Sending a Text Message to Canada Saved a Woman in Haiti [SMS]

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A Canadian woman trapped under rubble after the recent earthquake in Haiti managed to send out a text message to the Foreign Affairs Department in Ottawa, a place nearly 3,000 miles away. And it saved her life.

Once received, the text message was "relayed to Canadian diplomats back in Haiti" who then provided aid in the search for the woman. There's not much more information beyond that, but it's simply good to hear even the tiniest bit of encouraging and happy news in regards to this devastating event—particularly when it shows that a gadget and solid communication between diplomats can save a life.

Also, we've mentioned it before, but a reminder doesn't hurt: If you'd like to donate to an organization that can help in this situation, here are some ways to do so:

• MSF/Doctors Without Borders
• The American Red Cross International Response Fund
• Texting "HAITI" to 90999 to donate $10 to the American Red Cross International Response FUnd
• Online tech store SmallDog, who is matching any MSF/DWB donations up to $200

[ABC—Photo by Telegraph.co.uk]



Google Android Invasion

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By now you've probably heard about Google Android due to the recent Android phones that have been released; but, the truth is, Android is a lot more than just a "Google phone". Android is software designed to be a complete platform for mobile devices, which includes an open-sourced, mobile ope

Sleep Suit Allows You to Doze Anywhere and Be Touched Everywhere [Sleep]

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I like the sleep suit, because can't not like anything that allows me to sleep anywhere I want, and has holes for people to poke their hands inside.

The suit is designed for siestas—four 30 minutes ones taken over 24 hours periods—, with holes that allow "human contact." I don't know about the contact, but I can tell you that people from any country who actually practice siestas, would just prefer a sofa and a boring nature TV program to fall sleep for an hour or two. [Blogitecture via Presurfer via New Launches]



Temperature-Adjusted OLEDs Simulate Sunlight [OLEDs]

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OLEDs are known for having a kind of clinical coldness to the color gamut (read: "blue-ish"), but a Taiwanese researcher has worked out a way to up the temperature to the point where it comes very close to simulating sunlight.

Basically, he adjusted the voltage on a certain type of OLED, which produces a light very similar to natural sunlight. This is great for photographers, if they can get the wattage up enough to illuminate properly. It's just an experiment, for now, but we could definitely see it coming to market either for photographers or even as a natural light simulator for those suffering from seasonal affective disorder. [OLED-Display via Crunchgear]



Mass flow rate

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Dear friends,

Kindly help to me, i want to know the flow rate of 4" & 6" steam pipe line. I know Pressure only. The pressure is 20bar.

thanks.

subra

Bear Attacks Plane, Pilot Fixes Plane With Duct Tape, Pilot Flies Duct-Taped Plane Home [Duct Tape]

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I'm not sure this story is true, but if it is, I'm going to go buy a hat just so I can take it off in this guy's honor. Is there anything duct tape can't do (besides repair ducts)?

So this pilot was flying out in the Alaskan backcountry (is there a frontcountry in Alaska?) for a fishing trip and mistakenly left some fresh bait in his plane. That was a big mistake, since there are probably more bears than people in those parts. One of the local bears ravaged his plane while looking for the bait, leaving it in a condition unfit for flight. That picture:

After the attack, our noble pilot called in a buddy to deliver some new tires, sheet plastic and a whopping three cases of duct tape. After using those materials, his newly patched-up plane looked like this:

Apparently the repairs were sturdy enough that the pilot was able to fly his duct-taped plane home safely (not sure how far—maybe he was from Dawson City or something). There are definitely reasons to be skeptical of the story, but I'm going to choose to ignore all of them, and instead salute both this man and duct tape. [CNET]



Sensor Network Could Sniff Out Terrorists, Literally [Security]

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OK, so you might feel weird about those naked-o-vision scanners they're installing at the airport. Here's a nice alternative: chemical noses that can sniff out explosives and precisely track them through crowded areas.

Researchers from Germany's Fraunhofer Gesellschaft have created a network of these chemical noses that can do just that. First, the sensors pick up the explosives as the person carrying them move through an area.

