Reposit Power
December 15th, 2014Disclosure: I sell solar power systems in New Zealand.
Via: REneweconomy:
A Canberra-based company is to introduce new technology that it says could help turn electricity markets on their head – by allowing households to buy and sell electricity on the market.
The buying and selling of electricity has hitherto been the province of large or specialised companies such as electricity retailers. But Reposit Power says that homes and businesses can and should be able to trade electricity with the help of battery storage, and production facilities such as solar panels.
Reposit Power plans to install battery storage in six homes around Canberra to run a six-month pilot of its technology, known as GridCredits. The Australian Renewable Energy Agency is contributing $445,000 to the $900,000 project.
Reposit Power says GridCredits is a world-first energy storage program that will put consumers in the driving seat and will “transform the grid forever.”
Spokesman Luke Osborne says the technology will allow households to “buy low and sell high” – adding a new layer of possibilities to homes that have solar and storage. He says this will enable some households to virtually eradicate their bills and still remain connected to the grid by doing what the retailers do – maximising their earnings on the market.
“A lot of what retailers do is buying services from peaking power stations. Consumer with storage and solar panels can provide the same services themselves,” Osborne told RenewEconomy in an interview.
“What we are doing is when it makes sense – households can be a seller, and then buy electricity at a low price.”
Russia Defends Ruble With Biggest Rate Rise Since 1998
December 15th, 2014Via: Bloomberg:
Russia took its biggest step yet to shore up the ruble and defuse the currency crisis threatening its stricken economy.
In a surprise announcement just before 1 a.m. in Moscow, the Russian central bank said it would raise its key interest rate to 17 percent from 10.5 percent, effective today. The move was the largest single increase since 1998, when Russian rates soared past 100 percent and the government defaulted on debt.
The news prompted an immediate gain in the ruble, with one-month ruble forwards up 1.6 percent in Asian trading.
The Devalued American Worker
December 15th, 2014Via: Washington Post:
The American economy has stopped delivering the broadly shared prosperity that the nation grew accustomed to after World War II. The explanation for why that is begins with the millions of middle-class jobs that vanished over the past 25 years, and with what happened to the men and women who once held those jobs.
Millions of Americans are working harder than ever just to keep from falling behind; Green is one of them. Those workers have been devalued in the eyes of the economy, pushed into jobs that pay them much less than the ones they once had.
Today, a shrinking share of Americans are working middle-class jobs, and collectively, they earn less of the nation’s income than they used to. In 1981, according to the Pew Research Center, 59 percent of American adults were classified as “middle income” — which means their household income was between two-thirds and double the nation’s median income. By 2011, it was down to 51 percent. In that time, the “middle” group’s share of the national income pie fell from 60 percent to 45 percent.
For that, you can blame the past three recessions, which sparked a chain reaction of layoffs and lower pay.
Millions of American jobs disappeared during the 1990, 2001 and 2008 recessions. That’s what happens in recessions. But for decades after World War II, lost jobs came back when the economy picked up again. These times, they didn’t. And it was a particular sort of job that disappeared permanently in those downturns, economists from Duke University and the University of British Columbia have found: jobs that companies could easily outsource overseas or replace with a machine.
Strikes Across Belgium Cause Transport Chaos
December 15th, 2014Via: BBC:
A nationwide strike in Belgium has brought air, rail and road transport to a standstill and forced many businesses to close.
Hundreds of flights to and from Belgium have been cancelled, as well as Eurostar services to Brussels.
The widespread industrial action is the latest in a series of strikes protesting against the new centre-right coalition’s austerity policies.
The government plans to save €11bn (£8.7bn) in the next five years.
The 24-hour strike is the largest to have taken place in Belgium for many years. It has forced government offices and schools to close, and the country’s ports have been blockaded.
Unions are opposing a decision by Charles Michel – Belgium’s new leader – to scrap a cost-of-living wage rise next year. Belgian law currently mandates that wages rise at the same pace as inflation.
They are also protesting against public sector cutbacks and plans to increase the retirement age.
Australia: Hostage Situation in Sydney
December 14th, 2014Update: Hostage-Taker Was Dropped From Watch List
Via: Reuters:
A gunman responsible for a deadly siege in a Sydney cafe was once on the national security agency’s watch list — but was dropped off it years ago for reasons that remain unclear, Australia’s prime minister said Wednesday.
—
Update: Gunbattle, Three People Confirmed Dead Including Hostage Taker Man Monis
Via: 9News:
Three people are confirmed dead, including gunman Man Monis, after a hostage situation in Sydney ended in a hail of gunfire.
The self-styled Muslim cleric, who took the group of people hostage yesterday morning, was confirmed dead early today, along with two other people, believed to be hostages.
Police confirmed the 50-year-old gunman died when police stormed the building about 2am.
—
Update: Siege Over
Via: CBC News:
Australian security forces opened fire on Tuesday as they stormed the Sydney café where several hostages were being held at gunpoint, in a dramatic end to a standoff that had dragged on for more than 16 hours.
—
I don’t know any more than what has been shown on the live feeds.
Via: NZ Herald:
Witnesses described how a man wearing a headband covered in Arabic walked into the Lindt cafe in Martin Place and produced a shotgun from a blue bag at around 9.45am.
