MIT scientists have developed a revolutionary process to store solar energy, inspired by the photosynthesis performed by plants.  This process allows the sun's energy to be used to split water into hydrogen and oxygen gases. The oxygen and hydrogen are then recombined inside a fuel cell, creating carbon-free electricity to power your house or your electric car, day or night.

According to this article, the system can duplicate the water splitting reaction that occurs during photosynthesis:  James Barber, a leader in the study of photosynthesis who was not involved in this research, called the discovery by Nocera and Kanan a "giant leap" toward generating clean, carbon-free energy on a massive scale. "This is a major discovery with enormous implications for the future prosperity of humankind," said Barber, the Ernst Chain Professor of Biochemistry at Imperial College London.

An inexpensive, easy to deploy system that can seperate hydrogen and oxygen for use by fuel cells.  This could be the Holy Grail of alternative energy.

Johnny Lee demos his amazing Wii Remote hacks, which hack the $40 game piece into a digital whiteboard, a touchscreen, and a head-mounted 3-D viewer. A multi-ovation demo from TED2008.

These hacks are potentially very disruptive (in a good way). Think cheap educational tools for classroom interactivity. Similar forms of touch/interactive screens require a special surface that cannot be simply activated on demand, like this technology. Weee.

SharePoint is a revolutionary web server technology.  Think of it as a foundation that provides the core user interface and management system to enable mere mortals to design a complex, role based web application.  Many of our business, educational, and social working relationships could be described as membership/role based.  If find myself recommending it to more and more customers at Blue Sphere. 

I actually started using SharePoint eight years ago to help manage my young business.  Microsoft is planning to release version four in the next year.  SharePoint has become their latest rising star.  There are already thousands of add ons that can be integrated with SharePoint to help it achieve a specific task or purpose.  Many of these are free.  And a version of SharePoint is also free with Windows server products, such as Windows 2003 or 2008.  Many more features are available in  Microsoft Office SharePoint Server version of SharePoint (aka MOSS).

As a psychologist turned technologist, my psychometric past is being rekindled by the possibility of using SharePoint to enable testing systems.  SharePoint is fast becoming a revolutionary tool in the software world. Educational and psychological measurement has been software enabled for quite some time, but web enabled versions of these systems are still rare and expensive to create/maintain. 

Enter the SharePoint Learning Kit (SLK), which is a free learning management system built to integrate with SharePoint.  This platform allows teachers to administer elearning content (including online tests) through a web based interface.  Students log in and see their elearning assignments and/or tests.  Scores and completion of objectives are made available to the teacher.  All of this is completely customizeable because of it's open source license.  The price -- also free.

Psychometricians, or test creators as they are otherwise known, are actually in high demand right now.  Test authoring, especially for online test creation, is particulary sought after.  As a society, we are finding more and more reasons to use online testing as form of gathering critical information.  Test authoring tools such as Courselab are now available that enable teachers and psychometricians (with technial skills) to create their own test content.  And these tools are compatible with the SLK and SharePoint. The price for Courselab -- free.

These free tools aren't just for online testing, they are also for creating elearning content.  So with a little customization, and the right tools, we technically inclined souls can now get on with the business of revolutionizing education and training.

There is an amazing disconnect right now between the corporate world and educational institutions that are slowly trying to catch up with the e-learning revolution.  In businesses all over the world, cost reduction is driving the the adoption of e-learning due to the inherent efficiencies gained by moving to a centralized, collaborative technology enhanced model of training delivery.  

Cost effectiveness, and consequently a more environmentally sustainable training system, are the obvious rewards of e-learning.  Student workers are trained remotely without leaving the office and traveling to take classes in some corporate mother ship.  Aptitude and achievement testing are administered through centralized online systems, and evaluated by managers who provide further training when needed with more online content.

Compare that to our schools.  Change in our school systems is painful and slow, and that is understandable.  But Bob Cringely says that some kids are getting too far ahead of their schools:

"We've reached the point in our (disparate) cultural adaptation to computing and communication technology that the younger technical generations are so empowered they are impatient and ready to jettison institutions most of the rest of us tend to think of as essential, central, even immortal. They are ready to dump our schools."

Schools have to enable technology instead of stifling it, or face losing their customers.  Although they are easily frightened by the prospect of technology threats, parents are taking notice and starting to demand change as our schools fail to keep pace.

And here is the discouraging part:  Technology solutions in education are often not designed to reduce cost, but instead are a source of extra expenditures.  Corporations don't add e-learning and keep their training department, they close the corporate classrooms.  Technology solutions can't start on the fringe of a school system and be successful.  They should be centralized, collaborative, and student centered.  Painful changes?  Yep.

