Team USA

[Hamartia Antidote]

Does anyone live in Northern California? That region looks like a paradise.

Don't know anybody in California. Most people here seem to be from the ~Northeast area of the US.

So I was at my local wholesale club and the guy in front of me waved his iPhone6 at the credit card swiper machine and that was that...payment all done. Now I've seen this before with Android phones (and on both using the 3D barcode thing) but this was the first I saw ApplePay being used. I have an iPhone6 myself so maybe I'll have to sign up.

Using your SmartPhone to pay: Apple Pay - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Places that support Apple Pay:
Apple - Apple Pay

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

What 'middle class' means in every US state - Business Insider

"In this analysis, Pew defined middle class households as those earning 67%-200% of a state's median income. So ... how much is that?"

referenced from: Micro stories - small news bits too small to have their own thread | Page 11

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

Britain tops list of world’s most powerful passports - Telegraph

Add one more for the USA because of Cuba
Cuba Offering First Direct Charter Flights Since Lifted Travel Ban « CBS New York

 

[Aepsilons]

Britain tops list of world’s most powerful passports - Telegraph

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Add one more for the USA because of Cuba
Cuba Offering First Direct Charter Flights Since Lifted Travel Ban « CBS New York

Hehehe love my passport, nevertheless. No need for visas.

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

Life in the USA: Library - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Press Releases IMLS 2010 Public Library Survey Results Announced

Washington, DC—Public libraries served 297.6 million people throughout the United States, a number that is equivalent to 96.4 percent of the total U.S. population, according to new research by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). In 2010, there were 8,951 public libraries in the 50 states and the District of Columbia with 17,078 public library branches and bookmobiles.

The Nation's Largest Public Libraries: Top 25 Rankings | Professional Tools

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

Apple just released a new IOS version with support for wireless CarPlay instead of using the wire connector.

CarPlay - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

Google also has phone integration in autos: Android Auto - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

Home automation: Smart Air Conditioners

Aros Smart Window Air Conditioner

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

Automation: Smart Quad drones: 3D Robotics - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

3DR's New Solo Drone Promises Airborne Footage Without a Learning Curve

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

The above mentioned drone allows you to swap out GoPro cameras so you don't have to buy a new drone when cameras become better.

So might as well tag: GoPro - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

Speaking of drones...some aerial footage

Miami waterfront area

surfing Hawaii

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

Air Pollution Index:

Air Pollution in World: Real-time Air Quality Index Visual Map

Odd not sure why Hawaii is so high...
Edit: I looked it up...volcanic activity!

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

Determining the good from the bad: Consumer Reports - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"Consumer Reports is an American magazine published monthly by Consumers Union since 1936. It publishes reviews and comparisons of consumer products and services based on reporting and results from its in-house testing laboratory and survey research center. They accept no advertising, pay for all the products they test, and, as a not for profit organization, they have no shareholders. It also publishes cleaning and general buying guides."

They aren't afraid to piss somebody big off.

April 2015

Ranked 68 Supermarket chains
#1 Wegmans
...
...
#67 Walmart Supercenter (2nd to last! It is usually near the bottom of their rankings)

Consumer Reports Ranks Supermarket Chains — Publix Is Praised, Kroger's Middling, Walmart Sucks | Bites | Nashville Scene

Consumer Reports: McDonald’s burger ranked worst in the U.S. - The Washington Post

Consumers Report releases its annual fast-food restaurant chain rankings - Louisville - Louisville Business First
"Taco Bell, KFC ranked among worst fast-food chains in U.S."

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The worst ranking food companies in the US seem to have been the ones with the biggest international footprint.

 

[SvenSvensonov]

Why Washington Is the Best State for Biking

The weather might not always be bike-friendly but that doesn’t stop enthusiastic residents from riding in it. The League of American Bicyclists released its annual scorecard for the most bike-friendly states today and for the eighth year in a row, Washington leads the list.

All 50 states are graded each year across five categories that include cyclist-friendly legislation as well as funding for infrastructure like bike lanes. So Washington boasts lots of people who ride bikes, yes, but it also stays on top due to progressive policies that place biking at the center of neighborhood development and transit planning. The new bikeshare system that Seattle launched in 2014 likely bolstered the rankings as well.

“In Washington, we’re focusing on connected communities and sustainable transportation, and bicycling is an important element of that multimodal system,” says Washington Secretary of Transportation Lynn Peterson.

While Washington keeps its lock on the top spot, there are other perennial state standouts like Minnesota—which has a thriving bike culture, even with frigid winters—plus Colorado, California, and Oregon. Big gains were seen this year in Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Utah, which all moved up significantly in the rankings. Utah, for example, will see the country’s first protected intersection for bikers.