Shortly afterwards hostages were seen with their hands pressed against the windows holding up the Shahada flag belonging to the extremist group Jabhat al-Nusra, which is fighting the Assad government in Syria.
Afghanistan War: One Trillion Dollars
December 14th, 2014Hope + Change we can believe in = Priceless
Via: Financial Times:
The Afghanistan war, the longest overseas conflict in American history, has cost the US taxpayer nearly $1tn and will require spending several hundred billion dollars more after it officially ends this month, according to FT calculations and independent researchers.
Around 80 per cent of that spending on the Afghanistan conflict has taken place during the presidency of Barack Obama, who sharply increased the US military presence in the country after taking office in 2009.
The enormous bill for the 13-year conflict, which has never been detailed by the government, will add to the pervasive scepticism about the war in the US where opinion polls show a majority of Americans believe it was a bad idea.
Google’s Internet Balloons Are Staying Aloft Longer Than Anyone Expected
December 14th, 2014Via: The Verge:
When Google announced Project Loon in June of last year many balloon experts were skeptical of its chances. The stated goal was that the balloons that would last 100 days or more in the air, but nobody was routinely getting anywhere near that kind of longevity. Much larger NASA balloons typically stayed in flight for less than 60 days. Google was aiming to nearly double that, and at a much lower cost. “Absolutely impossible—just talk to anybody in the scientific community,” veteran balloonist Per Lindstrand told Wired. “Even three weeks is very rare.”
Today, Google is announcing a number of achievements, the most important of which it’s dubbed The Marathoner, a balloon launched in July from New Zealand that came back to Earth in Chile 134 days later. “When we started out, 10 days was an achievement. Then we hit 30, then 70 and now it is commonplace for us to get into the 100 day realm,” said Mahesh Krishnaswamy, who leads Project Loon’s manufacturing efforts.
More: Google Partnering with France’s Space Agency
Fake Mobile Base Stations in Center of Oslo, Norway
December 13th, 2014Via: Aftenposten:
Investigations made by Norwegian daily Aftenposten during the past weeks have revealed a number of fake base stations on several locations, in and around the Norwegian capital. They were detected around the parliament building Stortinget, near several ministries and the prime minister’s residence in Parkveien.
Conversations and data may be monitored
The fake mobile base stations, known as IMSI-catchers, may be used for listening in on conversations and monitoring all kinds of mobile activity in the areas affected. The person running the equipment may in principle register anyone entering parliament or the government offices. The operator can easily select certain persons for eavesdropping.
National Security Authority also found «something»
After being alerted by Aftenposten the Norwegian National Security Authority (NSM) started their own investigation. On Friday they confirmed that they had found traces of «something».
– We have found something. All the data are not ready yet, but we have also found signals from IMSI-catchers in Oslo, says Hans Christian Pretorius, department head in NSM.
Very Fun Toy Quadcopter: Syma X5C-1
December 13th, 2014Do you know a child or adult who wants to try out a quadcopter, but not interested in spending hundreds of dollars to give them them the opportunity?
I bought a Syma X5C-1 for myself and it’s pretty incredible. It’s very smooth and stable, but also capable of quick maneuvers in high gain mode.
I read online that it performs best with the camera removed. I’m way too much of a camera snob to bother with something as cheap as what comes with this quadcopter anyway, so I just took it off.
The result is a very satisfying flying experience for about $65. Also, the Chinglish manual is so hilarious and entertaining that it almost feels like a bonus:
“This R/C flying model is a high dangerous commodity. Please make sure that it should be flied far away from the crowd. Please also pay more attention to the phenomenon such as incorrect assembly or damaged model or incorrect connection of electronic control equipment. Please also pay attention to the flying safety when operating and know more about the accident that may be happened due to your own negligence.”
I’d strongly recommend getting a few extra batteries because the flight time is about six to seven minutes, but it takes over an hour to charge the battery that comes in the box. I head out to fly with a pocket full of charged batteries.
My sons love it. My oldest boy (age 7) tries to shoot the thing down with his Nerf rifle. He hasn’t had any luck yet.
Syma X5C-1
Monster Storm Probably Going to Take Out Our Electricity
December 13th, 2014We’re about to get dumped on really hard. The power is on now, but if history is any indication, it won’t be for long. The red blob will be over our house by around 4am NZ time.
Anyway, no updates means that our electricity is out.
—
SEVERE WEATHER WARNING.
ISSUED BY MetService AT 8:23 pm 13-Dec-2014
Heavy rain for northern New Zealand on Sunday
A low is expected to approach the Far North tonight (Saturday), then move slowly across Northland during Sunday. A frontal system associated with the low should bring a period of heavy rain as it crosses northern New Zealand. The heaviest falls are expected in Northland during Sunday morning, where 140mm could accumulate in a 12 hour period. Meanwhile, for northern Auckland and also about the Coromandel Peninsula, 80 to 100mm could accumulate during Sunday.
People are advised that streams and rivers are likely to rise rapidly, and heavy rain could cause surface flooding, slips and make driving hazardous.
HEAVY RAIN WARNING
AREA/S AFFECTED
Northland
FORECAST
Rain is expected to become heavy tonight and should ease around midday Sunday. In the 12 hours from midnight Saturday to midday Sunday, expect 100 to 140mm to accumulate, especially about the eastern hills. Peak intensities of around 35mm per hour are possible early morning with thunderstorms.