So instead of giving every 10 year old a laptop, we need to completely reorganize the educational system.  Hopefully by the start of the 2008-2009 school year ;)

Microsoft has released a new non-Windows operating system called Singularity.  This OS is written in C#, which is one of the languages we use at Blue Sphere.  Microsoft has made the source code for this operating system available to anyone who can qualify for an academic research license. 

The term "singularity", at least in technology circles, has come to be associated with the possibility that one day, computers and the human mind will function together as one, thanks to the exponential progress we are making in technology.  These guys are working hard to get there (I'm wondering if the man on their home page might actually be a robot).  Much of the "progress" we make in technology can be charted in a line that points towards the singularity. 

Will it happen?  Will evil technologists use this new operating system called "Singularity" to create self replicating nanobots that invade our bodies through ordinary drinking water?  No.  That capability is still a few decades away according to most projections.

But still, very compelling health benefits already await those who dare expose themselves to intelligent nanotech.  The alternative (death) is typically less attractive to such exposure. So the exponential progress will continue, and people like me, will be able to scare people like you, for years to come.

After years of debating how to best configure our home audio visual system, we have finally moved ahead with a radical plan.  We have disowned our only television.  And yet, we are still watching cable programming on our computers (and even my cell phone) through the Slingbox.

In order to make this feasible, we needed a larger computer monitor for our family PC that sits in our office/family room.  So we bought a 24" LCD panel, with 1920x1200 resolution (thats HD 1080p for you tv geeks out there).  We use this monitor as a TV when we want to relax on the couch and watch cable programming through our new Slingbox.

It felt very liberating to finally ditch the energy hog television with it's great big picture tube.  Although our new LCD panel is huge compared to most computer monitors, the screen is still quite small relative to most HD TVs.  We have our home stereo connected to this PC as well, so the sound quality for iTunes, movies, YouTube, video games, home movies, and cable programming is great. 

And we have much more space without that 36" TV and cabinet.  Our home computer is now multi-purpose, and it has assumed it's rightful position as the focal point in the center of our family room.

The Slingbox made all of this possible.  This little computer plugs directly in to my Comcast digital cable box, and also connects to my wireless router.  After some easy configuration, we can view cable programming (and even use the crappy Comcast "on screen menus") through any PC or internet capable mobile phone.  The picture quality is not perfect (especially when viewing over the Internet). Watching TV in the car will be interesting (for the passengers).

2/11 - Update:  I returned our Slingbox over the weekend.  The resolution and reliability were just not good enough.  We couldn't watch On Demand movies on Comcast without major problems. 

So we hooked up a new HD Comcast digital converter directly to our new Gateway 24" monitor.  Comcast HD is broadcast in 1080i resolution, which almost takes full advantage of the 1080p resolution that the Gateway can handle.  We can toggle back and forth between HD TV and computer input very easily.

The quantity of content provided by Comcast HD is surprisingly robust.  Several local channels are available on HD, as well as most of the other channels we frequent.  And the ultra slow response rate of the remote control is much improved when you upgrade to their HD converter.  We are getting a $100 gift card from Best Buy for upgrading our cable through the Comcast representative at Best Buy.  The additional cost for HD with Comcast is only $7 per month.

Another lesson I've learned is that you cannot watch iTunes movies (through their new rental system) if your PC has a processor speed under 2GHZ.  Ours is 1.7GHZ and the picture was pretty jumpy when we rented and watched Superbad over the weekend.

Malcolm Gladwell, author of "The Tipping Point", and "Blink", wrote this article for the New Yorker back in 2004:

http://www.gladwell.com/2004/2004_01_12_a_suv.html

As is usually the case with Malcolm's writing, his perspective on the SUV phenomenon is unique, informative, and entertaining.   

Database technology is amazing.  Most people don't realize that databases are the core of all good Web applications, including the one you are currently viewing.  The power that a database can provide is incredible, just ask Google.

So the list of the top ten databases in the world is an interesting reflection on our society, I think.

Link

The $2.5 billion in new development (starting in 2000) here in GR is getting some national attention.  Land Development Today (PDF) explains that one of our driving forces is environmental stewardship.  In fact, the Grand Rapids metro area has more LEED certified buildings per capita than any other location in the United States. 

