Latest Inventions

posted by admin on Jul 14

A really simple and stylish camcorder that is uber easy to use!!!

I recently got my hands on the brand new Flip Video Mino from Pure Digital, and am suitably impressed!  Not only is it easy enough for your grandmother to use - but it is stylish enough for any youngster to show off to her mates in town!!

Step 1 of the instructions simply says ‘press power button, press record’ - done.  It really is all you need to do to enjoy this smart technology.

What Does It Do?
Well, apart from filming just about anything you want and offering amazing sound - it can attach straight to your USB port on your pc or mac and download it’s own software - allowing you to view and save your images straight on to the hard drive.  Using the same attachment (which is a flip-up extension of the Flip Video itself) you can charge the battery which blinks while charging (about 3 hours from empty).

It allows you to load straight to AOL, YouTube and Myspace, and even take photos from the frames in every video…… nice!

It also comes with a television connection cable that allows you and your friends to view the footage on your television screen without having to run any software.

You can also set the date and time to keep those memories in order - and it has adjustable tones if that takes your fancy.

Why Do I like It?
I love it’s size and look!  Very much of mobile phone size and kind of iTouch looking interface - it sits perfectly in my hand without any worries.  No attachments needed and no huge instruction book to memorise from - and all just one-handed (it’s very light).

It only has 7 buttons and no tricky combination and techniques to learn - which always puts me off investing $100’s on a standard camcorder - I’m worried I won’t use all the special features you are paying for and just end up recording simple shots anyway.

To film movies, all you need to do is press the central ‘record’ button and make sure what you are filming is in the small visual screen.  You have a small ability to zoom in and out, but it doesn’t cover much ground to be honest.  However seeing as this only hold about an hour of footage, it’s more likely to be used a smaller social events like parties and family get-togethers you really won’t need to be zooming in and out a lot anyway.

You can move left and right through your stored videos with 2 further buttons and play which ones you like, and delete them as you fancy with the ‘trash can’ icon.

What I don’t like.
Because it’s so simple, I was worried that I would accidentally delete some footage as the ‘buttons’ are touch sensitive rather than actual sticky out buttons and could get triggered by my hand - but it double checks all your actions and will clear the screen after a short period of time so any accidental commands will be forgotten unless acted upon within seconds.

I couldn’t find anything else wrong!  When reviewing this as a fun accessory for filming family and friends or shots for the Internet - I couldn’t fault it!  I mean if you were planning a 2 week safari in Botswana - then maybe this isn’t for you!

Anything Else?
The Flip Mino currently comes in either black or white, but the other version of the Flip (the Flip Ultra and the Flip Video - both cheaper) come in some different colours and matt coating.

In addition, you can get a camera stand, water-proof casing, material protective pouch, action mount (to film whilst cycling) and different skins (orange pink and clear) as extras.

But I like mine, just the way it is…..

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posted by admin on Jul 11

An electric car that doesn’t look like an iron!

At last - there is a car coming on the market that is not only electric, but that looks great too.  It might be slightly more expensive than the normal chug-a-long weirdly-shaped earlier versions like the tiny Tango that stars like George Clooney are currently driving!

He deserves the roadster!  Both have 0-60 in under 4 seconds - and this beauty can travel 220 miles per charge - thats less than 2 cents per mile and the equvalent of 256 miles per gallon!!!

There are still issues about whether electric cars are more environmentally friendly than gasoline driven motors - but when you are driving the Tesla through town at those mileage prices you won’t be mocked by all and sundry!!!

With it’s great photo on Tesla Motors home page and plenty of available facts to interest you and your wallet - you would be hard pushed to find anything wrong with it.  The vehicle meets all the necessary Department of Transportation requirements for insurance and registration, and even connects to your iPod and is Blue-tooth enabled.

What are the benefits of driving an electric car?
There are many according to Tesla: ‘reduced dependence on foreign oil, zero emissions, and a cost of less than two cents per mile driven (using off-peak charging rates with a time-of-use meter. Many areas also offer carpool lane access and/or special parking privileges for electric cars. Check with your local DMV for details’.

The EV is claimed to be a more environmentally friendly transportation solution than an ethanol-powered or fuel-cell powered motor - quite simply they cost less per mile to drive, they also use less fuel per mile driven - also producing less pollution per mile driven.

There is also the concern that electric vehicles move pollution to another location - ie - the factory burning the fossil fuels to create the electricity in the first place - but Tesla Motors have the answer: ’Most electric power generation in the United States does not use oil. Coal, hydro, nuclear, solar, and natural gas are typical sources for generating electricity.’ 

Added to the fact that an electric car is far more efficient than a gasoline car, and they add that ‘a battery electric car like the Tesla Roadster is able to put more than 80 percent of the energy it consumes to use in moving the car down the road.’

Need to know more?
Read up on their FAQ section yourself, and check out their related pages and servicing comments if you are interested. 
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posted by admin on Jul 8

This Year is the Year of the Potato!!

This root vegetable is a member of the nightshade flowering plant family (a herbaceous annual for those allotment holders among us) - and was first found to be edible around 8,000 years ago local to Lake Titicaca in what is now Peru and Bolivia.

It was cultivated by the indigenous peoples in the area for years, only making it the Europe around the 15th century - and which made Sir Walter Raleigh famous (before the Queen of England had him killed!!!)

The Potato today:
The UK is the currently the 11th biggest grower in the world with 5.5 million tonnes of potatoes being produced a year. China is number 1 at the moment, with around 70 million potatoes grown a year!  The UK is losing it’s leading edge in more ways than one - and there are only around 3000 growers at the moment compared to 70,000 in the last century.

