The knobs and levers of our old 1971 Volvo were very well laid out ergonomically. I could easily find and operate any of the controls, by feel, without taking my eyes of the road. The knobs were all large enough for someone wearing winter gloves to easily operate. The knobs and levers typically provide non-visual feedback with clicks or the sound of a fan, or the feel of moving parts.
By comparison, my 1992 GMC Sierra pickup truck has a collection of buttons all grouped together in one small area of the dash. To adjust the heating or cooling temperature, I need to find and then hold down the appropriate button for several seconds, while watching the temperature setting slowly scroll across the small display. While holding that button, I need to look back and forth several times, between the small display and the road. Unlike the old Volvo, there is no feedback in the form of sound or how the controls feel.
When I occasionally find myself having to drive a much newer car or truck, their controls are so complex and confusing, that even the controls on my old 1992 pickup truck seem simple and easy to use by comparison.
I use Linux and other free software such as LibreOffice, Firefox, GIMP, Gramps, Recoll, Mirage, and various other free programs. Like you, I do not have any need for pirated software. I use the Synaptic package manager to easily download and install whatever free programs I want, directly from the official Ubuntu repositories.
Free programs such as those, are properly licensed under one of several free software licenses such as the GPL, LGPL, MPL, or some other similar license.
I have also purchased and installed the Linux versions of a couple of commercial programs, such as Autopano Giga. But other than those two exceptions, I do not use commercial software on this computer.
It gives me the warm fuzzies, knowing that almost all of the software I use, is properly licensed under various free software licenses such as the GPL, LGPL, or the MPL. I do not need to worry about what companies such as Microsoft or the Business Software Alliance (BSA) think. Fuck them, and their annoying attitude.
Several years ago, a husband once brought his handicapped wife to a Linux users group meeting. Another women in the group briefly said something about the GIMP. The handicapped older woman than angrily demanded that her husband take her home at once. She incorrectly thought the other younger woman had disparagingly referred to her as being a gimp.
When I was in high school, back in the late 1960s and early 1970s, a couple of guys I knew used the word gimp as slang for a handicapped person. I have not heard the word used since then.
For those who have not heard the word gimp before, here is a link to a short article that uses the word several times:
On my desktop computer at home, Linux has been meeting my needs quite satisfactorily for a number of years now. Like you, I do not need any commercial, non-Linux programs such as Photoshop, AutoCAD, Microsoft Office, or some game. Instead, various free open-source programs, such as LibreOffice, Gimp, Gramps, Firefox, and others, meet my needs just fine. At home, I do not care what the de facto industry standard programs are.
I no longer feel the need to dual-boot between Linux and Windows, so on this computer and several previous computers, have never had Windows installed. I have Kubuntu Linux installed instead.
One not so well known commercial program that I have purchased and installed is the Linux version of the Autopano Giga image-stitching program. I use it for splicing photos together.
The needs of many business users and home users, may be different than mine, but for my needs, I prefer Linux.
I could start by inserting the free Darik’s Boot and Nuke self booting CD, and wiping then hard drive. Then just to be extra thorough, I could shoot it several times with my.357 magnum. After that, I could take it back home and drop it off of a nearby hundred foot high cliff a couple of times. That should be more than adequate.
As BluBrick mentions, there are various alternatives to using a gun. After wiping the hard drive with Darik's boot and Nuke, I suppose I could just whack it repeatedly with the pointed end of our thick, heavy, 7 foot long steel digging bar, that I occasionally use for prying loose large rocks when digging by hand. The long, heavy steel bar, is an alternative to using a pick, when inserted into a crack, and prying loose large rocks.
A few blows with a sledge hammer would probably also smash the hard drive adequately.
Here is the link for getting the free Darik's Boot and Nuke self booting CD:
When I did the above post, I had not yet noticed where it said that the consoles got better with later revisions. So, it sounds like they probably are not as much different from my desktop computer now. When, I get a chance, I will read one or both of the linked articles to see what they have to say.
A laptop or notebook computer would probably use even less than my computer. As far as I can tell, my desktop computer does not seem to be set to go into a sleep mode. Only my flatscreen monitor clearly goes into sleep mode. However, most of the time the CPU cores are running at about half speed. My knowledge about all that is pretty limited. It is when doing something like posting on Slashdot, that my computer uses 71 W plus 38 W for the monitor.
I had to post very quickly, without reading the linked articles, before going off to do a couple of errands.
Just for comparison my desktop computer is drawing 71 Watts right now, with the flatscreen monitor drawing an additional 38 Watts. The monitor eventually drops down to using about 1 Watt when it is in the sleep mode. At the moment I have my computer plugged into a Kill-A-Watt meter. I have occasionally had the monitor also plugged into a Kill-A-Watt meter.
I have an Intel i7 processor and am using Kubuntu Linux on this desktop computer. Of course, it uses more power than that I work it harder.
I am not really a sports fan, and have never had much interest in having cable TV or satellite TV. Instead of cable, I use a converter box to watch a few digital antenna channels on my old mid-1990s era analog 13 inch TV set.
I have never had much interest in downloading music, and have never done so.
I do own a cell phone, but rarely ever use it. I do not use any extra features such as text messaging.
I now finally have a DSL connection, but up until about 5 years ago, all I had was 26.4k dial-up. I have never used social media. I do occasionally buy and download an occasional e-book for my Kindle. I use Linux and other open source software on my home computer, which is free. I do not spend much on software.
