under your desk.


----------



## ekim68

DrinkPure water filter shows promise for worldwide use



> It's no secret that hundreds of millions of people around the world have little or no access to drinkable water. While a number of projects are aimed at getting filtration systems to those people, many of those systems require electricity, contain costly materials such as silver, or treat the water at a slow rate. The low-cost DrinkPure filter, by contrast, is simply screwed onto the top of an existing bottle, and can purify approximately one liter (34 fl oz) of water per minute.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> DrinkPure water filter shows promise for worldwide use


:up:


----------



## ekim68

Australian team smashes 26-year-old electric car world record



> UNSW's Sunswift eVe has broken a long-standing electric car speed record and now shifts gears to make the car street-legal.


----------



## ekim68

Stanford researchers develop self-cooling solar cells



> Photovoltaic cells are one of the more promising alternative energy sources. Mechanically they are very simple, with no moving parts, and are clean and emission-free. Unfortunately they are also inefficient. One of the reasons for this is that they overheat, a problem that a Stanford University team under electrical engineering professor Shanhui Fan is addressing with the development of a thin glass layer that makes solar cells self-cooling.


----------



## ekim68

Potential 'universal' blood test for cancer discovered 



> Researchers from the University of Bradford have devised a simple blood test that can be used to diagnose whether people have cancer or not.
> 
> The test will enable doctors to rule out cancer in patients presenting with certain symptoms, saving time and preventing costly and unnecessary invasive procedures such as colonoscopies and biopsies being carried out. Alternatively, it could be a useful aid for investigating patients who are suspected of having a cancer that is currently hard to diagnose.
> Early results have shown the method gives a high degree of accuracy diagnosing cancer and pre-cancerous conditions from the blood of patients with melanoma, colon cancer and lung cancer. The research is published online in FASEB Journal, the US journal of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Potential 'universal' blood test for cancer discovered


:up:


----------



## ekim68

BMW Launches Its Answer to Tesla's Supercharger Network



> The biggest problem automakers selling electric cars face is limited range. No one wants to get caught without any juice. To get around this concern, Tesla, whose Model S offers the best range (up to 265 miles), is building a vast network of "Supercharger" stations that make it possible to take epic road trips. Now BMW is following suit, launching a network of charging stations to make owning its first all-electric car, the range-handicapped i3, more convenient.
> 
> The automaker announced last week that it has developed an impressively small, lightweight, and inexpensive charger that it is working to install around the country. BMW will sell the charger to "authorized partners"-starting with dealers-for $6,548. NRG eVgo, a private EV-charging company, will install at least 100 around California and offer free charging to i3 owners through the end of 2015.


----------



## ekim68

The Doctor Will Skype You Now



> Next time you need to go to the doctor, instead of making an appointment, why not just fire up your smartphone? New programs by companies such as Doctor on Demand and the University of Pittsburgh's AnywhereCare offer one-on-one conferencing with doctors, either over the phone or through video on your phone or computer - giving you all the medical advice you need without having to set foot in a doctor's office.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> The Doctor Will Skype You Now


----------



## ekim68

Like cling wrap, new biomaterial can coat tricky burn wounds and block out infection



> Wrapping wound dressings around fingers and toes can be tricky, but for burn victims, guarding them against infection is critical. Today, scientists are reporting the development of novel, ultrathin coatings called nanosheets that can cling to the body's most difficult-to-protect contours and keep bacteria at bay.


----------



## ekim68

41 Camping Hacks That Are Borderline Genius



> These tips and tricks will guarantee you'll be a totally happy camper this summer.


----------



## ekim68

Stinky gases emanating from landfills could transform into clean energy



> Recently, hydrogen has received much attention as a clean alternative to fossil fuels, which release carbon dioxide-the main greenhouse gas-when burned. Hydrogen, however, only emits water vapor when it is burned. For this reason, some companies are developing hydrogen fuel cells for automobiles and homes.
> 
> One way to do this is to convert methane, another greenhouse gas, to hydrogen by reacting it with carbon dioxide. And smelly landfills are excellent sources of these gases-microbes living in the waste produce large amounts of methane and carbon dioxide as by-products.


----------



## ekim68

Practice Your Pan Flip Technique with Dried Beans



> Knowing to how to properly pan flip is an essential skill for any sauteing sorcerer or sorceress. Practice makes perfect, and using dried beans lets you practice without fear of making a mess.


----------



## ekim68

This Pair of Bionic Pants Is a Chair That You Wear



> Sitting won't kill you. It's actually great, and important! And for some people, like assembly line workers, not having a chair to sit in can actually pose a health hazard. That's why Noonee developed the Chairless Chair, a chair you can wear.
> 
> Essentially a pair of mechanical pants that can lock in place, the Chairless Chair acts as a brace that any weary worker can wear at all times, and then simply lock into place and lean on when the opportunity presents itself.


----------



## ekim68

100-Year-Old Way to Filter Rainwater in a Barrel



> *100-year-old instructions*
> 
> For gardening, rainwater is, naturally, best unfiltered. But, for household use, the vintage book says the following instructions yield a cheap and easy way to make a filter just as good as a patent filter costing 10 times as much:
> 
> "Take a new vinegar barrel or an oak tub that has never been used, either a full cask or half size. Stand it on end raised on brick or stone from the ground. Insert a faucet near the bottom. Make a tight false bottom 3 or 4 inches from the bottom of the cask. Perforate this with small gimlet holes, and cover it with a piece of clean white canvas.


----------



## ekim68

Laser device detects blood glucose levels without the finger-prick



> Finger-prick tests to monitor blood glucose levels can be the bane of a diabetic's life. In a move that could put an end to such tests in the future, researchers at Princeton University have developed a non-invasive way to test blood glucose levels using a laser.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Laser device detects blood glucose levels without the finger-prick


:up:


----------



## ekim68

Transparent solar collectors may replace conventional windows



> Unlike standard photovoltaic solar cells that capture energy mainly from the visible part of the light spectrum, the transparent solar collectors developed by the MSU team use microscopic organic molecules designed to absorb specific wavelengths of light invisible to the human eye. To accumulate and use this solar energy, the collector channels the light to the perimeter edge of the plastic where it is transformed into electricity by thin strips of photovoltaic solar cells.
> 
> "We can tune these materials to pick up just the ultraviolet and the near infrared wavelengths that then 'glow' at another wavelength in the infrared," explained Lunt. "Because the materials do not absorb or emit light in the visible spectrum, they look exceptionally transparent to the human eye."


----------



## ekim68

The Movpak Is An Electric Skateboard That Folds Into A Backpack



> For those with a long commute to work, the hardest part can be the last mile between getting off of the subway or train and walking to the office. The Movpak is an electric skateboard built into a full-size backpack, designed to make that final stretch a bit less of a hassle without making you pay for a ride through a car-sharing service.


----------



## ekim68

Sodavalves Let You Seal Off Your Soda Like a Submarine Hatch



> It's a dilemma faced by sugar-water drinkers the world over. If you screw a lid back onto a soda bottle too tight it can be almost impossible to open. Too loose, and you risk losing all the carbonation. But these clever Sodavalves solve both scenariosby providing extra leverage for opening and sealing a plastic bottle.


----------



## ekim68

Hydrogen production breakthrough could herald cheap green energy



> Scientists have taken a major step forward in the production of hydrogen from water which could lead to a new era of cheap, clean and renewable energy.
> 
> Chemists from the University of Glasgow report in a new paper in Science today (Friday 12 September) on a new form of hydrogen production which is 30 times faster than the current state-of-the-art method. The process also solves common problems associated with generating electricity from renewable sources such as solar, wind or wave energy.


----------



## ekim68

Quickly De-Wrinkle Your Shirt with a Spray Bottle and a Fan



> If you're a member of the "no iron" club, there are plenty of methods to keep wrinkle free. This trick speeds up the classic spray bottle technique.


(Video)


----------



## hewee

I like that one Mike.


----------



## ekim68

ZEB Pilot House generates much more electricity than it needs



> International architecture firm Snøhetta has partnered with Norway's Research Center on Zero Emission Buildings (ZEB) and to design and build a remarkable experimental house that helps move the development of very efficient buildings forward. The ZEB Pilot House is claimed to generate almost three times the amount of electricity it requires, with the significant surplus available to help run an electric car, for example.


----------



## ekim68

Breakthrough in LED construction increases efficiency by 57 percent



> With LEDs being the preferred long-lasting, low-energy method for replacing less efficient forms of lighting, their uptake has dramatically increased over the past few years. However, despite their luminous outputs having increased steadily over that time, they still fall behind more conventional forms of lighting in terms of brightness. Researchers at Princeton University claim to have come up with a way to change all that by using nanotechnology to increase the output of organic LEDs by 57 percent.


----------



## ekim68

JPods solar electric vehicle system set to leave the drawing board



> Gizmag first reported on the JPods system back in 2012 when the concept was in its infancy. Now plans are afoot to build and test the solar-powered, suspended, individual carriage rail system in Secaucus, New Jersey.
> 
> Created as an alternative network to help alleviate pressure on existing mass systems, JPods is designed to be suspended above existing infrastructure.


----------



## ekim68

Hollow Flashlight Runs on Your Body Heat



> Remember that potato clock you made for your high school science fair? Apparently, the bar has been raised quite a bit. Ann Makosinski, a 15 year old student from Canada, made a flashlight for her science fair project - a flashlight powered entirely by the body heat of the hand holding it. To be fair to the rest of us, though, this wasn't any old science fair; this was the Google Science Fair, a global competition that brings out the best and brightest in the 13 to 18 age range.


----------



## ekim68

Remove Gum From Your Shoe by Sticking It in the Freezer



> Attempting to scrape gum off your shoe always results in a sticky mess. Toss your gum-covered shoe it in the freezer instead for easy removal.
> 
> Putting your shoe in the freezer for a couple hours makes the gum much easier to chip off, says Redditor tomer_360.


----------



## DaveBurnett

And clothes.


----------



## ekim68

Dry Your Swimsuit Quickly with a Salad Spinner



> Wet swimsuits can be bothersome. Perhaps you don't want it dripping or leaving a wet spot in your car. Or maybe you need to put a cold, wet swimsuit back on for another swim. If you need a quick way to dry your swimsuit, try a salad spinner.


----------



## ekim68

The Droppi aims to keep "home-alone" pets entertained 



> Going to work is always a little hard when you have a furry friend at home, who will spend hours on their own. You leave them toys but they may go ignored. Treats are wolfed down before you pass through the front door. For the rest of the time until you come back home, all your friend can do is sleep their loneliness away. But … what if you could keep them busy and entertained during your absence? That's what inspired the design of the Droppi, a new treat- and toy-dispensing gadget for pet owners who worry about their best friends' emotional well-being.


----------



## ekim68

Protect Your Wall with a Sponge When Pulling Nails



> Need to pull out a nail, but don't want any hammer scuff marks? All you need is a sponge.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Protect Your Wall with a Sponge When Pulling Nails


----------



## DaveBurnett

A small 4 inch square of 3 ply is better


----------



## ekim68

DaveBurnett said:


> A small 4 inch square of 3 ply is better


:up:

(Especially with bigger nails..)


----------



## ekim68

The Best Remedies for Hot Pepper Hands



> I love spicy food as much as the next person, but working with spicy peppers? Not so fun. There have been many times where I've diced up serranos or habaneros for salsa or tiny little Thai chiles for a curry or stir-fry and suffer from stinging, burning fingers when they come in contact with the oils in the chile peppers. And don't even get me started on the time I accidentally rubbed my eyes!
> 
> Here are some easy remedies to soothe those stinging hands after they've encountered the effects of chili oil!


----------



## ekim68

Label Packages as "Glass" Instead of "Fragile" for Better Handling



> Ever get a package marked "fragile" that was obviously handled not so delicately? When shipping fragile items, you might have a better chance of it surviving intact by using a "glass" or "liquid" label.


----------



## ekim68

Paralysed man walks again after cell transplant



> A paralysed man has been able to walk again after a pioneering therapy that involved transplanting cells from his nasal cavity into his spinal cord.
> 
> Darek Fidyka, who was paralysed from the chest down in a knife attack in 2010, can now walk using a frame.
> 
> The treatment, a world first, was carried out by surgeons in Poland in collaboration with scientists in London.


----------



## poochee

:up:


----------



## eggplant43

You know that NEVERLAND between seats in your car where everything ends up?

http://lifehacker.com/this-1-diy-fi...rce=lifehacker_facebook&utm_medium=socialflow


----------



## poochee

*
Baby talk: Researchers say dads need to speak up*
Kim Painter, Special for USA TODAY 12:05 a.m. EST November 3, 2014



> It may come as no surprise that babies hear more words and get more back-and-forth baby talk from their mothers than their fathers.





> But researchers say they were surprised at what they found when they outfitted babies with microphones and told parents to turn them on only when both parents were around: Babies heard three times more words from moms than from dads. And dads rarely engaged in baby talk unless moms were in the conversation, too.


http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/11/03/talking-baby-mom-dad/18262421/


----------



## ekim68

Cut Heating Costs in Winter With a Humidifier



> Electric bills can soar in the winter, when you're blasting your heater for months on end. To cut costs and still stay warm, consider using a humidifier.


----------



## ekim68

Foods You Shouldn't Refreeze After Thawing



> Freezing food is a great way to keep it fresh when you buy it in bulk, but refreezing is a completely different story. Here's a few foods that are just fine to freeze, but shouldn't ever be refrozen after they've already been thawed one time.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Foods You Shouldn't Refreeze After Thawing


Thank for this info. I do a lot of freezing.


----------



## ekim68

Volvo to replace body parts with energized carbon fiber panels



> For automobile manufacturers, the electric elephant in the room continues to be bulky and weighty battery packs. This week, Volvo unveiled an innovative potential solution to the problem that it has been working on for the past three and a half years with other European partners; replace steel body panels with carbon fiber composite panels infused with nano-batteries and super capacitors.


----------



## poochee

By/Parvati Shallow/CBS News/November 11, 2014, 3:32 PM
*
The font that could help dyslexics read better*



> If you have dyslexia, learning basic reading, writing, and language skills can be a life-long struggle and a source of frustration.
> 
> Dutch designer Christian Boer has stepped in to help dyslexic people by creating a specific typeface called Dyslexie that may make it easier to read.


http://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-font-that-helps-dyslexics-read-better/


----------



## ekim68

LifeStraw Personal Water Filter

:up:


----------



## eggplant43

The Graphics of familial relationships:

http://lifehacker.com/second-cousins-once-removed-and-more-explained-in-1661572056


----------



## ekim68

Mirror coating to cool buildings by pumping interior heat into space



> Keeping buildings cool isn't easy. In fact, conventional air conditioning methods are very energy intensive and account for up to 15 percent of the energy used in buildings in the United States alone. However, engineers at Stanford University have come up with a new ultrathin, multilayered, nanophotonic material that not only reflects heat away from buildings, but also directs heat from inside out into space, cooling both the building and the planet as well.


----------



## ekim68

Discarded Laptop Batteries Keep the Lights On



> Many of the estimated 50 million lithium-ion laptop batteries discarded every year could provide electricity storage sufficient to light homes in poor countries, researchers at IBM say.
> 
> In work being aired this week at a conference in San Jose, researchers at IBM Research India in Bangalore found that at least 70 percent of all discarded batteries have enough life left to power an LED light at least four hours a day for a year.


----------



## ekim68

Christmas is over - it's time to throw your tree to the goats



> There's only one time of year when millions of people chop down (or, if less lumberjack-inclined, purchase) a solitary conifer, prop it up next to the futon, and then toss it out with the garbage a few weeks later. All of those dead pines and spruces accumulate in landfills, where they act as a giant piles of kindling. In a drought-ridden place like California, this is not a hot idea - so a group of clever farmers and firefighters has found a solution … in goats.
> 
> Starting today, the Truckee Meadows Fire Protection District in Truckee, Calif., is launching a Christmas tree recycling program in which 40 goats (of family-owned goat herding business Goat Grazers) will munch away at your tannenbaum's highly flammable needles, leaving only the bare trunk. Once the trees are bitten down into scrawny trunks, the leftover wood is used to make mulch for parks.


----------



## ekim68

Fashion that saves lives?



> Better up your data plan: Researchers have developed a shirt that can communicate with you through your smartphone (bear with us, this isn't nearly as ridiculous as it sounds).
> 
> The ECG shirt actually monitors its wearer's heart activity, according to a Reuters report, alerting users to any possible distress or abnormalities via mobile devices. It's a smart outfit in the most literal sense.


----------



## ekim68

Keep Mirrors From Fogging Up With Car Wax



> Steamy showers make for foggy mirrors. But if you want to walk out of the shower to a clear reflection, a little car wax can help with that.


----------



## ekim68

Energy-generating fabric set to power battery-free wearables



> A team of researchers in Korea and Australia have developed a flexible fabric which generates power from human movement - a breakthrough which could replace batteries in future wearable devices.





> According to the scientists, this 'smart' fabric could lead to a number of important uses including the ability to charge wearable devices, such as smartwatches, robotic skin and medical device applications.


----------



## eggplant43

http://lifehacker.com/visit-the-top-city-or-landmark-in-every-us-state-with-t-1690526910


----------



## eggplant43

http://lifehacker.com/use-caulk-to-paint-straight-edges-like-a-pro-508232511


----------



## ekim68

Freeze Fresh Herbs in Oil to Preserve Them



> Have a few fresh herbs sitting around that you won't get to using before they turn? Sure, you can freeze them in water or dry them out, but if you know you'll use them relatively quickly, you can add a few weeks to their life without damaging their potency by freezing them in oil instead.


----------



## ekim68

The Foods That Cool Your Mouth After Eating Something Spicy



> So you misjudged that curry and now your mouth is on fire-what to do? You probably know that milk will stop the burning, but you have other options too. This infographic makes a handy guide.


----------



## ekim68

New class of molecules kills cancer cells, saves healthy ones



> WATERLOO, Ontario, May 13 (UPI) -- The most effective drugs in the battle against cancer work well, but kill good cells in the body while also eliminating the bad. Now, a researcher has found a class of molecules that causes cancer cells to die while protecting healthy ones.


----------



## ekim68

The Best Ways to Reuse Your Most Common Kitchen Leftovers



> If you've had people over for a party, made a big meal, or you just happen to have a lot of scraps in your kitchen, there's a lot of ways you can use those things instead of throwing them all out.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> The Best Ways to Reuse Your Most Common Kitchen Leftovers


:up:


----------



## hewee

ekim68 said:


> The Best Ways to Reuse Your Most Common Kitchen Leftovers


I save all my leftovers fruits and veggies or the cuttings and pulp and egg shells. Then take then to church and give them to friend. Got a couple buckets with lids. 
Then he feeds it to his chickens and I get the best Organic eggs back. I just wash off the shell with water before I use the eggs

So I keep re-eating my food when I get the eggs back.


----------



## ekim68

Why Are You Still Washing Your Clothes In Warm Water?



> More than 60% of Americans still wash their laundry in warm water. Its a practice thats as costly as it is environmentally unfriendly. Whats more, it doesnt make our clothes appreciably cleaner. Heres why you should make the switch to cold water.


----------



## ekim68

15 Surprising Things You Can Make in a Rice Cooker



> Despite its name, the rice cooker is not a single-minded kitchen unitasker. Sure, it is the easiest way to make perfect rice, but its also a convenient way to cook a wide variety of foods. Here are a few examples that might just convince you to invest in a rice cooker or use yours more often.


----------



## ekim68

Smart patch to take pain and hassle out of insulin injections



> According to the International Diabetes Federation, 387 million people around the world suffer from diabetes, with this number expected to rise to 592 million by 2035. That adds up to a lot of blood sugar checks, diet watching and insulin shots, but researchers in the US have developed a patch that could revolutionize how the disease is managed. The patch contains of more than 100 microneedles, each automatically secreting insulin into the bloodstream when required.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Smart patch to take pain and hassle out of insulin injections


:up:


----------



## ekim68

[URL='http://lifehacker.com/repurpose-an-old-dresser-drawer-for-convenient-under-be-1731265931']Repurpose an Old Dresser Drawer for Convenient Under-Bed Storage[/URL]




> Under your bed is one of the best places to find extra storage when space is tight. If you have an old dresser you're getting rid of, you can reuse the drawers to boost your bedroom storage with just a little work.


