Machine Design Blogs

I took a lot of heat a few years ago when I said it probably made more sense to pitch many recyclable materials in land fills rather than consume energy in recycling them:

http://community.machinedesign.com/forums/thread/1458.aspx

Now there’s validation of this viewpoint from researchers in Singapore and Switzerland. They say biofuels, such as cellulosic ethanol derived from processed urban waste, may offer dramatic emissions savings without the environmental catch.

“Our results suggest that fuel from processed waste biomass, such as paper and cardboard, is a promising clean energy solution,” said study author Associate Professor Hugh Tan of the National University of Singapore.

You can read more about it in an item posted on Pysorg.com:

http://www.physorg.com/news173440496.html

The journal article itself is available online, but unfortunately you’ll have to pay to view it if you don’t subscribe:

http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/122199998/issue

A few entries ago, I blogged about how a floor mat got bunched under the accelerator of a Ford truck I was driving, almost causing me to crash. Luckily, I was unhurt. Evidently, this kind of experience is not a fluke and not everyone comes out unscathed. In fact, four family members in a Toyota were recently killed in a similar incident.

Are such floormats examples of really bad (unsafe) design?

Psychologists are now claiming there is a link between psychosis and creativity. Hungarian researchers found a gene associated with a greater risk of developing mental disorders among research subjects that scored high on creativity tests.

Here is a synopsis of the work:

http://www.psychologicalscience.org/media/releases/2009/keri.cfm

Click on the motorcycle image in this Machine Design funny bike story. The pop-up caption says, “The centrifical clutch on a Kawasaki funny bike was created using a Handyscan 3D digitizer and Rapidform XOR software.”

Many of our readers wrote in to point out the misspelling of the word “centrifugal.” Kudos to our readers! You must wear microscope glasses, or better yet, electron-microscope glasses!

— Leslie Gordon, misspeller extraordinaire

Long-time readers of Machine Design may recall an editorial I wrote a few years back about the economics of recycling.

http://community.machinedesign.com/forums/thread/1458.aspx

The last line from that editorial stands out: “….curbside recycling might make sense someday. You’ll know that day has come when someone knocks on your door and offers to pay you for your paper and plastic.”

That day may be getting closer if the Smart Trash idea gets traction:

http://www.physorg.com/news172418366.html

The thing to note, though, is the economics of the effort are nowhere discussed. Getting paid for your old Pop Tart boxes is a great idea, but not if a ten-cent payment to you results in a one-dollar increase in your taxes or diminishes your buying power by a dollar through larger federal deficits.

A YouTube VIDEO makes us laugh because it shows a stupid burglar foiled by running into a glass door. In all seriousness though, walking into glass doors can be highly dangerous. I remember a childhood friend who cut herself badly when mistakenly going from the kitchen to the patio through what she thought was an open sliding-glass door.

And, in an unverified story, about 20 years ago, a friend told me about staying at a highrise in Toronto. The party got a bit wild and attendees started running from one end of the apartment to the other. One fellow had the misfortune to stumble against the huge glass living-room window, which then broke. He fell to his death.

We all know what a big hit the Cash for Clunkers program was in autos. The Department of Energy liked the idea so much it will implement a similar idea for appliances this fall:

http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/environment/2009-08-25-appliances-cash-for-clunkers_N.htmOnly problem is that the DoE has succeeded in making its program hopelessly complicated — appliances eligible for the program in one state may not be eligible in another due to differing energy priorities that vary state to state.

Anyway, the clunkers idea is catching on in other industries as well. You can even trade in an old motor for a new one thanks to a clunkers-inspired program from Lin Engineering:

http://www.linengineering.com/line/contents/stepmotors/CFC.aspx

Expect to see more promotions like this as the idea permeates industry.