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Cisco Energy Tax tag
16 result(s) displayed for Cisco Energy Tax (1 - 16 of 16):
Energywise- Another Cisco Lock-in
I wrote awhile back that there were three problems with Energywise: 1) It is a security breach waiting to happen. 2) Apps should run on IP networks not be slave to them. 3) Painting Cisco switches with EnergyWise paint doesn't... Full Story
Posted on May 4, 2009 6:27 PM
EnergyWise is Another Cisco Lock-in
Previously, I highlighted three problems with Cisco's EnergyWise: 1) security vulnerabilities, 2) it's should be an app, and 3) it doesn't make Cisco switches any more efficient. Now Art Wittmann has raised the very valid concern that it's proprietary to... Full Story
Posted on March 9, 2009 2:20 PM
ProCurve, Now Pro-Nortel
John McHugh now heads Nortel's Data Networking Division. A few years ago, he was selected as one of 50 most powerful people in networking as the head of HP's ProCurve group , winning kudos for his well-rounded enterprise strategy, which... Full Story
Posted on February 9, 2009 10:44 AM
EnergyWise Doesn't Make Cisco Switches Any Greener
No argument for me: Green IT is critical important for Profit, People and Planet.. There're three problems with Cisco's EnergyWise. Firstly, EnergyWise is a security breach waiting to happen. Do you want your network to be powering down your call... Full Story
Posted on January 30, 2009 7:43 AM
Triple Bottom Line: Profit, People, Planet
The Triple Bottom Line (3BL) captures an expanded spectrum of CXO criteria for measuring organizational success: Profit, People and Planet". This comes from some UN work and is being adopted by governments around the world, perhaps even in your community.... Full Story
Posted on January 26, 2009 11:55 AM
Powering Hyperconnectivity: Catching the Wave
Hyperconnectivity drives powering needs as everything and everyone gets connected and as server farms expand to meet the demand. A to-be-published Nemertes survey report finds that 23% of US CIO have a green program. One element is of course improving... Full Story
Posted on January 16, 2009 10:32 AM
Formula 0 Race and The Cisco Energy Tax
Last summer in Rotterdam, six teams competed in a Formula 0 race, a new zero emission race series took place on a .5Km track. Each car was powered by a commercial fuel cell that produces electricity from hydrogen. How does... Full Story
Posted on December 17, 2008 3:08 PM
Extreme Energy Claims
Extreme Networks has copied Nortel's campaign of attacking the Cisco Energy Tax, but then hides energy consumption behind unreal 'best practices', and creates a closed calculator tool. Virtually all Extreme's estimated "savings" are based on their assumption that all phones/ports... Full Story
Posted on December 1, 2008 2:31 PM
McCain or Obama; Nortel or Cisco- You Have a Choice
If you are an American, your challenge is separating facts from rhetoric. Hard as this may seem, please make your choice and vote. If you are not an American, you will be watching with great interest on the sidelines. But... Full Story
Posted on November 3, 2008 10:29 AM
Cisco's Human Network Effect: Taxes and CO2 Emissions
I admire truth in advertising. And the Cisco human network effect is hugely .....NEGATIVE... when it comes to CO2 emissions. Across some 500 million Cisco enterprise ports globally, Cisco is adding an additional 11.5 MILLION metric tons of CO2, that... Full Story
Posted on October 13, 2008 8:06 AM
Jabber Acquisition Highlights Cisco Shortfalls in UC
UC without effective presence and IM is like telephony without dial-tone. So here we have Cisco spending your contributions (remember the Cisco Energy Tax) to acquire Jabber to give them IM for their un-unified UC story. Does this result in... Full Story
Posted on September 24, 2008 3:32 PM
EnergySmart Hospitals Don't Pay The Cisco Energy Tax
The EnergySmart Hospitals Initiative was launched last July and aims to help improve efficiency in existing buildings by 20%! This is a laudable objective, since more than 50% of institutions reported double digit energy cost increases... and lights out operation... Full Story
Posted on September 22, 2008 9:35 AM
Opening Up Secure Network Access
"Business executives are extremely concerned (and rightly so) that their organization may be the next publicly disclosed data breach story in the Wall Street Journal." That's how I led off a recent article, co-authored with Jon Oltsik of the Enterprise... Full Story
Posted on September 10, 2008 10:26 AM
Save Twice on the Cisco Energy Tax
I've written extensively about the Cisco energy tax. We have run into tow type of situations. 1. Enterprises with Green initiatives and someone who is accountable, immediately embrace 40% lower energy efficiency with Nortel (over Cisco) and start asking all... Full Story
Posted on August 11, 2008 9:01 AM
Customer TCO Exposes True Costs of Cisco
Just in from the field: "I had a customer call yesterday and said they wanted to take a closer look at Nortel because they're getting crushed on Cisco maintenance fees for voice. They have about 3,000 IP phones and are... Full Story
Posted on July 11, 2008 1:08 PM
Cisco IT faced with $10M bill due to corporate procurement policy
Cisco just announced a four-year plan to make its business more environmentally friendly, but nothing specific to make its products more energy efficient. The Cisco energy tax will continue. But Cisco IT doesn't have the option of saving a bundle... Full Story
Posted on June 26, 2008 9:24 AM


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Mac Tablet - Is a new revolution coming this Fall?
The Financial Times is bolstering rumors that Apple has been working on, and in fact, readying a release of a new mobile device in time for the Christmas shopping season. Rumors have it that the new device will have a form factor somewhere between an iPhone and a MacBook with a screen size of about 10 inches and will retail for around $800.
Although there have been rumors about a Mac Tablet bouncing around for over a year now, there has been a growing base information that seems to confirm this one, the FT Times article not withstanding. For example, the InfoTimes in Taiwan ( need a translator for this one) is reporting that Taiwanese manufacturers are providing parts for a new Apple device with a 10 inch screen and an iPod type touchscreen interface. The touchscreen is being provided by Wintek, batteries by Dynapack International Technology Corp. and the Hon Hai Precision Industry Co is assembling the device. Then there is an article in the Street.com that reports that the new device is being subsidized by Verizon, the article even quotes a source familiar with the partnership that it "won't be as tightly integrated" as the exclusive partnership struck up with AT&T for Apple's iPhone. There are many other examples as well with details so specific that it is hard to dismiss the aggregated information as another Mac Tablet rumor.
Assuming the rumor is not a rumor at all but the end of a closely held product launch then the mobile developer world maybe in for another revolution. The success of the Mac Tablet will ultimately depend on how disruptive the product is to the market. After all tablet PC's have been tried by other major players such as Microsoft, Toshiba, and Dell with little fanfare. Apple though is known for producing disruptive products where others have failed. The iPhone's disruptive attributes have been debated since it's introduction but it's hard to deny the facts, here are just a few:
- 45 million iPhones and iPod touches sold in the last 2 years according to AdMob
- Safari accounts for about 78 percent of the mobile Web browser market according to the February results from Net Applications
- Apple's iPhone claimed 67 percent of the mobile operating system market in February according to the same report.
- According to 148Apps.biz the Apple App Store currently carries over 66,000 applications from over 14,000 publishers, with thousands of new applications coming online every month.
Quoting a friend of mine who finally gave in and purchased an iPhone recently, the iPhone "just works, and it works the way I think it should, Apple really did the mobile phone right". If the Mac Tablet can do a Tablet PC right it may enjoy the same success in a market that many have given up on. And certainly if the Mac Tablet (if it exists) takes off like the iPhone, iPhone developers may have a new, much richer environment to sell their wares.
Some rumors upon the main rumor of a Mac Tablet have indicated that Apple is indeed looking to go beyond the introduction of a Tablet PC to introduce some revolutionary features. According to the FT Times recording industry executives are excited about a project codenamed Cocktail, focused on using the Mac Tablets larger screen to display interactive booklets and liner notes for full CD downloads they hope will bolster the purchases of entire music CDs from iTunes. In addition, Apple has been talking with book publishers who are optimistic that the Mac Tablet could provide an alternative to Amazon's Kindle, Sony's Reader and a forthcoming device from Plastic Logic, recently allied with Barnes & Noble. Remember the Amazon.com launch of Kindle was the most succesful new product of 2007 and 2008 Christmas seasons, outselling event the initial launch of the iPod. Today, 35% of all books sold by Amazon are now electronic Kindle editions according to CEO Jeff Bezo's speaking at the Amazon Kindle DX product launch, May 6th 2009 NYC.
The world may soon see the next 'big thing' from Apple is actually another little thing, a Mac Tablet. For mobile developers, the disruption of a successful product launch may be a good thing.

subset: commoncrawl


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NEW PALTZ — Turns out you can fight city hall, especially if you're willing to fight for seven years.
NEW PALTZ — Turns out you can fight city hall, especially if you're willing to fight for seven years.
That may be the lesson learned from the town's successful negotiations with Time Warner Cable over the fate of a $342,000 construction fund that town cable subscribers have contributed to for more than a decade.
That money is coming back to the town following seven years of negotiations on a new franchise agreement between the town and village and Time Warner, according to Don Kerr, chairman of the town-village public access committee.
For the past 15 years, Kerr said, cable subscribers — whether they knew it or not — have been contributing to a construction fund held by Time Warner meant to pay for cable service to less populated areas of the town. But as cable access has expanded over the years, there was almost no need to continue the charge, Kerr said.
"They've been sitting on our money all these years," he said. "There was no more construction to do, but they didn't want to write a check."
At the beginning of this year, Kerr said the cable giant tried to keep control of the money in what he described as a "classic bait-and-switch."
But when town officials went to the state attorney general's office and threatened to sue the company for control of the money, Time Warner relented and a new 10-year franchise agreement was struck.
Jennifer Reed Holick, a spokeswoman for Time Warner Cable, issued a statement Thursday confirming the company's willingness to return the balance of the fund to the town. She declined to comment on Kerr's characterization of negotiations.
"We have enjoyed a wonderful relationship with this community," the statement said.
Under terms of the agreement, roughly $200,000 of the fund will be paid out in several months, pending approval by the state's Public Service Commission. The balance will then be available 90 days after the PSC's decision, according to Kerr.
"We're sure the PSC will approve it," he said, "and besides, we've got it in writing."


