It was one of the most memorable television events of the 1970s: a twelve hour mini-series that traced the story of author Alex Haley’s Roots back to an African ancestor. In one of many gripping episodes, an African Muslim, “Kunte Kinte” (played by LeVar Burton, minus the iconic Star Trek […]
Monthly Archives: May 2010
45 posts
“Is Induction Cooking Ready to go Mainstream?” asked the New York Times last month. An induction range uses a rapidly varying magnetic field to induce electric currents in steel pots and pans – causing them to get hot very rapidly. Induction cooking appears to be coming back into vogue… again. […]
From the July 1927 issue of Popular Science, the ‘latest’ thinking on “Wireless Power Transfer.” The article quotes contemporary expert opinion from such luminaries as Steinmetz, Tesla, and Marconi. As Marconi noted: “the transmission of power by electrical waves awaited only the perfection of devices for projecting the waves in […]
The Czarina is guest blogging at PreemieTwins.com on being mother of two sets of twins. As a father of two sets of twins, it’s hard for me to imagine it being any other way. UPDATE: When it rains it pours – the Czarina’s Baby Dipper Feeding Set was also featured […]
Geoff, blogging at Innocent Bystander, updates the unemployment rate monthly, comparing it to the Obama administration’s original projection. Here’s the update though the end of April. The dark blue curve is the projection with the stimulus package. The light blue curve is the miserable future forecast to await us if […]
Gizmodo – last mentioned here as the web site that famously bought the stolen iPhone prototype – broke Twitter earlier today by sharing a hack that allowed any Twitter user to force any other Twitter user to follow them. Details here.
One of the investors in Q-Track is a pediatric emergency doctor. When he visited our office during an open house, he learned I had twin girls. His response was – “Then I’ll probably be seeing you in my ER, eventually.” Of course, he was right. Now I have not only […]
The new 1099 mandate I previously discussed here is beginning to attract more attention. Currently, businesses submit 1099’s for every consultant or contractor they hire. Under the new rules, businesses must submit 1099s for every other business with whom they do business. This mandate will inundate small businesses with the […]
Scientist Clive Wing claims to have invented a plasma based light source that mimics sunlight but without the heat. Unfortunately technical details are sketchy. Press report here. Some technical data are here. It looks promising, if it works as claimed.
The 29th Progress in Electromagnetics Research Symposium (PIERS) will be held March 20-23, 2011 in Marrakesh, Morocco. They always seem to pick interesting international destinations for these events. More information…
A few quick picks: A SWAT raid back in February burst into a house occupied by a suspected drug user, his wife and seven year old son. Officers opened fire, killing a pit bull and injuring a corgi (?). The suspect was charged with a marijuana offense that resulted in […]
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has begun introducing full-body scanners. The scanners employ low-power X-ray backscattering or millimeter wave technology to generate an image of your body, enabling them to detect most concealed objects. Some people are concerned that the scans amount to a virtual disrobing, even though the systems […]
In medieval days, some believers would engage in self-flagellation: inflicting painful wounds upon themselves for no other good reason than to enhance their perceived virtue and self-esteem. The modern equivalent all too often is “recycling.” This point was brought home to me recently when I learned my local community has […]
Apparently, lawyers with too much time and too few clients on hand have made a sport of suing cereal producer Kellogg for fraud. It seems Kellogg doesn’t actually include fruit in their Froot Loops. More here. Hat Tip: OverLawyered. Now that that’s been resolved, on to more important questions: Where […]
On this day May 4, 1988, a massive explosion (comparable to a small nuclear blast) at the Pacific Engineering Production Company of Nevada (PEPCON) rocked Henderson, Nevada, just outside Las Vegas. 4000 tons of aluminum perchlorate (an oxidizer for rocket fuel) detonated, killing two and injuring 372. The first explosion […]
…the next few days while I work on fixing some annoying formatting and link problems: mostly links leading to “file not found.”
Watt’s Up With That has a detailed first hand report of the oil rig fire from geologist Jimmy Haigh, a commenter at the site. The report includes some spectacular photos of the rig as it burned and sank in 5000 feet of water. Eleven men are missing and will probably […]
The other day I heard a GM commercial on the radio in which their CEO boasts about having “repaid our government loan, with interest, five years ahead of the original schedule.” Here’s a video version. But as Shikha Dalmia notes at Forbes, it’s still Government Motors. The U.S. gave GM […]
For those of us who do RF engineering, there’s nothing like the feel of a low ESR ceramic chip cap held in tweezers in one hand and a fine tip soldering iron held in the other punctuated by the tangy aroma of pine rosin. Ahhh! Open any electronic device you […]
In most jurisdictions, it is legal to video record the police in public places where they would have no expectation of privacy. That right is not always upheld in practice, however. Writing in Reason, Randy Balko examines some recent cases that illustrate the importance of allowing citizens to use technology […]
The popular image of Kennedy family patriarch, Joseph Kennedy, as a bootlegger with mob connections is thoroughly debunked in a new history of Prohibition, Last Call, by Daniel Okrent. An excerpt is available here.