Blog

There was a time when budget actioncams (or helmetcams, or whatever you want to call them) were limited to just one or two models. Now the options abound, with manufacturers adding special features to set their cameras apart from the rest. We’ve seen actioncams with laser-assisted alignment, extra-wide lenses and anti-glare LCD screens, just to name a few. With the gobandit GPSHD, we’re about to see a camera that offers something else yet – a recorded onscreen display of the location, altitude and speed at which your footage was shot…
Continue Reading Gobandit actioncam records location, speed and altitude of your adventures

Tags: Actioncam,
GPS,
Helmet,
Video Camera

Related Articles:

• Ultra-fast Casio Exilim Pro EX-F1
• ‘Last Resort’ Parachute for High Rise Structures
• Samsung’s World First HDD digital camcorder
• Garmin GPS-based Edge cycling computer touring California
• Cinedeck: portable touchscreen device enables full editing on-site
• New technology allows for simultaneous high-speed video and high-res stills

Matthew Miller from the ZDNet blog have published this 23 minute demo by John Starkweather of the KIN phone from Microsoft.

Of note is that he said the Loop is RSS based, and can take input  from any RSS feed. When asked why the device lacked games, an apparently essential feature of a phone these days, John hinted that the phones were not feature complete, and can be expected to add new elements in the future.

Read more at the ZDNet blog here.

Madison, Wisconsin

Former Wisconsin Governor Tommy Thompson (R) had the most anticipated speech at the Taxpayer Tea Party Rally at the the Wisconsin State Capitol.

“Like you I am fired up.  I want to be part of your movement,” Thompson said.  “I would love to take this on…”  Thompson then announced that he will not run for the U.S. Senate.  That seat is currently held by U.S. Senator Russ Feingold (D).

Thompson, interrupted by people chanting “Run Tommy Run”,  said that “…it is time for new voices and new faces” in government.

Thompson called the upcoming election the most “important election any of us have ever faced.”  The Republican ticket is now wide open with Thompson opting out of the U.S. Senate race.

Shoeboxes account for millions of tonnes of waste and sadly, looking at my shoe racks, I’ve probably made a substantial contribution to that. PUMA on the other hand is on a mission to reduce its carbon, energy, water and waste “paw print”, and has decided to do away with the shoebox altogether. It has launched its Clever Little Bag, a single folded sheet of cardboard in a resuable, recyclable PET bag, designed to protect shoes from the time they leave the factory until the customer gets them home…
Continue Reading Puma launches ‘Clever Little Bag’ packaging

Tags: packaging,
Recyclable,
Sustainable

Related Articles:

• Waste-to-Biofuels plant to make gas from garbage
• AeroVironment’s hybrid fuel cell UAV sets flight record
• The Monster: Puma names Volvo Ocean Race entry
• AeroVironment Aqua Puma UAV completes Royal Australian Navy Sea trials
• PUMA Volvo Ocean Race entry makes final preparations
• Compostable plastics breakthrough sounds sweet

popplet lite (Free) by Notion

iTunes Preview Link

Pros: Easy to use mindmapping tool; Allows combination of text, drawings and photos; Free

Cons: Limited to one board (map) at a time

Buying Advice: Don’t want to drop fifty bucks on Omnigraffle? Play with popplet lite for free, instead, and hope that support for multiple projects comes in the next version. And soon. As is, it’s a great – if limited – app.

Like I said in my review of Pocket Note iP3:

I’m really excited about the prospects of using iPad as a brainstorming/mind-mapping/whiteboarding tool … I’ve been spending a few bucks and lots of time trying out some of the free and inexpensive apps that look like they might give me what I need to get my thoughts in order, iPad style. Two of the most intriguing options I’ve found so far are Pocket Note iP3 and popplet lite.

Pocket Note is a sort of digital journal/scrapbook meets whiteboarding meets idea organizer app. popplet lite, on the other hand, is a more traditional mindmapping app. Mindmapping is like flowcharting: You make a “Popplet” (resizable rectangle), write or draw or drop a photo in it, and then connect it to other shapes. As mentioned above, Omnigraffle is one of the premiere mindmapping tools out there, but it costs $49.99 in iPad form. Popplet Lite is free, attractive, easy to use, and lets you create a single, never-ending mindmap on your iPad. I particularly liked its clean look and light, functional, easy to learn UI.

