How Cool Stuff Works

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 13:15:00 +0000

This Summer Try These Recipes To Keep Cool

Guava Fruit Punch

YIELD: Makes 4 servings

INGREDIENTS:

1-1/2

cups boiling water

decaffeinated tea bags

slices fresh ginger

cups guava juice

3/4

cup pineapple juice

to 2 tablespoons lemon juice

Ice cubes

Mint sprigs

PREPARATION:

Combine boiling water, tea bags and ginger in heatproof pitcher; steep 5 minutes. Discard tea bags and ginger.

Add guava juice, pineapple juice and lemon juice to tea mixture; mix well. Serve in tall glasses over ice. Garnish with mint sprigs.

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION:

Serving Size:
Protein	<1 g
Carbohydrate	24 g
Calories	97
Sodium	15 mg

DIETARY EXCHANGE:

Fruit

1-1/2

Strawberry Delights

YIELD: Makes 4 servings

INGREDIENTS:

cups low-fat strawberry ice cream

cup sliced fresh strawberries

2/3

cup cold fat-free (skim) milk

1/4

cup cold orange juice

1/8

teaspoon ground cinnamon

Additional fresh fruit

Mint sprigs

PREPARATION:

Place ice cream, strawberries, milk, orange juice and cinnamon in blender or food processor. Blend at high speed until smooth.

Pour into glasses. Garnish with additional fruit and mint sprigs, if desired.

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION:

Serving Size: 1 cup Strawberry Delight (without fruit garnish)
Fiber	1 g
Carbohydrate	25 g
Cholesterol	11 mg
Saturated Fat	1 g
Total Fat	2 g
Calories from Fat	14 %
Calories	133
Protein	5 g
Sodium	62 mg

DIETARY EXCHANGE:

Fat	1/2
Fruit	1/2
Starch	1

Banana Split Shakes

YIELD: Makes 4 servings

INGREDIENTS:

small (6-inch) ripe banana

1/4

cup skim milk

maraschino cherries, drained

tablespoon light chocolate syrup

1/8

teaspoon coconut extract

cups low-fat chocolate frozen yogurt

PREPARATION:

Combine banana, milk, cherries, chocolate syrup and coconut extract in blender. Cover; blend on HIGH speed until smooth.

Add yogurt 1 cup at a time. Cover and pulse on HIGH speed after each addition until smooth and thick. Pour into 4 glasses. Garnish with additional maraschino cherries, if desired.

Tip: For a low-fat shake, chop 3 large, peeled bananas. Place in resealable plastic bag and freeze until solid. (This is a great use for over-ripe bananas). Blend with milk, cherries, chocolate syrup and coconut extract. It will not be as thick and frosty, but will be lower in calories and fat.

Snowbird Mocktails

PREP TIME: 10 minutes

YIELD: Makes 10 servings

INGREDIENTS:

cups pineapple juice

can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk

can (6 ounces) frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed

1/2

teaspoon coconut extract

liter (about 32 ounces) ginger ale, chilled

Orange slices (optional)

Marachino cherries (optional)

PREPARATION:

Combine pineapple juice, sweetened condensed milk, orange juice concentrate and coconut extract in large pitcher; stir well. Cover; refrigerate at least 1 hour or up to 1 week.

To serve, pour 1/2 cup pineapple juice mixture into individual glasses (over crushed ice, if desired). Top off each glass with about 1/3 cup ginger ale. Garnish each glass with orange slice and cherry.

Tip: Store unopened cans of sweetened condensed milk at room temperature for up to 6 months. Once opened, store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

Cranberry Sangría

YIELD: Makes about 7 cups (10 to 12 servings)

INGREDIENTS:

bottle (750 mL) Beaujolais or dry red wine

cup cranberry juice cocktail

cup orange juice

1/2

cup cranberry-flavored liqueur (optional)

orange,* thinly sliced

lime,* thinly sliced

PREPARATION:

Combine wine, cranberry juice cocktail, orange juice, liqueur, if desired, orange and lime slices in large glass pitcher. Chill 2 to 8 hours before serving.

Pour into glasses; add citrus slices from sangría to each glass.

Sparkling Sangría: Just before serving, tilt pitcher and slowly add 2 cups well-chilled sparkling water or club soda. Makes about 9 cups (12 to 15 servings).

Icy Mimosas

YIELD: Makes 6 servings

INGREDIENTS:

cups frozen Tropic Ice mix, crushed (recipe follows)

frozen whole strawberries with stems attached

cups diet ginger ale or Champagne

wine goblets, preferably frozen

cloth napkins (optional)

PREPARATION:

Tie a napkin around the stem of each wine goblet, if desired. Spoon 1/2 cup of the shaved or crushed Tropic Ice mixture in each goblet. Pour 1/2 cup diet ginger ale or Champagne over each serving and add 1 frozen strawberry.

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION:

Serving Size: 1 cup
Sodium	41 mg
Protein	<1 g
Fiber	<1 g
Carbohydrate	10 g
Calories from Fat	1 %
Calories	44

DIETARY EXCHANGE:

Fruit

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 12:46:00 +0000

How Airline Crews Work

Modern airplanes are phenomenal pieces of technology, but they're not worth much if you don't have somebody who can fly them. The skills and expertise of veteran pilots are crucial to airline organizations, as well as to getting you where you need to go. The flight-attendant crew is also an important element in the flying process: Attendants try to keep everything running smoothly on each flight, and they deal with the desperate situations that arise when things don't go according to plan.

In this article, we'll take a look at the unique world of airline crews to find out who's working on a typical flight and see what their duties are. The life of an airline crew member can be tiring and frustrating, but it is rarely boring. When these people come into work (in an office that cruises a mile or more above the ground), they might very well be headed to the other side of the world.

Pilots

You wouldn't get very far on a flight without pilots: They are the people who put all that sophisticated equipment to work. On commercial airlines, there are always at least two pilots, and on many flights, there are three. All airline pilots have had extensive training and flying experience, often as part of military service. The road from the first training flight to the airline cockpit is a long and difficult one, but for many pilots, this is the only way to go. To learn more about this career path, check out How Becoming an Airline Pilot Works.

On an airliner, the pilot in command is called the captain. The captain, who generally sits on the left side of the cockpit, is ultimately responsible for everything that happens on the flight. This includes making major command decisions, leading the crew team, managing emergencies and handling particularly troublesome passengers. The captain also flies the plane for much of the trip, but generally trades off with the first officer at some point.

The first officer, the second in command, sits on the right side of the cockpit. He or she has all of the same controls as the captain, and has had the same level of training. The primary reason for having two pilots on every flight is safety. Obviously, if something happens to the captain, a plane must have another pilot who can step in. Additionally, the first officer provides a second opinion on piloting decisions, keeping pilot error to a minimum.

Most airliners built before 1980 have a cockpit position for a flight engineer, also called the second officer. Typically, flight engineers are fully trained pilots, but on an ordinary trip, they don't fly the plane. Instead, they monitor the airplane's instruments and calculate figures such as ideal takeoff and landing speed, power settings and fuel management. In newer airliners, most of this work is done by computerized systems, eliminating the need for the flight-engineer position. In the future, it will be phased out entirely.

All three pilots in the flight crew have equal levels of training, but they usually have varying degrees of seniority. At most airlines, the career track is based almost completely on length of service. To become a captain, you have to rise through the ranks and wait until it's your turn and a position opens up. Seniority also dictates the sorts of planes a pilot flies, as well as his or her schedule. Pilots who are relatively new to the airline will fly reserve, meaning they do not have a set flying schedule. A reserve pilot may have "on call" duty for 12 hours or longer at a stretch. In this time, the pilot has to be packed and ready to fly, because the flight scheduler might page them at any moment. If a pilot is called in, he or she reports to the airport immediately for a flight assignment (for many airlines, the pilot must be ready to go within an hour of being paged). Reserve pilots are called up when the scheduled pilot becomes ill or can't make the flight for some other reason. The life of the reserve pilot is largely unpredictable: Pilots might spend several days on reserve and never get paged, or they might get paged every day. And when they report for duty, they could be flying over to the next state or they might be putting in a three-day trip to another part of the world. With this hectic schedule, it's no wonder flights are occasionally delayed while waiting around for crew members to arrive.

Pilots with more seniority pick out a regular flight schedule, called a line. Pilots holding a line live a more "ordinary" sort of life, in the sense that they know ahead of time when they'll be working. But even these pilots spend a lot of time away from their families, and they never know what delays they'll encounter. In the United States, a pilot's scheduled flight time should not exceed 8 hours in a row for domestic flights or 12 hours for international flights. In actuality, however, pilots may work for more than 16 hours straight, since flights are often delayed or extended.

A pilot typically arrives at the airport at least an hour before departure (two hours for international flights). Most airlines have a computerized check-in system in the pilot's lounge. This gives the pilots the details of the flight, including the weather, the number of passengers on board and the other crew members who will be working. In order to keep everything in one place, pilots generally keep their flight papers and any other information in a large briefcase.

In the time before take-off, a pilot reviews this information, works out the flight plan, files it with air traffic control and meets with the rest of the crew. Once the airplane has landed, the captain meets with the arriving flight crew to find out if they experienced any irregularities. The first officer performs a general inspection of the plane to make sure everything is in good order. After this walk-through, the pilots meet in the cockpit and make sure all of the instruments and controls are working properly.

Before takeoff, the captain must sign the flight release, a document attesting that the crew is fit and that the pilots have reviewed the flight information. While they're preparing for takeoff, the pilots will receive an up-to-date weather report and passenger count and a pre-departure clearance form. To make the paperwork easier, many cockpits are equipped with a built-in printer that receives information from the gate agents and the control tower.

When the paperwork is finished, the attendants secure all the doors and the captain gives the go-ahead for "pushback" (pushing the plane back from the gate so it can move onto the runway). Then, the pilots simply wait their turn and follow the air traffic controller's instructions for takeoff.

In an uneventful flight, takeoff and landing require the most intensive piloting. In modern airliners, the pilot's main responsibilities are to monitor the automatic systems to make sure the plane is flying correctly and to alter the course as needed. In an emergency, of course, things can get a lot more hectic. All airline pilots have extensive training in dealing with the unexpected and keeping a cool head in precarious situations. Fortunately, it is only on rare occasions that pilots have to put this training to work, but they must be ready to leap into action at all times.

The life of flight attendants -- the crew members who take care of the passengers -- is also filled with unpredictability. In the next section, we'll look at the work that flight attendants do on a flight, and we'll find out what it takes to become a flight attendant.

Flight Attendants

On a commercial flight in the United States, there must be one flight attendant for every 50 passengers. These attendants have a variety of responsibilities in their work, which begins before the first passenger boards and continues through the entire flight. Before boarding, the whole crew meets, the captain reviews the flight schedule and any safety concerns, and the lead attendant assigns each attendant to a particular section of the plane. Before the plane takes off, the attendants must:

Greet passengers and direct them to their seats
Help passengers stow their carry-on luggage
Make sure passengers near the emergency exits are prepared to help out in an emergency
Run over safety procedures or show a safety video
Check every seat to make sure all passengers are buckled-in and that their seats are in the right position
Lock the doors and arm them so that the emergency slides will inflate if they are opened

After they have worked through this checklist, flight attendants strap themselves into their jump seats. Once the plane levels off, the attendants prepare food and drinks, load the refreshment and meal carts, and serve the passengers.

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 16:57:00 +0000

Why don't we live underground?

Washington serves as a catchall term for the seat of power in the United States. It's taken on a single collective identity, as in "Washington's decision to send a senior diplomat to nuclear talks with Iran" [source: Reuters]. Canada has a catchall town too -- Ottawa -- and during the Cold War, Washington and Ottawa worked closely to defend their shared continent from Soviet attack.

The one and only way in or out of NORAD's Cheyenne Mountain control center.

The most prominent result of this joint defense venture was NORAD, the North American Aerospace Defense Command. Cultivated from a three-tier radar detection system spanning Canada from its southern border to the Arctic Circle, NORAD was an integration of both nations' detection systems into one comprehensive network. It was helmed through two controls centers: one in Canada and one in the United States. Washington placed its high value target inside one of the most secure locations on earth -- deep within Cheyenne Mountain in Colorado.

After carving out 700,000 tons of the mountain's granite innards and securing the only egress into the command center with two 3.5-feet thick steel blast doors, the U.S. military was confident the base could withstand a direct nuclear strike [source: The Gazette, DTIC].

The confidence in the security afforded by subterranean structures isn't exclusive to the United States. Chairman Mao constructed an underground city beneath Beijing following a border dispute with the Soviets in 1969. In the current unpolarized world, the seats of power are splintered, with the most powerful wielding information rather than intercontinental ballistic missiles. But the mentality that subterranean equals security has remained a constant.

There are companies that operate the networks the citizens of the world use to circumvent the Internet. And there are others that maintain those same people's credit histories and other sensitive information. Both of these powerful industries have determined that subterranean locations are the best sites to store their golden geese. Underground structures are less susceptible to physical intrusion and natural disaster. They also offer constant temperatures, and since subterranean buildings aren't susceptible to the fickle nature of aboveground weather, they require less energy.

One wonders with the benefits offered underground why we don't live there.

Underground Living: A Slap to Darwin's Face

We construct our houses aboveground and our skyscrapers into the air for a reason. Mostly it's because we were designed (or evolved) to thrive in the topside environment. We gain physical and mental health from the sun, air and flora and fauna we share the aboveground world with. Should a massive shift to subterranean dwelling take place among humanity, we would essentially be challenging evolution to do its worst. And evolution's worst generally results in costly damages to a species -- like extinction, say.

Humans are diurnal creatures, meant to be active when the sun's up and asleep at night when it goes down. We actually have a circadian rhythm, a biological clock that dictates our slumber patterns based on the cycle of the sunrise and sunset. We're inextricably dependent on the sun.

Nineteen-year-old Shao Ling struggles with rickets, which has kept her height at about two feet (06.m). She suffers from congenital rickets, but the developmental disease can also be the result of a vitamin D deficiency.

That link becomes clear through vitamin D. This essential ingredient for human physiological function prevents rickets (improper and weak development of bones) in children and bone loss in the aged. It's also been linked to metabolic and immune system function and reduction in hypertension. So we need vitamin D , and the curious part is that it's the only vitamin humans require that we don't derive from other sources like food or Vitaminwater. We actually produce vitamin D within our cells through photosynthesis, a process that's impossible without ultraviolet radiation (UVR) accepted from the sun through our skin.

We also produce serotonin through sunlight. This hormone is largely responsible for our positive moods, and people who don't produce enough due to a lack of exposure to sunlight can become depressed, a condition referred to as seasonal affective disorder (SAD).

Air is another important ingredient for proper functioning of the human body. Above ground, it's found in aces. The human lung has developed to accept the mixture of elements (mostly nitrogen, some oxygen and traces of argon and carbon dioxide) at the atmospheric pressure found around sea level. Dwelling too long tens or hundreds of feet below sea level, like via scuba, can result in the components of air separating from the blood, becoming bubbles. This creates the life-threatening situation called the bends. The same pressure from the force of gravity is found in the Earth's crust just as it is in the oceans. Miners must utilize the same type of decompression staging as they return to the surface, and, upon rescue, trapped miners are hurried off to a decompression chamber to readjust to sea level atmospheric pressure in the same way rescued divers are.

