Circuit Breakers Are Our Friends

It didn't take long to figure out the charred insulation on the wire the electrician pulled out of the conduit had something to do with why the circuit breaker kept popping last weekend. After seeing that wire, I'm glad it did.

To make a long story short, the 1960s vintage lightwall conduit running through our house's concrete slab wasn't going to last forever. I suspect that at some point it took on a little water, and this summer it finally corroded enough to pinch the insulation on one of the wires. (Incidentally, he could not pull any of the other three wires out because they were so tightly wedged in the conduit.) I should have been more suspicious when the three-way switch function for the overhead lights on that circuit quit working.

For a few months, we worked around that by just leaving one switch on. But when the circuit breaker popped this time, it also shut off the furnace. I hadn't realized it was on the same circuit when it popped one or twice in the summer. But we woke up kind of cold on Saturday morning, which brought it to our attentions, so we put in a call to the electrician.

Suffice it to say I'm sold on the value of circuit breakers (and good electricians).

Do You Love Your Tablet?

Personally, I love infographics. They can be very effective, especially when they include interesting information.

Take a peek at the results of Staples' survey on tablet use at http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/tablets/infographic-survey-says-that-people-love-their-tablets/2252?tag=nl.e099&s_cid=e099. 

One of the most interesting things might be just where you fit into the mix. (Confidentially, I fit into the upper right hand corner...)

Bonus: For another clever infographic, this one showing predicted office trends based on a LinkedIn survey, go to http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/career/infographic-linkedins-office-trends-over-the-next-five-years/4629?tag=nl.e099&s_cid=e099.

My Data Vortex

Recently I've been making a concerted effort to collect and organize stuff. Piles of books, magazines and papers are relatively easy, but computer files - not so much.

It doesn't help that computer files and I are like nuts and a squirrel. I've been collecting them for years and stashing them away in what I'm just now realizing are a bazillion different places.

It's one thing to consolidate the shoebox full of hard drives and stack of floppy disks onto a single shelf in the closet, but quite another to begin sorting through the files and organizing and de-duplicating them.

What was I thinking when I saved all this stuff?

So far my organizational scheme has three categories -- Work, Family and Personal. Theoretically everything will have an appropriate "bucket" in the second or third level of one of those categories, but already there are ambiguities. For example, photos.

I'd like to keep all the photos together as a second level category under Family. However, work-related photos probably should go under Work, but what about the bridge pictures I snapped on vacation?

Perhaps this is where the Google-ish philosophy of files with multiple labels rather than the Microsoftian buckets approach would make more sense.

An optimal solution probably lies in combining the two, which is where Picasa seems to be a great tool. Its filtering and search capabilities are terrific, to say nothing of the face recognition feature. But as my recent "clean install" episode pointed out, thinking any such solution is permanent is unwise.

Where, oh where ...?
Beyond the logical organization, there's also the squirrel's ubiquitous dilemma of where to actually stash the stuff.

I thought getting a Pogoplug device and setting up my own little piece of cloud storage might solve the problem. It's turning out to be a neat storage space and I think it's going to be a great solution for backing up our nebulous mass of data, but "the user" still has to figure out what to put where, and how many copies to keep.

Stuff management on a virtual level - how delightful! More insights as they bob to the surface. Meanwhile, if you have any suggestions, I'm open to them.

My Favorite Sunsets

Back from a few days in Door County, Wis., but thought I should share one of the reasons we keep going back (above). This is the 8 p.m. view from Fred & Fuzzy's, near Sister Bay, Friday evening a week ago.

This little outdoor eatery and backyard bar used to pride itself on being the best kept secret on the peninsula, but perhaps that phase has passed. I actually saw ads for the place this year in the local literature.

And the place itself has changed a bit, too. They've added tables and made the bar in the woods look a lot more like a permanent installation (sigh...).

The waitstaff now asks for your cell phone number and uses iPads to sign you in. Moments later you get a text message that you're on the list, and another awhile later when your table's ready. That's OK, even though it's not the quaint Fred & Fuzzy's that we stumbled upon half a dozen years ago. It's sad to see the old fashioned numbered slips of paper go away, but I can understand their wanting to modernize.

Meanwhile, Fred & Fuzzy's still has good food and the best sunsets of anywhere I know in Door County. And that's not likely to change.

Away!

We've abandoned civilization for a few days once again, and are trekking north to Door County, Wis. One of the real joys of this sojourn, of course, is being disconnected. We may still have Internet and cell phone service (which just a few years ago wasn't the case), but guess what -- it's 20 miles to the nearest Redbox! And frankly, I don't plan to use my 50 cents off coupon this weekend.

So, why are we here? Well, that's a fun factoid I'd love to share with you. Exactly 39 years ago, on the evening of August 4, my lovely bride and I became husband and wife. And oh, what a fun ride it has been! All I know is that I wish the same happiness for you.

How About Those Olympic Medals!?

2012 Olympic Medals.
Photo: London 2012.

If you need a little something to read during the commercial break in this evening's coverage of the Olympic Games, look no further. Did you know the gold medals are mostly (92.5%) silver? But that's nothing new, according to Dillon Gage Metals. They were really gold for only eight years, beginning in 1904.

To learn more, check out the very interesting commentary at www.myprgenie.com/view-publication/olympic-medals-are-still-made-of-precious-metal-but-contain-less-gold. I so wish the company had posted its own white paper about this, but they left it to the PR firm instead, so that's where you'll find the information. Such is life in the "Information Age." Meanwhile, it's a pretty cool little bit of background.

For more about what went into making this year's medals at Britain's Royal Mint, visit www.royalmint.com/discover/london-2012/making-of-the-london-2012-olympic-medals.

And now, back to the "tele" for more of the competition.

It's Like Mapquest for Trade Shows!