----------



## ekim68

Protein patch restores heart tissue and function after a heart attack




> Though sufferers of heart attacks may survive the initial event, they cause permanent damage to the organ in the form of scar tissue, which affects its ability to pump blood. Scientists around the world are working on this problem, with hydrogels, human stem cells and even bioengineered tissue that sticks together like Velcro all offering possible solutions. But the latest promising advance comes from a team of researchers that has developed a simple protein patch that restores animal hearts almost to normal function.


----------



## ekim68

[URL='http://lifehacker.com/organize-your-workshop-with-tubular-storage-1735170451']Organize Your Workshop with Tubular Storage[/URL]




> Long skinny things like wood trim and thin pipes can be a pain to organize. This tubular solution puts those pieces within reach while saving space elsewhere.


----------



## hewee

I use the big carpet tubes for fishing poles.


----------



## ekim68

Cancer-fighting viruses win approval




> An engineered herpesvirus that provokes an immune response against cancer has become the first treatment of its kind to be approved for use in the United States, paving the way for a long-awaited class of therapies. On 27 October, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a genetically engineered virus called talimogene laherparepvec (T-VEC) to treat advanced melanoma. Four days earlier, advisers to the European Medicines Agency had endorsed the drug.


----------



## poochee




----------



## DaveBurnett

> I use the big carpet tubes for fishing poles.


Bit thick and heavy aren't they? I wouldn't think they flex much either.


----------



## hewee

DaveBurnett said:


> Bit thick and heavy aren't they? I wouldn't think they flex much either.


So do I. No the real thick ones will not flex at all.


----------



## ekim68

[URL='http://lifehacker.com/top-10-tricks-to-boost-your-memory-and-remember-anythin-1748770380']Top 10 Tricks to Boost Your Memory and Remember Anything[/URL]


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Top 10 Tricks to Boost Your Memory and Remember Anything


----------



## ekim68

[URL='http://lifehacker.com/cool-your-mouth-from-spicy-foods-with-acid-1750003797']Cool Your Mouth from Spicy Foods with Acid[/URL]




> Just like adding acid can temper a dish that's too spicy, you can also soothe your mouth after eating super spicy food by eating something acidic. Out for Thai or Tex-Mex? There's probably a lemon or lime on the table already.


----------



## poochee

...


----------



## ekim68

[URL='http://lifehacker.com/you-don-t-need-to-boil-your-pasta-just-the-water-1750491260']You Don't Need to Boil Your Pasta, Just the Water[/URL]




> There are more efficient ways to cook pasta besides dropping it into a big pot of boiling, salted water. For example, next time pasta's on the menu, try turning off the burner once you drop the pasta and letting it cook in the already-hot water.


----------



## ekim68

WaterDrop puts water savings in the bag




> Recently, showers like the Nebia and the Hamwell's e-Shower have launched to help us save water when showering. The WaterDrop foldable watering can, however, takes a much simpler approach. It is designed to collect the average 3.5 l (0.8 gal) of water we waste waiting for the shower to warm up.


----------



## ekim68

Home, sweet home: how to combat the 'indoor pollution' of scented candles




> Air fresheners and cleaning products release chemicals that are harmful in enclosed spaces. But houseplants could help cut the risks


----------



## 2twenty2

I use air fresheners but I always have a window open (year round) to let in some fresh air.


----------



## ekim68

knucklehead said:


> I use air fresheners but I always have a window open (year round) to let in some fresh air.


We get lots of rain here so we only open our windows half the year....


----------



## ekim68

[URL='http://lifehacker.com/17-simple-rules-for-getting-organized-and-decluttered-1754586606']17 Simple Rules for Getting Organized and Decluttered[/URL]


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> 17 Simple Rules for Getting Organized and Decluttered


...


----------



## ekim68

How to Use Up All of Those Fresh Herbs


----------



## ekim68

[URL='http://lifehacker.com/use-ketchup-in-a-pinch-to-clean-and-polish-your-silver-1760048081']Use Ketchup In a Pinch to Clean and Polish Your Silver Jewelry[/URL]




> If your silver jewelry is starting to look a little bit grody, treat it like a cheap hot dog and start slathering some ketchup on. It can help you get that necklace looking like new.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Use Ketchup In a Pinch to Clean and Polish Your Silver Jewelry


Thanks!


----------



## gordon russell

http://www.ripenear.me/


----------



## hewee

gordon russell said:


> http://www.ripenear.me/


I like this but can not use it or will not if I got to sign up using an Facebook, Twitter or Google account.

Okay it looks like you can use any email address so that is good.


----------



## ekim68

Device lets doctors see inside arteries to treat blockage




> With a built-in camera, it can shave plaque without damaging blood vessels.


----------



## 2twenty2




----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Device lets doctors see inside arteries to treat blockage


...


----------



## ekim68

'Self-healing' plastic could mean better bandages, tougher phone cases




> READING, England, April 8 (UPI) -- A plastic-like material that "flows" back together when cut or scraped could lead to self-healing bandages and cellphones that never stay scuffed, according to scientists in England.
> 
> A supramolecular polyurethane created by scientists at the University of Reading repairs itself at body temperature and is not toxic to humans, suggesting it could lead to better wound dressings, among other uses.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> 'Self-healing' plastic could mean better bandages, tougher phone cases


...


----------



## ekim68

For the Hobbyist.....


----------



## poochee

Interesting.


----------



## ekim68

7 Nifty Garden Tricks To Try This Year!


----------



## poochee

...


----------



## ekim68

Lung cancer "breathalyzer" wins $100K Entrepreneurship Competition




> Team's smartphone-connected device can detect lung cancer early from a single breath.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Lung cancer "breathalyzer" wins $100K Entrepreneurship Competition


----------



## ekim68

19 things you didn't know you could wash in the dishwasher




> You might think of your dishwasher as a device for washing, well . . . dishes, but your dishwasher is actually a magical _clean-just-about-everything_, _even-stuff-others-would-consider-disgusting_ machine.


:up:


----------



## ekim68

[URL='http://vitals.lifehacker.com/four-frozen-protein-smoothies-that-make-perfect-post-wo-1780807214']Four Frozen Protein Smoothies That Make Perfect Post-Workout Popsicles[/URL]



> The days of hot, sweaty workouts are upon us. It's time to upgrade your after-exercise snack from a boring protein bar and a swig of lukewarm water to one of these refreshing protein popsicles. The formula is simple: blend, freeze, enjoy.


----------



## ekim68

Right on for Coffee Drinkers throughout the Solar System.....:up: 


NASA Cracked the Zero-G Espresso Problem




> Boldly going to the final frontier to make space coffee.


----------



## ekim68

Well I do talk to myself a bit....

Tricks to beat stress, anxiety, and fear


----------



## ekim68

A shampoo bottle that empties completely -- every last drop



> COLUMBUS, Ohio--It's one of life's little annoyances: that last bit of shampoo that won't quite pour out of the bottle. Or the last bit of hand soap, or dish soap, or laundry detergent.
> 
> Now researchers at The Ohio State University have found a way to create the perfect texture inside plastic bottles to let soap products flow freely. They describe the patent-pending technology in a paper to appear in the journal _Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society_ on June 27.


----------



## Brigham

Special technology? I, along with everybody else I suspect, just add a little water to the last bit in the bottle.


----------



## ekim68

Free courses from MIT

And free registration to enroll.....


----------



## ekim68

[URL='http://lifehacker.com/clean-rusty-grill-grates-with-some-oil-salt-and-a-pot-1782932998']Clean Rusty Grill Grates With Some Oil, Salt, and a Potato[/URL]



> If you don't grill very often that probably means you don't clean your grill regularly either. If your grill grates are covered in burnt food and rust, you can get it ready for a cookout with a few household staples.
> In this video from the [URL='https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCI4I6ldZ0jWe7vXpUVeVcpg']HouseholdHacker YouTube channel, you'll find some clever cleaning tricks for around the house, like sprucing up your grill that's seen better days.[/url][/URL]
> *http://lifehacker.com/clean-rusty-grill-grates-with-some-oil-salt-and-a-pot-1782932998*


----------



## ekim68

[URL='http://lifehacker.com/dark-sky-finder-maps-out-light-pollution-to-find-the-be-1784038540']Dark Sky Finder Maps Out Light Pollution to Find the Best Spots for Stargazing[/URL]



> For a clear view of the night sky, you have to escape the big city lights. This Dark Sky Finder maps out light pollution in the U.S. to help you find the best places to stargaze.


----------



## ekim68

Graphene-based sheets make dirty water drinkable simply and cheaply



> Engineers at the Washington University in St. Louis (WUSTL) have developed graphene-based biofoam sheets that can be laid on dirty or salty dams and ponds to produce clean drinking water, using the power of the sun. This new technique could be a cheap and simple way to help provide fresh water in countries where large areas of water are contaminated with suspended particles of dirt and other floating matter.


----------



## ekim68

Waze Releases New Safety Feature Reminding Drivers Not to Forget Their Child in the Car



> The navigation app Waze has released a new safety feature that reminds users not to forget their child, pet or other loved ones in the car before getting out.
> 
> The feature, called "Child reminder," was made available to the public on Thursday, when Waze released its latest update on app stores for Android and iOS.


----------



## poochee

...


----------



## ekim68

[URL='http://lifehacker.com/make-the-most-of-your-kitchen-window-with-this-hanging-1784902935']Make the Most of Your Kitchen Window with This Hanging DIY Herb Garden[/URL]



> Having an herb garden in your kitchen means they're easy to grab whenever you want to add them to a dish or drink. If you don't have much counter space, this hanging set up takes advantage of your window to give you a full herb garden.


----------



## ekim68

Japan may not have many natural reserves, but the country does have a stockpile of discarded metal thanks to consumers.



> The Rio 2016 Olympics has wrapped up, but organizers of the 2020 Olympic games in Tokyo are already planning to capitalize on stockpiles of e-waste to make the games more sustainable.
> 
> Japan may have few natural resources, but this does not mean the country, well-known for technology use, does not have a stockpile of rare earths made up from discarded mobile devices and consumer electronics.
> 
> According to the Nikkei business review, this "urban mine" could be excavated for precious metals in preparation for the next round of games and the required medals.
> 
> According to the publication, 9.6kg of gold, 1,210kg of silver and 700kg of copper was used in the 2012 London Olympics to produce competitor medals. In comparison, Japan was able to recover 143kg of gold, 1,566kg of silver and 1,112 tons of copper in 2014 alone from consumer electronics which were thrown away.


----------



## ekim68

Google offers 360-degree tours of US National Parks



> To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the US National Parks Service, Google has put together a collection of virtual tours combining 360-degree video, panoramic photos and expert narration. It's called "The Hidden Worlds of the National Parks" and is accessible right from the browser.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Google offers 360-degree tours of US National Parks


----------



## ekim68

[URL='http://lifehacker.com/top-10-clever-ways-to-repurpose-your-kitchen-scraps-1785661793']Top 10 Clever Ways to Repurpose Your Kitchen Scraps[/URL]



> Vegetable peels, coffee grounds, corn cobs, dryer lint-they're all waste for sure, but there's treasure in that trash. You could compost them, that's obvious, but let's talk about some more clever ways to reuse those kitchen scraps before they make it to the bin.


----------



## ekim68

Body heat-harvesting wearable ups electricity generation efficiency



> The human body requires a lot of energy to run, but efforts are being made to claim some of that back to power electronic devices. Kinetic energy, created from movement, has been harnessed to charge batteries in the battlefield, and thermoelectric generators (TEG), which generate electricity from body heat, have powered flashlights and wearable devices. Now researchers at North Carolina State University (NCSU) have created a new wearable prototype that's lightweight, comfortable and much more efficient than existing TEGs.


----------



## ekim68

New Yorkers invited to step up for never-ending stairway trail



> New York's developing Hudson Yards neighborhood, of which High Line at the Rail Yards is already a part, will soon be home to a new public space with a unique artwork. The Vessel will comprise a 150-ft (46-m) tall "geometric lattice of intersecting flights of stairs" designed for climbing and exploring.


----------



## ekim68

Tardigrade Radiation Protection Gene Discovered



> A new water bear protein can protect the DNA of human cultured cells from otherwise lethal amounts of radiation damage, say a group of Japanese researchers, providing part of the answer to why tardigrades can live in deadly conditions.


----------



## ekim68

[URL='http://lifehacker.com/seven-emergency-preparedness-tips-you-may-not-know-1787063633']Seven Emergency Preparedness Tips You May Not Know[/URL]



> It's National Preparedness Month, which means it's time to make sure you're ready for whatever life throws your way. Emergency preparedness isn't about doomsday prepping, though, it's about being ready for the realistic events that can disrupt life at any time. Here are some lesser-known things you should do as you establish you and your family's emergency plan.


----------



## ekim68

Business night on the Internet.....


[URL='https://www.rather-be-shopping.com/blog/2016/09/08/good-student-discounts-and-freebies/']All The Places That Offer "Good Student" Discounts & Freebies [/URL]


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Business night on the Internet.....
> 
> https://www.rather-be-shopping.com/blog/2016/09/08/good-student-discounts-and-freebies/
> All The Places That Offer "Good Student" Discounts & Freebies


----------



## ekim68




----------



## ekim68

[URL='http://jalopnik.com/ten-obvious-ways-to-be-a-better-driver-1787468727']Ten Obvious Ways To Be A Better Driver[/URL]

:up:


----------



## ekim68

Smartphone sensor spots cancer in several samples simultaneously



> The continuing miniaturization of electronic devices has allowed sensors previously confined to a laboratory to shrink down to a portable size, with previously bulky equipment now able to fit in a briefcase or even a needle. Now a team from Washington State University (WSU) has developed an inexpensive spectrometer that connects to a smartphone and can spot cancer biomarkers in several samples simultaneously, thereby taking lab-like accuracy out into the field.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Smartphone sensor spots cancer in several samples simultaneously


----------



## ekim68

[URL='http://lifehacker.com/keep-a-plastic-sandwich-bag-on-your-hand-while-cutting-1788093755']Keep a Plastic Sandwich Bag on Your Hand While Cutting Peppers[/URL]



> If you cook with hot peppers often, you know that protecting your hands with gloves helps keep your hands (and anything you touch) from burning for hours afterwards. If you don't have gloves, a plastic bag will do the trick.


----------



## poochee

*Girl Scout cookie cereal: Coming to a breakfast table near you*
 Chris Woodyard  , USA TODAY 9:20 p.m. EDT October 24, 2016

Girls Scouts are known for the cookies. Now they may be known for breakfast cereal.

General Mills confirmed Monday it is planning to launch two cereals themed around Girl Scout cookies.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/money...aunching-girl-scouts-cookie-cereals/92706140/


----------



## ekim68

[URL='http://lifehacker.com/paint-small-and-intricate-spaces-with-a-sponge-1786012731']Paint Small and Intricate Spaces with a Sponge[/URL]



> The next time you're painting chair spindles or the bannister of your stairs, ditch the paintbrush and grab a sponge. Country Chic Paint (CCP) says sponges are easier in small, uneven, and intricate spaces.


----------



## ekim68

[URL='http://lifehacker.com/leave-a-coin-on-a-cup-of-ice-before-leaving-home-to-see-1788086236']Leave a Coin on a Cup of Ice Before Leaving Home to See If the Power Went out While You Were Away[/URL]



> Whether you're evacuating because of a hurricane or you're just leaving for vacation, you'll want to know if the power went out while you were away for any substantial amount of time. Fill a cup with water, put it in the freezer until it's solid, then pop a coin on top. Leave it in there, and when you get back, check.


----------



## poochee

...


----------



## ekim68

50 Ways to Relax Without Spending Money


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> 50 Ways to Relax Without Spending Money


----------



## ekim68

Young Aussie inventor builds a better Band-Aid dispenser



> After being diagnosed with leukaemia 18 months ago, a 10-year-old girl from Australia was inspired to invent a new device for dispensing Band-Aids. Dubbed the Faster-Aid, Bridgette Veneris' design works like a roll of sticky tape that's resealable to keep the bandages sterile, and the idea was selected as a winner in Origin Energy's littleBIGidea, an Australia-wide competition for young inventors.


----------



## hewee

That Is great.


----------



## ekim68

Brain implants allow paralysed monkeys to walk



> For more than a decade, neuroscientist Grégoire Courtine has been flying every few months from his lab at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne to another lab in Beijing, China, where he conducts research on monkeys with the aim of treating spinal-cord injuries.
> 
> The commute is exhausting - on occasion he has even flown to Beijing, done experiments, and returned the same night. But it is worth it, says Courtine, because working with monkeys in China is less burdened by regulation than it is in Europe and the United States. And this week, he and his team report the results of experiments in Beijing, in which a wireless brain implant - that stimulates electrodes in the leg by recreating signals recorded from the brain - has enabled monkeys with spinal-cord injuries to walk.


----------



## poochee




----------



## ekim68

[URL='http://skillet.lifehacker.com/line-your-slow-cooker-lid-with-a-kitchen-towel-to-cut-d-1789444216']Line Your Slow Cooker Lid With a Kitchen Towel to Cut Down Condensation[/URL]



> Slow cookers are a great tool for keeping food warm, but condensation can collect on the lid and drip down onto your delicious dishes. This isn't so bad with soups and stews, but for less liquidy foods like mashed potatoes and mac and cheese, it can be a real pain. Luckily, there's a cheap and easy solution: all you need is a dish towel.


----------



## ekim68

[URL='http://lifehacker.com/how-to-grow-potatoes-in-pots-or-growing-bags-1789621875']Grow Potatoes in Pots or Growing Bags[/URL]



> Given the underground nature of tubers, you might think you need a lot of space in your garden where you can dig deeply if you want to successfully grow edible potatoes. Actually, though, you can pretty easily grow potatoes above ground in a pot or bag.


----------



## ekim68

Thermoelectric paint generates electricity from almost any heat source



> Thermoelectric generators convert heat or cold to electricity (and vice-versa). Normally solid-state devices, they can be used in such things as power plants to convert waste heat into additional electrical power, or in small cooling systems that do not need compressors or liquid coolant. However the rigid construction of these devices generally limits their use to flat, even surfaces. In an effort to apply thermal generation capabilities to almost any shape, scientists at the Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) in Korea claim to have created a thermoelectric coating that can be directly painted onto most surfaces.


----------



## ekim68

Scientists identify unique "breathprint" of 17 diseases



> A team of international researchers recently unveiled a nano array that can identify the chemical signatures of 17 different diseases, possibly bringing us closer to the day when doctors might be able to use a medical tricorder a la _Star Trek_ to instantly diagnose a patient's conditions.


----------



## ekim68

Project aims to grow a 'city of trees'



> A project aims to plant three million trees - one for every man, woman and child - in Greater Manchester over the next 25 years.
> 
> Those behind City of Trees hopes the effort will not only green the region but improve our understanding of the benefits trees provide to society.
> 
> These include reducing stress, improve air quality and the amount of time shoppers spend in retail areas.


----------



## poochee

...


----------



## ekim68

Epic dermis: Scientists develop 3D printer capable of producing 'living' human skin



> Spanish scientists say they have developed a prototype 3D printer that is capable of printing 'functional' human skin that can be used for transplant patients, as well as an ethical alternative to animal testing.
> 
> The so-called bioprinter uses special 'ink' consisting of human cells and other biological components to reproduce the natural structure of the skin, including the external epidermis and the deeper dermis layer.


----------



## poochee

...


----------



## ekim68

[URL='http://gizmodo.com/usb-c-power-meter-helps-you-spot-counterfeit-accessorie-1791668311']USB-C Power Meter Helps You Spot Counterfeit Accessories Before They Fry Your Gadgets[/URL]



> The promise of USB-C is great: One cable to connect all of your devices, laptops, tablets, smartphone. Unfortunately it comes with the big caveat that you might end up damaging your gear if you cheap out on a USB-C cable. But Satechi's new Type-C Power Meter makes it easy to tell if your USB-C gadgets are at risk of getting fried, or under-powered, by a sketchy accessory.


----------



## ekim68

Using nothing but YouTube tutorials, woman built house from the ground up



> Cara Brookins is living proof that where there's a will, there's a way (especially if YouTube is around).


----------



## poochee

...