The problem with popplet lite is that you’re limited to that one, single, never-ending mindmap. There’s no way to save your work and start anew – you have to wipe the slate clean, permanently, if you want to start over. Yes you can “save” your mindmap to your photo library, but you won’t be able to pull it back into popplet for editing later. Aside from that one (enormous) issue, popplet works pretty well. 

Since this is only version 1.1.1, and the “lite” moniker would lead one to believe that there will be a paid “premium” version in the works, I have faith that revisions of popplet are soon forthcoming. Hopefully they’ll address some of my concerns while also adding other nifty functionality. As it is, popplet lite is a handy app for working out notes and ideas on your iPad, so long as you don’t mind keeping tabs on everything on one giant board full of popplets.

Given the natural progression of mobile technology, this could possibly happen sometime in the near future. Phonereport.info is reporting that HTC has an Android tablet in the making that will have full 1080p recording capabilities as well as 5.1 surround sound. And some of these features will make their way onto some of their handsets next year.

These allegations have reported come directly from an HTC rep named Quinton Leigh. They are fully capable of pulling this off, let’s take the HTC EVO 4G for example. This phone has an HDMI jack that can output 720p video that is good enough to rival most DVD players. It wouldn’t take much to but it up to full 1080p resolution. This rumored tablet may be closer to production than we think, it can’t come soon enough for me.

If you have not filed your taxes yet, please read this.

If you have already filed your taxes, please read it, anyway.

A story in the business section of Saturday’s New York Times explained that more than 4 million people had filed their federal income taxes incorrectly, and millions more were expected to make the same mistake as the flood of returns come pouring in before the April 15 deadline.

The problem is that millions of people failed to file Schedule M – a new form that was included in the tax booklet this year that was sent to your home. Schedule M is important because it is directly related to the federal stimulus tax breaks that were enacted by the Congress and President Barack Obama.

If you do not file Schedule M, you could be paying as much as $800 more in federal taxes than you should.

The reason is that employers adjusted the withholding for workers, which amounted to $800 for couples filing jointly for 2009. But if you don’t file Schedule M and you don’t properly mark the credit on line 63 on the back of your 1040 form, then you will likely be paying too much in taxes.

The IRS will eventually figure it out and send you the money, but millions of people have ignored Schedule M so far.

Further information is available at www.irs.gov. The toll free number for last-minute assistance is 1-800-829-1040.

As well as all featuring QWERTY keyboards, Nokia looks set to be focusing on improving messaging and social networking tools with the launch of three new handsets – the Nokia C3, C6 and E5. It’s made a big push on improved connectivity with a broad range of features across the board including scope to view Facebook feeds directly on the cell phone home screen, access to Ovi Mail and Chat and (in the Nokia E5’s case) improved access to business mail. With prices ranging from $122 to $298 these three new handsets will be released into the market separately in the second and third quarters of 2010…
Continue Reading Nokia gets all QWERTY on us with three new handsets

Tags: E72,
Handsets,
Mobile Phone,
Nokia,
Ovi Maps,
Qwerty,
social networking,
Symbian

Related Articles:

• Music Stand – Cradle Speakers for your Phone
• Nokia looking to get in the money
• Nokia flags high-priority on e-mail
• Nokia 8600 joins high-end Platinum Collection
• Nokia 6108 adds handwriting recognition
• The era of the personal Internet dawns with the Nokia N97

By Scott M. Fulton, III, Betanews

In recent years, most Web applications in widespread use have been developed with Web browsers as their platform. Here, one imagines Java advocates are already composing their complaint letters. But with Web resources bound to URLs, for most developers, it’s made sense to utilize the functionality most commonly associated with URL-bound resources: HTML, JavaScript, and now its rapidly maturing derivative, AJAX.

The drive to move rich Internet applications (RIAs) off the browser got two big shots in the arm this week, with Adobe’s release of Creative Suite 5 on Monday, followed by Microsoft’s Tuesday formal release of Visual Studio 2010 and today’s formal release of Silverlight 4. While richer video is, of course, one component of both platforms, they’ve also developed new methodologies for designing simpler client-side Web apps that maintain data on more robust server-side applications.

Just as information wants to be free (especially if you pay enough for it up front), Web apps by design are often constrained by the framework of the browser. Java developers always understood this, but only recently has Sun — and now Oracle — devoted serious effort to building a rich Internet application framework around Java, with JavaFX having exited beta in December 2008. Neither Java nor JavaScript nor XML, JavaFX is a declarative scripting language for building the components of an RIA front-end — its counterpart for Silverlight and .NET developers would be XAML.

