MIT Researchers Find New Electricity Production Means
Add comment March 8th, 2010
Even more awesome news! I hope such innovative technologies gain momentum and acceptance in building better ways to save energy and, in this case, store energy!
Posts filed under 'Techie'
Super-critical Fuel Injection!!
3 comments March 8th, 2010
Now we are talking!! Innovative and (relatively) inexpensive way to increase fuel efficiency and cut CO2 emissions?! Sign me up!!
According to this startup company called Transonic Combustion, they created a way to make conventional engines at least 50% more fuel efficient!! Sign me up!!
How to Spread the Non-profit Goodness Around the World
Add comment January 22nd, 2010
In the past year, I have become more and more involved in helping promoting non-profit groups. And in this days of digital age, a group has to do some strong promotion through online mediums…
I will discuss 3 groups that I have been helping with and some of the key things that any non-profit groups should have (and are easy to do).
This is my home church in Houston. We are by definition a non-profit 501(c)3 and to promote communication and growth, website is a must, and have since moved onto the likes of popular social networking sites including Xanga and Facebook. It has helped garner support and spreading the word around. Facebook is especially helpful as you can “suggest” to your friends and what not.
OURS stands for “Organizing and Uniting to Restore Shalom” and is a Christian non-profit 501 (c)(3) organization dedicated to empowering at-risk youth to bring about holistic change in their communities through creative partnerships with individuals and institutions.
I came across Danny through mutual friends and he needed someone to help promote the organization. Having learned of the group and its purpose, I jumped in. In both cases of OURS, Inc. and Pathways, both needed a means to accept donations online. PayPal, as much as some may criticize it, is naturally the best ways to do that. Most would be shocked that they take 1.9 to 2.9 % of the transaction plus 30 cents per transaction. However, for non-profits, PayPal limits it at 2.2 % (for under $100,000/month volume). Read more Nonprofit Resources FAQs here.
Do keep in mind that when you do sign up as a non-profit status group, you need to provide PayPal such proofs. 3 typical proofs required are:
- Bank statement and/or cancelled checks
- Non-profit status proof from appropriate state governing body
- Statement of purpose
When you send them, they will only allow picture formats so you would need to do some combinations of the following.
For bank statements, most banks allow you to download PDF version of the monthly statement. You can then convert it to some sort of picture format using “File” -> “Export” -> “Image” and then choose any of the picture formats.
For non-profit status proof letters and statement of purpose, you can scan it and save it as a picture file.
PayPal then allows you to simply upload those picture files in the 3 categories. Just remember that when exporting a PDF file into picture files, it saves each PAGE as a picture file so be sure to include them all. Another limitation is the file size of each picture. I don’t think they can be bigger than 1 MB.
In addition to PayPal, Facebook also has a Cause application that is good for accepting small donation amounts (remember that Paypal has minimum of 30 cents transaction fee so if you do $1 donation drives or something similar, you lose at least 30%! Cause application also has similar proofing process like PayPal but once you are through and accept donations, they also have fees but at least you won’t lose as much if you are doing something like “Donate a dollar” drives.
Another huge incentive in using Facebook is in presence. One Day’s Wage has become huge since launching on Facebook and has now several hundred thousands of followers! In the end, one has to be creative. To help word across, Danny from OURS launched what he calls “Penny Campaign“. Since he does most of his work with the youth, he decided to challenge them to sign up sponsors who would give a penny for each peson that joined the Facebook Fan page. It’s a simple but effective at two fronts. One, it gives the kids a chance to really see the difference they can make. Since the launch about 10 days ago, more than 1400 people have joined! That means $14 per person that have signed onto the campaign, but more importantly, it gives visibility to the cause and brings the people in.
I know this wasn’t exactly well-laid out attack plan but I hope other non-profit groups will take advantage of all the help that is out there… Some day, maybe I will become a consultant of sorts on this… Oh wait, I am already one. 
No Tech Gadgets for My Kids
2 comments January 20th, 2010
Gizmodo reported that 1/3 of 11-year-olds in the US own a cell phone!! What kind of crazy world is this?! Sure technology has advanced but I for one do NOT plan on introducing/indulging my kids in tech stuff, be it cell phones or Nintendo DS.
