TED Community » NotReally MyName

More About Me

I'm passionate about

the "Hard Sciences", the universe, and humanity's eventual space exploration/expansion

An idea worth spreading

Humanity investing in Humanity's future:

!) high-speed, mag-lev bullet trains connecting the world together.
2) expanding that global mag-lev network to encompass trips to space - and back..somehow (think Rocky Mountain "Ramp" or Himalayan "Highway" to space)
3) Lunar cities (not just colonies or outposts) catering to tourism and all sorts of new Extreme Sports and tournaments that can only be achieved on the moon's low-gravity surface
4) More of those pseudo-reality shows everyone loves so much, but Space-ified.
5) Mining and Construction operations for expanded human presence throughout the solar system (and eventually beyond)

Comments

• TEDCred score: +1.00 TEDCred reflects your contribution to the TED community.

• A comment on Talk: Donald Sadoway: The missing link to renewable energy

  Jun 28 2012: So what happens if the cell cools off? How hot does it have to be to maintain the chemicals @ liquid temperatures? How much heat do these batteries dissipate? Where does the replacement heat come from? Do the batteries need to be in constant use to 'generate' this heat? How is the heat initially induced, to get the battery to work in the first place?
  
  These are really pertinent details that were completely avoided in the talk.
  
  What is the overall efficiency of these types of batteries?
• +1

  A reply on Talk: Donald Sadoway: The missing link to renewable energy

  Jun 28 2012: What I find odd about the intermittency argument (especially solar) is how no one has considered the Earth as a sphere w/ one side always facing the sun... So if we were to establish a "trunk line" around the globe, we could all use it (dump onto it and pull from it). To avoid frequency issues, as well as issues w/ terrestrial capacitance, it would need to be a HVDC line (High Voltage Direct Current).
  
  That would also simplify things w/ respect to 60Hz AC in the Americas and 50Hz in the "Old World" continents. (think REALLY big, high voltage inverters, to dump onto those grids)
  
  Could be done. Could be cheaper. Could last longer. Could require less maintenance, long run...
  
  Just my $0.02.

• A comment on Talk: Massimo Banzi: How Arduino is open-sourcing imagination

  Jun 27 2012: This has just opened the door, allowing me to flood reality with the machinations previously confined to my dreams! As a programmer ( mostly java/j2ee ) I have always had a barrier between hardware and software - that barrier is now GONE!
  
  W00T!
  
  FYI, the biggest barrier has been the cost of hardware interfaces coupled with the learning curve(s) needed to be able to use those hardware devices - the Ethernet enabled Arduino is the best thing since sliced bread! (maybe even better than sliced bread!)
  
  This is awesome!
  
  THANK YOU Massimo and Team! (including the Spaniard :-p )

• A comment on Conversation: Retrofitting greenhouses to make them more viable for desert agricultural production

  Jun 27 2012: Jacob, an expansion on your idea would be to use a desert w/ a moderate temperature to have both warm and cold climate crops - take the heat from one greenhouse (cold climate) and pump it into the warm climate greenhouse.
  
  Also, since deserts don't have much water in their environments, they endure vast temperature swings between day and night. It'd be a good idea to use the ground (directly) or an underground water reservoir to act as a thermal reservoir to buffer the greenhouse temperatures.
  
  As for LEDs that are tuned to each crop's light spectrum, I don't think that's a great idea. PVs only convert ~50% of the light they receive into electrical energy - and that's for the expensive multi-junction panels. LEDs aren't 100% efficient either, so you're talking about a lot of energy lost before the plants ever have a chance to absorb anything. It'd be more practical to just let nature do what nature does and let the light go directly to the plants.
• +1

  A reply on Talk: Wolfgang Kessling: How to air-condition outdoor spaces

  Jun 26 2012: No! They need to have it before the sun comes up! :-p
  
  In all seriousness, I'd be willing to bet it has everything to do with Prime Time, commercials, and at the root of it all: $$$$$.

• A reply on Talk: Wolfgang Kessling: How to air-condition outdoor spaces

  Jun 26 2012: Or a really "advanced" chemical called..... Water
  
  Yes, it'll take a sizable quantity of water, but not a big deal, once you fill the system - just keep the water in the same system and use a (very massive) heat pump to remove the heat from the liquid.
  
  As for where to dump the heat, it could be the ground, the sea, huge evaporating towers (on a scale big enough to _create_ clouds) ... it's all a matter of energy, that's it. Using fusion, we can power these sorts of designs w/ extremely low $$$ cost - almost free.
  
  ( we don't need to make a fusion reactor here on Earth - we already have one 98 million miles away and it has about 5 billion years of energy for us )
• +1

  A comment on Talk: Eli Pariser: Beware online "filter bubbles"

  Jun 14 2012: I agree with a number of people here: Filtered searches should go away, at least as a default. It would be trivial to have 2 buttons for searches. The filter-LESS search would use less processing power, be easier, more complete, and all around better for those of us who are curious about what's out there on the web. The other button could be called "Validate my small minded mentality" or something equally accurate.
  
  This isn't difficult; there is a way to have our cake and let others eat theirs too.
  
  Didn't google used to have a "Similar" link on all its searches? Just bring that back for people who want to look up items similar to their original search.

• A reply on Talk: Eli Pariser: Beware online "filter bubbles"

  Jun 14 2012: Welcome to the New World Order, slave. But at least you're told you're free.
• +2

  A comment on Conversation: Is autism, or some types of autism, an evolutionary effect.

  Jun 14 2012: I've read the comments here and something interesting strikes me about Autism: Emotional detachment.
  
  From all the literature I've been exposed to, I would probably classify myself as having a mild form of Asperger's. That is by no means a clinical analysis - just a personal guess. From this viewpoint I would propose a simple cause-effect-effect-.. regarding why Asperger's and Autistic people are so detached:
  
  No one understands them.
  
  "Birds of a feather flock together" is an old, old saying and it probably applies here too. I'm socially outgoing enough (thanks, mom) but I don't feel like I 'connect' with people. I have always been the awkward one. I never connected with kids when I was a kid and I have a very hard time connecting with adults now. It's not that I have nothing in common with people, it's just they don't have anything _deep_ in common with me. I would propose this is a mild version of what Autistic people endure.
  
  Lets say you are 23 years old and you LOVE space exploration. You're confined to a room with a bunch of your peers and all they can talk about is American Pie and getting drunk. Your world revolves around physics, space, astronomy, cosmology, orbital mechanics, robotics, and.. Their world revolves around people being dumb and getting drunk.
  
  Wouldn't you clam up and disconnect from them after a while? You'd recess into your own little world. What if you were confined to that room of you vs. 100 for a day.. for a week.. for a year.. what if you were confined to it your entire life?
  
  Even better: What if those 100 were in charge of defining "normal"?
  
  I'm not sure if Autism is an evolutionary effect in and of itself. I'd postulate that it is an expression of the evolution that has already been happening since human life started - just another step on the road.
  
  I'd also propose that "normal" people might be part of devolution (going the wrong way - lower cognitive capacity, causing them to become less aware of details)
• +1

  A reply on Conversation: Is autism, or some types of autism, an evolutionary effect.

  Jun 14 2012: George, that is a really interesting viewpoint and even more profound question - I like it.