ian

prototype car runs on electricity, not gas

2007-12-12T19:07:00.001-08:00

Unbelievable! The price of gas has gone up again! At this rate, I'm gonna be broke. I can't afford to pay $5.00 a gallon for gas. There goes the money for books and tuition. Hell, my car could be the next one to go. With the surging rise of gasoline prices, hybrid car owners are suffering less than non-hybrid car owners because hybrid cars are half-electric/half-gas vehicles. Hybrid car owners doesn't need to pay as much as non-hybrid car owners like myself. I wish I had a hybrid car. Wait, better yet, I wish I had a car that fully runs on electricity alone. This way, I don't have to spend money on gas at all. This article from slashdot provides the idea.

According to the article, there is a prototype car that runs on electricity alone. The car does not even have an exhaust system. The prototype is currently being developed by engineers in the University of Delaware. I think that this is an awesome idea because it eliminates the need for spending money on expensive gas. In addition, I find the system of the prototype to be efficient because of the way it works. The system is called "V2G" which means vehicle to grid. It works by letting "electricity flow from the car's battery to power lines and back." By doing this, the system can store surplus energy which can be used later when surges in usage is needed. I like the system's concept of storing energy because this is helpful in emergencies such as low battery. The stored energy can be used as backup. In addition, the article mentions that the stored energy can provide electricity to utilities.

Since the prototype car does not have an exhaust system, the car will produce no carbon emissions. I believe that this is a positive benefit for the environment because harmful chemicals such as carbon dioxide are not emitted unlike most vehicles that continually pollute our skies with CO2. This prototype car is clearly environmentally friendly.

I really hope this prototype make it to the market soon. Because of the positive benefits it provides, the car will tremendously help me and the public. I guarantee once this car enters the market, I will seriously consider buying it. But, as of my current monetary situation, I guess I have to start saving up.

robo tank

2007-12-04T12:32:00.000-08:00

When I was a kid, I received many remote controlled cars. They came with different colors, sizes, and appearances. I'd play with them for hours inside the house or out in the backyard. However, these tiny remote controlled vehicles can't withstand missile or any lethal weapon attacks. It would be awesome to have a remote controlled car that can have these capabilities. According to this article from slashdot, there exists a remote controlled vehicle that are anti-missile and anti-personnel weapons. In fact, this machine is a remote controlled tank.

According to the article, the US Army awarded $14.4 million to Carnegie Mellon improve existing remote controlled vehicles. I think that this is a great idea because the US Army is funding for the development of unmanned tanks as well as preventing injury to military personnel. Basically, these tanks are remote controlled and soldiers don't have to be put in dangerous situations where missiles and bullets are pouring. Instead, these soldiers are somewhere far, controlling the robotic tank from a safe distance.

In addition to the safety of military personnel, these robotic tanks can climb steep hills and negotiate deep ditches. I think that these are important capabilities for a remote controlled vehicle to possess because they can easily maneuver their way out of dangerous situations. Also, as mentioned earlier, I also believe that the anti-missile aspects of the robo tank is a great idea because it can withstand blows from missile attacks. I think that both the maneuverability and anti-missile aspects of the robo tank are important features to have in order to sustain and lengthen the life of the vehicle.

Obviously, these remote controlled tanks are WAY better than those tiny remote cars that I received. It would be awesome to play with a tank than a tiny car. However, chances are that it's not going to happen. Oh well, it was just wishful thinking.

metal detector for nuclear radiation

2007-12-02T22:04:00.001-08:00

Imagine being in the military. The general just ordered your team to go to New Mexico because it is suspected that nuclear weapons are somewhere in the vast sands of the country. This mission is very dangerous and risky. Your team needs to find these nuclear weapons and secure them. Basically, the whole world is depending on you. However, it is impossible to locate the nuclear weapons without the proper equipment. Basically, you need a Neutron Scanner Camera. According to this article from slashdot, the Neutron Scanner Camera can not only detect where the nuclear radion is but also how much radiation is present.

