Solar Rock 'n Roller: More Jobs In Sun Power Than Coal Mining Says Senator, Statistics

When U.S. senators make extraordinary claims, the public often takes them with a grain of salt, if not outright disbelief (particularly when science is involved.) However the statement that there are more jobs in solar power than coal mining, postulated by Senator Sheldon Whitehouse and verified as true by www.politifact.com, is a breath of sunshine-saturated fresh air.

Regarding solar jobs, The Solar Foundation’s "National Solar Jobs Census 2013" states that the solar industry, "employs 142,698 Americans as of November 2013."

According to statistics from a 2013 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics report, issued in May 2013, an estimated 80,030 jobs existed in the coal-mining industry, a faction of the overall coal industry.  The 2013 U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration cited 123,227 jobs, also fewer than the number of solar jobs cited by Whitehouse. This number also includes contractors who may work in the surveyed mines.

A contrary view from the National Mining Association, numbering the coal jobs at 195,494, counted "coal" jobs that included off-site transportation workers (such as railroad operators and coal barge or freighter sailors.)

Whitehouse's excellent observations inspire hope in our sustainable energy and long-term job infrastructure. He continues to crusade for clean energy, stating in a May 2014 Providence Journal article that, "there is more economic security in our own American know-how than in corrupt foreign fossil fuel countries." Shine on!

Space Station Sunday: Robonaut Is Not Just A Droid In The Void

As of 2011, the International Space Station has had a unique onboard automaton: the humanoid helper Robonaut. Currently comprised of a torso, a head, and two surprisingly dexterous arms, Robonaut has inspired developments on Earth as well as being a portable pioneer in space.

Some facts from mashable.com show that Robonaut has recently inspired the X1 exoskeleton, which could enable humans to rebuild strength in damaged limbs and aid in personal mobility. The X1 has motorized joints at the hips and knees which would aid paraplegics on Earth, but could be used as resistance training when strapped to an astronaut (they need lots of exercise to keep bones from getting brittle in micro-gravity.)

Another development is the RoboGlove, a dexterity aid which would be particularly useful during EVAs (extravehicular activities, aka spacewalks) so that astronauts could manually perform tasks that require more range of motion than the current bulky spacesuit gloves allow. No losing wrenches in orbit now!

Eventually Robonaut may even practice "medicine." Though he's not sentient (yet?), Robonaut may someday in the future be trained to perform simple caregiving operations via the telepresent aid of a doctor on Earth. "The robot could stabilize an injured individual or do nursing-level work, even on Earth," Robonaut's project manager Ron Diftler speculated. "That essentially transports a doctor's skill and presence to somewhere the doctor can't go or, in an emergency situation, where it would be dangerous for a person to go."

Astronaut, nurse, mechanic, coach, and all-around badass 'bot...Robonaut rocks!

Robonaut also serves as the space station's bouncer, in case of rowdy alien invaders.

And The Rockets' Red Glare: Drone Flown Through Fireworks

Did the Fourth of July fireworks get rained/hurricaned out in your town? No worries, videographer Jos Stiglingh took his drone and GoPro camera for a spin through the sparks.

As reported by www.gearjunkie.com, Stiglingh used a DJI Phantom II drone mounted with a GoPro Hero 3 Silver camera to capture the fireworks in West Palm Beach, Florida.

Nice to see an alternative (but still patriotic) use for drone technology!

Signal-Free Sipping At The Faraday Cafe

Ever wish you had a good excuse to turn off and tune out? Now, at one Canadian coffeeshop, the opportunity has presented itself through the truncation of technology. Welcome to the Faraday Cafe.

Designed by Vancouver artist Julien Thomas, the idea is a socially-minded art project that aims to see how people can allow themselves to react when unencumbered by their technological tethers. The cafe features a Faraday Cage, which blocks all cellphone and wifi signals inside its 8' by 16' perimeter.