----------



## ekim68

Researchers build flu detector that can diagnose at a breath, no doctor required



> A breathalyzer-style device capable of detecting flu in its early stages will no doubt help keep people from infecting others.


----------



## poochee

...


----------



## ekim68

10-year-old Texas boy invents device to prevent hot car deaths



> Bishop Curry V, a 10-year-old Texas boy, has invented a device that could eventually save the lives of babies across the country by alerting parents and keeping the child cool if for some reason it were to be forgotten in a hot car.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> 10-year-old Texas boy invents device to prevent hot car deaths


...


----------



## ekim68

Quinoa genome could see 'super-food' prices tumble



> Scientists have successfully decoded the genome of quinoa, one of the world's most nutritious but underutilised crops.
> 
> The South American grain is a hugely popular "super-food" because it is well balanced and gluten-free.


----------



## ekim68

These "Smart Glasses" Adjust To Your Vision Automatically 

*



But the days of popping reading glasses on and off or constantly shifting your gaze through bifocals may be numbered. Researchers at the University of Utah have developed "smart glasses" with liquid lenses that can automatically adjust their focus.

Click to expand...

*


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> These "Smart Glasses" Adjust To Your Vision Automatically


...


----------



## ekim68

Liquid battery could last for over 10 years



> Modern batteries aren't hampered so much by their capacity as their long-term lifespan -- a lithium-ion pack can easily become useless after a few years of heavy use. That's bad enough for your phone, but it's worse for energy storage systems that may have to stick around for the long haul. If Harvard researchers have their way, you may not have to worry about replacing power backs quite so often. They've developed a flow battery (that is, a battery that stores energy in liquid solutions) which should last for over a decade. The trick was to modify the molecules in the electrolytes, ferrocene and viologen, so that they're stable, water-soluble and resistant to degradation. When they're dissolved in neutral water, the resulting solution only loses 1 percent of its capacity every 1,000 cycles. It could be several years before you even notice a slight dropoff in performance.


----------



## ekim68

Brazilian berry extract stops a superbug in its tracks



> Superbugs are on the rise, with a UK government report last year warning that they could kill 10 million people a year by 2050. Scientists have unearthed what could be a valuable weapon on one of the key frontiers, discovering an extract from the Brazilian peppertree, an invasive weed found commonly across Florida, that can neutralize a dangerous antibiotic-resistant staph bacteria called _Staphylococcus auereus_.


----------



## poochee

*NBC NEWS

Why Confusing Food Labels Could Soon Be a Thing of the Past*
Thu, Feb 16

*VIDEO*

http://www.nbcnews.com/nightly-news...ould-soon-be-a-thing-of-the-past-879151683719


----------



## ekim68

Ultrafast camera to improve vision of self-driving cars and drones



> To avoid accidents, self-driving cars and drones need to be able to quickly take in their surroundings even in extreme road conditions and bad weather, but conventional optical cameras aren't quite up to the job. To improve the vision of such vehicles, a team of engineers at the Nanyang Technological University Singapore (NTU Singapore), led by Assistant Professor Chen Shoushun, has developed an ultrafast, high-contrast smart camera that records the changes in light intensity between scenes at nanosecond intervals to detect movement and objects in real time.


----------



## ekim68

New Record: Paralyzed Man Uses Brain Implant to Type Eight Words Per Minute



> "What did you enjoy the most about your trip to the Grand Canyon?" the Stanford researchers asked.
> 
> In response, a cursor floated across a computer screen displaying a keyboard and confidently picked out one letter at a time. The woman controlling the cursor didn't have a mouse under her hand, though. She's paralyzed due to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (also called Lou Gehrig's disease) and can't move her hands. Instead, she steered the cursor using a chip implanted in her brain.
> 
> "I enjoyed the beauty," she typed.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> New Record: Paralyzed Man Uses Brain Implant to Type Eight Words Per Minute


...


----------



## ekim68

:up:


----------



## ekim68

[URL='http://lifehacker.com/remove-sticky-labels-from-glass-with-whatever-oil-you-h-1792727202']Remove Sticky Labels From Glass With Whatever Oil You Have on Hand[/URL]



> According to Food52, all you need is a little oil (literally any oil; even mayonnaise works),some warm water, and a scouring pad. Just smear a bit of the the oil on the label, submerge the jar or bottle in some warm water, and leave it over night.


----------



## ekim68

Cheap plastic film cools whatever it touches up to 10°C



> If heat is not your thing, rejoice: A thin plastic sheet may soon provide some relief from the intense summer sun. The film, made from transparent plastic embedded with tiny glass spheres, absorbs almost no visible light, yet pulls in heat from any surface it touches. Already, the new material, when combined with a mirrorlike silver film, has been shown to cool whatever it sits on by as much as 10°C. And because it can be made cheaply at high volumes, it could be used to passively cool buildings and electronics such as solar cells, which work more efficiently at lower temperatures.


----------



## ekim68

Solid-State Battery, Holds 3X Charge



> A new fast charging all solid-state battery has been created by a research team led by John Goodenough at the Cockrell School of Engineering. The American physicist John Goodenough got a noble prize for the lithium-ion batteries which are now omnipresent in the digital world. It was decades ago, but even at 94, the physics pioneer isn't going to stop developing things that impress and benefit the human kind.
> 
> The team has published a research paper in the Energy & Environmental Science journal. The noncombustible fast charging battery can hold a considerable amount of extra charge - almost three times - than the conventional batteries.


----------



## ekim68

Sponge can soak up and release spilled oil hundreds of times



> A new material can absorb up to 90 times its own weight in spilled oil and then be squeezed out like a sponge and reused, raising hopes for easier clean-up of oil spill sites.


----------



## poochee

...


----------



## ekim68

:up:


----------



## ekim68

A renewable planet is almost inevitable



> When the leader of the free world denies climate change and fills his cabinet with like-minded individuals, it's hard not to panic. The world is, after all, hurtling toward an irrevocable ecological catastrophe that threatens all of our lives. There may be a reason to be slightly less pessimistic, however, thanks to the mechanics of the energy business. Shortly before leaving the White House, Barack Obama said that clean power had an "irreversible momentum," and it looks as if there might be evidence to justify his optimism.
> 
> There are generally two kinds of arguments against renewable energy: the cost and the lack of consistency. After all, solar panels can't work in the dark and wind turbines don't turn on still days, but we still need to charge our smartphones 24/7. The solution here is to build large-scale energy storage (read: really big batteries), but they're not economically viable.
> 
> Except that isn't true -- not anymore, anyway. _Bloomberg_ recently reported that the price of batteries has fallen 40 percent since 2014.


----------



## ekim68

Drones cleared to carry lab samples between Swiss hospitals



> Swiss Post revealed last year that it had teamed up with California's Matternet to trial delivery drones, at the same time noting that it didn't expect any widespread use for around five years. We're not there yet, but things are moving along just nicely, with the Swiss aviation authority giving the green light for Matternet's drones to ferry laboratory samples between two hospitals in the city of Lugano.


----------



## ekim68

[URL='http://lifehacker.com/it-doesnt-take-as-much-effort-as-you-think-to-help-out-1794051556']It Doesn't Take as Much Effort as You Think to Help Out the Environment[/URL]



> Environmental issues often feel too massive for a single person to make any sort of difference-and that's partially true. It'll take a lot more than recycling. Still, there are plenty of small, realistic things you can change in your own life to do your part while the rest of the world catches up.


----------



## ekim68

A 3D-printed patch could help you recover from a heart attack



> Scientists have dreamed of easily patching up heart tissue in the wake of heart attacks, but there are always gotchas: for example, it's no mean feat to replicate the complex structures of real tissue. However, there may be a solution in sight. Researchers have produced a 3D-printed cell patch that can heal scarred heart tissue. The team used laser-based bioprinting to fit stem cells (based on adult human heart cells) to a matrix developed around a 3D scan of heart tissue's native proteins. When those cells grew, the matrix not only replicated the structures of regular heart tissue (down to 1 micron) but started beating in sync. And the early results are very promising.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> A 3D-printed patch could help you recover from a heart attack


...


----------



## ekim68

Adidas creates trainers made from plastic ocean debris in bid to end pollution



> Adidas are set to launch new editions of their popular Ultra Boost trainers, which will be made using plastic found in the ocean.


----------



## ekim68

[URL='http://lifehacker.com/what-those-spray-paint-marks-on-the-street-actually-mea-1794893255']What Those Spray Paint Marks on the Street Actually Mean [Update][/URL]



> Walking around your city, you might have noticed spray paint markings on the street and sidewalk. Clearly they're there to mark something, but what? Turns out, construction workers aren't just doodling for fun-those marks are there to protect you.
> 
> The main purpose for markings in the street or on the sidewalk is to indicate where pipes, ducts, cables, and other structures are located, and what direction they flow in, so that they're not hit or destroyed during construction.


----------



## poochee

Interesting, I have wondered.


----------



## ekim68

Build 2017: Microsoft's 'Project Emma' is a wearable for Parkinson's disease sufferers



> The device is named after the Parkinson's sufferer that helped Haiyan Zhang, Innovation Director at Microsoft Research, create the device. What exactly does it do? Well, the incurable disease causes body tremors in those inflicted, and as a result, Emma has very shaky hands. This disease makes it impossible for her to draw straight lines or write legibly. With the wearable on her wrist, however, normal writing and drawing is possible. Remarkably, _how_ it works isn't 100 percent known.
> 
> 
> "While the wait for a cure continues, Zhang has created what she hopes could be a 'revolutionary' aid for reducing tremors. The Emma Watch uses vibrating motors -- similar to those found in mobile phones -- to distract the brain into focusing on something other than trying to control the patient's limbs.


----------



## ekim68

Apple's Watch can detect an abnormal heart rhythm with 97% accuracy, UCSF study says



> According to a study conducted through heartbeat measurement app Cardiogram and the University of California, San Francisco, the Apple Watch is 97 percent accurate in detecting the most common abnormal heart rhythm when paired with an AI-based algorithm.


----------



## ekim68

Lockheed's lower-body exoskeleton lightens the load



> Lockheed Martin has once again channeled _Ironman _in the creation of a new lower-body exoskeleton. Built using the tech behind existing Fortis exoskeletons, the Knee Stress Relief Device (K-SRD) is designed to enhance soldiers' ability to carry heavy equipment on long, taxing missions.
> 
> The system works via sensors on the exoskeleton that measure how fast the soldier is moving, along with their direction and angle of movement. This info is fed to an on-board computer tasked with driving electro-mechanical actuators mounted in the knees.


----------



## ekim68

This 'tree' has the environmental benefits of a forest



> One well-established way to reduce air pollutants is to plant trees, as their leaves catch and absorb harmful particulates.
> 
> But planting new trees is not always a viable option.
> That's why the "CityTree", a mobile installation which removes pollutants from the air, has been popping up in cities around the world, including Oslo, Paris, Brussels and Hong Kong.


----------



## ekim68

[URL='http://lifehacker.com/get-a-load-of-these-unexpected-uses-for-teabags-1795874294']Get a Load of These Unexpected Uses for Teabags[/URL]



> Sure, that box of Lipton can be great when you want a cup of tea in the morning, but those bags can actually be good for a whole lot more than drinking. From relieving pain to cleaning furniture, here are a few unexpected uses for those tea bags in your cabinet.


----------



## ekim68

Samsung Makes Big Trucks That Show The Road Ahead So Drivers Can Pass With Caution



> This fantastic initiative by Samsung called the 'Safety Truck' had a huge video display on the back to allow drivers to see ahead of the truck.


----------



## stream26

I just finished PT for a severe back injury leading to chronic sciatica, nerve damage, and even plantar fasciitis that I'll have to deal with forever.

I still can't sleep without back pain unless my knees are up and I stay on my back the whole night. For a fix right now, I would recommend a "U-pillow". It's a giant U shaped pillow meant to eliminate the need for body pillows (here cozzy review). But I use it upside down with the U under my head and the ends criss crossed under my knees to elevate them and it was a miracle for my nighttime back pain. They're about $110 and totally worth it.


----------



## ekim68

Smart glove translates sign language gestures into text



> Unless you're hard of hearing, or have hearing-impaired friends or relatives, you probably won't understand sign language, which is frustrating for those who rely on it to communicate. Now engineers at the University of California San Diego have developed a prototype of what they call "The Language of Glove," a Bluetooth-enabled, sensor-packed glove that reads the sign language hand gestures and translates them into text.


----------



## ekim68

Daily crosswords linked to sharper brain in later life



> The more regularly people report doing word puzzles such as crosswords, the better their brain function in later life, a large-scale and robust online trial has found.


----------



## ekim68

Scientists Precisely Edit DNA In Human Embryos To Fix A Disease Gene



> The research is ultimately aimed at helping families plagued by genetic diseases. The new experiment used a powerful new gene-editing technique to correct a genetic defect behind a heart disorder that can cause seemingly healthy young people to suddenly die from heart failure.
> 
> The experiment corrected the defect in nearly two-thirds of several dozen embryos, without causing potentially dangerous mutations elsewhere in the DNA.
> 
> None of the embryos were used to try to create a baby. But if future experiments confirm the techniques are safe and effective, the scientists say the same approach could be used to prevent a long list of inheritable diseases.


----------



## ekim68

Plants 'hijacked' to make polio vaccine



> Plants have been "hijacked" to make polio vaccine in a breakthrough with the potential to transform vaccine manufacture, say scientists.
> 
> The team at the John Innes Centre, in Norfolk, says the process is cheap, easy and quick.
> 
> As well as helping eliminate polio, the scientists believe their approach could help the world react to unexpected threats such as Zika virus or Ebola.
> 
> Experts said the achievement was both impressive and important.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Plants 'hijacked' to make polio vaccine


...


----------



## ekim68

How To Freeze (and Thaw) Tomatoes



> There's a lot of advice out there for storing tomatoes. Some people swear that they'll never ever refrigerate their beautiful summer heirlooms - but what about the freezer?
> 
> The freezer is the surprising secret to the easiest long-term storage for whole ripe tomatoes, as long as you follow a few guidelines and know when and how to use tomatoes that have been frozen.


----------



## ekim68

Smart label could one day let you know when to toss food and cosmetics



> Detecting food and cosmetic spoilage and contamination. Identifying new medicinal plants in a remote jungle. Authenticating tea and wine. Scientists have developed a low-cost, portable, paper-based sensor that can potentially carry out all of these functions with easy-to-read results.


----------



## ekim68

Carbon nanotube yarn generates electricity when stretched




> Wearable





> makers have long sought to harvest electricity from your movement, but current tech is expensive and inefficient. However, researchers from Texas and South Korea have discovered a promising method using our good old friend, the carbon nanotube. The team twisted the lightweight tubes into tight, elastic-like coils, so that they rotate and generate electricity when stretched. The threads (called "twistron") could lead to new types of generators or self-powered wearables that can track your heart rate and breathing.


----------



## ekim68

FDA Approves First Gene Therapy For Leukemia



> The Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday announced what the agency calls a "historic action" - the first approval of a cell-based gene therapy in the United States.
> 
> The FDA approved Kymriah, which scientists refer to as a "living drug" because it involves using genetically modified immune cells from patients to attack their cancer.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> FDA Approves First Gene Therapy For Leukemia


...


----------



## ekim68

Wind Energy Is One of the Cheapest Sources of Electricity, and It's Getting Cheaper



> A comprehensive survey of the wind industry shows wind energy is routinely purchased in bulk for just two cents per kilowatt-hour-and turbines are only getting cheaper, bigger, and better


----------



## ekim68

Electric bus sets record with 1,101-mile trip on a single charge



> Think it was impressive when a Tesla club drove a Model S nearly 670 miles? It has nothing on what Proterra just managed. The startup just drove a Catalyst E2 Max electric bus a whopping 1,101.2 miles on a single charge. That's the furthest _any_ EV has managed before recharging, and well past the 1,013.8 miles driven by the previous record-holder, a one-seat experimental car nicknamed "Boozer."[/quotes]


----------



## ekim68

New antibody attacks 99% of HIV strains



> ientists have engineered an antibody that attacks 99% of HIV strains and can prevent infection in primates.
> 
> It is built to attack three critical parts of the virus - making it harder for HIV to resist its effects.


----------



## ekim68

DNA surgery on embryos removes disease



> Precise "chemical surgery" has been performed on human embryos to remove disease in a world first, Chinese researchers have told the BBC.
> 
> The team at Sun Yat-sen University used a technique called base editing to correct a single error out of the three billion "letters" of our genetic code.
> 
> They altered lab-made embryos to remove the disease beta-thalassemia. The embryos were not implanted.
> 
> The team says the approach may one day treat a range of inherited diseases.


----------



## ekim68

Color-changing tattoos monitor blood glucose at a glance



> Tattoos are fast becoming more than just a means of self-expression: soon they could be used for more practical applications, like tracking blood alcohol levels or turning the skin into a touchscreen. Now, a team from Harvard and MIT has developed a smart ink that could make for tattoos that monitor biometrics like glucose levels, and change color as a result.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Color-changing tattoos monitor blood glucose at a glance


...


----------



## ekim68

3D printed reinforced concrete bridge opens in the Netherlands



> A new bridge that was completely 3D printed has just opened in the Netherlands. Designed and built by engineers from the Technical University of Eindhoven and construction company BAM Infra, the cyclist bridge was printed in pieces from a concrete mixture, reinforced with steel cable, before being assembled and erected on-site.


----------



## poochee

...


----------



## ekim68

There's a better way to wash pesticides off your apples



> You have a supermarket apple in your hand. You could rub it against your shirt or rinse it under water, or you could mix up a 1 percent baking soda/water solution and use that instead. According to a new study, the baking soda solution is your best bet for reducing pesticides.


----------



## ekim68

Ford Pilots a New Exoskeleton to Lessen Worker Fatigue



> Working with exoskeleton maker Ekso Bionics, Ford has been piloting the use of an exoskeleton called EksoVest in two of their manufacturing plants in the U.S. The exoskeleton is designed to reduce fatigue from high-frequency activities.


----------



## ekim68

California's Electric-Car Future



> California's energy future is visible in the underground garage of a luxury condominium that rises behind the façade of a former San Francisco muffler shop. The parking spaces come equipped with charging stations for electric cars -- an amenity that, as of next year, the city will require.
> 
> The city law, which mandates that at least 10 percent of parking spaces in all new buildings be wired for car chargers, is just one way the state and local governments are pushing Californians to use emissions-free cars and trucks.


----------



## ekim68

Apple Watch will alert heart-study participants if they have an irregular beat



> Might wearing an Apple Watch save you from a stroke or cardio problem?
> 
> Apple is careful not to make that direct claim. But the company, in collaboration with Stanford University School of Medicine, launched the Apple Heart Study app on Thursday that uses the heart rate sensor inside the Apple Watch to collect data on irregular heart rhythms. The study had been previously announced in September.


----------



## ekim68

New battery boffinry could 'triple range' of electric vehicles



> A new method of designing batteries, cooked up at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, could triple the range of electric vehicles, a new paper has claimed.
> 
> The development, described by the article _An In Vivo Formed Solid Electrolyte Surface Layer Enables Stable Plating of Li Metal_ (PDF) in energy journal _Joule_, is due to an improvement in the protection of lithium electrodes inside conventional lithium-ion batteries.
> 
> Researchers estimated that this improvement could increase the normal range of an electric vehicle battery from 200km to 600km.


----------



## ekim68

Scientists invent double-pane solar windows powered by quantum dots



> Jan. 2 (UPI) -- Researchers at the Los Alamos National Laboratory have designed efficient and cost-effective solar windows by combining quantum dot technology with a double pane structure.
> 
> The layers of quantum dots are tweaked to absorb only part of the solar spectrum, allowing the double-pane solar windows to generate energy while providing shade and insulation.
> 
> Scientists suggest the new technology will lower the cost of solar electricity.


----------



## ekim68

'Orange goo' is used in armor for soldiers and football players



> It's a gel developed by UK-company D3O that acts as both a liquid and a solid. When handled slowly the goo is soft and flexible but the moment it receives an impact, it hardens. It's all thanks to the gel's shock-absorbing properties.