Of course, there's something to be said for adaptation. Without it, evolution wouldn't exist at all, and a move underground would simply accelerate the process. On the other end of the atmospheric pressure spectrum, generations of humans who've lived at high altitudes, like Tibetans and Andeans, have acclimated to the thinner air. They've adapted to derive more of the scarce oxygen from the air into the bloodstream than sea-level denizens. Underground, our fellow mammal, the mole, evolved to produce and circulate a larger amount of blood and oxygen-rich hemoglobin than similarly sized aboveground counterparts.

Humans could arguably thrive below ground using our most favored adaptation tool: technology. Why wait for eons of evolution to take place and risk the whole survival of the fittest aspect when we can simply whip an environment into the one we desire?

That's precisely what some people who've made the move underground have been forced to do. Rather than adaptation, however, it's generally viewed as addressing design challenges.

Earth-sheltered Homes: How Deep is Your Love?

The fantasy-drenched concept of a race of humans living below ground is actually an old one. Indigenous tribes have long recognized the climatological and security benefits afforded by living underground. Modern versions of these dwellings are already underway in some quarters. Homes are being constructed below ground, as are other facilities, like the underground Marin County Jail, designed by legendary architect Frank Lloyd Wright. In creating these subterranean dwellings, measures are being taken to ensure a future sketch of humanity doesn't depict sheet-white, blind creatures that suffer from rickets and crippling depression and subsist on a diet of worms plucked from dirt walls. Even when living below ground, we must find ways to harness the essentials that we need to survive.

This modern subterranean dwelling is a fresh take on an ancient idea.

Water's not a problem; 30 percent of the freshwater on Earth can be found underground at any given time in the form of aquifers. This source is constantly replenished by precipitation trickling through the soil, which acts as a purifier [source: USGS]. Air doesn't operate the same way as water below ground. The density of soil makes it difficult to breathe, and less air is found below ground, which explains why you suffocate shortly after being buried alive.

This little problem and the need for sunlight are addressed through the atrium or courtyard design of earth-sheltered homes. These homes are built below ground on all sides, save for an entrance that usually looks like a door planted in the side of the hill. The only exposed area of the structure is a central atrium or courtyard, which allows air and sunlight into the home. In subterranean homes without any exposed areas, ventilation systems and shaft skylights serve the same purposes as an atrium.

Sunlight will stream into a much more massive underground structure in Japan through a pair of covered domes, the only feature that will divulge the subterranean city beneath. Due to their immense population sharing a proportionately small land mass, the Japanese are unsurprisingly at the cutting edge of underground construction. Their biggest project is the double-domed Alice City, based around two central shafts plunged 500 feet (152 m) below ground. The shafts allow light to enter and serves as the nucleus for an ant farm of office space, entire shopping malls and residences. Necessities like ventilation, power generation and waste are all handled on-site below ground [source: Time].

Alice City is not yet constructed, though slightly less ambitious projects are operating around Japan. Through ventures like underground offices and shopping malls, the Japanese are hammering out the problems with subterranean living. A television studio 66 feet (about 20 m) beneath Tokyo's street level addressed the problem of a sense of isolation among workers by simulating the weather aboveground. A fire in the subterranean mall that took the lives of 15 people in 1980 taught designers to keep the air thinner to reduce smoke and invest more heavily in fire sensors and sprinkler systems in underground structures than they do in aboveground ones [source: Time].

The Japanese are also hammering out the intricacies of growing food below ground through the Pasona O2 project. The Pasona staffing agency created a working underground farm in an unused bank vault located beneath the company's offices, five stories below ground. Using hydroponics and artificial lighting systems, the company is successfully growing crops like tomatoes, strawberries and rice [source: Trends in Japan].

Population trends suggest the globe will experience as many as nine billion people packed across its surface by 2050 [source: U.S. Census Bureau]. With space aboveground at a premium, subterranean living could become more than just viable, it may become a necessity.

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 16:42:00 +0000

Top 5 Energy-efficient Computers

5: Dell Studio Hybrid

Dell calls the Studio Hybrid its greenest consumer desktop, and both Energy Star and EPEAT give it the thumbs up. The Studio Hybrid's 87-percent-efficient power supply meets Energy Star's 4.0 green computing standards, and EPEAT gives the system its highest rating, gold.

The Studio Hybrid is 80 percent smaller than a typical desktop computer and uses about 70 percent less power than most standard desktop computers. The computer's packaging is made from 95-percent-recyclable materials and comes with less printed documentation -- 75 percent less by weight (all documentation is made available online instead) [source: Dell].

For an additional charge, you can personalize it with a bamboo sleeve. And when you're ready to upgrade, the Studio Hybrid comes with its own system recycling kit.

4: Dell OptiPlex

Dell's OptiPlex line is a solid choice for professionals looking for an expandable, scalable desktop. It's also an energy-efficient workhorse -- the OptiPlex is Energy Star 4.0 compliant and carries an EPEAT gold rating.

It's not only the computers that are going green at Dell -- the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ranks Dell in the top five in the latest EPA Fortune 500 Green Power Challenge [source: EPA]. Dell is committed to reducing its desktop and laptop energy consumption by up to 25 percent by 2010 through the use of integrated Energy Smart technologies, including energy-optimized hardware and software. Since 2005, the OptiPlex's energy efficiency has improved by about 50 percent [source: Business Wire].

3: Lenovo ThinkCentre M58 / M58p

Like their green brethren, ThinkCentre desktops are Energy Star 4.0 compliant and have earned the EPEAT gold rating.

What makes the ThinkCentre especially green? Systems using their power-management tools can reduce energy consumption by 69 percent [source: Lenovo]. Lenovo estimates that energy savings translate into a cost savings of $40 on your yearly electricity bill. And it's not just dollars saved, it's CO2 emissions reduced, too. The ThinkCentre is designed to reduce CO2 emissions by 575 pounds (261 kilograms) per desktop every year, which is about the same as if 185 gallons (703 liters) of gasoline went unused [source: Lenovo].

2: Apple 17-inch MacBook Pro

For those in the market for something small and shiny -- and green -- take a look at Apple's 17-inch MacBook Pro. This laptop boasts Energy Star 5.0 compliance and a gold EPEAT rating. The MacBook shines when it comes to reducing environmental impact. It's made out of glass and aluminum (both recyclable materials); is free from mercury, arsenic, PVC and brominated flame retardants; and it uses 35 percent less consumer packaging than its predecessor.

Apple estimates that the 17-inch MacBook uses about 1,499 pounds (680 kilograms) of CO2e (Carbon Dioxide Equivalence, which measures the CO2 emissions potential during a specific period of time) total through its entire lifespan, from production and transportation to consumer use and recycling [source: Apple].

Prefer to work on something larger than a laptop? Apple's iMac is an integrated desktop -- an all-in-one system -- that also rates the Energy Star label and EPEAT gold. When you're ready to upgrade, take advantage of Apple's product take back and recycling programs.

1: Toshiba Portege R600

The Toshiba Portégé laptop line has earned Energy Star 4.0 compliancy and EPEAT's gold rating -- not only did it receive EPEAT's highest rating, the Portégé R600 ranks No. 1 in the gold category. Additionally, Greenpeace named the Portégé R600 the greenest laptop computer in 2009 in its second annual "Green Electronics: The Search Continues" survey.

Toshiba rates its products against an idea it calls Factor T, a mathematical formula the company created to assess a computer's consumer value against its environmental impact over its expected lifetime. High consumer value and low environmental impact equal the biggest energy efficiency.

Toshiba itself has set a company goal to double its environmental efficiency by 2010. Toshiba uses components with low-power consumption technology. Component and part suppliers that want to work with Toshiba must comply with a 22-point environmental performance survey before collaborating with the company.

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 17:09:00 +0000

BONUS POST

Why do eggs turn hard when you boil them?

Eggs are rich in protein, especially the egg whites. It's this protein that causes eggs to become hard when boiled. Here's how it works:

Hint

If you don't use a hard-boiled egg (which you must keep in the refrigerator) within seven days, toss it!

Protein is a chain of amino acids. These amino-acid strings fold back on themselves (the way the strings fold determines the protein's chemical and biological properties). The proteins are held in place by weak bonds (non-covalent) between different parts of the amino-acid string. When you break those strings, by various methods, you are denaturing the protein. You can denature a protein in several different ways.

Here are two ways to do it with eggs:

Heat - When you heat an egg, the proteins gain energy and literally shake apart the bonds between the parts of the amino-acid strings, causing the proteins to unfold. As the temperature increases, the proteins gain enough energy to form new, stronger bonds (covalent) with other protein molecules. When you boil an egg, the heat first breaks (unfolds) the proteins, and then allows the proteins to link to other proteins. As the proteins form these new, strong bonds, the water that surrounded each protein molecule when the egg was liquid is forced out. That's why the egg turns hard. (Heat affects all of the proteins in an egg, so it's the best way to cook an egg.)

Chemicals - You can also break the weak bonds between protein molecules with chemicals. According to an experiment done by the BBC Science Shack, if you put vodka on an egg white, the alcohol in it breaks weak hydrogen bonds in the protein. If you put vinegar on an egg white, the acid in it breaks ionic bonds. If you mix the two (vodka and vinegar), you break both types of bonds and quite effectively denature the protein. Lots of other chemicals will also break those weak bonds. This won't work as well on the yolk, which, while also protein-rich, has lots of fats and other properties that make it more difficult for it to become hard.

You can do something similar when you whisk egg whites: By exerting mechanical energy in the whisking process, you cause the protein bonds to break, and subsequently re-connect. Once these new, strong bonds are formed, the egg stays in that state. The proteins have formed a network of strong, permanent cross-links. A cooked, chemically-altered or well-beaten egg will never go back to its original state.

When cooking eggs, use moderate heat. High heat causes the protein in eggs to become tough and rubbery. When you use high heat to boil an egg, it causes a chemical reaction between the yolk and the white that leaves a green film around the yolk. That film is iron sulfide, caused by iron in the yolk reacting with hydrogen sulfide in the white. It won't hurt you to eat it, and the egg will taste the same, but it sure looks awful!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 16:43:00 +0000

5 Ways to Avoid Overheating Your Truck

Have you ever had the frustration of being stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic on a hot summer day? Chances are that you have. Sure, it may be hot and humid outside, but you'd better believe that the temperatures under the hood of your truck ar e even worse. That's bad. And if it gets too hot, well, cross your fingers and hope you'll make it home. Why? Quite simply, because heat is the enemy of your truck's engine.

The cooling system in your truck is your engine's front line of defense when it comes to the ongoing battle against heat. If you properly maintain your truck's cooling system and take a few other preventative measures, you're ensuring that your engine won't experience the added stress of operating under extreme high temperatures. But how do you keep your truck's engine running cool under most normal driving conditions? Is there anything that you can do to prevent your truck from overheating?

As it turns out, there's actually quite a bit that you can do. We thought we'd put together a short list of some of ways we discovered. So here are, in no particular order, the top five ways to avoid overheating your truck.

5: Watch Your Temperature Gauge

This may seem like rather elementary advice, but it does warrant a mention because so few drivers actually make a habit of monitoring their truck's engine temperature gauge. Understandably, the fuel gauge is critical for most drivers on a daily basis, as is the speedometer and possibly even the tachometer. But the instrument cluster of your truck can tell you so much more; you simply need to know where to look. Alongside the temperature gauge, you may be able to find an engine oil pressure reading, a battery charge indicator and maybe even a boost and vacuum gauge (if your truck has a turbocharged engine).

Once you've located your truck's temperature gauge, pay attention to what the gauge displays as a normal operating temperature for your engine. The easiest way to do this is to simply take a mental note of the reading on several different occasions after the truck's engine has had a chance to run for a while. If your engine's cooling system is operating properly, you'll find that the temperature should remain fairly stable or at least consistently fall within a certain range. If you see the temperature reading begin to increase rapidly, you may have a problem. Ignoring it won't make it go away, either. It's wise to diagnose and repair an engine cooling issue as soon as possible. If the worst case scenario plays out, you just may be able to avoid a potentially catastrophic engine failure. As you could probably guess, major engine repair or even replacement isn't cheap.

So there you have it: Something as simple as glancing at your temperature gauge could end up saving you a significant amount of money in the long run. Up next, we have another bit of straightforward advice -- nevertheless, it's equally important.

4: Look for Obvious Leaks

One clear indicator of a problem under the hood (or really anywhere on your vehicle) is the presence of fluid beneath your parked truck. But how do you determine if you're seeing coolant and not some other type of fluid? Typically, it's fairly easy to determine the specific type of fluid your truck is losing based on the fluid color and location of the puddle. In years past, all vehicles used engine coolant that was the same bright green color, and it had a very sticky-sweet smell. Now, coolant comes in a variety of colors ranging from the familiar bright green to red, orange and even pink. Different manufacturers have different standards when it comes to the fluids they fill their vehicles with.

At this point, the color of your truck's coolant doesn't matter quite as much as the fact that you've got a leak somewhere in your cooling system. The various fluids that circulate throughout your vehicle's many different sealed systems -- such as your cooling system, engine, transmission, brake system, transfer case and so on -- are meant to stay trapped inside until they're intentionally drained and replaced. Fluids lubricate and cool moving parts within your vehicle, and your truck's cooling system is no exception. To put it in the simplest terms: If you see a puddle of coolant beneath your truck, you have a leak. And if you have a leak, that means you're in danger of running low on (or running out of) engine coolant, which would definitely cause your engine to run hot or even overheat. So, don't delay in getting that leak repaired, or you could end up with a hefty repair bill.

In the next section, we'll find out why it might not be a good idea to add too much water (or too much coolant) to your truck's cooling system.

3: Use the Proper Coolant-to-Water Mixture

Your truck's cooling system doesn't operate on coolant alone, and it can't operate on just water, either. In fact, your truck's cooling system actually requires a mixture of coolant and water to provide just the right level of protection for your engine. If you skew the manufacturer's suggested coolant-to-water mixture by adding only water or adding only coolant, you could risk damaging your truck's engine.

The balance between coolant boil-over temperature and freeze-up temperature actually hinges on the proper mixture of coolant and water. For instance, a mixture that consists of 60 percent water and 40 percent coolant can provide boil-over protection all the way up to 259 degrees Fahrenheit (126 degrees Celsius) and freeze-up protection all the way down to minus 10 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 23 degrees Celsius). If you were to change that mixture to 30 percent water and 70 percent coolant, you would have boil-over protection up to 270 degrees Fahrenheit (132 degrees Celsius) and freeze-up protection down to minus 62 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 52 degrees Celsius).

As a general rule, you'll find that a 50/50 mixture of coolant and water is sufficient for most driving conditions. However, to ensure that you're using the proper mixture, it's a good idea to take a look at your owner's manual.

On the next page, we'll discuss a situation that could easily cause your truck to overheat -- one that a lot of truck owners are guilty of.

2: Don't Overload Your Truck

Seems like a simple rule to follow, doesn't it? But it happens all the time. Just take a look around if you don't believe us. In fact, the next time you're at one of those home improvement warehouse stores, pay attention to how much lumber some people stack in the back of their pickup trucks. Or the next time you're at a landscape supply store, watch how much topsoil or mulch some owners request to be dumped in the bed of their truck. By the time they're ready to drive away, the rear bumper is practically dragging on the ground. But what does that have to do with an overheated engine?

While it may look funny to see a grossly overloaded truck making its way down the road, the damage that driver is likely causing to his or her truck's engine is anything but. As you can probably guess, every part of the truck's powertrain (including the engine) has to work significantly harder to get all of that extra weight rolling down the road -- and keep it in motion, too. All of this extra work means extra heat created by the truck's engine. If the cooling system can't keep up with the demand -- you guessed it, potential severe engine damage.

