Blackberry REACT January 2008 Newsletter

Quick Clicks

Photographing holiday lights

How to Photograph holiday lights
Okay, so the holidays are over, but you took photos of the lights, and your pictures show black backgrounds and all those colors are now white. For next year, the link above gives several links to tutorials on how to take photos of lights at night so that you get all the beautiful colors, plus some of the background. (Hint: Don't wait till dark.) The tips work with more than holiday lights, of course, so take great photos of downtown Mountain View with lighted stores and street lamps.

HAARP

HAARP satellite image on Google
HAARP stands for High Frequency Active Auroral Research Project, an Air Force program which is described at Wired. It appears that the Air Force can use HAARP to disturb the ionosphere, reducing the ability to communicate at VHF/UHF frequencies. This includes not only amateur frequencies, but TV and radar as well. The joint Air Force / Navy publication contains a basic explanation of what the ionosphere is, how it affects some communications (and radars), and how HAARP can be used to modify the ionosphere and what uses are foreseen.

New kind of battery

Toshiba has announced a new battery-type which it claims will recharge in five minutes with a life cycle of 10 years with constant recharging. Called a Super Charge ion Battery (SCiB), the batteries appear to be a variant of Lithium-ion; the press release says they'll ship in March of 2008, which I figure is September 2009 in real time. Toshiba says they won't be for consumers - "industrial systems" only, whatever that means.

Bic Ballpoint Pens

If you got a ballpoint for Christmas, read the customer reviews of the Bic pen and see if yours holds up to their standards.

Article from powerless person in Oklahoma

Posted after three days without power due to ice storms. One issue I never think about: "Ok, home with my 10 yr old daughter and 2.5 yr old son. Not the ideal condition when power goes...especially when he was right in the middle of his favorite movie 'Cars'."

An interesting article on what to expect after our big earthquake and no power.

Promise of a 40-hour laptop battery

Still in the concept stage, so don't get your hopes up. The scientists changed the anode so that it attracts more electrons. There's an interesting but brief description of how Li-ion batteries work.

Anti-Steampunk computer

Last year I posted a few links to steampunk computers - ornately handmade laptops and the like with brass keys, polished wood, and total works of art. Here is the anti-steampunk computer.

Events

FARS/PAARA Banquet

Friday, January 25, 2008, and open to anyone who wants to attend. Reservations are required, as is advance payment. See the Web site for details. The speaker is a former pilot who flew in the U-2 program. The Restaurant is Michael's at Shoreline.

Santa Clara Valley Section Radiofest

February 23 and 24, 2008, in Monterey. Free admission; BBQ Saturday night, flea market on Sunday. Speakers, prizes, and equipment demonstrations.

Updates

Packet seminar

Howard Zolty has an audio recording of the January presentation here.