Netizen

Monday, July 30, 2012

Massive Power Outage In India

Hydroelectric dam (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

When about a third of the people in a country the size of India (US + Europe + Africa) lose power, that is massive.

What the India Blackout Says About India's Frailties

Even for India, though, the blackout that began in the early hours of Monday was extraordinary. Nearly 360 million people—more than the population of the U.S. and Canada combined—lost power across seven states in northern India when excessive demand and a shortfall in hydro power overwhelmed the electricity grid. The worst blackout in a decade started at 2:32 in the morning, leaving people sweltering in their homes and stopping service on trains and subways in Delhi..... Slightly more than 12 hours later, power resumed in the capital...... The less-than-normal rainfall has put strains on India’s hydroelectric power supply, which accounts for 19 percent of the country’s 205 gigawatt generation capacity ..... The blackout “is symbolic of the infrastructure bottlenecks of the country” ...... The government wants to spend $400 billion over the next five years on power-sector investment, adding 76 gigawatts of capacity by 2017. That’s on top of the 85 gigawatts of power India has added in the past 10 years.

The real solution might be on the moon.

The desk that keeps you standing I thought was pretty cool. Although a 40 minute workout goes a long way to help you out no matter what your chair. But this smart chair just keeps moving.

This $8,500 "Smart" Office Chair Never Stops Moving

chairs should instead encourage small but constant motions that are good for the body..... incorporates ergonomics and neuroscience to stimulate not just the body, but also the emotions. ...... custom-sized, carbon-fiber shells that wrap around each leg. They allow a generous range of movements—stretching, leaning, twisting—while supporting the spine ..... most LimbIC users prefer their feet to be suspended in air ..... They should feel weightless and bouncy, an effect achieved by stimulating different body points that send signals to the inner ear. The result: a feeling of happiness and increased creativity ..... extensively studied the limbic system, a part of the brain involved in emotions (including pleasure) and instinct .... customer feedback so far has been extremely positive ..... In concept, the chair acts as an extension of the body, adjusting subtly to the user’s movements, such as picking up the phone or using a mouse ..... You can even make dancing and skiing movement while seated .... “I could sit and concentrate for extended periods of time even with my acutely herniated disc,” one finance expert writes in a testimonial. “With other chairs, this used to be impossible.” .... “It doesn’t look comfortable. With a human in it, you recognize it as a chair, but without it you don’t.” ... “Most see it as an investment in their health and in themselves.”

The video is worth the watch.

I took particular note of this:

threw out traditional sitting rules such as the expectation that people should sit upright, with knees bent at a 90-degree angle. That science was developed in the 19th century