One simple way to avoid overloading your truck -- and overheating your engine in the process -- is by familiarizing yourself with the manufacturer's suggested weight limits or weight ratings for your specific vehicle. These can be found in the owner's manual or on a decal or plate located on the inside edge of your truck's door frame.

Don't stop now. There's just one more tip that we want to share with you for beating the heat in your truck's engine.

1: Perform Routine Maintenance

Keeping your truck in proper working order is one of the best ways to avoid having your engine overheat. That makes perfect sense, right? To be honest, if you properly maintain your vehicle from bumper to bumper, you'll prevent a lot more than just engine heat issues. However, since that's the main focus here, what areas or components will require special attention to help you avoid an unwanted rise in engine temperature?

As we mentioned earlier, it's a good idea to watch for indicators of a problem in the cooling system, such as sudden jumps in normal engine operating temperature or leaks in the system. You should also regularly inspect your truck's coolant hoses for damage or deterioration. It's also a good idea to inspect any clamps that attach the hoses to the radiator and to your engine. Other areas that you'll want to keep an eye on under the hood include the engine belt (or belts, in some cases), the radiator itself, the radiator cap, the overflow container, the cooling fan and your engine's thermostat, just to name a few.

So there you have it, five relatively simple ways that you can avoid overheating your truck's engine.

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 16:48:00 +0000

5 Tips for Restoring Old Furniture

Professional furniture restorers and hobbyists alike all have one thing in common -- the desire to pluck a piece of furniture off the side of the road and restore it to its former glory. And what's not to like? Not only are you saving something from a landfill, but you're breathing life into something that's long been forgotten. All the former owner knows is that the legs of the table are busted, the surface is marred by water rings and it doesn't sit evenly on the floor. What's more, it's taking up valuable space where that new Ikea dining table should go. But what many might see as a space-consuming relic from days gone by, furniture restorers see as a possibility.

If you've never tackled a furniture restoration project, you should know the difference between refinishing and restoring a piece. Refinishing can be as simple as stripping off the top layer of varnish, sanding and applying a new one. Project done. Restoring can involve refinishing, but it can also require a whole lot more -- fixing broken legs, replacing hardware, repairing cracks, replacing trim pieces and fabrics with period detail. Basically anything that's required to get the piece of furniture as close to the original condition as possible is called restoration. Often, it's more than just a facelift -- it has to do with making the item usable again and possibly even adding value. Here are five tips that can help you make the old new again.

5: Research and Inspect

The first step is to do a little research to determine its value, so you know whether or not you should try and restore it yourself. Inspect the piece for marks or labels that may indicate its origin. Even if the piece isn't old but it was made by a master craftsman, it could be valuable. If you suspect that it's worth some money, it's best to consult a professional before proceeding with any work. The library is an excellent resource to help you identify certain periods and styles of furniture, or find a furniture restoration shop and seek out their advice. Take photos of any markings or tags for your records. Removing a collectible antique's finish could lessen or void its value, so hold off on stripping or sanding for now.

There are a few things the novice can look for to determine its age. Feel underneath. If the interior corners are sharp, then it's probably not an antique. Take out a screw and look at the threads. If they have inconsistent widths between them, then it's probably pretty old. These are just a couple of tips -- valuing antique furniture is a much more complicated process that should be performed by a professional appraiser. If you do find that a piece is valuable, you should not only hold off on restoring it, but you also should insure it as soon as possible.

4: Clean Before You Start

Before whipping out your sandpaper and paintbrush, you should give the piece a thorough cleaning. After years of neglect, it's likely to have a patina of dirt and grime. Removing the buildup can reveal a nice finish underneath, so a good cleaning and buffing may be all that old chair needs to sit stately in your living room.

A good place to start is to give it a good scrub with a sponge and some vegetable-based oil soap in warm water. A lot of older furniture is detailed, so you can use a soft toothbrush to get in the nooks and crannies. It's a good idea to remove hardware so you can clean behind it, as well as give the hardware a good shine. Toothpicks are handy for getting between tight spots, but here's a tip -- get a wooden dowel the size of a pencil and buy a pencil sharpener. It's much more solid than a toothpick, and you can keep it nice and sharp for digging out grime. If you need to use steel wool on some stubborn wax buildup, go with No. 0000 and use a light hand. Too much pressure can dull the finish.

3: Repair

The next step is to repair or replace any broken parts. You may luck out and stumble across a comparable leg or knob at an antique store or estate sale, but don't count on it. In most cases, if you want to match what already exists, you may have to get parts custom made. The auction Web site eBay is another option with its robust antiques trade. If you do find or order a new piece of hardware, you may want a professional's help with installation, unless you feel good about your skills as a craftsman. Most people can manage handles and pulls or a drawer in disrepair, but if you're replacing legs or dealing with the structural integrity of the piece, you might need some help.

If the table or chair wobbles, it may simply need some screws tightened. Find the culprit by turning the piece over and inspecting each leg where it meets the body. If it shakes, check out the screws, and if they're in good shape, tighten them down. If they're rusted out, carefully remove and replace them. Small breaks can be joined with wood glue, and if you have any small cracks, use like-colored wood putty. And if you plan to use stain as your finish, make sure you buy a putty that can be stained.

2: Refinishing or Painting

Refinishing the piece means taking off the old finish and creating a new one. It's physically demanding, so be prepared to use some elbow grease. Stripping is a messy and cumbersome job, but the result is rewarding. For a do-it-yourselfer, it's best to use a combination of chemical strippers and sanding. Patience is definitely a virtue during this phase of restoration because some finishes can be stubborn. If you get frustrated and try to speed up the process, you can gouge the wood with a putty knife, leading to more repair work.

There are many different kinds of stain, and each works best with different woods, so be sure to thoroughly research your options before proceeding. If you determine that the wood underneath isn't worthy of staining, you can always paint the surface. Just be very sure it's not a valuable piece, because it sure won't be once you paint it. If you do decide to paint, just sand the finish to smooth out any bumps before you start. Whether you're painting or staining, once you finish stripping and sanding, you'll want to give it another good cleaning. A clean surface is key to creating a professional finish.

1: Tools of the Trade

If you green-light a furniture restoration project, you'll need some tools to make it all happen. Take a trip down the sandpaper aisle first and get a variety of grits. Start with the rough stuff (80-120) and work your way up to the finer grits (400). Get a couple of putty knives, one plastic and one metal. There are all kinds of other furniture scrapers in the same section and you can always give one a try if it feels good in your hand. Grab some No. 0000 steel wool and a liquid stripping gel, and you're on your way to the refinishing department.

You'll need screwdrivers to tighten up any loose joints, both Phillips head and flat head. You should also have a small hammer and a rubber mallet, which will allow you to give the wood gentle reminders without leaving a mark. If you're serious about restoring your piece, you may need to invest in some wood clamps as well. You can buy a variety pack or wait and see what your needs are and buy them individually.

You should also have the following items on hand:

Wood glue
Wood putty
Oil soap
Measuring tape
Gloves
Respirator
Two to three inch (5.08 to 7.62 centimeters) angled paint brush
Toothbrush
Toothpicks

Now that your toolbox is full and you're armed with these tips, you're ready to begin restoring your furniture to its former glory.

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 17:34:00 +0000

How the Obesity Paradox Works

About 65 percent of Americans are either obese or overweight, and the Centers for Disease Control has classified obesity as an epidemic in the United States. According to NIDDK/NIH, obesity costs Americans more than $117 billion annually in health care [source: NIDDK/NIH]. If you are obese, you have a 50 to 100 percent increased risk of premature death than someone of normal weight. Obesity is a risk factor in other conditions, like high blood pressure, heart disease and type-2 diabetes. However, recent studies have shown that obese people with chronic diseases have a better chance of survival than normal-weight individuals do. This finding has been called the obesity paradox. But before you reach for those extra doughnuts or postpone going on that diet, let's examine obesity.

Obese people have excess body fat. Overweight people have excess body weight (weight includes bone, fat, and muscle). Generally, women have more body fat than men do. Women with more than 30 percent body fat and men with more than 25 percent body fat would be considered obese.

Scientists can measure body fat with X-ray absorption techniques and underwater weighing, which are based on the fact that fat tissue has a different density than bone or muscle. But these methods aren't practical for routine doctor's visits. So, primary health care providers use other methods (like height, weight and skin-fold thickness).

The most popular and convenient method for estimating obesity is the body mass index (BMI). BMI is a ratio of weight to height. This is the formula:

BMI = weight (lb) / [height (in)]2 x 703 (English measurements)

BMI = weight (kg) / [height (m)]2 (metric measurements)

For example, a 5-foot-5-inch, 150-pound woman would have a BMI of 25. According to these BMI categories, she is overweight but not obese.

Less than 18.5 = underweight
18.5 to 24.9 = normal weight
25 to 29.9 = overweight
More than 30 = obese

There are several online charts based on BMI calculations that you can use to categorize your weight.

Obesity affects men and women of all racial and ethnic backgrounds, but women have a higher percentage of obesity than men. In the United States, African-Americans have the highest

percentage of obesity, followed by Mexican-Americans and non-Hispanic whites. Obesity affects about 11 to 28 percent of children, who show the same racial and ethnic obesity patterns. Obesity increases the risk for hypertension (high blood pressure), cardiovascular disease, stroke, cancer, gallbladder disease and diabetes. Obese patients can have higher levels of cholesterol and lipids circulating in their bloodstreams. This can lead to the buildup of atherosclerotic plaques in blood vessels, which increases the risks of high blood pressure, heart attack and stroke. So, obesity is a well-known risk factor for developing cardiovascular disease.

Next, we'll learn how scientists discovered the obesity paradox.

Obesity Paradox Research

In 2001, A. Mosterd and colleagues from the Netherlands studied the prognosis of patients diagnosed with heart failure. They did statistical analyses on more than 5,000 patients, some of whom had heart failure. They found that patients with low BMIs and low blood pressure had more in-hospital deaths than patients with higher BMIs. The researchers claimed that their

discoveries supported similar findings from a 1993 study in Massachusetts, and since 2001, at least eight studies have supported the findings. So, even though obesity is a well-known risk factor for heart failure and would be expected to cause problems for obese heart-failure patients, it seems that the opposite could be true.

The obesity paradox extends to other conditions besides heart failure. Patients with chronic kidney disease most often undergo hemodialysis, where a machine filters impurities out of the blood, and dialysis. About 20 percent of dialysis patients die each year from cardiovascular complications. Studies by researchers at UCLA Medical Center have shown that dialysis patients with higher BMIs have a better chance of survival than those with lower BMIs.

To summarize, the obesity paradox goes something like this. Obesity is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease (like hypertension, congestive heart failure, coronary artery disease) and chronic renal disease. However, in patients with these chronic diseases, it appears that obesity is associated with better survival. If this finding is actually true, it could have important implications for how physicians treat patients with chronic diseases. Doctors could conceivably stop putting patients on diets and recommending that they lose weight.

So, why does the obesity paradox happen? We'll find next..

Obesity Paradox Explanations

The medical community has had mixed reactions to the idea of the obesity paradox. Many physicians and scientists are skeptical because the findings go against what is expected from the normal population. Researchers at the University of Texas School of Public Health and Baylor Medical College reviewed many published reports of the obesity paradox and came up with six reasons to explain the findings -- and possibly to be skeptical of them [source: Habbu].

The numbers of people studied in the reports of the obesity paradox were generally small. Therefore, do these results apply or hold in much larger populations?
The statistical techniques show associations between factors, but not cause-and-effect conclusions. So, the results may or may not be real.
In many studies, congestive heart failure was diagnosed from clinical symptoms (difficulty breathing, swelling in extremities) instead of from laboratory tests (like echocardiography, cardiopulmonary testing, cardiac catheterization).

These clinical criteria to diagnose congestive heart failure have not been validated in obese populations and may not be applicable.
In some of the studies where lab tests were done, the obese patients had slightly better heart functions (pumping ability, oxygen delivery) than normal or underweight patients.
Therefore, the obese patients may have been either slightly "healthier" with respect to CHF or in earlier stages of CHF than their normal/underweight counterparts. So obese survival rates were better.

Congestive heart failure (and chronic kidney disease) is a wasting disease. Patients are so sick that they lose weight (fat, muscle mass) over the course of the disease. This could lead to two conclusions:

Again, obese patients could be "healthier" or in earlier stages of these chronic diseases. Chronic disease patients with low BMIs do not have low BMIs intentionally, but because of the nature of the wasting disease. None of the studies discriminated between intentional weight loss (from diet and exercise) and unintentional weight loss (from disease).
Obese patients may have a better metabolic reserve than their normal/underweight counterparts.

Few of the studies looked at extreme obesity (BMI more than 35). In some studies that did, the extremely obese did not have a greater chance of survival than the underweight. Therefore, the survival curves may be U-shaped. Normal and overweight patients would have better survival probabilities than those at the extremes -- underweight and extremely obese.
Some recent studies have questioned whether BMI is the best way to categorize obesity. Maybe waist circumference or waist-to-hip circumference ratios may be better indicators of obesity. These criteria are based on observations that body fat stored in the waist is worse with respect to the risks of obesity than fat stored elsewhere.

Next we'll learn about more explanations for and criticisms of the obesity paradox theory.

Obesity Paradox Criticisms

There are many reasons to be skeptical of the obesity paradox, but the UCLA researchers have posed some biological explanations for it [source: Kalantar-Zadeh].

The adverse effects of obesity take more time to develop than those of chronic disease (heart failure, kidney disease). Therefore, the consequences of wasting kill patients much faster than obesity does.
In both CHF and chronic kidney disease, malnutrition and inflammation are common. These conditions alone could reduce the survival of these patients. Therefore, weight gain could be an indicator of better nutrition and, therefore, improved chances of survival in obese patients.

Dr. Kalantar-Zadeh argues that dietary restrictions placed on CHF and chronic kidney disease patients my actually be harmful to these patients. He advocates a "reverse epidemiology" approach to these conditions. So, the obesity paradox has been observed in several clinical settings (CHF, chronic kidney disease), but physicians and scientists still aren't sure that it's a real phenomenon. Not many researchers have proposed biological hypotheses to explain the obesity paradox. There have been no direct animal studies or clinical trials that could address cause-and-effect relationships. So, based on evidence available at this time, we can't conclude that the obesity paradox is real, certainly not enough to alter treatment for patients with CHF and chronic kidney disease. But many scientists think that research should be aimed at resolving the obesity paradox. It may have implications for changing treatment options for these patients.

Dr. Kalantar-Zadeh and colleagues also argue that the risk factors for the general population may not be applicable to the obese population. The obesity paradox is one example of this idea, which has been called reverse epidemiology. Imposing dietary restrictions on obese chronic disease patients, they say, may actually be harmful. The group cites a number of conditions where phenomena like the obesity paradox have been observed.

I hope now you'll take care of your health.

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 16:45:00 +0000

How Wind-up Cell Phone Chargers Work

Cell phones make communicating with each other from remote locations significantly easier. For many of us, it's comforting to know that when we head out for a drive or go traveling, we'll have the means to call anyone on our contact list. We can also use our cell phones in case of an emergency.

However, the nature of cell phones and other portable battery-powered devices means they need constant power in order to work properly. When you first get a cell phone, it seems like it'll last for weeks on just one charge. But as time goes by, the lithium-ion batteries these devices use can't hold as much charge, and they need to be recharged more often. As much as you try to keep your phone alive, chances are you'll run into a difficult situation where you'll need to use the phone but can't because of little or no available power. Cell phones fit snugly into the realm of Murphy's Law -- if it's possible for you to forget a charger and let your battery run too low, it's going to happen.