While new corporate parent Oracle has pledge both financial and emotional support for JavaFX, even its ardent supporters have commented that neither Sun nor Oracle have built a developers’ toolset for JavaFX that enables both rich and rapid app development. This is where both Microsoft and Adobe are racing to fill the app gap.

Flash Catalyst is Adobe’s interaction development environment, designed to compete on a level more with Microsoft’s Expression toolset than Visual Studio. It’s for the designer who wants to lay out the tools with which the user operates the Web app, using the most likely tool she already uses for envisioning the Web app in the first place: Photoshop. Catalyst lets designers convert Photoshop layers into addressable graphic objects without coding. Expression has similar functionality, but it also relies on Photoshop to some extent, since Microsoft doesn’t have a competitive artistic design tool; this way, Adobe cuts off Microsoft at the pass.

By addressing the need to transport envisioned elements easily to a fully operative state, Catalyst also bypasses the whole scripting route that JavaFX is still trying to evangelize Java developers to adopt with their hearts as well as their minds. Granted, there’s some underlying Flash scripting taking place in the background (just as Expression automatically creates the underlying XAML), but with Catalyst, the designer is shielded from that process entirely.

Although one of Silverlight’s principal development tools was officially released Tuesday, Microsoft developers have already been actively using the Visual Studio 2010 Release Candidate (with its “Go-Live” licensing for those eager to deploy) since the early part of last year. The real surge forward for the Microsoft camp today has to do with the escalation of what had been called .NET RIA Services to the new WCF RIA Services (Windows Communication Foundation), acknowledging its usefulness to Silverlight as well.

With this new WCF RIA Services support in Silverlight 4, released today, the developers of so-called n-tier applications (distributed apps that run on multiple platforms simultaneously, often three at once) can engineer front end client apps in Silverlight that don’t have to replicate the state of the application from the server, just so it can pass control from one window to another. Rather, a new Silverlight 4 app can be developed more like Web pages, which are mindless of the context of other Web pages, and request the information about the running Web app from the server on startup, and over time as necessary.

In this example application from a Microsoft Hands-On Lab published in December 2009 (ZIP file available here), a sophisticated order management system can either run in its own window or, as shown here, within a Web browser. (Notice how this sample line-of-business app is asking the user’s permission to access the Clipboard. System Clipboard access is a new feature for Silverlight 4, though it comes with safeguards.) Silverlight 4 is handling the display component, but it’s also interfacing with WCF RIA Services so that the logical component of the app (written using a supported .NET language) can be crafted independently of the presentation layer.

The reason for doing that becomes clearer when you think cross-platform: With an n-tier application, you can separate the application’s core logic from the code used to display it. This way, you can craft multiple Silverlight-based clients for PCs, smartphones, or tablets, each of which may handle the layout differently from one another. The Web logic will be able to gather and manage data from the server as necessary, and format the results of queries so that each Silverlight client (or alternately, as this slide from a MIX 10 presentation suggests, each AJAX client) can lay out the presentation as it sees fit.

Both Adobe and Microsoft have made significant gains in the race to build the biggest and best RIA platform. That makes the job of catching up for Oracle and JavaFX even tougher.

Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

Americans will go to asteroids, to Mars, and maybe beyond–and all in this lifetime, stated President Obama at Cape Canaveral this afternoon as he reassured Americans that space exploration will continue. Speaking at the Kennedy Space Center, where America launched its moon mission decades ago, Obama said he was “100 percent committed to the mission of NASA and its future.”

Obama’s proposed space policy (pdf) would increase NASA’s budget by $6 billion over the next 5 years, which he says will create 2,500 additional jobs at the Kennedy Space Center by 2012. Acknowledging criticism for some of his changes to NASA’s missions, Obama stated that the country must “leap into the future” and not “continue on the same path as before,” saying: “The bottom line is: Nobody is more committed to manned space flight, the human exploration of space, than I am. But we’ve got to do it in a smart way; we can’t keep doing the same old things as before” [The New York Times].

In his speech, the President declared that by 2025 the nation would have a new spacecraft designed to carry humans “beyond the moon into deep space.” He added that by the mid-2030’s America would also be able to send humans to orbit Mars and return them safely to Earth, adding “a landing on Mars will soon follow.” President Obama stated: “Space exploration is not a luxury, not an afterthought in America’s brighter future…. It is an essential part of that quest” [The New York Times].