“I’m interested in the interactions that can take place in certain scenarios,” Thomas told www.ctanews.ca. "There might be a sense of anxiety…but that’s not a bad thing.”

The Vancouver cafe will be open until July 16th for those who would fancy their coffee with a side of e-silence.

The effectiveness of an unrelated one-man Faraday Cage.  At Faraday Cafe, the only jolt you will get is from the caffeine.

Chicago Serves Up Deep-Dish Big Brother With New Downtown Multi-Sensors

Urban engineering requires a lot of data to help cities and their denizens improve. However, the city of Chicago may have taken it into creepy territory with their new, discreet, downtown multi-sensors.

Ostensibly created to track data on climate, pedestrian movement patterns, environmental pollutants, light intensity, sound volume, and (of course, in Chicago) wind, the sensors are an interesting idea to monitor city elements in real time. The worrisome bit is that they also record the cellphone connectivity of passersby. Advocates are quick to point out that the sensors only monitor connectivity to wireless networks, not actual device signatures, but the element of privacy invasion remains.

Computer scientist Charlie Catlett, who has led the team working on this "Array Of Things" project, told the Chicago Tribune that, "We don't collect things that can identify people. There are no cameras or recording devices...sensors will be collecting sound levels but not recording actual sound. The only imaging will be infrared."

However, Gary King, Harvard University's director of the Institute for Quantitative Social Science, astutely pointed out that, "If they do a good job they'll collect identifiable data. You can (gather) identifiable data with remarkably little information...you have to be careful. Good things can produce bad things."

The data grab is being promoted in part as a means to understand urban environments more thoroughly, and to make cities run more cleanly and efficiently. Hopefully this won't include raids from the Thought Police.

Will you be e-raided by the Array?  Image courtesy the Chicago Tribune.

Tetris-Enabled T-Shirt. That Is All.

Modern gamers have it so easy. You can race, shoot, hunt, hide, storm, and slay on portable platforms from your cell phone to a high-tech handheld gaming device. However, one man has taken this technology into an entirely different realm: fashion.

As reported by Time.com, "YouTube user Marc Kerger crafted the shirt, which features 128 LEDs and an Arduino Uno microcontroller board, in honor of Tetris’s 30th anniversary." A pair of AA batteries and you're off into belly-based, block-stacking bliss.

Tetris, the iconic Russian brainteaser, was invented in 1984 by Russian engineering student Alexey Pajitnov, and soon after took the world by shape-spinning, stackable storm.

Frying The Onion Ring: NSA Databases ALL German Tor Users

While the NSA claims to only target a small number of internet users for its creepy peeping (and then, only for our "security"), recent discoveries have shown that their methods of determining who is watch-worthy is more than just a few naughty buzzwords you may have typed into Google. Data from targeted users is compiled and stored indefinitely...with some targets (particularly those overseas) having done nothing more than use the Tor anonymizing software.

Tor, an "onion" type encryption service, anonymizes one by rerouting information through various proxy servers. This is extremely difficult to trace and henceforth infuriating to the NSA. Rather than do actual investigations to decide who may actually be committing cybercrimes via this software, the NSA instead chooses to target anyone who has downloaded the program to their computer. They are apparently under the assumption that those of us who are smart enough to recognize what is going on and going wrong are likely criminals for taking the "crazy" steps to protect ourselves.

This revelation, as reported by boingboing.com, first emerged from the investigations of several intrepid German reporters. The leak of this information is thought to have been divulged post-Snowden, leading reporter Corey Doctorow to speculate, "The existence of a potential second source means that Snowden may have inspired some of his former colleagues to take a long, hard look at the agency's cavalier attitude to the law and decency."  Yet while the total Tor-based "terrorist" list is currently thought only to apply to German users, one would not be surprised if this did or will soon apply to Tor users in America.

If only one good apple could change the whole rotten barrel. At least we still have a barrel of...onions?  Stinking as the whole operation is, the powers that be can't simply stop our freedom of thought just yet.