Let's assume, just hypothetically, that you're planning to go to the International Manufacturing Technology Show at Chicago's McCormick Place in September. (I'm actually going to be there, but you can just pretend.) This week the show released its free IMTS 2012 mobile app, and what fun!

Apps for trade shows have been around for a couple years, and they're helpful for things like finding where that pesky seminar room is, or what booth the Acme Widget Company is in. But the IMTS 2012 app has a new twist that's pretty cool - you can get directions to your next stop! It's like a mini-Mapquest for the show floorplan.

Even if you're only hypothetically interested, give it a try. The download is quick and free, and it will give your mind (and your imagination) a little exercise. Go to the app store, search for IMTS, and you're on your way! I'd love to know what you think of it.

(Meanwhile, these images are from the IMTS website - haven't yet figured out how to get a screen shot from the Android phone. But you get the idea...)

Headlines Count, Most Especially Yours

A recent article by Deborah Rooney (“Ninja, Nerd, or Nut: What Your LinkedIn Headline Says About You”) offers great tips on writing a good personal headline for LinkedIn. It made me stop and reconsider mine!

I’ve been writing headlines since long before we had to think about whether it was going into print or on the web, and of course we’ve always had to consider the intended audience. But Rooney points out three key criteria that apply to the very specific short label people see when your name pops up in the context of LinkedIn.

• Watch the initial impact.
• Reflect your core competencies.
• Make a connection.

All that in a headline? Yep, and she gives great reasons for putting in the time and effort to craft a good one, as well as pointers on how to do it. It’s a short article, very well written and thought out; you should read it. And while you’re there, check out some of her others, for which links are provided.

Here's the link again, in case you missed it above: www.freshtransition.com/2012/07/11/ninja-nerd-or-nut-what-your-linkedin-headline-says-about-you/

Words of the Day: Griot and Baobob (an adventure in world music)

This week I finished writing an article listening to the soundtrack of "Besieged," a 1999 film by Bernardo Bertolucci. It's only when I really need to concentrate that I listen to music while I'm writing, and if it's somebody singing, it has to be in a language I don't understand (except for James Taylor - why he's the exception I don't know, but I digress).

Baobab in Kruger National Park,
South Africa. Photo: Oscar Chao

The film opens with a powerful image - an aged barefoot African storyteller, or griot (GREE oh), swathed in a bolt of loose orange cloth, standing beneath a baobob tree (you know, one of those big, solitary tree-of-life-like oldsters from the African plains). He sings (or perhaps "intones" or "chants" would better describe it) the first part of the story to the accompaniment of a thumb piano ostinato.

I have no idea what he said, or what language he was singing in, and I can't imagine that many people who saw the movie actually understood any of his words. But I'm content to think it was some African dialect, and the point was made: We were at the beginning of a story.

I won't summarize the plot here - that has been well done by Richard von Busack in the online archives of the San Jose Metro. But I'll tell you that the griot shows up a few more times, in unlikely places and garb. Those sightings are interspersed with some masterful grand piano playing by another one of the film's main characters.

Other than the griot's tale, there are precious few words in the entire movie, but that's OK. You get the idea without any effort. It's a nice story. If you're feeling the least bit adventuresome, I'd recommend checking to see if your local library has the film.

Meanwhile, if your curiosity has been aroused about the music, you can hear the opening piece (Nyumbani) from Besieged performed by J.C. Ojwang online at www.last.fm/music/J.C.+Ojwang/_Nyumbani. I have to warn you, though - you only get one chance. From what I can tell, the site knows if you come back and ask to hear it again, thanks to cookies and such, in which case they'll offer to sell it to you. (Here's an alternative URL that worked more than once this evening.)

Incidentally, Puccini is the other music I listen to while writing (besides James Taylor). Very singable in a la-la-la sort of way.

As Suze Orman would say, and now you know.

Technology Hath Trickled Down

The Fourth of July Hometown Fest is in full swing here, including the carnival rides, but this year there's a bit of a twist. Gone are the little air-conditioned booths dotting the midway, with people inside to sell you ride tickets and wristbands. This year it's a self-contained vending trailer, complete with ATM (in the center, just in case you need one).

It even comes equipped with gauges (on the corners) to check your children's heights.

Ah, yes, the changing face of Americana.

Woo Hoo! Backup Here We Come!

I'm not a salesman, but here's something you might want to consider. From now through Sunday (6/24) you can get a Pogoplug device for free just by signing up for a one-year family membership. (The total is $29 and change, which includes $9 plus a little for shipping, but still it's a good bit less than the $49.95 cost of the device itself.)

Pogoplug Classic is
about 6 inches tall.

As I wrote not long ago, I recently resolved to back up my data, and I've been looking into how to do it. Just this morning, I had an email interchange with a company that wants $20 a month for its 10GB back up plan. Even though that's their entry-level package, it's still more capacity than I need (and definitely more than I want to pay).

So imagine my surprise and delight when an email arrived this morning from Pogoplug with just the offer I had been looking for, more or less. Fortunately I checked out the technology not long ago, before they came up with their family plan, so I didn't have to start from scratch in evaluating it. (I did sign up, by the way.)

In early May I generated an "internal report" about what Pogoplug had to offer as a technology. At the time I was exploring file sharing alternatives to using an FTP site. [If you're in a hurry at this point, then jump to the end of this post. Otherwise, this background information should bring you up to speed.] Here is the report:

The Pogoplug Options
Pogoplug technology offers an easy and controlled way to make your files accessible via the Internet (i.e., cloud storage). Or you could say, the company offers three easy and controlled ways for you to do it.

Pogoplug PC is software that runs on your PC and lets you make files Internet accessible. There is a 30-day free trial after which you can pay a one-time fee of $29.95 to continue using it. There's also the option of linking this to cloud storage. This is the way I shared the photos (and Powerpoint file) [for a recent project] with you earlier this afternoon.

The advantage: Everything stays on your own PC (unless you opt for the cloud storage).

