Sunday Silliness - Ambition :o)

Out and About for a Few Days

I am traveling today, Phoenix for two days of meetings, so thought I would leave you with this that I found over at Bob's I Should Be Laughing on Sunday :o)

CFL Cleanup!

The EPA website offers tips on reducing mercury exposure, with one focus being on "How do you safely clean up a broken compact fluorescent light bulb?"


The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has revised its guidelines for the mercury-containing bulbs, which are gaining in popularity as incandescents face a Congress-mandated phaseout beginning next year. A compact fluorescent light bulb uses far less energy than a conventional incandescent one, but it contains a small amount of mercury so it needs careful disposal.

CFLs, when they break, "some of the mercury is released as vapor and may pose potential health risks," the EPA said in announcing the guidelines. The agency said manufacturers are working to reduce mercury in CFLS, which average four milligrams per bulb compared with the 500 milligrams contained in an older thermometer.

Accompanying its revised tips, the EPA includes a report by an independent science committee that indicates the tiny amount of vaporized mercury from a single broken bulb is within the safe range for adults. The agency urges American to use CFLs, arguing their energy savings outweigh the potential health hazard, and to check the Earth911 website to find a local place for their proper disposal.

Another energy-efficient alternative to incandescents is the LED (light emitting diodes) bulb, which does not contain mercury and is dimmable. LEDs cost more, however, and are not yet as widely available. 

EPA's website offers a brochure on how to reduce CFL mercury exposure. Here's a summary of its tips: 
1. Before cleanup
Have people and pets leave the room. Air out the room for 5-10 minutes by opening a window or door to the outdoor environment. Shut off the central forced air heating/air-conditioning (H&AC) system, if you have one. Collect materials needed to clean up broken bulbs.
2. During cleanup
Be thorough in collecting broken glass and visible powder. Place cleanup materials in a sealable container.
3. After cleanup
Promptly place all bulb debris and cleanup materials outdoors in a trash container or protected area until materials can be disposed of properly. Avoid leaving any bulb fragments or cleanup materials indoors. For several hours, continue to air out the room where the bulb was broken and leave the H&AC system shut off

Can You Protect Your Border(s)?

It's no secret that Internet book sales and the advent of digital books on dedicated readers like the Amazon Kindle has eaten into the business of book chains such as Borders. Now, it appears that Borders may have reached the final chapter in the tale of its corporate existence, and anyone holding a Borders gift card would be well advised to use it before the company goes belly up.

For the second month in a row, Borders is "delaying" paying its vendors and landlords its monthly debts, to conserve cash. It claims to be working to make new financing arrangements, which includes having publishers accept new terms that they would be highly unlikely to accept. The likely next step? Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing or even a full liquidation of the corporation.

In that eventuality, if you are caught holding an unused Borders gift card, you will likely be left holding the bag. 



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Sunday Silliness - Agony :o)

Metallic Glass - tougher than nails :o)

Materials scientists in California have made a special metallic glass with a strength and toughness greater than any known material, using a recipe that could yield a new method for materials fabrication.

The glass, a microalloy made of palladium, has a chemical structure that counteracts the inherent brittleness of glass but maintains its strength. It’s not very dense and it is more lightweight than steel, with comparable heft to an aluminum or titanium alloy.

Some tougher materials exist, but they are less strong; there are stronger materials, but they’re not as tough. To grasp this, you have to define the the difference between strength and toughness. Strength refers to how much force a material can take before it deforms. Toughness explains the energy required to fracture or break something; it describes an object’s ability to absorb energy. Most of the time, these qualities are mutually exclusive. “The holy grail is to get both those properties at the same time,” Ritchie said.

Think of a ceramic mug — it’s pretty strong, maintaining its shape while handling hot and cold temperatures with ease. But it’s not very tough — there’s no give, no bendy quality to stop it from shattering when it falls to the floor. On the other hand, a rubber band is tough, stretching and contorting to wrap itself around your newspaper, your carton of eggs and a myriad other objects. But it’s weak, and it doesn’t take much energy for it to deform and break, snapping back on you with a painful recoil.

