Tag Archive for 'technology'

Swimming without music? Ah, that’s so 2007!

Published
by
Gogga
on July 20, 2008
in General blabber
. 2 Comments

According to this article, there’s a new toy coming from Speedo.

Now, there’s nothing about this on Speedo’s site, but that article claims that this toy’s waterproof up to 3 meters and has 1 gig storage.

Kickass!!  Where do I get it??  I mean I am so in!

Do you all really think this (or something like it) would work?  I’m not convinced.

I swim.  I swim less than I’d like, but I do swim.  Matter of fact now that I’ve hurt myself playing soccer last week I’m sure to spend more time in swim sessions rather than lifting, so I sure could use something like this!

Would this work though?  Swimming’s kinda loud as-is. Hmm…

Yep, some craziness in space

Published
by
Gogga
on February 7, 2008
in Engineering and General blabber
. 0 Comments

Who said Germans are OK to go to space? Especially the ones that look like this:

Thomas Reiter researches orientation during weightlessness

LOL! OK, OK, I’m just kidding!

Found this article posted on the German Aerospace Center site to be quite interesting.

Look at that! There is medicine, plasma engineering and physics, biotechnology, radiation research, etc etc etc. These guys are doing everything! Quite cool, if you ask me.

Personally, I’ve never really “looked up to the stars”… But perhaps I should. There are some quite fascinating phenomena that take place when you remove gravity from the equation. I’ve done a little bit of work on Coulomb crystals where the lattice sites were simply too tiny to feel the gravity. Too bad I have been looking elsewhere for cookies and am generally neglecting that initial effort. In space, however, even cows are weightless…

Anyway, read it and enjoy! Here are a few lines:

Plasma crystal research

The very first scientific experiment that was carried out on the ISS commenced in March 2001. This was a series of experiments that is still continuing today to research plasma crystals by the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics in Garching (Co-ordinator: G. Morfill). This involves micro-particles arranged so that they are floating in a plasma at room temperature. The lattice-shaped arrangement can be used as an experimental model system for the atomic structure of a solid. Thus scientists can examine in detail the melting of a solid using individual particle movements in terms of time and space. Under certain conditions they are also able to analyse flowing liquids and gases at elemental micro particle level.

Billion dollar sports

Published
by
Gogga
on February 5, 2008
in General blabber
. 0 Comments

I never thought about this, but the money poured into sports in US is insane.

Reading this article in the USA Today I noticed this:

Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis
Cost: $695 million-plus
Projected opening: August 2008
Projected seating capacity: 63,000 for football
Features: Huge window will provide view of Indianapolis skyline. Stadium design incorporates brick, steel and glass and aims to reflect historic feel of Indiana’s high school and college sports venues. Features retractable roof with two moving panels that meet in peak above stadium center (panels will rest above seating when roof is open).

Dallas Cowboys, Arlington, Texas
Cost: About $1 billion
Projected opening: 2009
Projected capacity: About 100,000 for big events
Features: Billed as largest NFL stadium when finished. Includes 120-foot-high by 180-foot-wide clear glass retractable doors beyond each end zone; video boards hung from arches over field will be 60 yards long (making upper-deck seats more attractive for fans, according to Cowboys); retractable roof.
Online: Stadium “Fly Through” video, more details: http://stadium.dallascowboys.com

Giants/Jets , East Rutherford, N.J.
Cost: $1.3 billion
Projected opening: 2010
Projected capacity: 82,500
Features: Will host 20 NFL games a season as home to Giants and Jets. Stadium look will change depending on whether Giants or Jets are playing. For instance: Its exterior will be lighted by colors of team playing. Stadium will also feature 2,500 high-definition displays and four giant video boards.

Do you see that??!!  $1.3 billion for a stadium…  WOW!