The disadvantage: Your PC has to be running for the files to be accessible (unless you opt for the cloud storage). Also, it is set up for control by a single user (or shared login).

Pogoplug also offers three devices ($39.95 to $79.95) that provide a way to connect storage that you supply (such as a hard drive) directly to the Internet. FYI, you can get a 1 TB external hard drive for $100 or a little more and hook it up this way to basically have a piece of “the cloud” in your office, but separate from your PC, for less than $200.

The advantage: You can turn off your PC and still have access to your files as long as the Pogoplug device is powered up. And again, your files are right there, under your roof and your control. You also can connect a larger drive, or other devices, as you wish. (The top-of-the-line device allows multiple devices to be attached.) The Pogoplug device simply provides the communications and accessibility interface.

The disadvantage: It costs more, but it’s a one-time cost; and it has to be powered up for your files to be available. Also set up for a single user (or shared login).

Pogoplug Team offers the ability to set up multiple users and set up and use your own branded interface. It essentially uses the software solution tooled up for collaboration. It works with either a Pogoplug device or on a PC or server which is then melded with cloud storage -- but I may be oversimplifying things.

The advantages: Multiple user capabilities allow collaboration while keeping separate control. If you use the external cloud storage option, it’s always on – you don’t have to have any devices powered up to have the files available.

The disadvantages: There is a small annual fee ($15 per user). Also, with the cloud option, your files are “out there” somewhere (but that’s not unlike DropBox or other such services).

HOW YOU GET THE FILES
Regardless of which option you select, you access your files using your Pogoplug account. You log on through a web browser to upload files, as well as to view them. You share specific files or folders by emailing a Pogoplug-provided URL for that specific thing. The company has free (and good) apps for Android, iPad and iPhone.

In my experience, Pogoplug has handled all the file types I’ve tried very well. In addition to sharing photos and documents, it also works for streaming audio and video. Here are two examples. These links are from current website posts and are delivered by a Pogoplug device:

• Video (mp4) (short): http://ppl.ug/wHWEcsVSFCM/ 
• Audio (mp3) (1 min.): http://ppl.ug/HWBYaPf8DF8/ 

WHAT I LIKE ABOUT IT
Three things about Pogoplug really appeal to me. In any of its forms, Pogoplug is basically an FTP-like technology. But unlike sending someone to an FTP site, where they typically have to traipse around through lots of different folders, a Pogoplug link sends them directly to a specific folder or file. It’s similar to DropBox in that regard.

I also like the fact that you have the files right there (unless you use cloud storage, which of course does have other benefits). Maintaining control of file location is all relative, of course, but I personally like having it there.

The third thing is that all of the Pogoplug interfaces (browser and app) seem to work well. I’ve used the Android app on a smart phone, the iPad app, and the browser interface on a number of different PCs. All work well, and I don’t hesitate using this tool to share data with anyone.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So now there's this fourth Pogoplug option, and it sounds good to me, particularly considering the price. Watch for a fresh link here soon (I'm sure I'll find something to share) so you can see for yourself how well it works.

The Word of the Day is Karst

There are a lot of words I don't use very often that are still pretty important. Consider, for example, the word karst. It turns out that karst refers to terrain that started out as (relatively) solid rock - usually limestone or dolomite - and portions of which, over time, have become riddled with holes.

In some cases, these holes are small, giving the rock the ability to hold water like a sponge (without the squishiness, of course). In the U.S. this is the case frequently enough that 40% of our drinking water comes from karst aquifers. (There’s another word for another day.)

The void spaces in karst can also be pretty large. Ever been to Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky? Or perhaps you’ve visited Marvel Cave at Silver Dollar City (included in the park’s admission price) in Branson, Mo. It turns out both were formed from karst, although they represent different aquifers. (As an aside, my wife and I visited Luray Caverns in Virginia on our honeymoon a few years back. It’s hard to determine from the USGS map whether they’re in a karst formation, but it was a nice place to visit anyway.)

I learned about karst last week as I was writing about a project that consists of surgically inserting a deep, new cutoff wall into the Wolf Creek Dam, in south-central Kentucky. It turns out the dam was built on a karstic formation and has had seepage issues ever since it was completed, which was the same year that I was born. A little leakiness here and there is no big deal. I've heard water dripping in every cave I've ever visited. But when it’s dissolving away the very foundation of the dam, it does become more of a concern.

(original construction photo, from the Corps' Fast Facts brochure ) 

Suffice it to say, experts in foundation engineering are working with the Army Corps of Engineers and this wall, when it’s completed in the middle of next year, should do the trick. At that point Nashville, some 200 odd miles down the river, and all the smaller river towns in between should be able to rest a little easier.

Also once the project is completed, the Corps expects to be able to let Lake Cumberland to fill up again, which will make a lot of marina owners, etc. (to say nothing of the 4.9 million visitors who show up every year with boats and fishing rods), very happy to get their shoreline back up where it’s supposed to be. After all, Lake Cumberland is the largest manmade reservoir east of the Mississippi and the ninth largest in the U.S.

Another interesting feature: one of the reasons the dam was built in the first place was to generate hydroelectric power. Ordinarily the pool elevation behind the dam is 720 above mean sea level. However, for most of the time since March 2005 it has been at about 680 feet, which seriously reduces how much electricity can be produced. For an interesting example, check out this TVA schedule. (When it was going full blast, electricity generation at the Wolf Creek Dam was bringing in $77 million a year.)

