Monday, January 23, 2006


Australian Solar Power Tower
http://www.enviromission.com.au Posted by Picasa

Friday, January 13, 2006

I was recently talking with a friend about my Mobile HotSpot Tracking idea. He pointed out that some phones are GPS enabled. When a cell phone manufacture claims they are GPS enabled it’s likely that the GPS they are referring to is not satellite based. Cell phone towers are used to triangulate the position of the phone. The problem with this is that I don’t have a way to access Mobile Phone Company backend to mashup with Google Maps API.

Engadget.com posted an article regarding tracking down a kidnapped baby who was in the car along with the cell phone when it was stolen. The process for acquiring the position for the cell phone was at best two-and-a-half hours. Not so good for real-time tracking.
See Article:
http://gps.engadget.com/2006/01/12/sprint-employee-refuses-to-divulge-kidnapped-babys-gps-info/
Posted by Picasa

There is a home for sale in my area with soloar pannel.
Listing Details Price: $639,000 (Sale)
Property Type: Single Family
MLS#: 20529804
Year Built: 1990
Street Address: 1049 Hampshire Ln
Lot Sq. Ft.: 6,600 (approx.)
City: Windsor
Acreage: 0.152 (approx.)
County: Sonoma
Bldg Sq. Ft.: 1,990 (approx.)
Bedrooms: 4
Bathrooms: 3
Comments :
Pride of Ownership! Beautiful 4 Bdrm, 3Ba, 1990 sq. ft. Freshly painted, New Wood Laminate, New Armstrong Lino, 3 new low flow toilets, Skylight in Master Bath, 2 Attic Fans, 7 Ceiling Fans, Pellet Stove, Solar Powered Home! 3 car garage with RV Parking! Also to Sweeten this up, $5000 carpet or closing cost credit at closing!

Source:
http://www.greathomes.org/property.asp?PropID=20529804&cat=1

Looks kind of ugly. I am begining to have second thoughts about spending $25k to have this pannels installed. The ROI is supposed to be 5-7 years Posted by Picasa

Monday, January 09, 2006


I think the neighbors may have a problem if I mount one of these motorized solar posts in my back yard. They actually track the sun, so it's noon all day long. Much more efficient than having stationary pannels on the roof. Posted by Picasa
Prototype Posted by Picasa

Fuel cells for bikes. That's reasonable. I wonder if anyone is working on this. Posted by Picasa

The dome burned due to propane tank exploding while the whole structure was lifted from the groud by the water rushing from the Russian River. Posted by Picasa

This shed was under water. Real Goods (http://www.realgoods.com/) should have picked higher ground for their storage location. Posted by Picasa

Though these panels were submerged in 10 feet of mud water, they should still work after spraying them off. Posted by Picasa

This weekend I went to RealGoods Hopeland to see the damage caused by the Russian River flood. An article in the Press Democrat (http://www1.pressdemocrat.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060105/NEWS/601050378/1036/BUSINESS) said there was $150k of damage caused by over 10 feet of water. So I though I better go checkout the facility before it's too late.
Anyway, mounting a couple of these to the bike is probably out of the question. Maybe one day we'll have solar assist biking, but I dont think it's today, unless you want to use the solar pannels as wings to create lift as you peddal. Just kidding. Posted by Picasa

This phone is used to give my laptop wireless DSL speeds (Where EVDO is available)
It also serves as my POD and Camera
By the way, all pictures below were taken using this device.
See the link about other features
http://www.mobiletechreview.com/Sprint-PPC-6700.htm Posted by Picasa

That battery is heavy. Sometimes I rather ride without it. Posted by Picasa

Laptop

Posted by Picasa

I can also use the speaker and track controller to interface with my SonyAtrack3Plus or my Sony Net MD Posted by Picasa

This is the battery/motor enclosure. I got it from Zap Posted by Picasa
 Posted by Picasa
I bought this bike from Costco for $145 about 3 years ago.

Strap that laptop to your bike and you are on the way.
Next project: tap in to the battery that powers the motor (see the unit next to the bike) to power the laptop.&