This, apparently, is a very large drive for many technologies.  This is where plasma TVs and the like are going to show off their glory.  This is where the common people will decide to get a plasma or LCD TV because they saw this or that commercial during the game.  This is where huge companies will advertise their useless junk and will pickup hundreds of thousands of customers…

All this is truly amazing to me.  I am formulating some form of an idea in my head on global technology developments and the way people influence and are influenced by advertisements and all the various forms of subliminal advertisements, etc.  I have nothing solid in my head just yet, but it’s coming :)  Stay tuned.

Another awesome Reader

Published
by
Gogga
on February 2, 2008
in Engineering and General blabber
. 0 Comments

This one’s amazing!

The Readius(R) from Polymer Vision is a crazy-cool little toy.

Readius(R) from Polymer Vision

This thing can do everything!  Audio, E-books, RSS, etc.

Only problem though, it doesn’t appear that this thing is actually on sale yet anywhere.

Alas, I would have gotten in just for the bendable screen.

Pretty interesting!  I wonder where the screen technology will endup in the next few years.

Plasma surface coatings for medical apps

Published
by
Gogga
on January 30, 2008
in Engineering
. 1 Comment

So, plasma surface coatings are kicking ass in the news, still.  Every day I see something new and in this article (press release it looks like) company A announces purchase of technology from company B.

Who cares about the companies!  I just like to see plasma used more and more in the medical industry, be in this time for surface processing of materials.

“We are excited to add March Plasma’s extensive application knowledge and surface materials to the portfolio of surface modification methods and materials we offer to our medical device customers,” stated Jon Anderson, CEO of Harland Medical Systems, Inc.

Yep, looks like a purchase of A by B or what-not.

March Plasma Systems seems a good solid company with a nice product portfolio although all seem to be in the vacuum plasma field.  What happened to atmospheric pressure?  Didn’t you guys hear about this new cool thing where everyone can, like, not explode from vacuum and you have no need for expensive pumps?

Although, I do like the way vacuum plasmas look.  Much prettier than my plasma since in vacuum there is just so much more of it.

Well, you decide for yourself.

don’t be evil, be creative

Published
by
Gogga
on April 22, 2007
in General blabber
. 0 Comments

So, once again Google has been beaten to a good idea. What’s best is they just snatched it but could not even make that good.

Overtime, I am beginning to be a little disappointed in Google and its strategies. Anyway, read this article on google’s use (or failure to) of stumbleupon-like technology. Also some links youmight want to visit are the GigaOM post about this and Google’s own explanation about this.

By the way, I’ve installed this dice thing. And, alas, uninstalled it already - worthless compared with StumbleUpon.

my presentation at DPI

Published
by
Gogga
on March 2, 2007
in General blabber
. 0 Comments

HA~!

now, isn’t this super-cool????

contribute AUTOMATICALLY adds a button to firefox for me to post a selection to a blog. WOW

very cool!

simply amazing!

this is about my recent presentation at DPI.

YAY!

Quoted from http://plasma.mem.drexel.edu/announcements/:

Announcements - Drexel Plasma Institute - College of Engineering - Drexel University

Dear Students, Colleagues and Friends,

We will be having our next DPI seminar. Please see below for more details.

Title of Presentation: COMPARISON OF DIRECT AND INDIRECT APPLICATION OF NON-THERMAL ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE DIELECTRIC BARRIER DISCHARGE PLASMA TO TISSUES AND CELLS

Presenter: Greg Fridman

Date: Thursday, March 1st, 2007 at 3:30.

Abstract: Direct and indirect influence on micro-organisms of non-thermal atmospheric pressure Dielectric Barrier Discharge in air is compared in terms of bacteria inactivation rates. It is demonstrated that direct influence of the plasma, where charged particles contact bacteria directly, produces inactivation much faster than the indirect treatment, where plasma afterglow is delivered to the bacteria with a gas flow through the plasma region. This leads to an important conclusion that the effect of charged particles in plasma plays the essential role in interaction with living organisms, although synergy with longer living active molecules and atoms as well as UV radiation generated in plasma and at the surface of tissue may also play a role in inactivation.

Hope you are able to attend.