I've worked in science and technology for 36 yr. I handled radio-isotopes safely and happily for several of those years. If a neighbor told me that he intended to install a cyclotron, my first reacion would be "go dude!" I would politely suggest using enough concrete blocks to stop the X-rays, but it's an exciting idea. If he then told me that he intended to manufacture radio-isotopes next to my house, my reaction as a parent and homeowner would then change to "I don't think so...!" As soon as you talk about isotope manufacture you need to talk about air vents with filters and holding tanks for your contaminated liquid effluents. That's why we have industrial parks and zoning laws. The history of radioactive work is full of exciting advances and "seeming" miracles, but it is also punctuated by incidents of poor judgement, studity and negligence. That's why we have codes of best practices, backed up by zoning laws.
I own a 2005 Honda Civic hybrid with manual transmission and I get 56mpg on trips>100mi traveling an average of 65mph, peaking at 70mph. For my standard 10 mile commute to work, I get 45mpg. My 11 gal tank lasts two standard work weeks. I don't know when or if it will pay off the "hybrid premium" in gas savings, but I enjoy driving it, and I waste less time waiting around in gas stations while my tank fills. In times of gas shortages and high priced gas, I'll waste a lot less of my precious fun money at gas stations. Regards, Art
We bought our daughter a laptop 5 or 6 years ago, around 7th grade, because she wanted something small and "stylish" to fit on her small desk. By her own choice she did most of her schoolwork by hand however, leaving the laptop for chatting with her friends. Laptops fit kid's rooms much better than do desktops IMHO, and we've really been pleased overall. She's a senior this year and finally needed to upgrade to a newer laptop, which is yet smaller, much faster, and which she'll take to college. (She still chooses to do most of her homework by hand, but she has now automated her music collection.) Cheers, Art
We use 24 100 watt pv panels on our home, and tie it through an inverter-intertie to our grid connection. It will pay itself off in less than 15 years, and has a 20 year warranty. We have an annual billing plan, such that our kw-h meter is only read once annually, and our bill is adjusted to charge us for time of day, allowing us to concentrate our usage to off peak and gain an advantage. For 3 years we have paid no electric bill, here in San Jose, CA. We not only like the idea of generating our own kw-h's, but also we like being able to spite folks like Enron. When these newer cheaper panels become available, we'll be glad to add more capacity, as needed. Art
We've had a solar generator with "net metering" for over 2 years now. It has a 20 yr warranty and an allegedly 40 yr design life. It runs backwards during daytime "peak" hours when the kwh cost is higher, and in the evening runs forward when the cost is lowest. The meter records the usage for peak as well as overall usage. To hammer home the point, we sell power at an overall higher price than that at which we buy it back, because we limit our daytime usage of power, being away at work and all. We haven't paid an electric bill in over 2 years! Yes, the system was expensive, with the dominant cost being the panels, but we're basically talking about a capital improvement to our house, which increases its market value to some extent. In addition, the system will pay itself off, long before the warranty period is up. The controller is digital, and since we bought it, has had one firmware upgrade to increase system (not panel) efficiency. Lastly there is the satisfaction of having every collected photon being a "spite photon", with respect to folks like Enron. Art
He Fails on the History of Technology
on
Trusted Computing
·
· Score: 2, Interesting
I have yet to encounter an Internet Prognosticator who gets it right about the history of worldwide communication, and the formation of worldwide communities. Ham Radio operators communicated around the world, drove technological advances and formed virtual communities based upon radio communication, throughout much of the 20th century. In addition there were numerous folks who merely "surfed" the shortwave bands with receivers only, partaking of the worldwide shortwave radio "content." My point here is merely that these prognosticators should spend less time trying to prove that the Internet was the first medium to enable these activities, and spend more time on the Internet issues at hand.
Art
UV would work somewhat, but if the surface has a lot of organic dirt, the UV could be somewhat attenuated, hence weakened, before getting to bugs at the plastic surface. XRAY or gamma would surely be better, but they may tend to erase your non-volatile memories. These sorts of problems always get more interesting as details emerge.
