Public Service Announcement – Apparently there are lamp posts in New York City where you can recharge your laptop

The following video is interesting in it’s own right – it shows how easy it is to steal bicycles in New York City. The video demonstrates the use of bolt cutters, a hack saw, an angle grinder and a hammer/chisel in bicycle theft:

But watch carefully during the part where he uses the angle grinder. He needs power, so he reaches into the base of a streetlight and finds… an extension cord! Apparently there are sources of power available at many places on the streets of New York. The next time you need electricity in the Big Apple, look around.

What we need now is instant-recharge laptops and phones. Then you could walk up to the lamp post, plug in for two minutes and get an hour or two of run time. This article shows you one possibility for creating a quick-charging device:

Make an Instant-Charge Screwdriver

Replace those plodding rechargeable batteries with large-storage super capacitors that power up via your computer’s USB port, and you can shorten recharge time to less than a minute and a half. Super caps both store and deliver energy quickly, so you won’t get nearly the endurance of a battery, but each charge will get you through a couple of screws—perfect for quick tightening jobs.

A look at an ultracapacitor:

[[[Jump to previous PSA - Do not transport your dog on an airplane in the luggage compartment]]]