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Category Archives: Technology
Global Solar Energy Production
Can someone with better math/engineering skills check my numbers here?
If I’m reading these articles (linked below) correctly, it sounds like Germany is producing 400 watts per person via solar and consuming 861 watts per person. That would mean they are already 46% solar! (They are aiming for 80% renewable by 2050) NOW, if that’s the case and article #2 is to be believed, that would mean that if every other country in the world collectively averaged solar energy production at the same rate as Germany is today, we would be generating a SURPLUS of energy using solar alone.However, the US has 3.8 times the population of Germany, 27.5 the area, and about twice as much sunlight per year. If Germany can produce 32,824 MW in a year (400w/p), then doesn’t it follow that the US should be able to produce somewhere in the ballpark of 1,805,320 MW per year? That would be equivalent to 5,702 watts per person. 4 TIMES what the average American consumes.
I know these numbers are rough, and many factors such as average roof coverage aren’t considered, but if I’m even in the ballpark… then, well, it just makes that much more of a case for solar, doesn’t it? Panels are only going to get more and more efficient. If we had panels on every roof we’d have more free energy than we’d know what to do with…
1) German solar generation: http://thinkprogress.org/
2) Electricity consumption by country: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
3) Irradiance map of the US vs Germany: https://www.facebook.com/
Elon Musk Rocks
Solar power for all
Can someone with better math/engineering skills check my numbers here?
If I’m reading these articles (linked below) correctly, it sounds like Germany is producing 400 watts per person via solar and consuming 861 watts per person. That would mean they are already 46% solar! (They are aiming for 80% renewable by 2050)
NOW, if that’s the case and article #2 is to be believed, that would mean that if every other country in the world collectively averaged solar energy production at the same rate as Germany is today, we would be generating a SURPLUS of energy using solar alone.
However, the US has 3.8 times the population of Germany, 27.5 the area, and about twice as much sunlight per year. If Germany can produce 32,824 MW in a year (400w/p), than the US should be able to produce somewhere in the ballpark of 1,805,320 MW per year, shouldn’t it? That would be equivalent to 5,702 watts per person. 4 TIMES what the average American consumes.
I know these numbers are rough, and many factors such as average roof coverage aren’t considered, but if I’m even in the ballpark… then, well, it just makes that much more of a case for solar, doesn’t it? Panels are only going to get more and more efficient. If we had panels on every roof we’d have more free energy than we’d know what to do with…
1) German solar generation:http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2013/08/22/2508191/germany-solar-generation-record/
2) Electricity consumption by country:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_electricity_consumption
3) Irradiance map of the US vs Germany: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=653928527961495&set=a.456449604376056.98921.367116489976035
Jetpack 2.0 test 2
Another test of the Jetpack 2.0 plugin’s ability to autopost to multiple social services…
Lookin pretty simple n functional so far, what if we throw multipost into the mix???
Lorem ipsum and whatnot….
And more text.
The Singularity is Near…
Time Magazine recently featured a great article on Ray Kurzweil and the Singularity.
Illustrative as the article was, I especially liked the above graphic, which clearly shows how closely past technological changes have adhered to an exponential curve, which is the foundation for Kurzweil’s main argument.
Oddly, it was not included in the online version of the article, so… here it is.
Commenting via Facebook
After fiddling with the CSS for the WordPress-based commenting system on my site, I stumbled upon a nifty little plugin that replaces WordPress’ default commenting system with a Facebook commenting module that also allows visitors to “like” a page.
It seems to work pretty dern well, and since most of the modern world uses Facebook these days anyway, it seems like it may be a better option.
Thoughts? Comments work on any page, but this is kinda where I’m trying to test this out… so please, write a comment or hit like. Thanks! 😉
Healthy Resolutions
For the past decade, I have been following my father’s lead by not drinking alcohol in January. The idea is never to give it up entirely, but to simply withhold for a month as a “check-in” with one’s self-control. Over the years, I have inspired some folks to join in on no-booze January in addition to making additional rules for myself, such as Meatless March.
It turns out that Buster Benson has had the same yearly tradition, and has turned it into a monthly online game called Health Month. The site is currently in beta, but the idea is simply to give yourself a set of rules, (no booze, 30 min of exercise / 8 glasses of water a day, etc) that you want to try to follow each month. You check in daily, and it provides statistics, reminders, and encouragement. I only started using it during the last 10 days in January, but I’m a big fan of data visualization and the idea of turning the mundane into a game…. and I really need to work out more. So at the risk of creating another digital distraction, I’ve started using Health Month.
But I still hate going to the gym, not that I’m a member of one anyway…
That’s where the second piece of the healthy resolution puzzle comes in: Still only in alpha, and started by a geeky sports enthusiast friend of mine, Gain Fitness already looks like it’s going to be great. At it’s core, (currently) Gain creates customized workout plans that take into account factors such as your sex, what type of workout you are looking for, what equipment you have on hand, and how long a workout you want. Each exercise is coupled with helpful diagrams (videos on the way) in a very clean, attractive layout. The coming beta will see updates that allow the site to track a user’s progress and make future recommendations.
Between Health Month and Gain Fitness, the tools for keeping your New Year’s resolutions year-round have never been better.
Now only if there was a way to download more time & willpower…
Calling all 3D Modelers!
I remember seeing my first 3D printer at SIGGRAPH in 2002 and thinking to myself “Holy crap, this is going to be huge”. The ability to simply “print out” digitally designed objects in a single pass is already a clear boon to prototyping & manufacturing, but it’s still going to be a while before we have 3d printers atop every desk, ready to create for us whatever part, toy, or mug that we decide to download or create.
However, there are now two companies that are bridging the gap from “3D printing? What’s that?” to a fabricator in every home: Shapeways and Sculpteo allow users to upload virtual objects and order them as physical 3D objects. Additionally, both sites allow modelers to upload & sell their creations to be printed by others. Sculpteo is currently limited to white plastic and a color compound, while Shapeways adds the ability to print in glass and metal, such as the octopus ring on the right.
So to all you modelers out there: Start sellin your models as 3D objects for the world to enjoy…and feel free to send a print to me if you actually start makin some bucks doing this. 😉
Argentum Studio
The theme used for this site is just the Nonameyet theme without a sidebar…
