Solar gutter light saves energy

Great idea!

“The Gutter Light was created one night when Vince D’Onofrio was on his way home from work. While walking through his yard, he kicked the light cap off one of his solar lawn lights. He then picked it up and used it as a flash light to help him see while unlocking his door. “The higher I held it up, the wider and wider the light got,” he said. “That made me wonder if I could light up the whole (doorstep) with this.” From there, he began tinkering in his garage, devising ways for these bright LED lights to suspend off his gutters. The final design was a multi-use, solar light with rechargeable batteries that can be attached to gutters, signs, fences, or anything with a flat surface. According to D’Onofrio, the lights can also be used as a security measure, keeping properties and people safe. “A lot of people want security for their vacation homes, to make it look like someone’s home,” he said. “I even bring them inside when we have black outs at my house.” D’Onofrio is currently marketing his invention and recently picked up more than 3,000 finished products from Philadelphia. Local hardware stores and landscaping businesses may begin carrying the product as soon as January 2009, he said, and the items are currently available on his Web site, www.gutter-lite.com.” – Source

Opportunities vs. mistakes

Never give up!

“Let’s look at people who perceive “mistakes” in a very different way. For example, it is said that Thomas Edison did more than 1,000 experiments trying to invent the light bulb. He was asked how he could keep going after making so many mistakes. His response: What mistakes? Each time I’m just learning what doesn’t work, bringing me closer to what does work. Similarly, the most successful sales people look forward to being turned down by potential clients. Their reasoning: the more no’s I get, the closer I am to a big “yes.” These people are not seeing mistakes — they are seeing learning opportunities! Many of our best inventions — Styrofoam, Post-it notes, etc. — started out as “mistakes.” The person involved was trying to do something else and something went wrong. Lucky for us, someone saw beyond the mistake and a new invention was born. All of our famous inventors, scientists and creative people made lots of mistakes. This is the only way they could get to the discovery they were looking for, by being willing to get it “wrong” so many times. It’s important to get this concept across to kids. And we need to make it “safe” for them to make mistakes. In order to be successful at anything, including learning, you have to be willing to make mistakes. It’s the “fail your way to the top” attitude: If I keep trying, discovering, experimenting, I’ll get there. This is what separates the people who achieve their goals from those who don’t. In her book, “Work Less Make More,” Jennifer White says, “Fail often so you can succeed sooner.” The more we can see “mistakes” as opportunities and incorporate this concept into our everyday family life, the better it will be for our kids. One way to get help with this is to read stories together of people who turned mistakes into opportunities.” – Source

Piece of US/Mexico Border – what problem?

Here’s a crop from a much larger version of the U.S. / Mexico border. Can you guess which side is Mexico? – Source

North Carolina looks at taxing drivers by the mile

And look at what New York is doing, taxing everything, even if you are overweight!

“With gas-tax revenues plummeting, the state of North Carolina is looking seriously at taxing motorists for how far they drive. If the “road-use tax” is implemented, it would at first be simple – with the state checking your odometer annually and taxing you based on how many miles you have driven. But transportation experts say new GPS technology could allow the state to charge people different rates based on when and where they drive, in an attempt to manage congestion.” – Source

The Best Burglar Alarm in History (time lapse photos)

Neat trick but it’s not continuous….one day that might be possible with sufficient power but the effect is great anyway!

“When Nikola Tesla got creative with transformers and driver circuits at the turn of the 20th century he probably had no idea that others would have so much fun with his concepts over a hundred years later. One such guy is an Australian named Peter who runs a website called TeslaDownUnder, which showcases all his wacky Tesla ways, or rather electrickery, as Peter calls it. A Tesla coil was placed on top of the car with a rod projecting out and bent towards the ground, from which the sparks would fly. A wooden counterweight was then placed on top to make sure it stayed in place. When the electric current was switched on and the rod turned to encircle the car, under long exposure the results are electrifying.” – Source

Batteries Included Forever. Fill Stockings Not Landfill.

Great idea, now if they can just get the price down.

“Over 22,000 tonnes of batteries end up in landfill from when “rubbish after one use” Alkaline batteries are thrown away from toys and gadgets annually in the UK, creating toxic waste for hundreds of years. Moixa Energy’s award winning USBCELL re-usable batteries help reduce this, as they can be re-used hundreds of times by re-charging in USB ports on desktops, laptops or games consoles. Saving money and planet. Why keep running to the shop each time the XBOX/WII/PS3 controller or digital camera or toys run out of power on Boxing day when you can simply swap over and re-charge USBCELLs on console USB ports, or recharge from laptops or desktops. / Technical – * Battery Chemistry * NiMH – Nickel Metal Hyrdride * Technical Specifications * 90%+ Charged after 5 Hours by powered USB * Also rechargeable by approved NiMH charger at 250ma for 7 Hours. (about $17US per AA pair)” – Source

PooGloo invention could have big impact on world sewage

What a great invention! Nothing but pvc connectors for large surface area.