So yes, Virginia, or Kentucky, or whomever is asking, there is a word called “karst” and it’s pretty interesting stuff.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Corps of Engineers' Fast Facts brochure is available online at http://www.lrn.usace.army.mil/wolfcreek/pdf/Wolf%20Creek%20Dam%20Brochure.pdf

Here are some additional related websites, if you’re interested in pursuing more information.

http://heartoflakecumberland.com/lake-cumberland/history/

http://www.lakecumberland.com

http://www.lrn.usace.army.mil/wolfcreek/

Katie Couric video segment about living just downstream from the dam, from August 2007: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gn5nTyUXbc&feature=topics 

Corps video about the project: http://wn.com/WOLF_CREEK_DAM,_KY

Clean Install = No Fun

Well, that was not fun! For some reason,  the computer decided overnight it wasn't going to start this morning, so it "sent" me a text:

Windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt:
(Windows root)\system32\hal.dll
Please re-install a copy of the above file.

Sounds simple enough. You know me -- I'm always up for a troubleshooting challenge. I even found the XP reinstallation CD that came with the computer five years ago, so I was feeling pretty good.

A few words of wisdom from a couple of computer experts (it's good to have a second computer around to help you with the answers), a few attempts at reinstallation, and suddenly it was one o'clock. Figuring it's time for desperate measures, I begin a clean reinstall. But then I got cold feet -- did I really want to risk obliviating the half of my data files that I haven't gotten around to backing up properly? Time to call a real expert.

"Hello, Dell? I have a problem."

Roughly three hours and $135 later, Sachin came back on the speaker phone (he had been reworking my files remotely from who knows where, although I have a guess) and said all I had to do was wait for the file cleanup operation to finish, then restart the computer. Quite a relief to see that my precious data seemed to have weathered the storm.

Then reality set in. Yes, you've got your data. However, you're otherwise starting from scratch. Go get all your other program CDs and get comfortable, because a clean install is just that. Time to rebuild.

The moral of this story: I am going to figure out a backup strategy, and I am going to do it. Enough of this halfway, haphazard stuff. And maybe, just maybe, it might have something to do with "the cloud."

Stay tuned, particularly if you like to learn from other people's mistakes.

Watching Venus in Transit

Well that was fun! Throughout the day I've both learned about the Transit of Venus and watched it, too. Thanks to a late-night email yesterday from my brother Mark, I knew to check out this rare occurrence. (The next time it happens will be in 2117.)



There was plenty of information on the web, of course. My favorite sources started at National Geographic (http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/06/120604-transit-of-venus-2012-sun-planet-hubble-space-science-how-when/), then spread to NASA for a visibility map (http://venustransit.nasa.gov/2012/transit/viewing_locations.php) and transitofvenus.nl/wp, which led me back to NASA's live video podcast - or "vodcast" - at www.ustream.tv/nasaedge (shown above). Their coverage began at 4:45 p.m. here (Central time) and continued for the 7-hour transit.

Fortunately the sky was clear and my brother had also suggested a live viewing technique. He said he had been able to see the last one, in 2004, by letting the sun shine through a reversed pair of binoculars and focusing the image on a card. Well, it worked for us, too. I was even able to share the event with a couple of my wife's piano students and the next door neighbors before the sun dropped behind the trees. Funny - it looked just like the image from the NASA video stream, with a bit less detail.

Two “morning after” observations

My favorite thing about the NASA broadcast, besides being able to actually see the little spot crossing the face of the Sun, was the in guy in the parka with a yellow ski cap. It was cold at 14,000 feet on Mauna Kea; there had even been the possibility of snow the night before the transit. He and his wife of one week were there on a honeymoon/business trip, and she had given him the cap complete with a quarter-size black dot that they moved throughout the vodcast, just like Venus traversing the Sun.

The other thing that sank in over night is a sense of the common relatively instantaneous experience we shared with humanity around the globe, and the way it connected each of us with people from an earlier time. We saw this event in a way that was very different from the way humans observed Venus’ previous transits. The history section of the transitofvenus.org website lays it out this way (with my added commentary):

1639 Transit – A Most Agreeable Spectacle (its first recorded scientific observation)

1761 & 1769 Transits – Global Expeditions (that’s when Captain James Cook sailed to Tahiti to observe it)

1874 & 1882 Transits – Age of Photography (remember, this was a technology that had not been available for the previous Transit)

2004 Transit – The Digital Era (and even so recently far fewer of us could have observed it; what a difference today's streaming video technology made in sharing the 2012 Transit)

My new friend Fabio, who recently returned home to Argentina for a few weeks of R&R, happened to be in the “No Transit Visible” part of the world (see http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/OH/transit12.html). But through the marvel of modern technology, he, too, could observe the phenomenon. How cool is that!

My Favorite Shortcut Keys

Even as the sun begins to set on Windows XP, I keep learning new shortcuts. Here are a couple of useful favorites.

Windows + m
Did you know that holding down the Windows key (the one with that little flag on it) and pressing m takes you straight to the desktop and minimizes all your open windows? I used to go through one by one, minimizing each open window, just to be able to get to a folder on the desktop. This shortcut saves a huge amount of time (and frustration), which is just what shortcuts are supposed to do, right?

Alt + Tab
More often than not, when someone is looking over my shoulder as I cycle rapidly through the open windows on my computer screen, they'll ask how I do that. For me, it's second nature to put my left thumb on the Alt key and use my middle finger to tap the Tab key as many times as it takes to get to the right window. The first tap brings up a little window with icons for each of the open windows. Successive taps cycle through the list, highlighting each icon in turn. (If you go past the one you wanted, just keep tapping and go around again.) When you release the Alt key, you go to the highlighted window. I've been using this shortcut as long as I can remember -- unlike the Windows + m shortcut that I only learned about in late 2011. One of these days I'm going to have to investigate whether these shortcuts have been preserved in Windows 7. I hope so, because they're very handy.

Ctrl + Shift + 8 (in Word)
There is a lot going on behind the scenes in Microsoft Word, and by allowing the "nonprinting characters" to be displayed you can often see why your text is behaving the way it is. For years I simply clicked on the little button with the paragraph mark to toggle the display on and off, but in April I discovered the shortcut key combination, which is Ctrl + Shift + 8. (You can read about how that happened in my April 15 post, "The Curiosity Hazard.") Whether you like seeing all the additional symbols or not, it's like having the answer key in the back of a textbook -- great to know it's there, even if you rarely refer to it.