For more details on Obama’s new space policy and what it means for NASA and the future of space exploration, head over to Bad Astronomy for Phil Plait’s post, “Obama lays out bold and visionary revised space policy.”

Related Content:
Bad Astronomy: Obama lays out bold and visionary revised space policy
80beats: Neil Armstrong Slams Obama’s Space Plan; President Will Defend It Tomorrow
80beats: Obama’s NASA Plan Draws Furious Fire; The Prez Promises To Defend His Vision
80beats: Obama’s NASA Budget: So Long, Moon Missions; Hello, Private Spaceflight
Bad Astronomy: Neil Tyson Sounds Off on NASA

Image: NASA/Bill Ingalls

Filed under: Minivan/Van, Mercedes-Benz

Travelers across American can expect to see a new addition to the airport rental, parking and hotel shuttle fleets with the availability of a new version of the familiar Sprinter from Daimler Vans USA. The new shuttle version differs from the existing passenger van with the installation of a hinged, bus-style passenger door that can be remotely activated by the driver.

The long body, high roof van is available in four seating configurations including the familiar perimeter style of airport shuttles or a commuter version with 16 forward-facing seats and an aisle down the middle with two seats on one side and a single seat on the other. Naturally, the existing cargo, chassis cab and passenger Sprinters remain available.

[Source: Mercedes-Benz]

Continue reading Airport Bound: Daimler launches new 16-passenger Sprinter

Airport Bound: Daimler launches new 16-passenger Sprinter originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 15 Apr 2010 17:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Posted by John Byrne at 5:30 p.m.



A long-delayed project to build lakefront homes and businesses on a 400-acre former steel mill on the South Side got a favorable recommendation from the city Plan Commission today.

 

The former U.S. Steel South Mill Works site – located between 79th and 87th streets, east of U.S. Highway 41 – has been empty since the plant closed in 1992.


A development group including Chicago-based McCaffery Interests first proposed the major project on the parcel in 2004, but work stalled as the economy tanked.

 

Today, the commission endorsed a plan for 3,000 homes and a million square feet of retail space on 68 acres of the site, but that part of the development still needs City Council approval. The commission also signed off on an overall plan for the entire development.

 

The meeting was not without contention, however. Erma Tranter, executive director of Friends of the Parks, criticized the developers for not turning over the lakefront portion of the property to the Chicago Park District now. She also said the plans do not include easy public access to the lake itself.

 

"The plan includes only a narrow strip, 300 feet in width, designed 12 feet above Lake Michigan – this is high, the slag (leftover on the ground from the steel mill) is very high there – with a fence to prevent users from actually falling in," Tranter said. She called on the park district to instead terrace the land so residents can get in the water.

 

Tranter also looked askance at plans for a 1,000-slip boat harbor, which she said would require a lot of lakefront parking for boat owners and limit the amount of public park land along the water.

 

But Alds. John Pope, 10th, and Sandi Jackson, 7th, whose wards straddle the property, both spoke enthusiastically about the potential for the development to revitalize their neighborhoods.

Luke Timmerman wrote:

Mirabilis Medica, the Bothell, WA-based developer of ultrasound technology to treat uterine fibroids, has raised $1 million in debt and options out of a financing round that could be worth $2 million, according to a regulatory filing. This company, which Xconomy profiled last June, said last year it had raised $11 million since inception from backers that include Charter Life Sciences, Arboretum Ventures, Split Rock Partners, and Dow Chemical.

Comments | Reprints | Share:  

 
 
 

UNDERWRITERS AND PARTNERS

As capacidades da Google são realmente infinitas e o seu mais recente lançamento vem provar isso mesmo. Desta feita, a Google possibilita-nos visualizar a cidade de Nova Iorque em todo o seu esplendor 3D através do Google Earth.

A empresa já havia começado há algum tempo a projectar vários edifícios em 3D, mas agora, também graças a muitas fotos fornecidas pela comunidade de utilizadores, a cidade de Nova Iorque está mais completa e já permite uma navegação 3D por quase toda a cidade. Um autêntico Sim City!

