Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant Update

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….

It appears that there are a few events that really don’t favor mankind at all that are occurring in Japan right now.

With regards to the plant itself, as one would expect from such an organization such as Tokyo Electric’s (TEPCO), who run Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, we are experiencing a layer of secrecy and deceit, with the true details trickling out slowly.

From World Nuclear News (WNN) on May 16, 2011: “Investigations at unit 1 at Fukushima Daiichi suggest that most of the fuel in the reactor core melted and dropped to the bottom of the reactor vessel in the early stages of the accident. Work has started on installing a structure to cover the damaged reactor building. ”

…. read full article here.

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South Of Heaven by Slayer

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I have been fascinated with Slayer for a very long time. When I was in grade 6 or 7 I had asked my older neighbor (who happened to be a metal head) to make me a mix tape of the heaviest, metalist stuff that he had.

Slayer was on the tape. This is obvious right?

I spent a few years, ever night listening to that tape. For a while I had a ghetto blaster above my head that I would turn on as I went to sleep. Then soon I got a walkman and had headphones on every night. It was for a very large part that tape that I listened to. It was a great tape. The funny thing is that the tape had no song list, so I didn’t know I was listening to Megadeth, or Slayer, or Anthrax, or Prong until much later in life. I’m still finding a few of the bands on there. Light bulbs go off.

So, the album for today I have chosen to review is Slayer’s South of Heaven.

The title track is a staple to any metal fans diet. If you do not know this song, then you are not a metal fan. Seriously. It’s that staple.

The fury that rocks through your veins when you listen to this album is real. Fast drum beats from Dave Lombardo, the fascinatingly hard and fast riffs from Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman, and Tom Araya belting out lyrics blows the lid off of many pots (and mothers) regularly.I laugh at this old photo.

I love the track Mandatory Suicide. Not particularity for the name, but everything together makes sense.

On angry days, I like to scare innocent people with Slayer. You know they’re wanting to stare and wonder and gawk, but you know they’re to afraid to do it. This is what goes through my mind.

I think the thing I like about this album is that every single song makes me think about dancing around in a circle throwing a few elbows.  Have you ever been there? I’ve had the chance to see Slayer rock a few times; yes, its epic. Kerry King’s goatee is getting pretty intense. I read an article on him where he explained the reason for braiding it now is because it would get stuck in his guitar. Badass.

Cleanse The Soul? Seriously? Is this possible to be such a crazy insane bits of solo mixed with the clearly searching lyrics of preparation of Tom? Badass, I’m not joking!

Whose with me on this? Which one of y’all have days where you need to be angry? It pushes me further. Does it help you? Get South of Heaven.

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Tech Review: Solar Power Personal Devices

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I’ve been doing a lot of research on different solar powering devices out there, and trying to find the cheapest and coolest ones. I’ve come up with a few that I’ll showcase here.

Freeloader Pico

The freeloader pico looks pretty cool, with a charge -up time of 10hrs providing an 800mAh battery supply. The solar cells are crystalline running at 75mA.

It goes for $27.69CAD it looks like.

4W Fold-up PS4001

Another product from Solar Technologies Inc is their 4W Fold-Up unit. Its specifically meant to charge car/motorhome batteries. It ouputs 4W@18V. It looks like a sexy bird, but also not relly compatible with plugging directly into your ipod.

Its $40.73CAD at their site.

Freeloader

The last Solar Technologies product I will showcase is their Freeloader. Its slightly bigger than the Pico, with a 1Ah battery, and 120mA crystalline solar cells. It comes in a much nicer body though, and the very nice usb connections, with the connectors to fit lots of various handheld devices.

Its $53.77 CAD (converted from their website).

Solar Charger

This is a solar powered 2000mAh rechargeable portable emergency power with phone adapters and an LED light. Its the cheapest, and pretty cool too. Its the same size as the previous ones but looks more klunky/cheaply made. I guess this is why its so cheap. Who knows until you have it in your hand. It has an output of 5V 500mA.

It is from who knows where but it says that its $11.81. No idea what the currency is, although it is a .com, but its office appears to be in Hong Kong.

Solar Charger II

Another panel of theirs thats way less current capable at 900mAh with a built-in rechargeable lithium battery seems like its dated technology or just bad ranking system?

It goes for $18.30. Same deal.

Portable Device Solar Charger

I like the current rating on this one, at 1000mAh Li-ion battery. Very curious how well they keep the voltage regulated though..

The best deal of them all is $7.76.

Solar Charger III

One that I really think looks sharp, and I’ve seen it in adds before is the 1000mAh rechargeable lithium battery. It looks good and can be folded.

Solar Charger IV

The final one I will review is the Dual Solar Panels (3W) Self-Recharge 2000mAh 4.5V~9V kit. Its pretty perfect, and has all the right things.

I’d be very interested to hear if anybody has bought from this last company. It sounds like this is the place to go. They have the biggest supply of these units, and they are all in a nice little bundle. It also looks like the shipping is free.

Which one do you pick?

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