I have continued to have steady secure employment over the last several decades, so I could afford to have cable TV, and to download music, if I really wanted it. But, I am just not interested in having either.
I live upstairs from where I work, so even without using my bicycle I do not use much gasoline or put many miles per year on my truck. Several grocery stores are within about 4 miles or so from home, so I do not use much gasoline driving to and from the grocery store. I also do much of my shopping at Amazon.com, which does not require my having to drive anywhere.
It usually takes about 25 years, to put enough miles on my car or truck to wear one out. I have been planning to have the engine on my 1992 GMC truck overhauled, whenever the engine wears out sometime in the next 10 years or so. After that, I plan to drive it for another 20 to 25 years. So, I might need to buy a new car or truck in about the year 2030 to 2040 time frame.
I have occasionally thought about possibly getting suitable racks on my bicycle (or even a bicycle trailer), so that it could carry several bags of groceries. Then, if I used my bicycle for the short trips to and from the grocery store, I would rarely ever need to drive my truck at all. In that case, I would drive so few miles per year, that I would die of old age, long before my truck ever wears out.
I am not a serious bicyclist, so I don't know if using my bicycle for grocery shopping would be practical or not. For any of those 3 grocery stores, a major portion of the route would be on the nearby dirt hiking/bicycling trails, with only one major intersection with that has stop light. If I were to do that, I am thinking that it might be best to use an inexpensive old used bicycle, which is hardly worth stealing, and then lock it up in front of the stores front window, or in front of one of their security cameras.
I am a slightly overweight middle-aged guy who could use the exercise anyway.
The first two cars I had did not have power steering, which was common back then, in cars which weighed less than about 3,000 pounds. The heavier full-sized cars and trucks had more of a need have power steering, although even on them, it was sometimes an extra cost option.
A few decades ago, I used to occasionally drive an old 1959 dump truck, which did not have power steering. At about 20 MPH or above it was no problem, but at 5 mph it took a lot of muscle power using both arms. That was especially true when the truck was fully loaded.
I have a 5-speed manual transmission and a clutch pedal on my old pickup truck. I have never owned a car or truck that had an automatic transmission.
I prefer driving a stick shift except in heavy slow stop and go traffic. But, we do not get that kind of traffic in the smaller city in Northern Arizona where I live, so a stick shift is what I prefer. When I have occasionally had to rent a car, I find it very boring to just press the gas pedal and go, without having to use my left foot and right hand to shift gears.
I once had the power steering fail on a 1968 Jeep Wagoneer, but did not lose control. I was still able to steer, but had to use far more muscle power. I was going around some curves on a mountain road at the time. For some reason, losing the power steering was far worse than driving a vehicle which did not have power steering.
Despite not having power steering, I drove it back home and then later over to the mechanic. It was no big deal. As a teenage guy, I was strong enough be able to be able drive it without the power in the power steering. An elderly woman, probably would not have had the strength to do that.
A fan belt for the power steering had broken. Fortunately, the water pump and probably the alternator were on the other fan belt, so they were still working.
I have a small wallet sized external drive that I keep in my safety deposit at the bank. Every couple of months, I go to the bank and switch it with my other external drive which has a more recent backup. Then I take the other external drive home. By having two external drives, I can avoid having to make an extra trip back to the bank, each time.
I also have a slightly larger sized external drive that I keep at home for doing more frequent backups. The other smaller wallet sized external drive in my safety deposit box, is my off site backup. There is always the slight chance that the external drive at home could be lost through a burglary or fire. I use a total of three different external drives for doing the regular backups on my home computer.
On my Linux desktop computer at home, I use the rsync command to regularly update the backups on each of my three external drives.
Another off site option that I have considered, is keeping an encrypted backup on an external drive at a nearby older relatives house.
The sun is actually higher in the sky during the summer than during the winter, so that what gets shaded by the trees, would vary depending upon the time of the year. For example, it is possible to design the size the roof overhang, combined with the size of the home’s windows, such sunlight enters the windows during the cold winter, but not during the hot summer. For solar panels on the roof (or ground or wherever), a similar seasonal change of the location of the shadow from the oak trees, would also occur.
The latitude where you live would also affect those calculations significantly, and would also affect the ideal angle for mounting the solar panels.
I have seen a few websites and solar books which briefly describe how to calculate some of those angles, but I am not an expert. I just have somewhat of an interest in the subject. One such somewhat similar calculation that I have seen described in a couple of solar books, is how to size a roof overhang, so that the windows are totally in the shade during the hot summer, but receiving full sunlight during the cold winter. As I recall, the homes latitude was also taken into consideration.
My 20 year old pickup truck does not have airbags or anti-lock brakes. For the most part, I still drive the way I was taught in back in drivers-ed, in the late 1960s. However, contrary to what I was taught, I frequently do get lazy and rest my thumbs on the steering wheel spokes. That leaves my hands just barely above the 9 and 3 positions.
I hope my 20 year old truck keeps running reliably for quite a few more years. Until then, either position on the steering wheel should be OK.
I always wear my seatbelt, so I have never been concerned about not having airbags. It also helps that I am a careful driver who has never had never had an accident.
A number of years ago, I encountered a fake Microsoft security warning while using my Linux computer. It said that Microsoft had detected viruses and spyware on my computer. This was on a Linux computer that did not have any Microsoft products installed on it.