>Remember: solar cells indirectly require more energy to make than they ever generate in their lifetime.
Actually the energy cost of making the silicon cells is buried in the somewhat high cost of purchasing them as an end user. That cost can be readily recouped when the cells are used in a well implemented solar electric generator. If you've paid back the cost of purchase, you've paid back the energy cost of manufacture. Standard systems have a 20 year warranty on the panels, and if you regard it as a capital investment, like buying a new roof, it's a lot easier to comprehend.
Enron inspired my wife and I to have a 2.3kW grid-tied solar system installed on our San Jose,CA roof in Feb 2002. We entered a Net Metering contract with PG&E, such that we are only billed once a year, and our electric meter is a time-of-use meter that permits us to be charged less for off-peak usage. Our excess energy is fed onto the grid, thereby running our meter backwards most days during peak billing hours. Most of our consumption is off-peak, therefore we mostly sell energy at a higher billing rate than that at which we buy it back.
We had already installed a setback thermostat, replaced incandescent bulbs with CFL's, replaced a desktop CRT with LCD display and do most food reheating in a microwave. Our desktop is a Mac G4, which uses less energy than an equivalent desktop Pentium due to the nature of the Pentium chip set, and our other computers are Mac laptops, which are very efficient. No wall warts or other gear are left on when unused in our house. [ Note also that with any type of computer gear, all else being equal, the faster the clock rate, the higher the energy consumption, and the more waste heat that has to be dissipated somehow. If you don't like throwing your money away, for any given task use the slowest "suitable" system. No one should ever need 1.4GHz clock and DDR RAM to compose a text message! ]
The net result is that we will likely generate >100% of our electric needs in an average year, despite our electric stove, and using one or more computers and a TV or Stereo every evening. The installation has a 20 year warranty and will pay itself back in 15-20 years, unlike *any* other toy that I've ever purchased. No, it's not for everyone, and you have to take a long view to justify the expense, but it is quite practical in a reasonable climate, particularly if you have a more or less south facing roof. Art
If your goal is to reduce the cost of automating experiments that require an optical sensor, then consider the imaging equipment being used by amateur astronomers. These imagers are less expensive than the "professional grade" units, and are much more adaptable to being attached to equipment than are consumer units. Most of the amateur astronomy magazines have an assortment of ads for these units. As indicated by other folks, you'll need to develop or acquire physical calibration standards for noise, linearity, sensitivity versus exposure time, resolution, dark response, pattern sensitivity, repeatability and temperature stability, to name a few. It sounds like fun.
Good Luck,
Art
Given the recent anthrax attacks, and our national War posture, your security hassles are not inconsistent with US 20th Century history. You might look at a good history of the Manhattan Project for a picture of just how draconian security measures can get during wartime in the US. As they say, "you haven't seen anything yet!"
There is nothing new here. Don't forget that the U.S Aerospace industry had a collapse in the late 60's, in which thousands of bright, trained and experienced engineers were summarily laid off. As for contract labor woes and job exports, this is nothing new. Let me suggest a good course in U.S. History, followed by a Labor History course, unless you wish to persist in believing the delusion that computer geeks are somehow unique and special. In the meantime, weigh the benefits of belonging to a good professional organization, such as IEEE, ACM or (?), depending upon your specialty. At least that way you can manage a benefits portfolio in your career progression from job to job. Above all, regardless of short term compensation, try to get into a field that you actually enjoy for its own sake. It's better for your health, and in the long run you might still get financially lucky.
On the Mac, Apple has Appleworks, which does everything that the average person wants to do on a computer, but is much smaller and faster than Office. It's not a new concept either, as there were "Works" packages on the Apple II, and Microsoft once had a "Works" package. Never forget that "regular" people need to do a common set of things easily. Cryptic command line concepts are worthless when the computer is just another tool to use during a busy day.
