Verbo.se

Elephant Mechanics

21/11/2008

This is for wifey. Wifey likey heffalumps.

This amazing mechanic design [by Andrew Chase] was made out of transmission parts, electrical conduits, plumbing pipes and 20 gauge cold rolled steel. It is 36″ X 36″ X 18″ and weights about 85 lbs. All the joints move and lock in place, turning a gear on the elephant’s side winds a cable around a shaft which raises and lowers the trunk and the ears move back and forth and can fan out (to dissipate heat).

Mechanical Elephant, by Andrew Chase

Dumb eco-questions you were afraid to ask

16/11/2008

Great article on New Scientist with some answers to questions I’m sure many of us modern folk wonder about on a regular basis. Are hybrids really more of a fashion statement right now? Should I be leaving the lights on or switching them off and on? What can and can’t I recycle? Is washing clothes at 30 degrees ok? Et cetera.

Some of the answers are surprising – shipping receycling to China isn’t always bad, for example – others are obvious, but I reckon there’s something here for everyone. Even if you knew most of it already, it’s probably nice to have it validated by New Scientist. :)

One answer I’m not so sure about: Is it really still bad to charge electronics early and often? I used to be very careful to fully deplete my batteries to avoid the dreaded memory problem, but I read somewhere recently that this no longer applies with modern batteries. In fact I got the impression that the opposite is true, that I should be charging whenever I can. Does anyone have a definitive answer on this?

  1. If I switch the light on and off every time I enter and leave a room, does this use more energy than leaving it on all evening?
  2. How clean does the pizza box have to be for it to be recyclable? Likewise cans and bottles
  3. Are laminated juice cartons recyclable?
  4. What’s the most fuel-efficient way to drive?
  5. Is it worth recycling when stuff gets shipped to China and back in the process? Given the carbon footprint of all that, maybe we should just let the stuff rot
  6. Can I save the planet by staying slim?
  7. What’s worse, the CO2 put out by a gas-fuelled car or the environmental effects of hybrid-car batteries?
  8. What is recycled organic waste used for?
  9. If I offset my flights, can I fly as much as I want?
  10. If I’m stuck in a stop-start traffic jam, do I use more petrol turning my car on and off repeatedly or leaving it running?
  11. Can I put window envelopes in the paper recycling?
  12. How long does it take for a micro-windmill to pay for itself?
  13. Is it better to buy an eco-friendly car, with all the energy that is needed to produce it, or just run my old one into the ground?
  14. What’s the best way to charge my laptop – little and often or let the battery run down completely?
  15. Will washing my clothes at 30 °C really get them clean?
  16. Why can’t the machines in my gym be used to generate electricity?
  17. Does switching from bus to bike really have any effect? After all, cycling isn’t completely carbon neutral because I’ve got to eat to fuel my legs
  18. Is a full commercial plane more fuel-efficient over long distances than a car?
  19. If I turn my appliances off but don’t unplug them will they still use up some electricity?
  20. Does it really take more energy to recycle an aluminium can than to make a new one?
  21. What is the single most effective thing I can do for the environment?
  22. How environmentally damaging is barbecuing?
  23. When and how is the most energy-efficient way to defrost my fridge-freezer, and is a self-defrosting fridge more eco-friendly?
  24. What does the circling-arrows logo on European packaging mean?
  25. What’s greener, paper/cardboard or plastic packaging?

.TEL Coming Soon

11/11/2008

New TLD sunrising on December 3, landrushing Feb 3, GA March 24.

Very cool service with no hosting required, everything is done via the DNS. Put your contact details in a few NAPTR records, add your location in a LOC RR and perhaps a few keywords in TXT RRs, and your details will appear neatly formatted on your automatically generated .TEL website. (Tucows is the registrar I use in Beecher Networks.) But of course since that’s just generated from your raw data, it can be used in a multitude of other ways, by your mobile, your GPS unit, etc.

Not cheap though, at least not for sunrise. I haven’t set pricing yet, but I reckon sunrise registrations’ll run at least €300.

President Obama

05/11/2008

Well done Senator Obama. Well deserved.

I hope he follows through with the change he claims he’ll make. Change for good, rather than change for the sake of it, or for greed. In his book, he seems to understand compassion and empathy, I hope he’ll exercise them as President.

(Yes, that’s a capital P. Bush didn’t get one, but Barack Obama will. :)

G’wan the Pin!

29/10/2008

I’m going to channel Damien on this as he’s put it way better than I could:

Everyone’s fav property website (except maybe for Fianna Fáil, the Greens, Daft, MyHome and the developers) has done it again. They were first to point out that the Home Choice Loans scheme was dodgy as fuck and now they’ve raised it with the EU, who are going to investigate it. This is probably the next big scandal from the budget. Stay tuned here. This is people power and the web working for the common good.

Please do follow the link in Damien’s post and file a complaint on this, all you need to do is a couple of minutes copying and pasting, the lads have already done the lifting and carrying for you.

The banks and the builders have done well enough out of us, it needs to stop.

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