PDX Sci Tech

EngineerGirls, promoting girls getting into in engineering. Enjoyed the "Build A Better Paper Clip" expo.

"Oregon Rule Co. is a sole-proprietorship manufacturing company in business since 1983. The company was originally started by providing special adhesive backed rules to equipment manufacturers. Since then, various rule styles have been added so that over 200 different selections are now available from stock."

Falling more under the "unusual" category, Rip Off Report lets you search by state, with some interesting finds in the Portland area. Vickie's complaint about Powell's not wanting to buy her books back is more about her own frustration, though. I can certainly understand it. I once stood behind a guy trying to sell a stack of computer programming books--all of them $50 plus new--and not selling one. (Powells Technical won't buy them once a newer version of the book comes out).

But they do snap up the obscure--if you have a book on how to make your own light bulbs from 1925, they'll buy it.

Northwest River Forecast Center has a cool map/graphic on the front page. It is a continuously updated interactive map of all the Oregon/Washington rivers and their flood status.

Ministers and preachers buy technical manuals too. I never thought about it like that but they would need technical manuals like any other profession. Portland's Theological Research Exchange Network helps meet those needs with titles such as:

Assessing Safeguards And Remedies Against The Termination Of Educational Administrators During The Life Of Contract Of By Non-Renewal In The Diocese Of Lansing

Epistemology And Evidence: An Analysis Of Alvin Plantinga's Reformed Epistemology
and
An Overstanding Of Paul Ricoeur's 'Being-As' Metaphoric By St. Thomas Aquinas's Doctrine of Creation and Via Transcendentia

If you prefer your christianity without so many big words, Church of Elvis isn't quite so dense, or drive down Macadam to West Lynn for The Moonie's.

Solar / Wind Power of Portland. (lots of steam engines too). Off of 217. More wind energy businesses in Oregon. But the company that was going to build a wind turbine plant here "said as a result of slow congressional action and flagging U.S. demand, it will put its expansion plans on hold and lay off more than 500 employees."

OTOH, oil is back up to over 31 dollars a barrel, so this issue isn't going away.

Haunted places in Oregon.

If you are 1) in Oregon, 2) like triodes, and 3) are social, then the Oregon Triode Society is the place for you.

I just like this one because the guy on the cover looks like he's had a good time.

OK, Albany is down I-5 about an hour, but if you have some unknown ore you want identified I suspect the Albany Research Center is for you. It's one of the one of the U.S. Bureau of Mines largest reseach and development facilities.

The library looks like it has some interesting research possibilities (I like how they post the free trials to academic journals).

If it involves, melting, smelting, casting, galvanizing, corrosion and things of that nature, this looks like the place to call.

Very cool if you want to know if there is clear skies astronomy wise tonight: Portland & Northwest Weather for Astronomical Observing

P.S. There's a brighter than first magnitude comet due on May 19.

At least no one will accuse him of pork barrel politics

"Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) applauded the signature into law today of the 21st Century Nanotechnology Research and Development Act. The legislation, co-written by Wyden and Senator George Allen (R-Va.), will provide a nearly $3.7 billion boost to nanotechnology research in the United States...Wyden and Senator Gordon Smith (R-Ore.) have secured 1.2 million in the coming year’s defense funding bill for Oregon State University’s Heat Activated Pump Project...Wyden and Smith also have already secured 3 million for the Oregon Health Sciences University (OHSU)...Additionally, Wyden and Smith are working to provide 1.6 million for the redevelopment of the South Waterfront (this is related to nanotech how?), which has the potential to become a center for the nanotechnology industry. (well, OK, then.)

5.8 million out of 3.7 billion...carry the one...uh, you brought home 15 one-hundredth's of a percent of the action. Way to bring home the bacon, Ron. link

"Commission member Neil deGrasse Tyson, director of the Hayden Planetarium, asked about the cost of a Mars mission. Augustine said he hadn’t done enough analysis, but if he had to bet, he’d bet that the entire $15B NASA budget for ten years would not be enough."

"Bush II is proposing an extra $1B per year for five years, plus $11B saved from scrapping the shuttle and finishing the space station." link

Parks Medical

"We do all our own sheet-metal work and printed-circuit boards and also do work for other manufacturers in the vicinity. This debt-free company is wholly owned by Loren Parks, who designed most of the smaller units, and who actively oversees daily operations."

"We do very little advertising or marketing. This helps keep costs down and allows us to focus on providing the highest quality for the lowest price. We have lost a lot of sales because our prices are lower and a competitor says "You get what you pay for." Not always so. Our prices are lower because we sell most items directly to the consumer in the U.S.A. We don't have the most stylish equipment, but we have the best working and most reliable equipment."

Need 35,000 km of fiberoptic subcable laid? Me neither. You can get it at the largest ship repair facility on the US west coast, though.

Not PDX related, but interesting search options:

search in 2D grid

Search google by locations

The altavista image search is superior to google's, in that it doesn't have that annoying split screen fram and clicking on a pic takes you right to it.

Tech Bargains at Best Buy, Staples, Circuit City, the usual suspects. Seems to be run by regular people.

Free after rebate. My own experience is about 1/3 of the time I never get the rebate.

Researchbuss. Always adding new and odd search engines or online archives. Worth checking once a week or so.