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The Mental Munition Factory: December 2013
http://www.mentalmunition.com/2013_12_01_archive.html
Tuesday, December 24, 2013. Missed target, found hooliganism on drone mapping mission. A small unmanned aircraft system for mapping, developed for a National Science Foundation grant to improve STEM education. In north Louisiana, there’s a fantastic little place known for Muscadine grapes, pecans, and on occasion, alligators. So before we went down to visit my wife’s family farm for Thanksgiving, I decided to pack up one of the “drones” I’ve developed at the National Science Found...News from the Profess...
mentalmunition.com
The Mental Munition Factory: August 2013
http://www.mentalmunition.com/2013_08_01_archive.html
Tuesday, August 20, 2013. IEPA is silent on request for data, emails surrounding large tire fire. When a supply of one million tires caught fire in Hoopeston, IL, there were no environmental monitors to track pollution in the community. IEPA responded to the event along with firefighters, and has been keeping tabs on pollution ever since. With the fire extinguished, IEPAs primary concern has been shifted to the tire dust kicked up during cleanup. Tags: community-based sensor journalism. Subscribe to: Pos...
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The Mental Munition Factory: June 2013
http://www.mentalmunition.com/2013_06_01_archive.html
Tuesday, June 18, 2013. Civilian whose drone was shot down over Turkey protests comes back for more video. Since May 28, citizens in Turkey have been protesting their governments plan to raze a park in the countrys capital, and replace it with a commercial center and military barracks. Violence in Taksim Gezi Park has escalated much since then, with police hitting protesters with tear gas, rubber bullets, and water cannons. On June 13, I reported on sUASNews.com. Tags: citizen drone journalism. Before I ...
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The Mental Munition Factory: July 2013
http://www.mentalmunition.com/2013_07_01_archive.html
Wednesday, July 31, 2013. Hot spots linger during Hoopeston tire fire cleanup, FOIA filed. Firefighters attempt to extinguish the tire fire at J&R Used Tire Service in Hoopeston, Ill., on June 19. Photo by Dan Johnson. State environmental officials are continuing to monitor the site where a massive tire fire broke out 43 days ago, citing new concerns about dust during the cleanup process. J&R Used Tire Service. Wednesday, July 24, 2013. The MDEQ (Michigan Department of Environmental Quality) cannot imple...
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The Mental Munition Factory: November 2013
http://www.mentalmunition.com/2013_11_01_archive.html
Monday, November 25, 2013. There's been a big uptick in drone research over the last decade. Recently, I was tasked with producing some basic citations on unmanned aerial vehicles, more commonly called drones, for a new grant proposal. As you could imagine, it was not hard to find a cornucopia of papers reflecting the many novel uses for the technology. What might surprise some, though, was the sheer increase. In drone research, how popular. These papers are in the academic world , what.
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The Mental Munition Factory: A call for journalists and makers to join hands around IOT and evidence-based journalism
http://www.mentalmunition.com/2014/02/a-call-for-journalists-and-makers-to.html
Thursday, February 27, 2014. A call for journalists and makers to join hands around IOT and evidence-based journalism. Writing for Al Jazeera English, D. Parvaz reported on a recent conference for atomic experts organized by the International Atomic Energy Association (IAEA), where it was remarkably difficult to get answers from atomic experts. That group was Safecast. An international not-for-profit that crowd-sources radiation detection with open-source sensors. Safecast held one of their regular h...
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The Mental Munition Factory: February 2013
http://www.mentalmunition.com/2013_02_01_archive.html
Monday, February 25, 2013. Making a home for a sensor node - with a laser. Sensor nodes need a good home if theyre to last any considerable amount of time. And if theyre to be deployed outdoors, they need an especially robust home. This can be complicated. Most sensors need to be exposed to the elements to obtain good readings. But expose these electronics to the elements too much, and youll break them. Previously I wrote about working with Arduinos and temperature sensors. Thursday, February 21, 2013.
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The Mental Munition Factory: January 2013
http://www.mentalmunition.com/2013_01_01_archive.html
Friday, January 25, 2013. Heat island effect and asthma: an argument for temperature nodes for journalists. Meteorologists shouldn’t be the only people in the news ecosystem concerned with temperature. Extreme temperatures can exacerbate food shortages. And disrupt public services. At the moment, Australia is undergoing the worst heat wave it’s ever recorded. It’s gotten so hot (all together now: how hot is it? That the Australian weather service has added a new color to its heat map. Without countermeas...
mentalmunition.com
The Mental Munition Factory: December 2014
http://www.mentalmunition.com/2014_12_01_archive.html
Tuesday, December 16, 2014. Here's a holiday gift guide to help you get started in drones. While drones have some great potential both as a tool and an educational hobby, it can be rather intimidating to get started. There's just so many platforms and widgets to choose from, and it seems every day someone is launching a new type of drone. As I pointed out in a recent post on the sensor journalism Google group, I actually think the market might be bottoming out for creating drone hardware. And the complim...