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We're Ready When You Are: Far Niente and Nickel & Nickel are Open For Tastings. Learn more
Dolce was born when
a purity of vision met with
a tenacious desire for the unattainable.
Dolce embraces a deceptively simple philosophy: the pursuit of perfection in the art of late harvest winemaking. Created in 1985 by the partners of Far Niente, its existence is the result of overcoming remarkable adversity and developing expertise where no one else in the U.S. had it. Dolce stands as the pinnacle, where Mother Nature and craftsmanship combine to define luxury through a wine capable of flirting with your emotions like no other.
With a classic blend of late harvest Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc, Dolce is the only American winery dedicated to producing a single late harvest wine. Dolce has brought forth a wine in every vintage, yet in small, unpredictable quantities; witness to the incredible difficulties presented every year in the effort to make Dolce.
Dolce is an extraordinary wine bred from a combination of sunshine, soil, fog, expertise and dedication; a wondrous luxury, limited by nature to always being a gift of rarity.
A deceptively simple philosophy:
the pursuit of perfection
in the art of the late harvest winemaking.
Dolce is created when just the right elements—nature, craftsmanship and a little luck—come together to produce a wine that is truly a triumph over adversity. It starts in the vineyard, where excellent soils, ideal climate and expert viticulture converge. Located at the base of the Vaca Mountains at the southern end of the Napa Valley, the Dolce vineyard is planted to 20 acres of Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc. The soils are loose and well-drained, a combination of gravel, volcanic ash, loam and clay, which ancient forces formed at the base of the Vaca Mountains at the southern end of the Napa Valley.
This is one of the coolest areas of the valley, it is well protected from the morning and evening breezes. The fog, critical to noble rot, can settle longer, helping the all-important transformation of Dolce's small crop each fall.
We take a balanced, sustainable approach in tending the Dolce vines, using our experience with the surrounding microclimate and the science of promoting noble rot to care for the vineyard in a way that benefits both the land and final wine.
Ultimately, we grow one cluster per shoot, meaning we reduce our crop by half each summer. Yellow jackets, which feast on the sweet fruit, and the wrong kinds of mold mean that over 80 percent of what began in the vineyard never makes it to the bottle. Farming Dolce is demanding and risky, but the end result makes it all worth it.
Noble rot, or botrytis cinerea, is a mold that provides the richness, texture and complexity which sets Dolce apart. This mold was once considered a disaster but in 1600s Hungary, botrytis was discovered to be an enchantment to the grape, evaporating water and concentrating sugars and flavors.
Noble rot requires specific, naturally occurring, conditions to develop, and the Dolce vineyard is situated perfectly for this. The lay of the land and the way the vines are pruned take advantage of the still, morning air and low-lying fog. Once botrytis spreads, usually after a rainfall and a few days of warm weather, clusters turn from green to pink, then purple and, finally, fully developed noble rot.
While most vineyards are picked in a day or two, the Dolce harvest typically lasts six weeks or more. Each time-consuming picking pass results in a tiny amount of fruit, capturing only the best clusters and grapes.
Dolce is harvested by a crew trained in the technique of identifying the right grapes and gently handling the delicate fruit. Occasionally a whole cluster can be inspected, picked and gently stowed in a lug box. However, most clusters must be thinned to remove individual berries that are less than ideal. Sometimes, after minutes of work, only a single berry from the cluster is selected for the winery.
The process of turning botrytised grapes into golden-hued Dolce is technically demanding, but through the combination of science, time-tested traditions and our philosophy, each vintage releases its dazzling potential.
Pressing grapes is the first step in the three-year journey to realizing Dolce. Because of the diligence in picking only perfectly botryised fruit, there may be as little as two or three barrels of juice to show from a day's picking and pressing. The precious juice drops from the skins and is as sticky as syrup.
After many hours of pressing, the skins are dry to the touch and the juice settles in a small tank under the scrutiny and care of the winemaker.
Where most wines complete fermentation in a few days or weeks, Dolce fermentation proceeds at a stately pace of about six months inside each French oak barrel. Juice with such a high sugar concentration is an extremely difficult environment for yeast. The winemaker constantly analyzes the wine, shepherding each barrel in its journey, as sugar is converted and flavors emerge.
Dolce invests in 100 percent new French oak barrels with every vintage. Each stave is selected specifically by its density. The barrels are toasted over oak fires to meet Dolce's specific needs as the wine will spend nearly three years maturing in barrel. Not only are the wine's flavors slower to release and integrate over extended time in barrel, but these are the only barrels suited to aging Dolce. Harmony between the wine and the barrel are imperative.
Time in barrel is one of constant change and transformation. At first, each barrel is opened every seven days. The wine is checked and topped to replace anything lost to evaporation. Each barrel is regularly tasted and evaluated throughout its maturation to determine if it will be selected to be part of the final blend.
Sometime during the third year, only the finest barrels are chosen, blended and bottled. The wine in the bottle represents but a fraction of the grapes, juice and wine that started the journey.
While laboratory analysis is never ignored, great blends begin and end with tasting. As each barrel is evaluated, we discover where blending two barrels creates harmony and where they clash. It is the winemaker's sense of Dolce's house style, in harmony with the characteristics of the vintage, which provides the perspective to create the finest blend. Hundreds of options are honed to a single wine expressing Dolce for that year.
The Dolce cellar is located within the caves of its sister winery, Far Niente, in California's Napa Valley. Visitors to the winery are welcomed with a hosted tour, followed by a tasting of current and library vintages. Visits are by appointment, only. Please contact Dolce at 707.944.8868, or by e-mail at firstname.lastname@example.com to schedule an appointment.
Transform a social affair into something special.
Or a private one into something more.
Dolce offers a wonderful combination of ethereal aromas, rich flavors, sweetness and texture, with perfectly balanced acidity, making it easy to serve with an array of flavor profiles. Some general suggestions and guidelines are divided into four food categories below:
Dolce pairs beautifully with both savory and sweet dishes. Why not try one of these recipes from our executive chef? Check back often as we will be introducing more recipes.
With its subtly silky texture, bright acidity and lithe body, Dolce will highlight every friendly occasion, by itself or with a multitude of culinary complements. Read about the myriad ways to enjoy the experience that is Dolce.
A wine as complex and concentrated as Dolce shows its best in just the right stemware. A fine, smooth crystal stem with a bowl smaller than typical white wine glass—but larger than a Port glass—and a tapered mouth is ideal, allowing Dolce's ethereal aromas to waft out of the glass.
Contrary to popular belief, the finest white wines—including Dolce—are best served at cellar temperature, about 57–60 ºF, to emphasize the wine's aromas and flavors.
Dolce is fully capable of aging and evolving for decades. Cellar Dolce laying on its side to keep the cork moist with wine. When kept at consistent cellar temperature of 57–60 ºF, with proper humidity—but not high enough to promote mold growth—Dolce will age gracefully for decades to come.
Dolce is best savored in small doses; a two- or three-ounce pour is appropriate when serving with food, or all alone. A typical half-bottle of Dolce will serve about five people, but in the tragic case that you don't finish the bottle, replace the cork tightly, store on the refrigerator shelf, and the wine will save and drink beautifully for at least two weeks.