As the paragraph above mentions, the Neutron Scanner Camera can detect the location of nuclear radiation as well as the amount of radiation present. In addition, the scanner can also detect presence of radiation meaning that it can indicate if there is any radiation in a particular area. I think that this is breakthrough in science technology field. Obviously, we have had similar devices in the past. But this achievement shows the results of researching advanced technology and improving existing radiation devices to enhance performance. As the scenario above explains, this device can be used to effectively detect and find the location of the radiation.

The article also mentions its ability to scan radiation from far distances as well as scan through various types of shielding. I think this is evidence of advanced technology. Armed with such capabilities, the Neutron Scanner Camera is a reliable tool for detecting radiation. This is very helpful in certain instances such as "in-transit" situations where the device can be used to detect presence of possible radiation onboard a ship. Also, I like the advanced capability of the system where radiation confined in thick, heavily guarded walls can easily be scanned by the device. Basically, any radiation under difficult situations can be found.

However, despite the advanced features of the Nuclear Scanning Camera, the device has a limitation. The scanner is bulky. It is not portable and it is not easy to carry around. I think that this sort of limitation is expected from such a device. I was not expecting a hand-held system that can be easily handled. This device is highly advanced.

I believe the Neutron Scanner Camera is definitely an innovative success in the field of technology.

Nintendo DS phone?

2007-11-19T21:43:00.001-08:00

I go to school every weekday by taking the subway. To pass time, I play with my gameboy DS. I always bring my DS with me. I love the DS because of the integration of its touch screen system with the games. It would be an excellent idea if the DS could be used as both a hand-held, video game entertainment system and a mobile phone. This idea from slashdot promotes the possibility.

Personally, I think that if this idea were to happen, it would be the next step to the genre of mobile phone/video game theme. Cell phones nowadays have video games. However, the games in these cell phones are simple and primitive. They are not advanced due to the limited application implemented in cell phones. Obviously, cell phones are meant for purposes of calling and not playing games. But, if a cell phone application is implemented to a hand-held video game system such as the DS, this would be a revolutionary advance in phone/game technology. People can now play highly advanced games with their phone/game device.

However, the downside with this idea is its practicality. Imagine playing your DS while waiting on the bus stop. Suddenly, you get a call in the middle of the game. You answer the call and you hold the DS like a phone. I don't know about you but I would look pretty dumb holding my DS against my ear when I'm talking on the phone. The hand-held system is obviously not shaped like a mobile phone when it comes to appearance. The system is made to used with both hands, not one hand. The picture above is only an imagined version of the fusion between a phone and the DS. If this idea happens, I hope that Nintendo would make changes with the appearance of the phone/game system.

I would certainly cross my fingers and hope this idea happens. I want my DS to be both a game system and a cell phone. So if any people out there are like me and want a fusion of phone/game system, keep the faith alive and hope for the best.

Welcome to video hotel

2007-11-15T23:00:00.001-08:00

Man, I'm looking forward to winter break. I've had enough of homeworks, tests, and studying. I need to take a break and travel a little. Let's see, staying in New York or Paris for a week sounds nice. There's nothing better than staying in a nice hotel and enjoying the winter break. But, which hotel should I choose to enjoy my vacation? I'll just google hotels in Paris and...ok, the picture of this hotel looks nice. It has a great rating but I need to see what the rooms inside looks like. What's this? An article in techcrunch about viewing hotels in video. Cool, I can watch a video of hotel from a particular country that includes a tour of what the bedrooms look like or other facilities they offer. With this, I can easily make decisions whether I want to book a hotel in New York or Paris.

The website within the article is called TvTrip. As the paragraph above describes, it is a site that features hotel videos to ease the process of choosing and making hotel reservations easier for the customers. I think that this is a great idea because I like to watch a video guide of a hotel before making my decision. I like to see what the bedrooms look like, what the bathrooms look like as well as what facilities the hotel offers such as bar, gym or pool. This is exactly what TvTrip provides in their site and these features eases my hotel decision making process. In addition, the site also states the amount of the room per night. Price is really important to me because I don't like going over budget.

