Blackberry REACT January 2010 NewsletterQuick ClicksLaunch your Christmas TreeChristmas Tree Rocketry: The Art and Science of Holiday Recycling. 32 model rocket motors doesn’t get you much height, so plan on doubling that. Hand sanitizers don’t workLet me repeat that: hand sanitizers don’t kill 99.9% of germs. Here’s the study some guy did, and the real number is less than half of the germs on kids’ hands. Washing your hands doesn’t kill the germs, but it removes them. Hand sanitizers don’t kill all the germs, and the live ones stay. Wash your hands. Do It Yourself filmSome guy has published photos of a friend’s contraption to make Kodachrome film. Yes, make it. Not develop Kodachrome. Make Kodachrome. reQallThis is an interesting piece of software for your Blackberry or iPhone. It’s an organizer that has remarkable properties. You can set it up, for example, using the phone’s GPS technology to tell you what tasks you have that are associated with where you are: at the grocery store, it gives you your shopping list; at the office, it gives you your To Do list for the day. You can call up your reQall number nad dictate a quick reminder for yourself instead of using the phone’s keyboard to type stuff in; you can even have it hand off items to your Outlook or Google calendar. David Pogue has done a rather lame video showing him using reQall as a personal reminder for some rather lame tasks. The uses are not that impressive, but he does show how to use it and how the application interfaces with the user. There are free and pro versions, depending on how heavy your needs are. One of the issues with all applications you use “in the cloud” is that they are subject to the whims of errant programmers and sysadmins, so all your data may be lost through no fault of your own. You may have seen headlines of this happening to others. Olivetti Lettera 32The young have discovered manual typewriters. Here’s a YouTube video of someone typing on a 1960s design portable typewriter. Some of us may recall using manuals with jamming keys and a ribbon which also sometimes jammed – just as is seen in this video. Working at AmazonI’ve given links to promotional films showing skilled craftsmen building various machines in the 30s, 40s, and 50s, so here’s a 2009 promotional video about working at Amazon in Coffeyville, KS. They’re looking for workers. This link gives the details. Starting pay: $10.50. Electricity was once seen as a luxuryAlthough this article is about access to high speed internet, the author compares broadband access to electricity at the turn of the last century, when rural electrification was seen as socialism. “Electricity is not in any sense a necessity, and under no conditions is it universally used by the people of a community.” People saw no use for electricity other than Edison’s electric lamps. This is an interesting historical view of rights to public water, public electricity, and quality of life. Interestingly, the historical author was right: the public had, in fact, no need for electricity since there were no appliances. However, once the public had it, appliances soon followed. Philco TV setsThis guy made a computer from a Philco Predicta was one of several remarkable TV sets designed by Philco in the Fifties. On the page linked to for the Predicta, click on the gallery and gaze upon the Pedestal, Princess, and others. SchultzeWORKS designstudio used the Predicta as a basis for a fantasy PC which sorely tempts me to buy one, only they don’t exist except in the video and pictures. (Wait for the video to play all the way through for a flashback to analogue TVs with tubes). Large Hadron Collider web camWatch the live feed. USS Hornet amateur radio clubThe Hornet is a WWII aircraft carrier, and they have a radio club (click their call sign for details of frequencies and times). I still can’t figure out why carriers don’t tip over. Tsunami hazard web siteThe California Geologic Survey has a Web site which maps where in California people are at risk if a tsunami hits the state. Enter your address on the My Hazard Tsunami Website and see if you’ll be inundated. Top 11 Coast Guard videos of 2009PagersRemember pagers? This article says 45 million Americans had pagers in 1999. People had codes, since many pagers were numeric only. Do you know anyone with a pager now? Mobile ham radioIt’s a good thing ham radio isn’t distracting like using a cell phone is. Otherwise, we wouldn’t be able to do this to our cars. More, better photos here. FEMA requests public comments on its new NIMS rulesFEMA is requesting public comments on revisions to the National Incident Management System (NIMS) Incident Command System (ICS) Forms Booklet, FEMA 502-2. The ICS Forms Booklet was developed to assist emergency response personnel in the use of ICS and corresponding documentation during incident operations. January 15 deadline, though. Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner is for geeksInterior lights simulate sunrise on overnight flights, waking you to the peaceful rosiness of dawn and hundreds of crabby passengers of coach. Windows are bigger and electrochromic (read the article). 1983’s hottest electronics is for retro-geeksWow! A five and a half pound video camera recording to Betamax tape! It’s so small! Sony Walkman, portable TVs, and more. (Note: According to the inflation calculator, a $200 device in 1983 dollars is equivalent to $425 in 2008 dollars. So when they quote prices, double them to see the effective cost today.) Events
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