“It looks like alien mushrooms sprouting in a sewage lagoon, but it may be the wave of the future in sewage treatment. Don Weston, Plain City director of environmental services, said, “The good bacteria stays in there and just continues to eat, eat, eat and propagate and propagate.” Over the next couple of weeks, they’ll be filling up the lagoon so the sewage will rise above the level of the domes. Air will bubble through them and up through the sewage. “We call them PooGloos,” said Professor Kraig Johnson, with the department of civil and environmental engineering at the University of Utah. A University of Utah team invented the igloo concept and have successfully treated sewage in the lab. “I don’t know why somebody didn’t think of this already. It’s elegant in its simplicity,” Johnson said. The idea is to give bacteria lots of surface area to grow on, plenty of oxygen, and a dark environment to prevent algae growth. “If you can keep the algae from growing and enhance the bacteria, then the pollutants are removed by the bacteria,” Johnson explained. The result is faster, cheaper sewage treatment. “This way we can use two of our six ponds to do the same thing, and I can shut half this plant down once these are going,” Weston said. And homeowners don’t have to pay for a big new plant. Plain City mayor Jay Jenkins said, “We’ve got real low sewer rates. We’re down around the $10-a-month area. And our feeling was if we would have had to go to a mechanical plant, we probably would have ended up having to increase that to around $40 or $50 a month.” If it works, communities all over the world may have PooGloos in their future. The University shares the patents, so if PooGloos catch on around the world, the U will split the profits with the inventors.” – Source

Compressed air technology sweeps global export awards

This should be great news for running cars on compressed air.

“The company’s product – E.A.R.S. (the Exhausted Air Recycling System) – is a “major advance in air compressor technology that allows a safer work environment and lower costs,” according to the company. The technology uses a closed loop system which returns expelled air back to the air compressor, which is different to a traditional air compressor which loses air from the exhaust system. E.A.R.S was designed by Chris Bosua – a motor mechanic who was trained in pneumatics but became frustrated trying to make a machine work with an air compressor that was too small for the task. His invention not only generates more air, but allows energy consumption under continuous use to drop by 40 per cent. There is also a dramatic reduction in noise generated in the use of pneumatic tools like air drills, and the volume of dust, debris and other potentially hazardous emissions around a workshop or site is also reduced, says the company.” – Source

Litroenergy to Power Everything from Cell Phones to Cars

Wish they’d give some idea of how much energy was being generated, can’t be very much I’d think.

“An entrepreneur in Clayton says he has invented a type of cell phone battery than can last years. Imagine not having to charge your cell phone for 25 years. The battery uses technology called litroenergy. Once it’s developed its inventor believes it could revolutionize not only how we power cell phones but also a number of things including cars! Michael Kohnen is hoping to revolutionize how the world sees power and light. He started using his glow paint on fishing lures to use in the dark. What makes this paint so unique, is that is lasts for an entire day. “It’s very deadly for fish, I catch a lot, ice fishing, any time of the year,” says Kohnen. But the paint needs to be charged with light much like solar panels in a calculator. His newest invention is litroenergy. It powers itself, and Kohnen claims it will work for up to 25 years. Not to mention it’s environmentally friendly. “This is green technology at its best, because eliminating all the toxicity in batteries, the lead and so forth, and not using utilities to plug in your cell phone, your battery, your car,” he adds. His litroenergy batteries will be recyclable too. After 25 years the plates inside the battery can be replaced and the whole thing can be used again. / Litroenergy. It’s made of self-luminous micro-particles that are cheap, non-toxic, and will keep a glow for over 12 years. They never need to be exposed to the sun or recharged in any way, they just glow like hell. The material can be injection molded or added to paint and can glow in any color desired. “The light is said to be equivalent to a 20 watt incandescent bulb” and the cost of a glowing 8 x 12″ object is about $0.35 and is 1/8″ thick.” – Source

Added 3 New Vanguard Sciences Ebooks on 12/18/08

Shape Power – Dan Davidson’s analysis of the mysterious pyramid energies, Keely’s aether force, Reich’s orgone energy, Schauberger’s diamagnetic energy, plus a host of others, and shows how shape and materials interact with the universal aether to modify the aether into electromagnetic, gravitic, and various healing energies…

The Physics of the Primary State of Matter – published in the 1930s, Karl Schappeller described his Prime Mover, a 10-inch steel sphere with quarter-inch copper tubing coils. These were filled with a material not named specifically, but which is said to have hardened under the influence of direct current and a magnetic field [electro-rheological fluid]. With such polarization, it might be guessed to act like a dielectric capacitor and as a diode…

Horse Taming – (under Oddities) – novel way to let the horse do it… In many hours of data mining in my batcave archives, I found this in a very old book and was surprised at how such a simple method could yield such useful results…and more interesting info at Source

eBooks make great Christmas gifts and quick too!