----------



## ekim68

All Renewables Will Be Cost Competitive With Fossil Fuels by 2020



> Generating electricity from renewable energy sources is not only better for the environment compared to fossil fuels, but it will also be consistently cheaper in just a few years, according to a new report.
> 
> According to a cost analysis from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), the best onshore wind and solar photovoltaic (PV) projects could deliver electricity for $0.03 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) by 2019, much lower than the current cost of power from fossil fuels, which ranges from $0.05 to $0.17 per kWh.
> 
> The analysis highlights the dramatic dip in solar and wind prices over the last decade. Onshore wind has fallen by around a quarter since 2010, with solar PV electricity costs falling by 73 percent in that time. Additionally, solar PV costs are expected to halve by 2020.


----------



## ekim68

'It Just Felt Like a Miracle': Small Groups Win Big in Bitcoin Donor's $56 Million Giving Spree



> One day in January, Linda Tannenbaum opened an email that would radically change her small, medical-research charity almost overnight. The note said that her organization would soon receive a gift of $1 million, to use as it saw fit.


----------



## ekim68

British scientists develop wearable MRI scanner



> NOTTINGHAM, England (CBS) British scientists have invented a new type of brain scanner that patients can wear on their head allowing them to move while being tested.
> 
> "I think in terms of mapping brain activity, brain function, this represents a step change," said Matt Brookes, a physicist at the University of Nottingham.
> 
> Because you can do this while wearing it -- play bat and ball, or even drink a cup of tea.


----------



## ekim68

FDA Just Approved First Contact Lenses That Turn Dark in Bright Sunlight




> The FDA approved the first photochromic contact lenses, those that react to UV light and darken to shield a wearer's eyes.


----------



## ekim68

Scientists accidentally create mutant enzyme that eats plastic bottles



> Scientists have created a mutant enzyme that breaks down plastic drinks bottles - by accident. The breakthrough could help solve the global plastic pollution crisis by enabling for the first time the full recycling of bottles.
> 
> The new research was spurred by the discovery in 2016 of the first bacterium that had naturally evolved to eat plastic, at a waste dump in Japan. Scientists have now revealed the detailed structure of the crucial enzyme produced by the bug.
> 
> The international team then tweaked the enzyme to see how it had evolved, but tests showed they had inadvertently made the molecule even better at breaking down the PET (polyethylene terephthalate) plastic used for soft drink bottles. "What actually turned out was we improved the enzyme, which was a bit of a shock," said Prof John McGeehan, at the University of Portsmouth, UK, who led the research. "It's great and a real finding."


----------



## ekim68

3 Dogs Are Rebuilding Chilean Forests Once Devastated By Fire



> The job to replant endless acres of forests seemed like a daunting endeavor. That is until three unusual workers took up the task. Six-year-old Das and her two daughters, Olivia and Summer are three Border Collies who have been trained to run through the damaged forests with special backpacks that release native plant seeds. Once they take root, these seeds will help regrow the destroyed area.


----------



## ekim68

New solar still claims near-perfect efficiency in purifying water



> Access to clean water is one of the world's most pressing problems, but a team of University at Buffalo researchers has come up with a new take on an old technology that uses sunlight to purify water. Led by associate professor of electrical engineering Qiaoqiang Gan, the team has created a device that uses black, carbon-dipped paper to produce fresh water with what is claimed to be near-perfect efficiency.


----------



## ekim68

[URL='https://electrek.co/2018/05/11/tesla-giant-battery-australia-reduced-grid-service-cost/']Tesla's giant battery in Australia reduced grid service cost by 90%[/URL]



> Tesla's giant Powerpack battery in Australia has been in operation for about 6 months now and we are just starting to discover the magnitude of its impact on the local energy market.
> 
> A new report now shows that it reduced the cost of the grid service that it performs by 90% and it has already taken a majority share of the market.


----------



## ekim68

New research confirms energy needs can be met by renewables



> Could renewable sources meet 100 percent of our energy demand? Yes, according to new research which scrutinises the arguments against. "There are no roadblocks on the way to a 100-percent renewable future," the research states, while pointing out that existing research already holds the answers to the common objections raised.


----------



## ekim68

GoSun's hybrid solar/electric oven cooks day and night



> GoSun's line of solar-powered ovens has been feeding campers and outdoorsy people for several summers, but there's one big problem to cooking with the power of the Sun - half the time it's gone. To extend the cookouts to all hours, the company has now whipped up the GoSun Fusion, which adds an electric heating element to the device.


----------



## pauldeaver

More Than a View: Windows Double as Solar Panels



> A tech startup on a mission to make modern commercial and housing estates energy neutral has outfitted the headquarters of a Dutch bank with the world's first commercial, fully transparent solar-power-generating windows.


----------



## ekim68

Smart bandage could monitor and medicate chronic wounds



> Chronic skin wounds may be notoriously difficult to treat, but at the same time they shouldn't be _over_-treated, subjecting patients to more antibiotics than is necessary. That's why scientists have developed a "smart" bandage that only dispenses medication as needed.


----------



## ekim68

I sure could have used this back in the day... :up: (Before my Wife forbid me from ever working with wood again..  )


Nifty nail-dispensing hammer might save some sore thumbs



> Wayward hammers have probably been striking exposed thumbs since ancient tinkerers first started swinging them, but what if hammering nails could be a single-handed undertaking? Designer Michael Young has come up with a rather brilliant tool that uses its own head to drive the nail tip into a surface, making for much safer and more efficient hammering.


----------



## ekim68

[URL='https://skillet.lifehacker.com/freeze-scoops-of-cookie-dough-and-have-fresh-cookies-on-1828998135']Freeze Scoops of Cookie Dough and Have Fresh Cookies on a Whim[/URL]



> In terms of earthly delights, a fresh, soft cookie with perfectly crispy edges and gooey chocolate chips is extremely hard to compete with. Though there is nothing wrong with making-and eating-an entire baker's dozen in an evening, _you_ might be the type of person who has "impulse control," and wishes to enjoy only a cookie or two a day. In that case, the best gift you can give yourself is a bag of pre-portioned, frozen cookie dough.


----------



## ekim68

"Live" shapeshifting canopy uses drones to keep guests in the shade



> A string of interesting research projects have shown us how drones might one day be used to not just construct elements of our environment, but keep things just the way we like them. A new system from the University of Stuttgart explores how these flying robots can give rise to a novel form of intelligent architecture, demonstrated through an adaptive canopy that changes its configuration as the sun moves through the sky.


----------



## ekim68

Paralyzed patients walk again with help from pain stimulator



> At least five people whose legs were completely paralyzed are walking again, two of them with no outside help, thanks to a specialized program of therapy and a pain stimulator implanted in their spines, researchers reported Monday.


----------



## ekim68

[URL='https://www.fastcompany.com/90253718/a-device-that-can-pull-drinking-water-from-the-air-just-won-the-latest-x-prize']A device that can pull drinking water from the air just won the latest XPrize[/URL]




> The winner of the Water Abundance XPrize creates enough water for 100 people every day by making an artificial cloud inside a shipping container.


----------



## ekim68

Scientists Create Artificial Wood That Is Water- and Fire-Resistant



> A new lightweight substance is as strong as wood yet lacks its standard vulnerabilities to fire and water.


----------



## ekim68

World-first aerogel is made from plastic bottles, and has many potential uses



> Pop bottles are one of the most common types of plastic waste, so the more ways that we can find of recycling them, the better. With that in mind, researchers at the National University of Singapore (NUS) have developed an inexpensive method of converting such bottles into a very useful aerogel.





> The resulting lightweight, porous, flexible and durable aerogel is the world's first such material to be made from PET, and it has many potential applications.


----------



## ekim68

MIT researchers develop window coating to deflect most of sun's heat



> Nov. 9 (UPI) -- Scientists have developed a heat-deflecting film that could reject up to 70 percent of the sun's heat from a window.
> 
> Researchers published the results of tests with the film in a study published Thursday in the journal Joule.


----------



## ekim68

Paralyzed Individuals Operate Tablet with Brain Implant



> One user played Beethoven's "Ode to Joy" on an Android tablet piano app and later bought some groceries online. Another sent a few texts and then checked the weather forecast. A third browsed through some videos before firing up Stevie Nicks on Pandora.
> 
> They didn't use their fingers to type commands or their voices to navigate the the interface.
> 
> They used their noggins, specifically the motor cortex region of their brains where a baby aspirin-size chip had been implanted as part of a new study.


----------



## ekim68

Silent glider: First airplane powered by ionic thrust technology takes flight



> Nov. 26 (UPI) -- Engineers have conducted the first-ever flight powered by ionic thrust technology. It's the first time a plane has flown sans moving parts.
> 
> The aircraft is powered by several electric engines that produce and expel charged particles. Ionic wind, or ionic thrust, is sometimes called electroaerodynamic thrust. The technology has been proven in space, but creating momentum in a relative vacuum is easier than moving through Earth's thick atmosphere.


----------



## ekim68

Graphene, jute fibers combine to create strong, sustainable building material



> Nov. 29 (UPI) -- Scientists have combined graphene and jute to form a new composite material that is strong, durable and cheap to make. Researchers think the fiber-based composite material could be used to build cars, ships, wind turbine blades and even low-cost housing.


----------



## ekim68

Seawater to freshwater through solar energy: A new low-cost technology



> The working principle of the proposed technology is very simple: "Inspired by plants, which transport water from roots to leaves by capillarity and transpiration, our floating device is able to collect seawater using a low-cost porous material, thus avoiding the use of expensive and cumbersome pumps. The collected seawater is then heated up by solar energy, which sustains the separation of salt from the evaporating water. This process can be facilitated by membranes inserted between contaminated and drinking water to avoid their mixing, similarly to some plants able to survive in marine environments, for example, the mangroves," explain Matteo Fasano and Matteo Morciano.


----------



## ekim68

New materials could 'drive wound healing' by harnessing natural healing methods



> Materials are widely used to help heal wounds: Collagen sponges help treat burns and pressure sores, and scaffold-like implants are used to repair bones. However, the process of tissue repair changes over time, so scientists are developing biomaterials that interact with tissues as healing takes place.
> 
> Now, Dr Ben Almquist and his team at Imperial College London have created a new molecule that could change the way traditional materials work with the body. Known as traction force-activated payloads (TrAPs), their method lets materials talk to the body's natural repair systems to drive healing.


----------



## ekim68

400 free Ivy League university courses you can take online in 2019



> The eight Ivy League schools are among the most prestigious colleges in the world. They include Brown, Harvard, Cornell, Princeton, Dartmouth, Yale, and Columbia universities, and the University of Pennsylvania.
> 
> All eight schools place in the top fifteen of the US News and World Report 2017 national university rankings.
> 
> These Ivy League schools are also highly selective and extremely hard to get into. But the good news is that all these universities now offer free online courses across multiple online course platforms.


----------



## ekim68

How Orkney leads the way for sustainable energy



> It seems the stuff of fantasy. Giant ships sail the seas burning fuel that has been extracted from water using energy provided by the winds, waves and tides. A dramatic but implausible notion, surely. Yet this grand green vision could soon be realised thanks to a remarkable technological transformation that is now under way in Orkney.
> 
> Perched 10 miles beyond the northern edge of the British mainland, this archipelago of around 20 populated islands - as well as a smattering of uninhabited reefs and islets - has become the centre of a revolution in the way electricity is generated. Orkney was once utterly dependent on power that was produced by burning coal and gas on the Scottish mainland and then transmitted through an undersea cable. Today the islands are so festooned with wind turbines, they cannot find enough uses for the emission-free power they create on their own.


----------



## ekim68

Cool stuff... 

Gallery: 2019 AIANY Design Awards celebrate New York's best architectural endeavors


----------



## ekim68

What to do with an old quarry... 

Spectacular "groundscraper" plunges down a disused quarry


----------



## ekim68

[URL='https://www.fastcompany.com/90296956/a-coalition-of-giant-brands-is-about-to-change-how-we-shop-forever-with-a-new-zero-waste-platform']A coalition of giant brands is about to change how we shop forever, with a new zero-waste platform[/URL]




> Loop will send you name-brand products, like Tide detergent, Crest mouthwash, or Häagen Dazs ice cream. When you're done, you ship the empty container back, where it gets cleaned and reused for the next customer.


----------



## ekim68

Elon Musk wants Teslas to automatically call a tow truck when something breaks



> As Tesla ramps up production and gets more cars on the road, the company is still working out a few speed bumps when it comes to service. When something goes wrong, getting it fixed tends to take longer than many owners are willing to wait.
> 
> In September of last year, Elon Musk promised to make fixing service times a priority. On an earnings call today, he outlined two ways they're working on it: more spare parts at service centers, and giving Tesla cars the ability to automatically get the process started by calling a tow truck as soon as it detects an issue.


----------



## ekim68

Tokyo 2020 Olympic medals will be made from electronic waste



> As we replace old gadgets with the latest new and shiny, discarded tech can become a massive waste problem. Electronic waste can be quite valuable though, and there have been a number of projects aimed at recovering precious metals from e-trash. Now it appears that Olympic winners in 2020 will be awarded medals made from smashed up phones and cameras.


----------



## ekim68

Tesla 'dog mode' will stop pets overheating in cars, Elon Musk says



> Elon Musk's Tesla cars are about to get a "dog mode" to protect pets from overheating.
> 
> The billionaire entrepreneur said the technology would be rolled out to his fleet of Model 3 electric vehicles next week.
> 
> It will be able to detect when a pet is locked inside the car - and keep the temperature at a safe level.
> 
> There will also likely be a display or some form of communication to inform passers-by that the dog is safe.


----------



## ekim68

[URL='https://www.fastcompany.com/90303314/this-origami-screen-turns-your-windows-into-solar-panels-without-blocking-light']This origami screen turns your windows into solar panels[/URL]



> If you live in an apartment, it's difficult to have solar panels: Your landlord decides what goes on your roof. But a new design makes solar panels more accessible to those without a roof of their own. Hanging inside a window, the origami-style blinds generate electricity as light reflects against the folds of the panel. At the same time, the geometry of the design brings more natural light inside.


----------



## GrinHulk

https://www.aquavape.co.uk/blog/vape-what-you-said.html

There's a survey here of people saying the reasons why they are vaping:

34% for health reasons
34% alternative to smoking
32% as an effort to quit smoking

Good to know vaping really is helping some people to change for the better.


----------



## Johnny b

Maybe someone at some time thought this was a good idea.



http://imgur.com/978OjRE


Not me.


----------



## ekim68

New experimental drug rapidly repairs age-related memory loss and improves mood



> A team of Canadian scientists has developed a fascinating new experimental drug that is purported to result in rapid improvements to both mood and memory following extensive animal testing. It's hoped the drug will move to human trials within the next two years.


----------



## Johnny b

ekim68 said:


> New experimental drug rapidly repairs age-related memory loss and improves mood


Sounds more like a promotion for a supplement already on the market.
GABA is not a new drug.
BTW, it's currently sold over the counter with out a prescription :

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamma-Aminobutyric_acid

https://www.webmd.com/vitamins/ai/ingredientmono-464/gaba-gamma-aminobutyric-acid

Simply google "where to buy Gaba" for a source.


----------



## GrinHulk

Johnny b said:


> Maybe someone at some time thought this was a good idea.
> 
> 
> 
> http://imgur.com/978OjRE
> 
> 
> Not me.


LOL that's just plain crazy!! But if it works, it works!


----------



## ekim68

Scientists turn CO2 'back into coal' in breakthrough carbon capture experiment



> Scientists have managed to turn CO2 from a gas back into solid "coal", in a breakthrough which could potentially help remove the greenhouse gas from the atmosphere.
> 
> The research team led by RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia, developed a new technique using a liquid metal electrolysis method which efficiently converts CO2 from a gas into solid particles of carbon.


----------



## GrinHulk

https://smokingwithstyle.com/2019/02/07/find-cheap-herbal-vaporizers-using-vapercity-com/

CHEAP. HERBAL. VAPORIZERS.
HERBAL
_HERBAL_
*HERBAL
*
Just really happy that "herbal" vapes are now a thing--we've come a long way. I have friends who swear vaping "herbs" are the only stuff that can take away their chronic pain. Really good idea--of course, not when abused and/or put in the hands of the wrong people (e.g. minors).


----------



## ekim68

[URL='https://www.dezeen.com/2019/04/23/rca-aweigh-navigation-system-design/']RCA postgraduates create open navigation system inspired by insect eyes[/URL]



> A team of student designers and engineers from the RCA and Imperial College have designed an open-source alternative to GPS, called Aweigh, that does not rely on satellites.
> 
> Instead, the device calculates a user's position using the sun - a feature inspired by the polarised vision of insects.


----------



## ekim68

First fully electric tourist boats to venture into the mist of Niagara Falls



> Maid of the Mist's vessels have been ferrying tourists out towards Niagara Falls for decades, and soon visitors will be able to get up close and personal with its roaring waters in a more environmentally-friendly manner. The tourism company is set to launch a pair of all-electric boats that will not only offer a zero-emission mode of transport, but will allow visitors to take in the spectacle free of the engine noise and exhaust fumes that accompany traditional vessels.


----------



## GrinHulk

ekim68 said:


> First fully electric tourist boats to venture into the mist of Niagara Falls


Wow, this is so cool!


----------



## ekim68

The World's First 3D-Printed Village Is Coming to Latin America This Summer



> Acclaimed designer Yves Béhar of fuseproject, Austin-based construction technologies company ICON, and nonprofit New Story just unveiled plans to build the world's first 3D-printed community, which will provide over 50 homes for impoverished families in Latin America.
> 
> The ambitious project originated with New Story's mission to end global homelessness with sustainable, cutting-edge technology-and Icon's 3D-printed home has been adapted into new site-specific designs thanks to fuseproject's on-the-ground community workshops.


----------



## ekim68

Sugary gel allows vaccines to be transported where refrigeration is lacking



> In an effort to make vaccines more available to people in difficult to reach areas, a team of scientists at McMaster University has developed an inexpensive, sugary gel that can preserve heat-fragile antiviral vaccines for over eight weeks at temperatures up to 40° C (104° F). The hope is that it will not only provide immunization to more people, but also aid in combating the spread of dangerous diseases like Ebola.


----------



## ekim68

'Pumping heart patch' ready for human use



> A "pumping" patch containing millions of living, beating stem cells could help repair the damage caused by a heart attack, according to researchers.
> 
> Sewn on to the heart, the 3cm (1in) by 2cm patch, grown in a lab from a sample of the patient's own cells, then turns itself into healthy working muscle.


----------



## ekim68

[URL='https://lifehacker.com/how-to-access-nasas-media-library-of-videos-and-images-1835563582']How to Access NASA's Media Library of Videos and Images For Free[/URL]



> NASA has a media library full of images, sounds, and video you're free to use however you'd like, and you can access that massive library for free.


----------



## ekim68

YouTuber Simone Giertz transformed a Tesla Model 3 into a pickup truck



> Simone Giertz was tired of waiting for Elon Musk to unveil his new Tesla pickup truck, so she decided to make one herself.


----------



## ekim68

Toyota testing improved solar roof for electric cars that can charge while driving



> Toyota is testing a new and improved version of the solar power cells it previously launched on the Japan-exclusive Prius PHV, in a pilot along with partners Sharp and Japanese national research organization NEDO. This demo car's prototype cells can convert solar energy at 34% and up, which is much better than the existing commercial version's 22.5%. And, unlike its predecessor, it also can charge the car's driving battery while the car is actually moving, recouping significant range while the vehicle is in use.


----------



## ekim68

New research helps predict locations of blue whales so ships can avoid them



> A new model based on daily oceanographic data and the movements of tagged whales has opened the potential for stakeholders to see where in the ocean endangered blue whales are most likely to be so that ships can avoid hitting them.


----------



## ekim68

Giant batteries and cheap solar power are shoving fossil fuels off the grid



> This month, officials in Los Angeles, California, are expected to approve a deal that would make solar power cheaper than ever while also addressing its chief flaw: It works only when the sun shines. The deal calls for a huge solar farm backed up by one of the world's largest batteries. It would provide 7% of the city's electricity beginning in 2023 at a cost of 1.997 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) for the solar power and 1.3 cents per kWh for the battery. That's cheaper than any power generated with fossil fuel.


----------



## ekim68

[URL='https://lifehacker.com/google-translates-camera-feature-now-supports-88-langua-1836339857']Google Translate's Camera Feature Now Supports 88 Languages[/URL]



> This week Google brought 60 more languages into Instant Camera. Here's a list of all of the supported ones now:


----------



## GrinHulk

ekim68 said:


> Google Translate's Camera Feature Now Supports 88 Languages


Wow! Glad they pulled this off. Definitely helps me while traveling.