Art
Slashdot Mirror
I've worked in science and technology for 36 yr. I handled radio-isotopes safely and happily for several of those years. If a neighbor told me that he intended to install a cyclotron, my first reacion would be "go dude!" I would politely suggest using enough concrete blocks to stop the X-rays, but it's an exciting idea. If he then told me that he intended to manufacture radio-isotopes next to my house, my reaction as a parent and homeowner would then change to "I don't think so...!" As soon as you talk about isotope manufacture you need to talk about air vents with filters and holding tanks for your contaminated liquid effluents. That's why we have industrial parks and zoning laws. The history of radioactive work is full of exciting advances and "seeming" miracles, but it is also punctuated by incidents of poor judgement, studity and negligence. That's why we have codes of best practices, backed up by zoning laws.
I own a 2005 Honda Civic hybrid with manual transmission and I get 56mpg on trips>100mi traveling an average of 65mph, peaking at 70mph. For my standard 10 mile commute to work, I get 45mpg. My 11 gal tank lasts two standard work weeks. I don't know when or if it will pay off the "hybrid premium" in gas savings, but I enjoy driving it, and I waste less time waiting around in gas stations while my tank fills. In times of gas shortages and high priced gas, I'll waste a lot less of my precious fun money at gas stations.
Regards,
Art
We bought our daughter a laptop 5 or 6 years ago, around 7th grade, because she wanted something small and "stylish" to fit on her small desk. By her own choice she did most of her schoolwork by hand however, leaving the laptop for chatting with her friends. Laptops fit kid's rooms much better than do desktops IMHO, and we've really been pleased overall. She's a senior this year and finally needed to upgrade to a newer laptop, which is yet smaller, much faster, and which she'll take to college. (She still chooses to do most of her homework by hand, but she has now automated her music collection.)
Cheers,
Art
We use 24 100 watt pv panels on our home, and tie it through an inverter-intertie to our grid connection. It will pay itself off in less than 15 years, and has a 20 year warranty. We have an annual billing plan, such that our kw-h meter is only read once annually, and our bill is adjusted to charge us for time of day, allowing us to concentrate our usage to off peak and gain an advantage. For 3 years we have paid no electric bill, here in San Jose, CA. We not only like the idea of generating our own kw-h's, but also we like being able to spite folks like Enron. When these newer cheaper panels become available, we'll be glad to add more capacity, as needed.
Art
We've had a solar generator with "net metering" for over 2 years now. It has a 20 yr warranty and an allegedly 40 yr design life. It runs backwards during daytime "peak" hours when the kwh cost is higher, and in the evening runs forward when the cost is lowest. The meter records the usage for peak as well as overall usage. To hammer home the point, we sell power at an overall higher price than that at which we buy it back, because we limit our daytime usage of power, being away at work and all. We haven't paid an electric bill in over 2 years! Yes, the system was expensive, with the dominant cost being the panels, but we're basically talking about a capital improvement to our house, which increases its market value to some extent. In addition, the system will pay itself off, long before the warranty period is up. The controller is digital, and since we bought it, has had one firmware upgrade to increase system (not panel) efficiency. Lastly there is the satisfaction of having every collected photon being a "spite photon", with respect to folks like Enron.
Art
I have yet to encounter an Internet Prognosticator who gets it right about the history of worldwide communication, and the formation of worldwide communities. Ham Radio operators communicated around the world, drove technological advances and formed virtual communities based upon radio communication, throughout much of the 20th century. In addition there were numerous folks who merely "surfed" the shortwave bands with receivers only, partaking of the worldwide shortwave radio "content." My point here is merely that these prognosticators should spend less time trying to prove that the Internet was the first medium to enable these activities, and spend more time on the Internet issues at hand. Art
UV would work somewhat, but if the surface has a lot of organic dirt, the UV could be somewhat attenuated, hence weakened, before getting to bugs at the plastic surface. XRAY or gamma would surely be better, but they may tend to erase your non-volatile memories. These sorts of problems always get more interesting as details emerge.
