Tape cat! The Internet Classic.

--Cheski

We have a deck-- minus stairs....

We will be adding a support beam under the center where the stairs will be.. and the patio is next.

--Cheski

Boot is 1337 - BEWT

Grin!

--Cheski

Solar cell efficiency record of 42.8%

Check out the following post over at Advanced Nanotechnology , as well as many others.

Link to article

Using a novel technology that adds multiple innovations to a very high-performance crystalline silicon solar cell platform, a consortium led by the University of Delaware has achieved a record-breaking combined solar cell efficiency of 42.8 percent from sunlight at standard terrestrial conditions. This beats the previous 40.7% record of Spectrolabs.

UD researchers Christiana Honsberg and Allen Barnett

The consortium’s goal is to create solar cells that operate at 50 percent in production, Barnett said. With the fresh funding and cooperative efforts of the DuPont-UD consortium, he said it is expected new high efficiency solar cells could be in production by 2010.

The highly efficient VHESC solar cell uses a novel lateral optical concentrating system that splits solar light into three different energy bins of high, medium and low, and directs them onto cells of various light sensitive materials to cover the solar spectrum. The system delivers variable concentrations to the different solar cell elements. The concentrator is stationary with a wide acceptance angle optical system that captures large amounts of light and eliminates the need for complicated tracking devices.

The VHESC would have immediate application in the high-technology military, which increasingly relies upon a variety of electronics for individual soldiers and the equipment that supports them. As well, it is hoped the solar cells will have a large number of commercial applications.

Modern solar cell systems rely on the concentration of the sun’s rays, a concept similar to youngsters using magnifying glasses to set scraps of paper on fire. Honsberg said the previous best of 40.7 percent efficiency was achieved with a high concentration device that requires sophisticated tracking optics and features a concentrating lens the size of a table and more than 30 centimeters, or about 1 foot, thick.

The UD consortium’s devices are potentially far thinner at less than 1 centimeter. “This is a major step toward our goal of 50 percent efficiency,” Barnett said. “The percentage is a record under any circumstance, but it’s particularly noteworthy because it’s at low concentration, approximately 20 times magnification. The low profile and lack of moving parts translates into portability, which means these devices easily could go on a laptop computer or a rooftop.”

Honsberg said the advance of 2 percentage points is noteworthy in a field where gains of 0.2 percent are the norm and gains of 1 percent are seen as significant breakthroughs.

--Cheski

Connor! Welcome to Earth.

Congrats to Mandy and Jason on the birth of their son Connor. 7lbs 4oz.
19.25 inches w00t!
--Cheski

Came across a good blog

Accelerating Future

Author : Michael Anissimov

Article that got my attention : LINK


The Author writes about topics ranging from AI, bioethics to warfare and web 2.0.

If you enjoy tech anything and science... definitely give the site a browse.

--Cheski

Holy face shocking Batman!

LINK

Do want!

This Taser XREP can deliver a wireless electric shock from over 100 feet away, and from the looks of it, you don't want to be on its receiving end. Its Neuro-Muscular Incapacitation (NMI) is the same disabling effect delivered by wired Taser weapons. Loaded into an ordinary 12-gauge shotgun, it's designed into a 14-gram package small enough to fit into a gun barrel, yet it can travel at 300 feet per second.

--Cheski

Q: This makes you what?

A: Late for work!
--Cheski, and his Sidekick 3

Popping tops

--Cheski

Battlestar Galactica season 2.5

Whoah this ended with a SUPER speed up in time. WTF? I hope season
3(which I haven't seen yet) doesn't suck. I love this series.... please
don't ruin it.

I don't want to spoil it for those who are this far along in the
series... but OMG actively showing running from the Cylons for 9
months... then skip a year into the future? "One Year Later" on the
screen was promptly followed by a WTF from me.

Do me proud BSG.
--Cheski

Big frakkin bug

Juli killed this with the windshield wiper at high velocity. Yuck!
--Cheski

Santa Mia!

Ho Ho Ho
--Cheski