TvTrip is still in process of making their popularity known. I already cruised their site and there are still some work to do such as upload more video hotels for certain cities or countries. However, I know that this site will do better in the future because it is still in the early stages of development. Despite the video shortages, the site provides a very detailed description of each hotel. I like detailed description of hotels because I want to know the background of the hotel. Moreover, I also want to know the amenities the hotel provides as well as the places near the hotel that I can visit such as shopping centers, museums or parks.

The high quality hotel videos and detailed description of each hotel makes TvTrip a convenient website for booking hotels. So the next time you want to book a hotel, make sure you visit TvTrip and watch the hotel videos before you make your decision.

gas station google

2007-11-10T12:57:00.000-08:00

Yikes! I'm gonna be late for Christmas Eve dinner! It's already 5:00 pm on the 24th of December and I'm still on highway 5, driving thru traffic. I just need to continue down this freeway and...damn, I took the wrong exit! Where am I? Oh great, now I'm lost. I'll just stop by this gas station and take out my map out of the glove compartment and ...where the hell is it!? I can't believe I forgot to bring my map. Alright, calm down. I'll ask the gas station owner for directions. What's this? Google is available in this gas station. I also get a printout. Cool, now I can easily navigate my way back to main road and get to LA. This scenario is what this article from techcrunch is about.

Basically, the article is about google being available in gas stations. I think that this a great idea because it can help drivers on the road especially if they get lost and don't have a map to help them find their way. I know that I will benefit from google in gas stations because I often go on seasonal road trips during winter and summer and now & again I get lost and I end up shuffling with my map. With google available, I can just go to a gas station along the interstate and have a them print me a map that I can easily understand and follow.

I also think that this move by google shows the dominance and ubiquity of google in the world. I mean google is everywhere! Google is becoming one of the leading search engines and their popularity is continuing to surge. I believe google will eventually take over the world in the near future and this move with the gas station is a step forward into realizing global dominance.

IBM turns scrap metal into solar energy panels

2007-11-02T13:42:00.000-07:00

Oh man! I have not yet started on my science project and it is due in one week! All right, I better start working on that solar powered hot dog machine. Let's go through the materials I have so far. I have the body of the machine as well as the metal trays for the hot dogs. Well, I have a bunch of microchips I can use to run the machine. I'm only going to use some of it so I don't need the rest. The only important material that I need to complete the machine are the solar energy panels. I'll just recycle the excess microchips I have and donate them to a solar industry firm in exchange for solar energy panels. Fortunately, I read this article from slashdot which explains the development of solar energy panels from left over microchips.

According to the article, IBM has "developed a way to easily refurbish scrap material left over from the creation of microchips so it can be used in solar energy panels." Basically, silicon wafers are used to create microchips. These silicons are embedded with intellectual patterns to make the microchip work. IBM developed a polishing system to erase the patterns within the silicon, allowing the wafers to be reused to make solar panels. I think that this development is a major achievement in technology as well as a huge asset for the company because they are able to recycle used materials (microchips) to save money and resources.

I also think that this development is environmentally friendly because of the recycling process. The company does not have to waste additional resources to create new silicon wafers. In the article, IBM comments that this development creates "lower emissions of carbon dioxide and other gases that contribute to global warming." Not only does this new process are used to make solar panels, they also help the environment by limiting carbon dioxide and other gases.

Home-made helicopter

2007-10-22T19:51:00.001-07:00

Ever thought about making your own helicopter? Sounds difficult doesn't it? Imagine the amount of money to spend on supplies. In addition, figuring out the correct specifics to use such as engine and navigation systems. Also, it is important to consider the labor hours needed to work on putting it all together as well as the right tools to use and the right facility for building the vehicle. Apparently, 24 year old undergraduate physics student Muhammad Abdullahi of northern Nigeria does not need all the sophisticated details mentioned above. From this article from slashdot, Abdullahi built his own helicopter using materials and parts from his backyard.

