Mark Perry (left) next to the Nissan LEAF battery mock up

Nissan shocked everybody a bit earlier this week when they announced they had developed a DC fast charging station that had the capability of getting a Nissan LEAF’s 24 kWh battery pack from zero to 80% full in under a half hour. It wasn’t so much the fast charging capability — also known as Level 3 charging — that shocked. We’ve all known Level 3 charging was coming. No, it was the price of their charging station.

At about $17,000, it represented an astounding departure from the $60,000 to $150,000 prices that have been quoted for the better part of a year and a half for a fast charging station. I had a chance to ask Mark Perry, Nissan’s director of product planning and strategy for North America, about just how Nissan had pulled it off and what kinds of plans Nissan has for bringing their Level 3 charging station to the U.S.

Read more of this story »

Continue reading...

At the Nissan LEAF battery plant groundbreaking yesterday in Smyrna, Tennessee, I made it a goal to squeeze as much detailed information as I could out of Nissan regarding the LEAF and what kinds of equipment it will ship with.

To this point — as is usually the case in the echo chamber that is the internet these days — nobody (including myself… mea culpa) seems to have been able to get it right about two things: whether or not the LEAF will have a Level 3 fast charge receptacle when it ships and if it will be able to use a Level 1 standard 3-prong outlet.

Read more of this story »

Continue reading...

My first video projector. Ever. Last year I came across a cheap
Toshiba TLP T70M projector on some e-bay wanna-be site over here in
Romania. It had no lamp at all but other than that it was operating
properly (or so the salesman told me). I traded it for a Shuttle
computer I had in my close…
By: claudiopolis

Continue Reading »

Continue reading...

Driving in a Daihatsu Mira equipped with a huge 74 kWh lithium-ion battery and a brushless DC motor, the Japan EV Club has achieved a new world record for an electric car: 1003.184 kilometers (623 miles) without recharging.

Although the team didn’t exceed 25 mph and was on a racing oval at a constant speed, the 8.4 miles traveled per kWh (mpkWh) statistic is an amazing achievement in-and-of-itself.

Read more of this story »

Continue reading...

Look out, everybody, because here come the unmanned aerial vehicles, otherwise known as UAVs or drones. They’ve been flourishing in the Iraq War, starting with just a few unarmed drones when the conflict began in 2003, and now growing in numbers to more than 7,000. Many are packing serious missiles and bombs, and some soon could be autonomous. This is undoubtedly the dawn of an entirely new era of military might: robot wars.

Flying over battlefields in a variety of shapes and sizes, the aircraft are controlled from either the battlefield itself, thousands of miles away, or anywhere in between. They can keep an eye on bad guys wherever they may roam, and some can even blow them up at a moment’s notice. One reason they’re so compelling for military types: They present no danger to their pilots. To help you recognize and identify these scary robotic birds, we picked out a representative sample of six of these these soulless, empty flyers for you to contemplate.

Continue reading...

The Chevy Volt is still months away from hitting showrooms, but that hasn’t stopped people from speculating on the next generation of Chevy’s plug-in hybrid. Will it make the jump to a fully electric vehicle? Will they make a sportier SS version? Will anybody actually buy the Volt? These are just some of the questions people are asking.

Some of the focus has been on the range-extending engine, which as it stands is a smallish, 4 cylinder, 1.4 L Ecotec powerplant which can recharge the batteries on the fly. But will they stick with the conventional engine, or go with something… different. Like a rotary engine, or perhaps even a diesel?

Read more of this story »

Continue reading...

Tractor trailers use a lot of gas. The trucking industry and related professions also employ a lot of people, and are a vital link in our supply chain that gets us food, electronics… just about everything from production to the store. We need trucks, and we need truckers… but we need those trucks to be a lot more fuel efficient. Why truckers haven’t already pursued green technology to pad their profit margin, I don’t know, but a new report from Calstart might change some minds.

Called “Delivering Jobs”, the report suggests that over eight years, trucking companies could save $120,000 per truck. This money could then be used to create 120,000 jobs by 2030. But is it really that simple?

Read more of this story »

Continue reading...

The World Cup is coming up in the next few weeks, and you know what that means: soccer mania! And what better way to celebrate the biggest tournament for the biggest sport in the world than by buying a TV shaped like a soccer ball?

Sure, you could go to one of the games. Or you could buy the jersey of your favorite player. Or maybe you could play the game to get yourself psyched up for it. But none of those options would allow you to watch the nightly news on a screen shaped like a soccer ball, now would it?

Hannspree via BornRich

Continue reading...

Look, the iPad is great because, unlike a computer, it can be carried with you and moved from room to room. You can turn it any which way and you can use it anywhere. So why the hell would you want to attach it to your wall?

Not that this iPad wall mount doesn’t look sort of nice. It does! I just don’t understand the benefit of sticking your iPad on the wall. Get a stand, why don’t you? Or, you know, use velcro. Wouldn’t that be a lot easier than drilling something into your wall?

