#32 - Canadian Internet Access and OpenMedia.ca

The folks at OpenMedia.ca describe themselves as a non-profit organization working to advance open communication systems in Canada.

http://openmedia.ca/about

It seems that there is a push in Canada by big telecom companies to charge Canadians for their access to the Internet.

http://openmedia.ca/meter
http://openmedia.ca/press-room

Of course, most Canadians, like everyone else, probably already do pay an Internet Service Provider for access. However, this new initiative seeks to charge Canadians for every byte of Internet data that they use, similar to some smart phone plans.

That does sort of sound like a scheme that Bell Canada or Rodgers would try to propose. In its lunacy, it is vaguely reminiscent of an old Monty Python sketch about ‘taxing thingy’.





OpenMedia.ca logo copyright © OpenMedia.ca

Monty Python illustration from Monty Python’s Flying Circus: Just the Words Volumes One & Two
Copyright © 1989 by Python Productions Ltd.
Illustrations copyright © 1989 by Python (Monty) Pictures Ltd.

#30 - Re-blog from Wired Regarding Long-Term Data Sets & Moog App

I don’t normally spend a lot of time reading Wired. I find their website a bit clunky and their typical reader’s comments even more so.

However, this article by Brandon Keim on long-term data sets is interesting.

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/10/long-term-datasets/?pid=2270

Some of the most meaningful data trends on this earth are outside the scope of normal human temporal perception. These data sets allow us to peer into our environmental impact on this earth over large time scales.

Also from Wired today – Moog have come out with a cool iPad app. It’s basically a software synth. http://www.wired.com/reviews/2011/10/animoog/

The folks at the Moog Foundation are always at Nearfest. Sam from Relayer Solutions and I were at NF the year after an archive of Bob Moog’s data, recordings, and artifacts was discovered. It was fascinating to hear an old recording of Bob explaining his latest progress on a synth module that would one day change the sound of popular music. You can now do the same using your iPad app.

For some reason, Moog reminds me a little of Nova. There are four letters in our name. We make strange electronic devices that have inputs & outputs like the Moog instruments. However, we are not likely to ever create an instrument with as cool a name as 'Voyager' or 'Prodigy'.

Nova
1-800-295-3771
sales at nova-gas dot com
websales at nova-gas dot com
http://www.nova-gas.com/

http://twitter.com/#!/NOVAGAS

If you have a LinkedIn account, search for us under Companies and follow us if you want.

Picture of ice core close-up from Wired article. Source: American Museum of Natural History

Moog Foundation website

http://www.moogfoundation.org/

Moog picture and logo copyright © 2011 The Bob Moog Foundation

Old pictures of cool Moog equipment - http://sprott.physics.wisc.edu/pickover/pc/moogrc.html

#29 - Plans for growth – Part 1

That title calls to mind words like goal, plan, purpose, projection, target, etc. Yes, we know, it’s important to have short range and long range goals. But when talking about future growth, sometimes it’s tempting to zone out and turn instead to the task of just getting through the day. After all, the next couple of years are, well, a couple of years away.

We tend to shy away from long-range ideas when the short-range tasks feel too numerous or too onerous to manage. I am starting to learn that long-range thinking isn’t as pointless as it sometimes sounds. Patience seems to be the key. That and having some intelligent long-range ideas. It also helps to implement some way of managing the short-term more effectively.

On our conference room wall, we used to have a strange-looking map loaded with yellow sticky notes, arrows, and branches. Most visitors who sat down to talk with us about something, inevitably asked about the wall. It was actually an elaborate map of our sales process. Each action or event in the process was briefly spelled out on a sticky note. Various if/then branches appeared at decision points, which in turn lead to additional arrows and sticky notes. At each point, opportunities for improvement were discussed and briefly jotted down on pink sticky notes.

