Personal photos of the Space Shuttle Discovery arriving in Washington D.C.

Last week, a friend of mine, Kirby Plessas, witnessed the arrival of Space Shuttle Discovery into Washington D.C. Here are some of the photos she took, see the full set on Flickr.    

Renewable energy production variability by hour of day, and by season (graph)

– …illustrate the variability of wind and solar generation relative to the comparatively smooth output from other generation sources – Power produced by geothermal, biomass, biogas, and small hydro generators can be easily dispatched, meaning it can be either increased, decreased, or controlled to remain fairly constant. – Wind resources are often more available at …

Amazon releases a Kindle competitor to Instapaper, Pocket

There is a booming market for apps that allow you to read while offline. The two most popular of these apps, Instapaper and Pocket, let you save an article for later like on an airplane or in your underground nuclear bunker. Now, Amazon is entering the game by offering the same service for the Kindle. …

Infographic – 20 reasons to switch to Google+

Click for the full infographic.   Ok, this is a pure advertisement for Google+, but I do love the social network. Partially because competition is always good (Facebook needs a kick in the teeth sometimes) and because I’ve never like the blue boxes of Facebook. The design and flow of Google+ works better for me…it feels …

Cadillac releases sophisticated array of semi-autonomous sensors for self-driving cars

Google isn’t the only company working on a self-driving car. Cadillac today announced that it is actively road testing a semi-autonomous system called Super Cruise that can control a vehicle’s steering, braking and lane-centering capabilities. Super Cruise, according to Cadillac, is designed to help make freeway driving easier on the driver when either stuck in …

There are over 1,000 Google Doodles

Doodles are the fun changes made to the Google logo to celebrate holidays, anniversaries, and the lives of famous artists, pioneers, and scientists. How did the idea for doodles originate? In 1998, before the company was even incorporated, the concept of the doodle was born when Google founders Larry and Sergey played with the corporate …

Talk is cheap…so make a Long Bet (for charity) to prove your prediction

Pronouncements about the future come easy. Even when made with an air of authority, they’re usually just cheap talk, rarely revisited. Only the tiny fraction that have proven correct tend to be remembered, when their authors want to take credit. But what if there were some cash at stake? The Long Bets Foundation, a new …

Play Me, I’m Yours – thirty pianos across the city for anyone to play

Touring internationally since 2008, Play Me, I’m Yours is artwork by British artist Luke Jerram. For three weeks beginning April 12, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra brings Play Me, I’m Yours to Los Angeles. Thirty pianos, designed and decorated by local artists and community organizations, are featured across Los Angeles County and are available for everyone …