Sometimes you're in a place where there's no outlet, like in your car in the middle of a traffic jam. Maybe you've just started a weekend of camping, but the moment your arrive at the campsite you realize you only have one bar of battery life left and not much time before the cell phone becomes useless. Perhaps you've forgotten your charger or your friend offers to lend you his or her charger, which you try, only to find that doesn't fit your phone.

In any of these cases, it might help to have a source of power that doesn't rely on outlets or certain types of chargers. One helpful device that's portable and easy to use is a wind-up cell phone charger, a simple tool that requires just a little bit of elbow grease to keep your phone running. They're small and fit most phones, and most models cost between $25 and $35. Keep reading to learn more about how wind-up cell phone chargers work.

Mechanics of Wind-up Cell Phone Chargers

So what's going on inside a wind-up cell phone charger? How does the simple turning of a crank lead to extra juice for your phone's battery?

To understand the basics of wind-up cell phone chargers, it helps to look at a much bigger, yet surprisingly similar, technology -- wind turbines and wind power. When we use massive fans to generate electric power, we're relying on the motion of wind. In the simplest terms, the blades of the fans capture kinetic energy, or the energy of motion, from the movement of the wind. As the blades spin, so does the shaft that the blades are attached to. As the shaft spins, it creates rotational energy, and it transfers this energy over to a generator. A generator, in the case of a wind turbine, is simply a set of magnets that spin around a coiled wire. The magnets spinning around the wire create an electrical current, providing us with power.

A wind-up cell phone charger is like a miniature wind turbine, except instead of using wind to power a generator, your arm and hand provide the kinetic energy necessary to move the charger's crank and add battery life to your phone.

Although there are various types of designs, most wind-up cell phone chargers use a similar design and basic principles to generate sufficient power. A common element among these devices is a simple crank, a graspable lever that we can easily hold onto and turn in circles while holding the base of the charger. The crank usually has an easy-to-grip handle to make it simple to hold and spin faster. The center part of this crank is a short shaft -- remember, just like a wind turbine. The kinetic energy from your arm and hand is transferred to the shaft, which turns into rotational energy as the shaft spins. Connected to the shaft is a set of gears, which transfers that rotational energy further to the charger's generator, creating anywhere between 4 and 6 volts for your phone's battery.

Using Wind-up Cell Phone Chargers

So what do you do when your battery on your cell phone runs out and you're forced to use some muscle with your wind-up charger? Fortunately, most chargers are very small and lightweight, even smaller than most cell phones, so they're easy to carry with you and could easily store in a car's glove compartment, a purse or backpack. They typically weigh no more than a couple of ounces.

When your phone needs some extra juice, simply connect the wind-up charger to your cell phone's input. To give the phone's battery its power, you'll need to turn the crank vigorously. Most wind-up charger instructions say to crank at a rate of two revolutions per second, although turning the crank slower or faster is fine and will still provide power to the battery. Depending on the model, you can get 25-30 minutes of extra standby power to a cell phone after just a few minutes of solid cranking. You should only be able to get about 6 minutes of call time from the same amount of exercise, however, since it requires more power to send out signals.

If you have a hands free set like a Bluetooth earpiece, you can even hold the charger and talk at the same time, since charging is a two-handed operation. As long as you keep turning the handle, the power you provide to charge the phone should be greater than the power needed to keep the phone on. This allows you to talk and provide a charge continuously.

What about the different types of inputs on cell phones? Often one of the more frustrating things about losing battery power on your cell phone is when someone else actually has a charger available, but the parts don't fit. Fortunately, many wind-up cell phone chargers come with adapters that fit most phones so you should be able to find the right charge input.

And if the potential to create battery power without the use of an outlet wasn't enough, some models, such as the Sidewinder, even have a built-in LED light that will work after a few seconds of cranking. This feature could be helpful in the event you've lost your phone and there's no other available illumination.

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 11:29:00 +0000

How Electric Car Labs Work

Global warming, dependence on foreign oil, and the high price of gasoline have people thinking about alternative fuels for the cars of the future. While there are many potential new fuels out there, one of the most researched -- and most promising -- is simple electricity.

Automakers have already started experimenting with electric vehicles. Electric vehicles have three basic parts: the batteries, which are the power source for the car; the motor, which converts the power into useable energy that can turn the wheels; and the controller, which works like a big dimmer switch to regulate the electricity.

To refuel an electric vehicle (EV), all you need is an electrical outlet. Any standard household outlet will do, but an outlet with higher voltage will do the job faster. Some cities, like Portland, Ore., are installing curbside charging units so that current and future EVs will be able to top off their batteries themselves while their owners work or run errands.

The EVs available today can't yet replace all the gasoline-powered cars and trucks on the road. EV speeds are usually low, about 35 miles per hour (56 kilometers per hour). Most EVs can travel about 40 miles (64 kilometers) per charge, which is roughly the same distance as the average daily American comm ute. The cars can charge overnight at a regular outlet or in a few hours at a higher-voltage outlet. They also have zero emissions.

Most of the advances being made in EVs are in battery technology and design. Lead-acid batteries were used for decades -- even in the early 1990s, when EVs first became popular. However, lead-acid batteries don't get people as far as we'd like, or as quickly. Read on to find out where and how labs are working to improve EVs for modern consumers.

University EV Labs

If there's research to be done and breakthroughs to be made, it makes sense that it would happen in a university lab. Several universities have battery and EV laboratories, but we'll take a look at two that exemplify what's being done at schools around the world.

University of Massachusetts at Lowell

At the Lowell campus of the University of Massachusetts (UMass), mechanical and electrical engineering professors work with students at the Center for Electric Car and Energy Conversion (EC&EC). There are five labs contained within the center: the Renewable Energy Lab, the Electric Car Lab, the Battery Evaluation Lab, the Power Electronics Lab, and the Advanced Composite Materials and Textile Research Lab.

The EC&EC at UMass-Lowell covers many subjects in these five labs, from the energy used in batteries to the crashworthiness of new car designs, but the center places a special focus on renewable energy. In order for an EV to be a true zero-emissions vehicle, the source of the power that recharges the batteries should be clean as well. This has led the center to design improved photovoltaic cells for solar panels and more efficient ways to convert wind energy to electricity. The results of this work are products that can be used in the clean energy industry and students who have the technical know-how to work and innovate in the EV field once they graduate.

University of California at Davis

Engineers at the Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV) Research Center in Davis, California, are working on extended-range EVs. (Remember, most standard EVs only have a range of about 40 miles (64 km) per charge.) The program operates under the University of California at Davis' Institute of Transportation Studies, which focuses its research on the consumer end of PHEVs. These cars are a little different from purely electric vehicles in that they have a small, supplemental gasoline engine, but they can still recharge their batteries with a standard wall outlet.

One of the PHEV Research Center's projects evaluated new instruments inside the car's dashboard that could give drivers real-time information on energy usage, CO2 emissions, and more. The center's engineers also worked to improve charging technologies and evaluate new battery technologies, particularly the latest in lithium-ion cells. They also worked to establish the lifecycle costs of PHEVs, including manufacturing, maintenance, and emissions expenditures.

Read on to find out what auto manufacturers are doing in their labs to bring these EV technologies to the consumer.

Manufacturer EV Labs

While universities are scrutinizing electric vehicles in search of potential problems, including issues with power sources, batteries, and lifespan costs, auto manufacturers are also researching EV technology to effectively build and sell these cars to everyday drivers.

Before an EV can be introduced to the public, it has to be fully tested in the lab and on the track. The batteries have to be reliable and safe, the car has to perform to consumer and manufacturer standards, and it all has to be delivered at a reasonable price. That's a tall order, but almost every major manufacturer is working on it in their labs. In fact, you may have heard about the creation process for the Chevrolet Volt, an extended-range electric vehicle (E-REV). GM has poured all of its engineering, design, and marketing power into this car since its introduction as a concept car at the 2007 Detroit Auto Show.

Most of the concept cars that get attention at auto shows can't actually be driven, and few of them make it to production. However, GM promised to deliver the Chevy Volt by 2010, which shifted its labs into overdrive. First, they had to devise a safe and workable power train. The Volt will be powered by lithium-ion batteries and will have a small gasoline engine (or an E85 engine built for an ethanol-gasoline mix) that will kick in to recharge the batteries after about 40 miles (64 kilometers) of all-electric driving.

Sometimes, even when the company is large and the product important, it's easier, faster and cheaper to outsource product research and development than to reinvent the wheel in your own lab. As an example, GM decided to get the batteries for the Volt from another company. After searching for months, the company settled on lithium-ion batteries from LG.

Other companies simply want to control as many parts as possible and are willing to invest in the labs needed to create them. Nissan is just one auto manufacturer that has its own on-site battery lab in Japan, which is currently researching power sources for its future electric vehicles and hybrid-electric vehicles. Engineers work with smaller, prototype versions of the full-sized lithium-ion car batteries to determine their capacity to store energy. They use these smaller prototypes to assess the safety of various materials used to create the electrical reactions that power the car.

Not all of the innovative work on EVs is being done in large university or corporate labs, though. Next, we'll talk about a few of the small businesses and adventurous enthusiasts experimenting in labs and garages.

Experimental EV Labs

Jim Husted repairs electric forklift engines for a living in his shop in Redmond, Ore. While making his repair rounds, he met John Wayland, who, in his spare time, drag races a Datsun converted to electric power. Wayland showed Husted the two modified forklift engines crammed under the hood of his race car, White Zombie.

Husted thought he could do better, so he went back to his shop and fiddled with engines until he found a solution for Wayland's two-motor problem. He made a few modifications to the equipment and coupled the two motors together end to end. The motors now weighed 25 pounds (11 kg) less and were 7 inches (18 centimeters) shorter, which added up to faster track times for Wayland. The resulting two-motor vehicle was painted purple and dubbed the Siamese 8.

Husted has been experimenting in his shop ever since. He's produced engines for the record-setting KillaCycle electric motorcycle and has restored a 1910 electric motor for a fellow EV enthusiast's century-old horseless carriage project [source: Hi-Torque Electric].

Sometimes, the ingenuity of an entrepreneur and the university lab comes together to create a useful technology. A123Systems, whose lithium-ion batteries have powered record-setting drag strip times for both White Zombie and KillaCycle, used nanotechnologies developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to create its batteries. A123Systems has one of the largest lithium-ion research and development teams in the U.S. Using the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's nanoscale materials in their own labs, the research and development teams developed a battery that can withstand real-world abuses for more than 10 years and still use environmentally friendly technology.

It will be a long time before gasoline-powered cars permanently leave our streets, but labs at all levels are working to bring safe, reliable, fast and fun electric-powered transportation to consumers. Thanks to the innovations birthed at these labs, your next car may be powered by the solar panels on your roof.

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 12:05:00 +0000

5 Popular Plastic Surgery Procedures

5: Botox

In cosmetic surgery, as in cardiology and other fields, the trend is toward less invasive approaches. Topical applications such as chemical facial peels, lasers and wrinkle creams are often effective supplements to surgery. Botox, a toxin made by botulism bacteria, is used to temporarily paralyze facial muscles that cause wrinkling. In areas of constant motion -- think smile lines around the eyes or frown lines in the center of the brow -- these muscles cause repetitive creases, which lead to permanent wrinkles.

Patients typically receive pretreatment with a prescription-strength cream to numb the skin, and Botox is administered with very small-gauge needles. The plastic surgeon uses knowledge of the anatomy of the facial muscles to systematically inject them with tiny amounts of Botox. This paralyzes the muscle for anywhere from 4 to 6 months, reducing the extent to which it can pull on the skin. While the treatments may make you less able to move your eyebrows to show the full extent of your surprise or anger, people still generally get the message. Botox causes a temporary softening of fine lines and has a smoothing effect on fine wrinkles.

4: Filler Injection

Receiving injections every several months may not seem non-invasive, but other techniques definitely go a step further. One such option is injection of fillers. These fillers range from gels that are available off the shelf (such as hyaluronic acid) to your own fat, which can be harvested and injected to fill wrinkles in the face. Fillers such as hyaluronic acid are temporary and can fill deeper wrinkles that Botox may not work well on. However, these fillers are foreign materials and can sometimes lead to adverse reactions. They can be injected in the physician's office with minimal or no anesthesia.

Fat injection is slightly different. On the one hand, fat is the ideal filler (because it is from your own body and may be a permanent filler), but it also has a significant drawback. To obtain the fat to inject, your plastic surgeon will have to give you sedation or anesthesia and harvest the fat from another part of your body. The stomach and thighs are frequent donor sites. Regardless of the material, fillers can soften the effects of wrinkles but cannot correct looseness of the cheeks, eyelids or neck.

3: Skin Removal

Surgery is often needed to address areas of loose skin in the face and neck. Removal of extra skin and tightening of the muscles and tissues below is often referred to as a facelift (rhytidectomy) or necklift (cervicoplasty or platysmaplasty). A necklift can correct the turkey-gobbler appearance that people often complain about. Redraping of the skin of the neck as well as disruption of vertically-oriented muscle bands can give a more youthful appearance. A necklift takes anywhere from one to two hours and needs to be done in an operating room with some form of anesthesia.

The facelift procedure is similar: Facial skin is lifted up. The deeper tissues are tightened with sutures, and the skin is redraped after any excess is removed. Scars are usually hard to detect after healing since they're hidden near the hairline and along the ears. Facelifts require an operating room and anesthesia of some sort, and operative time can vary from more than one hour to several hours. The effect is usually dramatic, though the best surgeons will get a rejuvenated but natural result. Results will vary but should last a number of years, unlike Botox or fillers.

Other procedures can be combined with facelifts to raise the eyebrows to a more youthful level (they can droop with age), to rejuvenate wrinkly eyelids, to reduce jowls or to fill and plump the lips. Facelifts are still very popular but cost more than many other procedures and are more invasive.

2: Breast Augmentation

Other than a facelift, the procedure that people most commonly associate with cosmetic surgery is breast augmentation, or breast implants. Breast augmentation is a close cousin to another procedure plastic surgeons do commonly: breast reconstruction after cancer. As with other cosmetic surgeries, breast augmentations leave scars. Plastic surgeons try to hide these scars in the armpits, along the margin of the nipple or in the skin crease where the breast meets the abdomen. However, what most patients are more interested in are the type and size of implant.

Two main types of breast implants are available. These are saline (saltwater) filled implants and silicone implants. The big difference between the two types is their consistency or feel. Silicone more closely matches the feel of breast tissue and may appear more natural as well. Also, to aid in the natural appearance, most implants are now placed under the chest muscles, against the ribs. Even here, they can make mammogram exams difficult. For that reason, breast surgeons often suggest regular MRI exams to rule out breast malignancies.

Also, no implant will last forever. There is a small but definite risk of rupture, which increases with time. Despite these concerns, breast implants remain very popular, not only in Hollywood, but also in society in general. Breast implants take an hour or two to insert and may require other tailoring of the breast to ensure symmetry. This is done in an operating room with anesthesia.

1: Tummy Tucks

In the last decade, certain cosmetic procedures such as tummy tucks, or abdominoplasty, have become vastly more popular. A major reason is society's acceptance of the tummy tuck, especially in women who have finished having children.

Tummy tucks can make a huge difference in a person's appearance and self-image. You can imagine the effect of being able to see one's belt again after many years, as well as being able to fit in new, slimmer clothes. As part of the procedure, most of the redundant fat around the waist is removed. The abdominal "six-pack" muscles (the rectus abdominis muscles), which may have been long-hidden by excess fatty tissue, are tightened as well. In some cases, a modest amount of liposuctioning to the sides of the hips (aka the flanks) is performed as well. This helps to smooth the curves of the tissues in the area, and can add to the slimming effect of the tummy tuck.

