Building Your Own Solar Panel Is Easier Than You Think!

Imagine using recycled materials to generate heat, to heat up a building made 80% of recycled materials. A friend near Chilton, Wisconsin showed me his newest recycled invention. With outdoor temperatures at -10 degrees F below zero, he he has able to raise indoor temperatures to 80 degrees F With the inlet for the panel bringing in out door temperature. The 8 ft x 8ft. panel has a outlet temperature at 160 degree temperature. The glass is used thermal glass panels from a old store that was tore down. My friend told me that he would not use newer panels that cut down on solar radiation. The air flows through pvc tubing with holes drilled to force air to flow through the maize of soup cans he collected from the schools in his area. He said that he had some trouble with paint fumes until the paint was thoroughly dry. The box was made from 10 x 2 pine boards. He is planning to add another panel while keeping the small electric fan he uses to pull the warm air through the panels on the outlet inside the home. One revision he is looking to add on the second panel is dark rocks added to the top soup cans to see if he can keep the unit heating for a while after dusk. This proves that with little money you can save a lot of energy costs. I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, and witnessed its performance.

Solar Stadium in Taiwan

Could we help power cities by using public building structures to produce electricity? They are doing it in Taiwan. The dragon-shaped stadium utilizes an array of nearly 9,000 solar panels to generate electricity for lighting. The power comes through the use of photovoltaic technology, which converts the solar input into 3,300 lux energy. The structure was designed by the firm of Toyo Ito and seats 50,000 people.

 When not powering the stadium lights, the power is funneled into the local power grid and is expected to meet almost 80% of the neighboring area’s energy requirements. It is estimated that this stadium will prevent 660 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) a year from being released into the atmosphere when compared to a traditional powered stadium of this size.

The stadium site boasts many other green features including permeable paving, green spaces, and the extensive use of reusable, domestically made materials. They even went so far as to transplant all of the vegetation that was on the site before the construction.

 Kaohsiung City, Taiwan  where the stadium is located has an average of 2,282 hours of sun per year, averaging 5.6 hours daily. If the solar energy plates receive enough sunlight, they will be able to provide 80% of the electricity needs during the operation of the stadium and 100% during the remaining time. While maybe not practical in certain areas of the United States. In some areas saturated with sunlight we could save money and the environment at the same time.

Saying Good Bye When You Die APP?

A few years ago I lost a close friend that was a professor at UWGB in Wisconsin. He was a computer technology guy, that taught me a lot about websites and software programs. I can only imagine if this APP was around back than he would have said good bye when he lost his battle with cancer using this APP. It is FACEBOOK's only video APP to date. It allows you to say good bye to all your friends with the OK from 3 of your per-established friends. Check it out at the link: Say Good Bye!

This APP made made me think what other new technologies are catching on with death. Electronic methods of video wills are not legal everywhere. As of 2010, approximately 11 states accepted nuncupative, or oral, wills under certain circumstances: Florida, Indiana, Kansas, Mississippi, Missouri, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, Texas and Vermont. The state of Washington also accepts them, but only from members of the United States military.So because of the laws of the land, I don't think they could use this sort of APP as a will. Right now you still need to use paper for that process. I am still looking for cemetery headstones to have a goodbye message spoke by the person who died. Here's to wishing you many more years before you have to worry about this! 

Clothes That Heat Up Add Value To Winter

In the Wisconsin winters, many people become cabin bound because they don't like the cold. Could that change if cold was eliminated? I'm not suggesting that we change the temperature or the climate of the outdoors. I am suggesting wearing clothes that take away the cold. I live in Wisconsin and dread the Packer games with the freezing temperatures during the game. For some the weather doesn't seem to bother them. Science has indicated that people who subject themselves to the cold more often, build a yellow fat in their spinal area that seems to give them a greater tolerance of colder temperatures. Eskimos tolerate the cold better than someone residing in Miami, Florida.I call it the "penguin paradigm." If you are like me I don't have the desire to build my "PP."

The disposable chemical inserts for the feet and hands do help the cold go away for the hands or the feet. These are great if you are not generating any heat of your own. Disposable chemical inserts keep a constant non-controllable heat in the areas where you insert them. Here is a link where you can check them out: Chemical foot warmers are affordable body warmers sold everywhere.Where the problem comes in skiing, walking to the stadium, or walking to the deer stand, is you generate your own heat and start to sweat. Eventually this complicates the attempt to stay warm because now you have moisture that cools the area. Imagine if you have adjustable electrified heating panels in your clothes to keep you warm. I reported earlier of clothing with floating devices to save water victims. Clothing manufacturers are now offering heating elements to protect people from the cold.

