By the Numbers – 2008-03-01

2 policy databases from International Energy Agency (IEA) were updated in February on Renewable Energy and on Energy Efficiency. www.iea.org 3 to 6 drops of food die and a light colored beverage are the two ingredients could make many a March 17 a little greener. www.recipezaar.com/115415 11 kinds of “Obsolete” products with model numbers and suggested replacements make a particular...

2 policy databases from International Energy Agency (IEA) were updated in February on Renewable Energy and on Energy Efficiency. www.iea.org

3 to 6 drops of food die and a light colored beverage are the two ingredients could make many a March 17 a little greener. www.recipezaar.com/115415

11 kinds of “Obsolete” products with model numbers and suggested replacements make a particularly useful list. www.keithley.com/products/obsolete.pdf

17 U.S. presidents out of 43 have used the oval office, constructed in 1909. Catch the panoramic tour at www.whitehouse.gov .

$25 will get you a photocopy of a manual for any discontinued Simpson Electric product. Simpson manufactures analog and digital panel meters and test instruments for industrial, laboratory and environmental applications and was established in 1934 by Ray Simpson, who built the mechanism for the earth inductor compass used during Charles Lindbergh’s solo trans-Atlantic flight in 1927. Simpson was purchased by the LacDuFlambeau Band of the Lake Superior Chippewa Indians in 1985 and is a minority-owned company. The film “Apollo 13” showcased a Simpson meter used in that flight. Products, USA-manufactured, are listed. www.simpsonelectric.com

6 interactive homepage areas, blogs, Talkback, discussions, Webcasts, podcasts, and video, are in the opening screen, in the new www.controleng.com .

2008 calendar depicting the 50th anniversary of NASA and 10th anniversary of the International Space station is available from NASA in a free download. As you might expect, the images are exciting, and it’s loaded with space facts. Search calendar at www.nasa.gov

23rd AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence will be held in Chicago, IL, July 13–17. Purpose of the conference is to promote research in AI and scientific exchange among AI researchers, practitioners, scientists, and engineers in related disciplines, the organization says. www.aaai.org .

25,000th robot was shipped from Adept Technology Inc., the company said Jan. 29. Clear Automation Inc. of Southington, CT, received an Adept Quattro robot, designed for high-speed manufacturing, packaging, material handling and assembly. A four-arm rotational platform is designed for maximum speed, maximum acceleration and exceptional performance across the work envelope. Embedded amplifiers and compact controls eases installation and saves workspace. www.adept.com , www.clearautomation.com

8 areas– ubiquitious, visual, ecology, space, human, energy, traffic, and home – are at the Toshiba online museum, Science World. “Project Technology History” has a timeline of key inventions. The first Japanese computer resulted from research into arithmetic and control circuits. Learnwhat role an oscilloscope had. https://museum.toshiba.co.jp