Phased Array antenna systems vs. Radom antenna systems for surface ships and yachts has now become a reality. The need for high bandwidth access to IP applications including voice and video at sea is increasing in demand. New applications for video streaming at sea allows for watching TV over the Internet as if you were watching TV at home. Our company P&L International sells one of the first Phased Array KU band systems for Maritime use. Recently I was working with a prospect in Europe who has launched a new service called Jetstream. I ran a demo of the service and found TV over IP with a channel selection of Direct/TV, Apple/TV and all the European networks available. With this combination of Low Profile high bandwidth Phased Array Technology combined with Jetstream, a super yacht can be anywhere in the world watching TV/Movies or surfing the Internet as if they were at home anywhere in the world. Our ZipPhaser phase array antenna only weights 60 lbs and is 5.9" high. Your thoughts are appreciated [more]

Anyone interested in applying for the position of Superintendent of the US Merchant Marine Academy can find the information at:
USMMAAF Website

I am a naval architect/marine engineer (University of Michigan - 1969). However, I only worked four years in design and construction before deciding to go to sea, obtain my engineering license, and work as a shipboard engineer. My original intent was to sail for several years, at least long enough to earn my chief engineer's license, then return to design and construction, thinking that I would be a much better naval architect/marine engineer if I actually sailed on ships. However, I enjoyed sailing so much that I never really returned to shoreside duty. I spent most of my 30-year career with a major oil company in their US-flag tanker fleet, with 20 years of that time as chief engineer. However, I also worked shoreside for the company on numerous special projects. Along the way, between shipboard assignments, I attended the University of California and earned a master's degree in electrical engineering, specifically in the area of microprocessor design, because programmable logic controllers (PLC's) were just beginning to make their appearance in the field of alarm and control systems, and I thought it would be worthwhile to know how they worked. [more]

Over the last century the world's population has more-or-less quadrupled.  If the trend continues then by the year 2109 the world's population will be about 28 billion!  Moreover, due to "global meltdown", the latest forecasts by glaciologists say, that "by the turn of the present century, sea levels are likely to rise by about 7 m (23 ft)".  Thus, we have two concomitant problems over the next 50 years or so, namely, a growing world population and shrinking dry land.  Now some 71% of the Earth's surface is covered by water; only about 29% is covered by dry land.  Therefore to increase our area of "dry land" on Planet Earth, I suggest that we build floating island cities & floating island farms.  In the case of the latter, I suggest that we use the hydroponic method of agriculture, where to grow our crops, we require sunlight, water , air & nutrients; we do not require soil.  For both types of floating island, I suggest that we use 'green energy', namely wave energy, tidal energy, wind energy, solar energy and bio-mass energy, where in the case of the last, we use human waste as a fuel for power stations. [more]