We've all tried the packets of freeze-dried "astronaut food" at one point or another, so it's not surprising to find out that those packets — and even the more modern types of space food — probably won't be enough to keep space travelers sated and healthy on a multi-year journey. With NASA planning a mission to Mars that could take five years or more to arrive at the Red Planet, the question facing researchers now is: how do we feed them?
According to NASA, one solution might be a vegetable garden or some other type of self-replenishing food supply that would reduce the amount of food that needs to be on the spacecraft at launch.
"[The amount of food required to keep astronauts fed] is a clear impediment to a lot of mission scenarios," said Maya R. Cooper, a senior research scientist in NASA's Space Food Systems Laboratory, during a recent meeting of the American Chemical Society. "We need new approaches."
Currently, astronauts require around 3.8 pounds of food per day for missions into space and aboard the International Space Station. That means a five-year mission to Mars and back would need almost 7,000 pounds of food for each astronaut.
A garden aboard the spacecraft could eliminate some of that food burden, though — and it's one of the potential solutions being explored. Not only would a "kitchen garden" provide healthy food for the astronauts, but it would also serve as an air purifier of sorts, converting the astronauts' exhaled carbon dioxide to oxygen.
"Right now, we are looking at the possibility of implementing a bioregenerative system that would involve growing crops in space and possibly shipping some bulk commodities to a Mars habitat as well," explained Cooper. "This scenario involves much more food processing and meal preparation than the current food system developed for the space shuttles and the International Space Station."
While that's all well and good, we're a bit surprised that NASA hasn't considered another option: Twinkies. Lightweight, invulnerable to decay, and delicious, they could very well be the perfect third option for keeping astronauts fueled on their way to Mars.
So, think about it, NASA: Twinkies. Consider it a freebie from your friends here.
2011年9月4日星期日
2011年9月1日星期四
Consider green options
When you buy a new house, before it's built, you get to choose from the variety of styles and floor plans the builder offers, as well as options and upgrades on details and finishes. Depending on the builder, sometimes the options and choices of upgrades are very limited. Most times, those options are limited to finishes. Rarely do they offer green upgrades, or upgrades on what matters most: what's behind the walls.
A lot of builders and building companies have model homes, or even a design centre you can visit to help you decide on the finishes and upgrades you might want to add. What's on display is always finishes. It's never the insulation, the drywall or tile underlayment. You'll never see air purifiers on display or added as an extra appliance.
Energy Star appliances are standard now with new homes, and they are built to minimum code standards with regard to construction, building envelope, insulation.
But what about green upgrades?
Some leading green builders offer features such as solar rooftop photovoltaic (PV) and solar hot-water pre-heating rough-ins for those who want that option. And lots are coming on board with low/no VOC paints, and maybe some bamboo flooring. But that's about it, I'm sad to say.
That's all driven by consumer demand. Builders will build what sells, so it's up to you to demand upgrades that will really increase the value of your home.
What do homebuyers think is important when they invest in their new homes?
Everyone is concerned about indoor air quality, and the effects of mould and allergens on their families' health. But how many people are even aware of the upgrades they can have that will improve that indoor air quality? The type of insulation you choose, the type of cabinets and flooring, all contribute to the indoor air quality. What about adding an air-purifying system or premium HEPA filtration to your HVAC?
Some people will advise you to choose your upgrades based on future resale of your home. That's fine, but who's to say a brushed nickel faucet will still be fashionable when your home goes on the market? Will cherry cabinets be in, or will painted wood? Is your money better spent on a granite countertop or on a properly insulated basement and attic?
A finished basement is a popular one. But for me, this is one of the real traps of a 'builder upgrade.' Guaranteed: If you opt for this upgrade, you will have a basement finished to minimum code. That's all that's required. And that will be a complete waste of your money - in either a short time or a slightly longer time - when you need to tear everything out because it's tainted with mould.
Conventional wisdom says that spending your upgrade money on kitchen and bathrooms will repay you. But I say that every penny you invest in an upgrade that improves your home's efficiency will repay you, too.
I say, when your budget is limited - and whose isn't? - spend your upgrade money on the places you can't get to later: behind the walls. You can always upgrade a standard finish to something pricier later, if you want to. But you can't easily change your insulation or the underlayment beneath your tiles or replace your standard drywall with mould-resistant.
The consumer decisions always seem to be: Do you want the premium kitchen cabinets or the standard? Do you want a granite countertop or laminate? What kind of tile do you want in the bathroom?
A lot of builders and building companies have model homes, or even a design centre you can visit to help you decide on the finishes and upgrades you might want to add. What's on display is always finishes. It's never the insulation, the drywall or tile underlayment. You'll never see air purifiers on display or added as an extra appliance.
Energy Star appliances are standard now with new homes, and they are built to minimum code standards with regard to construction, building envelope, insulation.
But what about green upgrades?