Ideal structural materials are both strong and tough; steel is a good example. The new glass has a far better combination of strength and toughness than any steel.

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Go Red Today :o)

Have a heart -“Go Red”.  Today is — a day to wear red, tell women you want them to live and help stop heart disease in our lifetime.  Wear Red today to promote awareness.
  
Heart disease is still the number one killer of women, taking the life of one in three women each year. Make it a mission to raise awareness.

75 Years of National Wildlife Federation

DURING THE FIRST WEEK of February 1936, newspaper readers across the nation flipped open to an editorial cartoon featuring an army of hunters, anglers, gardeners, biologists and children storming the nation’s Capitol. At the fore, men armed with fishing rods and shotguns pluck a figure dubbed “Congress” from the Capitol dome.

“I’ve always been sympathetic to conservation,” he squeals.

“Sympathy is not enough,” they cry. “What we want is ACTION.”

To readers of the day, the style was instantly recognizable as that of Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Jay N. “Ding” Darling. But as readers chuckled, Darling, an ardent conservationist, was leading a real-life crusade in Washington, D.C. On February 3, some 1,500 Americans responded to Darling’s call to attend the first North American Wildlife Conference. From Dust Bowl farmers to big-game hunters, women’s leaguers to Girl Scout leaders, they converged on the Mayflower Hotel. Before they left four days later, they had founded the General Wildlife Federation—renamed “National” two years later—and elected Darling its first president.

Today, NWF remains diverse in its membership and works closely with a network of 46 state and territorial affiliates that, like Darling’s crusaders, span the social and political spectrum. “NWF’s mainstream membership and vibrant grassroots base have always allowed it to reach out beyond the so-called green community to be a formidable force for conservation,” says Jim Lyon, NWF’s vice president for conservation policy.

I love the purpose statement: to inspire Americans to protect wildlife for our children's future.  It does not get any simpler than that. I am proud to say that Nutwood Junction, our little corner of the world, is a certified Backyard Wildlife Habitat.

Bowling Billiards :o)

DIYer Steve Wienecke made what's been called the "world's largest regulation-size pool table". The pool table, which Wienecke built in his backyard, is a life-sized table on which you hurl a bowling ball to break and shoot.

Wienecke calls his creation "Knokkers" and hopes that he can sell the idea to cruise ships, amusement parks and other entertainment venues in the future. Why not? Everyone loves knokkers.

I love bowling, I love pool, I would absolutely play :o)

Science Scene -Chicago NG Taxi

A Chicago taxi company will begin using a dozen Ford Transit Connect vans that run on natural gas instead of gasoline. Other cities are likely to follow.

Taxi Medallion Management, which is affiliated with Yellow Cab Chicago, bought the small Ford vans as part of its goal to cut its total emissions by 25%. They're due to be delivered in March.

Natural gas is less expensive than gasoline and burns cleaner, giving off up to 90% fewer smog-producing pollutants, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. It also produces 30% to 40% less greenhouse gas emissions, the EPA's website said. Almost 90% of it is produced in the U.S.

Ford has traditionally been the leading supplier of taxis in the U.S. Its Ford Crown Victoria sedan has been the mainstay of both taxi-fleets and police car fleets. Its sturdy, body-on-frame construction has made it a favorite of fleet customers.

But Ford is phasing out the Crown Victoria, and is trying to meet demand for taxis with the Transit Connect, which won North American Truck of the Year in 2010. The small van, which is built in Turkey, has been popular so far with small businesses like bakeries, flower shops and the like. As a taxi, which has been displayed at auto shows for the last two years, it is much more comfortable than the Crown Vic or most any other sedans, though the step-up height can be challenging for older patrons.

The Transit Connect gets 23 mpg in combined city-highway driving, 21% better than a conventional cab like the Ford Crown Victoria sedan.




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This is awesome, now if they would only build an US factory.