Space Station Sunday: Comm Delays And No EVAs

This week on humanity's favorite orbital outpost, science and progress continued apace.  As reported by nasa.gov, several ongoing experiments gained valuable new information.

One experiment dealt with communications (comm) delays, analyzing at what rate information could be relayed to the station without causing undue stress on the astronauts receiving and implementing the data.  The astronauts were asked to perform eight different tasks of varying ease and familiarity, with and without 50-second comm delays.  The coherence and capability of their responses was then judged by a psychological team on earth, who will utilize the data to better understand how far-flung expeditions may operate with little or no consistent advice from the home planet.  Since radio waves travel at the speed of light, this delay could pose a serious issue on Mars, for example, where the comm delay could take 31 minutes due to distance.  So yes, prospective Mars colonists, pizza delivery from Earth is going to take some time up there.

NASA astronaut Steve Swanson underwent a series of activities while wearing special new odor-resistant clothes that are more lightweight than the traditional cotton gear the crew sports around the station.  This could dramatically lower payload weights (which are ~900 pounds of conventional cotton) as well as reduce lint getting trapped in the ISS air filters as though it were a giant laundry machine.  The new clothes, made from wool, polyester, and modacrylic, have proven durable, and may be of further use on Earth in locations where consistently doing laundry proves impractical.  College kids will love them!

Other science conducted on the ISS involved deducing ways to eliminate headaches in space, analysis of astronauts' circadian rhythms (which can get mighty messed up with sixteen sunrises each "day"), research on various elements of cardiovascular science, and even an assessment of Force Shoes, a new technology that provides feedback on the full extent of exercise loads applied to the onboard space treadmill.  Hey, they got new outfits...new kicks were obviously required as well.

Two American spacewalks were postponed due to battery issues in the EVA (extravehicular activity) suits, but as NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman wisely stated on NASA's "Station To Ground" videocast, "I think it's awesome that Mission Control down in Houston decided to push these off.  Of course, I'm a little sad about that, but when I go out the door, I want it to be in a good clean configuration."  RIGHT?

Although the spacewalks were cancelled, German astronaut Alexander Gerst was still psyched to fly through an aurora, snapping this image and stating on Twitter, "I made a wish, just in case it's an undiscovered rule."

Walk Down To Electric Avenue: New Piezoelectric-Charge Shoes Generate Electricity From Exercise

Energy is all around, just waiting to be harvested.  Thanks to the invention of one 15-year-old boy, power can be derived from something as simple as taking a stroll.

As reported by themindunleashed.com, Angelo Casimiro of the Phillippines has spent the last several years working on a device that will generate power from sensors in your shoes while walking.  The device operates by using piezoelectricity, where the compression of certain materials produces an A/C current.  The sensors for your shoes gather the electricity as your heel treads on the piezoelectric materials, and generate enough charge to power a phone or iPod.

Angelo has not only become a finalist in the Google Science Fair, but has also made his plans for the power-producing shoes open-source.  This may help improve the design of the device, which Angelo says is fully operational but not currently in mass production.  However, anyone at home can attempt this useful experiment.  Thanks to all the walking it'll require, you may even grow more powerful physically as you generate more power electrically.

DIY mobile power supply!

"GhettoTracker" App Sent Slumming

All apps are not created equal. Some become so useful that you incorporate them into your daily life (for fitness, cab rides, finding hookups, etc.), while others (New Year's noisemaker? Pouring back a pint of virtual Guinness?) may only be appropriate every once in a while. Then, there's ideas like GhettoTracker, which never should have seen the light of day.

Presumably created for lily-white suburbanites who can't handle actually interacting with other human beings when they encounter them in an urban setting, or for whom visual context cues are not enough to convince them to maybe turn around and take a different route while driving through an uncomfortable new area, GhettoTracker has already seen a (completely warranted) barrage of criticism. Via twitter, a user named Miss Claire noted that the app, "seems like a great way to erase humanity of black communities. Then comes inferior services, displacement, bulldozers."

As gawker.com reports, the app was originally intended to help determine "which parts of town are safe and which ones are ghetto, or unsafe." This was not based on any strict data and was instead determined by crowdsourcing. The creator, who identifies only as a 30-something based in Tallahassee, yesterday deleted all mentions of GhettoTracker and changed it to the awfully-ostentatious title, "Good Part Of Town."

His explanations left a lot to be desired. They all boiled down to statements such as this: "I've seen comments on blogs and in twitter that are trying to say this is encouraging racism or social stratification and that was never our intention."

Sure thing, Tallahassee. Hey, maybe you can make a "Redneck Turf Only!" app so the rest of civilization can know how and where to avoid your type of people.

Changing the name and adding stock photos of black people somehow makes it worse.

"Arts For Transit" App Makes NYC Subways More Cultural (But Still As Dirty)

If, as Simon and Garfunkel once said, the "words of the prophets are written on the subway walls", don't you want to know whom to attribute the quote to?  Learn about art from NYC's subway system with a new app.