F1
If there's one thing I've learned over the years, it's that when all else fails it might be worth looking in the help file. However, sometimes that's easier said than done. I like Chrome as a browser, for example, but it seems odd that they've hidden the Help link (You have to click on the little wrench icon to get the menu that lists Help.) Even so, the traditional F1 key still works, opening Google Chrome Help in a new tab. And that's comforting to know, as well as being useful.

Something Green from the Cutting Room Floor

Often in researching an article I come across something very interesting that ultimately doesn't make it into print. Sometimes there simply isn't room. Other times it's too far off topic. Usually, it seems to be both, and this post is one example of that.

I recently wrote an article about carbon capture and sequestration research that is currently under way in Decatur, Ill. The reason it's being done there is because that's where Archer Daniels Midland has a major ethanol plant located above a potentially excellent long-term storage area for carbon dioxide, which is a by-product of ethanol production. It's a pretty cool demonstration project, which you can read about at www.enr.com/midwest, but here's a direct link to the article.

The thing that got squeezed out was an explanation of how the idea of carbon sequestration came about. Here it is:

Capturing CO₂ and storing it to prevent its acting as a greenhouse gas is not a new idea. In a 1977 research memorandum, Cesare Marchetti, then a senior scientist at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis in Laxenburg, Austria, proposed the concept of capturing CO₂ emissions from power plants and disposing of the substance deep in the ocean. 

Although we now understand some of the major environmental drawbacks associated with ocean disposal, at least Marchetti raised the idea as a serious proposal.

Little was done on the subject in this country until the 1990s, when the Department of Energy’s Office of Fossil Energy began encouraging and supporting substantive research in this field. Contributing to the growing interest in the subject were organizations such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (www.ippc.ch) which had developed hard numbers estimating the growth in CO₂ production worldwide – due almost entirely to the use of fossil fuels– and its potential consequences for altering the climate. Based on then-current scientific and socio-economic data, the organization’s Second Assessment Report: Climate Change 1995 singled out CO₂ as the most significant contributor to climate change.

TIME OUT: Here's where the research part got really cool. I came across the title of Marchetti's 1977 paper in a huge list of references in the Second Assessment Report. Googling the title led me to a copy that's available online as a scanned PDF document (link is in previous sentence).

What delighted me more than anything was that it is typewritten and just 13 pages, including maps and graphs. What a refreshing reminder of the good old days!You should look at it just to remind yourself that thought-provoking proposals don't have to have epic proportions. Now, where were we? Ah, yes...

Seven major energy companies including BP, Shell, Chevron and others from Europe and Scandinavia, joined forces in 2000 to form the CO₂ Capture Project (www.co2captureproject.org). Its goal has been to investigate how to best deal with CO₂ in the context of oil and gas related scenarios – oil refineries, heavy oil extraction and natural gas fired power generation – and specifically, how to capture it and then what to do with it. Now in its third phase, the project has fielded demonstration projects of several capture technologies and is investigating the impact of stream impurities on geological storage of CO₂.

To address the storage aspect of carbon capture and sequestration, the U.S. Department of Energy in 2003 awarded cooperative agreements to seven Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnerships (RCSPs). These public/private partnerships are charged with researching potential repositories and determining approaches and technologies for safe, permanent terrestrial and geologic carbon storage. The Midwest Geological Sequestration Consortium, led by the Illinois State Geological Survey, in conjunction with the Indiana Geological Survey and the Kentucky Geological Survey, became the first of those partnerships to begin carbon storage from an industrial biofuel source when operational injection began in Decatur, Ill., on November 17, 2011. 

So now you know some of the background. One of the other things that didn't fit: a list of online resources for further information about the Decatur project. Here it is.

• Illinois Industrial Carbon Capture and Storage Project – NETL/DOE Fact Sheet (http://www.netl.doe.gov/publications/factsheets/project/ARRA1547.pdf)
• Midwest Sequestration Geological Consortium (www.sequestration.org)
•  Illinois State Geological Survey (www.isgs.illinois.edu/)
•  Archer Daniels Midland Company (www.adm.com)
•  Schlumberger Carbon Services (www.slb.com/carbonservices)
•  Richland Community College (www.richland.edu)
•  Curious about what supercritical CO₂ looks like? http://blog.makezine.com/2011/09/06/what-supercritical-carbon-dioxide-looks-like/

An Engineer’s Picture Postcard

Click to go to the full article.

One day late last summer Larry Kruth appeared in my office doorway with a question: “Want to see some pictures?” Larry is the vice president of engineering, technology and safety at a steel company in Michigan. In addition to both growing up in the suburbs of Pittsburgh, we share the opinion that one can never take too many photos. I wasn’t surprised, then, when his CD overflowed my computer screen with thumbnail images. (The number 158 sticks in my head.)

Larry had just returned from a field trip of the kind that most structural engineers only dream about — to the top of one of the Mackinac Bridge towers. And, of course, he had great photos.

Flipping through Larry’s photos reminded me of how much fun it was, as a child, to get a picture postcard in the mail, how my imagination just ran with the idea of interesting, faraway places. And again, I imagined myself there with him, 552 feet above the Straits of Mackinac.

We eventually figured out a way to share this experience, and his photo feature this month graces the pages of Modern Steel Construction magazine. I won’t give away any more of the story here — just take a look at http://msc.aisc.org/globalassets/modern-steel/archives/2012/05/2012v05_visiting.pdf, especially if you’ve ever dreamed about what it would be like to stand atop a suspension bridge tower.

“Having a great time—wish you were here!”

Thanks for sharing it with us, Larry.