It offered to do a free online scan of my hard drive. Despite clicking on No, a progress bar appeared as it started to do a fake scan of my hard drive. After about 60 seconds, it said that it had finished scanning my drive C. It then said that several different viruses and types of spyware had been detected in both my registry and on drive C. The funny thing is that Linux does not have a registry and also does not use drive letters to designate hard drive partitions.
It listed the names of several viruses that my Linux computer was supposedly infected with. Despite knowing that the test was bogus, I looked up those virus names out of curiosity, and found they were all Windows only viruses. Their scareware ad then offered to sell me their antivirus product, to remove the viruses and spyware.
My understanding is that most desktop users of Linux, have never felt the need to use antivirus software, because Linux viruses have never been a problem.
Despite their supposedly thorough scan of my registry and drive C, they had not noticed that I was not using Windows. Has anyone bothered yet to make a Linux version of their scareware ads?
I also did the speedtest.net test again just now, using my Windows XP computer instead of my Linux computer. I got the same 80 ms results again with either computer.
Adding to what I just said above, speedtest.net says 80 ms for my connection. Their nearest test server is in Tucson, Arizona, which is about 200 miles from where I live.
Their results for pinging my computer were 80 ms. The download speed was 1.45 Mbps and upload speed was 0.47 Mbps.
I have a CenturyLink DSL connection here in Arizona. My knowledge about networking is somewhat limited, but when I ping 8.8.8.8, I get 106 ms. Google.com is only 65.7 ms, and Slashdot.org is 116 ms.
When I ping the DNS address that is listed on the configuration page for my DSL modem, I get 57.1 ms (that test result is not included below).
At the moment the firewalls in my DSL modem and on my computer are set to not allow a response to being pinged, so I was not able to test their response time. These ping tests were done from my Linux Desktop computer, at home. I have a 1.5 Mbps/576 Kbps DSL connection from CenturyLink.
$ ping 8.8.8.8 PING 8.8.8.8 (8.8.8.8) 56(84) bytes of data. 64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_req=1 ttl=54 time=106 ms 64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_req=2 ttl=54 time=106 ms
$ ping google.com PING google.com (74.125.224.238) 56(84) bytes of data. 64 bytes from 2.bp.blogspot.com (74.125.224.238): icmp_req=1 ttl=57 time=65.8 ms 64 bytes from 2.bp.blogspot.com (74.125.224.238): icmp_req=2 ttl=57 time=65.7 ms
$ ping slashdot.org PING slashdot.org (216.34.181.45) 56(84) bytes of data. 64 bytes from slashdot.org (216.34.181.45): icmp_req=1 ttl=247 time=116 ms 64 bytes from slashdot.org (216.34.181.45): icmp_req=2 ttl=247 time=116 ms
I prefer the basic simplicity of the controls on many of the older vehicles. On my dad's old 1971 Volvo, I did not have to take my eyes off of the road to adjust the defroster, heater, air-conditioner, or radio. I knew where each knob and lever was, without looking, and could easily adjust them by feel.
I still drive a 20 year old pick-up truck which still runs reliably and looks like new. The controls are not as simple as the 1971 Volvo, but they are very simple compared to newer cars. My only criticism is that it has a few too many identical, closely spaced, buttons on the dash.
I do not have a GPS or On-Star. I open the door with a key. It has a 5-speed manual transmission, and I do not have power windows or power locks. The gauges are all analog. I can easily put it or out of 4 wheel drive or low range, by feel and sound, by using the lever on the floor (not buttons). The cruise control can be operated by feel, without looking.
I always wear my seatbelt, and I am not concerned about the lack of air-bags. Living in Arizona, where we do not get very much rain or snow, I am not concerned about the lack of ABS.
The AM/FM radio was unnecessarily complicated to operate while driving, so when it quit working about 15 years ago, I did not bother having it fixed. I preferred how, the radios in my two previous cars both had the far simpler old fashioned setup of just two large knobs and 5 push buttons. There was one push button for each of my favorite stations.
I have never owned a car with an automatic transmission and prefer having a stick shift. When driving an automatic, it bothers me, not having anything for my right arm and left foot to do when accelerating. It also makes driving boring when you can just press the gas peddle and the car or truck just goes.
Having just a large floor mat instead of carpeting is an advantage in the truck, because I can easily wipe away muddy footprints, with a damp cloth.
I hope to keep driving my simple old truck for many more years.
I am more concerned about terrorists possibly creating an electromagnetic pulse with several small nuclear weapons, just above the Earth's atmosphere. That could create a severe EMP pulse over much of North America. I am not sure how something like the Carrington Event of 1859 would compare.
When not in use, I normally keep my external hard drives disconnected from their power supply and the USB cable. I am not an expert on electronics, but my thinking is that if those wires were still attached, they could act as an antenna, by picking up energy from an EMP attack. Of course, disconnecting them would also protect them from nearby lightning strikes.
I also have a small wallet sized external USB hard drive that I keep in my safety deposit box at the bank. It has backups of all my photos and everything else from my home computer. I keep it there, so that I also have an off-site backup, just in case of a fire or burglar. I wonder if EMP would be able to make it through the large amount of thick steel around the banks safety deposit boxes? My USB hard drive is not touching the steel itself, because of various paper documents wrapped around it.