But with all of these benefits, there are risks as well. Tummy tucks are associated with the highest number of complications of any cosmetic surgical procedure. These can include blood clots in the legs, though this is rare. Also, females who decide to have a child after the surgery can stretch out the muscle repair and render it ineffective. The procedure takes two to three hours and does require anesthesia and a visit to the operating room.

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 16:07:00 +0000

Top 5 Furniture Restoration Jobs You Should Leave to a Professional

5. Wood Furniture

It's not uncommon for beginner do-it-yourselfers to make mistakes restoring wood furniture because many things can go wrong. You must use the right technique, clean with solvents, remove finishes, correctly identify the wood type, sand, match colors and more. Other things that make wood restoration projects tricky are physical strength demands on the laborer, the need for a number of tools, an ideal workspace with natural lighting, storage space if you don't complete it immediately and time (some finishes can take months to dry). Professionals stress that amateurs avoid restoring complex wood furniture such as items that are too heavy to lift, are missing parts or veneer, require upholstery removal, are valuable or have intricate carvings.

4. Ornate, Carved Pieces

Restoring wood furniture can be time-consuming and challenging, especially ornate carvings or intricately shaped features like Barley twist legs on a table. Mistakes made to ornate work can mean damage to the piece or compromising its design and value. According to Mitchell Kohanek with The National Institute of Wood Finishing, accurate restoration involves the understanding of organic chemistry and a mastery of wood-working and wood-finishing skills. It takes Kohanek nine months to prepare someone for a profession in the finishing of wood. He likens the work done by an amateur versus professional to an essay written by a high school student verses English graduate student.

3. Upholstered Gems

If an upholstered furniture piece is of sentimental or financial value to you, perhaps it's worth having restored, rather than trying to conserve original materials and rebuild it yourself. Why? You need about 20 tools to do the job, which can be expensive to rent or purchase. Also, the techniques employed are often tiring, difficult or lengthy. In fact, it's not unusual for the restoration of an upholstered chair to take about 18 hours to complete. There are many cumbersome steps involved, including stripping off old upholstery, cleaning framing and upholstery, repairing frames, finishing, replacing cushion fillings, applying trimming and more.

2. One-of-a-kind Antiques

A furniture piece must be at least 100 years old to qualify as an antique. Museum-quality items should always be restored by a professional. By refinishing common antiques at home, you risk making a mistake that can lower its value, damage the patina that gives it an old look and proves its age, overdo the restoration by replacing more than necessary, or harm the wood's aging process or finish. If you don't know what to look for, you can sand or scrape away desirable marks of age like small, concave grooves created by jack planes used a century ago or numbers chiseled into items in a furniture set to mark their order.

"No inexperienced person should try to restore antique furniture. Period," says Clinton Howell, a member of the National Antique and Art Dealers Association of America, "How many people feel that they could do as good a job defending themselves as their lawyer?"

1. Expensive Furniture

Expensive furniture is costly for a reason. Whatever the reason -- noteworthy design, exceptional durability of materials and construction or rarity in the marketplace -- restoration can also be pricey. So can mistakes. Steer clear of refinishing a costly furniture piece if you can't afford to buy a replacement that's identical or similar in quality if you botch the job. Consequences of an uncorrectable mistake can be hundreds of thousands of dollars. Also, if that piece is no longer for sale, or if it would be difficult to find (and you don't have the time or resources to track it down), consider turning it over to a professional for restoration.

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 15:56:00 +0000

What if I were on a roller coaster and the safety harness broke?

A roller coaster loop-the-loop is a sort of centrifuge. As youapproach the loop, your velocity is straight ahead of you. But the track keeps the coaster car, and therefore your body, from traveling along this straight path. The car starts to turn upward and your velocity is trying to carry you straight ahead. The force of your inertia pushes you into the car floor. This creates a sort of false gravity pulling you toward the bottom of the car when you're upside down. You need a safety harness for security, but in most loop-the-loops, you would stay in the car whether you had a harness or not.

As you move around the loop, the net force acting on your body is constantly changing. At the very bottom of the loop, the acceleration force is pushing you down in the same direction as gravity. Since both forces push you in the same direction, you feel especially heavy at this point. As you move straight up the loop, gravity is pulling you into the back of your seat while the acceleration force is pushing you into the floor. You feel the gravity pulling you into your seat, but (if your eyes are still open) you can see that the ground is no longer where it should be.

At the top of the loop, when you're completely upside down, gravity is pulling you out of your seat and toward the ground, but the stronger acceleration force is pushing you into your seat and toward the sky. Since the two forces pushing you in opposite directions are nearly equal, your body might feel very light. It depends on how fast the car is going and how tight the loop is. As you come out of the loop and level out, you become heavy again.

This diagram demonstrates the force of gravity on your

weight while you ride a roller coaster.

The loop-the-loop is amazing because it crams so much into such a short length of track. The varying forces put your body through a whole range of sensations in a matter of seconds. While these forces are shaking up all the parts of your body, your eyes see the entire world flip upside down. To many coaster riders, this moment at the top of the loop, when you're light as a feather and all you can see is the sky, is the best part of the whole ride.

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 16:44:00 +0000

How to Air Condition Your Home and Not Sweat the Cost

I’ve caved to the summer heat. For a while, I was determined to win the good fight by turning on fans, wearing shorts and sandals exclusively and leaving doors ajar to let the fresh breezes blow in. But when I trudged inside after mowing the lawn and was greeted by a blanket of warm, stale air, I hit my breaking point. Reluctantly, I’ve turned on my air conditioner. And in exchange, the prospect of skyrocketing energy bills haunts me.

If you’ve noticed your power bill creeping up in recent weeks, you aren’t crazy. The kilowatt per hour rate, the pricing unit for electricity, is going up as summer energy rates set in. Moreover, Energy Star states that the average household shells out $1,000 per year on home heating and cooling, which sends shivers down my spine.

But there are ways to stay comfortably cool indoors without going broke. You can’t live in arctic conditions, but you won’t have to swelter through the night, either. Start out by setting the thermostat to 78 degrees, which most energy experts advise as the optimal summer temperature. Then, follow the five tips below to shave off more kilowatt hours from your next power bill.

Turn it down when you’re not home : The U.S. Department of Energy urges consumers to set thermostats 10 to 15 degrees warmer when they leave home. The closer the indoor temperature matches the outdoor temperature, the less power the air conditioner burns.

See how high you can go: For every degree you raise the temperature, the South Carolina Energy Office says you can save up to 5 percent on cooling costs. If things get steamy, turn on a fan.

Block out the sun: Shades, blinds and curtains insulate against heat from the sun, saving you money and keeping the house cooler.

Keep the unit clean: Clear away brush and debris from around outdoor units to improve efficiency. Energy Star also recommends checking the indoor and outdoor coil to make sure they’re clean.

Don’t block airflow: If you’ve blocked vents with furniture or anything else, move it out of the way. Also, change air filters monthly to make sure the cool breezes can get through to begin with.

Following these tips will also give you a head start on cutting winter energy costs. That way, you’ll save some green year round.

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 16:00:00 +0000

How WiFi Detectors Work

Hotspot: This trendy term has taken the Internet-addicted population by storm. If you're not very tech-savvy and aren't familiar with it, take a look when you stroll by cafes and restaurants or the next time you go to the airport. You'll probably see signs letting people know that the location is a WiFi hotspot. You'll also probably notice several preoccupied people with noses buried in their laptops. A WiFi hotspot is simply a place where you can access wireless Internet. In the past few years, WiFi access has seeped into more and more places and facilities.

WiFi access has become so prevalent that it's turned many people into laptop-toting, Internet hunters on the prowl for a signal everywhere they travel. When they reach a place that fits the typical characteristics -- sells books or coffee and has tables or comfy chairs -- they can pretty safely expect to find a WiFi signal. But now that many buildings, college campuses and other kinds of facilities are adopting WiFi, the hunt for a signal is getting more interesting.

Unlike coffee shops that want to attract more customers, other facilities may not make it very obvious if they have a WiFi signal. In this way, the search has become more challenging. There's nothing more frustrating than taking o ut and booting up your laptop only to find that there's no signal. You'll have to pack up all your stuff, move on and try again. Some poor souls desperate for a signal will wander aimlessly with their laptops open waiting for a sign of wireless life.

After all this rigmarole, you've wasted time, patience and precious laptop battery power. Fortunately, however, there's an alternative. Certain devices have emerged that will help relieve the wandering wireless syndrome: WiFi detectors. Next, we'll explore the technology behind these useful travel gadgets.

Mechanics of WiFi Detectors

A wireless signal can travel only so far. Specifically, a typic al signal can extend as far as 1,000 feet (304.8 meters) in an unobstructed, open area and about 300 feet (91.44 meters) in a closed area that has obstructions [source: Graves]. Because the signals themselves are invisible and the access points (routers) that emit them are usually hidden, a WiFi detector can be a handy tool. WiFi detectors are basically just gadgets that can quickly and easily tell you whether you're around a WiFi signal.

Before we can understand the mechanics of WiFi detectors, let's take a quick look at wireless Internet. Although wireless Internet travels in waves similar to radio waves, it travels on very different frequencies. It actually travels on frequencies significantly higher than those of other common devices, such as cell phones. These frequencies that carry wireless Internet fall into the ranges of 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz, depending on the standard used.

In order to standardize the wireless Internet process, a group called the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) has specified 802.11 as the group of networking standards it uses. Such standards specify how data travels through the waves. Different letter-signifiers further specify the set of standards. Some common ones are 802.11b and 802.11g, both of which use the 2.4-GHz band. Within the 2.4-GHz band, you have specific channels. In the United States, wireless Internet has 11 available channels on the 2.4-GHz band (other countries may have fewer or as many as 14).

Using WiFi Detectors

As we mentioned, all WiFi detectors have interfaces that somehow inform you if a wireless signal is present. Apart from this basic function, however, all detectors are different. Manufacturers have come up with many methods for conveying the information to the user, and some of these gadgets are able to provide more information than others.

Many use LED lights, for instance. These typically light up in a scale fashion, where a single light indicates a weak signal, and more light up in sequence as the signal gets stronger. More advanced detectors use an LCD screen to display some useful information. Not only will it tell you the degree of signal strength, but perhaps also the SSID (Service Set Identifier), which is basically the name of the network. This would alert you to whether the wireless signal it's picking up is coming from your own home network or the neighbor's.

Detectors might also list the operating channel on which the network is working. This is helpful for reducing interference. It turns out that multiple networks working within the same proximity in the 2.4-GHz band can cause interference for each other. If you remember from the previous page, the 2.4-GHz band has 11 available channels in the United States. Interference can be reduced by spreading WiFi networks farther apart across the channel numbers. Thus, if your detector informs you that your neighbor's network is using channel 6, tune your router to channel 1 or 11.

When using WiFi detectors, remember that they run on batteries (usually AAA), so don't leave them on when you're not using them. Many include an indicator of battery that lets you know if it's in need of a replacement soon. Some actually have different settings that allow you to control the battery consumption or let you plug into your computer's USB port to charge.

Another helpful feature is that some detectors can tell you if the signal is encrypted (secured). If it's encrypted, you'll need a password to use it. Unfortunately, some people who travel around looking for unencrypted wireless signals might use this feature against you. When you leave your network unencrypted, freeloaders might snoop into your Internet activities or perform illegal downloads (such as music sharing). Authorities looking for the perpetrators could trace these downloads to your network, and you could get wrapped up in legal frustrations even if they can't ultimately pin the fault on you. So, it's important to keep your wireless network secure and encrypted with password protection.

Overall, when you travel with a laptop, a WiFi detector can be one of the handiest travel gadgets to bring with you. You can even get a small keychain version to ensure you never leave home without it.

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 16:20:00 +0000

Alternative fuel vehicle pictures

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 12:15:00 +0000

Top 5 Ways We'll Have Fun in 2050

5: Bird Watching

While you may have hoped for some futuristic gossip in this article, you'll be very familiar with one activity: bird watching. In 1997, Newsweek published a list of outdoor activities and their expected rate of growth by 2050, and bird watching far outpaced the rest. In fact, back then, bird watching was estimated to grow faster than the projected population of the United States, with a growth rate of about 58 percent. By 2050, there may be as many as 127.8 million birders.

When bird enthusiasts spot a new find in the future, it will be a pretty big deal. That's because by 2050, the existence of about 400 to 900 species of land birds will be threatened thanks to climate change and habitat destruction. So if you relish in the excitement of a rare find, then you have lots of exciting opportunities to await you.

If you consider bird watching to be too much of a fuddy-duddy hobby, consider the fact that the population will be fairly elderly in 2050; in fact, seniors will make up a quarter of all Americans. There's a large number of baby boomers, and they're aging during a time in which we're discovering life-elongating technologies every day. With more years to fill, it may be time now to invest in a good pair of binoculars.

4: Jellyfish Restaurants

It's hard to imagine a time when friends and family won't meet up for a bite to eat, so of course we're including dining out on our list. However, don't plan on heading to a local steakhouse or burger joint. Because of factors including land use, population and water supply, the American diet will undergo some changes by 2050. We'll be eating a lot more grains and beans and a lot less meat and dairy. We'll still eat our veggies, of course, but we won't have the wide array to choose from that we enjoy today. Futurists estimate that about 15 percent of our diet will be from animal products, and the rest will be from plants; the United States as a whole may have to stop exporting food by 2025.

If a juicy burger isn't an option, where will those animal products come from? One possibility is that we'll eat more fish, but we certainly won't be eating the tuna and cod that we're accustomed to. According to reports published in the journal Science in 2006, commercial fish stocks could be completely decimated by 2050 because of overfishing and pollution. Our fishing throws aquatic ecosystems off balance in irreparable ways; for example, by fishing for tuna, marlin and swordfish, we eliminate the major predators of jellyfish. As a result, jellyfish numbers are increasing rapidly, which may mean that we'll have to develop a taste for jellyfish sushi. Jellyfish have been eaten for thousands of years in Asian countries, but its taste may require some getting used to -- one biology professor described it as "tough strips of cucumber". One slightly more palatable option we might have in 2050 is squid, which unfortunately are very high in cholesterol.

3: Robot Soccer Games

It's difficult to even comprehend all the ways we might interact with robots by 2050. It's possible that robots will be conducting routine surgeries or piloting our airplanes. They could be conducting search and rescue missions or fighting in wars. One researcher even predicts that by 2050, we could be having sex with and marrying robots.

But when it comes to having fun either now or in 2050, you'd be hard pressed to find a better way to spend a Saturday or Sunday than outside in the beautiful sun, enjoying a sporting event. What might change by 2050, though, is who's playing. Roboticists predict that by 2050, they will have developed autonomous robots that will be able to beat the best soccer players in the world. That's right, by 2050, we could see Robots vs. Humans in the contest for the World Cup. Now that will fill some bars and basements!

These robots won't just be wired with the steps for winning a soccer game. Rather, roboticists are working now to train robots how to play soccer by using human models. The robots are presented with data that shows how humans respond to a series of soccer plays, so that when the robot is presented with the same setups, they have choices in how to respond. These robots will be able to perceive the play and act accordingly. If you want a glimpse of the future, check out the RoboCup games, in which researchers test out their current "players" and share information with one another. So far, there are no robotic concession workers for these events.

2: Oral Storytelling

Currently, many of us spend our spare time using social media like Twitter and blogs, mediums that allow us to type up a quick message to let our friends know what we're doing. However, writing and reading those messages may not be how we communicate with our pals in the future. In fact, we may not read or write at all, a future that many dying newspapers are already confronting.

