With its iconic "Deep Field" photo, the Hubble Space Telescope captured an image that has captivated dreamers and scientists alike. By pointing its powerful lenses at a seemingly empty patch of sky in the constellation Fornax for an entire week, Hubble unveiled an astounding composite of nearly 10,000 galaxies billions of light years away – some only around 500 million years old - with shapes and sizes that reach back to early times in the history of the universe. This single image provided astronomers with invaluable insights into star formation and galaxy evolution while also sparking imaginations everywhere to explore beyond our planet. The "Deep Field" photo has become a symbol of our place in the universe and anyone who sees it is forever changed by its beauty and power.
Saturday, December 1, 2007
Power from the prairie
It is one of those rare times when the North Dakota prairie is silent. All is quiet, except for the call of a bird and the yip of a coyote in the distance. In this part of the country, such stillness does not last long and soon the air begins to stir. A breeze begins to flow across the land, reaching the blades of the giant wind turbinesalert sentinels on the prairie quietly waiting for the wind to bring them to life.
The breeze reaches a gentle 3 mph and slowly begins rotating the wind turbine’s three giant white fiberglass blades, each 120 feet long and weighing 16,000 pounds. The breeze must then increase to 8 mph before the turbines can begin to produce electricity. At that point, the wind turbine only generates 25 kilowatts of electricityjust enough for a few homes. However, as the wind picks up more speed, the amount of power generated by the turbine increases rapidly. It is going to be another windy day on the Dakota prairie, and electricity generated from the wind begins to flow from the prairie to the cities and towns of the region.
Wind energy from the Great Plains has the potential to develop into a significant energy source for the United States, and wind energy projects are beginning to appear in areas that have seen little economic activity since the Depression of the 1930s.
North Dakota has often been called the “Saudi Arabia of Wind” because of the steady and consistent winds sweeping across the prairie. A study sponsored by the Department of Energy ranked North Dakota as the top U.S. state for its potential to produce wind energy. Until recently, California generated the most wind energy of any state due to its early and widespread development of wind projects; however, California’s total potential is far behind most of the Plains states, which contain good to excellent wind resources and promise to be a growing source of energy in years to come. Just recently, Texas surpassed California in wind generation and is continuing to add wind projects at a hurricane pace.
More…
Values? Who’s values?
Buddhism is as much a philosophy as it is a religion. As a philosophy, much emphasis is placed on ethics.
The first five precepts of Buddhism are:
1. Not to harm any living being.
2. Not to take anything that was not freely given.
3. Not to partake in excessive sexual pleasures and to remain monogamous.
4. To speak and think truthfully, kindly, and compassionately.
5. To shun all intoxicants.
A more detailed explantion of these five precepts can be found below.
1) To undertake the training to avoid taking the life of beings. This precept applies to all living beings not just humans. All beings have a right to their lives and that right should be respected.
2) To undertake the training to avoid taking things not given. This precept goes further than mere stealing. One should avoid taking anything unless one can be sure that is intended that it is for you.
3) To undertake the training to avoid sensual misconduct. This precept is often mistranslated or misinterpreted as relating only to sexual misconduct but it covers any overindulgence in any sensual pleasure such as gluttony as well as misconduct of a sexual nature.
4) To undertake the training to refrain from false speech. As well as avoiding lying and deceiving, this precept covers slander as well as speech which is not beneficial to the welfare of others.
5) To undertake the training to abstain from substances which cause intoxication and heedlessness. This precept is in a special category as it does not infer any intrinsic evil in, say, alcohol itself but indulgence in such a substance could be the cause of breaking the other four precepts.
Applying the 5 Precepts in our lives
Applying these principles in our daily lives can be difficult, but the rewards are numerous. We can cultivate inner peace and compassion for all beings by following these guidelines. We can also generate positive karma, which can result in more happiness and well-being for ourselves and those around us.
To begin applying the Five Precepts in our lives, we can examine our actions and intentions. We can consider whether our actions promote life and respect for all beings, or whether they cause harm or suffering. We can also practice mindfulness, which entails being present at the moment and observing our thoughts and actions objectively.
We can also cultivate virtues like generosity, kindness, and compassion to help us live by the Five Precepts. We can make the world a more peaceful and harmonious place by freely giving to others, speaking with kindness and truthfulness, and avoiding actions that cause harm or suffering.
Challenges in Applying the 5 Precepts in our lives
With the increasingly chaotic and materialistic society that we find ourselves living in today, it can be challenging to apply the five precepts of Buddhism to our daily lives. The five ethical precepts—abstaining from killing, stealing, lying, sexual misconduct, and intoxicants—promote overall well-being and harmony, but may require us to forego certain habits or possessions that are deeply rooted in our culture.
Furthermore, balancing these teachings with our ambitions and responsibilities might be difficult in a world where everything is centered around our successes. Despite the challenges, however, adapting even some of these ancient traditions can bring us closer to inner peace and allow us to experience life on a deeper level.
Useful Links for Computer Technicians
I usually don’t link to other websites but there are a few sites out there that are really handy for computer technicians who are out in the field. Here are a few sites that I use.
Computer Manuals – This place has 5260+ manuals for various computer manufacturers, parts and peripherals. They have manuals for Printers, Laptops, Networking Equipment, Uninterruptible Power Supplies, Scanners, Motherboards, Audio adapters and more.
Computer Manufacturer Links – If you know the name of a computer manufacturer, this list has their web address. A handy site when you are trying to find drivers for a rare part.
Shields Up! Firewall Leak Test – This website/server probes your computer looking for any open ports and vulnerabilities then creates a report.
Kellys XP Tweaks – If there is a little nagging bug in Windows that you cant figure out or just want to disable something that annoys you, chances are there is a registry tweak for it here.
Doug Knox XP Tweaks and Fixes – Similar to Kellys XP Tweaks.
List of Open Source Software – A nicely ordered list for open source (free) software packages.
More...
Power Supply Tester
The other day I had a computer come in that appeared to have a dead motherboard. I took out their CPU and RAM and put it in my test PC. The whole system powered up and got into Windows XP with no problems so it seemed the RAM and CPU were fine. However, I was unsure whether their power supply was faulty and I didnt want to plug the PSU into my good test motherboard in case it damaged it. So I went to get my trusty multimeter to test the power supply and I couldnt find it anywhere; it seems I had lost it.
So, I bought a Power Supply Tester specifically designed to test computer power supplies and I am very happy with it.
Heres why:
Its much quicker to test a power supply with it than testing each connection with a multimeter. Just plug in the 20/24pin power connector, the 4 pin ATX power and a 4 pin molex or sata power if you want to and away you go. The voltages show up on the LCD screen and beeps if there is a problem such as too much voltage, too little or none at all.
More...
denniscanter 2.0
Welcome to Dennis Canter 2.0. I have converted this site from straight HTML to blog driven software. This website is dedicated to the memory of Carl Sagan. November 9th, 1934 - December 20th, 1996 “History is full of people who out of fear, or ignorance, or lust for power has destroyed knowledge of immeasurable value which truly belongs to us all. We must not let it happen again.” - Carl Sagan"
Carl Sagan was a celebrated scientist, author and academic who left behind a legacy of knowledge for the whole world. His words have served as an inspiration to many, including myself.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)