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VIDEO DOWNLOAD - Brickhouse Brown TV Season 2
Brickhouse TV SeasonTwo - The complete second series is now available on DVD! The FCC may have banned him but we still let him cut loose on Highspots.TV! He's so funny we couldn't get him on just one disc, so this time it's double the trouble and twice as nice!
We recommend that you do not have a drink in your hand when you watch this as you'll choke, spill, and probably throw it across the room you'll be laughing so hard!
Brickhouse TV
The Complete Season 2 - Two Disc Set
Episode 1 - Brickhouse Brown is BACK!!!!!!
Brickhouse is back to fill us all in on how the job search is going with WWE and TNA. Find out who the Brickhouse haters are and why they are trying to keep a brotha down. Also, Brickhouse shares with his audience a deep dark personal sexual fantasy he had with a female wrestler. You will be shocked to find out who it was!!!
Episode 2 -Here's Your Apology &FU!
This episode covers a wide variety of things such as, a personal apology to Johnny Rich, the reason why Tito Santana hates him, who is the best tag team .. in the bedroom and a big F U to Magee, Mississippi. This is a must watch episode of Brickhouse TV.
Episode 3 - Making a List & Checking it Twice
Brickhouse is makin a list and checkin it twice. Tryin to find out whos been hatin and whos been nice. Brickhouse TV is on your computer now.
Episode 4 - Yo Mama!
Brickhouse continues his story about pulling a gun on One Man Gang in the locker room. Bill Dundee maybe short but in Brickhouses eyes he is a midget. Listen as he explains why. Also, this episode is entitled the Yo Mama episode find out why.
Episode 5 - Gay for Pay
On this episode Brickhouse Brown talks about another riot he caused and another town he is not allowed to go back to. Also, Brick explains how "gay for pay" is the only way to superstardom in the world of professional wrestling.
Episode 6 - Making a List & Checking it Twice Again
Brickhouse has got another list and he is checkin' it twice and your going to find out who was hatin' and who was nice. If you crossed pathes with Brickhouse Brown in Florida then he is tellin on you good, bad or indifferent. Also, Brickhouse can't help himself but, he has to talk some more shit about Jerry Lawler. Find out why the King of Memphis has never been able to become the Mayor of Memphis.
Episode 7 - Truth or Consequences
Its time for a very special episode of Brickhouse TV were one former WWE divas will face the truth and there will be consequences.
Episode 8 - Season Finale
The Season 2 finale is here and Brickhouse is going out with a bang. Brickhouse is counting down some of the worst in ring performers ever in pro wrestling. Also, he is outing one wrestling legend for being a homosexual and it will shock you. Also this DVD has a ton of great bonus footage. Brickhouse TV, givin you more of what your listen for, Holla.
Approx. 3 hrs.
Average Customer Review: 1 Reviews
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I would like the shell to warn me for potential errors I'm about to make.
How can I prevent a command
cmd2 from being executed after
For example:
$ tar tf file.tar
$ rm !$
Here, I just forgot that I listed the file instead of extracting its content.
I'm looking for a generic solution, that makes a choice based on the name and return value of the previous command, and on the current command.