Here’s the top ten. You can read the report cards for all 50 states and check out a chart of the rankings.

1. Washington

2. Minnesota

3. Delaware

4. Massachusetts

5. Utah

6. Oregon

7. Colorado

8. California

9. Wisconsin

10. Maryland

Determining the good from the bad: Consumer Reports - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"Consumer Reports is an American magazine published monthly by Consumers Union since 1936. It publishes reviews and comparisons of consumer products and services based on reporting and results from its in-house testing laboratory and survey research center. They accept no advertising, pay for all the products they test, and, as a not for profit organization, they have no shareholders. It also publishes cleaning and general buying guides."

They aren't afraid to piss somebody big off.

April 2015
View attachment 220313

Ranked 68 Supermarket chains
#1 Wegmans
...
...
#67 Walmart Supercenter (2nd to last! It is usually near the bottom of their rankings)

Consumer Reports Ranks Supermarket Chains — Publix Is Praised, Kroger's Middling, Walmart Sucks | Bites | Nashville Scene

View attachment 220316
Consumer Reports: McDonald’s burger ranked worst in the U.S. - The Washington Post

Consumers Report releases its annual fast-food restaurant chain rankings - Louisville - Louisville Business First
"Taco Bell, KFC ranked among worst fast-food chains in U.S."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The worst ranking food companies in the US seem to have been the ones with the biggest international footprint.

This makes me laugh. Our worst is their best. Who knew KFC was so sophisticated. Poor ignorant, fat Americans don't know what they're missing.

Britain tops list of world’s most powerful passports - Telegraph

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Add one more for the USA because of Cuba
Cuba Offering First Direct Charter Flights Since Lifted Travel Ban « CBS New York

Sweden can stronk passport?

 

[SvenSvensonov]

15 Projects NASA Wants To Change From Science Fiction To Science Fact

The projects funded by NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts program sound more like a list of science fiction dreams than plausible research, yet that’s exactly what they are. These 15 projects just received $100,000 to explore how feasible they can be.

These projects were funded in Phase I of NASA’s exploratory program that looks at the feasibility of seemingly-crazy ideas that might drive forward new concepts and technology for the next generation of space exploration research. If these basic feasibility studies are successful, the projects are eligible for Phase II and an additional $500,000 to fund an additional two years of development.

Several of the projects involve innovative uses for small, compact, low-cost satellites called CubeSats that can carry limited payloads, or rely on alternative energy sources to reduce dependence on nuclear power for space exploration.

1. Wind-Powered Drone Pairs For More Efficient Atmospheric Research Platforms

The Virtual Flight Demonstration of Stratospheric Dual-Aircraft Platform will link a pair of glider drones with a cable as they soar around the stratosphere, providing a long-term atmospheric platform. Led by William Engblom at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, the project will deploy aircraft powered by wind shear that get an extra boost from solar films and possibly even a wind turbine. The aircraft will be paired at different altitudes (up to a kilometer apart) so they’re in significantly different wind regimes. The upper glider, SAIL, provides lift and aerodynamic thrust, while the lower aircraft, BOARD, provides upwind force. This should give a substantial power boost over traditional solar aircraft, allowing for multi-year stationkeeping and long-term platforms for earth observation or communication.

2. New Liquid Capture For More Efficient Air Scrubbing

Keeping air clean is a major problem in contained environments like space stations and submarines. The Thirsty Walls - A new paradigm for air revitalization in life support project is being developed under the direction of John Graf at NASA Johnson Space Center to swap out forced-air systems with liquid capture instead. Forced air is annoying because it’s complicated, requires a lot of moving parts, restricts airflow, and in microgravity, also require heavy, inefficient removal beds. Early-generation liquid capture systems required gas permeable membranes, which were both slow and tended to get poisoned over time. This new technology uses capillary fluid mechanics to directly expose cabin air as passive “curtains” that don’t require high pressure or high flow velocity. It’s also a step up from submarine systems, replacing Monoethanolamine with ionic liquid as the CO2 capture for better power efficiency.

3. Pulsar-Based Navigation System For Deep Space Missions

The A Tall Ship and a Star to Steer Her By is being developed by Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Michael Hecht. Along with joining the list of absurd astronomy acronyms with Differential Deployable Autonomous Radio Navigation, or DARN, the project wants to use radio observations of quasars, pulsars, and masers as navigational beacons for deep space missions. If it works, this could be the interplanetary version of GPS for navigation. For this early phase, the project is just putting together a catalogue of sources and design concept for how to run a technology demonstration mission.

