IEEE Consultants' Network of Long Island

Space Elevator - John Dunn, Consultant, Ambertec, P.E., P.C.

This idea dates back many years and some serious articles have been written on the topic, an elevator structure, or perhaps a cable, that would span the distance from the surface of the earth into space. There is one issue about this that has long bothered me.  How would such a thing cope with the earth-to-ionosphere capacitance?

Please consider the following sketch:      

ECONOMICS OF USING SOLAR POWER----Carl Schwab

Recently the writer published a BLOG concerning the increasing interest in using solar power to supplement electrical power on a home residence. It doesn’t address casual use of solar powering sites such a remote campsites. This BLOG will address some of the issues that should be considered in contemplating use of solar power. Figuring out whether you save, and if so how much, depends on lots of factors---especially where you live. The big question for any homeowner considering installing solar power is a simple one: How quickly will the system pay for itself? Well it depends where you live. That doesn’t just mean how sunny it is, though weather obviously matters. Just as important are subsidies, such as tax credits and rebates, which differ from state to state and between cities. Another BIG local factor: how much you currently pay for electricity—because it determines what you can expect to save each month once you start producing power.

Getting Banned on LinkedIn - John Dunn, Consultant, Ambertec, P.E., P.C.

In the course of the last two years, I have been posting essays on the weblog of The IEEE Consultants Network of Long Island and then selectively announcing those essays to fifty LinkedIn groups. At this writing on September 29, 2012, I have posted two-hundred-twenty-five essays on that weblog.

I say "selectively" because not all of my topics have been suitable for every group. For example, the topic "Coil Shielding Choices" did not get announced to the "Long Island Business Group". It would clearly not have fallen within that group's range of interests. Similarly, the intentionally humorous item  "Skeletor's Virtues" did not get announced to the "RF and Microwave Community" group. I felt that it was way too far off-topic.

A One-Man Legislature - John Dunn, Consultant, Ambertec, P.E., P.C.

Once upon a time, I got caught up in a bureaucratic snafu regarding a change of my automobile insurance company. That is a story unto itself.

 In the course of seeking assistance, I wrote to Congressman (name withheld) and got this letter back:

 

Seeing this letter, I find it unsettling that this guy still actually holds an elected position in the Federal Government.

TOYOTA PILES INTO HYBRIDS-------Carl Schwab

Some of this information comes from an article appearing in the WSJ September 25, 2012. Toyota Motor Corp appears to be putting its full weight behind hybrids and perhaps placing a side-bet on the EV as well. Japan’s largest auto maker predicted it sales of hybrids world-wide will likely top one million this year and every year through 2015. Toyota’s most popular Hybrid, the PRIUS, is now offered in 5-different models.

While the rollout and forecast signal Toyota’s confidence in it hybrids, the company acknowledges cost must still be cut further to increase profitability and spur sales. “Profits from conventional (gas) powered cars are still higher, so we need to reduce hybrid costs more in order to promote diffusion”. Hybrids are becoming more main-stream in Japan. Toyota’s sales of gasoline-electric vehicles last year reached 310,000 or 26% of its total sales. But they remain a niche in other important markets, such as the U.S. Last year, Toyota sold 178,600 hybrid models in the U.S., just a fraction of the 1.64 million vehicles sold here in 2011.

New Cab Plan Curbs Hybrids--------Carl Schwab

 November 24, 2010 I wrote a BLOG entitled “CAB OF FUTURE: STILL YELLOW, BUT DIFFERENT”. In that BLOG I questioned how this new project fit in. I was not sure. It would be obvious if this "CAB OF THE FUTURE" was required to be a hybrid AND meet a stated minimum MPG. But such is NOT the case. In the September 20, 2012 WSJ the top title appears.

New York City taxi officials are expected Thursday to approve one of the most sweeping changes in years, ratifying the Nissan-built, NV-200 as the ONLY acceptable new yellow cab starting 2013. Conversion is to be completed within 3 years.

Nail Polish - John Dunn, Consultant, Ambertec, P.E., P.C.

As a teenager, I worked as a delivery boy for a local pharmacy. It was also my duty to sweep the floor and to keep all the glass counters clean, so I spent a fair amount of time in the store itself.

One day, two women came into the store and stopped to look at a chart of nail polish colors that was taped to one of the glass counters. It was a chart something like the one below, but with all of the colors in various shades of red that were very close to pink at one end of the chart and which very gradually changed from one sample to the next to a very dark red at the other end. It was a one-way color progression. 

COAL-FIRED PLANTS MOTHBALLED------Carl Schwab

About a year ago the writer put up BLOGs concerning the use of “fracking”—(fracturing) shale to release captive CH4 or NG i.e. natural gas. Wednesday, September 12, 2012, WSJ carried an article entitled “Coal-Fired Plants Mothballed By Gas Glut”. In its heyday, the giant W.H. Sammis power station was a workhorse, cranking out electricity around the clock. But FirstEnergy Corp. now plans to idle the coal-fired power plant on the Ohio River and run it only when there is exceptional and extended need for electricity.

Coal has been losing ground to natural gas ever since a boost in shale-gas production sent the price of natural gas tumbling starting about 4 years ago. But now the natural-gas price advantage is beginning to affect the coal units that seemed most protected by any shift. Many of these plants have the latest environmental upgrades (EPA) and are often close to coal deposits. Sammis is one of a growing number of coal-fired plants that were built to run 24 hours a day, seven days a week, but now may run only occasionally because of softening demand for electricity. Gas-fired plants are cheaper to run and cleaner to operate. BTW according to the article it takes about 4-days to completely shut down OR start up a modern coal-fired generation plant.

SOLAR PANEL TAKE-OFF---Carl Schwab

In the September 10, 2012 issue of WSJ an article entitled “Sun Peeks Through in Solar” appeared with the lead in of “Overseas Suppliers Trounce U.S. Panel Makers but Installations Are Soaring”. The solar panel installation business has had a rough start because of the Obama administration NOT understanding how to approach it. The solar-power business is expanding quickly in the US, helping lift the cloud that has surrounded the demise of Solyndra LLC about a year ago. But the growth isn’t coming from US solar-panel manufacturing, despite the money and rhetoric devoted to the industry by the Obama administration. Instead, it is in installations of largely foreign-made panels, whose falling prices have made solar more competitive with other forms of power.

J.P. Morgan - John Dunn, Consultant, Ambertec, P.E., P.C.

This television listing appeared in the newspaper some years ago. I kept it because I find it enormously entertaining to just sit and contemplate the whole thing as a study of human nature.

That awed looking guy on the left, I think he was of no concern at all to any of the other guys. Not in the slightest.