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Stair Master: Build an All-Terrain Robot
|Areas of Science
|Time Required
|Average (6-10 days)
|Experience building with LEGO® and programming for LEGO® Mindstorms® is required for this project.
|Material Availability
|This project requires a LEGO® Mindstorms® NXT kit and compatible programming software. See the Materials and Equipment list for details.
|Very High (over $150)
|No issues
AbstractHave you ever tried to ride your bike up a flight of stairs? Vehicles with wheels are great at traveling on paved roads or flat ground, but when it comes to stairs or uneven ground in the woods, wheels are not always such a great option. Inspired by real-life all-terrain robots, in this engineering project you will design and build a LEGO® robot that can travel over bumpy ground, through your yard, or even up a stack of textbooks — and almost anything else you can think of!
Construct an all-terrain LEGO® robot capable of traveling over various rough surfaces and ascending a "staircase" made of textbooks, and then compare its performance to a robot using regular wheels.
Share your story with Science Buddies!Yes, I Did This Project! Please log in (or create a free account) to let us know how things went.
Ben Finio, Ph.D., Science Buddies
Special thanks to Prof. Chris Rogers and the Tufts University Center for Engineering Education and Outreach for supplying the LEGO materials for this project, and to Ariana Riccio for NXT-G programming help.
- LEGO and Mindstorms are registered trademarks of The LEGO Group.
- Whegs is a registered trademark of The Center for Biologically Inspired Robotics Research at Case Western Reserve University.
Cite This PageGeneral citation information is provided here. Be sure to check the formatting, including capitalization, for the method you are using and update your citation, as needed.
MLA Style
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Last edit date: 2020-06-23
Have you ever gone somewhere on a bike, a school bus, a train, or in a car? Your answer is most likely yes — you might even ride more than one of them every day. All of these vehicles have one important thing in common — wheels. Around for thousands of years, wheels make vehicles very good at traveling on flat surfaces like paved roads. Some all-terrain vehicles (like tanks or dirt bikes) are even designed to be driven off-road through fields, rocks, and dirt. But when it really comes down to it, legs are sometimes better for getting around. For example, you might be able to ride your bike through mud and gravel, but chances are you probably would not ride it completely off-trail in the middle of the woods, or up a flight of stairs (we know some professional bike riders do this — but it is difficult and very dangerous).
Many different types of robots use wheels, legs, or something in between. The NASA Curiosity rover uses large wheels to help it handle the rough Martian terrain. Back here on Earth, Boston Dynamics has developed robots that can walk on four legs like a dog or even two legs like a human. In between these two. we have robots like RHex from the University of Pennsylvania and Whegs™ from Case Western Reserve University. These robots use attachments that spin continuously in one direction (like wheels), but they are not circular — they have at least one distinct point that comes in contact with the ground, like a leg (you might have figured out by now that the "Whegs" robot takes its name after a combination of the words "wheel" and "leg"). This gives the robots some of the advantages of wheels, like good balance and speed on flat ground, along with some of the advantages of legs, like climbing stairs and traveling over rough ground.
In this project, you will use a LEGO® Mindstorms® kit to build the body of a basic robot car, along with a series of different attachments to replace the wheels. You will then test the performance of the different attachments in three different ways — their ability to climb "stairs" (made from a pile of textbooks), speed on flat ground (like a wooden floor), and speed on rough ground (through grass or gravel outdoors). You will use these tests to determine if some attachments work better than others in different situations.
The video shows you how the robot we built at Science Buddies handled climbing a staircase made of textbooks with different motor attachments. We will provide some basic directions for building a robot similar to this one in the Procedure section, but remember that this is an engineering design project — you do not have to follow our directions exactly. The size, shape, and nature of your robot and its attachments are up to you — limited only by your imagination (and the size of your LEGO collection)!
Terms and Concepts
- All-terrain vehicle
- Robot
- Whegs
- Ground clearance
- Hexapod
- Range
- What do the Whegs and RHex robots have in common with a cockroach? How does this affect their balance?
- How well does the Big Dog robot from Boston Dynamics respond to being kicked or slipping on ice?
- Which robots seem to have the easiest time balancing: those with six legs, four, or two?
- Can you find other types of walking robots besides the ones shown in the Introduction? How do they move, and what are they used for?
- What types of attachments do you think you can build for your LEGO robot to replace the wheels?
- Which attachments do you think will be best at climbing stairs? Which will make the robot fastest on different surfaces?
- Do you think there will be an overall "best" attachment, or will different attachments be better in different situations?
These are the official lab webpages for the developers of the RHex and Whegs robots.
- Kod*lab, University of Pennsylvania. (n.d.). The RHex hexapedal robot. Retrieved January 8, 2013.
- Center for Biologically Inspired Robotics Research, Case Western Reserve University. (n.d.). WhegsTM series robots. Retrieved January 8, 2013.
Following are some references for programming with a LEGO Mindstorms NXT kit:
- Tufts University Center for Engineering Education and Outreach and the LEGO Group. (n.d.). NXT-G quick guide. Retrieved January 9, 2013.
- Robomatter, Inc. (n.d.). ROBOTC NXT curriculum. Retrieved January 9, 2013.
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Materials and Equipment
The instructions for this project were written for the LEGO Mindstorms NXT 2.0 kit. You can do this project with an EV3 kit, but the programming software is different. Follow LEGO's online resources to learn how to program your EV3 robot. For more information on compatibility between the two systems (both hardware and software), see this FAQ and this support page.
- LEGO Mindstorms EV3 kit, available at toy stores and Amazon.com, or a LEGO Mindstorms NXT kit
- Rubber bands (to add gripping traction to different wheel-replacement attachments)
- Heavy books to create a staircase
- Stopwatch
- Additional LEGO building materials (optional)
Disclaimer: Science Buddies participates in affiliate programs with Home Science Tools, Amazon.com, Carolina Biological, and Jameco Electronics. Proceeds from the affiliate programs help support Science Buddies, a 501(c)(3) public charity, and keep our resources free for everyone. Our top priority is student learning. If you have any comments (positive or negative) related to purchases you've made for science projects from recommendations on our site, please let us know. Write to us at email@example.com.
Experimental Procedure
The instructions for this project were written for the LEGO Mindstorms NXT 2.0 kit. You can do this project with an EV3 kit, but the programming software is different. Follow LEGO's online resources to learn how to program your EV3 robot. For more information on compatibility between the two systems (both hardware and software), see this FAQ and this support page.
The procedure for this project has six main subheadings: Building Your Robot; Programming Your Robot; Testing Stair-climbing Ability; Testing Speed on Flat Ground; Testing Speed on Rough Ground; and Analyze Your Results.
Building Your Robot
Note: This project does not provide piece-by-piece directions for building a LEGO robot, like those that come with most LEGO kits. Instead, we provide suggestions for a basic "robot car" design. Depending on your LEGO-building skills and the size of your LEGO collection, you may wish to follow our suggestions, or design and build your own robot. It is up to you.
- First, start with the NXT brick (Figure 1).
Figure 1. The main "body" of your robot — the NXT brick (we show it here upside down — this will make more sense as you build your robot).
- Add beams to the sides of your NXT brick; these will enable you to attach motors. One possible configuration is shown in Figure 2.
Figure 2. Angled beams are attached to the sides of the NXT brick, creating the structure that will hold the motors.
- You will probably need additional beams and some pegs to attach your motors. This is shown in Figure 3.
Figure 3. Additional pegs and beams are attached to the beams added in step 2, creating the attachment points for the front and rear motors.
- Attach the motors. By now you should have created a structure like the one in Figure 4 with beams and pegs that will enable you to attach the motors to the body of your robot. You need to make sure your motors are positioned so that your robot has enough ground clearance — you do not want the belly of the NXT brick dragging on the ground when your robot moves!
Figure 4. Motors are attached to the structure created in steps 2 and 3. The motors are angled downward so the bottom of the robot does not come in contact with the ground.
- Attach additional supports if necessary. Your motors might be kind of wobbly at this point — especially your left and right motors. If you have enough LEGOs left, you can add more supports to make your robot sturdier. Figure 5 shows an example of adding a crossbeam to connect the left and right motors, making their support connection stronger.
Figure 5. A crossbeam is added to connect the left and right motors, making them less wobbly. You can add more supports to your robot to make it sturdier if you have enough LEGO pieces.
- Attach the wheels to your robot. The NXT kit comes with four wheels but only three motors — so notice how, in Figure 6, we have attached one wheel each to the "front" motors (on the left and right), and two wheels to the "rear" motor (which is centered). This makes sure that the robot will balance properly.
Figure 6. Wheels are attached to the robot's motors.
- Connect your three motors to ports A, B, and C on the NXT brick with the supplied cables, as shown in Figure 7.
Figure 7. Use the NXT kit's cables to connect the motors to ports A, B, and C. Make sure the cables do not interfere with the rotation of the motors, and that they will not get caught on obstacles on the ground.
- Build different attachments to replace the wheels. Figure 8 shows the different attachments used in the video in the Introduction. Did you watch the videos of the Whegs and RHex robots? Can you design your own attachments based on these robots or your own background research? What other shapes do you think you can try?
Important: The plastic LEGO pieces tend to slip on hard surfaces like book covers and wood floors. This will put your attachments at a serious disadvantage against rubber wheels. So, we recommend using rubber bands (as shown in Figure 8) to add traction to your attachments and make it a fair comparison.
Figure 8. Various attachments (shown next to a wheel for size comparison) of different shapes and sizes that can be used to replace the wheels. Rubber bands have been added to the attachments to prevent the plastic LEGO pieces from slipping on hard surfaces.
Programming Your Robot
- Because all you need your robot to do is drive forward when you turn it on, programming for this project is luckily pretty simple. In the NXT-G software, you can use the "Move" block to tell motors to spin forward or in reverse for a certain amount of time (we recommend setting the time to "Unlimited," so your robot will just continue to run until you turn it off). You can use a single block to control motors A, B, and C individually, or any combination of the three. Figure 9 has two example programs using "Move" blocks.
- Depending on how you attached the motors to your robot, you might need all your motors to spin in the same direction, or in different directions. The best way to find out is to download a program to your robot and test it.
- Figure 9 shows two possible programs. In the program on the top, all three motors (ports A, B, and C) spin in the same direction. In the program on the bottom, the "front" motors (ports A and C) spin forward, but the "rear" motor (port B) spins backward. Again, whichever configuration you use will depend on how you attached the motors to your robot. If you download and run your program and all of your robot's wheels spin in the same direction and your whole robot moves forward, then you are good to go, If the wheels are spinning in opposite directions, or all spinning in the same direction but your robot moves backward, then you need to reverse the direction of rotation of one or more of your motors. Change your program, download it to your robot, and try again. Repeat this until your robot moves forward.
A screenshot of the LEGO Mindstorms NXT program shows a grid with a single green motor block. The motor block is designated by an icon with two gears and controls motors that are connected to an NXT brick. The program includes options for port, direction of the motor, power and the duration (bottom of the page).
Figure 9. Two possible programs for your robot using NXT-G software. The program on top uses one block to make motors A, B, and C all spin forward for an "Unlimited" amount of time. The program on the bottom has motors A and C spin forward while motor B spins backward (again, for an "Unlimited" duration).
Testing Stair-climbing Ability
- Construct a staircase out of books, similar to the one shown in the video in the Introduction (a screenshot from this video is shown in Figure 10). Large, heavy books like textbooks or cookbooks will work better than small, light paperbacks. Make sure your staircase is wide enough for your robot so it does not fall off the edges (it might help to make your staircase two books wide).
Figure 10. A staircase made from textbooks.
- Test the ability of your robot to climb the staircase with the normal NXT wheels attached. Can it make it all the way up and over the staircase? Does it make it up a couple of steps and then get stuck? Can it not even make it up the first step? Do at least three trials to make sure your first test wasn't a fluke, and record these results in your lab notebook.
- Swap out the wheels for one of your other attachments, and repeat step 2. Repeat step 2 until you have tested all of your attachments, and be sure to write down the results for each attachment in your lab notebook.
- If you have time, make some adjustments to your staircase and retest the wheels and each one of your attachments. What happens if you make the staircase steeper or shallower? What if you make each step two books high instead of one? Does this change your results?
Testing Speed on Flat Ground
- Set up a straight path on flat ground (such as a carpet, or wood or tile floor) with no obstacles. Make sure there are clear starting and finish lines (you can mark these with tape or other objects). We recommend making your path at least 2 meters long (or about 6 feet).
- Using your stopwatch, time how long it takes the robot with wheels to make it from the starting line to the finish line. Do at least three trials to ensure that your data is accurate, and record these results in your lab notebook.
- Repeat step 2 for each one of your different attachments, and be sure to record your results in your lab notebook.
Testing Speed on Rough Ground
- Set up a straight path on rough ground outside, such as through grass, gravel, or dirt. Make sure there are clear starting and finish lines. Again, we recommend making your path at least 2 m (about 6 ft.) long. Warning: Your NXT is not waterproof! We do not recommend running your robot through mud or puddles.
- Using your stopwatch, time how long it takes the robot with wheels to make it from the starting line to the finish line. Do at least three trials to ensure that your data is accurate, and record these results in your lab notebook.
- Repeat step 2 for each of your different attachments, and be sure to record your results.
Analyze Your Results
- You have now tested your robot's climbing ability, speed on flat ground, and speed on rough ground with wheels and several other attachments. Which attachment was the best at climbing stairs? Which was fastest on flat and rough terrain? Do you think there was an overall "best" attachment, or does the best attachment depend on the situation?
- To determine which attachment or wheel was best you will need to graph the data you collected. Make a bar chart showing the number of successful stair climbing trials for each attachment. Make scatter plots and bar graphs of the speed data for the attachments. For the scatter plots, add all the trials for each attachment so that you can see the range for your data. For the bar charts try graphing the average time for each attachment under each ground condition.
- Based on your results, if you could only pick one type of wheel or attachment to put on your all-terrain robot, which one would it be? Do you have to decide between trade-offs in performance, like sacrificing speed for climbing ability? This is the kind of decision that real design engineers have to make every day, with no guarantee that there will be a single "best" answer. Try creating a decision matrix to help you display the advantages and disadvantages of each attachment.
Keep the fun going! Find local opportunities related to this project.Register on ActivityHero
If you like this project, you might enjoy exploring these related careers:
Robotics EngineerHave you watched "The Transformers" cartoon series or seen the "Transformers" movies? Both shows are about how good and evil robots fight each other and the humans who get in the middle. Many TV shows and movies show robots and humans interacting with each other. While this is, at present, fantasy, in real life robots play a helpful role. Robots do jobs that can be dangerous for humans. For example, some robots defuse landmines in war-stricken countries; others work in harsh environments like the bottom of the ocean and on the planet Mars. At the heart of every robot is a robotics engineer who thinks about what a robot needs to do and works with several engineering disciplines to design and put together the perfect piece of equipment. Read more
Mechanical EngineerMechanical engineers are part of your everyday life, designing the spoon you used to eat your breakfast, your breakfast's packaging, the flip-top cap on your toothpaste tube, the zipper on your jacket, the car, bike, or bus you took to school, the chair you sat in, the door handle you grasped and the hinges it opened on, and the ballpoint pen you used to take your test. Virtually every object that you see around you has passed through the hands of a mechanical engineer. Consequently, their skills are in demand to design millions of different products in almost every type of industry. Read more
Robotics TechnicianRobots are no longer futuristic machines. Robots are here and now and are used in manufacturing, health care, service industries, and military applications. They perform tasks that are repetitive and hazardous—things that humans don't want to do or are unsafe to do. But robots are still machines, which means they require humans to build, maintain, program, and keep them functioning efficiently. Robotics technicians work with robotics engineers to build and test robots. They are responsible for installing and maintaining robots and keeping them in working order for their employers. If you are interested in working with robots, your future is here and now. Read more
Mechanical Engineering TechnicianYou use mechanical devices every day—to zip and snap your clothing, open doors, refrigerate and cook your food, get clean water, heat your home, play music, surf the Internet, travel around, and even to brush your teeth. Virtually every object that you see around has been mechanically engineered or designed at some point, requiring the skills of mechanical engineering technicians to create drawings of the product, or to build and test models of the product to find the best design. Read more
- If you watched the video of the RHex robot, you may have noticed that it can keep moving forward even if it flips upside down! Can you modify your LEGO robot so that it keeps moving even if it flips over?
- Can you build an obstacle course for your robot using different objects (besides a staircase of books)? Outdoors, can your robot climb over sticks and rocks? Indoors, can it climb over your other toys? What about blankets or pillows? Which of your attachments works the best for these different cases?
- If you used a basic Mindstorms kit and followed our directions, your robot in this project probably only had four wheels. The RHex and Whegs robots each have six wheel-like attachments because they are modeled after a hexapod (the cockroach). If you have enough LEGO pieces, can you build a new six-legged/wheeled version of your robot?
- In this project we only designed a robot that was supposed to go straight, and did not really worry about turning ability. Can you program your robot to turn? Do you need to modify your design to make it easier for the robot to turn? Are different attachments better at turning?
- What happens if you use combinations of different attachments — for example, Whegs-style attachments on the front motors and regular wheels on the back motors? Can you repeat your tests with different combinations?
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text:
Haykuhi Barseghyan | Institute for War and Peace Reporting
Stories by the author
Haykuhi Barseghyan
22 Mar 14
Legislators want to remove user anonymity, though experts point out that might not be technically possible.
Haykuhi Barseghyan
7 Mar 14
Everyone agrees community-based rehabilitation has worked, but the government doesn't have the money to pick up the costs.
Haykuhi Barseghyan
19 Dec 13
Academic focus used to be on pure research, but now the country needs ideas that can feed into manufacturing.
Arpi Harutyunyan, Haykuhi Barseghyan
22 Jun 12
Security fears in Syria make Armenia look a sensible place to take refuge.
Haykuhi Barseghyan
3 Apr 12
Armenian reporter describes evolution from blanket hostility to realisation that Azeris are people, not monsters.
Arpi Harutyunyan, Haykuhi Barseghyan
16 Mar 12
Comic turn, or nefarious plot to project Russian power?
Haykuhi Barseghyan, Shahla Sultanova
2 Mar 12
In each country, school textbooks teach one version of history that sustains animosity towards the other.


