Operation Improvement Inc.

With a little theory and a lot of imagination, fiction writers have entertained us with the possibility of anti-matter for at least half a century. To our knowledge, less than an atom or two of the stuff has ever existed on this earth until now.

High energy physics research has trapped 38 atoms of anti-matter hydrogen for 1000 seconds. This is a significant improvement over past experiments and sixteen minutes may quickly become sixteen hours or indefinitely.

Science begins with observation. Observation of anti-matter will confirm or deny the theoretical and reveal things theory has not anticipated.

Does anti-matter exhibit anti-gravity or other 'anti' properties of ordinary matter? In the next decade, researchers will have an opportunity to observe its characteristics firsthand.

Do a Google search for stem cell and regenerative medicine. You will find several exciting research programs that are advancing the science of replacement parts for humans.

A key step in the creation of a suitable replacement part is the formation of scaffolding - a structure that trains stem cells to grow and form a particular human organ.

This Science Daily article describes the adaptation of 3D printing technology (used in rapid manufacturing prototyping) to the creation of stem cell scaffold creation.

These researchers hope to be able to rapidly create scaffolding for complex three dimensional structures (kidneys, liver, muscle tissues)

Will electric cars of the future carry an engine/generator in the trunk?

We cannot yet place a two hundred mile charge on an electric car battery as fast as we can fill up an equivalent tank with liquid fuel. This is a metric that matters.

The Wave Disc Engine is intended to be a light, compact, constant speed, high efficiency engine capable of running on various liquid and gas fuels. Hitched to a generator, it could be more efficient at producing electricity than a piston engine.

http://www.popsci.com/cars/article/2011-03/shockwave-generating-wave-dis...

Solar has been a use it or lose it form of energy. Technology to capture sunlight as electricity or heat has stumbled over the problem of solar energy storage and portability. Joule unlimited may have solved this problem with a third approach.

Their solar panels are filled with a solution of water, CO2 and a genetically engineered bacteria that converts the nutrients in the solution directly into ethanol and diesel fuels.

This is radically different from crop and algae "biomass" approaches, producing liquid fuel by photosynthesis in a single step. Ethanol from sunshine could be very big over the next ten years - especially as this approach need not compete with farm land for the production of food crops. http://www.jouleunlimited.com/

Not careless - without a car! Been there. http://www.mapnificent.net/ offers a solution. Assuming you will use public transportation, a smartphone app highlights search results by travel time instead of distance.

“Our Average Customer requirements exactly match our average product, but surveys say everyone is unhappy. Why is that?” Well, if the average foot and the average shoe is a size 9, does that mean we can all randomly trade and then comfortably walk a mile?

The “average” customer and product does not exist. In reality there are only individuals, and all pertinent facts about the most homogeneous group of individuals cannot be summarized by a single statistic.

Furthermore, the validity of the most complete analysis rests upon the integrity of measurement. Measurement is a process of observation and systematic comparison to a standard. If the measurement process is flawed, then the statistical summary is invalidated and has zero standing as proof or evidence.

Finally, although measurement and analysis may surprise us with unexpected results, they should never explicitly contradict what one can observe.

When the Navy rolls out a ship that is a substantial change in design and capability from the past, it is deemed the first of a new "class". Similar to the programmer's notion of object class, it simplifies the operational management to deal "wholesale" with common components, features, and service requirements.

For similar reasons, I like to deploy technology (laptops, printers, display screens, scanners, etc.) as variants of standardized classes. This can be done by aggregating purchases so that the company has several "Spring 2011-Road Warrior" laptops, and it can be done by buying from vendors who keep the same "chassis" in production across several small model iterations.

Cree makes a retrofit long-life LED for six inch "can" recessed lighting. Their ad claims this is 65 Watt equivalent, but I am quite satisfied with a side-by-side comparison to existing 75 Watt incandescent fixtures.

It can be dimmed and the light quality is excellent. An great choice for anyone who finds CF lighting harsh and short-lived. http://www.creeledlighting.com/products/Downlights/6inchdownlights/CR6.aspx. This particular model is available at Home Depot. Other Cree products are available through various resellers.

This technology has a long payback time for home-owners, but businesses use artificial lighting eight or more hours per day. Plus, the long life of LED technology means fewer calls to building maintenance.