Solar Impulse Pacific crossing — take off 18:00 UTC today

Credit: Solar Impulse/Inhabitat

Solar Impulse II is attempting an around-the-world flight.

After waiting in Nanjing, since 21 April, for the right weather window, the plan is for Solar Impulse II to take off at 18:00 UTC today, 30 May. Next stop Hawaii. Expected flight time: 120 hours (5 days, & nights), non-stop. Auto pilot is fitted, but the single pilot is allowed only 20 minutes sleep at a time.

Solar Impulse web site
http://www.solarimpulse.com/

Live cockpit display
http://www.solarimpulse.com/widget-aircraft / solar cell photovoltaic photo-voltaic photo voltaic PV battery LiIon lithium ion adventure Solar Impulse solar power sun-powered airplane night flight in 2010 intercontinental journey cross-country trip Swiss André Borschberg Bertrand Piccard Solar Impulse 2 aircraft solar airplane journey five consecutive days nights continent fuel prototype broke world records solar-powered flight Borschberg Piccard next big challenge world around entire planet bigger Solar Impulse difficulties arduous trip across America USA design complex simulations test flights first prototype new technologies electrolytes energy density batteries nanotechnologies carbon fibers lighter in weight Solar Impulse website altitude energy storage store /

How much coffee do you drink? How much caffeine?

Caffeine content of coffee is not a standard unit. Variables include:
• instant generally contains less caffeine than fresh
• type of coffee bean
• grinding
• how the coffee was made e.g. filter verses percolated
• where it was made

Where it was made? In 2005, a university study measured the caffeine content of 97 short blacks from restaurants on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. The strongest sample contained nearly nine times as much caffeine as the weakest.

Ben Desbrow et al: "An examination of consumer exposure to caffeine from retail coffee outlets": http://www.academia.edu/1879395/An_examination_of_consumer_exposure_to_caffeine_from_retail_coffee_outlets / caffeine coffee variability consumer exposure objective analyse distribution caffeine doses obtainable espresso coffee sold sample commercial coffee vendors Gold Coast Qld Australia design espresso short black coffee samples purchased analysed caffeine content micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography MEKC coffees systematic cluster sampling five major retail centres centers results ninety-seven espresso samples analysed considerable variation caffeine content range per serve concentration range contained 120 mg caffeine samples exceeded 167 mg per serve conclusions implications heavily caffeinated samples findings frequently cited caffeine values similar data recently collected accuracy previous intake modelling regarding caffeine use Australian population probability consumer exposure high caffeine doses greater sample numbers variability variance within retail ground coffees caffe latte caffè caffé lattè latté mocha cappuccino ground coffee beans brewing dripfilter French press cafetière percolator /

Meet the man who steals your Instagram photos & sells them for $90,000

Credit: Richard Prince/Gagosian Gallery/Boy Genius Report

Recipe for success as an artist:

● capture photographs from Instagram
● make some minor adjustments to the image (optional)
● add a comment in the style of Instagram
● print as in the image above
● sell for ~$90,000

http://bgr.com/2015/05/26/instagram-prints-photos-richard-prince-art/ / pretentious nonsense posts online permanently etched on the Internet tweet photo digital existence sharing items photos friends concerns about privacy profiting from your personal photos dynamics Richard Prince “artist” skill set photographing other people’s photographs adjusting them slightly selling enormous profit Prince’s most recent exhibit New York City Gagosian Gallery lifted without permission notice Instagram “art” finding photos of women on Instagram blowing photos up 6 ft tall prints 48×65 selling them for a hefty profit adjustment photos photograph fake Instagram comment username richardprince1234 emoji talent Instagram photos random individuals $90,000 sale sold 90 large comically comical Instagram user sued before copyright infringement photographer Patrick Cariou sued Prince stole Cariou’s photos most minor adjustments gallery displayed $10 million settling suit Federal Appeals Court in 2013 constituted fair use subtle undercurrent of pretentious nonsense rationalize Prince’s work as art Guggenheim curator Nancy Spector /

