Blackberry REACT May 2007 Newsletter

Quick Clicks

More steampunk stuff

I know, I know - I post too much steampunk stuff. Here's R2S2 - you remember the robot from Star Wars, R2D2? Well, this is his prequel - R2 Steam Too. A robot that looks just like R2D2 but runs on steam: http://www.crabfu.com/steamtoys/r2s2/
video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19g3HdikLVo

But to bring this into reality, take a look at http://del.icio.us/philip/Lister which is my list o' links Lister. Listers and listeroids are slow speed, high torque diesel engines (OK, so they're not steam). You can use listers and their descendants to provide power to anything you can connect to a flywheel, including electric generators, which listeroids excel at. They burn just about anything that you can pour in - diesel fuel, vegetable oil, waste motor oil, biomass, and so on. One cylinder listers can provide 3KW of electrical power continuous, 5KW surge.

Listers are simple engines that can be repaired in the field with simple tools, assuming you can rebuild your lawn mower engine. Unlike gasoline-powered engines that may not take continuous duty, these 600 or 700 RPM engines will run for as long as you have fuel, and they're quieter, too. (If you sail, think of those one-lungers you've seen putting by.)

Another course required for FEMA

According to the April-May issue of The Reacter, FEMA will require another course for people to be "certificated" at the end of the year. Current federal requirements are IS-100 and IS-700. Next year, according to the article, the requirements are IS-100, IS-200, and IS-800. I'm not sure this list is correct, and I refer to FEMA's Training Guidelines Matrix at http://www.fema.gov/pdf/emergency/nims/TrainingGdlMatrix.pdf which triggers the immediate download of a one-page, 32KB .pdf file which lists what levels of training are required for entry level personnel, first line supervisors, mid-level management, and command and general staff.

The requirements for Entry level are IS-100 and IS-700, for first line supervisors are IS-100, 200, and 700, for mid-level IS-100, 200, 700, plus IS-300 and 800. Command adds IS-400 to the list. According to FEMA's site, courses 300 and 400 are conducted in a classroom; the other courses are available online.

According to FEMA, the IS-800 course will be changed after June 2007, when the National Response Plan is updated. The current course is online at http://training.fema.gov/emiweb/IS/is800a.asp and FEMA says it need not be retaken if you have passed it already.

Photos of home computer set ups

http://www.scribd.com/doc/32500/Pictures-of-Geek-Culture Nothing mundane here - horrifically expensive to horrific disasters.

Fastfood ads vs. reality

http://www.thewvsr.com/adsvsreality.htm Compare the photos in the ads with what you get.

Simply the weather

http://www.simpleweather.com/ No ads, no clutter.

Jamesburg Dish

If this were the movies in WWII, the Jamesburg Dish would be played by Betty Grable, but this is real life and the Dish is an antenna over 120 feet high. It was used in 1969 to receive radio and TV communications from the moon landing.
http://www.jamesburgdish.org/
With fewer moon landings of late, it had fallen into disrepair, and the surrounding land was going to developers. Hams to the rescue! It's been restored, but they have no concrete plans for new uses. It's in Cachagua Valley, which I hear is south of Monterey - certainly in driving range if you want to do EME bounces.

Maker Faire

http://makerfaire.com/
is on Saturday and Sunday, May 19 and 20 at the San Mateo Fair Grounds. This is its second year; many photos of last year's event at http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=maker%20faire&w;=all The faire is sponsored b Make Magazine, which promotes do it yourselfness in the 21st Century: cloud chambers, why whips crack, $5 amplifiers, and the like. See http://makezine.com/magazine/ for some online articles from recent issues.

Mass Communications in Emergencies

http://www.bloglines.com/blog/CivilizedExplorer for information from several sources on mass communications during emergencies. If you were doing comm work at Virginia Tech during the shootings and a student asked you what was going on - what would you tell her?

Jadoo Power

http://www.jadoopower.com
I'm not sure whether I've mentioned Jadoo before. They sell fuel cells, and they have a generator that runs on hydrogent and puts out 120VAC and 12VDC, delivering 100W continuous. They claim 2200Wh or 180Ah, weight of less than 50 lbs, and dimensions of about 7w x 18d x 14h inches. There are two problems: the generator runs on hydrogen, so you have to have a supply of their fuel cannisters; second, the generator costs $8,000. Fuel cannisters come in two sizes: 130Wh for $450 and 360Wh for $850.

It is appallingly expensive to go green. Jadoo claims the by- products of their fuel cell are water, heat, and electricity, but the cost is more than mere mortals can bear, and there is are no hydrogen filling stations in my neighborhood to recharge their cannisters. This means that gasoline, diesel, or propane generators will continue to be favored by just about everyone. It's not just happenstance that gasoline is the most-used fuel. It delivers the most bang for the buck, taking into account the entire supply chain from pumping crude to pumping unleaded.

Foster's Power

Yes, that Foster's - the Foster's brewing company has combined talent and, uh, waste, to make an energy cell, according to Newsvine:
http://www.newsvine.com/_news/2007/05/02/697274-beer-maker-scientists-to-create-energy
Foster's contributes brewing waste (sugar, starch, and alcohol) and the University of Queensland contributes some bacteria, and the result is electricity and clean water. The current fuel cell is 660 gallons, though, so it will be difficult to carry around. It produces, however, 2KW of electricity. It may still be more expensive than regular electricity, but consumers of Foster's will not care.

Events

• May 12 - Rengstorff Yard Sale. 6:45 am to 1:00 pm.
• May 19 and 20 - Art and A la Carte.


• June 10 - Tour de Cure. Various starting and ending times.
• June 24 - Concours d'Elegance.

Updates

Our speaker at our June meeting will be Chief Frank Fraone and Ken Dueker, who will explain our function in emergencies, how we assist, and how we tie our communications into the fire and police departments.