Link: New tech turns waste heat into power, using sound waves
A group of scientists have completed a prototype device that converts some of the excess heat generated by electronic equipment into sound waves, which can then be used to generate electricity. This could bring a whole new meaning to the term “screaming fast laptop.”
Link: Internet safety month declared by Congress, ignored by Internet
(Ars headlines aren’t always so awesome…)
Link: Misuse of Scientific Data By the White House
Science data nerds writes “The White House is consistently and persistently claiming that the US is doing better than Europe in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. This is false — their claim is purely based on carefully selecting the only subset of the data that supports this conclusion. When all the data are used, it is plain that European emissions have declined substantially and US emissions have grown substantially. The article, and this linked analysis, debunk the White House claims.”
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Link: The benefits of forgetfulness: smaller search spaces mean easier recall
When the brain tries to recall relevant information, it needs to select it out of a batch of irrelevant memories that compete for attention. In this competition, forgetfulness can be a net positive, as it cuts down on the effort required for successful recall.
Link: Encrypt and Sign Gmail messages with FireGPG
Linux.com (Same owners as Slashdot) has a story up about FireGPG and says “Gmail may be an excellent Web-based email application, but there is no easy way to use it with privacy tools like GnuPG. The FireGPG extension for Firefox is designed to solve this problem. It integrates nicely into Gmail’s interface and allows you… Encrypt and sign Gmail messages with FireGPG
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Link: New Fuel Cell Twice As Efficient As Generators
Hank Green writes “A new kind of Solid Oxide Fuel Cell has been developed that can consume any kind of fuel, from hydrogen to bio-diesel; it is over two times more efficient than traditional generators. Acumentrics is attempting to market the technology to off-grid applications (like National Parks) and also for home use as personal Combined Heat and Power plants that are extremely efficient (half as carbon-intensive as grid power.)”
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
So, the iPhone is coming out on June 29th. Tempting as it is in terms of new-toy fun, I can’t think of any compelling reasons to actually own one at this point.
Link: Sign at Nagoya Castle
Because you are dangerous…
Link: Teddy Blanks: Small Potatoes
From Design Observer… Teddy Blanks complains about a bag of potato chips. It’s weirdly funny. Go read it.
Link: Boys with Longer Ring Fingers are Better at Math
Somehow, this seems a tad specious. But then again, my ring fingers are longer…
