Remember

If you want to see a post that does justice to this day, please go to see Lon's entry at Reflection, but make sure you have a tissue or two first.

Thank A Veteran Today

We started this weekend when several of the folks we attended the ND - Navy game with were Navy Veterans.  We thanked them for their service.

It has continued here at work as 30% of our plant workforce are Veterans, and we distributed commerative pins to them.

Last, a thank you to my Brother, my Father-In-Law, my Brother-In-Law, and my Nephew-In-Law.

Science Scene - How Green Are Our Pets?

It takes 17 times more land to feed American pets than would be required by solar farms producing enough electricity to meet all the demand in the United States.

Wired Science source of this entry, click here?

By examining the land and resources necessary to produce the meat and grains that compose pet food they discovered something startling: It takes over 90,000 square feet of land (that’s two whole acres) to feed a medium-sized dog and 16,000 square feet of land to feed a cat.

The Humane Society estimates Americans own about 75 million dogs and 88 million cats. We did the math and found that feeding those animals takes about 294 thousand square miles of land. That’s a little bigger than Texas!

The amount of land required to generate electricity for the nation does sound like an awful lot, sometimes. One recent calculation led by Vasilis M. Fthenakis, an environmental engineer at Columbia University’s Center for Life Cycle Analysis, found that it would take covering 16,602 square miles of land in the southwestern desert with solar energy converters like cadmium telluride photovoltaic panels to generate the 3,816,000,000 megawatt-hours of electricity that is used in the U.S. ever year.
While the numbers can be argued with, what I found interesting is that it takes more land to feed our beloved animals than it would take to generate solar electricity. 

Ditch the Bag and Roll With Me :o)

We have been using cloth reusable bags at our local Martins grocery store for a couple of years now, and we get the $0.05 discount. But more importantly, we are not using the plastic bags, which cuts down on garbage, reduces oil usage (petroleum is used to make plastic), and they are actually more convenient when you get used to them. So, today, there are two new national chains, Target and CVS, rolling out programs to get shoppers to trim their reliance on plastic grocery bags.

The nation's fifth-largest retailer along with the country's largest prescription provider are each launching plastic bag-reduction incentives. Both brands have test-marketed the new campaigns and are introducing them in all of their stores (that's 1,700 Target locations and 7,000 CVS sites).

The Target plan offers customers five cents off their bill for every reusable bag they use in lieu of a plastic bag. A Target spokesperson says any reusable bag is acceptable, but you're not allowed to bring in plastic bags from your last trip to the store. The five-cent discount is available to all shoppers.

Unlike Target's plan, the CVS program is only available to shoppers who are -- or become -- members of the pharmacy's loyalty program, ExtraCare, and it requires an upfront investment in the form of a 99-cent "GreenBagTag." Loyalty program members can have the tag swiped every time they come to a CVS and forgo a plastic bag -- either by bringing a reusable bag with them or carrying their purchases out sans bag. After every four "green" swipes, the customer will get a coupon printed on the bottom of their receipt for a dollar off a future shopping trip.

Science Scene - I AM PISSED!

Using hydrogen to power cars has become an increasingly attractive transportation fuel, as the only emission produced is water - but a major stumbling block is the lack of a cheap, renewable source of the fuel.

Gerardine Botte of Ohio University may now have found the answer, using an electrolytic approach to produce hydrogen from urine—the most abundant waste on Earth—at a fraction of the cost of producing hydrogen from water.

Urine's major constituent is urea, which incorporates four hydrogen atoms per molecule—importantly, less tightly bonded than the hydrogen atoms in water molecules. Botte used electrolysis to break the molecule apart, developing an inexpensive new nickel-based electrode to selectively and efficiently oxidise the urea. To break the molecule down, a voltage of 0.37V needs to be applied across the cell—much less than the 1.23V needed to split water.


Beth thinks that this may be a "Eureka" moment :o)

Sunday Silliness - Laziness :o)

LAZINESS

Success is a journey, not a destination. So stop running.

Tailgating in November - Outstanding

When we got up this morning, it was already almost 60 degrees.  We shook out the cobwebs, had our showers, and headed for the stadium. 

We found good parking, poured our beers into our cups, and went out in search of our tailgate partners (folks from my work).  It was a little breezy, but that settled down as the day progressed, and I am pleased to announce that I never had to put on my windbreaker.  A sweatshirt was all that was required on this fine South Bend autumn day.

