Saturday, June 18, 2011

Apple Files U.S. Patent Application (#20110128384) to Disable iPhone's Video Cameras at Live Events

The above red apple isn't Apple's logo, but I don't have the money for a license or an ample fair use argument at this time.

Apple Files Patent to Disable iPhone's Video Cameras at Live Events (App. 20110128384)
There is no guarantee that this patent will ever issue, but technology companies typically file patent applications for technologies where patents will never issue. This application was filed by Apple on December 2, 2009. You can read the patent (Application #20110128384) at the USTPO entitled - Systems and Methods for Receiving Infrared Data with a Camera Designed to Detect Images Based on Visible Light.

1. A method for using a camera, comprising: using the camera to detect an image based on at least visible light; determining whether the image includes an infrared signal with encoded data; in response to determining that the image includes an infrared signal with encoded data, routing at least a portion of the image to circuitry operative to decode the encoded data in the infrared signal; and in response to determining that the image does not include an infrared signal with encoded data, routing the image to a display operative to display the image.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein routing at least a portion of the image to the circuitry comprises routing only the infrared signal.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein only images that do not include an infrared signal with encoded data are routed to the display.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising: decoding the encoded data in the infrared signal; and modifying a device operation based at least on the decoded data.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein modifying a device operation comprises applying a watermark to a detected image.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein modifying a device operation comprises disabling a device function...

One key portion of the patent's claims is the part where the iPhone's camera may be potentially disabled via infrared technology at live events.

Anybody holding up their iPhone will find it triggers infra-red sensors installed at the venue.

These sensors would then automatically instruct the iPhone to shut down its camera function, preventing an footage from being recorded.


Source: The Daily Mail


Report: Spent Nuclear Fuel Pools in the United States of America (2011)

The main reason I am posting this report is because of the recent flooding incident at and/or near the Fort Calhoun nuclear facility. I am quite sure that readers are interested in knowing how much spent fuel was stored at the Fort Calhoun Nuclear Station. The Institute for Policy Studies commissioned a report to answer this question and it released the report last month. You can click the image above to download the report or here for Spent Nuclear Fuel Pools in the U.S.

Per the report, the amount of spent fuel at Fort Calhoun was:

  • Total Assemblies = 1,054
  • Metric Tons = 379
  • Radioactive Inventory (Ci) = 92,962,800

Fort Calhoun Nuclear Power Station Not Prepared for Worst Case Missouri River Flood Scenario (OPPD Licensee Event Report 2011-003)

Omaha Public Power District Licensee Event Report 2011-003, Revision 1, for the Fort Calhoun Station

In sum, Fort Calhoun is prepared for a worst case flood scenario per this report. There is currently a worst case flood scenario occurring along the Missouri River and discussed in Missouri River Floods Fort Calhoun Nuclear Power Station in Nebraska. Click the following link for the official page where this OPPD document can be viewed.

The NRC inspection appears to have been conducted in 2010, so let's hope that Fort Calhoun addressed each of these deficiencies before the 2011 flood. If not, then it is likely that the facility is not prepared for the flooding that is happening right now.

###

As a result of a Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) inspection conducted from January 1 to June 21, 2010, the NRC determined that Fort Calhoun Station (FCS) did not have adequate procedures to protect the intake structure and auxiliary building against external flooding events. Specifically, contrary to Technical Specification 5.8.1.a, the station failed to maintain procedures for combating a significant flood as recommended by Regulatory Guide 1.33, Appendix A, section 6.w, “Acts of Nature.” The NRC identified the following violation of NRC requirements associated with a yellow significance determination process finding in the mitigating systems cornerstone in inspection report 05000285/2010008 dated October 6, 2010:

Technical Specification 5.8.1.a, “Procedures,” states, “Written procedures and administrative policies shall be established, implemented, and maintained covering the following activities:(a) The applicable procedures recommended in Regulatory Guide 1.33, Revision 2, Appendix A,1978.” NRC Regulatory Guide 1.33, “Quality Assurance Program Requirements (Operation),”Appendix A, “Typical Procedures for Pressurized Water Reactors and Boiling Water Reactors,”Section 6, recommends procedures for combating emergencies and other significant events. Section 6.w, “Acts of Nature,” includes, in part, procedures for combating floods.

Contrary to Technical Specification 5.8.1.a, since 1978, written procedures and administrative policies were not maintained covering the applicable procedures recommended by NRCRegulatory Guide 1.33, Revision 2, Appendix A. Specifically, the licensee failed to maintain written procedures for combating a significant external flood as recommended by NRC Regulatory Guide, Appendix A, Section 6.w, “Acts of Nature.” The licensee’s written procedures did not adequately prescribe steps to mitigate external flood conditions in the Auxiliary Building and Intake Structure up to 1014 feet mean sea level, as documented in the Updated Final Safety Analysis Report [USAR]. The NRC reported that the station’s flood protection strategy was not fully effective during worst-case Missouri River flooding scenarios. The strategy required workers to install floodgates in front of the doors to the plant’s auxiliary building and intake structure, and then stack and drape sandbags over the top of the floodgates up to a height of five feet. The procedural guidance was inadequate because the cross-section on top of the floodgates would not support a stacked sandbag configuration that would retain five feet of moving water.


Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Diver Swims in Volcanic Waters of Lake Nahuel Huapi (Puyehue Eruption in Chile)


If you cannot see the above video, then you can watch it on YouTube. This footage of this normally clear lake in Argentina is amazing. It looks like a crazy lake of quicksand.


Tuesday, June 14, 2011

FLASHBACK: B-24 Liberator Willow Run Airplane Plant by Ford Motor Company Builds a Bomber Every 55 Minutes (1941)


If the video does not display on your screen, go to the YouTube link for another viewing option. Although the ultimate usage of these bombers was war and destruction, the manufacturing output displayed in this video is amazing. This factory was churning out B-24s in less than an hour! Imagine if that expertise and production capacity were fashioned with today's technologies. Man would do great things. However in the real world, this production capacity has been mostly lost in the United States of America - perhaps forever (unless it's for the latest bomber).

Missouri River Floods Fort Calhoun Nuclear Power Station in Nebraska


***UPDATE (June 27, 2011) - The below picture is reportedly from a June 27 video. If this is indeed the state of affairs at the power station, how are workers getting to the facility? Boat? Helicopter? There also does not appear to be anything holding back the water back at the facility. At least there is no smoking coming from the spent fuel or other reactor fuel at this point.

Per the official media accounts, there is nothing to worry about at this point. However, I'm skeptical, so yes, I'm worried.

Gregory Jaczko, the chairman of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, toured the Cooper Nuclear Station in Brownville Sunday and inspected the more-threatened Fort Calhoun reactor Monday...

...Officials at both Cooper and Calhoun have reportedly stockpiled plenty of generator fuel for emergency generators if back up power is needed for a long period of time.



***UPDATE (June 17, 2011) - The original story is down below the***. I will update this page as I can verify information.

There is confirmation that Fort Calhoun is a spent fuel storage installation. It would seem likely that some (or perhaps all of the) spent fuel is flooded IF you believe the inspection report from May, 2011 (last month as of the date of this writing). Can anyone confirm whether the spent fuel was stored above ground or whether it was stored at ground/underground level?

You can read the full report (Licensee Event Report 2011-003, Revision 1, for the Fort Calhoun Station) that will be embedded below, but the summary is:

As a result of a Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) inspection conducted from January 1 to June 21, 2010, the NRC determined that Fort Calhoun Station (FCS) did not have adequate procedures to protect the intake structure and auxiliary building against external flooding events. Specifically, contrary to Technical Specification 5.8.1.a, the station failed to maintain procedures for combating a significant flood as recommended by Regulatory Guide 1.33, Appendix A, section 6.w, “Acts of Nature.”

Per another recent report by the Institute for Policy Studies, the inventory of spent fuel at Fort Calhoun was:

  • Total Assemblies = 1,054
  • Metric Tons = 379
  • Radioactive Inventory (Ci) = 92,962,800

Omaha Public Power District Licensee Event Report 2011-003, Revision 1, for the Fort Calhoun Station

I don't know if the next story is related or not, but officials in Kansas (the next State over from Nebraska) are advising people to not use the Missouri River. The given-reason is the risk of pathogens. However, the public would be the last ones to know if there was some type of radiation contamination from the Fort Calhoun plant.

In response to recent and anticipated flooding events, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) is issuing a health advisory for all portions of the Missouri River in Kansas. In addition to the physical dangers associated with entering swift moving floodwaters, the potential for high levels of pathogens in the Missouri River exists. Pathogens can cause illness in humans and animals...

...Individuals are advised to avoid contact with the River and to restrict pets and livestock from contact with River water until the flooding conditions cease. It is predicted floodwaters may not recede for several weeks, thus it is important to avoid contact with the River until this advisory is lifted.


***

Is Fort Calhoun potentially going to be the United States version of Fukushima? The reactor is not really an issue here, because it is not operational. However, there is spent fuel stored at the Fort Calhoun Nuclear Power Station, as evidenced by the reports of a recent fire at the power plant.

A small fire briefly knocked out the cooling system for used fuel at a nuclear power plant in Nebraska, but temperatures never exceeded safe levels and power was quickly restored, federal officials said Wednesday...

Fort Calhoun’s fuel pool was not physically damaged, and the utility [Omaha Public Power District] estimated it would take about 80 hours before the pool water started boiling and evaporating, giving workers time to react.