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I take prednizone for rosacia flare ups, is there another steroid that would help?
I take prednizone for rosacia flare ups, is there another steroid that would help?
Hello Debi,
Since I do not recommend steroids, it would be impossible for me to suggest a prescriptive alternative to prednizone.
For ALL skin conditions there are other organs whose function(s) need to be improved to help correct the CAUSE of the problem. In lieu of steroids I would suggest you call 800-614-4400 and ask for the name and number of the nearest Enzyme Therapy Associate to you. Working with this specialist should give you the best opportunity to improve or eliminate your rosacea flare ups.
Best of Health,
Doc Kelley
My father was perscribed prednizone, he has emphysema and his legs swelled up. Is this a side effect from the drug ?
Hello Carol,
Emphysema and swelling in the legs are NOT usually side effects of prednizone. Other causes should be explored.
Please search the Internet via Google or some other good search engine for "prednizone." You will find many sources listing ALL the side effects and contraindications for this drug.
Best of Health,
Doc Kelley
Prednizone has been perscribed for Coombs Positive haemolytic.
Is there an alternative therapy or supplementation that I can take.
Thank you
Hello Lorina,
Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia is a rare form of anemia that causes antibodies to be produced against your own red blood cells. The Direct Coombs' Test detects antibodies already attached to red blood cells.
I am not aware of any alternative therapy or supplementation you can take that would effectively stop your body from producing antibodies against your own red blood cells.
There is a great deal of information available on autoimmune hemolytic anemia. A good place to start would be the following web site:
The more you look into whatever information you can find on the Internet the better your choices for appropriately and adequately dealing with your condition.
Best of Health,
Doc Kelley


text:
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Insight Flair | Shelter In Place | Covid-19 | 2020
Digital Art Metal Print | Persona: A Figurative Series
Each of Susan Searway-Fertig's digital art compositions are numbered in a limited series per size.
Dye-Infused Metal Prints: The images are not printed directly onto the metal. Special dyes are printed onto a transfer paper and then infused into a polymer coating using high pressure and heat. My printer has been a leading innovator of this unique process and manufactures equipment used in the creation of metal prints.
Because the image is infused into and not onto the special coating, the prints have an archival value and durability without the need for a protective glass. Prints are not only scratch-resistant, they are also waterproof.
Fine Art hangers vary between metal hangers and gallery mount depending on size of the piece.


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A collection of scholarly works about individual liberty and free markets. A project of Liberty Fund, Inc.
1835 - 1909
Historical Period:
The 19th Century
Simon Newcomb, Canadian-born, home-educated astronomer and mathematician who supervised the revamping of the telescopes at the United States Naval Observatory, plotted the orbits of Uranus, Neptune, and the moon, and taught at Johns Hopkins University, had an ongoing skill and interest in illuminating complex theories and evidence in plain language. He brought this refreshing skill repeatedly to economics, which was in the process of becoming increasingly mathematical during his academic years.


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Canadiens' Carey Price skates before practice
BROSSARD, Quebec (AP) Injured Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price took a light skate before the team's optional practice Monday.
He has been out with a suspected right knee injury since the second period of Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals.
Price skated for about 20 minutes, without his goaltending equipment, well before the team's optional practice. He is out for the rest of the series with the New York Rangers.
The Canadiens trail New York 3-1 in the best-of-seven conference final and will attempt to stave off elimination Tuesday night in Montreal.


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Hi guys,
I need to itterate through 2 sorted sets and compare the values in the set. These sets are of type String and are called listOfNames1 and listOfNames2. If they are not the same i need these values to be added to another set called different.
The code I have is below. This works as I expect it to when i change if (names1 != names2) to if (names1 == names2) but when im trying to get it to add the names that are not the same it just adds all the names in listOfNames1 to the sortedSet different.
public void notTheSame() { SortedSet<String>different = new TreeSet<String>(); for(String names1 : listOfNames1) { for(String names2 : listOfNames2) { if (names1 != names2) { different.add(names1); } }return null; }
Hope someone can help. thankyou in advance for anyone that takes the time to try.


text:
Man offers forgiveness to son-in-law who killed his daughter, granddaughter
Morris Madison once loved like a son the man who killed his daughter and granddaughter.
He proved it Tuesday as he took the stand to tell his former son-in-law that he forgave him for killing the two women.
"I have no animosity," Madison said. "Ricky was like a son of mine. I forgive him."
Ricardo Jose Prado, 31, pleaded guilty to capital murder in exchange for life without parole for killing his estranged wife, Rachel Prado, 29, and her 19-year-old niece, Jasmine Nicole Rhodes, at their northwest Harris County home last year.
Prado faced the death penalty for killing two people, a capital crime.
Other family members were not as forgiving.
"You think this over?" Clifford Schoffield Jr. stood and hissed at Prado as bailiffs led him out a courtroom door. "You think this is the end of it?"
Schoffield's outburst was silenced by his mother, who put her hand over the young man's mouth and walked him out of state District Judge Ruben Guerrero's court.
Police said Prado ambushed the two women when they backed their car into the garage as they got home about 1:20 a.m. Feb. 14, 2012.


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text: RALEIGH, N.C. -- The Montreal Canadiens needed a little time to get up to speed in their final game before the Olympic break. When they did, they left behind the Carolina Hurricanes. David Desharnais scored twice and the Canadiens rallied for a 4-1 victory Saturday night. "We had a little slump a couple of weeks ago and we wanted to get out of it," Desharnais said. "We did and we want to stay up in the standings and with these three wins, we did. That was our goal." Ryan White and Brian Gionta also scored and Carey Price made 31 saves to help the Canadiens win their third in a row. "It was nice to finish before the break with another win," said Price, set to play for Canada in the Olympics. "We talked about staying focused and earning that one and it worked out for us. Confidence in hockey is a big thing and to finish strong like this is good," Montreal left wing Max Pacioretty, a member of the U.S. team, suffered a first-period injury after being checked into the goal by Carolinas Brett Bellemore. He left with 7:30 left in the first period and did not return. After the game, Pacioretty said it was all precautionary for his to sit out the rest of the game. "I went in pretty hard and I got the wind knocked out of me," Pacioretty said. "I think the team wanted to play it safe and I think it was a good decision." After a scoreless first period, Carolina got on the scoreboard first in the second period. Drayson Bowman scored his fourth goal of the season with a rising shot from the top of the right circle at 5:42. Bowman took advantage of Tuomo Ruutus screen that kept Price from making a play on the puck. But the rest of the game belonged to the Canadiens. "We responded the right way," Montreal coach Michel Therrien said. "Even though they scored the first goal, we started playing well." Desharnais tied it with 2:08 left in the second, converting a 3-on-2 rush. It took only 1:25 for Montreal to take the lead as White scored on a rebound at the top of the crease with 42.7 seconds left in the period. Desharnais gave Montreal some breathing room early in the third period with his 11th goal of the season. It marked his first multi-goal game of the season. Gionta finished the scoring for Montreal with an empty-netter with 2:37 to go. Carolina defenceman Justin Faulk said the Hurricanes didnt play with energy. "We didnt have the drive and the effort we needed," said Faulk, who also is on the U.S. Olympic team. "In a game like this, especially before the break, we needed to leave it all out there. It didnt go our way." Neither team took advantage of their power-play opportunities. Montreal was 0 for 1 with the man-advantage, and Carolina failed on two power plays. NOTES: Carolina C Riley Nash extended his point streak to a career-best three games. ... Hurricanes D Justin Faulk matched his season-best points total with 22, picking up an assist. Nike React Online Shop Uk . -- The Toronto Maple Leafs are tightening the race for second place in the Atlantic Division. Nike React Shoes Uk . The move - the latest twist in Greeces nearly three-year financial freefall -- is the first such action by any of the countrys major sports bodies. It immediately halts all domestic track and field competitions, including track meets May 12-13 in several Greek cities. http://www.nikereactukclearance.com/ . Bryce Harper? He also came into Wednesday without a long ball and hadnt driven in a run. He was hitting .160, had nearly three times as many strikeouts as hits and was dropped to seventh in the batting order. Nike React Sale Uk . The San Antonio Spurs handled the conditions, and the team, and it sure helped when a suffering LeBron James couldnt make it to the finish. Nike React Online Uk . Vonn flew back to Vail, Colo., last week after hurting her surgically repaired right knee at a downhill race in France. "Her knee was swollen again after Val dIsere," U.S. womens head coach Alex Hoedlmoser told The Associated Press.GLENDALE, Ariz. -- The Arizona Coyotes have named former Buffalo Sabres general manager Darcy Regier as senior vice-president and assistant general manager. He replaces Brad Treliving, who became the Calgary Flames general manager in April, and will work under Coyotes GM Don Maloney. Regier spent 17 years as Buffalos generral manager, the longest tenure in the franchises 44-year history.dddddddddddd He helped lead the Sabres to the 1999 Stanley Cup final and the Eastern Conference final four times. The 58-year-old oversaw all aspects of Buffalos hockey operations and for the franchises AHL affiliate, the Rochester Americans. ' ' '


