Things that make you go .....Hmmm, that's interesting.

[pullhard]

If you have a bit of time, this is a good read:

http://patrickcombs.com/95g/

Man cashes fake cheque and bank accidentally honours it!

[Orior]

There is same volume of water on the Earth today as there was when the dinasaurs ruled.


How do I know? I measured it.

[Orior]

According to BP, there is 50 years worth of oil left of the planet

[armaghniac]

Fair enough Orior, 50 more years will do some of us.

[johnneycool]

According to BP, there is 50 years worth of oil left of the planet

There'd be a few more years if they weren't spilling it all over the gulf of Mexico

[muppet]

According to BP, there is 50 years worth of oil left of the planet

200+ years of carbon based fuel. BP don't own any coal though.

[Hardy]

I'd say BP is only spoofing.

[Syferus]

Can you imagine how high the oil would be even if that we're true in, say, 25 years if a majority were still dependant entirely on oil for transport? The transition has already begun and in 10 or 15 years alot will have changed.

[seafoid]

http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2013/aug/15/nsa-they-know-much-more-you-think/?page=2

"During the past decade, the NSA has secretly worked to gain access to virtually all communications entering, leaving, or going through the country. A key reason, according to the draft of a top secret NSA inspector general's report leaked by Snowden, is that approximately one third of all international telephone calls in the world enter, leave, or transit the United States. "Most international telephone calls are routed through a small number of switches or 'chokepoints' in the international telephone switching system en route to their final destination," says the report. "The United States is a major crossroads for international switched telephone traffic." At the same time, according to the 2009 report, virtually all Internet communications in the world pass through the US. For example, the report notes that during 2002, less than one percent of worldwide Internet bandwidth—i.e., the international link between the Internet and computers—"was between two regions that did not include the United States."

Accessing this data is possible through a combination of techniques. Through the most effective of them, the NSA can gain direct access to the fiber-optic cables that now carry most kinds of communications data. According to a slide released by Snowden, the cable-tapping operation is codenamed "UPSTREAM" and it is described as the "collection of communications on fiber cables and infrastructure as data flows past." It also appears to be both far more secret and far more invasive than the PRISM program revealed by Snowden. Although PRISM gives the NSA access to data from the individual Internet companies, such as Yahoo, Google, and Microsoft, the companies claim that they don't give the agency direct access to their servers. Through UPSTREAM, however, the agency does get direct access to fiber-optic cables and the supporting infrastructure that carries nearly all the Internet and telephone traffic in the country.

As part of its cable-tapping program, the NSA has secretly installed what amount to computerized filters on the telecommunications infrastructure throughout the country. According to the leaked inspector general's report, the agency has secret cooperative agreements with the top three telephone companies in the country. Although the report disguises their names, they are likely AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint:

NSA determined that under the Authorization it could gain access to approximately 81% of the international calls into and out of the United States through three corporate partners: Company A had access to 39%, Company B 28%, and Company C 14%.

The filters are placed at key junction points known as switches. For example, much of the communications—telephone and Internet—to and from the northwestern United States pass through a nearly windowless nine-story building at 611 Folsom Street in San Francisco. This is AT&T's regional switching center. In 2003, the NSA built a secret room in the facility and filled it with computers and software from a company called Narus. Established in Israel by Israelis, and now owned by Boeing, Narus specializes in spyware, equipment that examines both the metadata—the names and addresses of people communicating on the Internet—and the content of digital traffic such as e-mail as it zooms past at the speed of light.

The agency also has access to the telephone metadata—the numbers called and calling and other details—of all Americans. Phone calls from telephone numbers that have been selected as targets can be routed directly to the agency and recorded. According to William Binney, the former NSA senior official, the NSA has established between ten and twenty of these secret rooms at telecom company switches around the country."

[Hardy]

I suppose I could start a "Things that make you go, 'Hey, that's clever'" thread, but I'll just stick this in here. I liked it. (But don't read it unless you're prepared to comply with the request at the end.)

Meat

[Captain Obvious]

Christie Brinkley aged 59

[Tony Baloney]

Laoislad would probably still take Debbie McGee.