This is where the Hazardous Material Localization and Person Tracking (HAMLeT for short) system gets smarter than your average sensor network. HAMLeT's data fusion process puts complex algorithms to work meshing security camera and chemical sensor data to ferret out the offending individuals. The more sensors an offender triggers, the more data the system crunches and the closer it gets to picking out the particular individual traveling along that path. In a trial with the German Armed Forces, the system accurately zeroed in on five "terrorists" carrying hidden explosives, no civilian heroics or emergency landings necessary.

It's not a perfect system yet, but they hope to iron out the kinks and have this deployed in places like airports and stadiums in the near future. [PopSci]



Left now attacking full force at Brown link to libertarian Tea Party

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RS McCain and Jumping in Pools broke the story. Daily Kos attacking Scott Brown as a "TeaBagger".

Daily Kos:

His support from teabaggers was critical to becoming competitive -- his moneybomb on Monday was the first real moneybomb conservative activists have ever pulled off... libertarian...

Brown has been caught in a vice. His support from teabaggers was critical to becoming competitive . . .
On the other hand, that conservative support has come at a cost. . . . The teabaggers demand ideological purity, and he’s had to deliver. . . .

And now National Review has uncovered a desperate last-minute fundraising letter from New York Senator Chuck Schumer, in which he calls Scott Brown a "far-right teabagger Republican."

See the full text of the letter at NRO.

Cellphone Steadicam Rig Leaves No Excuse for Shaky Home Videos [Steadicam]

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Camera stabilization rig maker Steadicam-Tiffen is making its first anti-shake mounts for cellphones and pocket cameras, including the iPhone, Droid, and Flip. I say it's about damn time for it because I'm tired of shaky cellphone spy videos.

No pricing or release information is available for these small scale rigs at this time, but I hope that I can get one soon so I can finally become a real iPhone videographer. [Oh Gizmo! via Electronista]



Punxsutawney Phil Is Going To Text His Prediction This Year [Cellphones]

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I know there is a tradition to uphold, and I enjoyed the movie, but groundhog texting? Do they even have thumbs?

Of course, the idea is to get the word out to the millions of crazy people out there that rely on a talking groundhog to predict the weather. If you are one of those people, text "Groundhog" to 247365. You will receive a reply on February 2nd. And, the good news is that Phil is fluent in both "groundhog-ese" and English, so you will have no problem absorbing his wisdom. [Yahoo via Fark]



Republican Senate candidate from California Chuck DeVore takes a fiscally conservative approach to Foreign Policy/Defense

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From Eric Dondero:

Chuck DeVore has been identified as one of the most libertarian members of the California State Assembly. He's currently running in the GOP primary for US Senate against moderate-to-conservative business tycoon Carly Fiorna.

Yesterday, DeVore wrote an editorial in the Washington Times, outlining his foreign policy views. He took a "3rd way" approach. He shuns Ron Paul-style isolationism and recognizes the unique threats to the US from Islamic radicals overseas. But at the same time, DeVore has a great concern for the American taxpayer. As such he rejects what's commonly referred to as nation-building "NeoConnism."

You might call DeVore's unique approach, for lack of a better term, "Kick the shit out of them, and then get the hell out."

From the Washington Times "Right should fasion own foreign policy":

Maintaining defense spending at current levels will be difficult, as federal entitlement spending and debt service have put pressure on budget writers.

Employing conventional forces in pursuit of terrorists and guerrilla forces is always an expensive proposition. Attempting to build nations on soil not yet fertile to the concepts of democracy and national unity is even more problematic. Neither is needed to produce the result we want: deadly consequences for attacking Americans. This can be done with special forces, drones and better human intelligence.

Our Founders understood that threats to our Constitution come from within and without. That's why our elected officials and military officers swear an oath to "support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic." Our national security policies must reflect this oath, being humble enough not to try force the world into our image, but at the same time understanding, as Reagan did, liberty's compelling hold on the human spirit.

Assmb. DeVore is an Officer in the Army Reserves.

