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BobStuart

C.H. Hanson Precision Ball Level

By Posted on 11.10.2009 1 Comments
Instead of a tiny inscrutable bubble, this tool uses a two-inch-wide ball so you can quickly determine level and plumb without squinting. Modeled after a cockpit’s horizon indicator, the ball sits in a mineral-oil-like fluid and indicates the pitch and angle of the slope. A brass weight inside keeps the ball anchored toward the earth as it rotates 360 degrees, so the level can check two directions when laid on its back, perfect for setting tile. $40; chhanson.com

11.16.2009 at 02:54pm - Comment by BobStuart

Even a cheap bubble level will have an order of magnitude or two more motion, enhancing scrutability for those without microscopic vision. Bob Stuart
Technology

National Security Agency's Surveillance Data Could Fill Two States by 2015

By Jeremy Hsu Posted on 11.13.2009 12 Comments
We always knew that the National Security Agency collects a lot of surveillance data from satellites and by other means, but we never quite imagined it was this much: the NSA estimates it will have enough data by 2015 to fill a million datacenters spread across the equivalent combined area of Delaware and Rhode Island. The NSA wants to store yottabytes of data, and one yottabyte comes to 1,000,000,000,000,000 GB.

11.16.2009 at 11:58am - Comment by BobStuart

The Panopticon was a prison where it was impossible for inmates to avoid observation. They all went mad. I'd be a lot more sanguine about the NSA if there were more war criminals being tried, and fewer reporters dying. Bob Stuart
DIY

FAA Review May Scuttle Hobbyist Inventor's Ingenious Method For Shipping Drugs

By Jeremy Hsu Posted on 11.3.2009 8 Comments
A new refrigerated cargo box for moving pharmaceutical products has attracted the likes of delivery giant UPS, but its inventor may go out of business first because of a lengthy review process by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

11.6.2009 at 10:52am - Comment by BobStuart

The FAA is notorious for being limited to the intelligence of it's dullest employee. It inspires operators to hide problems, while in Canada, the DOT works with them to resolve troubles. However, let's get some information on what is in the box before we decide if someone is being stupid, corrupt, or is doing a good job. Three years does sound excessive, though. There are lives at stake on the ground as well as in the air. Bob Stuart
DIY

Shop Tip: Organize Your Life with Rubbermaid Totes

By Vin Marshall Posted on 11.2.2009 2 Comments
With the move to the new shop, I've been forced to revisit our approach to storage and organization. The first area to get the treatment was the stash of valves, miscellaneous bearings, telephone parts, solenoids and a few thousand other small to mid-sized parts. At this point in time, it looks like Rubbermaid is my savior.

11.5.2009 at 04:07pm - Comment by BobStuart

Not to mention any brand names, but I much prefer the translucent plastic drawers that are available in various chest combinations. Some brands give more useful space for the room they take up, so start with the right kind. Within one brand, the shallow and deep drawers can be re-arranged, and the stacks need no shelving. They even come with casters so they can be rolled under a table or shifted about to make room for projects without loosing their identity. The clear fronts help show what is inside, there are no lids to fiddle with and most items can be reteived without removing the drawer, although it is also a handy portable bin. I identify my plumbing drawer by the faucet handle screwed to the front, and use the same trick on others - it is faster than reading. Colour codes are handy on labels, too. Bob Stuart We can change anything. But we can never change just one thing.
Gadgets

Our Favorite Top-of-the-Food-Chain Tech

By Alan Henry Posted on 10.15.2009 5 Comments
Almost every day, we see so-called "upgrades" to technologies that really don't need the extra attention. Plenty of everyday gadgets haven't changed much since they were introduced or invented, because, well, they work just fine the way they are. And trying to improve on something that's already at the top of the food chain is a) a waste of time and b) likely to just make it worse for the wear. Companies need to face facts: there are technologies (like these five) that are practically perfect just as they are.