[DrinkingHarp]

The future of electricity in fuel cells, this looks like it could be big!!

http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2013-08-25/business/41446704_1_fuel-cells-warren-citrin-wind-power



At Redox Power Systems, the future of electricity lies in fuel cells

By Steven Overly,August 25, 2013




The executives at Fulton-based Redox Power Systems are making a bold bet: The homes and businesses of the future will be powered by an extraterrestrial-looking apparatus loaded with fuel cells that convert natural gas and air into electricity.

The technology promises to be more efficient and environmentally friendly than the systems that power many buildings today, but the company has to first overcome the economic and social barriers that often beset renewable energy ventures.

"We have to show off a bit and show we can do what others can't," chief executive Warren Citrin said. "The best way to do it is by example."


Citrin expects a fully functioning prototype of its PowerSERG 2-80, known to its inventors as "the Cube," will be complete by December. From there, Redox must raise money from investors to ramp up production and start selling to commercial real estate developers and builders.

The device, which measures one cubic meter, can be kept in a basement or on the roof, where it will generate up to 80 kilowatts of electricity, depending on the number of fuel cells inside. One cube could power several houses or a gas station. A few could keep a grocery store lit.


The technology has been under development for a quarter century in a University of Maryland laboratory that's currently staffed by three scientists, eight graduate students and six undergraduates.

They continue to push the science forward by testing materials that may conduct more electricity or discovering processes to make the power conversion more efficient, said Eric D. Wachsman, who heads the project as director of the university's Energy Research Center.

But fuel cell technology isn't the only renewable energy source available. In fact, it is often dwarfed in both attention and investment by more widely known alternatives, such as solar and wind power or biofuels.

"Solar and wind are great when the sun is out and the wind is blowing, but you want your power to come on whenever you flip the switch," Wachsman said. The batteries used to store the energy for use at other times are expensive, he added.

Fuel cell technology has also fallen out of favor with some investors and companies who say it has failed to deliver the kind of power capacity scientists initially expected and that the cost of the technology puts it out of reach for most homes and businesses.


Chris Ainscough, a senior engineer at the Energy Department's National Renewable Energy Laboratory, said the latest fuel cell technologies have proven to be as efficient, if not more so, than alternative energy sources. The key, however, is bringing down the cost.

"That's when you see the tipping point and you see people start to adopt this," Ainscough said. "You saw this with hybrid vehicles. You saw fuel costs spike and people said, 'I can save money on my horrible commute with a hybrid'."

Wachsman said the technology has improved in recent years such that the fuel cells developed and patented by the University of Maryland in particular are able to generate enough electricity at a low enough cost to make the cells commercially viable.

"It was always ready to be commercialized," Wachsman said. "It was just finding someone to finance it."

Redox Power Systems has emerged as that someone. The company expects to charge $1,000 per kilowatt for the cube, a price that Citrin claims costs less than many competitors.

Citrin started data and display software company Solipsys in 1996 and sold it to Raytheon about seven years later for an undisclosed sum. He first became aware of the fuel cell technology as a member of the engineering school's board of visitors.

Citrin went to his former partners from Solipsys to provide the initial funding for Redox, he said, in order to mitigate some of the technology's risk before seeking venture capital. The company could be at that point by the end of this year, he said.


their website
http://www.powerserg.com/

[Cold tea]

Skyscraper melts car.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-23930675

A new London skyscraper dubbed the "Walkie Talkie" has been blamed for reflecting light which melted parts of a car parked on a nearby street.

Martin Lindsay parked his Jaguar on Eastcheap, in the City of London, on Thursday afternoon.

When he returned about two hours later, he found parts of his car - including the wing mirror and badge - had melted.

Mr Lindsay said he "could not believe" the damage. The developers have apologised and paid for repairs.

The 37-storey skyscraper at 20 Fenchurch Street, which has been nicknamed the "Walkie Talkie" because of its shape, is currently under construction.
20 Fenchurch Street which has been nicknamed the "Walkie-Talkie" 20 Fenchurch Street which has been nicknamed the "Walkie-Talkie"
'Dangerous'

Mr Lindsay, director of tiling company Moderna Contracts Ltd, said: "I was walking down the road and saw a photographer taking photos and asked, 'what's happening?'

"The photographer asked me 'have you seen that car? The owner won't be happy.'

