Posted By RichC on April 22, 2012
Testing the Hana plug-in with H.264 mp4 files. This first is with the Kodak Zx5 at the lowest setting. (iPad compatible)
ADD — Test 2: Palm Pre raw video upload test
Posted By RichC on April 22, 2012
I’ve been using embedded flash video for everything up to this point on my blog and unless the services like YouTube offer Apple H.264 mp4 versions, viewers have been out of luck with my posted video. I spent a few hours looking at different option and will give Hana FLV Player a try. Hopefully it will detect devices and deliver appropriately.
Here’s a video of my friend Mark hoisting his wife up the mast. 🙂
Here’s an HTML5 version for Chrome and Apple devices … smallest file size too.
Posted By RichC on April 22, 2012
Posted By RichC on April 22, 2012
I’ve been following Ben Erikson’s sailing, great photos and videos since he was sailing his NorSea … 
a boat like we once owned. Over the years he has used his talents to share information on a couple blogs while he reconditioned his sailboats (plural) – the most recent his BCC Elizabeth. Eventually he met up with another NorSea singlehanded sailor, Teresa Carey, and they decided to sailed separate but together up and down the east coast and to the Bahamas. Eventually it was easy to tell they were becoming a couple and they ended up making a movie together aboard one boat. (One Simple Question – Quest to Find an Iceberg)
Although Brenda and I were far too conventional for this kind of adventure, I’ve regularly daydreamed about the liveaboard cruising life and admire Teresa and Ben for doing it. Ben, alsa Volkswagen TDI guy, happened to check in with me by email the other day and it triggered my thoughts to embed the trailer to their movie. (below)
Posted By RichC on April 21, 2012
Solar3D, Inc. (solar3d.com) is developing a breakthrough 3-dimensional solar cell technology to maximize the conversion of sunlight into electricity. Up to 30% of incident sunlight is currently reflected off the surface of conventional solar cells, and more is lost inside the solar cell materials. Inspired by light management techniques used in fiber optic devices, our innovative solar cell technology utilizes a 3-dimensional design to trap sunlight inside a photovoltaic structure where photons bounce around until they are converted into electrons. This next generation solar cell will be dramatically more efficient, resulting in a lower cost per watt and it will make solar power affordable for the world.
Posted By RichC on April 21, 2012
I was planning to tackle our decaying concrete front porch myself, but after purchasing the thin pavers and contemplating the preparation masonry work, I opted instead to hire a skilled mason to at least repair the brick trim. Of course after getting into it I’m finding badly rusting iron railings and more than just weakened brick trim. Currently it might just be enough work to de-rust, repaint and re-attach the railing and leave the brick, concrete and pavers to the professions?
It looks like this minor project is becoming major fairly quick; I might end up rebuilding the entire front porch at this rate!
EDIT: Adding a video on 4/23/2012 after a little more progress. (really just testing the embed but having problems compressing and keeping audio???)
Posted By RichC on April 20, 2012
Posted By RichC on April 20, 2012
Posted By RichC on April 19, 2012
Posted By RichC on April 19, 2012
TDI diesels from Volkswagen are the only mid priced diesels available, so it is no wonder VW has 58% of all diesel sales in the U.S. As the new Passat TDIs become more available, expect their sales to nip away at the Jetta TDI dominance.
Allen Schaeffer, DTF’s executive director, said in a statement that, "I expect clean diesel auto sales to increase further as several new diesel cars are introduced in the U.S. market in the next year."
Once those other vehicles arrive, we’ll see how the market shakes out. Right now, it’s pretty much all Jetta TDI, all the time. A while back, we spoke with Lars Ullrich, the director of marketing and business excellence, diesel systems North America, for Robert Bosch LLC. He told us that diesel Jettas made up 44 percent of all diesels sold in the U.S. last year, which makes the Jetta sort of the Prius of diesels in America. Last year, Volkswagen had 58 percent of all diesel sales in the U.S.