Grand Rapids is a leader in green buildings. The United States Green Building Council estimates that metro Grand Rapids now has more square footage per capita under LEED certification than any other city in the United States. The area boasts many LEED firsts, including the first transit center,the first YMCA, the first church, and thefirst municipal building in Michigan.This trend has been promoted by local businesses, government, and schools. Local philanthropist Peter Wege(Steelcase heir), a longtime environmentalist and conservationist, recognized the value of green buildings and has made LEED certification a requirement for many of the building projects he has supported. As a result, buildings such as the new Art Museum are being built to qualify for LEED certification. The region has also begun to realize that sustainability can lead to economic development. Mayor George Heartwell has been a strong supporter of sustainability. Last year, he joined more than 150 other mayors in signing the US Mayor’s Climate Protection Agreement.

From "The Revitalization of Grand Rapids", Land Development Today (November/December 2006)

I was lucky enough to hear David Gottfied speak at the Herman Miller Environment conference this summer.  David was one of the founders of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), and he helped start the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification standard.

Why is the Grand Rapids metro area so green?  Conservative and green don't usually go together, and yet we lead the nation in green building.  That is remarkable, and it should serve as a warning to the forces who would like to see the sustainability movement identified with a bunch of tree humping hippies.

In fact, much of the angel startup money flowing to cutting edge technology companies today is focused on sustainability.  Green is the new thing, with many of the internet visionaries of yesterday betting the farm on green technology startups.  Grand Rapids is obviously in a great position to take advantage of this national global trend.

Was Gerald Ford one of our first leaders to advocate for sustainability?  From the Ford presidential library Website, here are some of the proposals he submitted to congress:

• Stimulate effective conservation, including revitalization of our railroads and the expansion of our urban transportation systems;
• Develop more and cleaner energy from our vast coal resources;
• Create a new national Energy Independence Authority to stimulate vital energy investment;
• And accelerate development of technology to capture energy from the sun and the earth for this and future generations.

Of course he was responding to the threat posed by middle east oil cartels forcing gas prices through the roof.  At the time his solutions seemed like the right approach, especially for the long term health of the country.  Sadly we didn't choose to make these goals a priority, but it's not too late.

RiverTown Crossings has decided to ban city buses from their property.  From the GR Press article:

"RiverTown General Manager Randy Zimmerman said the move was prompted by 'several violent incidents' he blamed on bus passengers."

As Chris Knape points out,  this is a holiday slap in the face for the poor and handicapped passengers who depend on this transportation.

Feel free to send RiverTown an email to express your opinion.

These folks want to ban trans fats.  I understand the immediacy of the situation, we are facing an epidemic of obesity and heart disease in America.  But I'm not convinced that we should ban hydrogenated oils.

This is actually a little more complicated than you might think.  The process of creating trans fats causes the removal of Omega 3 from fatty acids.  Susan Allport points out that it could be this lack of Omega 3 that is truly the problem.  She agrees that trans fats are bad -- but the real culprit in her eyes is the lack of Omega 3 relative to Omega 6.  She points out that you could give up trans fats completely and still not be healthy, if you did not get your Omega 3s.

Susan also makes a good point about fish oil:  It is the Omega 3 in fish that makes them such healthy meals for we fish eaters.  Even beef could be high in Omega 3 if those cows were eating the right stuff!

Studies are now revealing the importance of Omega-3 fatty acids in maintaining brain chemistry and mental health.

"For the clinician in charge of the US study, Joseph Hibbeln, the results of his trial are not a miracle, but simply what you might predict if you understand the biochemistry of the brain and the biophysics of the brain cell membrane. His hypothesis is that modern industrialised diets may be changing the very architecture and functioning of the brain.

We are suffering, he believes, from widespread diseases of deficiency. Just as vitamin C deficiency causes scurvy, deficiency in the essential fats the brain needs and the nutrients needed to metabolise those fats is causing of a host of mental problems from depression to aggression. Not all experts agree, but if he is right, the consequences are as serious as they could be. The pandemic of violence in western societies may be related to what we eat or fail to eat. Junk food may not only be making us sick, but mad and bad too."

The recent jump in autism cases is reason for concern, especially if these trends continue.  A just released study by Cornell University (Waldman, et al) reveals a significant correlation between autism rates and young children who watched TV frequently.

Previously, vaccines were a leading suspect, but numerous studies have failed to show any definitive link between autism and vaccines. 

Gregg Easterbrook of Slate Magazine points out that further study is needed to clarify the link between autism and television:

"Research has shown that autistic children exhibit abnormal activity in the visual-processing areas of their brains, and these areas are actively developing in the first three years of life. Whether excessive viewing of brightly colored two-dimensional screen images can cause visual-processing abnormalities is unknown. The Cornell study makes no attempt to propose how television might trigger autism; it only seeks to demonstrate a relationship. But Waldman notes that large amounts of money are being spent to search for a cause of autism that is genetic or toxin-based and believes researchers should now turn to scrutinizing a television link."