Monday, April 13, 2009
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dye-sensitized_solar_cell
I looked into this because there was a Digg on some folks up at Portland State who just figured out a way to revlutionize this process above and beyond even what's discussed in the wiki.
Cheers!
I looked into this because there was a Digg on some folks up at Portland State who just figured out a way to revlutionize this process above and beyond even what's discussed in the wiki.
Cheers!
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
also a test
In addition to testing the email system, I will also contribute a study design to demonstrate what, if any, preventative function helmets serve in park-oriented skateboarding:
Purpose: Find out if helmets serve as real protection for park-oriented skateboarders.
Background: Without strict gate-keeping by skatepark staff, skateboarders are notorious for a nihilistic attitude towards self-preservation, avoiding helmets and pads at costs to their own health. While the cultural history of skateboarding is commonly believed to approach protective gear in the same way as the current generation, a quick glance at industry periodicles in the late 1970s and 80s, one will appreciate the conspicuous presence of helmets and other pads. If skateboarding's forebearers did not reject helmets and pads, why are today's athletes denying the reality of their sports inherent risks as well as the historical acceptance of such equipment?
As cities all accross the US consider skateparks as solutions to avert the athletes' destructive use of private and public property, they face a liability risk greatly outweighing the decision between the cost of skatepark construction and increased law enforcement to protect public and private property.
Southern California, the birthplace of modern skateboarding, has built many skateparks during the present decade. The visible and invisible costs related to city skateparks have been dealt with in different ways. Some cities choose smaller insurance payments but hire a paid staff person to control access to the park. Access is contingent upon the skateboarder wearing all required pads. The insurer may realize the decreased risk associated with protected athletes and offer the insured a lower premium. Other cities may face higher insurance payments in exchange for a larger policy amount in order to eliminate a gate-keeper staff person controlling access to the skatepark.
An abundance of (hypothetical) lawsuit scenarios exist that may influence the politics of city council decisions. Some councils will agree that wealthy parents who can afford to succeed in a lawsuit despite pad-enforcement may settle with the city at a price far beyond the liability policy. A city council may see the rationale supporting the declaration that pads are required but choose not to enforce the policy. They would face the lawsuit, but avoid catastrophic litigation losses under the larger insurance policy.
In order to better inform these decisions, this study attempts to show what protection, if any, helmets provide skateboarders through a controlled experiment; the control is a skatepark populated with helmet-less skateboarders. The experiment is a skatepark populated by helmeted skateboarders. Over a period of time, we may observe the confirmation of a strongly held hypothesis- that helmets prevent head and neck injury. If validated, cities may use such information to build skateparks, and spend money on helmet enforcement to ensure that skateboarders and taxpayers are protected
Location: Santa Monica, Culver City, Venice areas in west Los Angeles, California.
Design:
Intervention/experimental group: The Cove
- Helmets (and other pads) required. Code enforced perfectly.
Control: Venice (under construction)/Lincoln Methodist half pipe
- no helmets/pads required or enforced.
Grey Area: Culver
-helmets required but no sentry/vanguard enforcing
-only mechanism of enforcement is for the city to close the park for a few days when a police officer encounters an infraction.
Methodology:
All injuries (severety to-be-determined) observed through some form of surveilance.
-could be done retrospectively by collecting all incident reports by park staff, but such a reliable archive unlikely to exist at control-parks.
-most likely surveilance will be done by researchers present at park.
Strengths and Shortcomings to methodology:
-subjects not randomized to experimental/control groups
-but common wisdom (and other studies?) show a likely protective property of helmet use, so to randomize subjects, even voluntary participants, would be an ethical impasse.
-study is a sort of 'natural experiment', where a control group and an experimental group occur without artificial arrangements. (eg french/english broadcast TV in Quebec)
-confounding variable: experimental-park is well lit and open for use well into the evening (10pm) where all control-parks become unusable or closed after sun down. presence of heavy use in the evening at the cove may define that park as definitively different, and therefore incomparable to control-parks.
-may be ameliorated by only collecting surveilance data when both control and experimental parks are simultaneously open.
Now to find an appropriate RFP...
--
Christian R. Bogeberg
310.794.2565 (O)
424.901.9776 (C)
Purpose: Find out if helmets serve as real protection for park-oriented skateboarders.