----------



## ekim68

Scientists create contact lenses that zoom when you blink twice



> It is absolutely the stuff of science fiction: a contact lens that zooms on your command.
> 
> But scientists at the University of California San Diego have gone ahead and made it a reality. They've created a contact lens, controlled by eye movements, that can zoom in if you blink twice.


----------



## ekim68

Eco Wave Power announces second grid-connected project



> Back in 2012, Sweden's Eco Wave Power started testing a wave energy harvesting system that could be installed on existing structures like breakwaters and piers. The company switched on its first grid-connected project four years later, and has now announced the second - which will convert the rise and fall of waves at Jaffa Port in Israel into electricity.


----------



## ekim68

Harnessing heat for 80% theoretical efficiency



> Scientists at Rice University in Texas have developed a device which converts heat into light by squeezing it into a smaller bandgap. The 'hyperbolic thermal emitter' could be combined with a PV system to convert energy otherwise wasted as heat - a development the researchers say could drastically increase efficiency.


----------



## ekim68

[URL='https://skillet.lifehacker.com/chill-your-countertop-before-rolling-out-pie-dough-1836994486']Chill Your Countertop Before Rolling Out Pie Dough[/URL]


----------



## ekim68

Light, flexible panel burns the rule book on where PV can be installed



> The Australian National Maritime Museum has installed the country's largest lightweight solar panel roof on its Wharf 7 Heritage Centre in Sydney's Darling Harbor. By using flexible, glass-free solar panels designed by Dr. Zhengrong Shi of SunMan Energy, buildings which previously were considered unsuitable for solar panels can now take part in the renewable energy revolution.


----------



## ekim68

Electric Dump Truck Produces More Energy Than It Uses



> Electric vehicles are everywhere now. It's more than just Leafs, Teslas, and a wide variety of electric bikes. It's also trains, busses, and in this case, gigantic dump trucks. This truck in particular is being put to work at a mine in Switzerland, and as a consequence of having an electric drivetrain is actually able to produce more power than it consumes.


----------



## ekim68

Crystalline nets harvest water from desert air, turn carbon dioxide into liquid fuel

*



SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA-

Click to expand...

*


> When Omar Yaghi was growing up in Jordan, outside of Amman, his neighborhood received water for only about 5 hours once every 2 weeks. If Yaghi wasn't up at dawn to turn on the spigots to store water, his family, their cow, and their garden had to go without. At a meeting last week here, in an-other area thirsting for freshwater, Yaghi, a chemist at the University of California, Berkeley, reported that he and his colleagues have created a solar-powered device that could provide water for millions in water-stressed regions. At its heart is a porous crystalline material, known as a metal-organic framework (MOF), that acts like a sponge: It sucks water vapor out of air, even in the desert, and then releases it as liquid water.


----------



## ekim68

Gel that makes teeth repair themselves could spell the end of fillings



> Tooth enamel can now be made to repair itself by applying a special gel. The product could save people from developing cavities that require dental fillings.


----------



## ekim68

[URL='https://electrek.co/2019/09/07/tesla-battery-cell-last-1-million-miles-robot-taxis/']Tesla battery researcher unveils new cell that could last 1 million miles in 'robot taxis'[/URL]



> Tesla's battery research partner has released a new paper on a battery cell that could last over 1 million miles, which they say is going to be particularly useful in 'robot taxis' - something that Tesla wants to bring to market.


----------



## ekim68

This $30 Device Turns the Cold of Outer Space Into Renewable Energy



> The sun can be a powerful source of renewable energy, but so can the night sky. Now, a team of scientists have created a device that turns the cold of space into enough electricity to power an LED light.
> 
> As described in a paper published on Thursday in the journal _ Joule_, the device is based off of a thermoelectric generator that creates electricity from the difference in temperature between a "hot side" and a "cold side." The researchers-UCLA scientist Aaswath Raman, and Stanford scientists Wei Li and Shanhui Fan-decided to take this idea one step further and use the ambient environment of Earth as a heat source and the cold of outer space as one gigantic cold sink.


----------



## ekim68

The 'world's safest' bike helmet has its own airbag[/quote]



> After four years of research and development, Swedish brand Hövding has released their third generation cycling helmet. Easier to use, adjustable and enabled with Bluetooth technology, the helmet, according to Hövding's CEO Frederik Carling, is the world's safest.


----------



## ekim68

[URL='https://returntonow.net/2019/08/04/irish-teenager-invents-magnetic-liquid-trap-that-can-remove-90-of-microplastics-from-water/']Irish Teenager Invents Magnetic Liquid Trap That Can Remove 90% of Microplastics From Water[/URL]



> Because *microplastics* are so small - some as tiny as grains of sand - scientists have had a hard time figuring out to remove them from the soil and the sea.
> 
> Now, an Irish teenager has come up with a promising solution for this seemingly impossible task - a magnetic liquid that attracts microplastics to itself.


----------



## ekim68

This new eco-friendly game packaging could save tonnes of plastic every year



> Sega and Sports Interactive have announced that _Football Manager 2020_ will be sold in new eco-friendly package that uses much less plastic, and they're pushing for the rest of the entertainment industry to follow suit.
> 
> The new packaging replaces the now-standard plastic DVD case used for most game discs with a folded, reinforced cardboard sleeve made of 100% recycled fiber. The shrinkwrap surrounding that package has also been replaced with a low-density LDPE polyethylene that's highly recyclable. Even the ink on the cardboard has been changed out for a vegetable-and-water-based version (so it's technically vegan if you're desperate for a snack).


----------



## ekim68

Algae-fueled bioreactor soaks up CO2 400x more effectively than trees



> When it comes to organic processes that we can leverage to tackle the runaway problem of climate change, the carbon-absorbing abilities of algae may be one of the most potent tools at our disposal. For years, scientists have been studying this natural phenomena in hope of tackling greenhouse gas emissions and producing eco-friendly biofuels, and now US company Hypergiant Industries has packaged the tech up into a box-shaped machine that can soak up as much carbon from the atmosphere as an acre of trees.


----------



## ekim68

At last! A self-driving garbage can



> The SmartCan can get itself to the curb on garbage day without you having to remember to put it there. This is progress.


----------



## GrinHulk

Been a long time since I checked this thread! Kudos @ekim68 for keeping the posts coming.

Although I've got more boring "good ideas", will want to share here from time to time still. Here's an article on using emojis for boosting business: https://www.jooksms.com/blog/use-emojis-sms-marketing-campaign-44/. Found it pretty interesting, especially in a world where we can fully communicate by just using memes and emojis!

Til the next post!


----------



## ekim68

'Artificial leaf' successfully produces clean gas



> A widely-used gas that is currently produced from fossil fuels can instead be made by an 'artificial leaf' that uses only sunlight, carbon dioxide and water, and which could eventually be used to develop a sustainable liquid fuel alternative to gasoline.


----------



## ekim68

20 Genius Inventions That Should Be Everywhere


----------



## ekim68

New Battery Design Can Charge an Electric Car in 10 Minutes




> The design, described in a new study, could get drivers on the road in the time it takes to brew a morning coffee.


----------



## ekim68

Thin solar panel coating recruits infrared light for energy generation



> They spend all day baking in the sun, but that doesn't mean solar panels capture all the light that hits them. Generally speaking, solar cells are capable of harnessing visible light for energy generation, while other parts of the electromagnetic spectrum go by unnoticed, including infrared. Much work is being done to bring others into the mix, including at Sweden's KTH Royal Institute of Technology where scientists have developed a new film they say can be layered over the top of solar cells to boost their efficiency by as much as 25 percent.


----------



## ekim68

The business jet that can land itself in an emergency



> An important step towards autonomous aviation was taken today, as Cirrus Aviation announced "Safe Return" functionality for its G2 Vision jet, which will find the nearest airstrip, alert authorities and land itself in an emergency.


----------



## ekim68

[URL='https://gizmodo.com/14-year-old-genius-solves-blind-spots-1839540078']14-Year-Old Genius Solves Blind Spots[/URL]



> Using some relatively inexpensive and readily available technology you can find at any well-stocked electronics store, Alaina Gassler, a 14-year-old inventor from West Grove, Pennsylvania, came up with a clever way to eliminate the blind spot created by the thick pillars on the side of a car's windshield.


----------



## HOBOcs

Helia electric car runs at 50mph on power it takes to boil kettle

https://www.dezeen.com/2019/10/30/cambridge-university-helia-electric-car/

Students from Cambridge University have built an ultra-efficient electric car that drives using only as much power as it takes to boil a kettle.

The Cambridge University Eco Racing (CUER) student society built the four-seater car, named Helia, with efficiency as the main goal.

Their achievement has been to produce a car that can travel 80 kilometres-per-hour using only 2500 watts, or as much power as it takes to boil a single kettle, which is equivalent to 31 watt-hours-per-kilometre.

For comparison's sake, CUER points out that the Tesla Model 3 needs eight kettles' worth of power to achieve the same output, while the Volkswagen e-Golf needs nine, and the BMW i3 requires nine and a half.


----------



## ekim68

Microsoft and Warner Bros trap Superman on glass slide for 1,000 years



> Microsoft and Warner Bros. have teamed up with a proof of concept test for a new long-term storage technology. As part of Microsoft's Project Silica, the two companies managed to cram the 1978 movie _Superman _onto a slide of silica glass the size of a drink coaster, and retrieve it. This tough new medium is designed to last centuries, and withstand punishment that would ruin film or magnetic drives.


----------



## ekim68

[URL='https://lifehacker.com/the-best-freebies-for-vets-and-military-personnel-on-ve-1839365637']The Best Freebies for Vets and Military Personnel on Veterans Day 2019[/URL]



> Until the day our country ends its proud tradition of withholding pay and benefits from its soldiers and veterans, you have to take what you can get. Here are the best deals and freebies for military personnel and veterans this Veterans Day.


----------



## ekim68

BEEP base keeps an eye - and an ear - on bee hives



> Beekeepers frequently open up their hives to check on them, but doing so adds to their workload, and it stresses out the bees. A team of Dutch entrepreneurs set out to develop an alternative, resulting in the BEEP base hive-monitoring system.
> 
> The base itself is a weatherproof device that sits underneath an existing hive. It proceeds to continuously monitor the weight of the hive, along with its internal temperature and its bee-noise levels (the latter two are measured via hardwired sensors that run from the base and into the hive).


----------



## ekim68

Travel-savvy wheelchair folds to become a carry-on bag



> Air travel can be difficult for the mobility-challenged … they either have to procure a wheelchair at the airport, or make sure that their own chair gets stowed in the luggage hold. British engineer Richard Williams has developed an alternative, in the form of a folding wheelchair that doubles as a carry-on bag.
> 
> Known as the Traveller Chair, the device features an aluminum frame, and reportedly tips the scales at approximately 6 kg (13 lb).


----------



## ekim68

This company is using mushrooms to reduce plastic waste



> New York (CNN)Our plastic addiction is spiraling out of control, but one company thinks it has a solution from a material found in nature.
> 
> Humans have produced more than 8.3 billion tons of plastic since the 1950s, according to the United Nations. Most of that is ending up in landfills and could take centuries to decompose.
> New York-based biotech startup Ecovative aims to cut down on this waste with mycelium, the root-like structure of a mushroom. Although we're used to seeing mushrooms growing above the ground, mycelium is what grows below it.


----------



## ekim68

Toshiba says its device tests for 13 cancer types with 99% accuracy from a single drop of blood



> Toshiba Corp. has developed technology to detect 13 types of cancer from a single drop of blood with 99 percent accuracy, the company announced Monday.
> 
> Toshiba developed the diagnosis method together with the National Cancer Center Research Institute and Tokyo Medical University, and hopes to commercialize it in "several years" after starting a trial next year.


----------



## ekim68

Micro implants could restore standing and walking



> Researchers are focused on restoring lower-body function after severe spinal injuries using a tiny spinal implant. In new research, the team showcases a map to identify which parts of the spinal cord trigger the hip, knees, ankles and toes, and the areas that put movements together.


----------



## ekim68

Battery prices fall nearly 50% in 3 years, spurring more electrification


----------



## ekim68

ICON Unveils the World's First Village of Affordable 3D-Printed Homes in Mexico



> After 18 months of planning, ICON and New Story just unveiled two affordable 3D-printed homes in a groundbreaking development for Tabasco, Mexico.


----------



## ekim68

Stem cell dental implants could grow new teeth in 2 months



> A new technique pioneered in the Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine Laboratory of Dr. Jeremy Mao, Edward V. Zegarelli Professor of Dental Medicine, and a professor of biomedical engineering at Columbia University, could make tooth loss a thing of the past.
> 
> The group believe that they've found a way to have the body's stem cells migrate to a three-dimensional scaffold made of natural material and placed in a patient's mouth. Once the stem cells have colonized the scaffold, a tooth can grow in the socket and then merge with the surrounding tissue.


----------



## ekim68

Stable lithium-sulfur battery could see smartphones run for 5 days



> Batteries made with a lithium-sulfur chemistry rather than the typical lithium-ion hold a great deal of potential, and have for quite some time. Though they offer up to five times more energy per weight, one major roadblock has been a far shorter lifespan. An international team of scientists believes it has now overcome this hurdle through a new type of bonding architecture, resulting in an unprecedented battery charge/discharge efficiency in a lithium-sulfur battery that could keep a smartphone running for days.


----------



## ekim68

Installing air filters in classrooms has surprisingly large educational benefits



> An emergency situation that turned out to be mostly a false alarm led a lot of schools in Los Angeles to install air filters, and something strange happened: Test scores went up. By a lot. And the gains were sustained in the subsequent year rather than fading away.
> 
> That's what NYU's Michael Gilraine finds in a new working paper titled "Air Filters, Pollution, and Student Achievement" that looks at the surprising consequences of the Aliso Canyon gas leak in 2015.


----------



## ekim68

Broad-spectrum solar breakthrough could efficiently produce hydrogen



> A new molecule developed by Ohio State University scientists can harvest energy from the entire visible spectrum of light, bringing in up to 50 percent more solar energy than current solar cells, and can also catalyze that energy into hydrogen.
> 
> Hydrogen is viewed by many folks, particularly in Japan and Korea, as the clean-burning fuel that might power our vehicles in a low-emissions future. One way to produce hydrogen is to split it out of water. This is typically done by splitting water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen using electricity, but a potentially simpler and more efficient way to do it may be through photocatalytic water splitting, which uses light itself as the energy source instead of electricity, removing electricity production from the process altogether.


----------



## ekim68

Harvester pulls record amount of drinking water out of thin air



> Clean water is all around us, and more literally than you might think - it's floating around in the air most of the time. Of course, it's not particularly drinkable in that form, but now researchers at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab (APL) have found materials that can collect huge amounts of water from the air.


----------



## ekim68

Simple, solar-powered water desalination



> A completely passive solar-powered desalination system developed by researchers at MIT and in China could provide more than 1.5 gallons of fresh drinking water per hour for every square meter of solar collecting area. Such systems could potentially serve off-grid arid coastal areas to provide an efficient, low-cost water source.


----------



## Professionalgirl

dotty999 said:


> baby wipes will clean many things! stains on carpets,upholstery, remove makeup and good for baby's bums too


That's true Dottie, In addition to your post I used my kids baby wipes to clean the counters and table and wiping up spills that the kids made.


----------



## ekim68

Researchers achieve a 10x supercapacitor energy density breakthrough



> Supercapacitors can charge almost instantly, and discharge enormous amounts of power if needed. They could completely erase the Achilles heel of electric vehicles - their slow charging times - if they could hold more energy. And now Chinese and British scientists say they've figured out a way to store 10 times more energy per volume than previous supercapacitors.
> 
> A team split between University College London and the Chinese Academy of Sciences has released a study and proof of concept of a new supercapacitor design using graphene laminate films and concentrating on the spacing between the layers, the researchers discovering that they could radically boost energy density when they tailored the sizes of pores in the membranes precisely to the size of electrolyte ions.


----------



## ekim68

Handheld 3D printer used to grow replacement muscle tissue



> When someone suffers a loss of skeletal muscle - either through accident or disease - it can be very difficult getting new muscle to grow in its place. A new handheld device is designed to help, however, by directly depositing scaffolding within the patient's body.
> 
> We've actually been hearing a lot about "bioscaffolds" lately.
> 
> In a nutshell, they're three-dimensional pieces of biocompatible material that are implanted within the body, and that have a microstructure similar to that of the surrounding tissue. Over time, cells from that tissue migrate into the scaffold, colonizing it and reproducing. Eventually, they entirely replace the material, forming pure muscle, bone, cartilage or other tissue.


----------



## ekim68

Elon Musk's Battery Farm Is an Undeniable Success



> More than two years after winning an electricity bet, Elon Musk's resulting Australian solar and wind farm is an almost total success. The facility powers rural South Australia, whose population density falls between Wyoming and Alaska, the two least dense U.S. states.


----------



## ekim68

Volkswagen plans to tap electric car batteries to compete with power firms



> BERLIN (Reuters) - Volkswagen's (VOWG_p.DE) expansion in electric cars will open up new business opportunities in storing and managing energy, encroaching on business currently dominated by utilities and energy firms, chief strategist Michael Jost said on Thursday.


----------



## ekim68

Packing the Tundra with Animals Could Slow Arctic Melt



> Enormous herds of animals roamed the Arctic tundra thousands of years ago. Just a fraction remain today, but some scientists say they should be brought back to help fight climate change.
> 
> Wild horses, reindeer, bison, musk oxen and other large herbivores trample the ground as they plod along, packing down the earth and any snow that's on top of it. Thick and fluffy snow tends to act as an insulator, warming the soil beneath it. But denser snow can keep soil colder.


----------



## ekim68

Stretchable supercapacitors to power tomorrow's wearable devices



> DURHAM, N.C. -- Researchers at Duke University and Michigan State University have engineered a novel type of supercapacitor that remains fully functional even when stretched to eight times its original size. It does not exhibit any wear and tear from being stretched repeatedly and loses only a few percentage points of energy performance after 10,000 cycles of charging and discharging.


----------



## ekim68

Graphene Solar Thermal Film Could Be a New Way to Harvest Renewable Energy



> Researchers at the Center for Translational Atomaterials (CTAM) at Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne, Australia, have developed a new graphene-based film that can absorb sunlight with an efficiency of over 90 percent, while simultaneously eliminating most IR thermal emission loss-the first time such a feat has been reported.
> 
> The result is an efficient solar heating metamaterial that can heat up rapidly to 83 degrees C (181 degrees F) in an open environment with minimal heat loss. Proposed applications for the film include thermal energy harvesting and storage, thermoelectricity generation, and seawater desalination.


----------



## ekim68

Can't Find Yeast? Grow Your Own at Home With a Sourdough Starter



> Baking bread can relieve stress and it requires long stretches of time at home that many of us now have. But shoppers have been panic-buying some surprising items since the start of the COVID-19 crisis. In addition to pantry staples like rice and beans, yeast packets are suddenly hard to find in grocery stores. If you got the idea to make homemade bread at the same time as everyone on your Instagram feed, don't let the yeast shortage stop you. As long as you have flour, water, and time, you can grow your own yeast at home.


----------



## ekim68

Bioprinted coral outdoes the real thing at growing algae



> Corals serve as a host to algae, which in turn produces sugars that the corals consume. Now, though, scientists have created 3D-printed coral that's even more algae-friendly than its natural equivalent - it could help address the problem of coral bleaching, and provide a source of biofuel.
> 
> The biocompatible synthetic coral was produced via a collaboration between researchers at Cambridge University and the University of California San Diego. They utilized a light-based rapid bioprinting technique, that can produce objects at micrometer-scale resolution within a matter of minutes.


----------



## ekim68

'A huge step forward.' Mutant enzyme could vastly improve recycling of plastic bottles



> Recycling isn't as guilt-free as it seems. Only about 30% of the plastic that goes into soda bottles gets turned into new plastic, and it often ends up as a lower strength version. Now, researchers report they've engineered an enzyme that can convert 90% of that same plastic back to its pristine starting materials. Work is underway to scale up the technology and open a demonstration plant next year.