YouTube via Engadget

Continue reading...

BP’s "top kill" effort has halted the flow of oil from the Mississippi Canyon 252 well, according to U.S. Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen, national incident commander for the oil spill response. BP has yet to comment, however, noting only that "there are no significant events to report at this time," according to a statement on its Web site .

[More]















Oil spill – United States Coast Guard – United States – BP – Mississippi Canyon

Continue reading...

OK, on the one hand, this rolling “Superman Simulator” looks insane and fun. You get strapped in hanging face-down and you get to feel like you’re flying a few feet above the ground.

But on the other hand, flying wasn’t Superman’s only power. He also had super strength. That came in handy for hard landings. If this thing goes down a hill, you might not stand up as well as Superman does when he doesn’t nail the landing. Just food for thought.

Purincess.com via Make

Continue reading...

Over at the 405th, user Moz has modified his NERF rifle to fit right in
to the Halo universe. Fortunately, he posted a few photos of the process
so you can see how everything got hacked and modified and painted for
the final result. He even put up a nice little video to show how it
works. Nice one! …
By: fungus amungus

Continue Reading »

Continue reading...

Ben Krasnow built a machine that makes liquid nitrogen for under $500.
It’s made with many parts he bought off of eBay and can generate a liter
a day of the stuff at a cost of $1.15 per liter. Check out the link for
more info. The first video is from this year’s Maker Faire and the
second shows t…
By: fungus amungus

Continue Reading »

Continue reading...

LiveScience is reporting that playing video games before bed can help
gamers control their dreams. This can be helpful for those who have
troublesome dreams. "If you’re spending hours a day in a
virtual reality, if nothing else it’s practice," said Jayne
Gackenbach, a psychologist at…
By: fungus amungus

Continue Reading »

Continue reading...

June is "I Made It" Challenge Month! Every day in June,
Instructables is giving away a 3 month pro membership to one lucky user
who has made the project described in an Instructable, and posted a
photo of their version in the comments or someone who has posted a
slideshow of their version of an I…
By: frenzy

Continue Reading »

Continue reading...

Lorises, tiny nocturnal primates found in southern Asia, are increasingly at risk due to illegal wildlife trade and their use in traditional Asian medicine, a new study finds.

Every year, according to research published in the American Journal of Primatology , thousands of lorises are caught for use in traditional medicine. In countries like Cambodia it is believed that eating loris flesh can treat leprosy. Tonics made from lorises are marketed as a treatment to heal wounds and broken bones or to help women regain strength after childbirth. In Sri Lanka loris body parts are used to ward off the "evil eye" or to cast curses. Loris tears are also an ingredient in love potions.

[More]















Sri Lanka – Asia – American Journal of Primatology – Cambodia – Medicine

Continue reading...

 Babbage never got a chance to build his difference engine.
Ironically it is considered one of the most advanced and is arguably the
most famous of these old mechanical computers. One was eventually made
in 1991  for the Science Museum in London. Don’t live in London?
Too far to drive? Well, no worr…
By: Culturespy

Continue Reading »

Continue reading...

My middle school class designed and built a basic prototype for a house
made of pallets.  The pallets are for the basic wall structure, and
other materials can be used as sheathing, the floor, roof, etc. 
With a little imagination the builder can fill in the gaps. One
inspiration was Alexander Sa…
By: darlingtom

Continue Reading »

Continue reading...

The eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are in many ways the Cinderella of international development. When 160 world leaders met at the United Nations in September 2000, they were inspired to adopt the Millennium Declaration, including bold targets in the fight against poverty, disease and hunger (learn more online at www.un.org/millenniumgoals ). Such declarations are usually photo ops and little more. The MDGs, however, have become the belle of the ball. With an upcoming MDG Summit this September on their 10th anniversary, the MDGs can become the historic fulcrum for eliminating extreme poverty.

Two U.N. secretaries-general, Kofi Annan, who introduced the goals, and Ban Ki-moon, who energetically leads the fight for them today, have ensured that the goals embody the international commitment to banish life-and-death poverty. Global efforts are often weak and disorganized, but the MDGs are so straightforward, bold, practical and compelling–and with the legitimacy of universal endorsement by U.N. member states–that they have become the organizing principles of development programs in poor countries, assistance strategies of donor countries, and operational strategies of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) around the world.

[More]















Millennium Development Goal – United Nations – Poverty – Ban Ki-moon – Kofi Annan

Continue reading...

Rare tropical orchids can be few and far between in the wild, often separated by spotty landscape and human-made obstacles. But powerful tropical orchid bees do the leg–or wing–work, flying great distances to pollinate isolated flowers and keep the flora gene pool fresh. [More]















Flower – Orchidaceae – Plant – Orchid – Gardens

Continue reading...

Poor Pickle is feeling sad, lonely and confused after his beloved owner died. While he is enjoying his rambles around Foal Farm, what he really wants is a loving home and a family who will dote on him, as he deserves to be. Can you get Pickle’s tail wagging again?

Continue reading...