Futurist William Crossman believes that spoken language will replace written communication in the coming years, meaning that we won't need to teach children how to read and write, but rather how to use computers and think creatively [source: Naisbitt]. Crossman envisions a world in which we all use voice-in, voice-out (VIVO) computers. Everything we need to communicate will be handled by these machines. Rather than writing our memoirs, for example, we'd sit down in front of a webcam and tell our story. As the recent rise of reality television and YouTube superstars bears out, there are many people who would happily sit and watch a complete stranger spin a tale.

Crossman's future means that vast swaths of the population will be illiterate, but should those people need to read something, their computer could scan and read it to them. In some ways, this may make communication more democratic, and with the explosion in populations that are predicted, it may even be necessary. Computers would have instantaneous translation services, making it easier for an urban resident to connect with a rural resident a world away.

1: Virtual Reality Entertainment

Your flat-screen television may represent the epitome of entertainment right now, but by 2050, it will seem hopelessly outdated. In 2050, we'll likely demand that our entertainment not be contained by the screen -- we'll want to interact with it via virtual reality. Imagine playing a video game about World War II: You and your friends will have the option of hopping off the couch and storming the beaches of Normandy with everybody else. With this technology, your children will be able to interact with their favorite fuzzy friends by inviting them into the living room to dance around.

Entertainment won't be the only way we'll use virtual technology, however. Likely, we'll be able to meet up with friends and family around the world thanks to hologram technology. Let's say you have a business meeting with colleagues from New York, Seattle and Beijing -- all of you can meet up in one office to discuss the matter at hand. Long-distance relationships will become a little more manageable because of virtual visits, and all of your pals can show up to your destination wedding, no matter where they live.

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 11:09:00 +0000

What is the difference between drywall and plaster?

When building a home or remodeling, people usually think about the granite countertops, the extensive square footage or the number of windows in the new space. Much of the time, little thought is given to one of the most integral parts of the home -- the interior walls.

Most people don't think about the walls in their homes unless there's a problem or they move into a studio apartment. Yet, interior walls provide privacy and separation. They can also act as sound barriers, insulators and even offer additional fire resistance.

Two of the most common forms of interior wall materials are plaster and drywall. Plaster has been used since ancient times. The earliest plaster was usually made of lime, sand, animal hair and water. Egyptian tombs, such as that of Queen Nefertari, feature paintings on the plaster walls that line their interiors. Ancient Roman homes are known to have been decorated with fresco artwork. Frescos are works of art that are created with different pigments on wet plaster.

An alternative to lime-based plasters, gypsum-based plasters had a faster drying time . This new form of plaster grew in popularity because it could speed up the building process.

As technology advanced, drywall became more durable and readily available. By the 1950s, drywall had surged in popularity as an interior wall material. The product now covers a majority of the interior walls in modern day homes.

In this article, we'll explore the composition, advantages and disadvantages of plaster and drywall for interior wall applications.

Inside Plaster

The most common form of plaster for interior walls is gypsum plaster. Plaster walls are generally created through a three-coat process. To begin, lath must be secured to the framing. Historically, lath has been made of wood strips, but more recently metal or plasterboard have come into use. The lath gives the gooey plaster something to hold onto.

After the lath is in place, the plaster compound must be mixed. The compound usually comes dry and must be mixed with water. While this step may sound fairly easy, a certain amount of skill and experience is needed to get the right consistency [source: Nash]. Then, the plaster can finally be applied to the wall. The first coat of plaster is applied, scratched and left to dry. It is followed by the second coat, or brown coat, and then the wall is finished off with a final layer.

Due to the number of coats and lathing, a plaster wall tends to be thicker than a drywall wall, which can create a greater air barrier [source: Heberle and Scutella]. This thickness also creates a good sound barrier between rooms. If the lathing and framing are done well, plaster can provide a much more rigid wall leading to reduced likelihood of buckling or breaking. Since plaster is not a solid when it's applied to the wall, it can be a good choice for curved or irregular surfaces. Finally, the gypsum within the plaster has a high water content, which gives the walls fire-resistant qualities.

Even with these benefits, plaster has fallen out of favor with homeowners today. Let's look at some possibilities for why that might have happened. First, the plastering process is labor intensive, causing the price to rise. Plastering is also time-consuming -- in applying and drying time. In addition, while plaster is very durable, it can crack with the settling of the building or improper installation. Some of these cracks can be fixed with plaster or a setting-type compound, yet others require structural restoration.

These may be some of the reasons that homeowners and remodelers are now more likely to opt for the drywall. Let's take a closer look at this interior wall material.

Inside Drywall

For basic gypsum drywall, the calcined gypsum is mixed with water and occasionally additives to create the core material. The viscous material is then squeezed, or flattened, between two different layers of paper and dried. One side of the paper is the face, which is strong and smooth, while the other side, or back, has a rougher texture.

Installing drywall is a fairly quick process compared to that of plastering. The boards are cut to fit the shape of the walls. They're then secured to the rough framing of the house. After the boards are in place, corner bead is attached to the corners to give them a straight edge. The walls are then taped with either paper or fiberglass-mesh tape at the joints, corners and places where the boards have been fastened to the wall. Then, the typical three layers of joint compound are added. After each layer, the wall is sanded to give a smoother surface. Once the third layer had dried, the wall is ready to be painted.

There are obvious advantages to drywall over plaster. First, the process of installation requires less time and labor, which can translate to less cost. Drywall also helps to reduce noise along with having fire-resistant properties due to the water in the boards.

While drywall does have many advantages as an interior wall material, it's not invincible. Drywall can be damaged by the settling of the building or homeowner accidents. A common problem is nail or screw pops, when the head of these fasteners creates a bulge or becomes visible through the drywall.

Secondly, gypsum drywall is susceptible to water damage if exposed to elevated levels of moisture over long periods of time. There are specialty drywall boards with additives that are designed for better water-resistance.

Along with water sensitivity, gypsum drywall boards can have mold problems. To decrease the chance for mold, new gypsum drywall boards are going paperless.

Whether you choose the versatility of drywall or the old-world charm of plaster walls, interior walls shape the look, flow and feel of your home. Knowing about the advantages and disadvantages of both plaster and drywall help you to choose the best system for your lifestyle.

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 16:58:00 +0000

How Fireworks Work

If you have ever been to an aerial fireworks show at an amusement park, baseba ll game, Fourth of July celebration or on New Year's Eve, then you know that fireworks have a special and beautiful magic all their own -- a good show is absolutely amazing.

Have you ever wondered how this magic works? What is launched into the sky to make these beautiful displays? In this article, you will learn all about firecrackers, sparklers and aerial fireworks.

Firecrackers and Sparklers

Just about everyone in the United States has some personal experience with fireworks, either from Fourth of July or New Years Eve celebrations. For example, you have probably seen both sparklers and firecrackers. It turns out that if you understand these two pyrotechnic devices, then you are well on your way to understanding aerial fireworks. The sparkler demonstrates how to get bright, sparkling light from a firework, and the firecracker shows how to create an explosion.

Firecrackers have been around for hundreds of years. They consist of either black powder (also known as gunpowder) or flash powder in a tight paper tube with a fuse to light the powder. Black powder, contains charcoal, sulfur and potassium nitrate. A composition used in a firecracker might have aluminum instead of or in addition to charcoal in order to brighten the explosion.

Sparklers are very different from firecrackers. A sparkler burns over a long period of time (up to a minute) and produces extremely bright and showery light. Sparklers are often referred to as "snowball sparklers" because of the ball of sparks that surrounds the burning portion of the sparkler. If you look at Patent #3,862,865: Sparkler composition, you can see that a sparkler consists of several different compounds:

A fuel
An oxidizer
Iron or steel powder
A binder

See this Question of the Day for a discussion of oxidizers -- potassium nitrate is a very common one. The fuel is charcoal and sulfur, as in black powder. The binder can be sugar or starch. Mixed with water, these chemicals form a slurry that can be coated on a wire (by dipping) or poured into a tube. Once it dries, you have a sparkler. When you light it, the sparkler burns from one end to the other (like a cigarette). The fuel and oxidizer are proportioned, along with the other chemicals, so that the sparkler burns slowly rather than exploding like a firecracker.

It is very common for fireworks to contain aluminum, iron, steel, zinc or magnesium dust in order to create bright, shimmering sparks. The metal flakes heat up until they are incandescent and shine brightly or, at a high enough temperature, actually burn. A variety of chemicals can be added to create colors.

Aerial Fireworks

An aerial firework is normally formed as a shell that consists of four parts:

Container - Usually pasted paper and string formed into a cylinder
Stars - Spheres, cubes or cylinders of a sparkler-like composition
Bursting charge - Firecracker-like charge at the center of the shell
Fuse - Provides a time delay so the shell explodes at the right altitude

Located just below the shell is a small cylinder that contains the lifting charge.

The shell is launched from a mortar. The mortar might be a short, steel pipe with a lifting charge of black powder that explodes in the pipe to launch the shell. When the lifting charge fires to launch the shell, it lights the shell's fuse. The shell's fuse burns while the shell rises to its correct altitude, and then ignites the bursting charge so it explodes.

Simple shells consist of a paper tube filled with stars and black powder. Stars come in all shapes and sizes, but you can imagine a simple star as something like sparkler compound formed into a ball the size of a pea or a dime. The stars are poured into the tube and then surrounded by black powder. When the fuse burns into the shell, it ignites the bursting charge, causing the shell to explode. The explosion ignites the outside of the stars, which begin to burn with bright showers of sparks. Since the explosion throws the stars in all directions, you get the huge sphere of sparkling light that is so familiar at fireworks displays.

Multibreak Shells

More complicated shells burst in two or three phases. Shells like this are called multibreak shells. They may contain stars of different colors and compositions to create softer or brighter light, more or less sparks, etc. Some shells contain explosives designed to crackle in the sky, or whistles that explode outward with the stars.

Multibreak shells may consist of a shell filled with other shells, or they may have multiple sections without using additional shells. The sections of a multibreak shell are ignited by different fuses. The bursting of one section ignites the next. The shells must be assembled in such a way that each section explodes in sequence to produce a distinct separate effect. The explosives that break the sections apart are called break charges.

Fireworks Displays

T he pattern that an aerial shell paints in the sky depends on the arrangement of star pellets inside the shell. For example, if the pellets are equally spaced in a circle, with black powder inside the circle, you will see an aerial display of smaller star explosions equally spaced in a circle. To create a specific figure in the sky, you create an outline of the figure in star pellets, surround them as a group with a layer of break charge to separate them simultaneously from the rest of the contents of the shell, and place explosive charges inside those pellets to blow them outward into a large figure. Each charge has to be ignited at exactly the right time or the whole thing is spoiled.

To see how some common multibreak shells look in the sky, try the quick and easy "HowStuffWorks Field Guide to Aerial Fireworks." It's interactive, so you can click on a name and see the fireworks display that goes with it. The next time you witness a big fireworks show, you will know the names for each type of shell you see.

You can see how some of the more common multibreak shells look in the sky by clicking on the buttons in the illustration above. You can read descriptions of these shells below:

Palm: Contains large comets, or charges in the shape of a solid cylinder, that travel outward, explode and then curve downward like the limbs of a palm tree
Round shell: Explodes in a spherical shape, usually of colored stars
Ring shell: Explodes to produce a symmetrical ring of stars
Willow: Contains stars (high charcoal composition makes them long-burning) that fall in the shape of willow branches and may even stay visible until they hit the ground
Roundel: Bursts into a circle of maroon shells that explode in sequence
Chrysanthemum: Bursts into a spherical pattern of stars that leave a visible trail, with an effect somewhat suggestive of the flower
Pistil: Like a chrysanthemum shell, but has a core that is a different color from the outer stars
Maroon shell: Makes a loud bang
Serpentine: Bursts to send small tubes of incendiaries skittering outward in random paths, which may culminate in exploding stars

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 17:20:00 +0000

BONUS POST

How To Recover Lost Data from Your Hard Drive

Hard drives fail. It's a fact of life for anyone who uses a computer. If you store irreplaceable information on your hard drive, then a failure can be a catastrophe. But can you recover the family photos, work documents or financial data that you kept meaning to back up, but never did? There might be hope, so don't give up on that broken hard drive yet.

We're going to describe the warning signs of a hard drive failure, explain the internal parts of a hard drive and why they fail, and then we'll go through a few steps you can take to recover your data. While the files can't always be recovered, there's a chance you might be able to retrieve them.

Just remember one thing -- even if your files can be restored, it will take hours of frustrating effort and might cost you quite a bit of money, too. The best way to fix a dead hard drive is to send it in under warranty and replace it with your backup drive that has all your files safely stored on it. In fact, after reading this article, you'll find that a good back-up plan will keep you from ever experiencing the horrible feeling in the pit of your stomach when you realize that all of your files may be gone.

Why Drives Fail

A hard drive is a mechanical device with several moving parts. Magnetic platters store the data itself, while a motorized spindle spins the platters. A read/write arm moves across the platters, retrieving information or putting down new data. The arm is moved by an actuator, and the read/write heads themselves hover an infinitesimal distance above the platters. The distance is so small that a single piece of dust can get in the way.

If any of the hard drive's mechanical parts fails, the whole drive will fail. The parts operate with incredible precision, so hard drives are rather fragile. Circuit boards, spindle motors, ball bearings -- any of these parts are susceptible to failure. The worst type of failure is known as a head crash. In this case, the read/write head drops down directly onto the platter and scrapes away the magnetic material. The data in that case is totally, permanently lost. Data on unaffected parts of the platters may be recoverable, but usually data are spread around the platters, so a head crash is really bad news.

Other mechanical failures can be both a curse and a blessing. It's a curse because it can be difficult and expensive to get replacement parts and find someone who can make the repair. It's a blessing because, as long as the platters weren't damaged, the data are still there. If you can get the drive running again, the data should be accessible.

The failure might be non-mechanical. Your computer uses a special index and file structure to read all the files stored on the disk. If this index becomes corrupted, the computer won't be able to see or read the data, even though it's still there. In many cases, this can be repaired with the proper software, although it can be tricky.

There's one last area where a drive can fail, and it's particularly insidious because the drive actually didn't fail at all -- the drive's connection to your computer failed. Hard drives connect to your computer's motherboard via a variety of interfaces, IDE, PATA and SATA being the most common. If this connection, or the circuit on the motherboard that controls the disk (called the disk controller) has failed, the symptoms can mimic the symptoms of a hard drive failure.

The next section will describe the warning signs of impending hard drive failure.

Signs of Hard Drive Failure

All too often, hard drives fail with no warning whatsoever. One minute the computer is working fine, the next you have a "blue screen of death" and all your data is gone. So, what's the lesson here? Don't rely on warning signs to predict hard drive failure. Assume that your hard drive is going to fail, and back up critical files. If you have a reliable back-up, you'll save yourself many headaches.

Some mechanical components can fail gradually, however, so occasionally you'll know when a drive failure is imminent. These warnings fall into two categories: sounds and performance problems.

If you spend a lot of time sitting near your computer, you're probably familiar with the usual sounds it makes. If you hear the hard drive making any unusual noises, that's probably a clue that something is going wrong. Grinding or screeching noises might mean the bearings or spindle motor are failing. A clicking, clunking or clanging sound could be the read/write arm slamming back and forth. Sometimes these sounds can be subtle and difficult to detect. If you think you're hearing funny noises, open your computer's case and listen with your ear close to the hard drive while someone else uses the computer to save or move some files.

