Some of the best motor racing you will ever see — final laps of the Bathurst 12 hour (video)

Almost at the end of 12 hours, the 20th safety car entered the track. Naturally, the front runners closed up, & when the safety car left the track with 4 minutes to go, this:

/ this year's year Bathurst 12 Hour race late safety car bunched up traffic long lengthy endurance race into four minute sprint race leader Matt Bell 2015 Bathurst 12 Hour record number of safety cars pull away establish a lead Audi R8 Laurens Vanthoor Bentley Continental GT3 safety car race pits fifteen minutes race Bell defensive line track Audi Vanthoor Bell twentieth safety car less than ten minutes race Porsche sand trap track recovery crew Bell battle race Vanthoor Aston Martin Stefan Mucke Nissan GT-R Katsumasa Chiyo win recovery crew sand-trapped car pits nineteenth 19th 20th final four minutes seven different makes of car top four finishers Aston Martin Audi GT-R Bell's Bentley battle checkered flag Vanthoor the esses down the hill Conrod Straight Hell corner Bentley went wide final corner dehydration exhaustion medical centre watching his mirrors LMP1 Florian Strauss Wolfgang Reip Nismo racing Gran Turismo /

Touch — how important is it?

We all need touch in our life.

Children in orphanages in Romania, half the normal height for their age, show the destructive effects of touch deprivation. Touch has a positive effect on immune function, stress hormone levels, blood pressure, digestion & levels of physical & verbal aggression.

In recent times there have been many revelations of breaches of trust by adults involved with children: orphanage staff, teachers, priests. Probably as a result, many organisations with responsibility for children have instituted a no-touch policy. An entire touch-deprived generation may be another victim of the abusers.

Recently, ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) hosted a discussion of the issues raised above. Stream, download or transcript at:

http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/bodysphere/who-can-you-touch3f/6046900#transcript / welcome touchy touch children taboos around physical contact touch deprived Cuddle Party adults feeling a lack of physical contact tickling extraordinary behaviour physical contact Touch Research Institute University of Miami School of Medicine the benefits of touch clinically study touch deprivation experiment done University of Wisconsin baby monkeys surrogate mothers Harry Harlow study terrycloth simulated mother wire mesh bottle soft to touch no food hard babies preferred student Steve Suomi plexiglass barrier hear each other see each other smell can't touch become extremely aggressive touch deprivation touch deprivation in humans non-clinical setting children in orphanages in Romania post-Ceausescu 1990s lack of touch in human children failure to thrive orphanages caregivers age half their expected height extremely developmentally delayed adequate nutrition teachers childcare workers mandates teachers are not allowed to touch children child abuse rates are just as high medical benefits of touch touch taboos massage any kind of clinical condition it improves with touch more aggressive violent touch deprivation body heat pressure relaxing /

Tesla Model S vs Citroen DS (video)

Tesla Model S: ahead of its time. In 1956, the Citroen DS was ahead of its time. How has the Citroen stood up to the passage of 50 years? How will the Tesla look in 50 years time?



http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1096617_tesla-model-s-vs-citroen-ds-futuristic-car-of-50-years-ago-video / today yesterday's tomorrow Tesla Model S electric car of the future automotive history cars advanced new technological era today's car of the future sleek design unorthodox construction self-leveling suspension Citroen DS most innovative car 1950 20th century video comparison 1956 DS-19 2013 85-kWh Model S performance fuel economy ride comfort innovation long-range battery-electric powertrain aerodynamic body 17-inch touchscreen display impressive technical features luxury performance car Model S preconceptions electric car can be Tesla started from scratch Citroen DS contemporaries Model S styling one-spoke steering wheel hydropneumatic suspension system automated manual transmission bodywork construction modeled on aircraft DS French auto industry World War II Citroen most radical cars of its century goddess Citroen Citroen CITROËN /

Smaller, safer, solid state battery = double range for EVs

Credit: SolidEnergy/Charged EVs

SolidEnergy is an MIT spin-off founded by Dr. Qichao Hu & colleagues. Their battery uses a thin metal anode & solid state electrolyte to halve cell size.

