sreda's posterous

May 11, 2010

Other companies involved

Other companies involved are Transocean, owner of the rig Cameron International, which supplied the failed blowout preventer for the well and Halliburton, which helped cement in place the blown-out well.An estimated 5,000 barrels 210,000 gallons795,000 liters have poured into the Gulf each day since the well ruptured But Ian MacDonald, a biological oceanographer at Florida State University, said the estimate was much too conservative.

May 11, 2010

200 boats deployed

Nearly 200 boats deployed protective booms and used dispersants to break up the thick oil on Saturday. Crews have laid almost 900,000 feet of boom, and spread 267,000 gallons 1 million liters of chemical dispersant.In Bayou La Batre, the heart of Alabamas seafood industry, the docks were largely quiet as thousands of shrimpers and seafood processors remained idled by fishing restrictions prompted by the oil spill.

May 11, 2010

In a study for IEEE ICRA 2010

In a study for IEEE ICRA 2010, Haddadin, along with Alin Albu-Schaffer and Gerd Hirzinger, equipped a robot arm with various sharp instruments, such as knives, a scalpel, and a screwdriver, to see what would happen if a robot accidentally struck someone.The researchers had a DLR Lightweight Robot III strike, stab, and slice a leg of ham, a block of silicone, and finally Haddadins arm. Not only were they curious about what effects the robot would have, they wanted to test a collision avoidance system designed to minimize the risk of injury by robot.Without the collision avoidance system, the kitchen knife naturally went right into the slab of pork But with the system activated, it only penetrated the pig by about 1 millimeter Haddadins arm was unscathed Thankfully, it wasnt subjected to testing with the safety off.

May 11, 2010

Other companies involved are

Other companies involved are Transocean, owner of the rig Cameron International, which supplied the failed blowout preventer for the well and Halliburton, which helped cement in place the blown-out well.An estimated 5,000 barrels 210,000 gallons795,000 liters have poured into the Gulf each day since the well ruptured. But Ian MacDonald, a biological oceanographer at Florida State University, said the estimate was much too conservative.The real flow rate from the undersea well, based on aerial images of the oil slick and estimates of the thickness of the oil itself, is probably closer to 25,000 barrels 105 million gallons per day, MacDonald told Reuters.

May 11, 2010

its up to humans to choose

Naturally, its up to humans to choose to use gadgets that way. Its up to humans to want to be more empowered, more emancipated, more entertained by the notion of self- and world-betterment.And though iPods, iPads, and the like are quite shiny fall guys for societys shortcomings, shouldnt we also wonder what example politicians are setting?The president invoked Thomas Jefferson in his speech, specifically the notion that democracy can only work if each of us stayed informed and engaged, if we held our government accountable, if we fulfilled the obligations of citizenship.

May 11, 2010

Nearly 200 boats deployed

Nearly 200 boats deployed protective booms and used dispersants to break up the thick oil on Saturday. Crews have laid almost 900,000 feet of boom, and spread 267,000 gallons 1 million liters of chemical dispersant.In Bayou La Batre, the heart of Alabamas seafood industry, the docks were largely quiet as thousands of shrimpers and seafood processors remained idled by fishing restrictions prompted by the oil spill.About 30 oyster-processing plants have run out of product and shut down, putting as many as 900 people out of work, said Wayne Eldridge, owner of J&W Marine Enterprises and an oyster plant operator himself.

May 11, 2010

Even though the company lost

Even though the company lost $94.1 million in the first quarter of 2010, it still grew revenue by 72 percent and added a total of 283,000 new customers during the quarter. Service is already available in 32 markets covering 41 million people. By the end of 2010, Clearwires 4G mobile broadband network is expected to be available to up to 120 million people across the United States. Big markets, such as New York City, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C., are expected to come on line by the end of the year.CNET interviewed Morrow recently and asked him about the changing 4G landscape as well as the interesting relationship the company has with some of its well-known investors, such as Sprint Nextel, Comcast, Time Warner Cable, and Intel. Excerpts from the conversation are below.There have been news reports out this week that the terms of your agreement with Intel have changed somewhat Can you explain whats going on?.

May 11, 2010

Once the new computer

Once the new computer gee-whiz smell wore off, interface problems began cropping up, and only half of them could be used at a time to go online - for short bursts before the wifi connection would give out. Even the pros called in couldnt figure out how to fix it - short of some very pricey upgrades that were not in the school budget.So there the new technology, with all its promise sits, unusable, because someone was more interested in making a quick buck than making sure that these things would work for more than three months.Will the iPad fare any better? Time will tell But too often, these new tools are treated as toys - a good laptop makes for a good way to play video games too you know.

May 11, 2010

Does Facebook share

Does Facebook share info about users with third parties through things such as Open Graph?Open Graph is a new concept for Facebook, which unveiled it last month at its F8 conference. It actually is basically a way to share the information in your profile with all kinds of third parties, such as advertisers, so they can have a better idea of your interests and what you are discussing, so Facebook can--as portrayed--make it a more personal experience.The theory behind Open Graph--even if it has not implemented it--is its whole business model, isnt it?That is the business model--Facebook is trying to get you to share as much information as possible so it can monetize it by sharing it with advertisers.

May 10, 2010

So those of an equitable state

So those of an equitable state, which may even include some from within the state of Arizona, might find their breakfast muffin slipping down more slowly when I reveal that Arizona has this week made a huge stand against excessive surveillance.Has the state decided that, after all, it might not be wise to stop every car containing Lopez look-alikes thats George, Mario, Jennifer, or Lisa Left-Eye? Not quite. Instead, Arizona has decided to remove all of the speed cameras along its highways. According to an Associated Press report Thursday, the 36 fixed cameras and 40 in vans will be deactivated July 16.I know that many of you have strong feelings about speed cameras and their efficacy It seems that many an unscrupulous civil servant has attempted to milk alleged speeders in as many technological ways as possible Some have reportedly even shortened yellow lights in order to increase the bounties earned from unsuspecting drivers.