I once vaguely recall reading about a series of simulated EMP tests being done on various VHF amateur radio transceivers, back in the 1980s. As I recall, they found that the VHF radios with metal cases, all survived when external wires such as the antenna and power cord were disconnected.
I would think that data stored on CDs or DVDs would be safe, since they the data is stored optically, instead of magnetically.
If the power grid were to go down for a few months, there would be more important concerns that the survival of digital photos. Having some canned or dried food and warm clothing would be important. A source of drinking water, such as an old fashioned hand pump operated for a well, would be great. A person could also protect a few electronic devices, by storing them inside a Faraday cage.
I am a licensed ham radio operator, but have never been active in the hobby. I am looking forward to the peak of the 11 year solar cycle, because the band conditions should improve to where long distance communication will probably be possible again on higher frequency bands such as on 10 and 15 meters. I plan to put up an antenna soon and get on the HF bands for the first time.
The small city where I live, did not yet have a local access number for AOL, Compuserve, Prodigy, or a local Internet provider until somewhere later on in the late 1990s. I was told that our local calling area was too small to bother providing us with a local access number.
Later on in the 1990s, it seemed like we must have one one of the last places in Arizona to not have a local Internet provider, or access to AOL, Compuserve, or Prodigy. We did at least have several local computer bulletin boards that I could try out instead.
When Internet access did finally arrive several years later, the telephone lines in our neighborhood were not good enough for 28.8k. Most of the time, the modem would connect at 26.4k, and occasionally just at 24k. I am not sure what year 56k modems became available, but when the did, they would only connect at 26.4k here.
In the late 1990s and beyond, internal modems would only stay connected for a few minutes at a time on the telephone companies old local telephone lines that connected to where I live. Fortunately, I soon discovered that external modems would stay connected just fine.
It was not until fairly recently, like probably about 2007, when DSL finally became available where I live. I did not have cable either (and still don't). It was probably only about 5 years ago, that I was still only able to connect to the Internet at 26.4k.
Pack rats eating the insulation off of the wiring is a common problem for cars and trucks in my neighborhood. Typically, what happens is that the person goes out to start their car, and it won't start, because of the damage. On neighbor ended up having his roughly 20 year old Lincoln Continental scrapped at a junk yard because of all the damage to the wiring.
A nearby woman had her wiring chewed up twice, on her car. On the second occasion, the pack rats also chewed through a small water hose, such as possibly a heater hose.
About 50 miles away, someone once had the wiring in their Rolls-Royce chewed up so badly, that a new wiring harness had to be ordered. The Rolls-Royce had been parked inside their garage.
About a decade ago, pack-rats built a nest under the air cleaner on top of the engine in my truck. After tearing out their nest of sticks, thorns and dried leaves, for the second time, they finally gave up. Fortunately, I did not have any electrical problems. Perhaps my old GMC truck does not have soy-based insulation. The main wiring harness is also protected by a hard thick plastic shield. Twenty years later, my old truck is still running reliably, perhaps partially because it has relatively low mileage on the odometer for a 20 year old vehicle.
About decade or so ago, I also had a problem with pack rats (or possibly squirrels) building a nest inside the air cleaner of our old mid-1970s era backhoe. The diesel engine had been smoking badly. When the rat's nest was removed from the air cleaner, the engine stopped smoking. If the rats were sometimes inside their nest when the engine was started, I wonder what they thought of all noise, vibration, and wind through their nest.
Startpage does not record your IP address or track your searches. The Startpage the results are actually generated by Google.
Startpage supports SSL. So, when I type in Startpage.com, "https" appears in front of their URL instead of "http." That extra "s" tells me that that encryption is being used between my browser and the Startpage servers.
The sister search engine to Startpage is Ixquick. If I am not mistaken, the Ixquick search results are generated by various search engines other than Google.
Startpage also offers the option of viewing web sites through their proxy service. When selecting something from their search results, just click on "view by Ixquick proxy." Then, they only see the Startpage IP address, instead of your IP address. However, I have almost never actually bothered to use the proxy feature.
Privacy advocate Katherine Albrecht is the enthusiastic spokeswoman for Startpage.
I realize that both incidents were with an American Airlines representative, not a government official, but I have occasionally encountered government officials who have a similar bad attitude. Such people seem to enjoy being in a position of power.
I do not travel much, but once had a bad experience with a state highway inspector. About 20 years ago, a paving contractor was digging up our driveway at work to install a sewer line. At the end of the work day, the contractor had left his backhoe parked near the highway. As I recall, it might have been roughly about about 15 feet from the highway, which seemed far enough away from the highway.
But an official from the Highway Department or ADOT (or something like that), here in Arizona, happened to pass by on the way back from another job. He angrily stormed into our office and the first thing he said to me was I am your worst nightmare. Then he said that the backhoe was parked too close to the highway, by a couple of feet. He demanded that I have the backhoe moved at once.
I said that I would have to phone the owner of the business, to get the name of the contractor, and give them a call. That made him made him furious. As he started venting his anger at me, he threatened to have rented signs installed at our expense, unless I called the contractor right this instant.
After telephoning the owners of the business, I soon had the name and telephone number of the contractor, and gave them a call. The contractor said he would come out and take care of the problem. The ADOT official then left.
By contrast, I have also encountered government employees are were quite courteous and helpful.