Economies of scale will be immediately available because the cells can be manufactured on existing LiIon production lines.

SolidEnergy predicts:
2016 - smaller battery for handhelds & wearables
2017 - 2 x range for EVs

http://chargedevs.com/newswire/solidenergy-hopes-to-double-ev-battery-range-by-2017/

http://www.technologyreview.com/news/534626/a-battery-for-electronics-that-lasts-twice-as-long/ / SolidEnergy MIT spin-out company commercializing commercial solid electrolyte technology release 20 Ah EV battery 2017 two times range current Li-ion batteries battery technology Solid Polymer Ionic Liquid SPIL electrolyte ultra-thin lithium metal anode company improves cell-level energy density compared graphite anode compared silicon-composite anodes prototype 2 Ah pouch cell volumetric energy density 1,200 Wh/L novel electrolyte combines ionic liquid liquid polymer solid-polymer-coated lithium anode solid polymer coating dendrite-suppressing additives prevent dendrite growth SolidEnergy founder Dr. Qichao Hu colleagues MIT conventional lithium-ion batteries high temperature applications >50° C high reactivity volatility liquid electrolytes solvent-free solid-state solvent free solid state polymer electrolytes safe stable operation lithium-ion batteries battery elevated temperatures recent advances polymer synthesis devlop development novel materials exhibit solid-like mechanical behavior ionic conductivities liquid electrolytes A123 Venture Technologies Massachusetts technology incubator LiIon lithium ion EV/

How to keep your passwords secure

Passwords — how many do you have? Can you remember them all? Have you resorted to using just one password for everything? Maybe you name?

Above are only some of the many ways to create insecure passwords. Other things to be aware of:

http://www.softwarepro.com/articles/comp_passwordmistakes.htm

If creating & remembering a large number of secure passwords is too difficult, try a password manager:

http://www.lifehacker.com.au/2015/02/lifehacker-faceoff-the-best-password-managers-compared/?utm_source=Lifehacker+Australia&utm_campaign=da00907808-lifehacker_2015_02_05&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_9fc709844c-da00907808-278953185 / secure lock protect strong locks access digital property weak password computer password best line of defense defence damaging intrusions poor obvious password leave you vulnerable to identity theft theft of money invasion of privacy company data exposure sharing sensitive embarrassing information top 10 password mistakes create use more secure passwords mistakes make your passwords stronger easy to locate written on Post-It notes hidden under your keyboard typed smartphone tablet calendar day-timer easily find them secure location use password manager program best option passwords memorable unique write them down too common common phrases obvious patterns dictionary words combinations of words hackers hacking hack hacked attack dictionary dictionaries English foreign languages odd combinations based personal data information easily obtained name your spouse pet kids birth dates phone numbers addresses names grandsons change password easy to remember personal name login network login ID reversed capitalized doubled first middle last name your initials nickname easy to guess personal information automated programs people to decipher passwords based common items brands desk password dream car favorite vacation typed quickly look at the keyboard steal your password letters only secure passwords combinations numbers special characters punctuation marks upper lower case letters short in length at least 8 characters long minimum length variety of characters strengthen strength passwords too old change your password cracked LastPass Dashlane KeePass 1Password Roboform two-factor authentication 128 bit encryption reliability, features, security and support basic feature set mobile device features usability support security basic features password generation the only secure password is the one you can’t remember different password for every account you use password generator new account website web site form filling fill out your name address information automatically sites secure password sharing password managers support secure notes store extra passwords Wi-Fi networks personally identifiable information /

Don't text while piloting an aircraft

Credit: Reuters/Sgt Aaron Pataluna/Adams County Sheriff

We all know the dangers of talking or texting on a mobile (cell) phone while driving. Add selfies to that list.