It became quickly evident that there were numerous opportunities to improve the process. Who would implement the pink sticky notes? It was decided that Nova would have to hire someone. After much lying and bribery, that someone ended up being me. They showed me the wall and I now had my road-map. I would return to the wall every once in a while for reminders. After a couple years, most of the pink sticky notes were done.

Mind you, not all of the pink notes were implemented. That’s because some of the ideas weren’t that great. That’s one of the risks of having ideas and goals – they won’t all be brilliant. But it is even less brilliant not to have any goals at all.

All these words and diagrams and I still haven’t actually talked about what plans for growth we have. That will have to be saved for a future post – it’s home time now.

We’re Nova. We make gas analyzers for oxygen, carbon dioxide, methane, hydrogen, and other gases.

Give Mike or Dave at Nova a call, or send us an e-mail.
1-800-295-3771
sales at nova-gas dot com
websales at nova-gas dot com
http://www.nova-gas.com/
If you have a LinkedIn account, search for Nova Analytical Systems under Companies and follow us if you want.

#28 - Ambient Oxygen Monitoring in MRI Suites

We have had a number of inquiries over the years for gas analyzers for use in hospitals. We do not address the medical market per se. For example, we do not manufacture blood gas analyzers or medical gas purity analyzers. Our primary market is in the industrial and recovered gas industries.

One common application in industry is ambient air monitoring. We have noted that some non-industrial markets have also successfully used our ambient air monitors. One example is oxygen deficiency monitoring in MRI suites.

Apparently, MRI machines are cooled to a specific operating temperature using a large quantity of helium gas. There may be up to 1,000 liters of liquid helium contained in a cryostat at approximately -267°C (450°F). In the event of a leak, the liquid helium will evaporate and flood the MRI room helium gas. The gas itself is not immediately toxic, but the resulting oxygen displacement is very dangerous. The patient in the MRI machine, who may or may not be sedated, could be unaware of the onset of asphyxiation.

According to OSHA (Occupational Safety & Health Administration) in the USA, “OSHA uses the term "asphyxiating atmosphere" when referring to an atmosphere which contains less than 19.5 percent oxygen. Oxygen levels under 19.5 percent are inadequate for an entrant's respiratory needs when performing physical work, even if the space contains no toxic materials.”

An additional concern is that the door between the MRI unit and the control room is frequently sound-proof. A sedated or oxygen-deficient patient may have difficulty signaling to the technicians that there is a problem.

Additionally, during evaporation, the liquid helium undergoes a rapid thermal expansion which temporarily pressurizes the room. If the door opens into the MRI room, outside staff would be unable to open the door.

The Nova Model 510D is an oxygen deficiency monitor with a diffusion-style electrochemical sensor. There are two levels of alarm:

1. Alert level at 19.5% O2 which triggers a yellow LED light, an optional flashing red strobe light, and a relay contact.

2. Alarm level at 18.0% O2 which triggers a red LED light, an audible horn, an optional flashing red strobe light, and a relay contact. The audible horn may be silenced using an acknowledge button.

There are various configurations are available to suit different monitoring schemas as shown in the above graphic. Here is the brochure in our on-line catalog…

We make industrial gas analyzers for oxygen, hydrogen, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, methane, and many other atmospheric gases. We provide gas analysers for syngas, landfill gas, purity gas, biogas, and others. We also do ambient air and oxygen deficiency monitoring.

Give Mike or Dave at Nova a call, or send us an e-mail.
1-800-295-3771
sales at nova-gas dot com
websales at nova-gas dot com
http://www.nova-gas.com/
If you have a LinkedIn account, search for Nova Analytical Systems under Companies and follow us if you want.


OSHA - http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=PREAMBLES&p_id=839
Record Type: Permit-Required Confined Spaces, Section: 2, Title: Section 2 - II. Hazards, Footnote (1) a.

http://www.psqh.com/sepoct06/mrisuites.html

Pic of MRI Copyright 2010 Viet-Can Medical Services