popular logistics

Inhabitat reports on a clever improvement on the basic - and  basically underpowered - solar-powered walkway light:

[Show as slideshow]

But because of its size, a group of these could easily be used as traffic-calming signals during power failures, evacuation route markers, or in other ways.

Inhabitat post here.  Inhabitat credits these to designer Stefano Merlo - but I can’t find them on his website (but lots of other beautiful stuff).

So we don’t know if these are available for purchase - or if there’s an open-source recipe available. We’ll put the Popular Logistics R&D team on it.

Probably about 25 more than necessary, one would think.

Two NYC Transit Authority track workers have been killed, and one critically injured, within the last month, in two incidents. Basic reporting here via NY1.

What track workers have are flashlights, reflective vests and helmets.

What they don’t have includes:

• radios to speak with each other and supervisors
• any sort of automated system to allow dispatchers and train operators to know they’re there (they depend on “flaggers,” colleagues with hand-held flags

Twenty-five have been killed since 1980, according to Newsday

A good 2003 piece from the New York Committee on Occupational Safety and Health (NYCOSH)

Gothamist’s coverage, with a lovely photograph.

I’m quite certain that I heard a WNYC report this morning that there had been reports that in one of the incidents - a supervisor had attempted to engage an electrical safety system - to turn off the third rail which had failed. Thus far, am not able to find a reference.  JS

Solar balloons - capable of all-day flight with no power source other than sunlight. Composed of simple materials: black plastic bags, black masking tape, and monofilament fishing line.

Another demonstration of the potential of solar power. These apparently have been scaled up to carry loads as high as 120 kg.

Popular Logistics is interested in hearing from people who’ve experimented with these balloons - particularly ham and other communications operators who’ve used them to elevate antennae.

Image from www.solar-balloons.com

Via www.makezine.com

We’ll have a longer post later, but for now, we’ll say that the Rescue Streamer is brilliant. This tiny (when stored) banner greatly increases the probability of being seen from overhead - one doesn’t need to apply Bayes’ theorem to figure that out - and also has the following attributes:

• not subject to battery failure
• no training required
• no fuel required (as in triangles of signal fires)
• no fire starting required - and no risk of, for instance, starting a forest fire - when what you really wanted was to be rescued
• not prohibitively expensive (by any stretch of the imagination)
• works on land and water

Safe, non-toxic, effective, inexpensive, easy to use. Apart from our interest in emergency preparedness, this is a fantastic example of excellent engineering.

We hope to be following up shortly with photographs and more information about the development of the Rescue Streamer.