Unsurprisingly, turns out it's dangerous to do any of the above while piloting an aircraft too.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/02/03/us-usa-crash-colorado-idUSKBN0L720720150203

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2015/02/pilots-selfies-likely-caused-fatal-crash-flight-investigators-say/

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/02/03/ntsb-selfies-disoriented-pilot-causing-crash/22785475/ / pilot small plane was taking selfie pictures mobile phone cellphone cell phone short flights around Colorado airport 2014 crashed jaunt jaunts killing himself passenger federal investigators National Transportation Safety Board NTSB 29-year-old 29 year old pilot Cessna 150K plane lost control crash near Watkins Colorado contributing accident pilot pilot's distraction cellphone use maneuvering low altitude NTSB report Adams County coroner's office identified pilot Amritpal Singh passenger 31-year-old 31 year old Jatinder Singh related GoPro camera mounted the windshield plane facing into the cockpit captured actions pilot passengers series of short flights around the Front Range Airport Denver NTSB report GoPro camera capture the flight the crash recordings previous flights that day pilot passengers taking selfie pictures cellphones pilot observed texting on his phone NTSB report /

What to do with old electric vehicle batteries?

Nissan Leaf battery
Credit: Nissan/Torque News

For the naysayers, this question has long been settled: a major disposal problem.

Reality is that a electric vehicle (EV) battery will gradually lose capacity over time. At some point, diminishing capacity will reduce range below a useful level. E.g. if a Nissan Leaf owner is regularly using 75% of the vehicle’s battery capacity, the 25% capacity left at the end of the day leaves a useful safety margin. If, after several years of use, capacity has reduced to 80% of the value when new, the remaining 5% margin will probably be too small for comfort. At this time, there are a number of options availalble, which parallel the situation with an older internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicle:

● pass it on to a family member with more modest commute needs, or the opportunity to charge through the day
● sale as-is
● replace the battery — for a Nissan Leaf in the United States, this will cost $5,500, which includes a $1,000 rebate for the old battery (clue: Nissan is prepared to pay $1,000 for the old battery)

A new Nissan Leaf battery has a capacity of 24 kWh. In the hypothetical example above, the used battery with 80% capacity remaining still has capacity of (24*0.8=) 19.2 kWh.

Though marginal for some automotive purposes, such batteries could be repackaged for a number of less demanding applications, such as storing excess grid electricity at periods of low demand for use at times of peak load. This is already being done using hydro in such places as the Snowy Mountains in Australia & Foyers Power Station, Loch Ness, Scotland *.

http://www.torquenews.com/2250/you-only-live-onceunless-you-are-ev-battery

Recycling Nissan Leaf battery

http://www.autoblog.com/2014/02/18/used-nissan-leaf-batteries-support-solar-energy-system-japan/

http://www.torquenews.com/2250/you-only-live-onceunless-you-are-ev-battery

BMW has plans too:

http://chargedevs.com/newswire/bmw-establishes-retirement-plan-for-ev-batteries/

Making renewables base load:

Large scale storage is necessary to make renewables base load.

__________
* Foyers Power Station, Loch Ness http://schulen.eduhi.at/kultfor/eee/energy/energy/foyersps.htm / electric vehicle LiIon lithium ion lithium-ion batteries limited life span long life typical EV battery capacity falls below 80% Nissan LEAF 50 or 60 miles of range vehicle no longer fulfills its purpose option recycling recycle battery shredded metals cobalt, aluminum nickel copper recovered lithium salts filtered out converted lithium carbonate economic value lithium minimal metals nickel cobalt lithium-ion batteries less conducive to recycling nickel-metal hydride cells valuable nickel economic benefit recycling varies battery chemistry large scale economics economy economies of scale battery recycling facility Toxco received D.O.E. funding dedicated EV lithium-ion battery recycling facility Ohio plant due to be completed 2014 or 2015 storage capacity battery great energy storage second life EV batteries automakers research labs think tanks universities companies significant resources investigating secondary uses spent electric vehicle batteries utilities load leveling stabilization back-up power emergency emergencies integration renewable energy sources solar wind energy storage can smooth fluctuations power output sources more reliable viable utilities utility distributed applications stationary storage residential solar panels services energy storage systems increase in value smarter electricity grid /