Sanyo Solar Ark and Giant LED Display

shokk writes "Those of us who have played with CrystalFontz and Matrix Orbital serial LCD displays for geeky messaging will get a kick out of the 77k+ LED Solar Ark by Sanyo (only 21k of which are using as red/green/blue combinations for the presentation display). Not only does this behemoth show off its fantastically huge array of solar panels generating 530,000kWh/year and its high efficiency white LED technology, but it also sports a non-chemical water purification system in a very Feng Shui way. Lighting to restrooms underneath is provided by fiber optic paths from the white LEDs in the giant display above." It's a small plant as power plants go (600 kilowatts, when many plants are hundreds or thousands of megawatts) but it was cheap to produce, aesthetically pleasing, and of course, non-polluting, so that Godzilla won't visit.

Comments

Turn in the licenses....

[Sean Clifford]

There are a lot of people on the road who shouldn't be. But you can't expect pilot-license-level expertise from your average motorist. I'd be happy if they would just: (a) not talk on phone & drive, (b) not drink and drive, and (c) fucking signal.

Most drivers know about as much about their cars as they do about their computers: dick.

You put gas in it. You change oil and check other fluids every 3,000 miles. You take it to a mechanic here and there to check things out when they seem weird. You inflate tyres to the pressure indicated in the owner's manual. You drive. Drivers don't really need to know all that much about their cars, just as Joe Sixpack doesn't need to know all that much about the inner workings of his PC to use it.

However, it sure helps to have a clue about both.

I'm a pretty good driver and take good care of my car. I've only had one accident - which was major - and two speeding tickets in over 16 years behind the wheel. I did have a tyre blow out at 100kph+ during rush-hour traffic. It was just an inconvenience. Don't panic, keep the car straight, slow down, pull over, and stop. It ain't rocket science.

Re:There never was a problem with Firestone tires.

[devnullkac]

*Any* good driver would also know that you can't stop an 18 wheeler on a dime without causing a jack-knife. However, the instinct to simply slam on the brakes as you would in a passenger vehicle is too great to be ignored, so most US jurisdictions require a special license to drive vehicles of that type.

Perhaps another special class of driver's license should be required for SUVs, since driving techniques which lead to acceptable risk in ordinary passenger cars apparently lead to death in SUVs.