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Comment: Re:Launch date (Score 1) 57

by deathguppie (#47437957) Attached to: Sand-Based Anode Triples Lithium-Ion Battery Performance

Not all concepts will make it to market. For varied reasons. Sometimes it's simply a matter of to restrictive/expensive patent licensing. But mostly some unforeseen problem happens further on in development that causes the whole thing to fizzle away to nothing.

The experience we gain from both the initial research, and the failure is invaluable. Personally I love reading about materials research, even if I don't understand all of it, the time I spend researching to learn is well worth it.

Comment: Re:About time. (Score 1) 110

by deathguppie (#47368227) Attached to: FTC Says T-Mobile Made Hundreds of Millions From Bogus SMS Charges
I am like a lot of people, I didn't switch to T-mobile until they started changing the way they did business. I previously had been with Sprint, then At&t. I can't say enough shitty things about either of those companies and what and how they billed. At one point I started getting a "service" charge from At&t that they just refused to explain. Hows them for apples. The thing is, T-mobile has been by far less expensive, and since I'm on an "unlimited everything" plan that costs me less than my limited plan with At&t there are no overages. I never have to worry about extra charges. (actually I think they do have late fees on the bill, but that's it) On top of that I get 2gb/month tethering for no additional charge. Do that on another carrier. No I don't work for T-mobile but this is the first time, I haven't truly "hated" my phone company. What's more you can bet Verizon and At&t were doing the same kinds of things back in the day.

Comment: Re: Behind the curve (Score 1) 1040

by deathguppie (#47159147) Attached to: Seattle Approves $15 Per Hour Minimum Wage
Seattle proper has little in way of manufacturing or other low wage low skill jobs. Lots of high tech jobs that pay much higher than $15. All the low wage jobs are in service related industry like waiting tables or bar tending. People in Seattle are not going to drive out of Seattle to save a couple bucks on an oil change or a few drinks. I can literally think of nothing that will change. That doesn't mean there won't be affected jobs but I seriously doubt it will even be marginally noticeable.

Comment: Re: Even higher! (Score 1) 1040

by deathguppie (#47158751) Attached to: Seattle Approves $15 Per Hour Minimum Wage
Actually it raises our collective buying power as well. As long as the rest of the country stays behind us in wages going to another state will be like going to a third world country. And then the extra money we do have after living expenses goes a lot further. But as I said before no one here cares if a burger costs an extra buck or two. In the end we'll all be better off than people in lower wage areas.

Comment: Re: Behind the curve (Score 1) 1040

by deathguppie (#47158669) Attached to: Seattle Approves $15 Per Hour Minimum Wage
It won't kill jobs here. Seattle has a lot of high paying tech jobs among other occupations. The average price of a house here is above $400k and rent for a one bedroom apt is about $1200. If it raise the price of a meal a couple of bucks no one is going to notice. I've spoken to a lot of people here and no one is worried about the few extra bucks it may cost for a night out. We'd rather have people making enough money to support themselves.

Comment: Re:Hello automation! (Score 1) 1040

by deathguppie (#47154753) Attached to: Seattle Approves $15 Per Hour Minimum Wage
I live in Seattle, and I guarantee you this won't effect much at all. People who work at "Starcoffee" as you say already make that much. Fast food places will have to raise their wages, I don't care if a mcyuckburger costs a buck more, but I do care that it has become to expensive for younger people and unskilled laborers to live here. Personally, I don't think a $15 per hour min wage is for everyone. I don't think it would work in areas outside Seattle like the larger part of King county. However Seattle proper can handle the wage increase, and people who pay a little more for services won't complain because compared to the cost of other things around here it really is insignificant.

Comment: Re:Recycleable? (Score 5, Interesting) 198

by deathguppie (#47091683) Attached to: Is Bamboo the Next Carbon Fibre?

Alright, I've been working in the materials industries for years, so I can see there is a lot of strange info here.