Confiram o vídeo com a navegação pela cidade:

WebTuga – Google Earth com Nova Iorque em 3D

Fredericton, People Reach Consulting

Does the thought of being part of a team developing new energy technologies that will significantly contribute to decreasing greenhouse gases and limiting man-made climate change appeal to you? Do you have a passion for industrial carbon black handling and analysis? Do you have a proven track record with providing experimental support for the collection, purging, densification and granulating of carbon materials? Do you enjoy working in a strong team environment where your efforts are recognized and appreciated and your contributions will make a real difference to the world we live in? If you answered yes to these questions, we would like to hear from you.

THE COMPANY
Atlantic Hydrogen Inc. (http://www.ah2inc.com) is a privately owned environmental technology company producing energy and environmental solutions. Atlantic Hydrogen Inc. (AHI) has developed a patented CarbonSaver™ plasma technology that removes some of the carbon from natural gas pre-combustion. Not only does that reduce carbon dioxide output, the hydrogen freed by the process improves the efficiency of the devices that burn it.

This is a revolutionary technology that promotes Greenhouse Gas reduction and the fight against man-made climate change since it produces hydrogen without generating massive amounts of the greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide, as do most industrial hydrogen production processes. It represents a potential for the next generation of clean energy.

AHI has a seasoned senior management team that includes the former CEO and President of Unisys Canada and a highly experienced research team with a proven track record in plasma processing and separation of gases.

THE OPPORTUNITY
You will work closely with our team of researchers and engineers to provide analytical support for the characterization of carbon black produced in both experimental and pilot scale reactor systems. In addition, you will provide experimental support for the collection, purging, densification and granulating of carbon materials. You will write reports on a regular basis and you will also have the opportunity to become very familiar with gas handling and flow control equipment.

THE REQUIREMENTS
Our ideal candidate has completed a B.Sc. or a chemical technologist’s diploma from a recognized institution and has several years of experience in industrial carbon black handling and analysis. Strong experience with instrumental analytical techniques and methods development is also required, as is familiarity with GC/MS and other routine analytical tools. Hands-on experience with pilot scale operations and electronic equipment and components, and the ability to troubleshoot electronic equipment is a definite asset. Experience with surface area, thermogravimetric and other specialty analyses associated with solids characterization is also a definite plus.

THE REWARDS
Atlantic Hydrogen Inc. is committed to providing its’ employees with a good home/work life balance, a very good salary and benefits package including performance bonuses and stock options, and a flexible, collaborative team environment with a group of dedicated and talented individuals committed to the success of the CarbonSaver™ technology.

THE LOCATION
Atlantic Hydrogen Inc.’s offices are located in Fredericton, a beautiful, historic city with two topnotch universities, many cultural activities (including an excellent jazz festival), plenty of recreational facilities and activities, beautiful parks and an extensive network of walking trails. Fredericton is well recognized for its exceptional quality of life. It also has a vibrant and rapidly expanding knowledge industry sector. You can find out more about Fredericton at http://www.teamfredericton.com/economic-profile01.asp, http://www.city.fredericton.nb.ca/ , and http://www.relocatecanada.com/fredericton/index.html.
 

NOTE
At this time, we are only able to consider applicants who are already located in North America.  Also, please note that the Canadian dollar is currently at par with the US dollar and is expected to remain at or above that level for the foreseeable future. 

By Anthony Gregory

In remembering why the American colonists revolted, we should recall that they were not protesting taxes for social security, health care and the like—although I imagine they would have—but rather taxes used to finance the British empire, its standing armies, its militarist expansionism, its denial of due process rights to aliens that would be shipped to places outside the jursidiction of civil courts, and its wars in the name of national security. Any true movement against oppressive taxation must include opposition to the bloated warfare state and depradations on the liberties of the people, not just welfare spending—although that should be opposed too.

By Tim Shoemaker

It’s official.  In order for construction companies to bid on projects that involve more than $25 million in federal funds, federal agencies are “encouraged to require” them to be union shops.

From The Daily Caller:

A ruling sent down by the White House on Tuesday finalized an Executive Order President Obama signed last year, which promotes the use of Project Labor Agreements (PLAs) on federal contracts. PLAs are pre-hire, collective-bargaining agreements with unions that establish terms of a large contract.

To get an idea of how the bidding process will be limited by this new ruling, over 85% of the industry is currently not unionized.

PLAs require that all contractors who want to bid pay union wages and benefits. They effectively prevent non-union shops from bidding.

“As a public works company we’re already required to pay a prevailing wage,” said Mark Compton, director of government affairs at American Infrastructure, a heavy construction company in Worcester, Pa. “It’s not an issue of us paying people less, the idea that you get away with paying employees less than federal wages is just inaccurate.”