But wait! There’s one more thing you should know. The file is a PDF, which allows you to appreciate Kristin Egan’s brilliant layout as well. To get the full effect, download and save the PDF file, then open it with Adobe Acrobat Reader. Click on the View menu, move your cursor down to Page Display and select Two Page View. If you’re using an earlier version the terms may be slightly different, but it should work the same. Enjoy the view!

Note: Links updated November 20, 2015, to reflect reorganization of MSC site.

Nature's Bounty (and how you can help control it)

This is the week in Northern Illinois that most of the maple tree "helicopters" (aka whirlybirds, propellers, samara) come spinning to earth. The abundance of nature's fertile bounty is hard to overlook. Maple seed pods are piled high on our gutters, clumped in the storm drain grate out in the street, and basically everywhere. (And there's probably another 20 percent still to come down.) Another, less desirable, plant - garlic mustard - is also getting ready to shed its seeds. Fortunately, if you act quickly you can catch it before that happens.

Actually, I never knew anything about this weed until last weekend. A group of us spent Saturday morning in Cook County's northwesternmost forest preserve, Deer Grove, pulling garlic mustard, hoping to stop its hostile takeover. Yeah, I know it's one of God's creations, but it doesn't belong there. It's non-native and invasive. Here's the way our host, Pete Jackson, explained it:

"Garlic mustard is a biennial plant from Europe, brought over for cooking purposes. In its first year it is a small ground cover type of plant and is hard to pull, but in its second year it sends up a flowering stem, flowers, sets seed, then dies. The trick is to pick the second year stems before the plants have shed their seed. Each plant is capable of producing thousands of seed! Very scary! Most years we pick until around July 1st, but with the early spring this year we are in a big hurry to get as much of it as possible, soon."

This is what 2nd-year garlic mustard looks like.

So 11 of us joined a group from Chicago's Uplift High School (they've been there before and they're pros) to clear a bit of the forest. What a great day! There's something very rewarding about spending time in the forest, off the trails and roadways, and working together to tend a little piece of God's creation.

We pulled like what seemed to be a ton of it and hauled it all out to a central compost pile. Even though the seeds are quite hardy out in the forest, they don't seem to spread from the compost pile.

Naturally, I went home and found half a dozen of these stalks around the edges of our backyard. (They're no longer there.) The good news is this: if you look around your yard and find this pesky plant, you still have time to break the cycle by pulling it before the seeds ripen and are dispersed. Just remember: keep an eye out for it next spring, too.

For a few more photos, click here.  

What to Get for Someone Who Has Everything

OK, well not necessarily absolutely everything - I think that's a different crowd than I move in, perhaps - but let's face it: some people are hard to buy for. Here's a cool and affordable idea, though - how about a built-in USB charger?

Besides being a convenient thing to have around the house, it also gives your significant other a weekend project! You can't beat that kind of two-for-one gift. (The creative person could also come up with a personalized t-shirt to go with, but I digress...)

These gizmos were introduced in the middle of 2011, and then featured at the Consumer Electronics Show last January. Meanwhile, I have yet to find them on the shelves at my local haunts - Home Depot,  Ace Hardware and Menards (which does list a couple varieties online, though) - but they are available on the Internet. (Just click on the links below.)

My favorite is from CurrentWerks, just because it's (a) really built-in, and (b) you don't have to sacrifice a regular outlet. The device is available in both a standard type outlet and a designer version, too (shown here). Directions are available online, courtesy of SmartHome.com, but it's really pretty standard stuff:

• Turn off the circuit breaker (or unscrew the fuse?)
• Remove the faceplate; remove and de-wire the old outlet.
• Wire up the new one and put it back into the outlet box.
• Attach the faceplate, and power up.

Suddenly, you don't have to unplug anything else to charge up your phone or iPad or whatever. And you only have to hunt for the cable, not the transformer. Just as an aside, whoever came up with the USB connector made all of our lives much simpler! Data and power in one simple, universal connector. Alleluia!

Another version of the built-in charger is available from Cooper, which is a well-known name in electrical circles. It's about the same to install, but you lose one 110 outlet in the process. Also, for me it just doesn't have the same aesthetic. Functionally, though, it's a good thing, and in my book it still counts as an upgrade to your castle.

Those two options are fine for homeowners, but what about you apartment dwellers? Well, Audiovox-RCA has you covered. Its version of the "built-in" charger is actually like a cube tap - you simply plug it into a standard outlet in place of (or over) the faceplate. It still offers one 110 outlet, but gives you two USB charging ports as well. It's the simplest of these three options to install, and it's portable; when the lease is up, take it with you and plug it in at your new place.

And if you want something really kind of different, Audiovox-RCA is on the verge of releasing a version of this USB charger that has a built-in nightlight as well. Now that's way cool. (The website says it's coming in May.)

The Curiosity Hazard

“How well do you know Microsoft Word?” That’s the question a colleague posed earlier this evening as we were waiting for the college president to give his annual “thanks for all you do” message to the assembled Advisory Committee members. It was the perfect opportunity for such small talk.

“Reasonably well,” I admitted. “What are you trying to make it do?”

It turned out that his problem was rooted in operator error, but of the worst kind. He didn’t know what he had done. “I think the mouse bumped into something,” he said, and suddenly all these weird characters appeared on the screen – dots and squares and arrows with tails and “that paragraph mark thing” – and he couldn’t make them go away.

“I think they’re called invisible characters," I said, "or something like that.”

I could picture what he was describing (and which button to click to clean it up) but couldn’t remember the proper terminology with which to label it. Clearly it wasn’t “invisible characters.” They weren’t invisible, and that was the whole problem. As an aside, though, I like having those things – whatever they’re called – visible on the screen so I can see when there’s a double space or why a line is breaking strangely, but I realize most people want just the letters and punctuation.

As we slowly made our way from the lobby into the auditorium, I turned to my smartphone for an answer. Searching Google for “invisible characters in word” turned up an answer (and an additional 34 million possibilities). It turns out that www.mvps.org gives a pretty thorough explanation, although they don’t explain how Bob suddenly made the things visible.