Abdullahi made his own helicopter using the engine from a second-hand Civic Honda, he got the seats from an old Toyota, and scrapped the rest of the parts from the corpse of a Boeing 747 helicopter that crashed near his house. Personally, I think that Abdullahi is an innovative person. He managed to build a helicopter from various components. I would not have been able to do anything like this.

In addition, I think Abdullahi is a genius. He is able to design the control system of the helicopter. According to the article, "the cockpit consists of a push-button ignition, an accelerator lever between the seats which controls vertical thrust, a joystick that provides balance and bearing". The helicopter clearly contains basic control. Also, Abdullahi stated in the article that he got the basics from browsing the internet and watching action flicks. I'm amazed at how he was able to make a helicopter through simple methods. However, I think that Abdullahi being a physics student helped. He must have used the knowledge he gained from his physics class when he made his helicopter.

What's the lesson here? If you don't want to spend a lot of money to build your own helicopter, go to Nigeria and look for Abdullahi. He'll be able to build you a unique helicopter and for way less cash.

Phone call above European skies

2007-10-21T12:23:00.000-07:00

Son: "Good morning mom. How was your trip from Italy?"
Mom: "Your father and I had a wonderful time. How about you? How was France?"
Son: "France was great. I got a chance to see the Eiffel Tower up close."
Mom: "Where are you now?"
Son: "I'm aboard Air France and I've been up in the sky close to an hour now."
Mom: "Wait a minute, are you calling from--"
Son: "Hold on a sec, the stewardess is here."
Stewardess: "Here's your coffee sir."
Son: "Thanks. Sorry about that mom. You were going to say something?"
Mom: "Are you calling me while on the plane?"
Son: "Yeah."
Mom: "Isn't that prohibited because it causes interference?"
Son: "It is not prohibited as long as we are under European airspace. Anyway, if this keeps up, my cellphone bill is going to skyrocket. I'll see home in Sweden soon. Bye."

The conversation between the mother and son above explains the possibility of use of mobile phones while on board an airplane under European airspace. Slashdot provides this article from BBC news about a new technology that may allow mobile phone use while up in European skies without causing navigation system interference.

I think that this development is a breakthrough for technology. People will have an opportunity to make phone calls while on board a plane. The advantage is that people can make phone calls "more than 3,000 metres high." In addition, I think that this will be advantageous for business people because they can make business calls in the plane.

A disadvantage in this new technology is that it is only available under European skies. Only people within Europe are allowed to make phone calls from sky high to down below. Just like the conversation above, the son is talking to his mother on the plane from France while the plane is taking flight to Denmark. Moreover, another disadvantage is pointed by the last sentence of the conversation. The "cost of making a mobile phone call from a plane will be higher than making one from the ground". In other words, making a call up in the sky will cost more money. So try to keep the conversation short if you want to save money.

This new technology definitely has its advantages and disadvantages. But in the long run, I think the benefits will outweigh the costs.

Church + rated mature video game = ???

2007-10-16T21:25:00.000-07:00

Church. A holy place of worship and prayer. The house of God. A place of peace, tranquility, and...gunshots? Wait a sec, did I just hear gunshots? Sounds like its coming from the basement of the church. I'll just take these steps downstairs and...whoa. A giant plasma screen TV! Oh wait, more TVs and a bunch of video game consoles. Hold on, is that an xbox 360 and Halo 3? Wait, am I in the arcades or the church? Well, there's the priest, the youth ministry leader, and the group of young teen members of the church community. This is definitely the church. But why are these kids playing a violent, mature oriented, video game called Halo 3 inside the church premises? Well, this article within slashdot explains the reason.

