Let’s be honest with ourselves, residents of DC: We’re kind of jerks to one another when the power’s out in our homes and we have to go to coffee shops just to charge our laptops and cell phones. (It’s understandable, just sort of weirdly cutthroat.) I’ve personally seen this dynamic at half a dozen places today, including a Barnes & Noble full of people laying on the floor trying to keep their laptops charged while their power was out. It doesn’t have to be like this though. Want to make friends today? Bring a power strip with you to Panera. (photo by edkohler) — Ernie @ SFB
We wrote this a few months ago due to another power outage, but this seems pretty relevant today — especially for those in NYC trying to latch onto some form of wifi.
Custom controllers: Using a single wire placed in the soil of a potted plant — doesn’t matter whether it’s live or artificial — Disney Research has created the Botanicus Interacticus system. Through the wire, the Botanicus software can detect where/how someone is touching the plant, strokes across the plants body, or even a person’s proximity to the plant in question. The new tech is currently being displayed at the SIGGRAPH 2012 computer graphics convention in Los Angeles. Excuse us while we try to get over how weird this video is. (ht to The Verge) source
Let’s be honest with ourselves, residents of DC: We’re kind of jerks to one another when the power’s out in our homes and we have to go to coffee shops just to charge our laptops and cell phones. (It’s understandable, just sort of weirdly cutthroat.) I’ve personally seen this dynamic at half a dozen places today, including a Barnes & Noble full of people laying on the floor trying to keep their laptops charged while their power was out. It doesn’t have to be like this though. Want to make friends today? Bring a power strip with you to Panera. (photo by edkohler) — Ernie @ SFB
Power lines up in all six Fukushima Daiichi reactors: Which is great sounding news, but they’re not out of the woods yet. There are a number of implications to this, mainly that cooling systems can be turned back on, thus pumping water back into the reactors and preventing a meltdown of the fuel rods. However, the power hasn’t yet been switched on, as engineers fear that the pumps, damaged as they are, could cause an explosion if activated abruptly. That aside, this news is a credit to the bravery of the workers who stayed at the plant. We hope the government gives them truly first-class care once this is over, it’s the only moral thing to do. source
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