“Nonprinting characters is Word's term for anything that takes up space or has a formatting function but does not appear on the printed page: spaces, tabs, paragraph breaks, and the like,” the website explains. It goes on to describe three simple ways of controlling whether or not the nonprinting characters appear on the screen.

• Pressing Ctrl + Shift + 8 toggles all the nonprinting characters on and off.
• On the Tools menu, selecting Options and then the View tab allows you to select which of the nonprinting characters are displayed (in the Formatting section). The default is All.
• Clicking on the button with the paragraph mark, which is typically on the Formatting toolbar, also toggles the nonprinting characters on and off.

Although I’ve been using the toolbar button for years, the other two approaches were new to me, and they’re good things to know about. But the website offered one more interesting bit of information – the paragraph mark has a name. It’s a pilcrow.

Frankly, neither of us recalls much of what the president said this evening, but that doesn't mean we didn't learn anything. My colleague now knows how to get his clean-looking text back and I now know what a pilcrow is.

A Global Lesson, and Dubstep

me: do you know what dubstep is?

Z: yes

me: like it? (much?)

Z: depends on my mood.

me: lol

Z: friday night in the city... sure!

me: lol again

Z: why oh why do you ask?

me: so do you know Skream & Benga?

Z: not tooo familiar. i'd probably know some of their popular songs

me: how about Seeeriousss by Noah D. or Machinedrum, aka Travis Stewart ...

Through the marvel of modern technology, I spent a day last week slaving in a Bangladeshi sweat shop. The idea was to condense a web page about each of 21 groups/artists into 3-4 line paragraph descriptions of each.

I learned a lot about both the music and about being part of the global electronic workforce. The workforce thing is a whole 'nuther story. (More on that another time.) But the music is interesting and I offer a few of the unused summaries here for your perusal.

• Skream & Benga (schedule.sxsw.com/2012/events/event_MS19370) Who created Dubstep? These guys did it. Both are solo artists but frequently team up, along with Arthur “Artwork” Smith, to perform as the group Magnetic Man. Skream released his second full length album, “Outside the Box,” in 2010. Benga’s two albums to date – “Newstep” and “Diary of an Afro Warrior” – were both 2008 releases. Skream & Benga were featured on New Years Day 2012 at Sydney, Australia’s Field Day music festival. www.skreamandbenga.com

Click here for a sample of their high-intensity,

bass-driven music. (You'll need to click on the

"play" icon, then give it a minute to get rolling ... )

• Reid Speed (schedule.sxsw.com/2012/events/event_MS19990) From listening to the work of Reid Speed, you’d soon realize she knows no limits, no boundaries, and perhaps no fear. Besides laying down some monster tracks across all genres in the bass music word, she also is the co-founder, with Alexander Rosson, of Play Me Records, the Los Angeles-based digital label. A native of New York City, she has been mixing since 2001. www.facebook.com/djreidspeed
  
• Drop the Lime (schedule.sxsw.com/2012/events/event_MS18635) Singer, songwriter and guitarist Luca Venezia, who performs as Drop the Lime, brings his truly diverse background to bear on an already stunning career. A Manhattan native, Drop the Lime majored in music at Bard College where he studied under cutting edge electronic musicians. Combining that with an early heavy exposure to the music of Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison and Richie Valens, as well as the gang culture of New York, and it’s little wonder that he embodies a 21st century reincarnation of a 50’s rock’n’roller. www.dropthelime.com
  
• Dubtonic Kru (schedule.sxsw.com/2012/events/event_MS17677) Although they all hail from Jamaica, each of the five members of Dubtonic Kru brings a unique musical background to this Reggae-plus band. Their diverse styles combine to produce an exquisite style that earned the band the title “Best New Band in the World” for 2010-2011 at the Global Battle of the Bands World Finals in Malyasia in February 2011. www.dubtonickru.com

So there you have it - a short introduction to dubstep and other quasi-related stuff (and quasi-music). What is it, you might ask? Interesting, if nothing else.

Z: hahahaha

very interesting

Shaken Allegiances (It's Not What Your Neighbors Are Reading)

Maybe it's just me, but I enjoy reading a book that isn't currently in the New York Times Top 20. Of course, there are a lot of "dogs" out there (no offense to man's best friend), but sometimes you get a tip on a new book that's one of those proverbial "best-kept secrets," and following up can offer both a good read and a reason to hold your head a little higher while you're standing in line at Starbucks.

One such sleeper is "Shaken Allegiances," by Michel Bruneau. Published in October 2009, the novel covers the 48 hours immediately following a fictional devastating earthquake that hits Montréal Island in the middle of an icy Canadian winter. The tale unfolds through the rotating perspectives of a dozen major characters, each dealing with a different aspect of the quake's devastation.

Frankly, it's one of those books that I didn't want to like, but as soon as I got a few pages into it, I was hooked. (Another in this category is "Bel Canto," by Ann Patchett, but I digress.)

Of the two principal things I learned from this book, one came as quite a surprise: The depth of the divide felt by the men and women of Québec - the Québécois and Québécoise - with regard to the rest of Canada. I knew there was a lingering separatist undercurrent, but I had no idea how strongly people on both sides feel about the issue. Through the characters in his novel, Bruneau provides insightful background into both the historical roots and the present-day reality of this schism.

The other take away was less surprising but more chilling - no pun intended. Through the narrative interwoven with the words, thoughts and actions of the main characters, the author leads the reader to a sobering reflection on the hardships inhabitants might face under the combination of winter weather and a major earthquake. Without dwelling on the physical plight or suffering of any individual, he nonetheless clearly illustrates the bleak situation in the aftermath of such a calamity. For example, who would think that the tunnels for the inoperative subway - after all, the electrical distribution system has been rendered completely nonfunctional - would provide the best shelter for the island city's suddenly homeless citizenry? Or that army troops bearing relief supplies would have to camp on the mainland side of the river (in a combination of a blizzard and seriously frigid temperatures), stymied by a total lack of passable bridges onto the island? These are the likely realities of which Bruneau paints a vivid picture.