"I said: 'I am the owner. Crikey, that's awful.'"

The wing mirror, panels and Jaguar badge had all melted, Mr Lindsay said.

"You can't believe something like this would happen," he added. "They've got to do something about it.

"It could be dangerous. Imagine if the sun reflected on the wrong part of the body.

"On the windscreen, there was a note from the construction company saying 'your car's buckled, could you give us a call?'"

In a joint statement, developers Land Securities and Canary Wharf said: "We are aware of concerns regarding the light reflecting from 20 Fenchurch Street and are looking into the matter.
Melted Jaguar Mr Lindsay said his car's wing mirror, panels and Jaguar badge had melted

"As a precautionary measure, the City of London has agreed to suspend three parking bays in the area which may be affected while we investigate the situation further."

Mr Lindsay said the developers had apologised and agreed to sort out the £946 repair costs.

[laoislad]

The future of electricity in fuel cells, this looks like it could be big!!

http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2013-08-25/business/41446704_1_fuel-cells-warren-citrin-wind-power



At Redox Power Systems, the future of electricity lies in fuel cells

By Steven Overly,August 25, 2013




The executives at Fulton-based Redox Power Systems are making a bold bet: The homes and businesses of the future will be powered by an extraterrestrial-looking apparatus loaded with fuel cells that convert natural gas and air into electricity.

The technology promises to be more efficient and environmentally friendly than the systems that power many buildings today, but the company has to first overcome the economic and social barriers that often beset renewable energy ventures.

"We have to show off a bit and show we can do what others can't," chief executive Warren Citrin said. "The best way to do it is by example."


Citrin expects a fully functioning prototype of its PowerSERG 2-80, known to its inventors as "the Cube," will be complete by December. From there, Redox must raise money from investors to ramp up production and start selling to commercial real estate developers and builders.

The device, which measures one cubic meter, can be kept in a basement or on the roof, where it will generate up to 80 kilowatts of electricity, depending on the number of fuel cells inside. One cube could power several houses or a gas station. A few could keep a grocery store lit.


The technology has been under development for a quarter century in a University of Maryland laboratory that's currently staffed by three scientists, eight graduate students and six undergraduates.

They continue to push the science forward by testing materials that may conduct more electricity or discovering processes to make the power conversion more efficient, said Eric D. Wachsman, who heads the project as director of the university's Energy Research Center.

But fuel cell technology isn't the only renewable energy source available. In fact, it is often dwarfed in both attention and investment by more widely known alternatives, such as solar and wind power or biofuels.

"Solar and wind are great when the sun is out and the wind is blowing, but you want your power to come on whenever you flip the switch," Wachsman said. The batteries used to store the energy for use at other times are expensive, he added.

Fuel cell technology has also fallen out of favor with some investors and companies who say it has failed to deliver the kind of power capacity scientists initially expected and that the cost of the technology puts it out of reach for most homes and businesses.


Chris Ainscough, a senior engineer at the Energy Department's National Renewable Energy Laboratory, said the latest fuel cell technologies have proven to be as efficient, if not more so, than alternative energy sources. The key, however, is bringing down the cost.

"That's when you see the tipping point and you see people start to adopt this," Ainscough said. "You saw this with hybrid vehicles. You saw fuel costs spike and people said, 'I can save money on my horrible commute with a hybrid'."

Wachsman said the technology has improved in recent years such that the fuel cells developed and patented by the University of Maryland in particular are able to generate enough electricity at a low enough cost to make the cells commercially viable.

"It was always ready to be commercialized," Wachsman said. "It was just finding someone to finance it."

Redox Power Systems has emerged as that someone. The company expects to charge $1,000 per kilowatt for the cube, a price that Citrin claims costs less than many competitors.

Citrin started data and display software company Solipsys in 1996 and sold it to Raytheon about seven years later for an undisclosed sum. He first became aware of the fuel cell technology as a member of the engineering school's board of visitors.

Citrin went to his former partners from Solipsys to provide the initial funding for Redox, he said, in order to mitigate some of the technology's risk before seeking venture capital. The company could be at that point by the end of this year, he said.


their website
http://www.powerserg.com/

Finally a post that actually makes me go...Hmmm, that's interesting.

Thanks DH.