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The knobs and levers of our old 1971 Volvo were very well laid out ergonomically. I could easily find and operate any of the controls, by feel, without taking my eyes of the road. The knobs were all large enough for someone wearing winter gloves to easily operate. The knobs and levers typically provide non-visual feedback with clicks or the sound of a fan, or the feel of moving parts.
By comparison, my 1992 GMC Sierra pickup truck has a collection of buttons all grouped together in one small area of the dash. To adjust the heating or cooling temperature, I need to find and then hold down the appropriate button for several seconds, while watching the temperature setting slowly scroll across the small display. While holding that button, I need to look back and forth several times, between the small display and the road. Unlike the old Volvo, there is no feedback in the form of sound or how the controls feel.
When I occasionally find myself having to drive a much newer car or truck, their controls are so complex and confusing, that even the controls on my old 1992 pickup truck seem simple and easy to use by comparison.
I use Linux and other free software such as LibreOffice, Firefox, GIMP, Gramps, Recoll, Mirage, and various other free programs. Like you, I do not have any need for pirated software. I use the Synaptic package manager to easily download and install whatever free programs I want, directly from the official Ubuntu repositories.
Free programs such as those, are properly licensed under one of several free software licenses such as the GPL, LGPL, MPL, or some other similar license.
I have also purchased and installed the Linux versions of a couple of commercial programs, such as Autopano Giga. But other than those two exceptions, I do not use commercial software on this computer.
It gives me the warm fuzzies, knowing that almost all of the software I use, is properly licensed under various free software licenses such as the GPL, LGPL, or the MPL. I do not need to worry about what companies such as Microsoft or the Business Software Alliance (BSA) think. Fuck them, and their annoying attitude.
Several years ago, a husband once brought his handicapped wife to a Linux users group meeting. Another women in the group briefly said something about the GIMP. The handicapped older woman than angrily demanded that her husband take her home at once. She incorrectly thought the other younger woman had disparagingly referred to her as being a gimp.
When I was in high school, back in the late 1960s and early 1970s, a couple of guys I knew used the word gimp as slang for a handicapped person. I have not heard the word used since then.
For those who have not heard the word gimp before, here is a link to a short article that uses the word several times:
http://www.scottsandsalive.com/gimp-fraud/
On my desktop computer at home, Linux has been meeting my needs quite satisfactorily for a number of years now. Like you, I do not need any commercial, non-Linux programs such as Photoshop, AutoCAD, Microsoft Office, or some game. Instead, various free open-source programs, such as LibreOffice, Gimp, Gramps, Firefox, and others, meet my needs just fine. At home, I do not care what the de facto industry standard programs are.
I no longer feel the need to dual-boot between Linux and Windows, so on this computer and several previous computers, have never had Windows installed. I have Kubuntu Linux installed instead.
One not so well known commercial program that I have purchased and installed is the Linux version of the Autopano Giga image-stitching program. I use it for splicing photos together.
The needs of many business users and home users, may be different than mine, but for my needs, I prefer Linux.
I could start by inserting the free Darik’s Boot and Nuke self booting CD, and wiping then hard drive. Then just to be extra thorough, I could shoot it several times with my .357 magnum. After that, I could take it back home and drop it off of a nearby hundred foot high cliff a couple of times. That should be more than adequate.
As BluBrick mentions, there are various alternatives to using a gun. After wiping the hard drive with Darik's boot and Nuke, I suppose I could just whack it repeatedly with the pointed end of our thick, heavy, 7 foot long steel digging bar, that I occasionally use for prying loose large rocks when digging by hand. The long, heavy steel bar, is an alternative to using a pick, when inserted into a crack, and prying loose large rocks.
A few blows with a sledge hammer would probably also smash the hard drive adequately.
Here is the link for getting the free Darik's Boot and Nuke self booting CD:
http://www.dban.org/
When I did the above post, I had not yet noticed where it said that the consoles got better with later revisions. So, it sounds like they probably are not as much different from my desktop computer now. When, I get a chance, I will read one or both of the linked articles to see what they have to say.
A laptop or notebook computer would probably use even less than my computer. As far as I can tell, my desktop computer does not seem to be set to go into a sleep mode. Only my flatscreen monitor clearly goes into sleep mode. However, most of the time the CPU cores are running at about half speed. My knowledge about all that is pretty limited. It is when doing something like posting on Slashdot, that my computer uses 71 W plus 38 W for the monitor.
I had to post very quickly, without reading the linked articles, before going off to do a couple of errands.
Just for comparison my desktop computer is drawing 71 Watts right now, with the flatscreen monitor drawing an additional 38 Watts. The monitor eventually drops down to using about 1 Watt when it is in the sleep mode. At the moment I have my computer plugged into a Kill-A-Watt meter. I have occasionally had the monitor also plugged into a Kill-A-Watt meter.
I have an Intel i7 processor and am using Kubuntu Linux on this desktop computer. Of course, it uses more power than that I work it harder.
I am not really a sports fan, and have never had much interest in having cable TV or satellite TV. Instead of cable, I use a converter box to watch a few digital antenna channels on my old mid-1990s era analog 13 inch TV set.
I have never had much interest in downloading music, and have never done so.
I do own a cell phone, but rarely ever use it. I do not use any extra features such as text messaging.
I now finally have a DSL connection, but up until about 5 years ago, all I had was 26.4k dial-up. I have never used social media. I do occasionally buy and download an occasional e-book for my Kindle. I use Linux and other open source software on my home computer, which is free. I do not spend much on software.