Background: Without strict gate-keeping by skatepark staff, skateboarders are notorious for a nihilistic attitude towards self-preservation, avoiding helmets and pads at costs to their own health. While the cultural history of skateboarding is commonly believed to approach protective gear in the same way as the current generation, a quick glance at industry periodicles in the late 1970s and 80s, one will appreciate the conspicuous presence of helmets and other pads. If skateboarding's forebearers did not reject helmets and pads, why are today's athletes denying the reality of their sports inherent risks as well as the historical acceptance of such equipment?
As cities all accross the US consider skateparks as solutions to avert the athletes' destructive use of private and public property, they face a liability risk greatly outweighing the decision between the cost of skatepark construction and increased law enforcement to protect public and private property.
Southern California, the birthplace of modern skateboarding, has built many skateparks during the present decade. The visible and invisible costs related to city skateparks have been dealt with in different ways. Some cities choose smaller insurance payments but hire a paid staff person to control access to the park. Access is contingent upon the skateboarder wearing all required pads. The insurer may realize the decreased risk associated with protected athletes and offer the insured a lower premium. Other cities may face higher insurance payments in exchange for a larger policy amount in order to eliminate a gate-keeper staff person controlling access to the skatepark.
An abundance of (hypothetical) lawsuit scenarios exist that may influence the politics of city council decisions. Some councils will agree that wealthy parents who can afford to succeed in a lawsuit despite pad-enforcement may settle with the city at a price far beyond the liability policy. A city council may see the rationale supporting the declaration that pads are required but choose not to enforce the policy. They would face the lawsuit, but avoid catastrophic litigation losses under the larger insurance policy.
In order to better inform these decisions, this study attempts to show what protection, if any, helmets provide skateboarders through a controlled experiment; the control is a skatepark populated with helmet-less skateboarders. The experiment is a skatepark populated by helmeted skateboarders. Over a period of time, we may observe the confirmation of a strongly held hypothesis- that helmets prevent head and neck injury. If validated, cities may use such information to build skateparks, and spend money on helmet enforcement to ensure that skateboarders and taxpayers are protected
Location: Santa Monica, Culver City, Venice areas in west Los Angeles, California.
Design:
Intervention/experimental group: The Cove
- Helmets (and other pads) required. Code enforced perfectly.
Control: Venice (under construction)/Lincoln Methodist half pipe
- no helmets/pads required or enforced.
Grey Area: Culver
-helmets required but no sentry/vanguard enforcing
-only mechanism of enforcement is for the city to close the park for a few days when a police officer encounters an infraction.
Methodology:
All injuries (severety to-be-determined) observed through some form of surveilance.
-could be done retrospectively by collecting all incident reports by park staff, but such a reliable archive unlikely to exist at control-parks.
-most likely surveilance will be done by researchers present at park.
Strengths and Shortcomings to methodology:
-subjects not randomized to experimental/control groups
-but common wisdom (and other studies?) show a likely protective property of helmet use, so to randomize subjects, even voluntary participants, would be an ethical impasse.
-study is a sort of 'natural experiment', where a control group and an experimental group occur without artificial arrangements. (eg french/english broadcast TV in Quebec)
-confounding variable: experimental-park is well lit and open for use well into the evening (10pm) where all control-parks become unusable or closed after sun down. presence of heavy use in the evening at the cove may define that park as definitively different, and therefore incomparable to control-parks.
-may be ameliorated by only collecting surveilance data when both control and experimental parks are simultaneously open.
Now to find an appropriate RFP...
--
Christian R. Bogeberg
310.794.2565 (O)
424.901.9776 (C)
This is a test post
This is a test post. If this post appears on the blog, it was a successful test post. If it was a successful test post, you may now send your post to the following e-mail address instead of actually navigating to the blog site:
adventureboy1.2112@blogger.com
This should help those of you who are behind firewalls or are just lazy.
Cheers!
Skateboard Injuries
Apparently Bogie is behind a firewall, which means he has access to Pubmed articles... it also means he can't post on Blogger so I am also posting on his behalf as well. This is an abstract only, but I think it serves the purpose...
http://www.find-health-articles.com/rec_pub_2377116-skateboard-injuries.htm
Cheers!
http://www.find-health-articles.com/rec_pub_2377116-skateboard-injuries.htm
Cheers!
Italian Greyhound
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_greyhound
I am posting this on Natalie's behalf just to get the ball rolling. She told me to make sure to check out the picture of the "double suspension gallop".
I will add that Natalie has an Italian Greyhound and I always wanted one growing up.
Cheers!
I am posting this on Natalie's behalf just to get the ball rolling. She told me to make sure to check out the picture of the "double suspension gallop".
I will add that Natalie has an Italian Greyhound and I always wanted one growing up.
Cheers!
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