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Voices1776

Science

DOE Announces $620 Million in Smart Grid Project Grants

By Clay Dillow Posted on 11.24.2009 6 Comments
While the Smart Grid we needed years ago is still years away, the Obama administration took a step forward today as Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced $620 million in stimulus awards for 32 Smart Grid demonstration projects benefiting 21 states. A decidedly feel-good video that is nonetheless educational was released along with the announcement and explains (in broad terms at least) what the DOE aims to achieve with its Smart Grid investment. View it after the jump.

11.25.2009 at 11:10am - Comment by Voices1776

LIE! LIE! LIE! This will LOSE Jobs. All Meter Readers will be Gone! Why are we paying the power companies to install meters that will eliminate the meter readers. If they want to save payroll let them pay for it. They should have installed cell phone meters years ago that modem the bill to them. Now we are buying them new meters? This is not about the grid this is about the meter and not having to send someone out to read it. It is a lie that it is about jobs, it is a lie that it is about renewable energy, and it is a lie period. This smells!!!!!
Technology

U.S. Deploys Reaper Drones Off Somalia Just in Time for Pirate Season

By Clay Dillow Posted on 11.11.2009 21 Comments
As this summer's Navy SEAL beatdown briefly brought to the world's attention, there's a festering piracy problem in the waters off the Horn of Africa. The pirates, in large part unchallenged, are growing bolder, striking in waters as far out as 1,000 nautical miles from Somali shores. Patrolling such large part swath of the Indian Ocean might be impossible if not for the tech the U.S. has recently rolled out to protect her maritime interests: unmanned Reaper drones armed with infrared eyes.

11.15.2009 at 06:12am - Comment by Voices1776

I am so sick of "American Imperialism" being blamed for everyone's problems in the world. We gave more money to Africa than any other country and yet we get blamed for their poverty. Just so you know, what we pay for raw materials seems like peanuts to the overpaid developing nations, however, one dollar a day with the exchange rate in Zimbabwe is Billions. Don't blame us for their governments spending more money on AK47s than on food for their people. Guess what, America does not make the AK47. Maybe you should spew your hate soemwhere it belongs. I would love for America to step up to the microphone and shout: "Effective immedietely all funding to other countries is supsended" If we are causing all your problems, let's see how you survive without our money for a few years. Idiots like you would be begging us to start our Imperialism again. You all love our money but still blame us for your problems. I guess it is better to just keep paying the pirates. Maybe it will be a relative of yours next time so your bleeding hart crap would change real quick. Then you would wish we had rockets rather than cameras, huh?
Science

My Quest To Analyze Every Man-Made Chemical In My Body

By Posted on 11.2.2009 20 Comments
Let’s start with the bad news: You are saturated with man-made chemicals, some of them toxic. Today’s exposure began when compounds in your shampoo and shaving cream seeped into your skin cells, and during your morning coffee, when you drank chemicals that were released into your brew as hot water ran against the plastic walls of your coffeemaker. It continued all day as you touched industrial chemicals in packaging, or walked through pesticide-sprayed lawns, or cooked dinner on nonstick pans.

11.15.2009 at 04:50am - Comment by Voices1776

Obviously no one Shannon loves has been the 1 in 29,000 or it would notbe so trivial to her. It is additudes like hers that allows these chemical companies to continue to polute everything they give us for profits. Who cares, let them kill us, this is just sensationalism right? When a 6 year old you know dies from this stuff maybe you will step up and say someone needs to look out for these kids. You are an adult and can make your own choices, but children eat what we feed them and we do NOT need all these chemicals. Yet I am sure she will be one of the first ones on the class action lawsuit when she finds out she is dying from these overexagerated levels of chemicals. How can one death be trivial? Wake up People. They are poisening you and you don't care. Just blame the guy that wrote the article he is blowing it out of proportion. Not like he actually tested the chemicals in his blood. He made all this up to scare you.
Technology

Dutch Hacker Holds Jail-Broken iPhones Hostage, Demands Ransom Or The Gadget Gets It

By Stuart Fox Posted on 11.3.2009 13 Comments
The media generally portrays hacker as criminals going after law-abiding computer users, but one Dutch hacker has turned his sights on more fertile prey: other less-skilled, or even aspirational hackers. Like a digital stickup boy, he has remotely kidnapped illegally (according to Apple) jailbroken iPhones in the Netherlands, holding them hostage for five Euros.

11.10.2009 at 10:24am - Comment by Voices1776

As greedy as Apple is by trying to get as much money as possible from everything they can get ahold of and by forcing you to go through them for every software, music, or video you want, I would not be surprised if they are the ones behind this. No one deserves to be hacked. I hope someone follows the money trail and he gets what he deserves.
Technology

NASA Crashes Into the Moon -- But Where Are the Pics?