We try to limit the amount of TV that the kids watch. Heck, we stopped showing them Bakugan TV shows after it seemed to make them more agitated and rude! Video games? As much as I love them, I don’t plan on introducing them to DS or Wii until they are well over 10 years old!
Why? Can you say ADD?! I blame much of TV and all these tech gadgets and toys for making our children lose focus and develop very short attention span! Heck, it seems to affect even us adults! I think playing with old school but proven stuff like Lego and reading is better way to go…
Even the TV commercials don’t help. So we minimize on these 30-second-slot ADD-inducing hysteria.
Since not watching Bakugan, my kids’ sense of aggression has decreased significantly. I kid you not. They have difficult time as it is staying focused so I don’t need other gadgets to detract them from focusing. Learning to do one thing for a long time seems to be a lost art. In my mind, that’s a danger to our society. Being able to dedicate to one needed activity for an extended period of time is a must in my opinion.
Do I seem a bit extreme? I was concerned about that at first but don’t care anymore. I am focusing on my kids’ long-term development. What say you, other parents and teachers? Am I really that crazy?!
WordPress 2.9.1 Boo
Add comment January 14th, 2010
Well, I do love me my WordPress, the free blogging software. It has been awesome for me ever since I decided to blog… however, upgrading has been… less than ideal…
Last night was a prime example. Either the “Upgrade” tool or “InstantUpgrade” plug-in would usually take care of this process… however, trying to go from 2.8.5 to 2.9.1, neither of them worked… so what did I decide to do? Upload directly to the site via good ol’ FTP. Well, when I did, I got the following error message….
So I was up
until wee hours going back to 2.8.5. Sure it was my fault for not checking it to be compatible.. but it would’ve been nice if such key requirements were more visible… *HINT HINT* 
For a Greener World
1 comment October 16th, 2009
We have lived a life of ruining the world. Pollution and waste are at the worst high and worst of all, we aren’t really aware of it. We need to bite the bullet and strive for a greener world. So where do we start, you ask? Start using less gasoline. Use re-useable bags for shopping instead of plastic bags. Check sites like TreeHugger.com. And here are some developments that could help.
There’s a company called Brammo which is producing a motocycle. That’s nothing new. But it’s an all-electric bike! Currently, it only has about 42-mile range and requires about 4 hours to recharge. That’s lame, you say. But it’s perfect for commuting to work. The downside is that it is expensive at $10K. But you will practically pay nothing on fuel anymore. And as it gets revamped, the cost will come down. It’s this kind of progress and direction the world needs to make.
Another cool idea that’s coming around is making ethanol out of garbage! That’s ingenious! I do believe that alternative energy source is the future in saving the Earth from dying. I hope we all try to contribute in saving the Earth.
Please donate time on your PS3 and PC to help find cure!
Add comment September 1st, 2009
I have lost my uncles, aunts, and grandparents, not to mention friends, to cancer. Liver cancer, lung cancer, stomach cancer, you name it. I’ve even lost my cousin to Leukemia. That’s why I searched for ways to help in whatever I can do.
Enter Stanford University. A professor there started studying the ways proteins change and become new molecules, also known as “folding”. By studying and knowing how proteins fold, a cure for cancer can be found. I have my PS3 and my 2 PCs doing this whenver I am not using them. So yes, you do pay a bit extra for electricity usage but for a 200W PC, that equates to about $20/month extra! If you have the new PS3 Slim, it only uses about $10/month of electricity!
By helping and contributing, I feel like Morpheus from Matrix…
“Now consider the alternative. What if I am right? What if the prophecy is true? What if tomorrow the war could be over? Isn’t that worth fighting for? Isn’t that worth dying for?”
Don’t you want to feel like you’ve done all you can? So as to not have regrets?! I sure do. I want to know that I’ve done all I can in help fighting cancer. Let’s make cancer history… If you need help setting this up and running it, please ask and I’d be ecstatic to help!