Amateur Radio High Altitude Ballooning Launch Announcements

ARHAB

The Hazards of Space Weather

In amateur radio circles what happens on the upper reaches of Earth's atmosphere has a definitive impact on communications.  What most people do not realize is that the Sun's effect on our atmosphere and magnetosphere could have far more serious implications.  As noted in slashdot,  civilization as we know it may be a short step from being blown away by a space storm.

For more information on the topic you may want to refer to the
National Weather Service Space Weather Prediction Center
The book "An Introduction to Space Weather"
An informational website
A college course on Space Weather


You may panic now.

Starship Troopers and Robotic Legs

The book "Starship Troopers" by Robert Heinlein (and not the awful movie) is one of my old time science fiction favorites.  Its descriptions of the Mobile Infantry dropping from orbit still captivates my attention.  So it is no surprise that when I found an article about a former Army Ranger, who used this piece of fiction to motivate himself to solve his service-connected mobility problem, I knew i had to post a link to it.

Newsflash: Model Rocket Engines are Not Explosives!

As reported on Slashdot, the  DC District Court has ruled that Ammonium Perchlorate Composite Propellant (APCP) is not an explosive, taking away any legal jurisdiction from BATFE (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives) on the matter of hobbyist model rocket propellants.  Much restrictions and unsubstantiated fear has surrounded the hobby of Model Rocketry since 9/11.  Even in our local Cub Scout Pack we have encountered some resistance in holding activities involving the launching (but not the building) of model rockets with solid fuel propellants. Through the efforts of the Tripoli Rocket Society and the National Association of Rocketry (who used to be based in WI, now in IA) perhaps the hobby can return to the business of rockets instead of courtrooms.

Virtualization Software for the Mac-Head to Head

Here is an article and a video on the subject of Parallels Desktop  versus VMWare Fusion for running Windows OS's

Robotics for K-5

LEGO® Education WeDo™

 

Flyer for the product(s)

Bright Shiny Plastic Chemistry

Here is a recipe for giving your vintage electronic (their plastic parts of course) a new lease on life, restoring them to their (near) original glory.  Who said chemistry is not useful?

And on the subject of the Playstation 3...

For you Playstation 3 fanboys out there, here is some food for thought.  You don't have to take my word for it, the console is difficult to program on purpose according to Sony.  Being an Xbox 360 fanboy myself, I would pick one up as a Blu-ray player if it drops below the $200 mark.  I really haven't followed the console's history too well, but I know enough that the newer models of the PS3(see Retail Configurations) won't be able to play my old PS2 games.  Sony needs to pay some attention to what Nintendo and the Wii have done with respect to monetizing on old properties such as the game libraries of the NES, Super NES and Nintendo 64.  Goldeneye anyone? Or is it going to show up on Xbox Live Arcade?  It would be nice to see an addendum to the very excellent book "The Ultimate History of Video Games: From Pong to Pokemon--The Story Behind the Craze That Touched Our Lives and Changed the World " to cover the most recent console war.  If you like/play videogames this is a must read. On the Nintendo side there is "Game Over Press Start To Continue"  Just recently go a copy of "Rogue Leaders: The Story of LucasArts" which is still in shrinkwrap, which I am anxious to remove and see what surprises it holds.

New way of reading books, newspapers, blogs

I have been accused many times of bringing too many books and other reading materials when I go on trips.  Although I have pared down quite dramatically in recent years, I still yearn to bring more books and magazines than I could possibly read, just to keep my short attention span from wandering too far.  Several devices have appeared on the scene in the last couple of years, but none have really captured my attention.  From my early adopter years with my Palm III the early attempts at bringing digital materials with me to read were seriously lacking.  Sony has come up with its eBook, but since the days of the Walkman the company has failed to capture the consumer's attention (can we say Memory Stick, Universal Media Disk[UMD], MiniDisk, PSP, Playstation 3); this is coming from a guy who does own a Sony camcorder, a recently deceased Sony Cybershot camera (now replaced by one of those cameras Ashton Kutcher hawks on TV) and a Playstation 2  I think my LP turntable is a Sony too.  Needless to say the eBook does not grab me as the new Kindle 2 does.  When the first gen product came out I was worried that this would be another gimmicky dead end platform; it reminded me of the Apple Newton, a device that came to market before its time and that I desired but could never afford.  Yet the appeal of carrying many books and other media caught my eye, so I have been regularly checking to see what is truly available for it in terms of a substantial  library .  Having lost my taste for most fiction literature a few years back the availability of non-fiction and periodicals is a must have feature.  So far the initial vibe is good, as this review of the New York Times on the Kindle 2 testifies.