Tesla Battery Degradation Less Than 10% After 160,000 Miles

April 15th, 2018

Via: Electrek:

Battery degradation is one of the biggest concerns for electric car owners and potential buyers, but data from Tesla battery packs have been very reassuring so far.

Now the latest data shows less than 10% degradation of the energy capacity after over 160,000 miles on Tesla’s battery packs.

A group of Tesla owners on the Dutch-Belgium Tesla Forum are gathering data from over 350 Tesla vehicles across the world and frequently updating it in a public Google file.

We have previously reported on the data, but they have since added many more vehicles and those vehicles have been driving a lot more – completing more battery cycles.

The data clearly shows that for the first 50,000 miles (100,000 km), most Tesla battery packs will lose about 5% of their capacity, but after the 50,000-mile mark, the capacity levels off and it looks like it could be difficult to make a pack degrade by another 5%.

The trend line currently suggests that the average battery pack could cycle through over 300,000 km (186,000) before coming close to 90% capacity.


Art Bell Dead at Age 72—Days After Supporting a Friend’s Plan to Drive Into Area 51

April 14th, 2018

Art Bell has been in poor health for decades and he was a heavy smoker, so I can’t say that his death comes as much of a surprise.

But…

Just before he died, Art was supporting radio host Heather Wade in her plan to drive into Area 51 as an act of civil disobedience. Initially, I chuckled at this plan, knowing that the camo dudes would simply be waiting at the entrances to detain Wade within seconds of her crossing the line. The fact that Wade’s “Area 51 Invasion” was going to be hyped for weeks in advance led me to believe that it was all just a publicity stunt for her radio show.

Curiously or not, within days of supporting Wade’s plan, Art Bell died.

Hmm.

Art Bell, dead on Friday the 13th, after endorsing a friend’s half cocked plan to drive into Area 51…

(It’s pretty much perfect, if you ever listed to Art at all over the years.)

Below are some of Art’s last Facebook posts, just in case:

Art Bell
March 30 at 9:27pm
INVASION of Nevada Area 51

All I can say is WOW! Heather Wade has just announced she intends to Invade Area 51 here (close by) in our part of Nevada. It is actually just over the mountains to our North and West.

Here is what I think: She is serious and make no mistake she will do it for better or worse. I have known about this for just a few days and have given it some thought, she has documents that have led her believe Aliens or artifacts are present at that base and wants to prove it.

My guess is she will be Arrested and she understands that. if it happens I have told her I will fill in if necessary, after all what could go wrong? Perhaps I will have to Bail her out!

All I know for sure is she is a truly determined Woman and no amount of talking is going to change her mind. I truthfully say the same thought has crossed my mind over the Years but the thought of Arrest or worst case getting shot always stopped me.

She has Cajones

Art

Art Bell
April 2 at 4:06pm
In addition to the Guest listed below Heather says she has more on the Area 51 Invasion tonight which is NOT some kind of April fool joke.

Art

Art Bell
April 2 at 10:35pm
LATEST ON AREA 51 INVASION

Heather has made a wise decision in my opinion, she will indeed enter Area 51 as she stated she will do, but alone. She is inviting a crowd for a intention experiment to join her in trying to manifest craft, but she alone will enter the restricted area and is prepared she says to accept the consequences. She is doing something I would not do, she sure has guts. Even those of you who decide not to go can help in this wild experiment. I am very proud of her work and determination.

Art Bell

Art Bell
April 6 at 10:10am
INTO DANGER: ART BELL RESPONDS
Heather Wade announced that she was going to go to Area 51 this coming June.. People have been responding fast and furious, with some stating she is in danger of being arrested–or even killed!

Talk show legend and original MIDNIGHT IN THE DESERT host Art Bell is responding in kind to people on Facebook..