Some leading green builders offer features such as solar rooftop photovoltaic (PV) and solar hot-water pre-heating rough-ins for those who want that option. And lots are coming on board with low/no VOC paints, and maybe some bamboo flooring. But that's about it, I'm sad to say.
That's all driven by consumer demand. Builders will build what sells, so it's up to you to demand upgrades that will really increase the value of your home.
What do homebuyers think is important when they invest in their new homes?
Everyone is concerned about indoor air quality, and the effects of mould and allergens on their families' health. But how many people are even aware of the upgrades they can have that will improve that indoor air quality? The type of insulation you choose, the type of cabinets and flooring, all contribute to the indoor air quality. What about adding an air-purifying system or premium HEPA filtration to your HVAC?
Some people will advise you to choose your upgrades based on future resale of your home. That's fine, but who's to say a brushed nickel faucet will still be fashionable when your home goes on the market? Will cherry cabinets be in, or will painted wood? Is your money better spent on a granite countertop or on a properly insulated basement and attic?
A finished basement is a popular one. But for me, this is one of the real traps of a 'builder upgrade.' Guaranteed: If you opt for this upgrade, you will have a basement finished to minimum code. That's all that's required. And that will be a complete waste of your money - in either a short time or a slightly longer time - when you need to tear everything out because it's tainted with mould.
Conventional wisdom says that spending your upgrade money on kitchen and bathrooms will repay you. But I say that every penny you invest in an upgrade that improves your home's efficiency will repay you, too.
I say, when your budget is limited - and whose isn't? - spend your upgrade money on the places you can't get to later: behind the walls. You can always upgrade a standard finish to something pricier later, if you want to. But you can't easily change your insulation or the underlayment beneath your tiles or replace your standard drywall with mould-resistant.
The consumer decisions always seem to be: Do you want the premium kitchen cabinets or the standard? Do you want a granite countertop or laminate? What kind of tile do you want in the bathroom?
2011年8月30日星期二
10 Belligerent Songs That Will Scare Children into Leaving You Alone
In Swann's Way, Marcel Proust spends roughly 5,000 words grousing about how calamitous insomnia can be. One can only imagine how much more monstrously prodigious and exhausting this rant would have been had the French novelist ever procreated.
There's nothing more vexing for a parent than a child who won't sleep. Adolescent sleeplessness can turn the most level-headed mom or dad into a complete aggro lunatic. I know; I've reached that point with my own little insomniacs.
Months of active bedtime resistance have left me desperate. I've heard of Old World grandmothers pacifying unruly babies with a few drops of the hard stuff, but I ultimately decided against such a course of action because I couldn't figure out if mine were single malt or blended malt kind of kids.
Getting my teeth cleaned recently, I blurted out to the dentist, "So if I wanted to borrow the ol' sleeping gas machine -- just for a week or so--how would I arrange that with you?" I've resorted to preposterous threats: I showed the kids James Mollison's engrossing book Where Children Sleep, which depicts adolescent bedrooms from around the world, and said, "See that poor kid in China who sleeps on a wafer-thin pallet on a dungy floor underneath a poster of Mao Zedong? That's what I'm going to turn your bedroom into if you don't hit the rack right now." I've even taken to reading them Proust at bedtime. Maybe I just need Samuel L. Jackson to pop by.
A number of major studies have shown that children get about an hour less sleep each night than they did three decades years ago. Earlier this year, Pediatrics published a study by University of Chicago investigators that said children who sleep less than their peers are four times more likely to have issues with obesity. Many sleep scientists also believe this lost hour can have a significant impact on a child's developing brain.
"We have an incendiary situation today," goes a recent quote from Dr. Matthew Walker, a professor of Psychology & Neuroscience at the University of California Berkeley, "where the intensity of learning that kids are going through is so much greater, yet the amount of sleep they get to process that learning is so much less. If these linear trends continue, the rubber band will soon snap."
Yeah, either that or us parents.
Anyway, as I sat in my home office one night, plowing through a freelance assignment but having the creative process repeatedly dragged to a screeching halt because my kids are leaving their beds to inform me that they needed a glass of water, extra blankets, a twelfth kiss goodnight, the thermostat set to 71.3 degrees, two air purifiers, and rose petals scattered across their pillows, I thought I had stumbled upon a remedy. I cobbled together a playlist of soothing and somnolent music, songs that can provide the right environment to promote sleep -- Flying Saucer Attack's "Come and Close My Eyes"; Library Tapes' "And the Rain Did Fall; selections from Robert Rich's Drones and Trances, Loscil's Endless Falls, Japancakes' remake of Loveless, and Wendy Carlos' Sonic Seasonings; a little bit of Nicolas Jarr, recently praised at Pitchfork for making great putting-your-daughter-to-sleep music -- but then decided to turn the whole endeavor on its head.
There's nothing more vexing for a parent than a child who won't sleep. Adolescent sleeplessness can turn the most level-headed mom or dad into a complete aggro lunatic. I know; I've reached that point with my own little insomniacs.