Waste heat can be recovered as relatively green energy

“Pollution is nothing but the resources we are not harvesting. We allow them to disperse because we've been ignorant of their value.” — R. Buckminster Fuller — http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/r/rbuckmins101926.html

Not normally considered a “pollutant”, but data centres spend a great deal of money on infrastructure, energy & other running costs to remove the heat produced by servers. In accordance with the advice of Buckminster Fuller, above, heat in data centres is coming to be seen as a resource:

http://www.datacenterknowledge.com/archives/2011/03/18/energy-efficiency-guide-heat-recycling/

A startup in the Netherlands has plans to move servers to homes for heating:

http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1098438_computers-to-heat-your-home-startup-nerdalize-distributes-server-farms-to-dutch-residences

Poultry & pig farmers can reduce energy bills by 65% by capturing waste heat:

http://www.worldpoultry.net/Broilers/Housing/2014/10/Re-using-heat-reduces-energy-bill-by-65-1621821W/

Refineries & incinerators:

http://www.howwegettonext.com/Article/VMJq9ysAAJBS0upw/gothenburgs-heating-grid-transforms-garbage-into-warmth#.VWQuyzY4bTY

Even heat from the water in your shower:

http://hhg2tech.blogspot.com.au/2014/07/save-dollars-planet-with-ecodrain-video.html / Swedish city Gothenburg electrical grid heat pipes warm water refineries incinerators apartment buildings city cheap green heating winter temperatures drop below freezing several months of the year Nordic countries Manhattan’s iconic steam system district heating Sheffield Southampton Nottingham Britain warm parts city center waste incinerators connected hot water networks scope expansion industry London wastes enough heat to supply 70 percent calefaction needs heat energy energy waste wasted circulating Jonas Cognell Göteborg Energi municipally owned company network pipes Sweden major industrial areas oil refinery port Finnish energy giant ST1 waste incinerator operated local recycling company Renova extracts heat city’s sewer system Renova’s plant incinerates household trash recycled burning 535,000 tonnes plant maze of piping cleaning waste burned treat the waste energy recovered heating electricity fossil fuels Christian Löwhagen Renova positive for the environment landfill plant productive Gothenburg waste combustible waste extra capacity good business positive effect environment British landfill Löwhagen 1,778,000 megawatt-hours megaWatt hours MWh Gothenburg’s district heating system waste-to-energy incineration recycling Sweden recycles waste network of pipes network system interconnected harvesting heat from heavy industry waste heat district heating network renewable biomass burning gas-fired cogeneration plant produces power electricity fossil fuels high proportion industrial waste heat far lower prices distribution systems Sweden more expensive Europe European waste heat reuse energy wasted improving study visits plant technology /

Dumbing down Australia — the view from Bloomberg

“Having this reliance on the bottom end of the economy, like small businesses, is a short-term fix,” said Andrew Hughes, a lecturer at the College of Business and Economics at Australian National University. “Cutting back on research is insanity.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-05-25/australia-dumbs-down-as-government-bets-on-baristas-over-brains / ANU Australia betting on plumbers coffee-shop owners scientists researchers drive nation’s next wave of economic growth refrigerators black-box flight recorders bionic ears Wi-Fi cut research budget tax cuts write-offs this year’s budget small firms buy equipment espresso machines lawnmowers plan build stronger more prosperous Australia government reducing spending budget shortfalls 30 percent drop in commodity prices end mining investment boom small businesses lifted consumer confidence boosted shares of retailers Harvey Norman Holdings Ltd. JB Hi-Fi Ltd. reliance on the bottom end of the economy small businesses short-term fix Andrew Hughes lecturer College of Business and Economics at Australian National University Cutting back on research is insanity counting on Calculators Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development OECD Australia scientific enterprise transition into technology innovation and development Chief Scientist Ian Chubb declining levels of participation science mathematics students calculators jobs equire an understanding of science Australian school students underperform science mathematics tests high-income economy in Asia New Zealand 34-nation OECD power brains market China India Japan South Korea spend so much more research development think long-term global Innovation Industry and Science Minister Ian Macfarlane ranked 81st out of 143 global innovation efficiency measure, putting it close to average turning ideas to our advantage spending A$9 billion ($7 billion) a year on science budget shortfall predicted tax revenue collapse in iron ore prices low wage growth researcher Danielle Edwards A$385,000 research grant in Australia little prospect of further employment in her native country losing talent through lack of investment left science country government needs reverse job cuts to its national science agency CSIRO Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation better investment in science help future productivity James Harrison built the world’s first practical commercial refrigerator 1854 1990s of Wi-Fi John O’Sullivan’s radio-astronomy team CSIRO, Australia turning inventions into commercial successes bottom seven countries government spending research and development proportion of gross domestic product GDP OECD scoreboard lower-skilled careers employment Singapore South Korea students skipping university Singapore increasing R&D spending manufacturing shutdown stimulating economic renewal invest wealth-generating activities higher education research innovation /