Apple "Experts" Will Make Geniuses Feel Like Dunces [Apple]

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We've teased that Apple Geniuses might not be the brightest in the bunch, but now Apple itself might make them feel stupid. The company is supposedly adding "experts" who'll roam retail stores and answer support questions without need for appointments.

From the sounds of it, this new job position translates as a sales floor roaming Genius who'll "serve as a resource that answers questions for customers." These boys and gals will also have a "general knowledge of the whole product range." In essence, they seem like some kind of combination of sales and Genius Bar staff, and their positions are supposedly very coveted. According to Apple Insider, we should see these folks crowding Red Zones—Apple retail store sales floors—within the next few weeks.

I still don't understand how the term "expert" itself ranks above a "genius," but that's all job titles and semantics until someone gets called a dunce again. [Apple Insider]

Update: According to an Apple retail employee, the Experts are considered something closer to "super salesmen" than to super Geniuses. Guess the Geniuses won't feel to slighted then.



Obama Approval Ratings from RCP at the Lowest Point Ever

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From Eric Dondero:

A slew of new poll numbers have come out for Obama in the last couple days; Rasmussen, Quinnipiac, CNN and CBS. All point downward. Of particular note, usually reliable Obama backers, CBS finds him at only 46% approval to 41% disapproval. Rasmuseen has him in negative territory at 46% approval to 53% disapproval.

It all adds up to a culmulative Real Clear Politcs average of 47.6% approvals. That's compared to 45.8% disapprovals.

That is the lowest level of support recorded for Obama in the running RCP averages ever.

See graph, and full break-down of polls at RCP.

Dumpster Diving: A Travel Strategy for Free Food

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Riga at night
Riga at night. Photo by Jon Andrasz.

Dumpster Diving: The act of throwing the body into a dumpster in hopes of finding edible food; picking usable goods out of the trash; a good travel strategy.

I concurrently came upon the art of dumpster diving with the first steps I took off the family farm when I was 18. Before leaving on my first journey, my grandfather took me aside and bestowed some fine words of advice up me:

“If you ever don’t have enough money to get food, find a donut shop, go in back of it, and there you will find more free food than you can eat.”

I then set off with a pack upon my back to see what the USA had in store for me. I found it behind bagel and donut shops, surplus grocery stores, in the rear of pizza restaurants — I found my keep in dumpsters.

I then set off with a pack upon my back to see what the USA had in store for me. I found it behind bagel and donut shops, surplus grocery stores, in the rear of pizza restaurants — I found my keep in dumpsters.

This was a little over ten years ago, but the words of my grandfather I still carry with me: when leery about dropping money on food, I look for dumpsters. This may sound a little gross, a touch disgusting perhaps, but any traveler who has caught a glimpse of his food being prepared in the various restaurants of this planet knows that there is no such thing as a sterile meal.

10 Tips to Get You Started as a Dumpster Diver

The food that goes out the backdoor of a restaurant is often not much dirtier than the food that goes out the front — if you know what to look for.

Though there is a standard operating procedure that I abide by when eating out of the trash.

1. Choose your location wisely. Chinese restaurants are not usually the best places to go eating out of the trash. The same goes for many other restaurants that do not make and discard single varieties of food in bulk — eating half eaten table scraps is not the best occupation for the traveler who wants to travel another day. The best places to dumpster dive at are those that make food in bulk at certain times of the day. Bakeries are good, donut and bagel shops often better. Pizza restaurants can often provide a traveler with a feast, and grocery stores with dumpsters, rather than compactors, provide the rudiments for a full three course meal.

2. Look for food that is boxed, packaged, or in garbage bags that only contain food. Bagel and donut shops often discard their food that did not sell in plastic bags that only contain edible materials — the day old bagels go in one bag, the real trash in another. Pizza restaurants often dispose of their uneaten slices and unclaimed pizzas in regular pizza boxes or in plastic bags that mostly only contain food. Grocery stores tend to distribute good, free food in mass at their back doors. Discarded boxed goods that are beyond their expiration date or whose packaging had been damaged, over ripe – though still edible – fruits and vegetables, and an entire host of snacks and treats often find their way into grocery store dumpsters in enormous quantities. It is interesting what a traveler can find to do with 200 twinkies.