----------



## ekim68

How to Make a Butter-Baked Onion



> Onions are an assertive ingredient, usually used to bring either aggressive astringency or deep, developed umami to a dish. A baked onion, however, does neither, and it still manages to be one of my favorite onions. Butter-baked onions are soft and sweet, with a brothy savoriness that reads almost like French onion soup. It's a homey, comforting side dish, and it only requires three ingredients.


----------



## ekim68

New type of marine plastic degrades quickly under ultraviolet light 



> One of the grave problems with plastic waste in the ocean is not just the mess it creates today, but the mess it might leave for centuries to come. Scientists at Cornell University have been working on more environmentally friendly forms of plastic for the fishing industry, and have come up with a new material that offers comparable strength to today's solutions but can break down much more quickly when exposed to UV light.


----------



## ekim68

'Artificial leaf' concept inspires research into solar-powered fuel production



> Rice University researchers have created an efficient, low-cost device that splits water to produce hydrogen fuel.
> 
> The platform developed by the Brown School of Engineering lab of Rice materials scientist Jun Lou integrates catalytic electrodes and perovskite solar cells that, when triggered by sunlight, produce electricity. The current flows to the catalysts that turn water into hydrogen and oxygen, with a sunlight-to-hydrogen efficiency as high as 6.7%.


----------



## ekim68

Soft exosuit improves walking speed and endurance for stroke survivors 



> In 2017, researchers from Harvard's Wyss Institute, the John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Science and Boston University demonstrated a soft robotic exosuit designed to help stroke patients improve their mobility. Now an untethered version of the lightweight ankle-assisting device has been shown to increase walking speed and distance.


----------



## ekim68

Directed evolution produces heat-resistant coral to endure climate change 



> The world's coral reefs face an uncertain future in the face of climate change and warming oceans, and scientists have been forced to get creative in conjuring up long-term solutions. Among those is the idea of developing new types of coral that are more resistant to heat, and researchers in Australia are reporting new success in this area through a technique known as "directed evolution."


----------



## ekim68

Forget planting trees. This company is funding 4 far-out carbon removal projects.



> The carbon removal technologies Stripe chose are early stage, and currently remove carbon at a cost of between $75 and $775 per ton - a far cry from common carbon offset projects like forest conservation and methane capture from landfills, which typically cost less than $10 per ton. Stripe's $1 million will only sequester about 6,500 tons of CO2, assuming the earliest-stage projects it chose actually work.


----------



## ekim68

12 Smart and Simple Kitchen Hacks



> Use these quick and simple tricks to save time in the kitchen and make cooking easier-and safer.


----------



## ekim68

Extra salty sodium battery performs on par with lithium



> Batteries that use a sodium-ion chemistry rather than the commonplace lithium-ion could offer a number of advantages, owing to the cheap and abundant nature of the element. Scientists at Washington State University have come up with a design billed as a potential game changer in this area - a sodium-ion battery offering a comparable energy capacity and cycling ability to some lithium-ion batteries already on the market.


----------



## ekim68

Stanford lab envisions delivery drones that save energy by taking the bus



> Researchers from Stanford University have devised a way for hundreds of drones to use the bus or trams in an effort to redesign how packages are distributed in cities. Should such a solution ever scale, it could reduce delivery van congestion and energy usage while extending the distance a drone can travel to deliver a package.


----------



## ekim68

Blinxi adds LED turn indicators to existing bike helmets 



> There are now numerous "smart" bike helmets available, most of which incorporate remotely operated LED turn indicators. Well, if that's the feature you really want, Blinxi lets you add it to your existing "dumb" helmet.
> 
> Created by Paris-based company Overade (which previously brought us a rather clever folding helmet), the Blinxi system consists of two main parts: the actual LED light strip, and a radio remote control module.


----------



## ekim68

Engineers find neat way to turn waste carbon dioxide into useful material



> Chemical engineers from UNSW Sydney have developed new technology that helps convert harmful carbon dioxide emissions into chemical building blocks to make useful industrial products like fuel and plastics.


----------



## Brigham

Johnny b said:


> Sounds more like a promotion for a supplement already on the market.
> GABA is not a new drug.
> BTW, it's currently sold over the counter with out a prescription :
> 
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamma-Aminobutyric_acid
> 
> https://www.webmd.com/vitamins/ai/ingredientmono-464/gaba-gamma-aminobutyric-acid
> 
> Simply google "where to buy Gaba" for a source.


If you read the article properly you will see it is for drugs which alter the GABA system.


----------



## Johnny b

Brigham said:


> If you read the article properly you will see it is for drugs which alter the GABA system.


I reread the article several times.
I stand corrected 

Looking at some of the other elements affected in that 'GABA system', I suspect long term human trials will be considered. There are some complicated issues and potentially nasty side effects to watch out for.


----------



## Brigham

I didn't mean to correct you harshly. This type of research is close to my heart as I am 86 and have noticed that my memory is getting worse. The drugs that they seem to be interested in are benzodiazepines, some being very addictive.


----------



## ekim68

Climate emission killer: construction begins on world's biggest liquid air battery



> Construction is beginning on the world's largest liquid air battery, which will store renewable electricity and reduce carbon emissions from fossil-fuel power plants.
> 
> The project near Manchester, UK, will use spare green energy to compress air into a liquid and store it. When demand is higher, the liquid air is released back into a gas, powering a turbine that puts the green energy back into the grid.


----------



## ekim68

Solar-powered poultry farm floated for Rotterdam harbor 



> We've reported on several eye-catching floating architecture projects lately, including a "parkipelago" and a greenery-covered office. This solar-powered urban poultry farm is the most off-the-wall idea of the bunch though and, assuming it goes ahead as planned, will host roughly 7,000 egg-laying hens, as well as an area for growing food, in a harbor in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.


----------



## ekim68

Electrify America finishes its first cross-country EV charging network 



> A huge factor in the adoption of electric vehicles is the issue of range anxiety, with the prospect of only being able to travel so far, or worse becoming stranded, not a particularly appealing one. As a subsidiary of Volkswagen, Electrify America is out to relieve EV owners of such concerns and has today taken an important step forward in its mission, announcing the completion of its first coast-to-coast charging route across the US.


----------



## ekim68

Does the Dryer Eat Your Socks? Use This Simple Laundry Hack to Solve the Problem

_



Reader's Digest

Click to expand...

_


> has a solution to this phenomenon: Use a safety pin. When you take your socks off, clip them together with the pin. By utilizing this sock buddy system, the pair will never be separated in the wash. It's also far less likely for a pair to be obscured by other clothing or to cling to a hidden surface like the washer or fall by the wayside in a crevice.


----------



## ekim68

"Graphene armor" protects perovskite solar cells from damage



> Perovskite is emerging as a promising material for solar cells, but it has some durability problems. Now, engineers have developed a new electrode that could make them more stable, using a protective layer of "graphene armor."


----------



## ekim68

Don't Keep Wipes in Your Car



> Yes, you can _have_ wipes in your car, but don't count on _storing_ them there long-term. Whether they're baby wipes, facial wipes or "flushable" butt wipes (which absolutely should not be flushed), the temperature extremes of a car's interior don't make for a suitable storage spot. Leave them there and eventually your wipes will either dry out or get _really_ gross.


----------



## ekim68

Super white paint leans on Teflon to reflect up to 98% of the Sun's heat



> Just like a tennis player might don a white shirt instead of a black one on warm summer's day, researchers see great potential in dressing buildings in reflective white paints to keep them cool. A team of material scientists is reporting a major advance in this area, producing a new kind of super white paint that reflects almost all incoming radiation from Sun.


----------



## ekim68

Our Best Methods to Clean Stained Pots and Pans



> No matter how hard you scrub or soak, your pots and pans remain stained, brown, and grimy. And while well-used pans are a sign of your cooking prowess (or at least, how _often_ you cook), sometimes you just want to see your own reflection in the bottom of a skillet.
> 
> So here are the most effective methods we found for restoring your cooking vessels to their original luster.


----------



## ekim68

Carbon fiber exoskeleton is the latest to boost worker safety 



> More and more, workplaces are using assistive exoskeletons to protect their employees from injury. One of the newest, the 4th-generation version of German Bionic's Cray X, features a lightweight carbon fiber frame.
> 
> Typically worn over the clothing on the torso (or even the whole body), industrial assistive exoskeletons incorporate electric motors - or sometimes just springs - that augment the wearer's muscle power as they lift items, reach up, squat, or perform other physically demanding tasks.


----------



## ekim68

Material that cannot be cut would make the ultimate bike lock



> A new artificial material effectively cannot be cut, holding out the promise of lightweight but cut-proof bike locks, security doors and protective clothing.


----------



## ekim68

Soft, solid battery electrolyte could see EVs go great distances 



> Lithium metal batteries, in which the graphite material in the anode is swapped out for pure lithium metal, could be a game changer when it comes to energy storage, potentially offering far greater capacity and an ability to charge much faster. Scientists are reporting a new breakthrough in this area, demonstrating how an electrolyte made of soft and solid materials can prevent the formation of tree-like growths that normally prove fatal to the battery's performance.


----------



## ekim68

MIT's new degradable plastic matches its peers for mechanical strength 



> Driven by the huge burden they place on the environment, scientists are continually looking for new ways to manufacture plastic materials that make them easier to recycle, and MIT researchers are now claiming a significant breakthrough in this area. By modifying the makeup of a common type of plastic, the team has produced a version of equal strength that is far easier to break down after use, allowing it to be rebuilt and recycled to take on an entirely new life.


----------



## ekim68

Porous, recyclable mat soaks up oil spills with great efficiency



> Such is the environmental devastation caused by large oil spills like the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster that scientists the world over are exploring new ways to contain the mess. The latest product of these efforts is a recyclable mat developed at Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), which its creators say can adsorb oil with great efficiency and be used over and over again.


----------



## ekim68

Moth eyes inspire anti-icing surface for aircraft, and maybe eyewear



> The unique arrangement of nanoscale bumps coating a moth's eye have inspired all kinds of interesting technological advances, owing to the incredible antireflective properties that allow the eye to absorb almost all the light that hits it. These range from more efficient solar cells, to advanced X-rays, to smartphone screens that cut down on glare. Joining them is a new type of anti-icing surface developed by scientists in Vietnam, which could make its way onto airplane wings or other vehicles working in cold, harsh environments.


----------



## Johnny b

* Drive the plastic highway? How a California company's innovative repaving process could lead to the 'holy grail' of road construction. *
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news...t-bottles-repave-california-roads/3315815001/



> A California company has devised a process that integrates recycled plastic into road repaving, an innovation that could revolutionize the industry while yielding environmental benefits.
> 
> Sean Weaver, president of TechniSoil Industrial in the northern California city of Redding, says the polymer-infused roads churned out by the company's pavement process are sturdier, flatter, safer and more durable than those made with regular asphalt.


----------



## ekim68

Smart bricks store energy in the walls themselves 



> Boring old bricks might not seem like something that can really be made high-tech, but researchers keep proving us wrong. Now, a team has found a way to turn bricks into energy storage devices, using them to power a green LED in a proof of concept study.
> 
> A brick wall doesn't exactly do much - sure it holds up the roof and keeps the cold out, but maybe the bricks could pull their weight a bit more. That was the goal for a team of scientists at Washington University in St Louis, who wanted to test whether bricks could be used to store electricity.


----------



## Johnny b

ekim68 said:


> Smart bricks store energy in the walls themselves


I read a similar article earlier.
But I wondered, would/could something like this attract a nearby lightning strike?


----------



## ekim68

Transparent solar panels for windows hit record 8% efficiency



> In a step closer to skyscrapers that serve as power sources, a team led by University of Michigan researchers has set a new efficiency record for color-neutral, transparent solar cells.


----------



## ekim68

"Cold Tube" cooling system uses half the energy of an air conditioner  



> Air conditioners are a convenient way to cool down offices and homes, but they use huge amounts of energy in the process. A team of scientists has been developing an alternative solution for those warm summer months called the Cold Tube, which works by absorbing body heat emitted from a person and can use around half the energy of traditional systems as a result.


----------



## ekim68

Thin-skinned solar panels printed with inkjet



> Until now, ultrathin organic solar cells were typically made by spin-coating or thermal evaporation, which are not scalable and which limit device geometry. This technique involved using a transparent and conductive, but brittle and inflexible, material called indium tin oxide (ITO) as an electrode. To overcome these limitations, the team applied inkjet printing. "We formulated functional inks for each the layer of the solar cell architecture," says Daniel Corzo, a Ph.D. student in Baran's team.


----------



## ekim68

Oceanbird's huge 80-meter sails reduce cargo shipping emissions by 90%  



> In response to the increasingly obvious consequences of climate change, a number of companies are working on ways to bring emissions-free sail propulsion back to the cargo shipping world, taking advantage of advanced materials, computer controls and some interesting new designs to take performance and speed to the next level.
> 
> The latest concept is the Oceanbird, a giant Pure Car and Truck Carrier capable of transporting up to 7,000 cars at an average speed of 10 knots on a North Atlantic crossing. That's not quite as quick as a conventional ship; you're looking at around 12 days instead of the typical 8, but the Oceanbird's four colossal 80-meter (260-ft) high extendable wing sails promise to reduce emissions by as much as 90 percent.


----------



## ekim68

The story of cheaper batteries, from smartphones to Teslas



> In 2010, a lithium-ion battery pack with 1 kWh of capacity-enough to power an electric car for three or four miles-cost more than $1,000. By 2019, the figure had fallen to $156, according to data compiled by BloombergNEF. That's a massive drop, and experts expect continued-though perhaps not as rapid-progress in the coming decade. Several forecasters project the average cost of a kilowatt-hour of lithium-ion battery capacity to fall below $100 by the mid-2020s.


----------



## ekim68

Jet Suit flight test raises prospect of flying "Iron Man" paramedics 



> Richard Browning's Jet Suit may have a lock on cool, but now it's looking for practical applications. Britain's Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS) has collaborated with Gravity Industries on a test flight at the Langdale Pikes in the Lake District to see if the flight system could be used by paramedics in wilderness areas.


----------



## ekim68

Super-white paint reflects 95.5 percent of sunlight to cool buildings



> Researchers from Purdue University have developed a new white paint that can reflect over 95 percent of sunlight, which can cool the surface even lower than the ambient temperature. Painted on a building, the new paint could help cut cooling costs and energy use.


----------



## ekim68

All of South Australia's power comes from solar panels in world first for major jurisdiction



> South Australia's renewable energy boom has achieved a global milestone.
> 
> The state once known for not having enough power has become the first major jurisdiction in the world to be powered entirely by solar energy.
> 
> For just over an hour on Sunday, October 11, 100 per cent of energy demand was met by solar panels alone.


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## ekim68

An underwater navigation system powered by sound



> New approach could spark an era of battery-free ocean exploration, with applications ranging from marine conservation to aquaculture.


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## ekim68

Liquid-filled window absorbs solar heat by day, releases it at night 



> While double-glazed windows _do_ help save energy, Singaporean scientists have tweaked the concept to make it even more effective. Instead of leaving an air gap between the two panes of glass, the researchers have inserted a heat-absorbing, light-blocking liquid.
> 
> Developed at Nanyang Technological University, the experimental new "smart window" consists of two panes of ordinary glass, the space between which is filled with a solution consisting of a proprietary hydrogel, water, and a stabilizing compound.


----------



## ekim68

Gene therapy mends optic nerves in promising advance for treating glaucoma 



> Researchers in Australia are claiming an important breakthrough in glaucoma research, demonstrating how the degenerative condition can be treated using an innovative form of gene therapy. The technique was shown to be effective at repairing and protecting damaged optic nerves with unprecedented effectiveness, raising hopes of tackling the irreversible form of vision loss that affects millions worldwide.


----------



## ekim68

EU says it could be self-sufficient in electric vehicle batteries by 2025



> BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union could produce enough batteries by 2025 to power its fast-growing fleet of electric vehicles without relying on imported cells, European Commission Vice President Maros Sefcovic said on Tuesday.


----------



## ekim68

The world's first DNA 'tricorder' in your pocket



> Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) scientists developed the world's first mobile genome sequence analyzer, a new iPhone app called iGenomics. By pairing an iPhone with a handheld DNA sequencer, users can create a mobile genetics laboratory, reminiscent of the "tricorder" featured in Star Trek. The iGenomics app runs entirely on the iOS device, reducing the need for laptops or large equipment in the field, which is useful for pandemic and ecology workers.


----------



## ekim68

"Tube fishways" could safely lift fish up and over dams 



> Dams pose a great obstacle to fish migrating up rivers, potentially keeping them from breeding, thus leading to a decline in wild stocks. Australian scientists are on the case, though, with a possible solution known as the "tube fishway."
> 
> Due to the pressure difference between the water at the upper end of the tube (behind the dam) and the lower end of the tube (below the dam), a hydrodynamic pumping system is produced. Stated more simply, a surge effect occurs, propelling water - and fish - up the tube.


----------



## ekim68

To Help Trudge Through the Snow, the Chang'e-5 Recovery Team Wore Powered Exoskeletons



> Other worlds aren't the only difficult terrain personnel will have to traverse in humanity's exploration of the solar system. There are some parts of our own planet that are inhospitable and hard to travel over. Inner Mongolia, a northern province of China, would certainly classify as one of those areas, especially in winter. But that's exactly the terrain team members from the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASTC) had to traverse on December 16th to retrieve lunar samples from the Chang'e-5 mission. What was even more unique is that they did it with the help of exoskeletons.


----------



## ekim68

Chemistry tweaks make for rechargeable zinc-air batteries



> Zinc-air batteries are great little energy storage devices, but they have plenty of room for improvement - for one, they're not usually rechargeable. Now a team led by the University of Münster has developed a new zinc-air chemistry that makes this type of battery more efficient and rechargeable.


----------



## ekim68

World-first home hydrogen battery stores 3x the energy of a Powerwall 2



> To get off the grid with home solar, you need to be able to generate energy when the Sun's out, and store it for when it's not. Normally, people do this with lithium battery systems - Tesla's Powerwall 2 is an example. But Australian company Lavo has built a rather spunky (if chunky) cabinet that can sit on the side of your house and store your excess energy as hydrogen.
> 
> The Lavo Green Energy Storage System measures 1,680 x 1,240 x 400 mm (66 x 49 x 15.7 inches) and weighs a meaty 324 kg (714 lb), making it very unlikely to be pocketed by a thief. You connect it to your solar inverter (it has to be a hybrid one) and the mains water (through a purification unit), and sit back as it uses excess energy to electrolyze the water, releasing oxygen and storing the hydrogen in a patented metal hydride "sponge" at a pressure of 30 bar, or 435 psi.


----------



## ekim68

Smart pneumatic knee brace automatically pumps up the support



> In order to minimize the chances of injury, many athletes wear a brace to help support a particularly vulnerable knee joint. Korean exoskeleton manufacturer C-EXO is taking that idea further, with a "smart" pneumatically activated knee brace.


----------



## ekim68

Powerpaste packs clean hydrogen energy in a safe, convenient gray goop



> Fraunhofer researchers have presented a magnesium-based "Powerpaste" that stores hydrogen energy at 10 times the density of a lithium battery, offering hydrogen fuel cell vehicles the ability to travel further than gasoline-powered ones, and refuel in minutes.


----------



## ekim68

"Sliding" backpack lightens its wearer's load, generates electricity



> Wearing a big, heavy backpack can get pretty tiring. That's why scientists have developed a pack that's not only claimed to lighten the load on the wearer, but that also uses the motion _of_ that load to generate electricity.


----------



## ekim68

Electricity-free radiative system cools buildings and heats water 



> Air conditioners and other cooling systems are among our biggest consumers of electricity, so finding ways to passively cool buildings will be important in our increasingly warmer future. Now, researchers at the University at Buffalo have developed a prototype hybrid device that can not only cool buildings drastically without using electricity, it can capture solar energy to heat water.


----------



## ekim68

Fully foldable solar cell bends in half without breaking



> Picture solar panels, and you're most likely picturing a solid square slab. But the tech is becoming more flexible, and now engineers at Pusan National University in Korea have developed prototype solar cells that are fully foldable.


----------



## ekim68

Coca-Cola company trials first paper bottle



> Coca-Cola is to test a paper bottle as part of a longer-term bid to eliminate plastic from its packaging entirely.
> 
> The prototype is made by a Danish company from an extra-strong paper shell that still contains a thin plastic liner.


