Engineering algae to make the ‘wonder material’ nanocellulose for biofuels and more.
This is pretty interesting, if this goes onto a larger production, we could see the engineering world produce lighter and stronger vehicles, geofabric stiffer than kevlar, and possibly pavement that can withstand our frigid winters, which I will so graciously reminded this weekend. We’re supposed to get upwards of 20 cm in the Edmonton area.
All of that technology from algae and water… Now if I could just get cell reception in my house from by letting what’s in my fridge fester a little more, I’d be onto something.
Great article that hit a lot of points that have bugged me as a saskie living in alberta these last 9 years.
The Tyee – Alberta’s Strange Sinking Sensation.
Bitterman, Ty, maybe you should let Mr. Brad Wall know about it. The original article was by Andrew Nikiforuk from thetyee.ca.
The Best Part of this is the Bonus Guide…
“BONUS GUIDE: 16 SYMPTOMS OF PETROMANIA”
How do you know when you live in petro state? Here are some key signs:
UPDATE FOR 2012
Hi everyone,
The 2011 post seemed to get a lot of traffic and I’ve been slacking a bit to update it with 2012 pricing. Here it is!
| PROVIDER | MONTHLY $ | 3 GBS | 5GBS | 10GBS | 15GBS | OVERLIMIT $/GB |
| ROGERS | $47.00 | INCLUDED | $57.00 | $72.00 | $92.00 | $10.00 |
| BELL | $45.00 | INCLUDED | $55.00 | $70.00 | $90.00 | $15.36 |
| TELUS | $45.00 | INCLUDED | $55.00 | $70.00 | NOT AVAILABLE | $20.48 |
| NOTE: | THESE ARE ALL BASED ON 7.2MB/S SPEED PLANS | |||||
These are the current hubs available as of July 30th, 2012.
Bell Mobility Turbo Hub
Rogers Wireless Rocket Hub
Telus Mobility Smart Hub
I might add that the performance of your internet hubs relies greatly on where your nearest cellular tower is. Steven Nikkel has made a very handy site that shows you where the closest towers are in your area and which company operates them.
Check it out at www.ertyu.org it works for all of Canada. Even to snoop around, it’s really interesting to see how many towers there are across the country!
I’m currently running Bell’s Netgear MVBR1210C and it seems to be working out alright, the tower is a fair distance away but I still get decent download speeds. Now if I could just find a way to get an unlimited plan I’d be set.
Thanks again for reading! Take it easy and hope you find decent access to the internet wherever you may be!
CC.
Here is the background from my previous post in 2011.
Hey Internet users,
I go online, I’m rural in Alberta and it is not cheap or fast in my current situation so I’d thought I would share some research. I surf the internet and currently live at Antler Lake, Alberta and we have (as I know currently) wireless, satellite, or dial-up. I currently use an Internet Stick from Bell and decided to look at options other than Satellite or the Internet Stick. My internet stick isn’t exactly cheap considering Netflix and Youtube cost me $255 last month. Or fast because trying to upload my own pictures to this blog has been frustrating. The reliability of my “internet stick” has been questionable, last month I’ve been online and it seems that I have to unplug/reset my card within the first 5 minutes. I decided to check out what the best available mobile internet plan for people in rural areas in Alberta is. Here’s what I’ve found. I hope this helps anyone in Canada/World, regardless of where live.
Smart Hub plans are currently offered by Bell, Telus, and Rogers as of April 12, 2011. Data caps for Smart Hubs are a bit better than Internet Sticks, don’t ask me why. These companies offer the following for Smart Hub Plans:
Note: From what I’ve seen on the web, all of companies noted above use $/mb for over usage, which means 1024 MB per GB, and I will convert them for you to GB… I think it seems only fair to offer that in the internet age of Vimeo, Youtube, Netflix, etc.. We’re all thinking in GigaBytes…
The rate plans I’ve found are for Alberta. Rates across the country for comparison/discussion would be appreciated!
Okay, now the nickels and dimes of the whole thing.
One Gigabyte = 1024 Megabytes… So 1 cent / MB = $10.24 per GB.
Hopefully this helps you in finding an internet plan that works for you in the rural areas of Alberta, Saskatchewan, or any province in Canada, or the world!
If you find rate plans that are better than I have found, let me know!
Take Care,
Conquestcommando
Here is something old and cool that I got as a present today, a gramophone playing “Oklahoma”! Now I have to revisit Jack Benny episodes. 🙂
It’s getting easier as I go along in this class. Silver is still not cheap, oh well. Here is a couple more pics of my creative adventure! It says 3/3 but it will continue.
Take care,
CC.
P.S. Bitterman, let me know if you you like my work, as I suspect only you read this darn thing!
So, after working with copper, this class is pretty cool! After making a ring for my darling in the second class, I’ve got a couple more finished projects! I think I’m getting the hang of it. I think. 😉
Pendant
Thumb Ring
Until next Thursday, I have to think of a new project… I wonder what it could be.
Take it easy,
CC.
So I decided to take a silversmithing class. I haven’t had a chance to be creative artistically for a while and came across a class in Edmonton that would help me fix my silver thumb ring I got in Mexico, which has broke apart after a few years of abuse…
I’ve procrastinated fixing the ring for a while so I “got of the couch” and decided to do take a class in silversmithing. The City of Edmonton has quite a few classes (for a fee) that include pottery, painting, glasswork, and silversmithing, just to name a few. I’ve always liked tinkering and would like to think that I’m handy working with a various materials. That’s why I decided do something different.
After the first class, I got a list of a few tools that were needed. I’ll list them for those who might be interested in starting this sort of thing:
1. Paper/Pencil (For doodles and sketches of your ideas)
2. Jeweler’s saw blades – “3/0″ are recommended, grab 3 dozen of these, trust me. 🙂
3. 0.8mm – 1.0mm drill bit
4. Sanding material – This should include sanding sticks with grits from 600 to 400.
5. 6” Bastard file – Can be found at Princess Auto, Canadian Tire, or any Jewelry Supply Store.
6. Needle Files – Princess Auto, Canadian Tire, Rona (maybe) has these and they’re cheep.
And so the project begins…
We started working with copper today because it is similar to silver just so we got familiar with working a metal like silver. I grabbed a couple of files saw blades, sandpaper, and an imagination and started learning how to become a “silversmith”… We”ll see what happens.
Take it easy,
CC.
It’s been 3 years watching my favorite tree in my back yard slowly die and decided to cut it down in case it fell toward my house. It happened a while ago but thought I would share. A friend and I cut it down with a double bladed axe… We felt like lumberjacks, but didn’t dress in women’s clothing, “Just like my dear mamma”!
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