What Heather is doing is a brave act. For all my life people have talked Disclosure and talked and talked. I have no illusion that she will get to any Alien anything but at least she feels the need to do something, anything to move beyond talk and raise the stakes in trying to get to the truth. If we have been visited (and I believe we have) we have a right to know. It seems to me we have a moral right to know, will it change people’s basic faith? Not any more than the Pope suddenly being quoted as saying “There is no Hell”. We have a right to know, she is right and if a act of Civil Disobedience helps I am all for it.

On acts of civil disobedience..

Not much has ever happened in America until people have engaged in some act that ended up with jail or a sore head

On whether he would join..

I completely understand what she is doing and why, if I was younger I would join. I guess if you really want change you have to do more then ask

When asked about the famed pilot who called into his show while flying directly into Area 51 in the 1990s,

They don’t know when she is coming, like I have said I have no illusions that she will meet any Aliens or even get close, I think it just makes the point that talking won’t get it done, I feel we have a right to know and have always hoped it would be before I go…

Via: KNPR:

Paranormal radio show host Art Bell has died. He was 72.

The Nye County Sheriff’s office Bell died in his Pahrump home yesterday.

An autopsy is scheduled in coming days to determine the cause of death.

Bell was the founder and original owner for Pahrump station KNYE. His nationally-syndicated program, “Coast to Coast AM,” was aired on about 500 stations in North America in the 1990s.

Satire: 1990s Phil Hendrie Parody of Art Bell Encouraging Unauthorized Entry to Area 51


AI Creates a 3D Model of a Person from Just a Few Seconds of Video

April 14th, 2018

Via: Science:

Transporting yourself into a video game, body and all, just got easier. Artificial intelligence has been used to create 3D models of people’s bodies for virtual reality avatars, surveillance, visualizing fashion, or movies. But it typically requires special camera equipment to detect depth or to view someone from multiple angles. A new algorithm creates 3D models using standard video footage from one angle.


China Is Nationalizing Its Tech Sector

April 14th, 2018

Via: Bloomberg:

As Bloomberg News reported this week, a key stumbling block in trade negotiations between China and the U.S. has been Beijing’s extensive support for its technology firms. But if President Donald Trump’s administration thinks that will change any time soon, it hasn’t been paying attention: Far from reducing support for the tech sector, China is on the verge of nationalizing it.


Donald Trump Claims ‘Mission Accomplished’

April 14th, 2018

Via: Independent:

Donald Trump has claimed “mission accomplished” over the raids on Syria – echoing the ill-fated words of George W Bush fifteen years earlier when he spoke about Iraq.

Speaking hours after US, UK and French forces hit three targets in Syria they said were associated with the production, storage and use of chemical weapons, Mr Trump thanked the three militaries for their involvement.

“A perfectly executed strike last night,” he said on Twitter.


China Sending Plants, Insects to the Moon

April 13th, 2018

Via: Quartz:

Almost half a century ago, the first human landed on the moon, marking “a giant leap for mankind.” This year, China is sending seeds of plants and insects there.

Seeds of potatoes and arabidopsis—a small flowering plant belonging to the mustard family—along with silkworm cocoons, will hitch a ride with the Chang’e-4 lander and rover on China’s first probe to the far side of the moon in December. China hopes to create a “mini lunar biosphere” as part of its research for building a lunar base and even the possibility of long-term residence on the moon.

The plants and insects, contained in an 18-cm-tall (7 inches) bucket-like tin with air, water, and soil, will create an ecological system. A tube inside the tin will direct natural light from the moon for photosynthesis, and the plants will then emit oxygen which feeds the silkworms once they hatch. The insects will then create carbon dioxide and waste, which in turn aids the plants’ growth, according to scientists at Chongqing University who are leading the project. The team hopes to live broadcast (link in Chinese) the progress of the organisms.

The team said that they chose the potato because it could become a major food source for space travel, while the relatively short growth period of arabidopsis makes it convenient for observation.


U.S., BRITAIN AND FRANCE ATTACK SYRIA

April 13th, 2018

Former Head Of British Armed Forces In Iraq Tells Truth About Syria, Is Cut Off By Sky News:

While every politician in the world and their mainstream media lackeys are chomping at the bit to “unleash hell” on Assad and Syria, there are some that are willing to question the “Assad chemically attacked his own people and needs to be punished” narrative.