Compton said PLAs stifle competition: “If it’s your home, would you rather have five bidding or two? I’m not here to tell you the unions aren’t qualified to do this work, we compete against them every day and sometimes they beat us and sometimes we beat them, but eliminating competition is discrimination.”

“PLAs raise costs – you’re looking at four schools for the price of five, or four bridges for the price of five,” he said.

Read the rest.

Sadly, it’s almost laughable when people suggest we still operate under a free-market system.  Throughout the last century government has been stifling innovation in various industries by restricting competition.  Looks like the construction industry will be the next one we add to that list.

Union Square Ventures’ Fred Wilson will be giving a talk at the 99% conference later this week entitled “10 Ways To Be Your Own Boss.” Prior to the talk, Wilson has provided a preview of his presentation, which gives his perspective on the various categories of entrepreneur:

1. The Sole Proprietor: Matt Drudge
2. The Partnership: Openshop Studios
3. The Husband & Wife Team: Daily Lit
4. The Boutique: Union Square Ventures
5. The Federation: Allen & Co
6. The Project: Avatar
7. The Tour Bus: The Hype Machine
8. The Startup:Red Stamp
9. The Breakout: Foursquare
10. The Company: Twitter

Wilson is probably the most prominent technology investor in the world today. Though he’s led investments in some of the web’s greatest successes stories — including Boxee, Delicious, Feedburner, Foursquare, Meetup, Tumblr and Twitter — he’s perhaps more widely known for his blog, A VC, and the insights he shares on running technology startups.

He only hints at what he’s planning to talk about at the conference, but his slides reveal a useful perspective from an authoritative voice: the notion that web businesses can be successful and influential without using the venture-backed startup model.

The examples cited sit on a continuum, ranging from small, loosely bound collaborators to larger, more traditional business structures. For web workers seeking to fulfill their entrepreneurial ambition, this illustrates that there are many paths to success. Perhaps choosing the structure most appropriate is more important than the product or service being produced.

I’d be interested to hear from you whether these categories are suitable descriptions of your own circumstance. What kind of entrepreneur are you?

Fredericton, People Reach Consulting

Does the thought of being part of a team developing new energy technologies that will significantly contribute to decreasing greenhouse gases and limiting man-made climate change appeal to you? Do you have a passion for instrumental analytical techniques and methods development? Do you have a proven track record of successfully operating and maintaining bench and pilot scale plasma reactor systems for natural gas pyrolysis? Do you enjoy working in a strong team environment where your efforts are recognized and appreciated and your contributions will make a real difference to the world we live in? If you answered yes to these questions, we would like to hear from you.

THE COMPANY
Atlantic Hydrogen Inc. (http://www.ah2inc.com) is a privately owned environmental technology company producing energy and environmental solutions. Atlantic Hydrogen Inc. (AHI) has developed a patented CarbonSaver™ plasma technology that removes some of the carbon from natural gas pre-combustion. Not only does that reduce carbon dioxide output, the hydrogen freed by the process improves the efficiency of the devices that burn it.

This is a revolutionary technology that promotes Greenhouse Gas reduction and the fight against man-made climate change since it produces hydrogen without generating massive amounts of the greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide, as do most industrial hydrogen production processes. It represents a potential for the next generation of clean energy.

AHI has a seasoned senior management team that includes the former CEO and President of Unisys Canada and a highly experienced research team with a proven track record in plasma processing and separation of gases.

THE OPPORTUNITY
You will work closely with our team of researchers and engineers supporting the day-to-day operations in a pilot scale chemical reactor system producing hydrogen and carbon from natural gas using plasma chemistry. A key responsibility of the role is to operate and maintain our bench and pilot scale plasma reactor systems for natural gas pyrolysis. You will also provide analytical support for experiments performed on the experimental reactor. You will write reports on a regular basis and you will also have the opportunity to become very familiar with gas handling and flow control equipment.

THE REQUIREMENTS
Our ideal candidate has completed a B.Sc. or a chemical technologist’s diploma from a recognized institution and has several years of laboratory experience. Strong experience with instrumental analytical techniques and methods development is also required, as is familiarity with GC/MS and other routine analytical tools. Hands-on experience with pilot scale operations and electronic equipment and components, and the ability to troubleshoot electronic equipment is a definite asset.