Worldwide stats show that 75,000 square miles of spuds are grown across the globe every year, with at least 7,500 varieties being cultivated by various growers.  These include King Edwards, Jersey Royals, desiree, roosters, piper maris, osprey, and new Mayan Gold.

Potatoes are the 4th most important crop to the human population this century, coming after maize, wheat and rice respectively - although with the current ‘food crisis’ this could be set to change with production of all being drastically increased to keep up with demand.

Grow Your Own?
Potatoes - unlike other crops - thrive in most locations with very little human help - and they are very nutritious too with high potassium levels, high vitamin c content and different beneficial fibres to name a few.

As a result, their use is increasing in developing worlds, but for unknown reasons ‘use’ is decreasing in the west.  There are currently school drives underway, that are encouraging kids to grow and eat their own potatoes instead of eating white rice and pasta which are generally fatty and high in calories (rice breaks down into sugar very easily).

Just stick some ’seed potatoes’ or just some old potatoes you forgot to eat that are sprouting ‘eyes’, into some deep earth trenches spaced apart and cover over.  Water the earth when dry (preferably at night so the water gets into the ground rather than evaporating in the sun) and soon you will have shoots.  When the plants get around 20 cm’s high, bank up some earth around the stem to support the plant tops and keep watering the earth.

When the plants start to look withered or start to droop, check under the soil at the top for any potatoes - if you like what you see - dig them up and cook that day for the best taste!  You can store them in a very dark, cool spot for a few days.  Don’t pick too many at once - just leave them in the ground until you need them……

The Future for Potatoes: 
With more mouths to feed and less land and energy to use for crops - current thinking is aimed towards genetic manipulation of vegetables and animals to maximise yield.  By creating crops that can produce more seeds for the next crop, or making plants that need less water, or grow in colder climates, more food can make it to the people who need it.

In developed world, we generally pay for whatever we want, whether it’s out of season or difficult to grow with low yeilds - we just pay more.  Whereas in developing countries communities can only survive if their crops are suited to the land and they grow enough of them each season.

Should we change our views?? 

A survey by the institute of Grocery Distribution asks 4000 shoppers every year about their habits regarding brands of food - and for the first time EVER they rated the ethics of a brand over the quality.  This means that people would rather choose products that are ethical and natural (paying more if they have to) than buy cheaper varieties that have been treated with chemicals or manipulated genetically to improve yield.  So will GM potatoes make it in the real world? 

With many huge benefits to the growing human population in developing countries - including disease resistance and better growth - will these ‘changes’ outweigh the cost of limited food?  Would you rather pay more money for less product - or pay less for greater amounts of genetically manipulated foods?

Many site are offering advice about growing, eating, and understanding new varieties and the science behind them - including the following: www.britishpotatoes.co.uk, www.potatoesforschools.org.uk and www.bbcgoodfood.com. 

Would you buy GM??

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posted by admin on Jul 4

Protect Your Chickens With An Alpaca!

This is no joke - alpacas really do prevent livestock and poultry deaths just by being around.  Even Prince Charles has taken them on board at his organic farm according to the Sunday Times.

What Are They? 
Alpacas are a relative of the Llama (and more distantly - the camel) and are bred for their wool.  They grow up to 6ft tall at the head and will apparently walk towards foxes once sighted and chase them away - kicking and stamping on them if given the chance! 

They also have a strong herding instinct with whatever animal they share their fields with if they sense danger - be it sheep or chickens - and they will round them up until the danger passes.

Many farmers lose stock to foxes (a steady population of around 250,000 reside in the UK - but this increase to over 600,000 when cubs are born) so in this eco-driven environment they needed a natural alternative.  The alpaca fits that niche perfectly, and there are currently about 17,000 in the UK today (mainly on wool farms) - from almost none just over 10 years ago.

But because of the re invention of the lucrative alpaca wool industry in the UK, many are just not lowly enough to be ’chicken protectors’ as they are just too valuable as breeding stock.  A breeding female could fetch £3,500, with an excellent stud male stacking up a huge price of £30,000!!  For the ’non-worthy’ common little alpacas, the price is closer to £500 each - with males providing the best bouncers…..

So, be more like royalty yourself and choose the latest natural remedies for your farming worries rather than old-fashioned hounds and guns!
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posted by admin on Jul 1

Sat Nav has brought bridges and power cables to destruction!!

Apparently there has been a huge increase in damage to bridges and other structures in town and villages due to van and lorry drivers following their sat nav instructions rather than common sense!

The New Sign. 
The final images of these new signs (as if we didn’t have enough already) are in place for the Dept of Transport - who hope the image will be easily understood by drivers with ‘a weak grasp of english’.  The most likely sign is simply a lorry in profile with a red line through it - but if the drivers or great big lorries can’t see that tiny, low-arched brick-built bridge in front of them in the first place - what do they care about the latest sign???

Apparently inappropriate routing by sat nav is very common these days, as there are huge numbers of drivers either unknowingly or to save money, using software designed for cars when driving larger vans and lorries - which of course cannot use many of the same routes.

Some drivers seemingly follow the sat nav regardless of common sense or prevailing circumstances and are pulling down power lines, hedges, walls and bridges all over the UK.

What’s The Damage? 
Network Rail reports damages of around £15 million to their low or narrow bridges - with the overall number of incidents more than doubling over the past 10 years. 

Absurdly there has also been a huge and dangerous increase in the numbers of drivers who actually drive up the train track itself rather than the road just after the crossing that the sat nav directed them into!!!!!!  This recent invention is surely available to the wrong kind of people!!!

Drivers are apparently also being distracted from driving while typing in destinations etc, and the Ministry of Transport are trying to encourage lorry drivers from national companies to take sat nav training before using the software.

Whatever next…...