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[Black Star News Editorial: Africa Conflict]
The organization Enough! claims its mission is to "end genocide and crimes against humanity" and yet in one of the most perverted foreign policy initiatives ever it's calling for the U.S. to invade Central Africa in pursuit of Joseph Kony, leader of the vicious Lord's Resistance Army.
At the same time, Enough! would have the U.S. military align itself with the army of Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni, who is possibly an unindicted war criminal who is actually being investigated by the International Criminal Court (ICC) at the Hague for alleged war crimes committed in the DR Congo; the revelation was in a June 8, 2006 front-page report in The Wall Street Journal.
The alleged crimes committed by Uganda's army and Uganda-financed militias in Congo, when Uganda occupied eastern Congo between 1997-2003 included massacres, mass rapes, looting of Congolese natural and mineral resources, destruction of Congolese homes, and ethnic cleansing.
Please see Human Rights Watch's report, "Ituri: Covered In Blood, Ethnically Targeted Violence In Northeastern DR Congo"
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) subsequently ruled in favor of the Congo government on the civil complaint in 2005 and awarded $10 billion in compensation, not a dime of which has been paid.
Please see http://www.icj-cij.org/docket/files/116/10455.pdf
According to The Wall Street Journal's 2006 news report, the ICC took up the criminal investigation after the Congo government referred the complaint to the Hague.
Presumably, the ICC might be guided by the evidence that the ICJ found compelling. Why then would Enough! and other "human rights" organizations be pushing for U.S. military ties with the Ugandan regime, unless they have hidden agenda and want President Barack Obama's Administration to be aligned with a potential unindicted war criminal?
Museveni himself fears the investigation and takes it seriously, and so should Enough! The Wall Street Journal reported: "President Museveni of Uganda asked U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan to block the Congo investigation, according to one person familiar with the matter. Mr. Annan replied that he had no power to interfere with the court, this person said."
Moreover, two of the leaders of the murderous Congo militias financed by Museveni, Jean Pierre-Bemba, and Germain Katanga, have been indicted and arrested and are already at the Hague.
So is Enough! really serious about peace in Central Africa? Is it on a mission to discourage the ICC's probe by trying to steer a policy that would bind the U.S. into an alliance with Museveni? Certainly the ICC takes signals from the U.S. Administration.
Enough! has issued many statements decrying genocidal acts in Sudan's Darfur region and for long demanded action against Sudan's President Omar Hassan al-Bashir. The Sudanese has since been indicted and an arrest warrant issued.
Enough!'s silence with respect to atrocities directed or commissioned by Museveni and his sometimes allies, Rwanda's President Paul Kagame and the terrorist he sponsored in DR Congo, Laurent Nkunda, is deafening.
That Kagame and Nkunda are responsible for genocide in Ituri and eastern Congo has been well established by Human Rights Watch and is known to Enough! Even the New York Times, which for long had treated Museveni, Kagame and Nkunda with kid gloves, conceded in an article headlined "Rwanda Stirs Deadly Brew of Troubles in Congo" on December 4, 2008, that the Rwanda president was financing Nkunda's massacres and even supplying the men and arms.
Where are the press releases from Enough! calling for the ICC action against Kagame and Nkunda?
Enough! issues press releases deploring massacres and mass rapes in DR Congo without clearly stating who the responsible agents of these crimes are—as if they occur in a vacuum.
Enough! correctly attacks ongoing atrocities in the Darfur region and those committed by Joseph Kony's Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) but demonstrates selective outrage elsewhere. Is this done by design? Is this clever duplicity? After all the information about the other crimes are out there.
How can an organization that purports to fight genocide and war crimes pick and choose? Is this not an unfair and even immoral demand to impose upon the victims of such crimes? One is either outraged by all mass crimes; or one is simply engaged in duplicitous "outrage".
Enough!'s double standards are most glaring with respect to Uganda.
Uganda invaded Congo when it was still known as Zaire, in 1996. The invasion was popular; it rid the country of dictator and kleptocrat Mobuttu Sese Seko.
In 1997 Uganda again invaded Congo. This time, the mission was occupation and illegal enrichment through pillaging of the country's resources, as detailed in Human Rights Watch's "Ituri" report.
So why is Enough! not demanding that the ICC also indict Museveni for the war crimes in DR Congo? Instead, Enough! wants more warfare in Central Africa.
Last December, while George W. Bush was still in office, Uganda's army launched a U.S.-coordinated and financed attack against the LRA called "Operation Thunder". It was Bush's gift to Museveni for sending troops to prop up the weak Somali government installed by Ethiopia at the behest of Washington.
The attack backfired –Kony was not captured and only increased his mystic by eluding U.S.-backed Ugandan forces. Kony's forces then reportedly resorted to a vicious campaign of killings against Congolese civilians.
Ironically, there had been no combat, killings and destruction for more than two years, as Uganda's government had negotiated peace with the LRA, from 2006 to the end of 2008.
Impatient with Kony's reluctance to sign a final peace treaty, Uganda's Museveni resorted to what both he and Bush seemed to favor in resolving conflicts: militarism.
The Obama Administration should not be lured by organizations such as Enough! into this trap; the victims are civilians—women and children primarily.
If President Obama is willing to dialogue with Korea's Kim Jong-Il; Iran's Mahmoud Ahmedinajed; Cuba's Raul and Fidel Castro; and even with reasonable elements of the Taliban in Afghanistan, why the rush to promote more bloodshed in Central Africa without exploring all options.
Obama is not Bush; that's why he beat a Republican candidate. His Administration should design its own approach to Uganda and Central Africa, not inherit Bush's and Enough!'s
Enough!'s own vision for Central Africa is very clear; in a most chilling manner. Enough! has posted a paper, "Finishing The Fight Against The LRA" on its website www.enoughproject.org
Here's what Enough! boldly declares:
"Operation Lightning Thunder did not end the threat of the Lord's Resistance Army, or LRA, and it sparked harsh reprisals by the LRA against civilians in Congo. Yet, it would be an even greater tragedy for civilians if key states in the region and the international community lost their collective will to end the threat of the LRA once and for all. What is needed now is a second Ugandan-led operation against the LRA. This new operation must place civilian protection front and center. In addition, it will require stronger and more effective support from the United States and the international community, and the full commitment from the Congolese government and army to complete the job in a reasonable timeframe and operate in all LRA-affected areas of northeastern Congo. If the United States takes the lead in supporting a new Ugandan military operation, as Enough believes it should, it must provide solid planning, intelligence, coordination, and logistical support—and take greater responsibility for the execution and outcomes of the operation."
What manner of cold-blooded madness is this? What kind of organization that purports to fight genocide would call for more bloodshed in order to "stop" bloodshed?
Of course it's easier to advocate warfare when it's done on someone else's backyard with the victims being someone else's African daughters and sons.
Enough! is also excited about the recent Bill introduced by Senators Russ Feingold of Wisconsin and Sam Brownback of Kansas, hoping it will lead to more U.S.-sponsored war in Central Africa. The Bill, borrowing language from Enough! is called the "Lord's Resistance Army Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act of 2009."
The Bill contains good elements when it calls for multi-million dollar financing of recovery in Uganda's devastated Acholi region. Even then, U.S. representatives would have to be involved in the monitoring. Corruption in Museveni's government is so rampant that even money sent to combat HIV/Aids was embezzled according to Uganda news reports.
The Bill's problematic part --actually favored and promoted by Enough! as well as Museveni's regime-- is section (3), or "statement of policy" and in part reads that, it's U.S. policy, in furthering the goal to end the conflict in northern and eastern Uganda and other affected areas by "eliminating the threat posed by the Lord's Resistance Army to civilians and regional stability through political, economic, military, and intelligence support for a comprehensive multilateral effort to protect civilians in affected areas, to apprehend or otherwise remove Joseph Kony and his top commanders from the battlefield, and to disarm and demobilize Lord's Resistance Army fighters..."
The U.S. must not align itself with Uganda's military establishment in escalating conflict in Uganda and Central Africa. That's precisely what Museveni wants; that's a strategy he's pursued for 23 years, with only deadly and destructive consequences.
It's also allowed Museveni the excuse to extinguish political opposition to his regime.
Moreover, while it was fine for Bush to become mired in "Operation Thunder," President Obama, a Constitutional Law professor, may want to maintain a firewall with a potentially unindicted war criminal, with respect to the Congo atrocities; even while working on other matters with the Ugandan government.
The Feingold-Brownback Bill also contains a section about accountability; not surprisingly Enough! as well as the Ugandan government have not been highlighting this.
The Bill supports "a body to investigate the history of the conflict, inquire into human rights violations committed during the conflict by all sides, promote truth-telling in communities, and encourage the preservation of the memory of events and victims of the conflict through memorials, archives, commemorations, and other forms of preservation...."
Thorough investigation into the history of the conflict between Museveni's army and the LRA, would result in Museveni possibly sharing a jail cell with Kony in the Hague.
Ironically, if the Feingold-Brownback Bill could lead to removal of both Museveni and Kony from Uganda's political stage, peace would be restored in Central Africa almost overnight.
Anyone who cares for Africa and wants to end the suffering of countless civilians on the continent can take some of the following actions:
(1) Contact Enough! by e-mail message at firstname.lastname@example.com and by telephone (202) 682-1611 or fax (202) 682-6140 and tell them to prove that they are not a nefarious partisan organization recklessly advocating for more bloodshed in Central Africa, by calling for the arrest not only of the LRA's Joseph Kony, but also for the indictment and arrest of Museveni, Kagame and Nkunda, for the war crimes in the DR Congo. Send Enough! a copy of this editorial.
(2) Demand that Enough! quit its preposterous campaign of promoting American military involvement in escalating war in Central Africa under the disingenuous excuse of going after Kony. If Museveni could not defeat Kony in 23 years –though he was able
to invade Rwanda and overthrow Juvenal Habyarimana's government in 1994 and invade what was then Zaire and overthrow Mobuttu's government in 1996— what makes Enough so sure that U.S. involvement would lead to Kony's defeat?
(3) Contact members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) by going to the Website www.thecongressionalblackcaucus.com. Once on the website click on "Meet Rep" and you'll get the list of all the Black members of Congress. Contact them all and urge them to oppose Enough!'s warmongering in Central Africa.
(4) Contact Senators Feingold and Brownback and tell them to remove from the Bill any call for U.S. military cooperation with President Museveni, who is possibly an unindicted war criminal as indicated in The Wall Street Journal front page article of June 8, 2006. Brownback's contact: Phone: (202) 224-6521 and Fax: (202) 228-1265
Feingold's contact: (202) 224-5323 and Fax (202) 224-2725 or via e-mail message at:
(5) Directly contact President Barack Obama at the White House
(202) 456-1414 or www.whitehouse.gov and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at the State Department (202) 647-4000 and www.state.gov and tell them not to support any more warfare in Central Africa but to promote a negotiated end to the Uganda conflict. You can also send an e-mail to the president via http://www.whitehouse.gov/CONTACT/
(6) E-mail this Editorial widely: to all your friends, relatives, contacts, general e-mail lists, news organizations, and to all elected officials so as to counter the propaganda of Enough! and help save the lives of innocent people in Central Africa.
Other reference articles
Uganda's Genocidal President Eyes Kenya
On Museveni, Allimadi's Blinded By Bias
Ituri: Covered In Blood, Ethnically Targeted Violence In Northeastern DR Congo
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At the end of the year, it's good to look back and think about the people who have helped you along the way in the past 12 months, or longer.
When I was quite young I memorized a poem about a self-made man who was only self-made in his own mind. The truth was he'd forgotten about all the people who'd helped him along his way.
I hope none of us will ever do that. I have a long list myself of people who've helped me – intentionally or not.
Not the least of those is Johnny Reid.
Now although I'm a fan of his on a couple of web places, Johnny has very likely never heard of me. But the creativity, passion, and excellence in his CD, Kicking Stones, helped me in a number of ways this year. Listening to this CD entertains me, encourages me, and inspires me both as a person and as a writer.
I've even played the title song from the CD at my writing workshops because it's one of the best examples I've found for teaching people how to "show, not tell" as you write. Kicking stones video
If you don't know Johnny, who was the 2009 Canadian Country Music male singer of the year. and whose CD Kicking Stones has sold over 100,000 copies, you might want to watch this video of his performance of one of the many great songs on the Kicking Stones CD – "Thank You."
And you might want to make a list of the people who've helped you this year.