I have continued to have steady secure employment over the last several decades, so I could afford to have cable TV, and to download music, if I really wanted it. But, I am just not interested in having either.
I live upstairs from where I work, so even without using my bicycle I do not use much gasoline or put many miles per year on my truck. Several grocery stores are within about 4 miles or so from home, so I do not use much gasoline driving to and from the grocery store. I also do much of my shopping at Amazon.com, which does not require my having to drive anywhere.
It usually takes about 25 years, to put enough miles on my car or truck to wear one out. I have been planning to have the engine on my 1992 GMC truck overhauled, whenever the engine wears out sometime in the next 10 years or so. After that, I plan to drive it for another 20 to 25 years. So, I might need to buy a new car or truck in about the year 2030 to 2040 time frame.
I have occasionally thought about possibly getting suitable racks on my bicycle (or even a bicycle trailer), so that it could carry several bags of groceries. Then, if I used my bicycle for the short trips to and from the grocery store, I would rarely ever need to drive my truck at all. In that case, I would drive so few miles per year, that I would die of old age, long before my truck ever wears out.
I am not a serious bicyclist, so I don't know if using my bicycle for grocery shopping would be practical or not. For any of those 3 grocery stores, a major portion of the route would be on the nearby dirt hiking/bicycling trails, with only one major intersection with that has stop light. If I were to do that, I am thinking that it might be best to use an inexpensive old used bicycle, which is hardly worth stealing, and then lock it up in front of the stores front window, or in front of one of their security cameras.
I am a slightly overweight middle-aged guy who could use the exercise anyway.
The first two cars I had did not have power steering, which was common back then, in cars which weighed less than about 3,000 pounds. The heavier full-sized cars and trucks had more of a need have power steering, although even on them, it was sometimes an extra cost option.
A few decades ago, I used to occasionally drive an old 1959 dump truck, which did not have power steering. At about 20 MPH or above it was no problem, but at 5 mph it took a lot of muscle power using both arms. That was especially true when the truck was fully loaded.
I have a 5-speed manual transmission and a clutch pedal on my old pickup truck. I have never owned a car or truck that had an automatic transmission.
I prefer driving a stick shift except in heavy slow stop and go traffic. But, we do not get that kind of traffic in the smaller city in Northern Arizona where I live, so a stick shift is what I prefer. When I have occasionally had to rent a car, I find it very boring to just press the gas pedal and go, without having to use my left foot and right hand to shift gears.
I once had the power steering fail on a 1968 Jeep Wagoneer, but did not lose control. I was still able to steer, but had to use far more muscle power. I was going around some curves on a mountain road at the time. For some reason, losing the power steering was far worse than driving a vehicle which did not have power steering.
Despite not having power steering, I drove it back home and then later over to the mechanic. It was no big deal. As a teenage guy, I was strong enough be able to be able drive it without the power in the power steering. An elderly woman, probably would not have had the strength to do that.
A fan belt for the power steering had broken. Fortunately, the water pump and probably the alternator were on the other fan belt, so they were still working.
I have a small wallet sized external drive that I keep in my safety deposit at the bank. Every couple of months, I go to the bank and switch it with my other external drive which has a more recent backup. Then I take the other external drive home. By having two external drives, I can avoid having to make an extra trip back to the bank, each time.
I also have a slightly larger sized external drive that I keep at home for doing more frequent backups. The other smaller wallet sized external drive in my safety deposit box, is my off site backup. There is always the slight chance that the external drive at home could be lost through a burglary or fire. I use a total of three different external drives for doing the regular backups on my home computer.
On my Linux desktop computer at home, I use the rsync command to regularly update the backups on each of my three external drives.
Another off site option that I have considered, is keeping an encrypted backup on an external drive at a nearby older relatives house.
The sun is actually higher in the sky during the summer than during the winter, so that what gets shaded by the trees, would vary depending upon the time of the year. For example, it is possible to design the size the roof overhang, combined with the size of the home’s windows, such sunlight enters the windows during the cold winter, but not during the hot summer. For solar panels on the roof (or ground or wherever), a similar seasonal change of the location of the shadow from the oak trees, would also occur.
The latitude where you live would also affect those calculations significantly, and would also affect the ideal angle for mounting the solar panels.
I have seen a few websites and solar books which briefly describe how to calculate some of those angles, but I am not an expert. I just have somewhat of an interest in the subject. One such somewhat similar calculation that I have seen described in a couple of solar books, is how to size a roof overhang, so that the windows are totally in the shade during the hot summer, but receiving full sunlight during the cold winter. As I recall, the homes latitude was also taken into consideration.
My 20 year old pickup truck does not have airbags or anti-lock brakes. For the most part, I still drive the way I was taught in back in drivers-ed, in the late 1960s. However, contrary to what I was taught, I frequently do get lazy and rest my thumbs on the steering wheel spokes. That leaves my hands just barely above the 9 and 3 positions.
I hope my 20 year old truck keeps running reliably for quite a few more years. Until then, either position on the steering wheel should be OK.
I always wear my seatbelt, so I have never been concerned about not having airbags. It also helps that I am a careful driver who has never had never had an accident.