Performance problems include a sudden increase in the frequency of freeze-ups and crashes. Of course, these types of performance problems can be symptomatic of any number of computer maladies, from viruses to memory leaks to non-drive related hardware failures. A more specific tell-tale: saving or moving files suddenly takes a very, very long time. When you run into any of these symptoms, back up anything that isn't already saved and hope the drive lasts long enough to get everything you need copied to another disk.

Next, we'll troubleshoot your dead drive.

Troubleshooting a Dead Drive

When your drive seems to have given up the ghost, there are some steps you can take to determine where the problem lies. If your computer is running Windows, the first thing you should do is reboot the computer and go into the basic input/output system (BIOS). Usually you do this by pressing the Delete key during the boot-up sequence -- watch for on-screen prompts. BIOS has a utility that autodetects drives. Run this and see if the drive shows up. If it doesn't, there may be a problem with the connections between the drive and the motherboard. Check all those connections.

If the drive does show up, then you can run some more diagnostic tests. You'll need another functional computer to accomplish most of these, unless you've planned ahead. Find the model number and manufacturer of your hard drive. Go to the manufacturer's Web site and look for the company's proprietary diagnostic software. You'll have to download and then burn it to a CD-ROM or save it to a floppy disk, depending on what the "dead" computer is equipped with. Boot the dead computer from the diagnostic disk and run it. The diagnostics should give you some indication of what the problem is, although sometimes it will find no problems, even though the drive is still not working.

You can also create a bootable virus scan disk and scan the dead drive for any viruses that might be causing the problem. If your computer is infected, you may be able to use the virus scan disk to repair the problem as well.

If all has gone well, at this point you should have a rough diagnosis. You might not know exactly what's wrong, but at least you've ruled some things out and narrowed it down. But what if none of those troubleshooting steps worked? Try connecting the drive to another computer, one that you know works. This will let you know if the problem is really with the drive itself.

Also, open your computer's case and listen closely to the drive when you boot up the computer. Is it totally silent? That means the platters aren't "spinning up," indicating a serious mechanical problem. Does it make any of the warning sounds we mentioned earlier? Remember, these are also a sign of mechanical failure. If it sounds perfectly normal (generally, a steady hiss as the platters spin and internal cooling fans activate -- although different drives make different sounds), then the problem is probably not mechanical.

In the next section, we'll explore some different ways to repair a hard drive.

Hard Drive Repair

f you've determined that your drive has a mechanical problem, you may have some difficulties to overcome. The drive might be fixable and your data recoverable, but it might require a professional repair, which can cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars. The main reason for this is that work on the internals of a hard drive have to be done in a "clean room" environment. Any piece of dust on the platters can ruin the drive.

You could attempt a mechanical repair on your own, but you'll need to find exact replacement parts from the exact model and version of the drive. This can be a huge challenge all by itself (even for professional data recovery experts). You might be able to replace a dead circuit board yourself, but spindle motors and read/write actuators are very difficult to deal with. Also note that opening your hard drive's case will void its warranty. If you do decide to go this route, remember to never touch the platters themselves. The oils from your fingertips are enough to ruin the drive.

A problem with a corrupt file structure or disk index is solved with special software. There are some utilities, such as fdisk, built into most operating systems that can be used for this purpose, but you have to be very careful. Changing the partitions in the drive or formatting it might solve the problem, but you'll lose all your data. Another option is to use a specialized recovery utility such as Disk Warrior to repair the problem while keeping as much of your data as possible. Some corrupted files may not be recoverable.

Up next, a look at some extreme forms of hard drive repair.

Extreme Hard Drive Repair

There are some rather odd hard drive repair suggestions floating around the Internet. Enough people claim that they work that they're worth a look in dire circumstances. If your drive seems to have a mechanical problem or simply a problem you haven't been able to solve, and you're unwilling or unable to get professional data recovery, you might have one last ditch shot at retrieving your data.

Before you try any of these techniques, make sure you're ready to immediately recover your data. The easiest way is to have the connections ready to reconnect the dead drive to a computer with either a DVD burner or a large flash drive to move your critical files to. Also, please remember that these methods may not work and may even cause additional damage to your hard drive. If you have any questions about what you're doing, it's probably best to have a professional look at your hard drive for you.

Sometimes the mechanical parts within a hard drive can get bound up or jammed. A sharp physical shock might free things up long enough to get your data. Keep in mind this is the exact opposite of how you should normally treat a hard drive, so this is really a last resort. First, try whacking the side of the drive with the handle of a screwdriver or a small mallet. If that doesn't help, try the drop method: Hold the drive about 6 inches (15.2 centimeters) above a hard surface and let it fall (make sure the metal chassis is the part it lands on). You might have luck with successive drops from slightly higher up.

The most unusual method of hard drive repair requires you to freeze the drive. The cold temperature shrinks certain metal parts and can free up jams or binds. Put the drive in a sealed plastic bag and then put it in the freezer. Reports vary from a minimum of two hours to 24. If you have nothing else to lose, it's worth a try.

There are some even more extreme forms of hard drive repair, but they can only be accomplished by professionals. Some of these techniques can recover data from drives that have been burned and melted in fires or damaged by water. Even drives that were submerged in floods can have recoverable data on them. The methods involve recovering the platters and using new mechanical parts to read whatever magnetic data is still on them. This absolutely has to be done in a clean room, so there's really no way to do it in your own home. It's expensive, but if you absolutely need that information, it may be worth it to you. Thats all.

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 31 May 2009 07:43:00 +0000

Are hybrid cars slower than regular cars?

Part of America's love affair with cars is the desire for speed. Sure, we're attached to automobiles for several other reasons -- they get us comfortably from one point to the next, and we're even willing to sit through grueling traffic jams in them just to get to work or to the grocery store. But the rumble of the engine, the whine of the gears shifting upwards and the wind flowing through an open window is a common, iconic image. It's probably no coincidence that lots of American road movies include montages that attempt to convey that sort of feeling.

The rising popularity of hybrid cars within the auto industry, however, is changing that familiar perception. For one, most fuel-efficient vehicles don't necessarily rumble. In fact, most employ a function that allows the gasoline engine to stop running while sitting in traffic, coasting or even when the car is driving at lower speeds. Instead, a hybrid vehicle uses a quieter electric motor to conserve fuel and produce fewer emissions.

But despite being known for having good fuel efficiency and promoting eco-friendly driving, some have criticized hybrid vehicles for a variety of reasons. Some have questioned, for instance, the reliability of hybrid battery packs, claiming that they tend to be faulty and that they're expensive to replace. This is largely untrue, and nearly every car company producing a hybrid vehicle guarantees their battery pack for the life of the car.

Other critics, at least those that have grown accustomed to faster speeds associated with modern gasoline-powered cars, have noted that hybrid cars are typically slower than regular automobiles. The claim is that by focusing on fuel-efficiency and lower emissions, hybrid cars are sacrificing higher speeds and more power, slowing down their performance. Because this doesn't gel with the typical image of the fast American car, some drivers are a little turned off by this.

So, are hybrid cars really slower than regular cars? Why is this? And is that really the point for someone concerned about green driving?

Hybrid Engine Performance

When most people buy a hybrid car, they usually do so with the understanding that there's going to be some kind of compromise between power and eco-friendly driving. The reason hybrid vehicles have become such a buzz topic and a go-to model for the auto industry recently is because of that compromise. As concerns increase over global warming, caused in part by carbon emissions resulting from vehicle fuel consumption, the power provided by a gasoline engine coupled with the fuel-saving qualities of an electric motor seem like the best possible combination.

But are fuel-efficient vehicles significantly slower than regular cars? To see if hybrid cars crawl on the road rather than zip along, we have to look into hybrid engine performance. Generally speaking, the engine in a hybrid car is almost always smaller than the engine in a comparable non-hybrid car. Smaller engines usually equal less horsepower and less torque. To get good fuel efficiency, hybrids operate from a standing start using only the electric motor, which typically provides much less horsepower and torque than a gasoline-powered engine. These two systems work together, however, to ensure hybrids can save fuel in the city and drive at faster speeds on the highway or even climb steep hills.

In short, hybrid cars won't be maxing out at 45 miles per hour (72 kilometers per hour) on the highway, endangering -- or at the very least, angering -- other drivers on the road, but they won't go quite as fast as most regular cars, either. While many all-electric vehicles have significantly lower top speeds and some are even a little bit unstable on the highway, hybrid cars get enough power from the gasoline engine to go as fast as 100 miles per hour (161 kilometers per hour). The real matter for hybrids is in acceleration. Since the smaller electric motors that most automakers use don't produce much horsepower, a relatively fast hybrid car can go from zero to 60 miles per hour (97 kilometers per hour) in about six seconds, while a more typical hybrid car's zero to 60 time hovers around the 10 second mark. For some people, that's a little too slow.

How are the carmakers responding? Well, some are developing faster hybrid cars with larger, V-6 engines and more powerful electric motors. Hybrid technology developer Frazer-Nash Research and Italian design firm Italdesign Giugiaro, for instance, worked together to build the Namir, a concept plug-in hybrid that can go from zero to 62 miles per hour (100 kilometers per hour) in 3.5 seconds and has a top speed of 187 miles per hour (301 kilometers per hour). The Namir's range is also 1,200 miles (1,931 kilometers), so anyone with the need for speed and an itch for green driving should look toward Italy.

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 31 May 2009 07:27:00 +0000

Record-Breaking Pizzas

Most expensive: Scottish chef Domenico Crolla created the “Pizza Royale 007” (in honor of James Bond) for a fundraiser. It cost 3,000 euros ($4,437) and featured high-end toppings like edible gold, lobster marinated in cognac, champagne-soaked caviar, venison medallions and smoked salmon [source: BBC].

Most extravagant: Though it is hard to top Crolla’s creation, the “Luxury Pizza” at Nino’s Bellissima restaurant in New York City is covered with fresh lobster, crème fraiche, chives and six types of caviar. At $125 per slice and $1,000 per 12-inch pizza, this entree is certainly a delicacy [source: Reuters].

Largest ever made: According to Guinness World Records, this feat was accomplished on Dec. 8, 1990, in Johannesburg, South Africa. The pizza measured 122.7 feet (37.4 meters) in diameter and required 1,102 pounds (500 kilograms) of flour, 1,764 pounds (800 kg) of cheese and 1,984 pounds (900 kg) of tomato puree.

Largest ever made and eaten: Guinness World Records credits the city of Havana, Fla., with hosting this accomplishment on Oct. 11, 1987. The pizza tipped the scales at 44,457 pounds (20,165 kg). The pie was divided into 94,248 slices and devoured by 30,000-plus spectators.

Longest pizza delivery: Lucy Clough of Domino’s Pizza is arguably the world’s most dedicated pizza delivery person. On Nov. 19, 2004, she traveled 10,532 miles (16,950 kilometers) from London to Melbourne, Australia, to set the record for longest pizza delivery, as recognized by Guinness World Records.

Domino's Pizza Legends

If you visit urban legend Web site Snopes.com and type in "pizza," you'll notice that most of the results are related to Domino's Pizza. Here is a rundown:

Legend: The "30 minutes or less and it's free" promise was discontinued because a rushing delivery driver fatally hit a child with his car.
Truth: Domino's reportedly settled out of court in a few cases involving automobile accidents with drivers, one of which killed a woman. Domino's never said that the time limit was a factor and instead blamed weather and road conditions. The chain now emphasizes quality with the "Made Fresh, Arrives Fresh" guarantee.
Legend: Domino's Pizza provides financial assistance to anti-abortion group Operation Rescue.
Truth: Domino's does not contribute financially, but founder Tom Monaghan is a champion of pro-life causes. Monaghan doesn't even own Domino's anymore -- he sold it in 1998 for $1 billion. Which brings us to our next legend…
Legend: The founder of Domino's is building an all-Catholic town in Florida.
Truth: This one is actually right. Monaghan is currently heading up the development of Ave Maria, Fla., which is about 90 miles from Miami. The city will ban practices frowned upon by Catholicism, such as pornography, birth control and abortions. Eventually, the city will be home to more than 30,000 residents, including 5,000 students at a new Catholic university.

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 30 May 2009 16:31:00 +0000

How Pizza Works

Pizza is one of the most popular foods on the planet. In fact, it's so popular that you would think it has been around forever. But actually, it's relatively new to the stomachs of the Americans who treasure it.

Despite its relatively short tenure in the United States, pizza has become a staple in the diets of many. In fact, it's so beloved that each person in North America puts away an average of 23 pounds of it each year [source: Domino's Pizza]. More than 3 billion pizzas a year are sold in the United States alone, resulting in about $37 billion in revenue, according to the National Association of Pizza Operators.

The beauty of pizza is that, no matter what your tastes, there are so many ways to make it and so many topping possibilities that virtually anyone can create a pizza to suit himself. Not too keen on cheese? Just sprinkle it on or leave it off entirely! Can't decide between macaroni and cheese and pizza? That's OK -- some places actually serve the two kid-friendly dishes combined!

In its simplest form, pizza consists of three main ingredients: bread, tomato sauce and cheese, but the options are almost limitless from there. In this article you'll learn more than you ever thought you could about pizza, including its history in Italy and the United States, how dough is made, and topping trends around the globe.

We'll also describe in mouthwatering detail the different types of pizza and what makes each of them special. And you might want to keep a phone handy -- in case you're tempted to order one while reading this.

Pizza History

Italians are usually credited with the development and spread of pizza around the world. Much of that credit is accurate, but the concept of putting stuff on hot bread probably dates back to the days of cavemen. Actual pizza probably made its debut in ancient Greece. The Greeks baked round flatbreads (similar to what we know today as foccacia bread) that they decorated with a variety of spices, seasonings, oils and other toppings.

The word "pizza," meaning "pie," was coined sometime around A.D. 1000 near Rome and Naples, Italy. In the 18th century, flatbread pizza became a popular and cost-effective meal for the peasant population in Naples. People were just beginning to realize that tomatoes, which had been brought over from the New World in the 16th century, were actually not poisonous. By the end of the 18th century, the residents of Naples -- and tourists -- began to top the bread with tomatoes, essentially creating pizza as we know it. Street vendors sold the dish in the poor areas of Naples before the opening of the world's first pizzeria, Antica Pizzeria Port'Alba, in 1830. And pizza is sold today from the very same spot.

The Pizza Industry

Although the product may not closely resemble the pizza that originated in Italy, pizza delivery and dine-in chains are wildly popular. Some quick facts:

Pizza Hut is the largest chain pizza restaurant in the world. The company has nearly 6,600 locations in the United States and more than 4,000 in 100 other countries.
Domino's Pizza leads the market in delivery. The company boasts about 9,000 stores in more than 55 countries.
Papa John's, despite being a relative newcomer to the industry, is the third-largest pizza company in the world.

Sometime around 1889, Italy's royal couple, Queen Margherita and King Umberto I, toured their kingdom. The Queen took note of the large, flat bread being consumed. She tried it and loved it. She called Chef Rafaelle Esposito to her palace, where he created a variety of pizzas for her. In honor of her, he designed a pizza with toppings in the colors of the Italian flag (red tomatoes, white mozzarella and green basil). This pizza became her favorite and is known to this day as the Margherita. Her love for pizza made her incredibly popular among her subjects -- most royals would never have dined on peasant food, much less encourage its spread [source: A Full Belly].

Pizza appeared on the American scene quietly in the late 19th century with the mass arrival of Italian immigrants. It was mostly sold on the streets of large Italian neighborhoods in such cities as Philadelphia, Chicago and New York City. Pizza soon became available in cafes and grocery stores, but it pretty much remained exclusive to Italian neighborhoods until after World War II. At this time, soldiers returning from Italy increased demand for the dish. Pizza's popularity spread like wildfire, and pizzerias began popping up all over the United States, followed quickly by chain restaurants like Shakey's Pizza and Pizza Hut.