  • First off carbon fiber is what you have after you burn everything else off. Yup that's how it's made, and it's not so environmentally friendly
  • Second, carbon is the hardest substance known to man. mixing it in varied amounts with a strong yet flexible binder like epoxy allows a product to have the best of both worlds in varied amounts, as per design.
  • Third, bamboo depends on it's cell structure for stiffness, and while it may be very stiff, it is not nearly as strong as carbon fiber by weight, and cannot be (carbon is as stiff as it gets)
  • Fourth, once the bamboo is soaked in epoxy it is no longer environmentally friendly. It was up till that point but no longer
  • Fifth, bamboo can rot, carbon can't. Which means that products made of bamboo have a life span, after which they will need a home int the dirt somewhere. Not necessarily so for carbon fiber
  • Sixth, Carbon fiber used in a thermal set mold, using a blend of carbon, and nylon woven together instead of saturated with epoxy is one of the most durable products I have ever seen, and because it is a thermoplastic based binder, it could most likely be recycled.

There are many ways to use composites, of every type. In some cases not having to replace the product may be more environmentally sound than making it out of something semi-biodegradable like bamboo and epoxy. I'm just saying, that there are ups and downs to everything. It takes years and much useage to define the criteria, for environmentally sound, with any product. Wasn't to long ago I remember ethonal and biodesel were going to save the planet, and now we realize it's really not much better after all.

Comment: Re:They've been pushing this angle for a while (Score 2) 362

by deathguppie (#47022847) Attached to: Should Tesla Make Batteries Instead of Electric Cars?
Elon Musk "will partner with several companies besides Panasonic". http://www.mercurynews.com/bus... I seriously doubt that Panasonic and the several other companies involved would want to invest heavily into a factory that produces batteries primarily for Tesla. It's a win/win for anyone involved in this endevour. If they can actually bring raw, newly mined materials into one end and then pump batteries out the other, they can cut out a huge amount of the cost of purchasing and re-working the pre-manufactured components and materials.

Comment: Re:rotfl They want to outlaw themselves!?!? (Score 1) 410

by deathguppie (#46832115) Attached to: F.C.C., In Net Neutrality Turnaround, Plans To Allow Fast Lane
To work within the current system, you must first have enough money to publicly challenge those few who own most of it. The "system" has been slanted to favor the elite, and you will never get it back. Raise as much money as you can, and see how little it means to people with more resources than everyone else combined.

Comment: Re:Umm no. (Score 2) 248

by deathguppie (#45866803) Attached to: Ask Slashdot: State of the Art In DIY Security Systems?

My house was robbed a few years back. We had an active alarm. The thieves were in and out while the alarm was still going, in the morning in broad daylight. They don't really care about alarms, because they, know they can be gone before anyone can respond.

After that I put cameras up. I put them in inside corners facing out of the porches where they can't be walked around, and in other places they can't be reached. This has worked as much more of a deterrent, due (I believe) to the fact that no one wants to be ID'ed while committing a crime. Since a lot of these people are recurring criminals, if you have a good image, your local cops may actually know who they are.

As for what system to use. I've used Zoneminder with IP cameras, and a couple HD USB cameras with powered remote hubs. The IP cameras (foscam) are the most unreliable of the bunch, simply because they tend to cut out when recording an event. You'll get the beginning and the middle, sometimes the end.. but never a full motion event. I've talked to other people and they say the same about a lot of IP cameras. The USB option is great, but there is a limit to the lenght of the USB cable that can be used even powered.

Comment: Re:Because they're EXPENSIVE (Score 1) 810

by deathguppie (#45501075) Attached to: Electric Cars: Drivers Love 'Em, So Why Are Sales Still Low?

I wouldn't(haven't) recommend buying an ev. However, the Nissan Leaf in my area (Seattle) can be leased for $200/m with $2000 down. This is a great lease price for a car that you don't wan't to own due to battery degredation, and many people here have taken advantage of that.

Comment: Re:money? (Score 1) 810

by deathguppie (#45498369) Attached to: Electric Cars: Drivers Love 'Em, So Why Are Sales Still Low?
also, large cheap bars of gold will sell equally well. Yes, the universe is full of free energy, that doesn't mean that harnessing it to "your" needs is going to be cheap. We live fat and happy off all the work the dinosaurs(mostly plants but I digress) put into creating energy, but never take into account that they used only a small portion of the energy available to us in the solar system. The question is not how to make cheap electric cars but how to make cheap electricity, because then even the creation of the cars becomes more economical.