By Jeremy Hsu Posted on 10.9.2009 6 Comments
NASA's double sledgehammer shot to the moon succeeded early this morning when an empty rocket stage and a lunar probe each crashed into separate craters. But the host of telescopes and other instruments pointed at the impact sites did not immediately spot huge plumes of lunar debris.

10.12.2009 at 03:24pm - Comment by Voices1776

Once again millions of our dollars sent to the moon and not one clear picture. Why did they cut to those graphic shots? They fuel the conspiracy theories themselves by never showing us any clear pictures of the moon. This is a joke. And where is the rocket that was suppose to be travelling in front of it? The picture is blurry and they cut it off before the impact. Who do they think they are fooling with this crap?
Technology

A Map of the First Moonwalk, Showing Scale

By Paul Adams Posted on 7.20.2009 3 Comments
For your convenience, NASA has here superimposed a map of Aldrin and Armstrong's strolls around the Sea of Tranquility onto a standard baseball diamond.

7.21.2009 at 11:28am - Comment by Voices1776

Why can't we enlarge the photos? You can't even read the legend. Useless!
The Environment

Bibliospherical Orb of Doom Constructed in Germany

By Adrian Covert Posted on 7.20.2009 3 Comments
The Bibliosphere--a sustainable structure featuring renewable energy sources, plus natural lighting and ventilation--was designed by Greeen! Architects to serve as the main attraction for the University of Duisburg-Essen. By the looks of it, I think they succeeded in their mission.

7.21.2009 at 11:24am - Comment by Voices1776

Once again Pop Sci has a great story with NO details. "Featuring renewable energy sources, plus natural lighting and ventilation..." What type of renewable resources? Natural lighting, just by windows or do they use fiber optics to bring the natural light in? Come on Pop Sci, I love you but lately EVERY article leaves me asking questions and wanting more information. Are you hiring? I will do a much better job for you.
Science

So True: "90% Of Waking Hours Spent Staring At Glowing Rectangles"

By Dan Smith Posted on 6.15.2009 9 Comments
The Onion tends to target our cultural soft spots and attack mercilessly, but few articles have hit home more poignantly than the genius “Report: 90% Of Waking Hours Spent Staring At Glowing Rectangles”. So unbelievably true. And it got me wondering: What will replace the rectangular back-lit screen?

6.22.2009 at 03:35am - Comment by Voices1776

I see the next step based on the new Memresister and the new OLED screens. Since the memresister will replace the hard drive, memory and processor this will make faster computers the size of a credit card. I picture your cell phone becoming a full blown PC and the OLED wallpaper TV having a docking station that you will place your cell phone into. This will allow the Internet and home theater to be controlled by your cell phone/personal computer. I see the cell phone expanding into several new devices. The headset ear piece will be a full cell phone in it. Sunglasses that are a cell phone and the already introduced wrist watch cell phone will start becoming the norm. All media will be wirelessly broadcast from the cellphone to bluetooth and wifi TV's.
Technology

Unproven Missile Shield System Sent To Hawaii, Countering Potential North Korean Threat

By Dan Smith Posted on 6.19.2009 10 Comments
Thanks to threats from North Korea, an experimental missile shield and radar system may be deployed to Hawaii before testing has been completed. After North Korea’s recent nuclear test and vague threats of launching another Taepodong-2 missile towards Hawaii, the Pentagon has decided to rush the still-in-development Army Terminal High-Altitude Air Defense missile systems and the SBX x-band radar into action. Although the technology has existed for many years it may finally get its first test in real-world conditions.

6.20.2009 at 01:47pm - Comment by Voices1776

This article makes it sound like we just stopped testing it after it failed. We just spent all this money to deploy this thing not knowing if it works. This article is not only mis-leading, it is not informative on any facts of this system. I love and expect better from my beloved Pop-Sci.
Technology

Kaguya Lunar Probe Sends Final HD Images Before Crash-Landing

By John Mahoney Posted on 7.21.2009 5 Comments
The Japan Space Agency's Kaguya lunar explorer, after a mission that included new geological surveys and lots of gloriously detailed HD footage of the moon's surface, crash landed into a large crater on the moon's near side this week. And JAXA today released its final images, depicting the final moments of its descent. Updated with video.

6.20.2009 at 11:45am - Comment by Voices1776

They planned to crash it there all along. Does anyone else wonder why we can't get a clear picture of the moon? This is a fantastic high def picture? You can't see anything! We can't see a color picture less than 10 thousand feet. What is it they don't want us to see. You can't tell me they spent millions to send this probe up and did not have the best of cameras on it. This doesn't fly. We want to see the real pictures. We are not buying the whole black and white crap. All those craters and everything is grey. No color minerals anywhere? No colors at all?