Category Archives: Technology

Fukushima, International, Technology

Radiation NOT an IMMEDIATE Threat? What do they mean?

The Japanese government has told people not to eat the vegetables, and not to drink the water, because of radiation contamination.  At the same time they say “There is no immediate threat.”

What they mean by that is, that the levels, and types, of radiation contamination is such that you will not notice any bad effects “immediately”.  However, if you continue to eat, drink, or expose yourself to even the lowest levels of contamination, over time you will suffer bad effects.

For example: Iodine-131 is a short life span radioactive isotope. It collects on your thyroid glands (just like iodide), and if it builds up will cause cancer. Even low levels of iodine-131 will build up on your thyroid if you keep eating, drinking, or exposing yourself to the contamination.  This is why the Japanese government is telling people to stop eating the vegetables, and stop drinking the water, even though there is no “immediate” threat.

In other words, it’s still bad, bad, bad!

Fukushima, Technology

Tokyo Electric says power outages will continue into summer

TEPCo said that Japan needs to prepare for rolling blackouts well into summer 2011.

The power shortage is a direct result of the nuclear disaster.

TEPCo is warning Japanese industries to make plans for the power shortage, such as reducing production.

Fukushima, Technology

People still can’t get their money out of Japanese banks

A week after the 9.0 quake, computer system problems continue for Japanese banks.

Mizuho Bank is unable to process salary payments for more than half a million people.

Also, Internet banking and ATMs would be offline over Japan’s upcoming three-day weekend.

On Thursday, Mizuho bank’s nationwide ATM network of more than 5,600 machines went offline until midday, then failed again in the evening, and more  problems on Friday.

Like I said before, another good reason to keep your money under the mattress (unless you think it’ll float away in the flood).

Technology

Russia to Create Multi-Use Cards: ID, passport, debit, insurance all in one

President Medvedev has ordered the creation of a multi-use card, that will act as ID, passport, insurance, drivers license and debit card.

The cards will contain micro-chips.  It’s part of a plan for a “…better digital culture…”.  A new national payment system will be created, so people can use the IDs for bill payments.

The system could cost Russia $5 billion, and it’s hoped to get it up and running by January 2012.

Fukushima, Technology

How did the Soviets deal with Chernobyl Disaster? Sand, Lead, Concrete

17MAR2011

The situation in Japan, with Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, is similar to the 1986 Chernobyl disaster, in that nuclear fuel was exposed.  The Japanese are trying to deal with the situation by dumping water onto the reactors and spent fuel pools. At this point only partial melting of fuel rods have occurred. How did the Soviets deal with Chernobyl, where full melt down of the entire reactor took place?

CNES SPOT/EOSAT satellite image, 1986.

After a series of attempts to restrain the nuclear melt down failed, resulting literally in melting of the reactor (in the U.S. it’s called China Syndrome, because jokingly it was said it would melt it’s way to China), the Soviets began to air drop sand, lead and boric acid.  5,000 metric tons worth in one week!  The reactor was eventually sealed in a concrete coffin.

Most people working to fight the Chernobyl disaster died from radiation exposure.  One firefighter said it felt like pins & needles on his face, and the air tasted like metal, then he died.  Most of the vehicles used are still parked at the Chernobyl compound.

Soviet scientist were concerned with the melting reactor reaching ground water. They decided to pour huge amounts of concrete in the bottom of the reactor building, which seems to have worked.

For perspective: Chernobyl was ONE reactor, no spent fuel pools.  Japan is dealing, officially, with SIX reactors & their spent fuel pools (1,000+ fuel rods).

Fukushima 2011: JAPAN DISASTER START OF GLOBAL GREAT DEPRESSION

IDAHO NATIONAL LABRATORY WATCHING EVENTS IN JAPAN, SEA WATER MAY NOT WORK

JAPAN MODERN DAY ATLANTIS

JAPAN QUAKE = NO ECONOMIC RECOVERY

Technology

Verizon’s 4G LTE Network to Hit 38 Markets by 2011, Rest of US in 2013

CEO of Verizon Wireless Lowell McAdam holds up a map showing the projected coverage LTE high speed network, which begins commercial coverage in the fourth quarter, as he responds to a question from a Reuters reporter during a Reuters Global Technology Summit in New York May 14, 2010. REUTERS/Jessica Rinaldi (UNITED STATES - Tags: BUSINESS)


The first thing Verizon Wireless touts, is it’s contiguous 700 MHz spectrum across the continental U.S. and Hawaii, which will carry Verizon’s new LTE (Long Term Evolution) 4G network.  Verizon plans on deploying 4G to 38 markets by the end of 2010, however, does not currently have a 4G enabled phone, but is expecting one by mid-2011.  The rest of the U.S.?  Well, you will just have to wait until 2013 for Verizon’s 4G to be in your area.

As for speed, Verizon expects download speeds of 5-12 Mbps, and upload speeds of 2-5 Mbps.  This is great speeds, exceeding most dsl and cable speeds.  However, one of the larger issues that PC gamers experience on wireless networks, is slow latency.  Here is the good news, Verizon’s LTE network will have 1/4 of the latency that their 3G network has.  All of this is great news for people who use the Verizon network for surveillance, video streaming, or other bandwidth intensive applications.