We met up with our tailgate partners (we were the first to arrive and really enjoyed watching a boxer revel in the warm weather with his human friends).  Shortly, our tailgate host arrived, and his wife did an outstanding job.  Sammiches, Chicken, Brownies, veggies, fruit, chips... you get the idea.  There ended up being about a dozen of us and no one left hungry and there was just enough beer to get us to the stadium.

The sun was shining, the band was playing, and there was a Navy flyover.  It was a great day, except for the final score of the game, Navy 23, ND 21.  ND had at least four opportunities to score, which would have put the game away, but that was not to be today.  While we are not pleased with the outcome, as Beth said, it is not possible to hate on Navy.  Besides, some of our Tailgate friends were Navy vets, so at least some of our group left happy.

It was great day for our last set of ND Football Tickets. Looks like it is time to go on-line and seek out some Basketball and Hockey tickets.  Hope you had a great Saturday, I know we enjoyed ours.

Smart Grid - Improvements in our Future

On October 29th, the Obama Administration announced $3.4 billion in grant awards that are part of the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act, and will be matched by industry funding for a total public-private investment worth over $8 billion.   While my company did not get any of the initial grants, there are more in the pipeline, and overall, improving our electrical infrastructure is a good thing.

These investments will create the infrastructure and expand access to smart meters and customer systems so that consumers will be able to access dynamic pricing information and have the ability to save money by programming smart appliances and equipment to run when rates are lowest. This will help reduce energy bills for everyone by helping drive down “peak demand” and limiting the need for “stand-by” power plants – the most expensive power generation there is.

The combined effect of the investments announced today, when the projects are fully implemented, will:

Create tens of thousands of jobs across the country. These jobs include high paying career opportunities for smart meter manufacturing workers; engineering technicians, electricians and equipment installers; IT system designers and cyber security specialists; data entry clerks and database administrators; business and power system analysts; and others.

Leverage more than $4.7 billion in private investment to match the federal investment.

Make the grid more reliable, reducing power outages that cost American consumers $150 billion a year -- about $500 for every man, woman and child in the United States.

Install more than 850 sensors - called ‘Phasor Measurement Units’ - that will cover 100 percent of the U.S. electric grid and make it possible for grid operators to better monitor grid conditions and prevent minor disturbances in the electrical system from cascading into local or regional power outages or blackouts. This monitoring ability will also help the grid to incorporate large blocks of intermittent renewable energy, like wind and solar power, to take advantage of clean energy resources when they are available and make adjustments when they’re not.

Install more than 200,000 smart transformers that will make it possible for power companies to replace units before they fail thus saving money and reducing power outages.

Install almost 700 automated substations, representing about 5 percent of the nation’s total that will make it possible for power companies to respond faster and more effectively to restore service when bad weather knocks down power lines or causes electricity disruptions.

Power companies today typically do not know there has been a power outage until a customer calls to report it. With these smart grid devices, power companies will have the tools they need for better outage prevention and faster response to make repairs when outages do occur.

Empower consumers to cut their electricity bills. The Recovery Act combined with private investment will put us on pace to deploy more than 40 million smart meters in American homes and businesses over the next few years that will help consumers cut their utility bills.

Install more than 1 million in-home displays, 170,000 smart thermostats, and 175,000 other load control devices to enable consumers to reduce their energy use. Funding will also help expand the market for smart washers, dryers, and dishwashers, so that American consumers can further control their energy use and lower their electricity bills.

Put us on a path to get 20 percent or more of our energy from renewable sources by 2020.

Reduce peak electricity demand by more than 1400 MW, which is the equivalent of several larger power plants and can save ratepayers more than $1.5 billion in capital costs and help lower utility bills. Since peak electricity is the most expensive energy – and requires the use of standby power generation plants – the economic and environmental savings for even a small reduction are significant. In fact, some of the power plants for meeting peak demand operate for only a few hundred hours a year, which means the power they generate can be 5-10 times more expensive than the average price per kilowatt hour paid by most consumers.

Bad Sheeba Poetry - Catitude :o)

Now I lay me down to sleep,

I lay on the laptop to heat keep,

Should you die before I wake,

I don't care because I'm a cat.

On October 29, 2009, UCLA Engineering celebrated the 40th anniversary of the Internet. Forty years ago, a team led by UCLA's Professor Leonard Kleinrock, sent the first message on ARPANET, which later became the Internet. The Internet has revolutionized communication, education, business and entertainment leading to dramatic changes in our social, political and economic lives.

I know I will forever be grateful for the internet, that is how I met my bride.  How about you, any special memories of the internet???