A number of years ago, I encountered a fake Microsoft security warning while using my Linux computer. It said that Microsoft had detected viruses and spyware on my computer. This was on a Linux computer that did not have any Microsoft products installed on it.
It offered to do a free online scan of my hard drive. Despite clicking on No, a progress bar appeared as it started to do a fake scan of my hard drive. After about 60 seconds, it said that it had finished scanning my drive C. It then said that several different viruses and types of spyware had been detected in both my registry and on drive C. The funny thing is that Linux does not have a registry and also does not use drive letters to designate hard drive partitions.
It listed the names of several viruses that my Linux computer was supposedly infected with. Despite knowing that the test was bogus, I looked up those virus names out of curiosity, and found they were all Windows only viruses. Their scareware ad then offered to sell me their antivirus product, to remove the viruses and spyware.
My understanding is that most desktop users of Linux, have never felt the need to use antivirus software, because Linux viruses have never been a problem.
Despite their supposedly thorough scan of my registry and drive C, they had not noticed that I was not using Windows. Has anyone bothered yet to make a Linux version of their scareware ads?
I also did the speedtest.net test again just now, using my Windows XP computer instead of my Linux computer. I got the same 80 ms results again with either computer.
Adding to what I just said above, speedtest.net says 80 ms for my connection. Their nearest test server is in Tucson, Arizona, which is about 200 miles from where I live.
Their results for pinging my computer were 80 ms. The download speed was 1.45 Mbps and upload speed was 0.47 Mbps.
I have a CenturyLink DSL connection here in Arizona. My knowledge about networking is somewhat limited, but when I ping 8.8.8.8, I get 106 ms. Google.com is only 65.7 ms, and Slashdot.org is 116 ms.
When I ping the DNS address that is listed on the configuration page for my DSL modem, I get 57.1 ms (that test result is not included below).
At the moment the firewalls in my DSL modem and on my computer are set to not allow a response to being pinged, so I was not able to test their response time. These ping tests were done from my Linux Desktop computer, at home. I have a 1.5 Mbps/576 Kbps DSL connection from CenturyLink.
$ ping 8.8.8.8
PING 8.8.8.8 (8.8.8.8) 56(84) bytes of data.
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_req=1 ttl=54 time=106 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_req=2 ttl=54 time=106 ms
$ ping google.com
PING google.com (74.125.224.238) 56(84) bytes of data.
64 bytes from 2.bp.blogspot.com (74.125.224.238): icmp_req=1 ttl=57 time=65.8 ms
64 bytes from 2.bp.blogspot.com (74.125.224.238): icmp_req=2 ttl=57 time=65.7 ms
$ ping slashdot.org
PING slashdot.org (216.34.181.45) 56(84) bytes of data.
64 bytes from slashdot.org (216.34.181.45): icmp_req=1 ttl=247 time=116 ms
64 bytes from slashdot.org (216.34.181.45): icmp_req=2 ttl=247 time=116 ms
I prefer the basic simplicity of the controls on many of the older vehicles. On my dad's old 1971 Volvo, I did not have to take my eyes off of the road to adjust the defroster, heater, air-conditioner, or radio. I knew where each knob and lever was, without looking, and could easily adjust them by feel.
I still drive a 20 year old pick-up truck which still runs reliably and looks like new. The controls are not as simple as the 1971 Volvo, but they are very simple compared to newer cars. My only criticism is that it has a few too many identical, closely spaced, buttons on the dash.
I do not have a GPS or On-Star. I open the door with a key. It has a 5-speed manual transmission, and I do not have power windows or power locks. The gauges are all analog. I can easily put it or out of 4 wheel drive or low range, by feel and sound, by using the lever on the floor (not buttons). The cruise control can be operated by feel, without looking.
I always wear my seatbelt, and I am not concerned about the lack of air-bags. Living in Arizona, where we do not get very much rain or snow, I am not concerned about the lack of ABS.
The AM/FM radio was unnecessarily complicated to operate while driving, so when it quit working about 15 years ago, I did not bother having it fixed. I preferred how, the radios in my two previous cars both had the far simpler old fashioned setup of just two large knobs and 5 push buttons. There was one push button for each of my favorite stations.
I have never owned a car with an automatic transmission and prefer having a stick shift. When driving an automatic, it bothers me, not having anything for my right arm and left foot to do when accelerating. It also makes driving boring when you can just press the gas peddle and the car or truck just goes.
Having just a large floor mat instead of carpeting is an advantage in the truck, because I can easily wipe away muddy footprints, with a damp cloth.
I hope to keep driving my simple old truck for many more years.
I am more concerned about terrorists possibly creating an electromagnetic pulse with several small nuclear weapons, just above the Earth's atmosphere. That could create a severe EMP pulse over much of North America. I am not sure how something like the Carrington Event of 1859 would compare.
When not in use, I normally keep my external hard drives disconnected from their power supply and the USB cable. I am not an expert on electronics, but my thinking is that if those wires were still attached, they could act as an antenna, by picking up energy from an EMP attack. Of course, disconnecting them would also protect them from nearby lightning strikes.
I also have a small wallet sized external USB hard drive that I keep in my safety deposit box at the bank. It has backups of all my photos and everything else from my home computer. I keep it there, so that I also have an off-site backup, just in case of a fire or burglar. I wonder if EMP would be able to make it through the large amount of thick steel around the banks safety deposit boxes? My USB hard drive is not touching the steel itself, because of various paper documents wrapped around it.