One of the beauties of this book, which was a 2010 regional award winner, is that you probably won't find it in your local library. The others in your book club have probably never heard of it, which makes it all the more delightful, yet "Shaken Allegiances" is available - just visit Amazon.com.

A native of Québec City, structural engineer and author Bruneau has for years lived and taught in Buffalo, N.Y., "enjoying its comparatively balmy winters," he notes on the back cover. Despite one minor bump in the linguistic road from Québec to Buffalo (remember the "lie, lay, lain" verb forms?) - actually in this case more of a charm than a detriment - this novel is a good read. And in the end, the author's mission is accomplished. He has made us think.

Learn more about Michel Bruneau the author in "The Engineer as Writer," from the February 2012 issue of Modern Steel Construction.

Learn more about Michel Bruneau in his own words at www.michelbruneau.com.

Setting Up Groups in Gmail (User Notes No. 1)

If you’re still getting used to Gmail, don’t feel bad. So am I. It’s a great tool, but many of the functions it offers are less intuitive than one could hope. For example, setting up “Groups.”

Part of the difficulty is that “groups” can mean different things within the realm of Google. In this case, let’s talk about grouping your contacts so you can quickly send an email to a specific set of people.

Gmail automatically collects all the email addresses you send to and receive from, but it's up to you to add them to your “My Contacts” list. With a particular email open, look around for a "More" drop down menu and the option to "Add to My Contacts." One place you can find that is by rolling over the email address displayed at the top of the open email. That brings up the Chat window, which has that More button at the bottom. It's a bit of a bother, but worth taking the time to do.

You also can add new contacts by typing in the information, and you can enter additional information for any contact, but that’s not necessary to set up groups of email addresses. The thing that is necessary, however, is that you set up the group or groups you want to use.

Like most Google things, it’s easy, but it helps to know how to proceed. Let’s assume you want to set up a group and call it “Other.”

Begin by selecting Contacts from the three main options (Mail – Contacts – Tasks). If you’re still using the old look (shown on left), that’s in the upper left corner of the window, directly under the Gmail logo.

In the new look (right) you’ll need to go to the pull down menu associated with Gmail.

Next create a new group called Other by clicking on New Group from the list on the left side of the screen.

Once the group is created, simply go down your list of contacts and check all those that you want to be labeled as part of Other. Then click on the Groups button, which only appears if you have one or more contacts checked. In the old look it says Groups; in the new look it’s just a set of three heads. Select Other from the drop down menu, and click Apply.

The nice thing is that you don't have to pick just one group for a person to belong to. Each contact can be labeled as being in a bunch of different groups.

Once a group is set up, it’s easy to send an email to the whole group. Just select Mail (or Gmail in the new look), then Compose mail (or Compose in the new look). Start typing the group name in the “To” field, select the suggested group, and it will automatically insert everyone's email addresses.

One note of caution – make sure all the contacts you put into the group actually have email addresses as part of their information or they won’t get the email.

As it says on the big red Staples button, that was easy.

The Joy of Discovery

The last few days of December we spent visiting our son in Hoboken, N.J., which by the way is a gem of a town. Among other things, it's home to Carlo's Bake Shop, on Washington Street just across the street and half a block down from our son's apartment. It dates back to the early 20th century and today is known as the home of the Cake Boss, as seen on HGTV, but I digress.

Our first day there, we walked all around this "square mile" city, so designated because it's square and about a mile on each side. Situated immediately across the Hudson River from Manhattan, Hoboken stands out in my mind as being the home to Stevens Institute of Technology. I never realized what a center of engineering education this was, but I did recognize the name from my days in engineering school when we used a batch compiler named SITGO, which was developed at the school. Apparently the SITGO compiler played a critical role in making sure our FORTAN programs were debugged enough to make it worth actually doing the computer run. Ah yes, those were the days. But I digress.


We came in at the upper end of the campus and wandered among the academic halls. It's definitely a city school, and although its roots go way back - there's a Gatehouse that dates to the mid-1800s - the campus is definitely laid out to accommodate the city grid. As we walked down the hill between Stevens and McLean halls, I suddenly saw an old friend - an AISC Steel Sculpture! What a delightful surprise to unexpectedly come across this distinctive compilation of steel components, just waiting for us to come along.

After explaining to my family why I was so pleased to stumble across the sculpture, I studied for a few moments how best to capture an image of it. Fortunately, in this digital age, it's easy and inexpensive to capture a half dozen images or more and sort them out later, so I did.

It turns out, in reflection, that this may be a very distinctive AISC Steel Sculpture. Constructed in 1995, it is one of more than 140 built over the last quarter century, but may be the only one that is within view of the new World Trade Center tower being constructed in Lower Manhattan. In this photo you can see between the telephone pole on the left and the lowest steel beam sticking out from the sculpture the cranes atop 1 WTC.

The Stevens Institute steel sculpture is just north of Court Street on the west side of Fifth Street (aka River Terrace). If you happen to be in the New York area and would like to see this teaching tool firsthand, just take the PATH to Hoboken and walk a couple blocks north. Then simply consult the handy maps that are posted in the area nearby.

For some background on the AISC Steel Sculpture, which was originally conceived by Duane Ellifritt, you can visit www.aisc.org/steelsculpture. (You can also download a free set of plans there.) To get a better appreciation for what an artist Ellifritt is, see the profile at www.modernsteel.com/Uploads/Issues/October_2011/102011_people.pdf. For a photo gallery of many of the steel sculpture that have been built on college and university campuses across the U.S. and around the world, go to http://www.flickr.com/photos/aisceducation/sets/72157622300372721/.