----------



## ekim68

Could plastic roads make for a smoother ride? 



> From lower carbon emissions to fewer potholes, there are a number of benefits to building a layer of plastic into roads.


----------



## ekim68

Bacterial biofilm wrings oil out of water



> Once oil gets into water, it can be difficult to separate the two, which can make polluted water tricky to clean up. Now, researchers at North Carolina (NC) State University have found that a bacterial biofilm membrane can effectively let water through while keeping oil out.


----------



## ekim68

'Underwater Roombas' Help Start Cleanup of Decades-Old Toxic Waste Dump Along California Coast



> A research vessel launched this week is on an urgent mission to map out damage from a long-overlooked crisis on the ocean floor, and they're putting robots to work to help.
> 
> In October, people living on Santa Catalina Island, which sits 22 miles (35 kilometers) off the coast of Southern California, were shocked to learn from a Los Angeles Times investigation that a scientist had found leaking barrels of dangerous waste strewn across the ocean floor


.


----------



## ekim68

In Boost for Renewables, Grid-Scale Battery Storage Is on the Rise



> Driven by technological advances, facilities are being built with storage systems that can hold enough renewable energy to power hundreds of thousands of homes. The advent of "big battery" technology addresses a key challenge for green energy - the intermittency of wind and solar.


----------



## ekim68

Spongy wood nanogenerators make for energy-harvesting smart floors



> There are untold energy sources all around us, if we can just figure out how to tap into them. Swiss researchers have now demonstrated an environmentally friendly way to make spongy wood flooring that can generate electricity with every step.
> 
> The material works using what's called the piezoelectric effect. Essentially, as the material is compressed under mechanical stress, positive and negative charges separate to opposite surfaces, generating a voltage when connected.


----------



## ekim68

Transparent solar cells don't steal light from greenhouse crops



> Advances in transparent solar cells mean that soon we might be able to install them into windows and greenhouses. But in the latter case, would they deprive plants of vital sunlight? To find out, researchers at North Carolina State University grew lettuce under various wavelengths of light, and found that the plants did just fine.


----------



## ekim68

Feeding cattle seaweed reduces their greenhouse gas emissions 82 percent



> A bit of seaweed in cattle feed could reduce methane emissions from beef cattle as much as 82 percent, according to new findings from researchers at the University of California, Davis. The results, published today in the journal _PLOS ONE_, could pave the way for the sustainable production of livestock throughout the world.


----------



## ekim68

Bioplastic made from wood powder entirely degrades in three months



> Motivated by our growing problem with plastics, which are environmentally damaging both to produce and after they're disposed of, scientists are tinkering away with more eco-friendly forms of the material. Researchers at Yale University have put forward a candidate that ticks a number of important boxes, developing a new bioplastic with high strength but an ability to degrade entirely in the space of three months.
> 
> The pursuit of more environmentally friendly bioplastics has seen scientists turn to all sorts of biomass as their starting point. These possibilities include egg shells, plants and even tequila waste, and all invariably raise the prospect of a material that is not only greener to produce, but doesn't take centuries to break down like conventional petroleum-based plastics do.


----------



## ekim68

How to Remove Stains From a Butcher Block Countertop



> Butcher blocks are large, thick pieces of wood ideally suited for meat preparation. Over time they've also become a popular choice for kitchen countertops, as their natural look and durability for food preparation make them an aesthetically pleasing and functional choice.
> 
> But their upkeep does take a bit of work in terms of cleaning and oil treatments, and getting a stain on your butcher block is the stuff of nightmares-the wood has a tendency to soak up moisture no matter how much you prep it.


----------



## ekim68

Whitest-ever paint could help cool heating Earth, study shows



> The whitest-ever paint has been produced by academic researchers, with the aim of boosting the cooling of buildings and tackling the climate crisis.
> 
> The new paint reflects 98% of sunlight as well as radiating infrared heat through the atmosphere into space. In tests, it cooled surfaces by 4.5C below the ambient temperature, even in strong sunlight. The researchers said the paint could be on the market in one or two years.


----------



## ekim68

Orbital launches O2, the "most powerful tidal turbine in the world"



> Scotland's Orbital Marine Power (formerly Scotrenewables) has completed the build on what it claims will be the world's most powerful operational tidal turbine. It's now on its way to the Orkney Islands, where it'll have a chance to prove its worth connected to the grid.
> 
> Solar energy is a key part of the energy mix that'll push us towards zero carbon emissions - but lunar energy might have a role to play too. As the moon's gravity pulls at the Earth's surface, it heaves vast quantities of ocean water around the globe in predictable patterns. Where this water is forced through narrow gaps or around headlands, it speeds up, and it's possible to harvest the kinetic energy of that mass of water using turbines under the ocean's surface. This is called tidal power.


----------



## ekim68

World-first imaging probe searches for cancer with lasers and sound 



> Scientists at the University of Nottingham have developed a first-of-its-kind imaging sensor designed to be deployed inside the human body to build 3D maps of cellular structures. The prototype device, which combines lasers and sound waves in an optical fiber no thicker than a human hair, could be used in conjunction with standard endoscopes to reveal abnormalities in cells indicative of cancer.


----------



## ekim68

Reversible fabric heats on one side, cools on the other 



> It can be frustrating, when the jacket that you initially put on to keep you warm starts making you too hot. Jackets made from an experimental new reversible fabric, however, could both heat and cool their wearer.
> 
> Developed by scientists from China's Zhejiang University and Westlake University, the multi-layered "Janus textile" consists of a base of ePTFE (expanded polytetrafluoroethylene) polymer fibers. Other substances have been bonded to those fibers, giving the fabric one side that warms the user, and one that helps keep them cool.


----------



## ekim68

"Micro-tree" hybrid harvester purifies water and wrings it out of air



> Water scarcity is one of humanity's most pressing problems. Now engineers at Caltech have developed a new system that can tap into two different sources to produce fresh drinking water, by purifying dirty water during the day and collecting droplets from fog overnight.


----------



## ekim68

Light-shrinking material lets ordinary microscope see in super resolution



> Electrical engineers at the University of California San Diego developed a technology that improves the resolution of an ordinary light microscope so that it can be used to directly observe finer structures and details in living cells.
> 
> The technology turns a conventional light microscope into what's called a super-resolution microscope. It involves a specially engineered material that shortens the wavelength of light as it illuminates the sample-this shrunken light is what essentially enables the microscope to image in higher resolution.


----------



## ekim68

Biking accidents trigger Cirrus airbag cycling jacket to auto-inflate 



> Although a helmet is an essential piece of cycling gear, it doesn't protect any body parts other than the head. That's where the Cirrus airbag jacket comes in, as it auto-inflates to protect the back, chest, neck and abdomen.


----------



## ekim68

A 'Bubble Barrier' is trapping plastic waste before it can get into the sea



> What do old televisions, street signs, motorbike helmets, windsurf boards, and Christmas trees have in common? They were all caught floating down Amsterdam's Westerdok canal -- by a curtain of bubbles.
> 
> "The Bubble Barrier" was developed as a simple way to stop plastic pollution flowing from waterways into the ocean. An air compressor sends air through a perforated tube running diagonally across the bottom of the canal, creating a stream of bubbles that traps waste and guides it to a catchment system.


----------



## ekim68

Simple catalyst could clean contaminated water on Earth and soil on Mars



> As if Matt Damon's character in _The Martian_ didn't have enough to worry about already, his Red Planet potatoes could be contaminated with perchlorates. But new research led by the University of California Riverside has identified a relatively simple catalyst that can remove these chemicals, helping reduce water and soil pollution here on Earth too.


----------



## ekim68

"Vegan spider silk" offers a plant-based replacement for common plastic 



> By mimicking the self-assembling microstructures that give spider silk its incredible strength, scientists at the University of Cambridge have produced a plant-based film with the strength of common single-use plastics, offering a "vegan" eco-friendly alternative to the material. The free-standing film can be colored and scaled up for industrial use, and then easily composted once its job is done.


----------



## ekim68

Self-healing concrete eats CO2 to fill its own cracks in 24 hours 



> Concrete has a massive carbon footprint, so technologies that boost its performance and enable it to last longer could have profound benefits for the environment. This has led to the development of self-healing concrete that can repair its own cracks, and scientists have now demonstrated an exciting new form of this that makes use of an enzyme found in human blood.


----------



## ekim68

Ground-breaking night-vision film can be applied to regular glasses 



> Scientists at the Australian National University (ANU) have developed a new type of night-vision technology that is the first of its kind. Taking the form of an ultra-thin film, it can be applied directly to glasses to act as a filter, needing only a simple laser to convert infrared light into images the wearer can see.
> 
> The researchers' groundbreaking film is based on nanocrystal technology that they've been working on for a number of years. These tiny particles are hundreds of times thinner than a human hair, and work by converting incoming photons from infrared light into higher-energy photons on the visible spectrum.


----------



## ekim68

Engineer Builds Self-Balancing Autonomous Bicycle in Spare Time



> Tired of having to worry about falling off his bicycle, a cunning hardware engineer called Zhi Hui Jun built a bicycle that avoids obstacles and self-balances, a report by _Gizmodo_ explains.
> 
> The engineer, who worked on the bicycle project in his spare time over the course of four months, crafted a self-balancing bicycle using an accelerometer and gyroscope sensors that allow the bike's front wheel to compensate and quickly change direction if it's going to fall.
> 
> The system generates just the right amount of angular momentum in the right direction to stop the bike from falling.


----------



## ekim68

Lego reveals first ever bricks made from recycled plastic bottles



> Over past few years, Lego has been taking some steps toward more sustainable practices for its plastic toys, outlining plans for more eco-friendly playthings. The company has just revealed the first prototype of its classic brick element crafted from recycled plastic sourced from discarded bottles that meets the company's quality and safety requirements.


----------



## ekim68

Instant water disinfectant 'millions of times more effective' than commercial purification



> July 1 (UPI) -- The creators of a new instant water disinfectant, made using only hydrogen and the surrounding air, claim their invention is "millions of times more effective" at ridding water of viruses and bacteria than commercial purification methods.
> 
> In addition to revolutionizing municipal water cleaning, the inventors of the novel technique suggest their disinfectant can help safely and cheaply deliver potable water to communities in need.


----------



## ekim68

Novel plastic disintegrates in a week in sunlight and oxygen



> By making alterations to the plastic manufacturing process, scientists hope to produce forms of the ubiquitous material that can break down far more safely and quickly in the environment than current versions do. Researchers in China have now demonstrated a new example of this that degrades in just a week when exposed to sunlight and oxygen, which they believe could make for electronics that are easier to dispose of at the end of their lives.


----------



## ekim68

More on plastics...


Five forms of eco-friendly plastic that break down fast 



> The battle against plastic pollution is one being fought on many fronts, but a particularly critical one centers on the material's capacity to persist in the environment for a long time, even centuries in some cases.
> By tweaking the process by which plastic is made, scientists hope to offer functional forms of it that safely and naturally degrade in just a fraction of the time. And recent breakthroughs suggest such a future mightn't be all that far away.


----------



## ekim68

New solar still uses a rotating cylinder to produce more potable water



> In many arid regions, people use devices known as solar stills to extract drinkable water from seawater or tainted water. A new type of solar still is claimed to be much more effective than others, by incorporating a rotating cylinder.


----------



## ekim68

More Water news:


MIT steam collector captures pure water for reuse in power plants



> Nuclear and fossil fuel power plants consume huge amounts of water for cooling, which then goes to waste as water vapor. MIT engineers have now developed a system that can capture and recycle that lost water.
> 
> Big plumes of white steam are a common sight around power plants, but while it's somewhat a relief to know it's not carbon dioxide or, worse, greenhouse gases, they do represent how much water is being consumed.


----------



## ekim68

New insight into how light therapy can speed up burn wound healing



> A compelling new study is offering an insight into the mechanism by which a novel form of light therapy can speed the healing of burn injuries. The research indicates the experimental therapy can activate a key protein that stimulates cell growth.


----------



## ekim68

Inflatable robotic hand gives amputees real-time tactile control



> For the more than 5 million people in the world who have undergone an upper-limb amputation, prosthetics have come a long way. Beyond traditional mannequin-like appendages, there is a growing number of commercial neuroprosthetics - highly articulated bionic limbs, engineered to sense a user's residual muscle signals and robotically mimic their intended motions.


----------



## ekim68

How to Properly Clean a Gravestone



> But if this is something you're interested in-either cleaning the graves of people you know, or volunteering with a local group-here's what to know and how to get started.


----------



## lilRM

poochee said:


> Lots of good ideas posted.


I agree.

One idea I was taught was to take leftover soap slivers, put them inside an old piece of lady's pantyhose, and tie the pantyhose shut. Then you can continue using up the remaining soap and it cannot get away from you so easily.


----------



## ekim68

Wearable device detects a wider-than-ever range of airborne toxins 



> While wearable sensors _can_ detect airborne toxins in the user's environment, any one device can usually only identify a few such substances. A potentially much more useful new sensor, however, can reportedly detect over 100 at once.
> 
> Developed by Oklahoma State University-affiliated startup Airotect, the XCel+ Dosimeter Badge is roughly the size and shape of a credit card, and is clipped to the wearer's shirt or jacket not unlike a security pass. Plans call for future versions to take the form of a pen-like device that's placed in a shirt pocket, or a fabric patch that's stitched onto clothing.


----------



## ekim68

Braille eBooks and mask recyclers among James Dyson Award finalists



> The James Dyson Award is an international competition to recognize and encourage engineering students to get creative to solve some of the most pressing problems facing the world. The national finalists from 28 regions have been announced for 2021, ahead of the international leg of the competition.


----------



## ekim68

Carbon nanotube thread turns regular shirts into heart rate monitors



> Over the years, we've seen many examples of smart garments packed with technology to monitor different aspects of a wearer's physical wellbeing, but lately we're seeing how very fine, conductive fibers could make for a more seamless experience. Rice University researchers have applied this thinking to a "smart" shirt that uses interwoven carbon nanotube fibers to provide steady electrical contact with the skin, allowing for ongoing gathering of data on heart activity.


----------



## ekim68

Keep Your Tent Out of the Sun (And More Tips to Make Your Tent Last)



> Whether you're a casual backyard camper or an outdoor enthusiast accustomed to spending summers car camping across national parks, your tent is one of the most important pieces of equipment you'll take on your adventure. A good tent shelters you from rain and wind, provides shade, keeps pesky mosquitoes and campsite critters at bay, and offers privacy in a crowded campground. It's also among the most expensive gear you'll purchase. So you'll want to keep it in good shape for as long as possible.


----------



## ekim68

The Stories Behind 20 Inventions That Changed the World



> You might find it impossible to imagine a world without your smartphone, or have trouble remembering a time when Wi-Fi wasn't everywhere, but many of today's most relied-upon technologies would not have been possible-or even dreamed of-if it weren't for the game-changing inventions that came before them.


----------



## ekim68

Seashell-inspired glass promises shatterproof smartphone screens 



> Glass is one of the most useful materials in our modern world, but being prone to cracking or shattering is a major downside. Scientists at McGill University have developed a new type of glass inspired by the mollusk shell that's stronger and tougher, while retaining good transparency.
> 
> That inner, iridescent layer of a mollusk shell is actually the secret to its strength. Known as nacre or mother-of-pearl, the material's microscopic structure resembles brickwork, with platelets of a stiff calcium carbonate interspersed with soft, elastic biopolymers. This structure not only improves strength but stops cracks from propagating.


----------



## ekim68

Dryer Sheets Suck (Use These Alternatives Instead)



> While store-bought dryer sheets may give your clothes a softer feel and a scented aura you love, hiding inside those fragrant folds are some questionable ingredients-some of which raise red flags from a health and efficacy standpoint. Not only have their odors been shown to induce headaches and respiratory difficulties, they can actually make your clothes harder to dry.


----------



## ekim68

Researchers demonstrate complete solar-powered hydrocarbon production



> Carbon capture. Hydrogen production. Synthetic fuels. All of these technologies have been proposed as potential resources for dealing with the crises created by our carbon dioxide emissions. While they have worked in small pilot demonstrations, most of them haven't demonstrated that they can scale to provide the economical solutions we need.
> 
> In the meantime, a group of European researchers sees the methods as part of a single coherent production platform, one that goes from sunlight and air to kerosene. Thanks to a small installation on the roof of a lab in Zurich, the team has been producing small amounts of different fuels using some mirrors and a handful of reaction chambers. While the full production process would also need to demonstrate that it can scale, the researchers calculate that the platform could fuel the entire commercial aircraft industry using a small fraction of the land in the Sahara.


----------



## ekim68

Bike-mounted Air device monitors air quality along cyclists' routes



> Because many cyclists ride all over town, they encounter a wide range of air quality - more so than could be monitored by stationary sensors. The handlebar-mounted Air was designed with that in mind, as it measures the air quality while its user pedals.


----------



## ekim68

How to Remove Scratches from Glass Windows



> Window scratches happen, but they don't have to stick around.


----------



## ekim68

Ancient Australian plant promises to expand chemotherapy effectiveness



> Researchers have isolated a compound from an Australian desert shrub with a long history of medicinal use by the Indigenous peoples of Australia that could help cancer patients better respond to chemotherapy.


----------



## ekim68

Brief exposure to near-infrared light improves deteriorating vision



> As we age, our eyesight naturally declines but a new study has found exposing our retinas to short bursts of deep red light can help deteriorating vision. The research shows just three minutes of exposure to 670-nanometer (long wavelength) deep red light in the morning can improve color contrast vision by nearly 20 percent.


----------



## ekim68

New FDA-approved eye drops could replace reading glasses for millions: "It's definitely a life changer"



> A newly approved eye drop hitting the market on Thursday could change the lives of millions of Americans with age-related blurred near vision, a condition affecting mostly people 40 and older.
> 
> Vuity, which was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in October, would potentially replace reading glasses for some of the 128 million Americans who have trouble seeing close-up. The new medicine takes effect in about 15 minutes, with one drop on each eye providing sharper vision for six to 10 hours, according to the company.


----------



## ekim68

Biodegradable e-ink makes for eco-friendlier 3D-printed electronics



> Seeking an environmentally friendlier alternative, researchers at Switzerland's Empa research institute have developed a 3D-printable electronic ink made of renewable materials that break down after being left exposed to the elements, and that can also be removed using alcohol.


----------



## ekim68

How to Remove Rust Stains With Stuff That's Already in Your Home



> Rust may form on certain types of metal, but it can damage more than that. Its distinctive, deep reddish-brown color easily transfers to other materials, resulting in stains. Unfortunately, getting rust stains out of clothing, carpet, and off of surfaces like porcelain and ceramic requires some effort. Fortunately, you (probably) already have what you need for the task at home.


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## ekim68

Corn-based biodegradable film shown to help fresh foods last longer



> It's ironic that even though many people are starving, a great deal of food gets discarded because it spoils before it can be eaten. A new natural-source packaging material could help, by making foods last longer - plus it's biodegradable.
> 
> Developed by scientists at Harvard University and Singapore's Nanyang Technological University (NTU), the material takes the form of a transparent film.


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## ekim68

biped wearable applies autonomous car tech to guiding the blind 



> Designed by a Swiss startup of the same name, biped takes the form of a harness which is worn over the shoulders, and that is wirelessly paired to a third-party set of headphones (it's also compatible with wired models). The company strongly advises using bone conduction headphones, which leave the ears open so users can still hear the sounds of the environment.
> 
> A set of 3D infrared cameras on the front of the device capture a 170-degree view of the street in front of the wearer. AI-based software running on an integrated microprocessor identifies 10 different types of both stationary and moving objects in the video feed.


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## ekim68

Cheap, common kitty litter clay captures methane from the air 



> Carbon dioxide may hog the headlines as a climate change villain, but methane is actually a far more potent greenhouse gas. An MIT team has now demonstrated a new way to remove methane from the air, even at very low concentrations, with a common type of clay used to make cat litter.


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## ekim68

Piezoelectric material shown to help regrow knee-joint cartilage



> By stimulating cells to reproduce, electricity has already been shown to help heal soft tissue injuries. Now, an electricity-producing implantable material likewise appears to boost the regrowth of cartilage in compromised joints.
> 
> In a study conducted at the University of Connecticut, a team led by Asst. Prof. Thanh Nguyen and postdoctoral fellow Yang Liu explored the use of a "tissue scaffold" made out of nanofibers of a biodegradable polymer known as poly-L lactic acid (PLLA). It had previously been used to accelerate the healing of broken bones.