Another benefit, is the ability to have multiple users per time slot, as opposed to only one user being able to communicate data in a single time slot.  This leads to the faster latency times, and greater “always on” data connections.  Also, the LTE network has better building penetration, providing better signals deep inside a building.

LTE has a theoretical download speed of 100 Mbps, while its rival, HSPA has a theoretical download speed of 14.4 Mbps, according to Verizon’s website.

Technology

Google TV has lots of Apps, Two Products Set for Fall Release.

We have all seen our fair share of DVRs, however, Google has released one set-top box OS that is sure to gain popularity.  Google TV is not a set-top box, but more of an operating system, as on Google’s website, the products listed are a Sony TV with Google TV built in, or Logitech Revue set-top box with Google TV.  Both of which have yet to be released.

Logitech Revue with Google TV

What sets Google TV apart from the rest are its freely accesible apps from the Android Market (starting next year).  Google TV does come preloaded with apps such as Netflix, Twitter, Pandora, and more.  Yes, of course Google TV comes with Chrome and Adobe Flash Player 10.1, which means you will be able to freely browse the internet, regardless of website requirements.

Other features include the ability to use your Android phone or iPhone as a remote, with unlimited remotes possible, the ability to “fling” video from your phone to your TV, and the ability to record TV from DISH Network (if you subscribe to DISH Network) right from the search bar.

As for a release date, its up in the air.  Rumor had it at September 29th, now the release date is expected on October 17th, but all of this is could change.  One thing is for sure, it will be released sometime this fall.  If you would like to check out more on Google TV, you can go directly to Google’s website at www.google.com/tv.

Idaho, Technology

Plastic Grocery Bags, Recycle Them!

Ok, I was watching a local East Idaho TV news program. They ran a national story about getting sick from reusable grocery bags. What got me was in their intro to the story they said that plastic grocery bags just ended up in the landfill. Well not if you recycle them!

When plastic grocery bags first went into use one of the main selling points is that they are recyclable, and therefore will not fill up landfills. The reason they end up in your local dump is because shoppers are not bringing them back to the stores to be recycled.

The Walmart in Chubbuck has bins for dropping off your old plastic grocery bags. So does the Fred Meyer in Pocatello. I believe you can recycle them at your local WINCO. If you’re not sure go ask someone at the Customer Service counter at your favorite store. Just make sure your bags aren’t covered in schmutz.

Why spend money on reusable grocery bags, that they now say may be germ factories, when you can use free plastic grocery bags THAT ARE 100% RECYCLABLE? Please don’t throw them in the trash!

And guess what, it’s not just plastic grocery bags you can recycle. Bread bags, cereal box liner bags & more. Here’s a website for more info on plastic bag recycling: www.plasticbagrecycling.org

Idaho, Technology

No Glass or Styrofoam Recycling in SE Idaho?

Today I was dropping off my recyclables at the dumpsters next to Pocatello City Hall, when a city employee told me I was wasting my time dropping off the glass and styrofoam. He said the glass and styrofoam dumpster went straight to the landfill.

This is not the first time I’ve heard this. Many years ago the folks at the local Pacific Steel & Recycling told me the same thing. Well, I’ve had lots of arguments over the years with residents (and even my kids argued with some of their grade school teachers) who believe that you can recycle glass and styrofoam locally. After the City of Pocatello labeled a small dumpster for glass and styrofoam I thought, maybe I was wrong. Nope, the city employee confirmed that the glass and styrofoam is not recycled. His reason was the same reason Pacific Steel & Recycling gave me years ago; no local south eastern Idaho glass or styrofoam recyclers/manufacturers, and it is too expensive to ship out of the area. It’s just thrown in the local landfill.

I decided to double check this, and sure enough, looking at the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality website (www.deq.idaho.gov), there are no glass or styrofoam recyclers in south eastern Idaho. The nearest Eastern Idaho recycler taking glass is in the City of Driggs, in Teton County, which is about 125 miles northwest of where I live. There are glass recyclers in North Central Idaho, Central Idaho, Western Idaho, Southern Idaho and Northern Idaho, but not in the south eastern part of Eastern Idaho (and only the one in all of Eastern Idaho). Most recycled glass, in the areas of Idaho that do recycle it, end up being used in road projects.

The DEQ website lists Adams County (on the west side of Idaho) as a styrofoam recycler, but, when I checked their web site I couldn’t find any mention of styrofoam recycling (www.co.adams.id.us). It looks like there’s no styrofoam recycling anywhere in Idaho.

So why did the City of Pocatello label a recycling dumpster for glass and styrofoam? The city employee said they got tired of people throwing glass and styrofoam into the dumpsters labeled for cardboard, plastic or aluminum & tin (even though there’s numerous signage asking people not to). So they simply grabbed a small dumpster and labeled it for glass and styrofoam, and haul it to the dump when it’s full.