Art
>Remember: solar cells indirectly require more energy to make than they ever generate in their lifetime.
Actually the energy cost of making the silicon cells is buried in the somewhat high cost of purchasing them as an end user. That cost can be readily recouped when the cells are used in a well implemented solar electric generator. If you've paid back the cost of purchase, you've paid back the energy cost of manufacture. Standard systems have a 20 year warranty on the panels, and if you regard it as a capital investment, like buying a new roof, it's a lot easier to comprehend.
Enron inspired my wife and I to have a 2.3kW grid-tied solar system installed on our San Jose,CA roof in Feb 2002. We entered a Net Metering contract with PG&E, such that we are only billed once a year, and our electric meter is a time-of-use meter that permits us to be charged less for off-peak usage. Our excess energy is fed onto the grid, thereby running our meter backwards most days during peak billing hours. Most of our consumption is off-peak, therefore we mostly sell energy at a higher billing rate than that at which we buy it back.
We had already installed a setback thermostat, replaced incandescent bulbs with CFL's, replaced a desktop CRT with LCD display and do most food reheating in a microwave. Our desktop is a Mac G4, which uses less energy than an equivalent desktop Pentium due to the nature of the Pentium chip set, and our other computers are Mac laptops, which are very efficient. No wall warts or other gear are left on when unused in our house. [ Note also that with any type of computer gear, all else being equal, the faster the clock rate, the higher the energy consumption, and the more waste heat that has to be dissipated somehow. If you don't like throwing your money away, for any given task use the slowest "suitable" system. No one should ever need 1.4GHz clock and DDR RAM to compose a text message! ]
The net result is that we will likely generate >100% of our electric needs in an average year, despite our electric stove, and using one or more computers and a TV or Stereo every evening. The installation has a 20 year warranty and will pay itself back in 15-20 years, unlike *any* other toy that I've ever purchased. No, it's not for everyone, and you have to take a long view to justify the expense, but it is quite practical in a reasonable climate, particularly if you have a more or less south facing roof.
Art
If your goal is to reduce the cost of automating experiments that require an optical sensor, then consider the imaging equipment being used by amateur astronomers. These imagers are less expensive than the "professional grade" units, and are much more adaptable to being attached to equipment than are consumer units. Most of the amateur astronomy magazines have an assortment of ads for these units. As indicated by other folks, you'll need to develop or acquire physical calibration standards for noise, linearity, sensitivity versus exposure time, resolution, dark response, pattern sensitivity, repeatability and temperature stability, to name a few. It sounds like fun. Good Luck, Art
Given the recent anthrax attacks, and our national War posture, your security hassles are not inconsistent with US 20th Century history. You might look at a good history of the Manhattan Project for a picture of just how draconian security measures can get during wartime in the US. As they say, "you haven't seen anything yet!"
There is nothing new here. Don't forget that the U.S Aerospace industry had a collapse in the late 60's, in which thousands of bright, trained and experienced engineers were summarily laid off. As for contract labor woes and job exports, this is nothing new. Let me suggest a good course in U.S. History, followed by a Labor History course, unless you wish to persist in believing the delusion that computer geeks are somehow unique and special. In the meantime, weigh the benefits of belonging to a good professional organization, such as IEEE, ACM or (?), depending upon your specialty. At least that way you can manage a benefits portfolio in your career progression from job to job. Above all, regardless of short term compensation, try to get into a field that you actually enjoy for its own sake. It's better for your health, and in the long run you might still get financially lucky.
On the Mac, Apple has Appleworks, which does everything that the average person wants to do on a computer, but is much smaller and faster than Office. It's not a new concept either, as there were "Works" packages on the Apple II, and Microsoft once had a "Works" package. Never forget that "regular" people need to do a common set of things easily. Cryptic command line concepts are worthless when the computer is just another tool to use during a busy day. Art