I once vaguely recall reading about a series of simulated EMP tests being done on various VHF amateur radio transceivers, back in the 1980s. As I recall, they found that the VHF radios with metal cases, all survived when external wires such as the antenna and power cord were disconnected.
I would think that data stored on CDs or DVDs would be safe, since they the data is stored optically, instead of magnetically.
If the power grid were to go down for a few months, there would be more important concerns that the survival of digital photos. Having some canned or dried food and warm clothing would be important. A source of drinking water, such as an old fashioned hand pump operated for a well, would be great. A person could also protect a few electronic devices, by storing them inside a Faraday cage.
I am a licensed ham radio operator, but have never been active in the hobby. I am looking forward to the peak of the 11 year solar cycle, because the band conditions should improve to where long distance communication will probably be possible again on higher frequency bands such as on 10 and 15 meters. I plan to put up an antenna soon and get on the HF bands for the first time.
The small city where I live, did not yet have a local access number for AOL, Compuserve, Prodigy, or a local Internet provider until somewhere later on in the late 1990s. I was told that our local calling area was too small to bother providing us with a local access number.
Later on in the 1990s, it seemed like we must have one one of the last places in Arizona to not have a local Internet provider, or access to AOL, Compuserve, or Prodigy. We did at least have several local computer bulletin boards that I could try out instead.
When Internet access did finally arrive several years later, the telephone lines in our neighborhood were not good enough for 28.8k. Most of the time, the modem would connect at 26.4k, and occasionally just at 24k. I am not sure what year 56k modems became available, but when the did, they would only connect at 26.4k here.
In the late 1990s and beyond, internal modems would only stay connected for a few minutes at a time on the telephone companies old local telephone lines that connected to where I live. Fortunately, I soon discovered that external modems would stay connected just fine.
It was not until fairly recently, like probably about 2007, when DSL finally became available where I live. I did not have cable either (and still don't). It was probably only about 5 years ago, that I was still only able to connect to the Internet at 26.4k.
Pack rats eating the insulation off of the wiring is a common problem for cars and trucks in my neighborhood. Typically, what happens is that the person goes out to start their car, and it won't start, because of the damage. On neighbor ended up having his roughly 20 year old Lincoln Continental scrapped at a junk yard because of all the damage to the wiring.
A nearby woman had her wiring chewed up twice, on her car. On the second occasion, the pack rats also chewed through a small water hose, such as possibly a heater hose.
About 50 miles away, someone once had the wiring in their Rolls-Royce chewed up so badly, that a new wiring harness had to be ordered. The Rolls-Royce had been parked inside their garage.
About a decade ago, pack-rats built a nest under the air cleaner on top of the engine in my truck. After tearing out their nest of sticks, thorns and dried leaves, for the second time, they finally gave up. Fortunately, I did not have any electrical problems. Perhaps my old GMC truck does not have soy-based insulation. The main wiring harness is also protected by a hard thick plastic shield. Twenty years later, my old truck is still running reliably, perhaps partially because it has relatively low mileage on the odometer for a 20 year old vehicle.
About decade or so ago, I also had a problem with pack rats (or possibly squirrels) building a nest inside the air cleaner of our old mid-1970s era backhoe. The diesel engine had been smoking badly. When the rat's nest was removed from the air cleaner, the engine stopped smoking. If the rats were sometimes inside their nest when the engine was started, I wonder what they thought of all noise, vibration, and wind through their nest.
Startpage does not record your IP address or track your searches. The Startpage the results are actually generated by Google.
Startpage supports SSL. So, when I type in Startpage.com, "https" appears in front of their URL instead of "http." That extra "s" tells me that that encryption is being used between my browser and the Startpage servers.
The sister search engine to Startpage is Ixquick. If I am not mistaken, the Ixquick search results are generated by various search engines other than Google.
Startpage also offers the option of viewing web sites through their proxy service. When selecting something from their search results, just click on "view by Ixquick proxy." Then, they only see the Startpage IP address, instead of your IP address. However, I have almost never actually bothered to use the proxy feature.
Privacy advocate Katherine Albrecht is the enthusiastic spokeswoman for Startpage.
https://startpage.com/
I realize that both incidents were with an American Airlines representative, not a government official, but I have occasionally encountered government officials who have a similar bad attitude. Such people seem to enjoy being in a position of power.
I do not travel much, but once had a bad experience with a state highway inspector. About 20 years ago, a paving contractor was digging up our driveway at work to install a sewer line. At the end of the work day, the contractor had left his backhoe parked near the highway. As I recall, it might have been roughly about about 15 feet from the highway, which seemed far enough away from the highway.
But an official from the Highway Department or ADOT (or something like that), here in Arizona, happened to pass by on the way back from another job. He angrily stormed into our office and the first thing he said to me was I am your worst nightmare. Then he said that the backhoe was parked too close to the highway, by a couple of feet. He demanded that I have the backhoe moved at once.
I said that I would have to phone the owner of the business, to get the name of the contractor, and give them a call. That made him made him furious. As he started venting his anger at me, he threatened to have rented signs installed at our expense, unless I called the contractor right this instant.
After telephoning the owners of the business, I soon had the name and telephone number of the contractor, and gave them a call. The contractor said he would come out and take care of the problem. The ADOT official then left.
By contrast, I have also encountered government employees are were quite courteous and helpful.