Basically, this article is about various church communities in America using the video game Halo 3 as a tool to reach young teens and "use the game’s themes as the basis for a discussion about good and evil". Personally, I think this act is blasphemy. It goes against the morality of the church. As a catholic, I think this act promotes violence rather than goodwill. The church is obviously a holy place for Christians and Catholics to pray, to self reflect, and to be together with people who believe in doing good. However, having a violent game inside the house of God taints the holy image of the church.

In addition, I think the priests behind this theme of using video games to lure in young teens into the church community are crazy. These priests need to be excommunicated because they are promoting the use of guns and violence to young teens. The game is rated for teenagers seventeen and older. But a majority of teens that are members of these churches are aged twelve, fourteen, and fifteen. Clearly, these priests are violating the rating system of the game and they are letting underaged teens playing a violent game. These priests are a disgrace to the church.

Despite the continuous effort of various churches using Halo 3 to reach young teens, I disagree with this idea. I don't like churches promoting violence because this destroys the self image of the church. Churches should find alternatives in reaching young teens without compromising the image of the church.

Viruses in online videos

2007-10-03T16:36:00.000-07:00

Man, I haven't been in YouTube for a while. Maybe they have new videos that will entertain me. I am really in the mood to watch something interesting. What's this? This video seems interesting. I'll just click on it and...what the hell! Spyware is being installed. Oh no! That's right, be careful about opening video files because viruses or spywares can be automatically installed in your computer. This is exactly what the article within slashdot is about.

According to the article, there is a program that "silently installs spyware when a video file is opened". I know this is true because I've been a victim of this tragedy. I tried viewing a video in Metacafe (a website dedicated to online videos). When I clicked on the link, my computer automatically installed a spyware. In fact, the name of the spyware was WinAntiSpyware. My computer was infected so I had to completely reformat my whole computer. It sucked because I had to backup many of my files.

Furthermore, the article mentions that the case for video related hacking have been few so far. However, I think hacking through online videos will increase over time. For example, hackers can attack YouTube, the website with the largest collection of online videos. In fact, hackers are already on the move because "attackers have also tried to spread fake video links via postings on YouTube". In other words, be careful because attackers are going after sites that are popular. In addition, YouTube isn't the only new target of hackers. Blogs and wikis are slowly becoming new targets for hackers. I am not surprised because hackers are not only attacking online video websites but also sites with potential for having online videos.

What's the lesson here? Be careful opening online videos because hackers may have installed viruses in them. So the next time you're curious about opening an "interesting" link in YouTube or any other online video websites, watch out because a virus could infect your whole computer!

Youtube for cooking

2007-09-28T20:34:00.000-07:00

All right! It's Thanksgiving! Time to make special dishes for the holiday. Let's see. What should I serve to my invited guests? Let's try "Baked Pasta with Turkey and Three Cheeses". I'll just grab my cookbook and...wait a second there's no picture. No problem, I'll just look at the ingredients and...hold on. What's a fettuccine and what's a turkey cut into "julienne strips"? What do these ingredients look like? Overall, what is this meal going to look like when its done? That's where cookshow.com comes in. According to this article from TechCrunch, cookshow.com is the youtube version of cooking. The website is fairly new so only a few number of recipes are available. In the long run, I know more recipes will be uploaded so the possibilities are endless.

When I want to cook something, I don't like the idea of grabbing a cookbook and reading the process of cooking the dish. I want to see how the process is done whether be it on television, actual (like mom's cooking) or on video online. Cookshow.com will revolutionize the whole idea of cooking. Watching certain dishes made in video will make cooking simple. Personally, cookshow.com will make my life easier when it comes to cooking. I don't have to struggle to read or to hold the cookbook while I'm cooking. All I have to do is watch and listen to the video and I can easily get a clear idea of what the ingredients look like as well as what the dish look like when it is finished. To get a clear idea of what I'm talking about, be sure to check out the video within the article on flank steak. Yum! It will make any mouth water!