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LAA closer Brian Fuentes says major league umpires are too frightened to make calls against Red Sox players at Fenway Park:
It seems like some times, especially here and some other places, some guys are timid to make a call. It just seems like that's the way it is. At Fenway. You hear it time and time again from other guys. The same thing happens when they come through. It's something you have to live with. It's either human mistake, or they're scared. It's one of the two.Attention whore Mike Scioscia -- last seen flapping his arms and looking confused and bug-eyed out at the field:
What was the count at the end, 3-4 on Green?Torii Hunter thinks some of his teammates cannot handle the pressure:
[I]f you do this in the regular season what's going to happen in the playoffs? ... We choked every time [LAA's last three losses]. It's not good, but it's good to see who's going to choke ... Don't let a crowd or atmosphere change anything. Don't show me signs of "soft" - show (guts). I hate to say that, man, but I've got to get my point across.And over at the Halo Heaven blog, they are equally infantile:
... the Red Sox are really not that good when you consider they had to have crooked umpiring allow two strikeouts to not happen, had to call a Boston runner safe at 2B on a dropped transfer and overall handed the game to the Red Sox ... the umps fixed this one on behalf of the MLB ratings crown and the Red Sox got the wink and the nod late.


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Basic economic security?Thursday, October 14th, 2010
This week, Wider Opportunities for Women issued their "Basic Economic Security Tables" for the Washington DC region. Not unpredictably, the Washington Post coverage led with the finding that a family of four needs $108,000 to be "economically secure" in Fairfax county. I sometimes work with folks from WOW, and I generally think they do good work, but I have to admit that I winced reading this — I worry that it feeds into the world view where people who earn six digits feel entitled to whine about how they can't make ends meet.
And, I make less than $108,000 a year, and I don't feel like we're "just getting by." So, I thought I'd take a look at their budget for a family of four: two workers, one preschooler, one school-age child, which is the one that is closest to our family type.
- Housing — $1546. This is based on HUD's fair market rent and seems reasonable to me. I can't think of where in Fairfax you could rent a three bedroom apartment or house for much less than $1500,.
- Utilities — $188. Sure. We pay a bit more, especially in the winter, but a smaller house would be cheaper.
- Food — $868. They get this from the USDA low-cost food plan, which is one step up from the thrifty food plan. I think we spend somewhat less than this on food, but as I've discussed before, we eat less meat and less prepared foods than the budget assumes. The thrifty food plan definitely means you need to pay attention to what you're buying — if economic security means being able to buy ice cream and meat without worrying about the cost, the low-cost plan seems reasonable.
- Transportation — $652. They assume two cars, and a lot of this cost is depreciation. I think you could probably get away for less, if you bought used cars and kept them until they fell apart. It certainly feels like we spend a lot less on transportation, but because we don't have car payments, but pay insurance 2x a year and repairs at irregular intervals, I may be undercounting the real cost of car ownership.
- Child care — $2,210. With two school age kids, I took this out of the budget. With no other changes, it brings the annual total bill down to$81,540.
- Personal and Household Items — $702. This is based on a statistical report that says that renters on average (nationally) spend 27% of a family's housing, utility and food expenses in these categories. I think it's too high — this is a very high cost of housing area, but I don't think that should drive up personal and household costs correspondingly. Even with cable and netflix and occasionally eating out or going to the movies, we spend way less than this.
- Health care — $508 (assuming employer provided health insurance). This is based on an average of plans in the area — you can definitely spend less if you're willing to go with a HMO like Kaiser. (I have Kaiser, and my premium is fully employer paid, so I spend less than $1000 a year on all health care, including glasses, etc.)
- Emergency savings — $345 and retirement savings — $320. I'm willing to buy that to be "secure" you should be saving this much.
- Taxes — $2007, and credits of $334. I'm sure WOW did the math correctly for their hypothetical family.
So, what do you think? Do WOW's numbers seem reasonable to you? Is my reaction just a version of the recurrent survey finding that the overwhelming majority of Americans think they're "middle class?"


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Little advice... when you hear a movie scoop that's on a site you've never heard of, chances are it's not true. Which would be why we didn't report on the potential "Hannibal" sequel that everyone else was all over this weekend. Turns out it only took a day or two to prove it false, with more info on the whole situation at the link.
Teaser posters for "Humpty Dumpty", about an alien who takes revenge on some rednecks who abuse his mother. Why the title? Well, the posters seem to explain that, at least sort of. "Humpty Dumpty" is being directed by "Final Destination 2" and "Snakes on a Plane" helmer David R. Ellis.
12 more stills from "Drag Me To Hell". The basic gist: Unscary old lady, Justin Long with flippy hair, Alison Lohman looking pensive. There... you're all caught up.
According to a press release sent out at Cannes recently, the zombie film "Pontypool" may get a sequel within a years time. Should be interesting considering not too many people outside of the film festivals have even had a chance to see it yet!
Speaking of sequels, it turns out that there's legit interest in making a sequel to "Behind the Mask: Rise of Leslie Vernon". So much so that the original's writer and director are currently sitting down and hammering out the story. Expect an official announcement soon.
"Final Destination: Death Trip 3D" gets renamed to "THE Final Destination". See what they did there? Somewhere right now a studio executive is patting himself on the back.