Columbia outer wear has started installing adjustable heating elements in their outdoor wear. Click on this link to explore the explanation of how their equipment works: Columbia Uses Omni-Heat Technology

Other Companies are incorporating batteries in the clothing to avoid carrying a clunky lithium batteries (they say). Here is a link to their sight: aevex.com

Stay warm and enjoy the winter outside!

Telemedicine, Telehealth, Tele - "Whaaat"

Medicine is starting to move towards the next step in medicine in the USA thanks to the new phone technology. In the old days the doctor was able to make house calls. Imagine this could happen again thanks to the video phone and laptop technologies. Imagine a doctor visit by "Skype" or "Face Time." A doctor may see as many as 150 patients daily now, with doctor visits to the hospital and office time. Could this number be increased? Think of all the fuel that could be saved just in transportation  of patients to see doctors. A patient could have a doctor appointment at the workplace with little to no lost work time. I understand this is not a new idea, however the technology is moving fast and so are medical providers to remain competitive. More about Telemedicine click here: AmericanTeleMedicine.org    

Imagine the APP that can get you the doctor? The doctors are starting to use APPs to help them speed up there medicine calculations. NY times article

India and many other countries can see the advantage to this technology moving ahead. Read about India's Medial Kiosk - The first with tele medical access!

There are many different ways countries deal with healthcare. So as a result many countries will use the technologies differently. Germany will use the technology to access their personal records easier. China started working on telemedicine in the 1980's. Because of their huge population they have been entertaining technologies to deal with getting more out of the doctors they have. China now has three major telemedicine networks: the Golden Health Network (GHN), the International MedioNet of China (IMNC) network and the People's Liberation Army (PLA) telemedicine network. Nonetheless, research and application of telemedicine is at a relatively early stage in China.More can be learned about how other countries are advancing in telemedicine: PublicMed.gov

Making Apps for the new phones are one the next challenges for the next generation of tellemedical innovators. Will the next phone have a plugin heart monitor and thermometer? If the next phones resemble a watch, the phone could have the sensors built into the band. A doctor makes diagnostics by using his/her senses to match up the list of possible reasons a patient may be complaining. Could a doctor be eliminated by sophisticated software?

medical kiosk

Read more at: http://www.biospectrumasia.com/biospectrum/news/122495/first-virtual-medical-kiosk-india#.UOCJWXcuhQ8

Safer Schools Require Innovation and Money

For years many schools across the nation are struggling to get safer school buses to get children to and from school. Not very long ago I chaperoned a class trip. The buses may have been new school buses however they still had the old style bench seat with no seat belts. This upset me enough that I searched through the channels to find how this could be even remotely possible in this generation. It was told to me that school districts could not afford to handle the expenses that would be added to the budgets. So regulations on manufacturers were relaxed.

Portland, Oregon was recently looking at earthquake proofing their schools and the same case scenario came into light. It's a good idea, but it will be too expensive. So they keep sending their kids to the schools sitting over active faults. Read the article here: New innovation draws attention for schools.

Recent school shootings have raised several questions. Some want to ban the guns and some want armed guards. Armed guards though not bullet proof either would fall into the expensive area I would think. I find it interesting that a person cannot enter a apartment building or a business without a special entry card or password. Yet most schools can be entered by simply passing a card table with a volunteer parent. The technology exists but are the tax payers willing to pay for it?

When schools are built, they are usually voted on and tax payers can be heard speaking out at town meetings, "Why does this school have to be so fancy? It makes it too expensive." Innovations when it comes to schools has to be free it seems to happen. Can we challenge ourselves to meet the safety needs of our own children in light of climactic changes and increased suicidal threats of desperate people?

Safety pods are available for tsunami threats. Can we build rooms in new schools that can be shut off to intruders  or strong enough to survive tornadoes or earthquakes? Safer schools needs these innovations now!

Air Bladder Technology Used In Wet Suits

I am involved with water safety in Green Bay, WI, so it is important for me to focus a post on the new wet suit technology. Most drownings can be avoided if a person uses a personal floatation devise,(PFD). Newer PFDs already use the inflatable technology to shrink the size and uncomfortableness of larger foam style PFDs. Recently several manufacturers are installing the inflatable bladder technology into wet suits. This seems to be a "no brainer" for surfers. The only problem that I can see is that a person has to be conscious to pull the cord to activate the bladder inflation. But if this is what it takes to get surfers to wear a PFD it is a great start. The next challenge is to get the technology into normal swimming suits. Will the old fashion full body swim suits so that we can incorporate the bladder technology for adults? Or could we find a way to use it in tank tops in a fashionable look!

How the Bladder arrived: The Bladder Wet Suit Technology Invented!

Bladder style PFDs make safety comfortable.