Cyclone Debbie turned out the lights in Queensland – isn’t that the Prime Minister’s cue to start criticising sustainable energy?

Cyclone Debbie, 28 March 08:20 AEST
Credit: Himiwari/ABC

On the afternoon of Wednesday 28 September 2016, a once-in-50-year storm damaged critical electrical infrastructure in South Australia, blacking out the entire state. At 07:20 the next morning, the Prime Minister’s office was informed that the black-out was unrelated to the 40%+ renewable energy in that state. Despite this, those on the conservative side of politics, primarily the Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull & Federal Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg, rushed to criticise sustainable energy.¹

Another extreme weather event on 08 February 2017, caused load shedding in South Australia. Once again, those on the conservative side of Australian politics rushed to judgment.²

At the moment, as a result of cyclone Debbie, electricity supplies are down in much of the coal-dependant state of Queensland.

Prime Minister, isn’t that your cue to start criticising sustainable electricity? Josh?
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If the above seems to make little of the disaster (including deaths) still unfolding in Queensland, that was not my purpose. To anyone offended: please accept my apologies. The people of South Australia are still waiting for an apology from the Prime Minister & Energy Minister.
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¹ HitchHiker’s Guide 2 Tech: “Turnbull knew renewables were not the cause of SA blackout the next day”, https://hhg2tech.blogspot.com/2017/02/turnbull-knew-renewables-were-not-cause.html

² HitchHiker’s Guide 2 Tech: “Keeping the lights on in a rapidly changing world”, https://hhg2tech.blogspot.com/2017/02/keeping-lights-on-in-rapidly-changing.html

/ Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull ministers were told wind not to blame renewables for South Australia blackout Turnbull government statements blaming last year's South Australian blackout high renewable energy target ignored confidential public service advice was not the cause emails obtained under freedom-of-information rules febrile debate renewable energy versus coal-fired generation raging in Canberra revelation undermine Coalition's energy messaging shatter confidence call for investment sober debate bipartisan policy solutions government denies it ignored the early advice it was the storm which brought down lines ministers canvassed publicly central state's high renewable energy reliance contributed subsequent assessment refer to the state's energy mix complicating factor security of supply advice to the government dated 29 September 2016 day after the whole of SA went black devastating storm suggested problem state's high reliance on wind generation key parts electricity distribution network wrecked during a severe weather event email trail senior official from Malcolm Turnbull department seeking explanation blackout 8.31 evening of the storm next morning outlines subsequent discussions 5am phone hook-up departmental political staff email sent Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's own officials assessment of the blackout including advice Australian Energy Market Operator unprecedented damage network bigger than any other event in Australia 20+ steel transmission towers down State wind damage Adelaide Port Augusta electricity network unable to cope sudden large loss generation capacity AEMO's advice generation mix renewable or fossil fuel was not to blame yesterday's events loss 1000 MW power such a short space of time transmission lines fell over within hours of the calamity Turnbull government capitalising on the blackout suggesting state's unsustainably high quotient wind generation failed to keep working in the conditions Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce chorus from Canberra state Labor government's unrealistic energy policies other senior ministers including Energy and Environment Minister Josh Frydenberg major storm major blackout across a whole state South Australia renewable energy target storm capacity to handle it intermittent renewables pose real challenges state Labor governments priorities renewable targets extremely aggressive extremely unrealistic energy security blackout South Australia extreme heat event energy blame game intensified evidence again suggests adequate supply gas turbine generation sitting idle wind contribution fell Labor's spokesman climate change energy Mark Butler hysterical Mr Turnbull playing politics very deep crisis enveloping our energy system renewable energy sustainable energy electric power solar photovoltaic photo voltaic coal fired power station wind power wind turbine gas fired power station accurate weather forecasting grid /

Jeans with a dedicated phone pocket

Lithium ion batteries of the type used in phones pose a substantial risk of fire &/or explosion under a range of circumstances,¹ including external force.² With this in mind, a pants pocket is one of the worst possible places to carry a phone.