Everybody Loves Ray's Pizza

Apparently, pizza tastes better when it's made by a guy named Ray. At least that's what New Yorkers seem to think -- more than 30 pizzerias use the name "Ray" in New York City alone. Here is a brief timeline of the Ray trend:

Ralph Cuomo opened Ray's in 1959 in Little Italy.
He opened another on 54th Street and Seventh Avenue in the early 1960s.
Rosolino Mangano bought the second Ray's and changed the name to Famous Original Ray's, even though it wasn't technically the original.
Mangano, who now goes by "Ray" himself, opened up more Famous Original Ray's across the city.
Mangano sold a store to a new owner, who began using other variations of the Ray name in his stores.
Cuomo decided to trademark the name (he had to have been in cahoots with the other two owners in order to make this happen, though).

The three Rays went after other people using the name, including Joe Bari, who had operated Ray Bari Pizza since 1973. It's now called RayBari Pizza.

Pizza Making

The Dough

Accomplished pizza chefs consider the dough-making process an art form. The specifics of dough-making vary depending on whether the final goal is a thin, crispy crust or a thick, soft one. The mandatory ingredients in pizza dough are flour, water and yeast. Shortening, salt and sugar are also included in many basic recipes. These extras provide more taste and texture options.

Flour is the "meat" of the dough recipe. Chefs use high-gluten flour because gluten makes the crust tough enough to stand up to the water and other ingredients.
Water is vital to the recipe because it brings all the ingredients together. It encourages the production of gluten and works with starch in the flour to bind the gluten. This is what makes a pizza crust nice and firm. The amount of water used in a pizza dough recipe varies. The dough can be made to be pliable or stiff, as desired by the chef.
Without yeast, pizza crusts would lose pretty much all texture and softness. Yeast, a leavening agent, makes the dough rise. A living, single-celled plant from the fungi family, it ferments (digests) sugars and starches. Fermentation causes the dough to rise by trapping gas bubbles inside it. It also makes the dough more pliable and easy to maneuver.
Salt provides extra flavor. It also slows the fermentation process.
Shortening increases the pliability and moisture of the dough by providing lubrication. Some chefs use canola or olive oil to add a little extra flavor.
The amount of sugar changes the fermentation rate. More sugar equals quicker fermentation. Sugar also helps the crust to brown and keeps water inside the crust.

Mixing: Blend dry ingredients with a mixer. Dissolve yeast and sugar in water and add to the mixture. Mix until dough "slaps" the sides of the mixing bowl. At this point, the dough should look nice and smooth, not wet and sticky.

Balling: Use your hands to roll balls of dough. The skin should be tight, not cracked. Place balls on an oiled sheet pan.

Proofing: Cover the dough with wax paper and let it sit at room temperature until it doubles in size.

Retarding: Place the dough balls in the refrigerator for at least 12 hours to slow yeast activity.

If these steps are completed properly, the dough stays usable for approximately three to five days.

Unconventional Pizzas -- Creative or Just Silly?

We know that taste buds vary. Otherwise, there would be no place for the minced mutton on pizzas in India. Other than the Italian law governing the purity of Neopolitan pizza, there don’t seem to be any rules in the pizza industry. But do so-called “unconventional” pizzas even qualify as pizza? Probably not, if you want to be strict about the "bread, cheese and sauce" rule. However, if you don't mind messing with tradtion, you might enjoy some of these concoctions:

dessert pizzas with Oreos and chocolate-chip cookie dough
tiny bagel bites topped with miniscule amounts of cheese and toppings
macaroni-and-cheese pizzas
Mexican pizzas -- thin tortilla crusts topped with refried beans, cheese and olives

Baking

You can bake pizza in a variety of ovens. Chefs use a peel, a long, paddle-like utensil, to slide pizzas into electric deck ovens. The pizza is baked directly on a screen or hot bricks. Conveyor belt ovens are used primarily in large chain restaurants. Gas canister ovens position stone bricks directly above the heat source. "Brick-oven pizzerias" use coal or wood-fired brick ovens, which often lend a smokier taste.

Sauce and Cheese

Pizza sauce is usually tomato-based. However, the list of unconventional pizza sauces includes pesto, alfredo, ketchup and barbecue. "White pizza" recipes often eliminate the sauce entirely, replacing it with garlic butter.

Traditional pizza is made with mozzarella cheese sprinkled on tomato sauce. Many chefs like to experiment with blends of cheeses, herbs and seasonings like oregano and basil.

Pizza Styles

People have strong opinions about pizza -- in terms of passion, it seems to rank right up there with politics and religion. Some pizza lovers treasure the taste of true Chicago-style pizza so much that they have it shipped across the country. Neapolitan pizza purists in Italy lobbied recently to pass a bill protecting the style and restricting pizza vendors from using the Neapolitan name unless they meet specific guidelines (see sidebar). But those of us who enjoy variety certainly have plenty of pizza styles to choose from, including:

Neapolitan: Features a very thin, bubbly crust. Basil and mozzarella do not cover the sauce, as is common in many American pizzas. Instead, they accent it. It is usually cooked in a brick or wood-fired oven.
New York: Also thin-crusted, an authentic New York pizza features sweet tomato sauce topped with a layer of cheese. New York pizza enthusiasts don't ruin the purity of the slice by asking for a lot of toppings.
Chicago: The opposite of New York and Neapolitan pizzas in many ways, Chicago-style pizza boasts a thick crust that is baked in a pan, rather than directly on the bricks or on a sheet. The application of cheese and sauce is also reversed. Cheese goes on the bottom, followed by toppings. Sauce finishes off the creation, which is so thick that a fork and knife are necessary.
Greek: Greek pizza is also baked in a pan. One trademark characteristic is an oily crust. It is often topped with traditional Greek toppings like spinach, feta cheese and olives.
California: Superthin crusts and seasonal toppings are trademark components of California-style pizzas. They're typically topped with whatever veggies are in season in the Golden State.
Sicilian: There are Italian and American versions of this style. The American involves a thick square or rectangular crust. Toppings are placed on top of the dough. The version made in Sicily actually places the toppings, such as pecorino cheese and anchovies, inside the crust, rather than on top.

Topping Trends

It probably won't come as much of a shock that pepperoni is the No. 1 pizza topping in America. According to the National Association of Pizza Operators (NAPO), Americans consume almost 252 million pounds of pepperoni every year. Other perennial favorites are extra cheese, sausage, mushrooms, green peppers and onions. Americans also enjoy ham, bacon, ground beef, chicken, artichoke hearts, bell peppers, eggplant, olives, spinach, tomatoes and broccoli.

On the flip side, NAPO reports that anchovies consistently maintain their place as the least popular pizza topping, although they are very popular in some countries. In fact, the world has decidedly eclectic taste in toppings.

India: pickled ginger, tofu and minced mutton
Russia: "mockba" (a blend of tuna, mackerel, sardines, onions and salmon)
Japan: squid and a combination topping called "mayo jaga" (mayonnaise, bacon and potato)
Brazil: green peas
Costa Rica: coconut

Neapolitans Mean Business

Few foods have their own personal watchdog agency, so Neapolitan pizza must be pretty tasty! The True Neapolitan Pizza Association holds very strict pizza standards, recognizing only the Marinara (topped with tomato, garlic, oregano, extra virgin olive oil and sometimes basil) and the Margherita as authentic pizzas.

The Italian Ministry of Agricultural Politics recently passed a law governing how the pizzas must be made if they want to bear either of these names:

Must be round and no more than 13 ¾ inches in diameter
Center must be less than one-tenth of an inch tall
Crust must be three-quarters of an inch thick or less
Dough has to be kneaded entirely by hand
Must use very specific and traditional types of salt, flour, tomatoes and yeast.

Next i'll post Record Breaking Pizzas.....

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 30 May 2009 16:18:00 +0000

How tall can a tree grow?

In 2008, a study proposed that the maximum height for a Doug las fir -- one of the world's tallest trees -- is about 453 feet (138 meters). But why is there a limit? Trees are sup posed to be nature's skyscrapers, impossible to hem in. This cap exists because trees can only pull water so far up their trunks.

The transporters in question are pitted dead cells, called tracheids, that move water from one cell to the next. The diameter of these all-important pits shrinks as you ascend into a tree's upper reaches, complicating water transport. Eventually the flow of water reaching the leaves and branches near the top dwindles off or stops, and the struggling sections experience "drought stress." They become dehydrated and die, establishing a de facto maximum height for that tree.

Researchers think these progressively narrowing tracheids help trees to survive. Height poses the problem of air bubbles. The taller the tree, the more likely it will develop a xylem embolism, a process in which air bubbles block the passage of water. (Xylem is the tissue that makes up a tree's vascular system and allows it to transport water and minerals from the roots to the rest of the plant.) A xylem embolism, then, is similar to a human air embolism, in which air enters the bloodstream and causes potentially severe complications. The tracheids try to prevent such air bubbles and withstand the increased pressure, but that protection comes at a price: less water and, the researchers suggest, a cap on how tall trees can grow.

Another tree height study, published four years prior, posited the maximum height of a tree at 426.5 feet (130 meters) [source: Amos]. The study examined coast redwoods, or Sequoia sempervirens, currently the world's tallest trees, and based the projection on factors like existing weather conditions, photosynthesis levels, water flow and carbon dioxide levels. Not surprisingly, "healthy" factors, like water flow and photosynthesis, decreased in the higher portions of the massive trees, while unhealthy factors, like carbon dioxide, increased. But ultimately, as with the firs, it all comes down to xylem.

These redwoods pull water up through their trunks as other trees do, although they can absorb some water from the fog that often surrounds them in their native California and Oregon environments. Before attaining their maximum height, they shoot up about 9.8 inches (25 centimeters) annually.

Next, we'll consider other ways of addressing tree size and talk about what may be the world's largest organism.

The World's Biggest Trees

Tree size is often much more than just height. General Sherman, a giant sequoia -- one of two types of redwood found in California, the other being the taller, skinnier coast redwood we just mentioned -- is the world's heaviest and most voluminous tree at around 6,167 tons (5,595 metric tons) and 52,000 cubic feet (1,487 cubic meters). Located in California's Sequoia National Park, General Sherman is 274.9 feet (83.8 meters) high, but it's not the tallest tree. That honor belongs to a coast redwood named Hyperion, which clocks in at 379.1 feet (115.5 meters) tall [source: Leff]. General Sherman has a trunk circumference of 102.6 feet (31.1 meters), but it's narrower than a tree called El Arbol del Thule in Oaxaca, Mexico, that has a maximum circumference of 178 feet (54 meters.

So there are many ways of looking at tree size, just as there are various ways of looking at what is the largest living organism. Some scientists consider massive reefs like Australia's Great Barrier Reef to be giant living organisms. There are also huge fungi out there, such as a 1,500-acre (607-hectare) fungus discovered in Washington, which was once considered the world's largest organism (at least in terms of area).

But the world's most massive living organism is likely one group of quaking aspen trees located in Utah's Wasatch Mountains and nicknamed Pando (Latin for "I spread"). Pando is considered one organism because the trees in the group share an identical genetic code and a common, interconnected root system.

The Pando trees are basically clones of one another. New trees are made as stems spread out as far as 100 feet (30 meters) from the base of the original tree and then periodically take root, creating new, genetically identical, connected trees. The process repeats itself with the clone trees, weather and other conditions permitting. The process, known as vegetative reproduction, is how strawberries and many other plants reproduce.

Pando is 47,000 trees spread across 106 acres (43 hectares) and may be up to 80,000 years old [source: Grant]. But in testament to the massive size of California redwoods, this batch of 47,000 trees weighs about 6,600 tons (5,987 metric tons), only a few hundred tons in total more than General Sherman.

Individual quaking aspens have narrow trunks and grow up to 100 feet tall. Owing to their reproductive process and ability to thrive in harsh environments, quaking aspens are the most common tree in the United States.

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 29 May 2009 17:16:00 +0000

How did the Internet start?

Mention the history of the Internet to a group of people, and chances are someone will make a snarky comment about Al Gore claiming to have invented it. Gore actually said that he "took the initiative in creating the Internet" [source: CNN]. He promoted the Internet's development both as a senator and as vice president of the United States. So how did the Internet really get started? Believe it or not, it all began with a satellite.

It was 1957 when the then Soviet Union launched Sputnik, the first man-made satellite. Americans were shocked by the news. The Cold War was at its peak, and the United States and the Soviet Union considered each other enemies. If the Soviet Union could launch a satellite into space, it was possible it could launch a missile at North America.

President Dwight D. Eisenhower created the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) in 1958 as a direct response to Sputnik's launch. ARPA's purpose was to give the United States a technological edge over other countries. One important part of ARPA's mission was computer science.

In the 1950s, computers were enormous devices that filled entire rooms. They had a fraction of the power and processing ability you can find in a modern PC. Many computers could only read magnetic tape or punch cards, and there was no way to network computers together.

ARPA aimed to change that. It enlisted the help of the company Bolt, Beranek and Newman (BBN) to create a computer network. The network had to connect four computers running on four different operating systems. They called the network ARPANET.

Without ARPANET, the Internet wouldn't look or behave the way it does today -- it might not even exist. Although other groups were working on ways to network computers, ARPANET established the protocols used on the Internet today. Moreover, without ARPANET, it may have taken many more years before anyone tried to find ways to join regional networks together into a larger system.

In the next section, we'll look at how ARPANET joined with other networks to create the Internet.

Early Networks

In 1973, engineers began to look at ways to connect ARPANET to the packet radio network (PRNET). A packet radio network connects computers through radio transmitters and receivers. Instead of sending data across phone lines, the computers use radio waves. It took three years, but in 1967 engineers successfully connected the two networks [source: SRI].

Technicians joined the Satellite Network (SATNET) to the other

two networks in 1977. They called the connection between multiple networks inter-networking, or the Internet for short. Other early computer networks soon joined. They included USENET, BITNET, CSNET and NSFNET.

In 1990, Tim Berners-Lee developed a system designed to simplify navigation on the Internet. In time, this system became known as the World Wide Web. It didn't take long for some people to mistakenly identify the Internet and the Web as the same thing. The Internet is a global interconnection of computer networks; the World Wide Web is a way to navigate this massive network. In sailing terms, it's like comparing an ocean to a ship.

A Matter of Protocol

The first four computers in ARPANET all used different operating systems. The system's designers had to come up with a common set of rules the network would follow in order for the computers to communicate with each other without crashing the system. These rules are called protocols. The first set of protocols was collectively called the Network Control Protocol (NCP). In 1983, ARPANET switched to the Transmission Control Protocol and Internet Protocol suite (TCP/IP), the same set of rules the Internet follows today.

Most early Internet users were government and military employees, graduate students and computer scientists. Using the World Wide Web, the Internet became much more accessible. Colleges and universities began to connect to the Internet, and businesses soon followed. By 1994, Internet commerce had become a reality.

Today, the Internet is more complex than ever. It connects computers, satellites, mobile devices and other gadgets together in a massive network millions of times more intricate than the original ARPANET. And to think, we owe it all to a silver beeping ball that once orbited miles above the Earth's surface.

Taming the Internet

Several organizations and committees formed to help shape the Internet into what it is today. They included the Internet Activities Board, the Federal Research Internet Coordinating Committee and the Federal Networking Council among others. These groups worked to establish the rules and standards that make it possible for different computer networks to work together.