4. Rocket Fuels That Can Be Mined In Space

The In-Space Manufacture of Storable Propellants wants to solve a basic problem: how to provide propellent for space missions without wasting yet more propellent while getting that propellent into space. Instead of shipping propellent from Earth into orbit, Principle Investigator is John Lewis of Deep Space Industries is trying to find ways to manufacture propellent in space. A major challenge with rocket fuel is to make it storable so it only explodes upon request: we use a hydrazine fuel with a N2O4 oxidizer. The problem with mining volatiles from Near-Earth Asteroids is a lack nitrogen, so the proposal will need to develop an alternate suitable storable oxidizing agent.

5. Tiny CubeSats To Poke At The Composition Of Asteroids And Comets

Joseph Wang is leading the charge on the CubeSat with Nanostructured Sensing Instrumentation for Planetary Exploration, a project mixing the excitement of cheap, tiny CubeSats with our growing expertise at landing on comets and asteroids. The key part of the project are cheap, lightweight, compact, disposable sensors being developed at the University of Southern California and the University of Utah that can detect 74 trace elements to the nearest part per billion (ppb). If the TiO2 nanotube sensing platform can be successfully integrated into CubeSats, they open up the possibility of being able to ground-truth our remote sensing of the composition of the small rocky and icy bodies of our solar system.

6. Mini-Seismic Surveys To Investigate The Interior Structure Of Asteroids

The Seismic Exploration of Small Bodies project tickles my geophysical heart by bringing seismic surveys to tiny lumps of rock and ice in deep space. Under Jeffrey Plescia at Johns Hopkins University, the project will combine micro-seismometers developed at Arizona State University with CubeSats to create impactors to investigate the interiors of asteroids and comets. The concept is very simple: drop at least one micro-seismometer on the target’s surface, then smack it with a projectile as a seismic energy source to produce a known signal. The seismic data could be interpreted using the same inversion techniques as seismic surveys here on Earth, providing data on the seismic velocity (thus interior structure) of asteroids and comets.

7. Micro-Satellites For Interstellar Exploration

The DEEP IN Directed Energy Propulsion for Interstellar Exploration wants to up our game with interstellar exploration by advancing the next generation of deep space probes. Phil Lubin’s research group at the University of California at Santa Barbara is looking at pairing directed energy propulsion with wafer-scale spacecraft to create tiny probes propelled by phased arrays of lasers. The miniature satellites will be designed to supplement the long-range remote sensing currently done by orbital telescopes. While initially interplanetary explorers, the wafer satellites could theoretically be boosted to relativistic speeds and be our first interstellar probes.

8. Rocket-Powered Hopper To Explore Neptune’s Moon Triton

The Triton Hopper: Exploring Neptune’s Captured Kuiper Belt Object with Steven Oleson’s COMPASS Conceptual Design Team wants to explore why Neptune’s moon Triton is so very strange. The proposed exploration vehicle is a rocket-powered hopper. The hopper will use an isotope heat source for radioisotope thermal propulsion, refuelling from either subsurface or surface ice, or ice concentrated from the thin atmosphere via cryogenic pumping.

9. Submarine Squid To Explore The Oceans Of Europa

*As noted here - Micro stories - small news bits too small to have their own thread | Page 16

The development of the Soft-Robotic Rover with Electrodynamic Power Scavenging is being led by Mason Peck of Cornell University. The soft, squid-inspired robot would be the first submarine rover to explore another planet. The planned power systems are all about taking advantage of the local environment: the tentacles will harvest power from changing magnetic fields. In turn, the tentacles will power electrolysis to separate water into hydrogen and oxygen gas. The gas will be used to inflate the squid, changing its shape to propel it through fluids. Europa is the most famous watery moon that could be explored by this squid, but it could also work on other moons of Jupiter and Saturn that have liquid lakes or oceans.

10. Robot Swarm To Explore Lunar Shadows For Volatile Elements

The CRICKET: Cryogenic Reservoir Inventory by Cost-Effective Kinetically Enhanced Technology being developed by Jeffrey Plesia at Johns Hopkins University is all about bouncing around the darkest slivers of the moon. A small herd of robots will explore perpetually shadowed regions on the lunar poles for water and other volatile elements. The swarms consist of three roles: a swarm of crickets to hop, crawl, and roll whike exploring the shadows; a carrier hive to collect data, navigate, provide power, and disperse the crickets on the surface; and an orbiting queen to deliver the robots and provide communication. The robots are all extensions of existing technology, although these particular variants will carry spectrographs, lamps, heating elements, and whiskers to characterize the volatiles.