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Showing posts with label station. Show all posts
Showing posts with label station. Show all posts
Farmers Adopt Optical Measuring Devices in Pastures
Farming is becoming much more efficient. Gone are the days when growing food was at the whim of the weather. The ten day forecast and even longer weather predictions have made farming a science. Farmers are becoming more like technicians today, rather than multi-skilled laborers.
Growers are using satellite technology. Pastures have optical devices in situ measuring soil and vegetation conditions. The information is collected and re-transmitted down to farmers who use hand held devices or PC to analyze data.
More specifically, a pasture"s cover and biomass are measured. Its overall health is ranked. Allocating suitable farm area to grazing animals and crops is made more practical. Resources are fully utilized. Consequently, a nation's GDP is improved.
◆ Technology by Ty Buchanan ◆
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Natural Gas Must Not Be Used as a Substitute for Clean Power Generation
It is proposed that natural gas be used instead of coal for electric power generation. The national climate summit put a deadline of 2012 for this to happen with the dirtiest power station, Hazlewood. Environment Victoria took up the challenge saying that natural gas with renewable energy resources could reduce Hazlewood's pollution by 14.4 million tonnes to just 1.8. Wind generation would gradually replace natural gas.
The claim is exceedingly optimistic. Too much faith is placed in wind generation despite the fact that electricity production by this means has peaked in northern Europe and it still does not make a profit. Beyond Zero Emissions is even more optimistic. Its plan aims to end Hazlewood's use of coal by 2013. Failure to reduce emissions means it could be closed.
The future looks good for natural gas production with gas being obtained from coal seams and 20 gas power plants being planned. Natural gas is not really clean though. Indeed, leakage of methane gas occurs. Replacing coal power generation with gas as a temporary measure is a mistake. What is the point of wasting millions of dollars in investment on the premise that something better will come along?
The best way to go in the short term is to build solar thermal power sites alongside existing coal power stations. Note that solar thermal only produces electricity during the day. A final solution will undoubtedly be tidal generation because the moon continues to circle the earth making oceans rise and fall day after day.
The claim is exceedingly optimistic. Too much faith is placed in wind generation despite the fact that electricity production by this means has peaked in northern Europe and it still does not make a profit. Beyond Zero Emissions is even more optimistic. Its plan aims to end Hazlewood's use of coal by 2013. Failure to reduce emissions means it could be closed.
The future looks good for natural gas production with gas being obtained from coal seams and 20 gas power plants being planned. Natural gas is not really clean though. Indeed, leakage of methane gas occurs. Replacing coal power generation with gas as a temporary measure is a mistake. What is the point of wasting millions of dollars in investment on the premise that something better will come along?
The best way to go in the short term is to build solar thermal power sites alongside existing coal power stations. Note that solar thermal only produces electricity during the day. A final solution will undoubtedly be tidal generation because the moon continues to circle the earth making oceans rise and fall day after day.
Environment by Ty Buchanan
Society by Ty Buchanan
Police to Identify People by Nose Shape
Police are upgrading detective work from fingerprints to "nose prints". It seems we all have different noses, so we can be identified by surveillance cameras. While fingerprints and iris scans are being used for "signing in" and entry to premises, work on identification by nose shape is being ramped up. A lot has been done on ear shape, which also differs quite markedly from person to person.
People tend to cover everything but their noses when they are up to no good. Another thing is, if a suspect does not cooperate he/she can be identified by the shape of their nose.
Plastic surgeon Dr Peter Callan says some noses are easy in determining a person's identity. For example, there is the classic Roman nose, Greek nose, turned-up, snub and hawk nose. Cameras that film in 3D give a very accurate picture of nose shape. However, to take a picture this way a person has to be moving quite slowly. It would be okay for prisoners. For general camera surveillance, when a person walks briskly at airports and train stations, only a basic shot can be taken.
It seems pinning a person down by nose shape will remain a backup system. It certainly does have its uses. Iris, face recognition and finger printing will still be the main ways of identifying a possible felon. There is a problem with fingerprints. A US citizen was recently arrested for a crime in the Middle East when a computer made a positive match. However, the real perpetrator was caught and had a fingerprint virtually identical to the American man.
People tend to cover everything but their noses when they are up to no good. Another thing is, if a suspect does not cooperate he/she can be identified by the shape of their nose.
Plastic surgeon Dr Peter Callan says some noses are easy in determining a person's identity. For example, there is the classic Roman nose, Greek nose, turned-up, snub and hawk nose. Cameras that film in 3D give a very accurate picture of nose shape. However, to take a picture this way a person has to be moving quite slowly. It would be okay for prisoners. For general camera surveillance, when a person walks briskly at airports and train stations, only a basic shot can be taken.
It seems pinning a person down by nose shape will remain a backup system. It certainly does have its uses. Iris, face recognition and finger printing will still be the main ways of identifying a possible felon. There is a problem with fingerprints. A US citizen was recently arrested for a crime in the Middle East when a computer made a positive match. However, the real perpetrator was caught and had a fingerprint virtually identical to the American man.