Here’s A List Of The Times Trump Warned Against Getting Involved In Syria

Via: Reuters:

U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday ordered precision strikes targeting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s chemical weapons capabilities after a poison gas attack that killed at least 60 people last week.

Trump said a combined operation with France and Britain was under way and that they were prepared to sustain the response until Syria stopped its use of chemical weapons.

“A short time ago, I ordered the United States Armed Forces to launch precision strikes on targets associated with the chemical weapons capabilities of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad,” Trump said in a televised address from the White House.

“These are not the actions of a man. They are crimes of a monster instead,” Trump said referring to Assad and his role in the chemical weapons attacks.


Woman Behind Effort to Stop Release of Genetically Engineered Mosquitoes Found Dead in Swimming Pool

April 12th, 2018

Via: MemoryHole:

On Tuesday, April 10 Washington DC authorities recovered the body of Key West-based environmental activist Milagro de Mier from the pool of a hotel close to the DC Convention Center . de Mier was in the nation’s capital to raise awareness and petition the US Food and Drug Administration and Environmental Protection Agency on a British biotech company’s plan to release 50 million genetically-modified mosquitoes in Florida and Texas on a weekly basis.

The environmental activist and real estate agent was 45, and the mother of three. “These GMO mosquitoes could pose major risks to fragile ecosystems like the Florida Keys and Texas,” de Mier argued on the page of her Change.org petition, “and may pose risks to public health and safety.

Fox News5 reports on April 10:

Authorities said they were called to the Cambria Hotel & Suites Washington, D.C. Convention Center in the 890 block of O Street, NW at about 9:40 a.m.

According to a police report, a witness found an unconscious woman floating inside the rooftop pool and called 911.

More: Miami Herald: Anti-GMO Mosquito Activist Dies in a Swimming Pool


‘Semi-Infinite’ Trove of Rare-Earth Metals Found in Japanese Seabed

April 12th, 2018

Via: CNBC:

Researchers have found hundreds of years’ worth of critical rare-earth metals beneath Japanese waters — enough to supply to the world on a “semi-infinite basis,” according to a study published on Tuesday.

The materials sit in a roughly 965-square-mile Pacific Ocean seabed near Minamitorishima Island, which is located 1,150 miles southeast of Tokyo, according to the study published in Nature Publishing Group’s Scientific Reports.

Rare-earth metals are crucial in the making of high-tech products such as electric vehicles, mobile phones and batteries, and the world has relied on China for almost all of its rare-earth material.

The seabed contains more than 16 million tons of rare-earth oxides, according to the study. That’s equivalent to 780 years’ worth of yttrium supply, 620 years of europium, 420 years of terbium and 730 years of dysprosium, it added.

The discovery “has the potential to supply these metals on a semi-infinite basis to the world,” the study said.


Los Angeles: “Guest Houses” in Backyards — For Homeless People

April 11th, 2018

Via: Los Angeles Times:

“Not in my backyard” protests helped block homeless housing in Temple City, delayed it in Boyle Heights and, last month, killed Orange County’s plan to relocate homeless people to shelters.

Now, Los Angeles officials want to turn NIMBYism on its head — by paying property owners to put houses for homeless people in their backyards.

In August, the county Board of Supervisors approved a $550,000 pilot program to build a handful of small backyard houses, or upgrade illegally converted garages, for homeowners who agree to host a homeless person or family. Then in February, Bloomberg Philanthropies awarded L.A. a $100,000 Mayor’s Challenge grant to study the feasibility of backyard homeless units within the city limits.

Rents under the county’s pilot program would be covered by low-income vouchers, with tenants contributing 30% of their incomes. The county is also sponsoring a design competition, streamlining permits and providing technical aid and financing options.

While the idea of backyard homeless units might seem far-fetched, officials hope it could be a fast and relatively inexpensive way to house the most stable individuals among the 58,000 homeless people in L.A. County.


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