Not just about riding the rails, NYC's underground hosts a spectrum of artistic works, from disembodied mosaic hats to giant bronze fossils to pop art installments, as well as the usual array of who or whatever may be lurking beneath the city.

Search for artwork by train line or by artist, listen to podcasts, or verify that strange statue was actually where you thought it was, and you weren't just drunkenly hallucinating after happy hour at a Thai bar on 9th avenue.

The app includes official installations only, so, not your grafitti masterpiece, L0ZER#1.

It only gets crazier from here.

Tides Turn In Favor Of Ocean-Floor Power Generator

Sustainable energy solutions sometimes require big ideas, but those ideas can make serious waves. In this case, literally. Recently, a massive tidal power generator in Wales has been unveiled, seeking to prove that seafloor-based power generation is an effective means of fueling the future.

The generator, which was created by the Welsh company Tidal Solutions Ltd., stands seven stories tall on dry land, but will soon be at the bottom of Ramsey Sound for a 12-month trial. During this time, the tremendous turbine will use tidal currents to generate power for the homes in nearby St. David.

According to the BBC, First Minister Carwyn Jones is a major supporter of the project, saying, "We need to show the world we are able to harness the considerable energy that exists in our seas and that we are able to develop the technology necessary to do that...This is a landmark project for Wales, which will not only help us to meet our sustainable energy ambitions, but will also provide significant opportunities for local people and businesses."

The 150-ton, 40kW device has been created to make the smallest impact on the environment as possible. If it is successful, eight other similar turbines will be constructed and added to the framework, creating a total 10MW energy-churning superstructure which could power 10,000 homes through the National Grid.

Surf's up!

If they eventually attempt the 9-turbine plan, don't go scuba diving in Wales.

EFF's "Stupid Patent Of The Month" Aims To Raise Awareness, Public Shaming

Activist group the Electronic Frontier Foundation hates patent trolls, and now, they're using some good old fashioned public shaming to deter the onslaught.

Patent trolls, which are companies that do little more than file unnecessary patents or sue over ones already in existence, have long been an issue. Now, thanks to EFF's "Stupid Patent Of The Month", maybe the trolls will think twice before coming out from under their bridges.

According to arstechnica.com, August's inaugural "Stupid Patent Of The Month" went to US Patent No. 8,762,173, which was granted in June and titled “Method and Apparatus for Indirect Medical Consultation.” Basically, it's exactly what a doctor's secretary would do...except via computer. EFF lawyer Vera Ranieri summarized the now-patented peculiarity as follows:

"a. take a telephone call from patient
 b. record patient info in a patient file
 c. send patient information to a doctor, ask the doctor if she wants to talk to the patient
 d. call the patient back and transfer the call to the doctor
 e. record the call
 f. add the recorded call to the patient file and send to doctor
 g. do steps a–f with a computer"

Step "g" was the one that made the patent valid. So yeah...not exactly as innovative as laying claim to the lightbulb or wireless router.

In case the patent-powers-that-be missed the point, Ranieri concluded her analysis by explaining, "This is a stupid patent...Somehow, something that wasn't patentable became patentable just by saying 'do it with a computer.'"

EFF's "Stupid Patent Of The Month" is augmented by their 10-year "Patent Busting Project", which is still in effect and aims to revoke patents so ridiculous that they are wanted for "crimes against the public domain." So before you go trying to patent your signature new method of tying your sneakers or taking selfies while posing with iguanas or whatever, just remember the EFF may (rightfully) call you out.

THIS IMAGE IS UNDER LICENSE.
(Just kidding, EFF.)

Rosetta Spacecraft Reaches Comet, Sends Back Cool Postcards

After ten years and over three billion miles of travels, the Rosetta spacecraft has entered the orbit of its comet destination, and all reports currently show the mission progressing as intended.

Braking 62 miles over the surface of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, the Rosetta is set to inform humanity on many new discoveries, possibly even helping us understand how life developed on Earth. The oddly-shaped comet (referred to as a "rubber ducky" shape by some researchers) is the first to be this intricately analyzed.

As reported by newswatch.nationalgeographic.com, one of the Rosetta mission’s principal investigators, Holger Sierks of the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research, stated, “Today, we are opening a new chapter of the Rosetta mission. And already we know that it will revolutionize cometary science.” Sierks was impressed with the level of detail from the photographs of the comet's icy, rocky comet surface.

A 220-pound lander named the Philae is set to descend from Rosetta and land on the comet on November 11th, the first such attempt in history. The Philae will be anchored by harpoons and in addition to photography, will be able to take drill samples and other scientific readouts of the comet's composition.

Rosetta will remain in 67P's orbit for the next year, hovering as low as six miles to create topographical maps of the crater-flecked comet's surface. As 67P rounds the sun, icy elements in its geology will melt, and the subsequent geographical changes will be noted.  The comet is visible to the naked eye, but watching the Rosetta blog might be easier.

A closeup of 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.  Image courtesy THE SPACECRAFT WE'RE LANDING ON A FREAKING COMET.