10.15.2009 at 02:26pm - Comment by BobStuart

The QWERTY keyboard was laid out to reduce jamming of mechanical typewriters. I use the Dvorak layout, although it may not matter as much as I'd hoped. ABCDEF might be the most sensible standard for new learners. Steve Roberts tried an 8 key chord keyboard without finding great gains in speed, but he did it for convenience, as a handlebar accessory. Training may be the key to faster typing on such layouts; the potential seems to be there. The real beauty of chord systems is that they don't need a desk. They could allow one to type just by gripping a tablet, or a pair of mice. An easy facility with such interfaces could be a boon to any mobile design, eliminating fumbling and allowing one-hand operation. On a standard keyboard, the thumbs are severely underutilized, and the frequent alternations of the right hand to the mouse or other keys could surely be better integrated. Bob Stuart
DIY

Electric Meter Dissection

By Vin Marshall Posted on 10.27.2009 10 Comments

10.15.2009 at 12:46pm - Comment by BobStuart

Very nice. Now, can you find someone to explain how the current affects the RPM of the disk? Is it regulated by friction, or something more reliable? Bob Stuart
Technology

NASA's Escape Pod

By Dawn Stover Posted on 3.26.2009 5 Comments
As early as 2015, the Ares 1 rocket, carrying the Orion crew capsule, could replace the space shuttle. With more than two and a half times the interior space of Apollo-era crew capsules, Orion can deliver a crew of six to the International Space Station and up to four astronauts to the moon. And if something goes wrong within the first 300,000 feet of the rocket’s ascent, the Launch Abort System (LAS) will whisk the astronauts to safety.

9.28.2009 at 10:34am - Comment by BobStuart

It would be nice to use this device for propulsion if it has not been needed for an escape. Space flight, like aircraft testing, is attractive enough for volunteers even with a fatality rate over 50%. The same money could save thousands of involuntary refugees, but they are not on TV.
Cars

Should Electric Cars Make More Noise?

By Dawn Stover Posted on 9.25.2009 25 Comments
By 2020, one in every five cars sold in the U.S. will be a hybrid electric vehicle. That’s nice for the planet, but bad for pedestrians who can’t hear the quiet vehicles’ approach. Some automakers will equip hybrids with artificial engine sounds, but some drivers say that less noise pollution isn’t such a bad thing. Here, a cheat sheet to the noisemaker debate.

9.28.2009 at 10:00am - Comment by BobStuart

Animals may also depend upon audible warnings from vehicles. I would prefer a single standard noise similar to a regular engine's that comes on when speed is low and ambient noise is high. OTOH, I'd love to have the back-up alarm on construction equipment turned off when motor noise is enough. They can be terrible for nearby residents. Bob Stuart
The Environment

At UN Climate Change Conference, US And China Promise Carbon Emission Reductions

By Stuart Fox Posted on 9.22.2009 9 Comments
Today, heads of state from around the globe met at the United Nations to face a problem that affects all of their constituencies: climate change. In a day-long conference on global warming, President Obama lamented that the United States was slow to recognize and respond to the problem of global warming, and vowed to move swiftly to counter it. President Hu Jintao of China echoed those statements, listing a four-point plan to combat carbon emissions.

9.24.2009 at 04:44pm - Comment by BobStuart

I could write many pages on this, but IMHO, if the melting glaciers are not convincing people, emotions are blocking their logic circuits. Corporate PR will try to keep us foolish until we are compelled to pay any price for techno-fixes. New, green business models are better for almost everyone, but upset the stock market. Bob Stuart
Technology

Discovery Swerves To Avoid Orbiting Space Junk

By Clay Dillow Posted on 9.10.2009 7 Comments
The space shuttle Discovery just can’t catch a break. Astronauts aboard the orbiting craft, which is scheduled to land back on Earth later today, fired the engines around noon EDT today to dodge a piece of space junk creeping into its orbit, marking the third piece of orbiting detritus to enter the shuttle’s neighborhood during this mission.

9.10.2009 at 09:00pm - Comment by BobStuart

If you can hear space junk "screaming by" your spaceship, it is not in space. Bob Stuart