Category Archives: Activism

Clean Energy solution by Dan Tracy

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This is a great project from my friend Dan that we all need to support.
Via. http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1354200512/pacific-sky-power

The world needs more clean energy but for many people, the cost is too high. Building on the successes of conventional wind power technology, Pacific Sky Power has developed affordable wind turbines that can be used at many different locations. If you don’t have a good spot for installation, we also have towers. These systems are good starter kits for learning about this technology.

Wind turbines convert kinetic energy from the wind into mechanical energy which spins a generator to produce clean electricity. Our wind turbine is rated at 15 watts which can be used for charging 12 volt batteries. They’re great for camping, on boats and science projects. The 30 and 45 watt wind turbine systems include multiple turbines on a specialized tower.

Technical Specifications

Startup wind speed:   8 mph

Survival wind speed:   40 mph

Rotor type:   Horizontal axis

Number of blades:   2

Blade material:   GWS plastic

Rotor diameter:   15″

Generator type:   Brushed 30 volt DC motor

Battery charging:   12 volt DC

Operable rpm:   200 to 1800 rpm

Weight:   1 lb

Power cable length:   10 ft

Output:   15 watts

Over speed protection:   Yes

Defend Internet Privacy

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Internet freedom needs a global network behind it. fightforthefuture.org has launched The Internet Defense League. Now you can defend the net by broadcasting action messages on your own sites using this widget. You can also tell the world that you are a member of the league by displaying one of the IDL badges hosted by internetdefenseleague.org.

Sign to make sure SOPA 2.0 never gets written

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I signed this petition on fightforthefuture.org and still thought “What else can I do?”. So I created a widget for WordPress to put on my blog so that visitor to my site could sign the petition too. Now you can join the fight against SOPA by signing this internet petition right here on my site (at the bottom of the page). Plus, if you have a WordPress site, you too can install this petition widget from WordPress.org.

Help me spread the word and crush internet censorship legislation in America!

The disastrous effect of social inequality on health and social stability

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Richard Wilkinson, Professor Emeritus of Social Epidemiology at the University of Nottingham, presented huge amounts of evidence in his book The Spirit Level (co-authored with Kate Pickett) about the disastrous effect of social inequality on health and social stability. This video of his TED Talk gives a summary of some of that research.

Google announced that signed-in users will, by default, be routed to the SSL version of Google Search

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In October of 2011 Google announced that signed-in users will, by default, be routed to the SSL version of Google Search (https://www.google.com).

What is the impact of this change for webmasters?
A web site accessed through organic search results on http://www.google.com (non-SSL) can see both that the user came from google.com and their search query.
However, for organic search results on Google’s SSL search, a web site will only know that the user came from google.com.

This is bad news for anyone who wants to know what keywords were used to find their site on Goggle.

Over two thirds (69%) of my Google Analytics Keywords now show up as “(not provided)”. This completely cripples my ability to tell how people are finding my site.

Here is a good video I found on SEOmoz that goes into more details and explains how it works:

Wistia

Help Stop SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) and PIPA (Protect IP Act)

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PROTECT IP / SOPA Breaks The Internet from Fight for the Future on Vimeo.

Some thoughts by Jane Wells, UX lead for WordPress:

  • In the U.S. our legal system maintains that the burden of proof is on the accuser, and that people are innocent until proven guilty. This tenet seems to be on the chopping block when it comes to the web if these bills pass, as companies could shut down sites based on accusation alone.
  • Laws are not like lines of PHP; they are not easily reverted if someone wakes up and realizes there is a better way to do things. We should not be so quick to codify something this far-reaching.
  • The people writing these laws are not the people writing the independent web, and they are not out to protect it. We have to stand up for it ourselves.

Go to Stop American Censorship for more information and a bunch of ways you can take action quickly, easily, and painlessly. The Senate votes in less than two weeks, and we need to help at least 41 more senators see reason before then. Please. Make your voice heard.