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## ekim68

All the Clever Ways You Should Be Using a Bar of Soap Around Your House



> But regardless of your personal soap preferences, you may want to consider buying a bar of soap solely to use for various household tasks-many of which do not involve any type of cleaning. Here are some of the clever ways you should be using a bar of soap around your house.


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## ekim68

Kombucha cultures make excellent sustainable water filters, study finds



> The refreshing kombucha tea that's all the rage these days among certain global demographics might also hold the key to affordable, environmentally sustainable living membranes for water filtration, according to a recent paper published in the American Chemical Society journal ACS ES&T Water. Experiments by researchers at Montana Technological University (MTU) and Arizona State University (ASU) showed that membranes grown from kombucha cultures were better at preventing the formation of biofilms-a significant challenge in water filtration-than current commercial membranes.


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## ekim68

Novel "artificial leaf" design ups the carbon capture rate by 100x



> Recreating the process of natural photosynthesis in which plants turn sunlight, water and carbon dioxide into energy is a long-pursued goal in science. Often described as an "artificial leaf," these systems could play a key role in the fight against climate change, and a team of engineers has just picked up the pace with a solution that captures carbon dioxide at 100 times the rate of current technologies.


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## ekim68

A roadway will charge your EV while you're driving



> The nation's first stretch of road to wirelessly charge electric vehicles while they're in motion will begin testing next year in Detroit.
> 
> Why it matters:* "*Electrified" roadways, which have wireless charging infrastructure under the asphalt, could keep EVs operating around the clock, with unlimited range - a big deal for transit buses, delivery vans, long-haul trucks and even future robotaxis.


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## ekim68

Smartwatch-based system warns its wearer if they're getting too hot



> Heat stroke is one of those things that can really sneak up on a person, potentially resulting in death if not quickly rectified. A new smartwatch-based system is designed to help, by warning its wearer before it's too late.


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## ekim68

Tuneable smart window coating traps heat in winter, reflects it in summer



> Windows may be important for letting natural light and warmth into a room, but sometimes they let in too much, or let your artificial warmth out instead. Researchers at Oxford have developed a new smart window coating that can be tuned on the fly to emit or reflect heat from the Sun in different amounts, reducing the energy costs of heating and cooling by up to a third.


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## ekim68

$4 solar desalination system produces a family's daily drinking water



> Desalination is being explored as a way to solve the shortages of drinking water that plague much of the world, but it has a few issues to iron out. A new design for a solar-powered desalination device prevents the build-up of salt, making for an efficient and affordable system. Just four dollars' worth of materials should be enough for a device that can provide a family's daily drinking water.


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## ekim68

The US will finally allow adaptive beam headlights on new cars



> The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is finally poised to legalize adaptive beam headlights in the US. On Tuesday, the NHTSA announced that it has issued a final rule that will update the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards, which currently only allow for "dumb" high- and low-beam lights.
> 
> Adaptive beam lights use a matrix of projectors, some of which can be turned off to shape the beam so the lights illuminate the road but don't shine at an oncoming driver. (These are an advancement over the auto-high beam technology that you may have fitted to your current car.) The technology has been around for nearly two decades in Europe and Japan.


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## ekim68

Hand-held device shows concentration of water contamination in minutes



> Back in 2019, a team of researchers at Northwestern University developed a cheap testing system for the detection of fluoride levels in water. The following year, project leader Prof. Julius Lucks introduced a new system that could detect 17 different contaminants in a single drop of water, and now that setup has been updated to not only confirm contamination but also indicate concentration levels.


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## ekim68

Salty hydrogel sucks liters of drinking water a day out of thin air



> A shortage of drinking water is a key problem in many parts of the world, and it's a cruel irony that huge amounts are floating around in the air, inaccessible. Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin have now developed a salty hydrogel that can pull plenty of fresh drinking water out of air in relatively low humidity.


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## ekim68

Cylindrical wireless charger juices up devices placed all around it



> Ordinarily, wireless chargers emit an electromagnetic field in just one direction, limiting the number of devices they can charge at once. An experimental new charger, however, produces a donut-shaped field, for the simultaneous charging of multiple gadgets.


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## ekim68

This sustainable solar oven allows rural communities to cook without coal or firewood 



> Engineers in Nigeria have developed an improved solar cooking system that is designed to replace cooking over fires made with coal, wood, or other materials, reports a new study in _Frontiers in Energy Research_.


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## ekim68

PG&E will pilot bidirectional electric car charging in California



> Disaster preparedness is becoming a bit more mainstream as the effects of climate change and the fallibility of human institutions become more clear. The auto industry has followed this trend, with more than one automaker pointing to the fact that an electric vehicle is essentially a giant backup battery that could power your home for a few days in the event of an emergency.
> 
> Now, Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) will begin testing bidirectional charging in California with new pilot programs announced this week at General Motors and Ford.


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## ekim68

Electrostatic tech could keep solar panels dust-free in arid regions



> Ordinarily, water is used to clean off the layer of dust that continuously accumulates on solar panels. In arid regions, however, doing so can be challenging. A new system addresses this problem, by substituting electrostatic repulsion for water.


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## ekim68

Arizona is first state to launch drivers' license in Apple Wallet



> Arizona residents can now add their drivers' license, or state ID, to Apple Wallet, which lets them use an iPhone, or Apple Watch, to check in at selected TSA checkpoints.
> 
> As Apple continues to discuss bringing digital drivers' licenses to US states, Arizona has become the first to take the system live for its residents.


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## Couriant

ekim68 said:


> Arizona is first state to launch drivers' license in Apple Wallet


I didn't know that. And I live there lol. Will check it out


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## Couriant

Nope. Not here lol


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## ekim68

> Adding a driver's license or state ID to Wallet can be done in a few simple steps: Residents can tap the + button at the top of the screen in Wallet on their iPhone, select "Driver's License or State ID," and follow the on-screen instructions to start the setup and verification process.


(You've probably already tried this but I have a flip phone and that's kind of like a foreign language.  )


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## Couriant

Ha


ekim68 said:


> (You've probably already tried this but I have a flip phone and that's kind of like a foreign language.  )


ha yeah when I click on the + button the image i shown is the options I have right now


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## ekim68

Low-cost student-designed filter removes lead from tap water



> Lead-contaminated tap water is still a problem in much of the world, where conventional lead removal filters may be too expensive for most households. An inexpensive new filter could help - and it was designed by a group of high school students.


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## ekim68

Concrete made with old tires proves itself in real-world setting 



> With a notoriously large carbon footprint, concrete is a prime target for researchers developing greener materials for the future of construction. A number of studies have shown how old rubber tires can be used to make versions that are stronger, more heat-resistant and flexible enough for use as a road material. A new study has assessed its value in real-world settings by using concrete containing old tires as a residential slab and monitoring its performance over several years, where it outshone conventional concrete in a number of ways.


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## ekim68

Sun-powered water filter excels at killing pathogens 



> There are many parts of the world in which fresh water may be plentiful, but it's also full of harmful microbes. An experimental new filter is able to purify such water for drinking, and it's powered solely by sunlight.


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## ekim68

Maze-like material keeps even the smallest insects from reaching crops



> Instead of using insecticides, farmers will sometimes cover their plants with a mesh fabric. A new such material has now been developed, which keeps out a wider range of bugs while still allowing crops to get enough sunlight and water.


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## ekim68

Researchers develop a paper-thin loudspeaker



> MIT engineers have developed a paper-thin loudspeaker that can turn any surface into an active audio source.
> 
> This thin-film loudspeaker produces sound with minimal distortion while using a fraction of the energy required by a traditional loudspeaker. The hand-sized loudspeaker the team demonstrated, which weighs about as much as a dime, can generate high-quality sound no matter what surface the film is bonded to.


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## ekim68

Chairless Chair 2.0 improves on the "wearable chair" concept



> Appropriately named the Chairless Chair 2.0, the recently announced device is manufactured by German company noonee. The idea behind it is still the same, in that workers who have to stand for long periods of time - but who don't want to carry a stool or folding chair with them everywhere they go - can simply sit in place whenever they want.


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## ekim68

Cheap gel film pulls buckets of drinking water per day from thin air



> Water scarcity is a major problem for much of the world's population, but with the right equipment drinking water can be wrung out of thin air. Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin have now demonstrated a low-cost gel film that can pull many liters of water per day out of even very dry air.


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## ekim68

Lab-grown plant matter marks a step towards 3D-printable wood



> Chopping down trees and processing the wood isn't the most efficient or environmentally friendly way to make furniture or building materials. Scientists at MIT have now made breakthroughs in a process that could one day let us 3D print and grow wood directly into the shape of furniture and other objects.


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## ekim68

A nanoparticle and inhibitor trigger the immune system, outsmarting brain cancer



> Scientists have fabricated a nanoparticle to deliver an inhibitor to brain tumor in mouse models, where the drug successfully turned on the immune system to eliminate the cancer. The process also triggered immune memory so that a reintroduced tumor was eliminated--a sign that this potential new approach could not only treat brain tumors but prevent or delay recurrences.


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## ekim68

Lift Energy Storage System: Turning skyscrapers into gravity batteries



> The Lift Energy Storage System (LEST) would make use of the existing elevator systems in tall buildings. Many of these are already designed with regenerative braking systems that can harvest energy as a lift descends, so they can effectively be looked at as pre-installed power generators. The LEST would also make use of vacant spaces throughout the building, ideally close to the top and bottom. Thus, it could be remarkably cheap to retrofit this kind of capability to a building, as compared with building a dedicated gravity battery system anywhere else.


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## CeeBee52

eggplant43 said:


> I periodically run across good ideas that make my life better, and I decided it would be a good idea to have a place for us to share things like this with each other, either from what Grandma taught us, or the internet:
> 
> http://lifehacker.com/5838321/clean-stains-out-of-your-coffee-mug-with-baking-soda


Weak bleach for an hour (i/4 cup and the rest water) then washing up is easier.


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## CeeBee52

Blackmirror said:


> Maybe you have a tip for cleaning glass shower doors then please ?
> Nothing i buy seem to works


Use a good creme cleanser such as Jif on a wet cloth, a good blob of it. Rub all over the glass, then rinse with the rainhead on the shower unit. When dry, polish with paper towel and a glass cleaner such as Windex. Works beautifully.


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## CeeBee52

eggplant43 said:


> I periodically run across good ideas that make my life better, and I decided it would be a good idea to have a place for us to share things like this with each other, either from what Grandma taught us, or the internet:
> 
> http://lifehacker.com/5838321/clean-stains-out-of-your-coffee-mug-with-baking-soda


Fill cup with 1 tbspn bleach and the rest water, leave for an hour then wash as normal. Piece of cake.


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## ekim68

Artificial photosynthesis can produce food without sunshine



> Scientists have found a way to bypass the need for biological photosynthesis altogether and create food independent of sunlight by using artificial photosynthesis. The technology uses a two-step electrocatalytic process to convert carbon dioxide, electricity, and water into acetate. Food-producing organisms then consume acetate in the dark to grow. The hybrid organic-inorganic system could increase the conversion efficiency of sunlight into food, up to 18 times more efficient for some foods.


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## ekim68

Plant-based plastic strong as PET, degrades into sugars in the environment



> Plastics are tough and versatile materials, which is great when they're in use but not so good when they end up in the environment. Scientists at EPFL have now developed a new PET-like plastic material derived from waste plant matter that can be chemically recycled or degrade into harmless sugars in the environment.


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## ekim68

Algae biopanel windows make power, oxygen and biomass, and suck up CO2



> Beautifully designed, energy-generating bio-panels that suck up carbon dioxide and pump out biomass for use as fuel or fertilizer - that's the idea behind Mexican startup Greenfluidics and its nanotech-enhanced microalgae bioreactor building panels.


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## PeterOz

ekim68 said:


> Plant-based plastic strong as PET, degrades into sugars in the environment


Great now we have plastics giving the environment diabetes 
(sorry Mike)


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## ekim68

Film captures wasted wavelengths of light to boost solar cell efficiency



> Solar cells are one of the most important technologies in the transition to renewable energy, but there's still plenty of room for improvement. Researchers at New York University (NYU) Tandon have now developed a thin film that boosts solar cell efficiency by converting wasted wavelengths of light into ones that can be used to produce electricity.


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## ekim68

Siemens' new home EV charger adapter ends need for electrical panel upgrades



> Siemens and Philadelphia-based ConnectDER have partnered to roll out a groundbreaking simple home EV charger connector. Previously, homeowners who wanted to install EV chargers might have had to spend thousands of dollars to modify their home's electrical panel. This new proprietary plug-in adapter will eliminate that cost and allow installation and connection in minutes.


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## ekim68

Hydrogel that outperforms cartilage could be in human knees in 2023



> Joint pain is a common ailment of aging, thanks to cartilage's tendency to wear out. Now, researchers at Duke University have developed a new hydrogel that's stronger and more durable than the real thing, which could make for longer lasting knee implants.


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## ekim68

Graphene efficiently recovers gold from waste electronics 



> First the e-waste is ground up, then dissolved in a solution. A membrane made of reduced graphene oxide is added, and within a few minutes pure gold begins to accumulate on the membrane surface. Just 1 gram of graphene is enough to extract almost twice that amount of gold, attracting over 95% of the gold in a given sample even at concentrations as low as one part per billion. Importantly, it doesn't attract other metals in the e-waste mixture, and afterwards the graphene membrane can be burned off, leaving behind the pure gold.


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## ekim68

Hydrogel glass windows let in more light and less heat



> After the summer so much of the world has sweltered through this year, better ways to cool buildings are on a lot of people's minds. Researchers in China have now spruced up the humble window with hydrogel-glass, a material that can selectively block heat from the Sun without blocking its light.


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## ekim68

Single-serve Coffee Balls touted as compostable alternative to pods



> Single-use, single-serve coffee "pods" are definitely not eco-friendly, which is why refillable pods have been created. Swiss company CoffeeB is taking a different approach, however, with its fully compostable Coffee Balls.


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## ekim68

Three Incredibly Easy Ways to Peel a Tomato




> How best to peel your tomatoes depends on how quickly you need naked tomatoes.


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## ekim68

MIT tech could keep items cool without using any electricity 



> In some of the world's hottest countries, where cooling systems are most needed, the infrastructure required to power such setups is often lacking. A new system could help in that regard, as it provides multiple cooling effects but uses no electricity.


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## ekim68

Charging cars at home at night is not the way to go, Stanford study finds



> The move to electric vehicles will result in large costs for generating, transmitting, and storing more power. Shifting current EV charging from home to work and night to day could cut costs and help the grid, according to a new Stanford study.


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## ekim68

Netherlands researchers break the 30 percent barrier in solar cells



> A collaboration of researchers from various institutes in the Netherlands broke the 30 percent barrier associated with solar cells. The achievement will help uptakeworldwide solar energy and reduce our dependence on fossil fuels, an organizational press release said.


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## ekim68

Cheap wind harvester generates electricity from a gentle breeze 



> While wind energy systems can come in some pretty big forms, scientists at Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore have been working on a low-cost solution at the other end of the spectrum. The team has developed an inexpensive device sensitive enough to capture energy from a light breeze and turn it into electricity, generating enough to run a small commercial sensor.


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## ekim68

Screwpop's magnetic Toolkey packs the functionality of 15 tools



> A common objective when it comes to crafting everyday carry gear is to make products that can be seamlessly integrated into a bundle of take-everywhere essentials. Multitools that take the shape of credit cards and pens are a couple of examples, but a key is one nearly everyone can imagine lugging around without too much trouble. Screwpop’s newly launched Toolkey follows this thinking to offer 15-in-1 functionality from a lightweight and familiar package.


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## ekim68

Fast-Charging EV Batteries With Nickel Foil



> Standard electric-vehicle batteries can recharge much of their range in just 10 minutes with the addition of a thin sheet of nickel inside them, a new study finds. This could provide a welcome and economically attractive alternative to expensive EVs that carry massive and massively expensive battery packs.


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## ekim68

"Cosmic magnet" recreated in lab as alternative to rare earths



> Rare earth elements are a key part of electronic and mechanical devices, but they’re in short supply. Now, scientists have found a way to recreate a promising alternative – a “cosmic magnet” that normally takes millions of years to form in meteorites can now be cooked up in the lab in seconds.


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## ekim68

Thin film boosts plant growth by converting sun's UV rays into red light



> In order to grow big and strong, plants require the red and blue light that are part of the visible "white" light produced by the sun. Scientists have now developed a plant-boosting film, that converts the sun's UV light into more red light.


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## ekim68

Speed record shattered for data transmission over standard optical fiber



> Engineers have set a new speed record for data transmission through a standard diameter optical fiber. By beaming 55 “modes” of signals down a single-core optical fiber, the team was able to transmit at a data rate of 1.53 petabits per second (Pbit/s).
> 
> To really understand just how fast that is, one petabit is equal to one million gigabits.


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## ekim68

THE BEST INVENTIONS OF 2022



> 200 innovations changing how we live


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## ekim68

Wave-powered buoys vastly reduce the ecological cost of desalination



> This remarkable desalination device, made from 170,000 recycled plastic bottles, runs on mechanical power from waves as it floats in the ocean, and creates up to 13,000 gallons (53,000 liters) of fresh water a day – while discharging far less concentrated salty brine than other designs.


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## ekim68

Uphold puts a reusable set of cutlery in your pocket 



> If you're in the habit of grabbing fast food while out and about, there's a good chance that you use the restaurants' disposable plastic cutlery. Uphold offers a more eco-friendly alternative, as it's a reusable modular cutlery set that packs away into a slim case.


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## ekim68

Eco Wave Power signs concession for world's largest wave power station



> Sweden's Eco Wave Power has been proving its relatively simple, jetty-mounted wave energy devices for at least 10 years now, and has now inked a conditional deal for a 77-megawatt installation in Turkey - the world's largest wave power plant.


----------



## ekim68

High-frequency sound waves make electrolyzers produce 14x more hydrogen 



> RMIT researchers say they've unlocked cheaper, more energy-efficient green hydrogen production with a new electrolysis technique boosted by sound waves. With these high-frequency vibrations active, standard electrolysis produces 14x more hydrogen.


----------



## ekim68

MIT's slimmed-down solar cells would add only 20 kg to a rooftop 



> Solar cell technology is a seen as a key pillar in our transition to cleaner forms of energy, but within this field there is all kinds of room for experimentation. Solar cells that are thin and flexible hold unique promise in the area, as they could be applied to all kinds of irregular, curvy or otherwise unsuitable surfaces. Thinner than a human hair, a new lightweight solar cell from MIT scientists continues to push the envelope in this space.


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## ekim68

Researchers propose new structures to harvest untapped source of fresh water



> An almost limitless supply of fresh water exists in the form of water vapor above Earth’s oceans, yet remains untapped, researchers said. A new study from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is the first to suggest an investment in new infrastructure capable of harvesting oceanic water vapor as a solution to limited supplies of fresh water in various locations around the world.


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## ekim68

Turns Out You Can Turn Old Blu-Ray Players into Microscopes



> Optical microscopes typically max out at anywhere between 500x to 1,500x magnification, at which point you need to switch to a scanning microscope to zoom any closer. They come with some functional compromises, and they’re not cheap, often costing tens of thousands of dollars, unless you’re clever enough to repurpose the optics in an old Blu-Ray drive into a surprisingly effective laser microscope.


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## ekim68

Frost on Your Car’s Windshield? An Onion Can Prevent It



> Advocates for safe driving will tell you that being able to see out of your car’s windshield is a high priority before getting behind the wheel. In wintry climates, that can be a little bit of a problem thanks to frost build-up. While a defroster or ice scraper can restore visibility, they can add a few minutes to your commute.
> 
> You can, however, take a preventative measure with something you probably have right in your kitchen: an onion.


----------



## ekim68

High-efficiency water filter removes 99.9% of microplastics in 10 seconds



> Microplastics are a growing environmental problem, but now researchers in Korea have developed a new water purification system that can filter out these tiny fragments, as well as other pollutants, very quickly and with high efficiency.


----------