Even ignoring the risk of a battery fire/explosion, phones carried in a pants pocket pose a risk of damage to the phone itself when the user sits down. Remember bendgate?³

With this in mind, these jeans, with a dedicated phone pocket may be a viable option:


Muji mens organic cotton stretch denim slim jeans
Credit: Muji

The Gadgeteer – “These jeans have a pocket especially designed to hold your smartphone”
http://the-gadgeteer.com/2017/03/31/these-jeans-have-a-pocket-especially-designed-to-hold-your-smartphone/

Buy them at:
https://www.muji.us/store/men-ogc-stretch-dnm-slim-jeansd7se221.html

A conventional pants pocket is one of the worst possible places to carry a phone. Better alternatives include a jacket pocket, backpack, handbag, bumbag, or holster.¹
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¹ “More lithium ion battery fires – not just phones”, https://hhg2tech.blogspot.com/2016/11/more-lithium-ion-battery-fires.html

² “Samsung pulls the plug on the Note 7”, https://hhg2tech.blogspot.com/2016/10/samsung-pulls-plug-on-note-7.html

³ “Will it bend? — iPhone 6 Plus”, https://hhg2tech.blogspot.com/2014/09/will-it-bend-iphone-6-plus.html

/ jeans pocket especially designed hold smartphone pants dedicated pocket smartphone Japanese brand Muji new line 100% cotton denim slim jeans for men pocket back right hip location 6th pocket prevent wearer inadvertently sitting on their smartphone uncomfortable wearer phone Muji jeans available three shades several lengths price per pair affordable $33.60 $US33.60 /

Omega 3 fish oil – new evidence

Credit: Skeptical Raptor

You may have read recently on these pages, why omega-3 fish oil supplements appear not to work, & what can be done about it.¹ In summary:

● cold water oily fish, such as salmon & tuna, in the diet, is protective against a large & diverse range of diseases, including cardiovascular disease, prostate cancer, dementia ...¹

● benefits have been attributed to the omega-3 fatty acid which they contain
● omega-3 supplements have, as a result, become popular
● subsequent research has found that omega-3 supplements are ineffective

● only one third of the contents of a typical supplement is actually omega-3

● omega-3 in a typical supplement is oxidised, which makes it ineffective

● omega-3 is easily oxidised, which makes production of un-oxidised supplements difficult & expensive

● all of the above suggests that supplements would be effective if a pure, non-oxidised, source of omega-3 was available

● omega-3 supplements from “algal sources” are claimed to be suitable

Some of the material presented above has been questioned by Professor Peter McLennan of the Faculty of Science, Medicine & Health at the University of Wollongong:

● many studies are flawed

● “main effect is not in preventing heart attacks, preventing the atherosclerosis, but indeed preventing that from causing fatal arrhythmias”

● “anti-inflammatory effects do take high doses, & it is quite effective in that.” – for arthritis 10 millilitres – 10 capsules per day

● fish oil is typically 30% omega 3 – this does not interfere with the therapeutic effect

● “It's very difficult to actually oxidise fish oil … had to bubble it with oxygen for 30 days or more to get a significant degree of oxidation.”

Podcast & transcript at:

Australian Broadcasting Corporation – “Following up on fish oil”
http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/healthreport/following-up-on-fish-oil/8349732
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¹ “Can omega-3 fish oil supplements work?”, https://hhg2tech.blogspot.com/2017/03/can-omega-3-fish-oil-supplements-work.html
/ algal sources Something fishy in the oil U.S. study replicates findings USA New Zealand Australia what's really in that fish oil capsule Australian Broadcasting Corporation ABC Health Report Dr. Norman Swan reducing your risk of heart attack stroke US study replicates findings New Zealand Australia far from what you think you are paying for Preston Mason pharmacologist Brigham and Women's Hospital Harvard Medical School in Boston huge industry local stores very popular brands omega-3 dietary supplements laboratory lab capsules examine them for their content interesting observations omega-3 fish oil supplement a third of the overall product two-thirds other fats significant levels of saturated fat saturated fat source preparations remove other fats put it in as it's harvested problem omega-3 fatty acids generally oxidised interacted with oxygen like biological rust no longer effective test them oxides had no benefit biological activity important omega-3 fatty acids Cochrane collaboration trials of fish oil cardiovascular effect effect from fish oil oxidised quality issues confidence in any of these studies well-characterised well qualified product trials don't involve such products how can a manufacturer avoid oxidisation inevitable low-cost product extraordinary efforts isolate unoxidised forms omega-3 production of omega-3 by-product formation of proteins for poultry farmers large study New Zealand Auckland 30 different products over 80% had higher than accepted levels of oxidation parameters high levels of oxidation confirmed other labs Canada other parts of North America poor consumer industry that's not carefully regulated consumer beware lack of oversight levels quality omega-3 fatty acids in fish oils Preston Mason Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston research group Liggins Institute University of Auckland published extensive analysis fish oil capsules authors Professor David Cameron-Smith New Zealand. Welcome Health Report broadly the same results research fish oil study ability of fish oil to mitigate the risk of diabetes oxidative effects inflammatory effects of diabetes mitigation of diabetes inflammatory events elevated blood glucose fish oil participants in that clinical research same results saturated fatty acids capsules doses omega-3 fatty acids very high rates of oxidation gone off long chain omega-3 fatty acids one of the most unstable compounds on earth long very complicated very prone to oxidation start to go rancid very quickly just like leaving fish on the bench starts to go rancid taste awful very quickly CSIRO researcher saying published a similar study in November David Cameron-Smith data anomalies research journal authors Omega-3 Centre mouthpiece propagating benefits omega-3 commercial laboratory analysis analyses performed using techniques commercial in confidence best efforts supplements methodologies results methodologies are confidential consumer fish oil supplements by-product huge industry food stock most fish oil is farmed from ocean fish off the coast of Peru and Chile large trawling vessels processed onshore conditions ship shore processing can't verify the quality high throughput processing fish oil feeding fish meal single biggest product fisheries smaller by-product less valuable by-product fish oil reliable products market advice source abundant supply of fresh oily fish omega-3 reliable source manufacture omega-3s from algal sources unoxidised source of omega-3 algal sources Health Report Norman Swan Professor David Cameron-Smith human nutritionist Liggins Institute at the University of Auckland /

Nissan is making progress with vehicle autonomy too – Robert Llewellyn takes a ride

Video below, claimed to be provided by Elon Musk, shows a Tesla Model S driving unaided to an office building, dropping off its passenger, & finding a parking spot. While finding the parking spot, the Model S stops for a pedestrian. If this video was not sourced from Tesla, the parking lot contains a surprising number of their products.



Tesla gets the biggest share of the publicity, but most, if not all, car manufacturers are working on an autonomous vehicle. Robert Llewellyn, was recently a passenger in a Nissan Leaf with substantial autonomy. A Nissan engineer was in the driver’s seat & had to take over briefly, but an impressive demonstration, none-the-less.

/ Tesla Model S Autopilot autonomy autonomous Autopilot Nissan Leaf electric vehicle first ride fully autonomous car public roads UK United Kingdom Nissan Tetsuya Iijima not driving car vehicle ride in Nissan’s self-driving electric Leaf all-electric Leaf made by Nissan rolled to a stop combination 12 cameras four side panel laser scanners computing power detailed mapping data self piloted car mostly drive itself Nissan general manager automated driving tech sit hands off the wheel short ride future of driving handful of companies develop autonomous car technology freeway next car heads toward Highway 237 passengers test drive first public Nissan's self driving electric Leaf U.S. U.S.A. United States combination of sensors configuration first time Tokyo immature technology Nissan brought self driving car Silicon Valley start testing on U.S. roads company's Silicon Valley Research center hosted a media event unveiling technology projects Nissan research artificial intelligence connected cars Leaf success self driving cars more cautious methodical manner Google electric cars Nissan self-driving features mass market introduce self driving features autonomous driving traffic jams hands-free lane changing cost low enough safe enough bulk mainstream car lineup sensor computing technology self driving Nissan LEAF costs many times more building autonomous technology beta-tested Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn Nissan partner French automaker Renault add incremental autonomous features ten vehicle models next four years replacing the driver empowering the driver self driving cars hottest technology Silicon Valley automakers Ford Toyota Volkswagen General Motors GM latest technologies Nissan car companies research centers Silicon Valley attract most talented Bay Area engineers leading tech players /