THE REWARDS
Atlantic Hydrogen Inc. is committed to providing its’ employees with a good home/work life balance, a very good salary and benefits package including performance bonuses and stock options, and a flexible, collaborative team environment with a group of dedicated and talented individuals committed to the success of the CarbonSaver™ technology.

THE LOCATION
Atlantic Hydrogen Inc.’s offices are located in Fredericton, a beautiful, historic city with two topnotch universities, many cultural activities (including an excellent jazz festival), plenty of recreational facilities and activities, beautiful parks and an extensive network of walking trails. Fredericton is well recognized for its exceptional quality of life. It also has a vibrant and rapidly expanding knowledge industry sector. You can find out more about Fredericton at http://www.teamfredericton.com/economic-profile01.asp, http://www.city.fredericton.nb.ca/ , and http://www.relocatecanada.com/fredericton/index.html.

by Michael A. Livermore

Dan Reicher, Google’s director of climate changePhoto: Steve Rhodes via FlickrGoogle wants a price
on carbon and wants it now—both for lofty reasons like combating global
warming, but also because it could be good for business. 

As the Senate inches
closer to climate legislation that could give the Internet giant what it wants,
I checked in with Dan Reicher, the director of climate change and energy
initiatives at Google to see what surfing the web had to do with reining in greenhouse
gases. 

Turns out, the
answer is technology. Reicher—a former
Department of Energy assistant secretary who now directs Google’s investments
in clean energy—believes that exposing the hidden costs of dirty fuels will set off
a rush of investment in new energy innovations.
He says carbon pricing is an “essential signal we have to get to.” Right now, “money is sitting there to make
significant investments,” he says, but the cash flow is sidelined because the
incentives aren’t there. 

Once they have to
pay the true price of carbon combustion, the calculus for companies would
change, making it fiscally prudent for them to conserve and make cleaner energy. All of a sudden it would make sense to invest
in figuring out how to consume less power, or in new technologies that cut
emissions at the source. And that would
mean a huge new market for innovations that would help them do that. 

The same would go
for individuals—under carbon pricing, households save if they reduce their
electricity loads, and we’d expect a spike in demand for cheap energy
efficiency technology as folks seek to reduce their monthly bills. Reicher gives us a compelling vision full of
smart grids that know when your fridge needs to defrost and when your car’s
battery can turn you a profit by selling spare juice. 

Google is
particularly interested in this low hanging fruit of energy efficiency which
Reicher says “grows back” as we switch from incandescent to compact
fluorescents and now to LED. At each
step we save more energy and promote more innovation, making the area
particularly ripe for investment dollars.

Google is thinking
about the big global picture. Reicher
told me that, “in general terms, a carbon price will do a lot to advance the
competitiveness of these technologies that offer serious climate reductions,
help for our energy security, increase our domestic fuels, and can create all
sorts of jobs.” 

But the search-engine-plus
is also thinking about its own bottom line. It’s already got products on the market that help consumers save
electricity. The Google Power Meter
helps you monitor and reduce down your BTUs online-showing you the cheapest and
easiest ways you can cut back on juice. For
example, your toaster might be sucking up $8 worth of power per year when it’s
not even in use. If it is, Google will
let you know so you can unplug it. 

As Reicher puts it,
“putting
a serious price of carbon will both get us closer to the serious energy
reductions we need to make but also accelerate the domestic development and
adoption of these technologies.” It’s
that last part that’s good for business.
When government holds up its side of the “triangle of technology,
policy, and finance” that Reicher says is essential for green development, it
spurs the private investment and innovation that keeps businesses strong. 

That’s where
Congress comes in. The most important
policy is carbon pricing. That’s what
will change the economic fundamentals, augmented by other programs—like energy
efficiency standards and government revolving loans to bring new ideas  to the market. The
technology and finance sides are ready and able; but we’ve been waiting for too
long for the policy piece that can complete the puzzle. 

Google hopes the Senate will act quickly to jumpstart
what it thinks will be an economic bright spot in the current downturn. Reicher doesn’t really care how it’s
done, saying there are “various ways to get to a carbon price.” Whatever packaging it comes in, a price on
carbon will ultimately be good for that company and many others.

Related Links:

Pollution limits are essential for clean energy investments

Kerry-vs.-Bingaman power struggle lurks beneath ‘what next?’ question in Senate

Open letter to Sens. Kerry, Graham, and Lieberman: a bipartisan path forward on energy and climate