Society by Ty Buchanan
A Stockman's Life Is a Little Easier
Australian stockmen used to lives of absolute isolation, controlling cattle for months on end, going into small towns infrequently. Drovers spending their lives in pubs drinking beer was a myth.
Today, the Internet has allowed people who live and work in outback stations to stay in contact with friends and relatives. Businesses are run using computers. Information flow is now immediate, where in the past getting a newspaper only a day or so old was a luxury.
People now know if rain is on its way. This was always an unknown factor years ago. The horse is not the only mode of transport. Motorbikes are used on stations. Some people even own and fly a helicopters and planes.
Processing of cattle now day just a few days. Few animals are missed with transportable trapping devices placed at strategic points. Staff has been halved. Workers can usually get back to the station every day. Drovers no longer work 100 hour weeks; they used to give stamped letters to passing motorists for posting somewhere along the way.
Most cattle these days are transported by road. It is more cost-effective and faster. Repairing fences is still one of the chores, but aircraft make the job more efficient and much quicker to do. Country people will still tell you that life is harder than in the cities. The sun beats down as hot as it used to.
Society by Ty Buchanan
Energy Use Due to Mobile Phones Is Unstainable
There is an energy crisis slowly creeping up on us. We go about our daily business enjoying the benefits of computer advances while not realizing that massive amounts of energy are being consumed.
Mobile phones are designed with very little hard storage. Reliance on cloud services is increasing at a rapid pace. Many developing countries do not enjoy continuous energy supplies. When the electricity goes off so does cloud storage. In advanced countries aluminium producers were blamed for eating up too much power, now everyone is responsible.
A new study, The Power of Wireless Cloud, clearly shows that the continuing use of electricity is not sustainable. Energy use by cloud services will be equivalent to 4.9 million cars over the period 2012-2015. This is known by comparing energy from petrol to power station input.
It is not just the cloud. Wi-Fi will use more power than anything else. Computing networks are not "clean". Many do not consider that most electricity is still being produced with dirty energy inputs. Even nuclear is dirty - it contaminates.
Society
Australian Blog★
New Solar Power Station in Western Australia
Australia goes its own way in lower carbon power generation by opening a solar-diesel power station, the world's first, in Western Australia. Solar panels track the sun during the day. The station is built in a location that holds the record for the most days of maximum temperature. Use of the solar panels will lessen greenhouse gas emissions by 1119 tonnes a year.
the local Aboriginal community is fully supportive of the power plant in the Pilbara. Aboriginals named it Pippunyah, the name of the river nearby. Funding came from the Federal Government in its renewable remote power generation program via the Office of Energy in Western Australia.
It is unfortunate that solar power generation had to be combined with fossil fuel generation. Even getting natural gas there would have been better than diesel. It seems there is no perfect solution to the pollution problem. New systems only seem to meet requirements half way.
the local Aboriginal community is fully supportive of the power plant in the Pilbara. Aboriginals named it Pippunyah, the name of the river nearby. Funding came from the Federal Government in its renewable remote power generation program via the Office of Energy in Western Australia.
It is unfortunate that solar power generation had to be combined with fossil fuel generation. Even getting natural gas there would have been better than diesel. It seems there is no perfect solution to the pollution problem. New systems only seem to meet requirements half way.
Energy
Australian Blog★
Astonuats Take Cover from Solar Storms - Better Predictions
The state of the weather is a problem on Earth with predictions not always being correct. In space, however, there is a more serious weather problem. Solar storms can kill. Detectors at the South Pole measure neutrons. When the level reaches a certain point astronauts on the International Space Station shelter in a shielded capsule.
Advances have been made in predicting solar storms which can destroy satellites. Unfortunately, little can be done to protect them, but the safety of astronauts is paramount.
Storms move at different speeds. The faster the speed the more energy in particles, which makes them more intense and dangerous. Ironically, because there are more low-energy particles in a solar storm they do most overall damage. The early arrival of these low-energy particles does forewarn the onslaught of the high-energy neutrons.
The number of solar flares gives an indication of future activity, though this is only a possibility at best. Neutron sensors at the South Pole measure neutrons emitted when particles slam into atomic nuclei of gases in the Earth"s upper atmosphere.
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Science
Darwin Police Station Evacuated Because of Fleas
Flee from the fleas! A police station has been evacuated in Darwin because a prisoner brought fleas into the jail house. The fleas spread all through the watch house and even to a police van.
Police had to wear gloves and tuck their pants into their socks to keep out the menace. They were also ordered to take a shower when they finished each shift.
But all this was in vain. After a week of scratching in agony they abandoned the station. The place has now been thoroughly fumigated.
Police had to wear gloves and tuck their pants into their socks to keep out the menace. They were also ordered to take a shower when they finished each shift.
But all this was in vain. After a week of scratching in agony they abandoned the station. The place has now been thoroughly fumigated.
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http://www.feeds.feedburner.com/AdventureAustralia
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http://adventure--australia.blogspot.com
Society
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