Samsung Galaxy S8 revealed

Samsung Galaxy S8 is being revealed at the moment. A few things predicted on these pages on 10 March:

☑ 5.8 & 6.2 inch screens

☑ S8 & S8 Plus are much smaller than screen sizes would suggest because bezels are largely eliminated

☑ fingerprint sensor at the back, next to the camera
☑ no physical home button

/ Samsung Galaxy S8 release date specifications specs rumours price explained Samsung Galaxy S8 Olixar Ultra-Thin Case - 100% Clear Samsung's Galaxy S8 flagship is coming on March 29 Galaxy S8 reveal date revealed by Samsung apologizing to fans yet again for its disastrous drama recalling 3 million fire explosion Galaxy Note 7 phones teasing the Galaxy S8 design and announcement date safe buyable Galaxy S8 South Korean company giant mobile show Samsung characteristically launches its Galaxy S phones Samsung's profits are soaring chips S7 and S7 Edge phone sales $5 billion lost on the Note 7 impending lawsuits Samsung truly great phone most impressive phones Samsung ever made Galaxy S8 can Samsung win back buyers' trust Galaxy S8 rumors leaks rumour rumor speculation Samsung official Galaxy S8 announcement Galaxy S8 could start selling mid-April Samsung will reveal the Galaxy S8 March 29 in New York City Samsung's revised eight-point battery testing procedure more space inside for the battery Galaxy S8 Plus Galaxy S8 + Galaxy S8 Edge curved screen Galaxy S8 Samsung's flagship phone dual-curved screens scaled the production process curved screens two phones Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus Galaxy S8 could still come in two sizes Galaxy S8 Edge Galaxy S8 Plus sizes hardware specs S8 /

Tesla Model 3 spotted – high quality video

Grainy, short video of a black Model 3, in poor light, recently shown on these pages is now all over the ’Net. Here’s a video that fixes all of the shortcomings listed above:



Once again, the centre screen is visible for a few frames (0:08 mark), no sign of a heads up display (HUD).

Some thoughts re HUD:

● if HUD was fitted to the Model 3 in the video, it might be invisible due to an angle of acceptance issue

● volume of HUD speculation suggests that if Tesla doesn’t fit one, after-market will supply

This inexpensive HUD uses your phone display:

Boy Genius Report – “This $24 head-up display has more features than the HUD in a $100,000 Mercedes”
https://bgr.com/2017/01/25/smartphone-hud-car-projector-iphone-android/ / $24 head-up display has more features than the HUD in a $100,000 Mercedes electric vehicle EV battery lithium ion LiIon charge battery electric vehicle BEV Elon Musk released very first images very first Tesla Model 3 release candidate Tesla started production release candidate Model 3 vehicles cars made almost entirely production machines test production process vehicles themselves video of the Model 3 no visible changes we can see the cameras for the Autopilot sensor suite see the camera in the Tesla badge front fender pillar on the side slight adjustments front fascia headlights video is very low-res Model 3 another color than silver red matte black spot other changes release candidate definitely significant difference front end Model 3 release candidate live streaming Tesla Model 3 unveil event on Tesla.com beginning at 8.30pm PDT March 31st reservations Model 3 worldwide two ways to make a reservation queue visit your local Tesla make a reservation online Tesla.com live unveil starts 8:30pm PDT March 31st 8:30 pm PDT 31 March 2016 3:30 am Friday 01 April 2016 GMT Tesla model 3 III electric car mass market car electric vehicle EV /

ZeTime – smartwatch with mechanical hands & touchscreen – update 13Mar2018

A major problem with smartwatches is short battery life. Two days is generally considered good. Some struggle to make it through a typical day. A major culprit is the display – power-hungry screen technology taken directly from phones.