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MEMPHIS, Tenn.—October 19, 2011 (James Street Media Services)—Memphis-based Mallory Alexander International Logistics received the Governor's Award for Trade Excellence (GATE) from Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam in recognition of the company's global trade leadership. Mallory Alexander's award was in the large company category.
"We are proud of everyone on the Mallory team whose hard work resulted in this prestigious award," said Mallory Alexander president, Neely Mallory III. "As a worldwide freight forwarder, providing full logistics services since 1925, we are dedicated to our community and our customers."
During his presentation of the awards, Haslam said, "These existing Tennessee businesses are showing that Tennessee products and services can be successful in a global economy. The GATE Award winners are to be congratulated for exploring new markets and seeing the opportunities available in a global marketplace."
About Mallory Alexander International Logistics
Mallory Alexander International Logistics (www.mallorygroup.com) is a third-party logistics (3PL) provider, specializing in global logistics and supply chain services, including public and contract warehousing; freight forwarding (international, domestic, air, and ocean); custom brokerage; import/export services; intermodal trucking and transportation; and consulting. Mallory Alexander is a fourth-generation company, with 19 offices and 32 worldwide warehouse operations and distribution centers. The company has more than 500 employees. Previously, Mallory Alexander was known as Alexander International and Mallory Distribution Centers, which operated as separate subsidiaries of The Mallory Group.


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- 1/2 cup fresh breadcrumbs (from crustless French bread ground in processor)
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 1/4 pounds ground lamb
- 1/2 cup finely grated pecorino cheese
- 1 large egg, beaten to blend
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh marjoram
- 1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- large eggplant (1 to 1 1/4 pounds), unpeeled, cut into 1-inch cubes
- 6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
- Coarse kosher salt
- 1 large red bell pepper, halved, seeded, cut into 1/2-inch-wide strips
- 1 cup finely chopped onion
- 1 1/3 cups dry white wine
- 3 large garlic cloves, minced
- 2 cups chopped seeded peeled red heirloom tomatoes
- 2 teaspoons chopped fresh marjoram
- 4 cups water
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup polenta (coarse cornmeal)*
- Grated pecorino cheese
Recipe Preparation
Combine breadcrumbs and 1/4 cup water in small bowl. Soak 5 minutes. Squeeze all water from crumbs. Place crumbs in large bowl. Add lamb and remaining ingredients; mix gently to combine. Shape into 12 oval patties, each about 2 1/2 inches long and 3/4 inch thick.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Combine cubed eggplant and 4 tablespoons oil in large bowl and toss to coat. Spread eggplant out on rimmed baking sheet; sprinkle with coarse kosher salt and pepper. Bake 12 minutes. Turn eggplant over and bake until soft, about 12 minutes longer.
Heat 1 tablespoon oil in large deep skillet over medium-high heat. Add lamb patties and sauté until brown, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer lamb patties to plate. Add bell pepper strips to drippings in skillet; sauté until beginning to soften, about 4 minutes. Transfer bell pepper to plate with lamb.
Reduce heat to medium. Add remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil and chopped onion to same skillet. Cover and cook until onion is soft, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Add wine and garlic. Cook, scraping up browned bits, until wine is reduced to glaze, about 7 minutes. Return lamb and bell pepper to skillet; add eggplant, tomatoes, and marjoram. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer until lamb is cooked through and vegetables are tender, about 12 minutes. If sauce is thin, simmer uncovered until thickened to desired consistency. Season sauce to taste with coarse salt and pepper.
Bring 4 cups water and 1 teaspoon salt to boil in heavy large saucepan over medium-high heat. Gradually whisk in polenta. Reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer until polenta is very thick, whisking often, about 20 minutes.
Spoon polenta into shallow bowls. Top with lamb and vegetables. Sprinkle with pecorino cheese.
*Sold at some supermarkets and at natural foods stores and Italian markets. If unavailable, substitute an equal amount of regular yellow cornmeal and cook about half as long.


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Saturday, June 11, 2011
Solar Heat from the Attic
I added a new section that gathers together a few schemes for using attic heat for space or water heating, and other things -- here are a few samples -- see the link below for all the details.
Tim just did a project on EcoRenovators that makes use of attic heat in a nice simple way --he just blows hot attic air down into the house when the attic is hot and house needs heat -- nice and simple, and it works.
This is Tim's setup -- it uses a chimney that is not in use anymore to channel the air down to the kitchen. A homemade differential controller decides when to turn the blowers on.
The picture to the left is the "Black Roof" solar heating scheme. This scheme basically harvests attic heat for space heating with just a few simple components and a blower. It is said to be effective in cold climates that get quite a bit of sun -- eg Colorado.
There have been a number of schemes to use the attic heat to preheat domestic water. This is a recently announced commercial offering that uses PEX tubes installed in the attic vent system to harvest heat.
Another idea that I like is picking up the inlet air for the clothes dryer from the attic. Electric clothes dryers are big time energy users -- they not only use about 4 KWH of electricity per load, but they also end up sucking cold outside air into the house as they blow the air they have just heated out into the cold (wasting all the heat they just added to it). If you could work out a way to pull hot air from the attic for the dryer it would eliminate all this cold air infiltration and the drywer could use less electricity since its inlet air would be hot already. The nice thing about this is that you can time the drying to coincide with times when the attic is hot.
The ability to pull useful heat out of the attic will depend a lot on the climate you live in. In our very cold climate, the space heating applications would be limited to the shoulder seasons, but this still could be an important source of heat. The link below has my logged hourly attic temperatures for about a year.
If the use of attic heat idea could be incorporated in the initial design of the house there are all sorts of interesting and cost effective things that could be done to make the attic an effective heater. Things like designing the attic to be a more efficient collector through the design of the roof surface, the attic vent system, and selective use of insulation on non-collecting surfaces could make the attic a fairly efficient and very large solar collector for not a lot of extra expenditure. Introducing glazing could make the attic collector competitive with commercial air heating collectors.
Got any ideas on any of this? Have you used attic heat? How?
All the details on the schemes above as well as several more interesting ideas are detailed here...
6 comments:
I don't think the attic-pex domestic water preheater will be taking off anytime soon, common sense will kill it.ReplyDelete
By the time you've installed everything required for this system, all you have to add is $500 for a solar collector, and voila, you have a real solar system that works all year round.
- AnonymousJune 14, 2011 at 7:43 AM
Hi Kevin,ReplyDelete
I suppose it might go over better with HOAs.
Have you seen any attic heat recovery methods that do work?
This fall I'm going to try closing off the back of a couple rafter bays with polyiso board with inlet at bottom and outlet at top to see if it makes a simple thermosyphon collector. If it works, idea would be to collect hot air in a plenum along the ridge and then use duct and fan to blow the heat into living area.
I'm sure this won't do much in the mid winter, but we have shoulder seasons that seem to go all the way to July :)
- BrendonJune 23, 2011 at 3:24 PM
Hi Gary,ReplyDelete
I used to live in a house that almost got no sun; an old style villa with its northern (I am in dunedin, new zealand) side built 1.2m from the neighbouring house, with no windows on that side; it had poor insulation as well. Due to a government scheme, the landlords got decent insulation put in the ceiling space, and a moisture barrier and reflecting layer under the house. The house was freezing; basically an ice box in the lounge, where the attic space man hole access was. The roof was dark grey decramastic tiling over the top of an existing iron roof. The house had a chimney in the lounge (double sided brick) which i removed. I designed a system in C#, using Dallas one wire sensors and my HTPC; serial in took temperature measurements from the ceiling, the lounge and one from outside for fun; I used a program called log-temp to spit out xml files which my c# program read every 10 minutes to control a parallel port based relay system. This, in turn, controlled a bilge fan connected to a computer PSU in the roof space - i replaced the existing manhole cover in the lounge with one made of Medium density fibre board with a vent for the fan. The difference in the house was massive - basically made the place livable. The roofspace on a reasonably sunny day often got to the 45 degrees celcius mark, and even with the outside temp reaching only 12 degrees or so, the house would stay at 20+ degrees celcius until late evenings when we went to bed. We gained roughly 7 to 10 degrees on a day with sun over not having the unit, and of course the house was drier and easier to heat due to the removed moisture. A simple differential controller and a bilge fan can make a MASSIVE difference in the right house, thats for sure!
Thanks Brendon -- nice to know there is some real potential there for a simple system to work at least in some climates and homes.ReplyDelete
Attics have two strikes against them.ReplyDelete
#1. Attics are typically poor solar collectors because they must be vented by code. That means that when they heat up, the warm air spills out by design.
#2. New codes allow unvented attics, but also require impermeable insulation at the roof sheathing plane. That kills all solar collection potential.
Hi Kevin,ReplyDelete
Agree with both points, but I wonder if one could monitor attic relative humidity and find a reduced level of attic ventillation that allowed for more heat collection without moisture problems.
For the 2nd point on new construction it seems like ther must be a good way to integrate a collection channel below the roof deck but above the impermeable insulation that should allow for fairly efficient collection -- at least as efficient as an unglazed collector can be.
I plan to do some experimenting in my attic this fall/winter with using some of the rafter bays as collector channels. Dave in VA (who has a very nice logging system plans to do the same.
With all that area, it just seems like there has to be a good way to make use of it.