If the flooding continues (which is expected for a few more weeks), then what happens if the power and the backup power are not available for 4-5 days at the plant? Without cooling, the spent fuel will heat and evaporate the cooling water. Once that spent fuel goes critical and if cooling cannot be restored, then the plant will likely begin spewing radiation into the local environment and into the flooded river waters. That is what happened at Fukushima. The Japanese earthquake knocked out the main power systems. The subsequent tsunami destroyed the backup generators and then the spent fuel began heating and heating until BOOM!

Although the media is saying that there is no threat to the public from this flooding, there is an indefinite FAA flight restriction for two (2) nautical miles around the area.

FDC 1/6523 ZMP FLIGHT RESTRICTIONS FORT CALHOUN NUCLEAR POWER PLANT BLAIR,NE EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE. PURSUANT TO 14 CFR SECTION 91.137(A)(3) TEMPORARY FLIGHT RESTRICTIONS ARE IN EFFECT FOR FLOOD RELIEF EFFORTS WITHIN A 2 NAUTICAL MILE RADIUS OF 413113N/0960438W OR THE OMAHA /OVR/ VORTAC 316 DEGREE RADIAL AT 26.1 NAUTICAL MILES AT AND BELOW 3500 FEET MSL. NEBRASKA STATE PATROL, LT. FRANK PECK TELEPHONE 402-450-1867 IS IN CHARGE OF THE OPERATION. MINNEAPOLIS /ZMP/ ARTCC TELEPHONE 651-463-5580 IS THE FAA COORDINATION FACILITY.

Monday, June 13, 2011

Australia Releases Rules for Carbon Credits from Culling Camels ("Kill a Camel for a Carbon Credit!")

Australia Releases Rules for Carbon Credits from Culling Camels

I wonder what the environmentalists and the animal-lovers think about this program that is essentially a "Kill a Camel, Get a Carbon Credit" program.

Killing camels to earn carbon credits might seem an extreme way to fight climate change, but the Australian government on Thursday issued detailed rules that will help investors do just that.

Northwest Carbon developed the rules for this camel-cull program under Australia's Carbon Farming Initiative.

Sunday, June 12, 2011

Who Is the Mysterious Woman in White Leading Billionaires & Shot-Callers During Nature Walk at 2011 Bilderberg Conference?

Photograph: Hannah Borno / ©Guardian All Rights Reserved

I would like to ask Hannah Borno (who actually snapped the above photo) the identity of the lady in the above photograph at the 2011 Bilderberg annual meeting. Let's examine and analyze the above image of this lady in white who looks straight out of central casting for some techno-fascist sci-fi movie.

In the real world though, this lady is definitely wealthy, because you can't wear an outfit like that and get away with it unless you're rich. She also seems to have some handlers. She is likely adverse to sunlight which is why has an umbrella with no rain in sight. She appears to have a confident appearance and exudes importance. She could be the wife of Dr. Raymond Cocteau. Does anyone know the identity of this lady? Feel free to make some guesses in the comments!

According to the Guardian, this lady is unknown and no one has seen her since the above image was taken.

From nowhere, like something from a dream, a distinguished lady, dressed from top to toe in white, whooshed serenely past security and swanned to the front of the power walkers.

Although no one seemingly knew the identity of this lady, she was obviously a power-player, because she was reportedly leading the folks around the Bilderberg conference like she was a band leader.

The lady in white led her band of Bilderberg bigwigs and billionaires along the charming Swiss byways, across bridges over gentle streams ... and straight into a pack of 50 baffled activists, who were milling around outside a community hall during a break in a symposium.

Source: The Guardian

Cedar Falls Government to Demand Keys to Commercial Buildings & Apartment Complexes Per International Fire Code


Pursuant to the 2009 International Fire Code and Ordinance 2740, the Cedar Falls, Iowa government will require lock boxes to be installed on commercial buildings and apartments with three (3) or more units. Obviously, people around the Internet sphere have been upset with this news today, because this ordinance essentially gives the government potential access to the private residences of individuals without a whole lot of due process or probable cause.

The City Council is scheduled to vote on the third and final reading of an ordinance adopting the 2009 International Fire Code. Part of that code specifies the fire chief can require lock boxes for emergency access to keys to buildings.

If you want to contact any members of the Cedar Falls government, the contact information is here.

The applicable provision at issue in the 2009 International Fire Code is Section 506 relating to key boxes.

SECTION 506 KEY BOXES

506.1 Where required. Where access to or within a structure or an area is restricted because of secured openings or where immediate access is necessary for life-saving or fire-fighting purposes, the fire code official is authorized to require a key box to be installed in an approved location. The key box shall be of an approved type and shall contain keys to gain necessary access as required by the fire code official.

Source: WCFCourier.com