3. Once you have found a suitable location, be as discrete as possible when digging through the trash. I have been arrested for dumpster diving before. In court, the judge just sort of laughed at me and told me to get out. “Why were you in the dumpster?” he asked. “I was looking for food,” could be my only reply. Though that fiasco did begin with me getting the shit kicked out of me by the police and hauled off to a jail cell for the night. So my advice is: get in, fill up, get out.

4. Approach potential dumpster diving locations after working hours or at night. Dumpster divers tend to be a nocturnal breed by nature. Usually, you do not want the business to know that you are taking their discarded food, and the dumpsters are generally filled up with “fresh trash” only after the closed sign is hung on the front door.

5. Put a red filter on your flashlight. A flashlight is often necessary equipment for dumpster diving, but an unfiltered light may attract unwanted attention. Use a red filter lens or cut out a translucent piece of red plastic (like the kind in 3-D glasses) and pop it over the glass on the torch end of your flashlight.

6. Be neat, don’t make a mess, or it will spoil the graft for future travelers. It is not uncommon for donut shops to pour bleach or another harsh solvent over their discard food if they fear that “bums” are going to make a mess out of it.

7. Food to look for when dumpster diving: Bagels, donuts, pizzas, boxed goods, over ripe vegetables that can be washed, canned goods, food in packages.

8. Food to avoid: Table scraps, anything that smells bad, food that is mixed with too much true garbage, food that is not in a container.

9. Good locations for dumpster diving:

  1. Bagel or donut shops
  2. Pizza shops
  3. Supermarkets
  4. Factories that either make or package boxed or wrapped food
  5. Bottling plants

10. Not good locations for dumpster diving for food:

  1. Restaurants – It is oftentimes just not worth it. Believe me.
  2. Trash cans – In most circumstances, I try to avoid trashcans full of table scraps.
  3. In home garages – Stay away from table scraps. Well, unless an old half eaten chicken wing sounds appetizing to you.

Dumpster diving around the world

I have found the industrialized countries more game for dumpster diving. The obvious reason being is that more edible food is discard in these countries. The USA is the best country I have found for pigging out in dumpsters, followed by the “suburbanized” areas of European cities. But dumpster diving can be done readily in some form in nearly every country within the first world fringe: Japan is good if you know where to look, Eastern Europe is decent as well. But dumpster diving in poorer countries is often too much of a competitive sport to recommend indulging in, and the fact that you can get an entire meal for under $2 in most countries in the world often makes digging food from the trash a mute point of sorts.

More than anything else, dumpster diving can be fun. It simply feels good to have to do a little work for your daily bread when on the road, and always being on the lookout for a potential free meal keeps your wits toned and your senses sharp. Dumpster diving is also a prime occupation for those calculating their carbon footprints:

By not consuming the excess, you are contributing to the waste.

Dumpster dive as a travel strategy for free food.

Building a Lego Router [Lego]

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I never really cared for the classic look of Linkysis routers to be perfectly honest. The solution: dress it up with Lego.

That's just what Luke Anderson did with an old WRT54GL. He noticed that the guts fit nicely with the dimensions of Lego bricks, so he set about making a new case. The entire build can be seen in the video and is detailed on his blog. [Luke Anderson via Crunchgear]



D-Link’s MiFI-Like MyPocket 3G Router Hits FCC [3G]

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D-Link's diminutive MyPocket 3G, which takes a 3G connection and outputs it as Wi-Fi, just got approved and poorly photographed by the FCC. It's definitely destined for North America, since it uses our local 3G GSM bands.

We don't have much more information on the MyPocket just yet—we know it can handle up to 7.2Mbps signals, and the GSM bands used (850 and 1900MHz) mean it could hit either AT&T or T-Mobile. The FCC is one of the last stops to full-on production, so we should be seeing more of it pretty soon. [FCC via Engadget]