The stock firmware on the router is mediocre so flashed it with DD-WRT. Now I have super-fast connectivity to my computers and phones. Ya for awesome free open sourcey stuff !

Now for my geeky friends here is my setup: This router has 2 independent radios  so after flashing the firmware to DD-WRT I configured a client bridge setup to the interweb on the 802.11g radio . On the other radio (802.11a/b/g/n) I setup a mixed 802.11g/n 2.4Ghz access point because my Android phone cannot do 5Ghz 802.11n

I am back thanks to the WordPress for android app… To celebrate here are a few pictures I took with my new phone…

President Theodore ‘Teddy’ Roosevelt commenting on seeing the Grand Canyon

Read more about the US National Parks and President Teddy Roosevelt at http://www.nps.gov and  http://sayanc.net/blog/p2

A team of Yale University researchers has discovered a “repulsive” light force that can be used to control components on silicon microchips, meaning future nanodevices could be controlled by light rather than electricity. The team previously discovered an “attractive” force of light and showed how it could be manipulated to move components in semiconducting micro- and nano-electrical systems—tiny mechanical switches on a chip. The scientists have now uncovered a complementary repulsive force.

Cool factoid of the day from the article: “More moisture typically evaporates from rainforests than from the ocean. The Amazon rainforest, for example, releases 20 trillion litres of moisture every day.”

How can forests create wind? Water vapour from coastal forests and oceans quickly condenses to form droplets and clouds. The Russians point out that the gas takes up less space as it turns to liquid, lowering local air pressure. Because evaporation is stronger over the forest than over the ocean, the pressure is lower over coastal forests, which suck in moist air from the ocean. This generates wind that drives moisture further inland. The process repeats itself as the moisture is recycled in stages, moving towards the continent’s heart (see diagram). As a result, giant winds transport moisture thousands of kilometres into the interior of a continent.

…conventional desalination and reuse technologies use substantial energy. “forward osmosis,” exploits the natural diffusion of water through a semi-permeable membrane. Their process “draws” pure water from its contaminants to a solution of concentrated salts, which can easily be removed with low heat treatment — effectively desalinating or removing contaminants from water with little energy input.

The concentrated salt solution is probably a mixture of ammonia and/or carbon dioxide dissolved in water. The ammonia and CO2 are later easily boiled off and reused. The energy required for this quite less even low-cost solar heaters may be sufficient.

Scientists have developed a new catalyst that could make ethanol-powered fuel cells feasible. The highly efficient catalyst performs two crucial, and previously unreachable steps needed to oxidize ethanol and produce clean energy in fuel cell reactions.

Consumers are hurting, but if Mint’s data is indicative of the economy as a whole, it is not as bad as you might think….(mint.com customers) are spending $400 less each month than they were a year ago, have burned through half of their savings, and on average have taken on an additional $5k in debt.

Fortunately credit card debt has not gone up substantially yet but we may still need to watch out for a credit card crisis as job losses continue. On the other hand, a robust spending by the government could replace consumer demand by government demand and in turn put people into work and money into their pockets. Theoretically, this sounds good, but only time can tell if it is possible practically.