E-ink displays are much more energy-efficient, but provide fewer, less intense colours. Pebble watches used E-ink displays to provide battery life of a week or longer. But Pebble is no more.¹

ZeTime has another idea for a low energy time display – conventional analogue mechanical hands.


ZeTime smartwatch – analogue mechanical hands draw much less power than the phone screen technology used in most smartwatches
Credit: MyKronoz Switzerland/ZeTime

Mechanical hands draw very little power – operating this way, ZeTime is claimed to have a battery life of 30 days. Another advantage is that it answers the claim that some people object to the appearance of smartwatches.

But ZeTime is not just another dumb watch:


ZeTime smart watch – digital display with numbers, heart rate monitor & step counter – other options available
Credit: MyKronoz Switzerland/ZeTime

Naturally, using the screen reduces battery life – “In traditional Smartwatch usage (used regularly throughout the day), the battery will last around 3 days with a single charge.”²

Other smartwatch functions include:
● notifications of incoming phone calls, SMS & email
● control music
● camera remote
● find phone
● step counter – sync with fitness apps
● heart rate monitor
● custom watch faces
● water resistance to 30 metres

How to prevent the hands from obscuring notifications? Move them out of the way:


ZeTime smart watch – SMS displayed – contact details in the top half – content in the bottom half of the screen – hands temporarily moved for easy reading
Credit: MyKronoz Switzerland/ZeTime

Most existing smart watches have a short battery life. Power management options are:
● have that power-hungry screen on all the time, or
● extend battery life by only turning it on to check the time, or for notifications

ZeTime extends battery life by not having to switch the screen on to check the time. Another battery extender is the absence of a battery-killing GPS.



Update 13 March 2018:

ZeTime is available through Kickstarter for as little as $US139.

ZeTime watch projects have over $US5 million in funding on both Indiegogo & Kickstarter. Although the conventional funding period ended in April 2017, it appears that it is still possible to secure a watch, for $US159, from either of the crowd funders. Contrast this with prices starting at $US177 on Amazon as of this writing. Check prices at:

Indiegogo – “ZeTime: hybrid smartwatch with hands over screen”
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/zetime-hybrid-smartwatch-with-hands-over-screen-watch/x/9010251

Kickstarter – “ZeTime: World's first smartwatch with hands over touchscreen”
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1282890542/zetime-worlds-first-smartwatch-with-hands-over-tou
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¹   HitchHiker's Guide 2 Tech: “Pebble is no more – what next?”, http://hhg2tech.blogspot.com/2017/03/pebble-is-no-more-what-next.html

²   ZeTime: “Frequently Asked Questions”, https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1282890542/zetime-worlds-first-smartwatch-with-hands-over-tou/faqs

/ ZeTime world's first smartwatch with hands over touchscreen designed in Switzerland perfect always-on smartwatch blending classic design smart features affordable price first smartwatch no compromises ZeTime world first hybrid smartwatch combining mechanical hands full round color colour touchscreen groundbreaking technology mount watch hands through center high-resolution TFT color display ZeTime blends classic design traditional timepiece most advanced features smartwatch classic analogue mechanical watch hands powered by patented Smart Movement technology ZeTime automatically update time your location up to 30 days on a single charge tradition meets high tech ZeTime innovation multi-layer technology combining TFT color display mechanical hands touch panel ultra-resistant Gorilla glass hands get in the way of the screen solved Smart Movement technology mechanical hands controlled by the watch CPU move them if necessary maximize visibility screen hands reading your emails instant messages elegantly separate the screen in two horizontally landing in a different time zone ZeTime automatically synchronization with your smartphone hometown time zone custom watch faces smart wearable devices changed the way we organise our day connect with the world limitations compromises design quality materials toughness water resistance battery life accessible price point /