Moreover, Cookshow.com lets amateurs or professional cooks upload their favorite recipe. The audience can rank these recipes to see which one is the best. I think this idea is great because in this process it makes great recipes easier to find. Obviously, if the ranking of the recipe is high, that means that the recipe is excellent. Overall, I think the concept is amazing.

So, if you're like me and you want to cook something without reading a cookbook but by visually seeing the recipe being done step by step, go to cookshow.com and watch the recipe on video. Who knows? Maybe you'll find a video or two from me in the future.

Be careful of what you read on the airplane

2007-09-20T17:56:00.001-07:00

I swear I was not reading the November 2006 issue of House and Garden magazine inside the Philippine Airlines during my flight back from the Philippines. I just know from my basic knowledge that painting the living room walls red bring out the color from black furnitures and accessories. I swear I was reading Import Magazine, the magazine about fine-tuning and upgrading cars. Besides, that was last year and there are no evidence to prove that I was actually reading a magazine on home improvement. What was that? There's an article within Slashdot about US Airport screeners watching what I read on the plane? Wait, the government has been doing this for years? Damn it, busted!

That's right. The statement mentioned above is true. US airport screeners are watching what people read on the plane. According to the article, "newly revealed records show the government is storing such information for years". In addition, there are evidence "showing that the government routinely records the race of people pulled aside for extra screening as they enter the country, along with cursory answers given to U.S. border inspectors about their purpose in traveling". I think that the government is doing too much. The government has become obsessed over the idea of safety and is violating each persons' personal privacy. On the other hand, I don't blame the government from being cautious because I know they want to prevent another 9/11 incident and further terrorist attacks.

Apparently, the government uses ATS ( Automated Targeting System) which "scrutinizes every airline passenger entering or leaving the country using classified rules that tell agents which passengers to give extra screening to and which to deny entry or exit from the country". Yikes! Talk about being meticulous. I feel like an item being carefully inspected before going through cargo. In addition, I wonder about the "classified rules" that agents use for screening each passenger. The fact it is classified means it is top secret. Man these guys are strict!

Moreover, the government implemented the ATS last fall even though it was started in the late 1990s. Not much information was known about the system during the late 1990s that's why it was just recently put into action. Personally, I'm torn with the subject. On one hand, I like the system because the government wants to secure the safety of the US and its citizens. On the other hand, I don't like the idea of the government spying the reading materials that each passenger reads while on board the plane.

With that said, next time you ride the plane, be careful of what you read because the government is watching you!

Future Jetpack

2007-09-15T14:38:00.000-07:00

Imagine hovering in mid air without being on an airplane, a jet or a helicopter. Well, you can using Germany's prototype strap-on jet wing called Gryphon. According to an article from http://slashdot.org and the link within the article, researchers from a German company called Elektroniksystem in Germany (ESG) created the Gryphon to let users cruise the sky (click here for the article).

The Gryphon has a six-foot wingspan and "hand-held rotary controls for the rudder." In addition, the Gryphon features "onboard oxygen and helmet" that includes "heads-up display." The system has an attached backpack containing a parachute. The Gryphon weighs 44 lbs and can fly in the air at speeds about 135 mph. ESG is planning to add small jets to the wing to make it "a true jetpack of the future." Moreover, the researchers are saying that "the Gryphon is aimed at the military and could also become an extreme sport system."

Personally, I think it will be really cool to cruise through the air at 135 mph in a Gryphon. A 20 minute drive from San Mateo to SFSU would be cut down to a 20 second flight with the Gryphon. On the other hand, I think the idea of using the system is dangerous. Obviously, the system is still on the final stages of development and I am not willing to risk any chances.

In addition, the link within the article mentions the Gryphon "could become an extreme sport system." I am not surprised with this statement because the Gryphon has a potential of becoming an extreme sport just like base jumping or sky diving. As for the military aspect of the system, I can see the Gryphon being used in stealth or surveillance applications. Overall, I think the Gryphon will be great when it is complete.