Months of active bedtime resistance have left me desperate. I've heard of Old World grandmothers pacifying unruly babies with a few drops of the hard stuff, but I ultimately decided against such a course of action because I couldn't figure out if mine were single malt or blended malt kind of kids.
Getting my teeth cleaned recently, I blurted out to the dentist, "So if I wanted to borrow the ol' sleeping gas machine -- just for a week or so--how would I arrange that with you?" I've resorted to preposterous threats: I showed the kids James Mollison's engrossing book Where Children Sleep, which depicts adolescent bedrooms from around the world, and said, "See that poor kid in China who sleeps on a wafer-thin pallet on a dungy floor underneath a poster of Mao Zedong? That's what I'm going to turn your bedroom into if you don't hit the rack right now." I've even taken to reading them Proust at bedtime. Maybe I just need Samuel L. Jackson to pop by.
A number of major studies have shown that children get about an hour less sleep each night than they did three decades years ago. Earlier this year, Pediatrics published a study by University of Chicago investigators that said children who sleep less than their peers are four times more likely to have issues with obesity. Many sleep scientists also believe this lost hour can have a significant impact on a child's developing brain.
"We have an incendiary situation today," goes a recent quote from Dr. Matthew Walker, a professor of Psychology & Neuroscience at the University of California Berkeley, "where the intensity of learning that kids are going through is so much greater, yet the amount of sleep they get to process that learning is so much less. If these linear trends continue, the rubber band will soon snap."
Yeah, either that or us parents.
Anyway, as I sat in my home office one night, plowing through a freelance assignment but having the creative process repeatedly dragged to a screeching halt because my kids are leaving their beds to inform me that they needed a glass of water, extra blankets, a twelfth kiss goodnight, the thermostat set to 71.3 degrees, two air purifiers, and rose petals scattered across their pillows, I thought I had stumbled upon a remedy. I cobbled together a playlist of soothing and somnolent music, songs that can provide the right environment to promote sleep -- Flying Saucer Attack's "Come and Close My Eyes"; Library Tapes' "And the Rain Did Fall; selections from Robert Rich's Drones and Trances, Loscil's Endless Falls, Japancakes' remake of Loveless, and Wendy Carlos' Sonic Seasonings; a little bit of Nicolas Jarr, recently praised at Pitchfork for making great putting-your-daughter-to-sleep music -- but then decided to turn the whole endeavor on its head.
2011年5月5日星期四
Hunter Fan Company Launches Revolutionary Air Filtration System
Hunter Fan Company, the world's original ceiling fan manufacturer, announced today the launch of the Total Air Sanitizer, the world's only portable air purifier that effectively captures and kills living biological pollutants and viruses.
Addressing a growing worldwide concern over air safety and cleanliness, Hunter developed the Total Air Sanitizer in order to provide customers with a reliable alternative to UV or UV-C air purifiers, which often do not expose all germs and viruses to the concentration of light intended to kill them. The Total Air Sanitizer uses new technology patented exclusively by Hunter to add an electric current to the HEPA air filter that kills bacteria, viruses, molds and fungi while capturing and removing dust, pollen, pet dander and other allergens from the air during any season.
The Total Air Sanitizer captures more than 99.9 percent of airborne particles and applies a charge throughout its one-of-a-kind HEPA filter that "traps and zaps" germs and viruses on the spot. In some rooms or homes, the Total Air Sanitizer may provide a noticeable improvement in air quality in as little as one hour of use.
"Consumers are increasingly concerned with the quality of air that they breathe," said Jim Gallman, vice president at Hunter. "Families want to feel safe breathing the air in their own home. Hunter is meeting their needs by providing a portable sanitizer that not only purifies the air from common allergens that cause irritation and discomfort, but also kills harmful viruses that may lead to serious illness."
Addressing a growing worldwide concern over air safety and cleanliness, Hunter developed the Total Air Sanitizer in order to provide customers with a reliable alternative to UV or UV-C air purifiers, which often do not expose all germs and viruses to the concentration of light intended to kill them. The Total Air Sanitizer uses new technology patented exclusively by Hunter to add an electric current to the HEPA air filter that kills bacteria, viruses, molds and fungi while capturing and removing dust, pollen, pet dander and other allergens from the air during any season.
The Total Air Sanitizer captures more than 99.9 percent of airborne particles and applies a charge throughout its one-of-a-kind HEPA filter that "traps and zaps" germs and viruses on the spot. In some rooms or homes, the Total Air Sanitizer may provide a noticeable improvement in air quality in as little as one hour of use.
"Consumers are increasingly concerned with the quality of air that they breathe," said Jim Gallman, vice president at Hunter. "Families want to feel safe breathing the air in their own home. Hunter is meeting their needs by providing a portable sanitizer that not only purifies the air from common allergens that cause irritation and discomfort, but also kills harmful viruses that may lead to serious illness."
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