Formula E, round 8, Berlin, Germany, Saturday 23 May 2015 (video)

Complete results, including race & qualifying:
http://www.fiaformulae.com/en/results/berlin-eprix.aspx

Driver standings:
http://www.fiaformulae.com/en/results/driver-standings.aspx

Team standings:
http://www.fiaformulae.com/en/results/team-standings.aspx / Formula E, round 8, Berlin, Germany eighth race all electric racing series fourth race open wheeler ePrix stadium races F1 FIA electricity sport electric vehicles EV terrific acceleration pass passing possible tracks with tight corners technology range race organizers identical cars Spark-Renault SRT_01E built French company Spark Racing Technology carbon fiber aluminum chassis Dallara electric powertrain electronics McLaren Electronics Systems Williams Advanced Engineering building 200 kiloWatt battery pack batteries powertrain generate 270 horsepower five-speed paddle shift gearbox fixed gear ratios Michelin 18 inch tires wet dry conditions sound 80 decibel whine full grid 20 cars FIA Formula E strategy street courses dedicated circuits tire wear grip management battery life charge prematurely testing drivers learn knowledge teams construction constructors constructing FanBoost pit stop second fully charged car advances in battery technology battery swaps charging battery Renault Michelin DHL Qualcomm Richard Branson Virgin Racing team Leonardo DiCaprio Venturi team lithium ion LiIon battery charge recharge range battery management system BMS /

Sustainable electricity making progress around the world

Burlington, Vermont now runs on 100% renewable electricity & has done it without raising rates since 2009
http://www.triplepundit.com/2015/02/burlington-vermont-runs-100-renewable-energy/

Orkney Island, (16 kilometres (10 miles) north of Scotland) is now running on 100% renewable electricity — largely wind


South Australia 30% + renewable
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_in_South_Australia

Tuesday 30 September 2014: a combination of wind energy & solar provided more than 100% of the South Australia’s electricity needs, for a whole working day between 9.30am & 6pm
http://reneweconomy.com.au/2014/south-australia-hits-100-renewables-for-a-whole-working-day-86069 / renewable sustainable green electricity power solar wind turbine windmill generator storage hydro hydro-electric hydroelectric hydro electric Burlington Electric Vermont powered 100 percent by renewables Greenburg Kansas town coal fossil fuel Vermont’s largest city energy portfolio hydropower plant Vermont’s progressive politics residents local utility Burlington Electric without raising rates since 2009 case study communities investing renewables Vermont’s local topography biomass power station fueled mostly by wood chips woodchips McNeil Generating Station biofuels logging residue culled tree material scrap yard waste wood power station generate megawatts MW electricity city’s power needs electricity electric power energy wind power 40 MW project solar energy solar array hydro electricity hydropower Maine plant Winooski River smart grid project energy more efficiently efficiency photovoltaic PV Sandra Levine environmental attorney old Maine hydropower plant energy portfolio keeping electricity cost-competitive /