There are actually several different kinds of British plugs. The giant square prong plug is only the most recent incarnation. There are the "lighting" plugs that have round prongs and are more akin to a US plug in size. They were actually the standard until the 70s or so. There are also shaver sockets with two prongs spaced similarly to US sockets. Some even have a voltage switch to select 115V or 230V.
UK plugs are ridiculously overengineered, but I can't say the same about the rest of their house wiring. Having an entire floor of a house on a single 30A circuit is still shockingly common. As are "ring mains" where all the outlets are connected in a giant loop with hot and neutral returning to the fusebox in two directions (this is still a parallel circuit). The problem is if one branch of the circuit is broken, the other side may be asked to carry twice rated current.
and if we didn't wash a dozen loads of laundry a week
It's actually *drying* that takes up the most energy. If you live in the suburbs (or even in a city house) and have a backyard, there's nothing wrong with having a clothesline when it isn't raining or freezing out. And, no, not all places are controlled by tyrannical neighborhood associations, especially if you put the line where it isn't visible from the street.
The real power-hungry devices in most homes haven't changed in 50 years... Refridgerator, electric stove/oven, electric clothesdryer, electric water heater, AC, electric heat (so bad that you virtually never see it in places that actually get cold). Simply cooking dinner every night on an electric stovetop puts every high-tech toy in the house combined to shame for power draw.
BTW, you can't actually do much about electric heater devices' efficiency since they're already practically 100% efficient - i.e. they convert almost 100% of their electricity input to heat at the heating coil. You can do something about electric house heat - supplement it with a heat pump which moves heat rather than generating it. Since it's a heat engine in reverse, you can actually move more heat than energy put in. The only problem is that they work poorly in very cold weather, which is why I said "supplement" not "replace."
Devices that plug in to your household power need 3rd party certification (e.g. UL approval in US).
It's actually *not* illegal to plug in a non UL-approved device in the US. Your fire insurance just may not pay if it burns your house down - Underwriters Labs is actually an insurance testing organisation.
You will have electrical codes that say that fixed devices that are part of the house's wiring must be UL-approved, so you'll need large appliances and the wiring itself to be UL approved to pass inspection.
What's the manufacturing/engineering/economic reason that so many things use external power bricks instead of internal transformers?
Manufacturing costs: you get economy of scale on the power supply circuits.
Liability: if the power supply blows up, *you* didn't design or build it. Also, users of the circuit can't be directly exposed to 120VAC.
Size: yes, the circuit can be smaller, and the extra parts are out of the way on a floor or wall.
The problem with many wall wart bricks is that their transformer's primary winding is energized all the time and thus drawing power. The "power" switch on the device only switches the low-voltage side. Whereas, if the circuit is built into the device, the power switch often switches the high-voltage side. What we need is a better power brick - one that doesn't stay on all of the time but checks if there's a closed circuit between one of the outputs and a "switch" line maybe 1x/sec and only turns on if there is. You'd still need to draw a bit of power in pulses, or maybe you could run the testing circuitry off a backup capacitor internal to the 'wart.
you could have easy access to your fuse box and simply flip those switches to off when you are using items in a particular room.
Circuit breakers, believe it or not, are designed for a limited number of on/off cycles. Using them as switches isn't a good idea - they may later jam and not turn off when you need them. Far better to install wall switches for each outlet they you need controlled if you want to go that route (but keep in mind that you'll be losing settings on some devices without flash RAM). BTW - 30W for sleep mode? WTF - if the power supply is really that inefficient, they'd probably be better off charging an NiMH battery and using that to bootstrap the thing from standby/off.
They fit into any regular incandescent plug,the lighting looks like incandescent,and they use 25% as much power in the 60W(brightness) bulbs.
My apartment has some narrow light fixtures from the 30s or 40s. Even the "small" CFL lights Just Don't Fit. It's not a matter of diameter so much as of length. If someone can find me a short CFL, I'd be thrilled.
I'm still perplexed that there's not been faster and more widespread adoption of DVRs. As a technologist, I tend to be friends with the kinds of people who have DVRs, but I still have a hard time impressing on "regular people" how damn wonderful they are.
Until someone comes out with a DVR that can copy content to an external device (USB HDD or DVD burner) without DRM encumbrances, most people would rather use a VCR or watch pirated shows. At least content recorded on a VCR can be copied at will (Macrovision is a joke and not on TV anyway).
As far as DVRs being "great" - yeah, they're cool, but there are so many other toys that are cooler because their use doesn't involve sitting in front of the Great Glass Gazoonga(tm).
I currently have VZW Mobile Web and think it's overpriced due to it's limited content/capabilities, even at only $5 a month.
Stupid question, but what is VZW Mobile Web? I thought that most unlimited data plans were in the range of $40-$50/mo. Is this some sort of limited deal where you can only access sites "approved and blessed" by the honchos at Verizon Wireless? If so, I'd take a small laptop or PDA over this "service" in a second. Borrowed WiFi connections are very easy to come by.
Certain networks they shall remain nameless seem to be rather cavailer about allowing SMS SPAM to reach users (who then pay 10c per message if they don't have a data plan).
This is the World-Wide Web, where not everyone is American. Your "founding fathers" aren't mine.
If you're British, they sort of are. Our Constitution codified many protections that were part of British common law or parts of compacts like the Magna Charta. We just attempted to make sure that those protections were applied equally, fairly, and consistently.
So one night without court authorization he sends in his thugs to bulldoze the runway
What's more, he only notified the FAA after the fact. So no NOTAM was issued. If someone had needed to make an emergency landing that night, he would have likely been killed and Daly would have gone to prison for a long time.
Daly's justification for the bulldozing, BTW, was security after 9/11, although he wanted to close Meigs well before (in the 90s). The only problem is that lack of an air traffic control tower actually makes the Chicago business district's airspace *less* secure, not more.
if bothered they have very low clear up rates anyway (in spite of a huge budget, dna databases, helicopters etc. etc.)
Have you thought that they might be stretched pretty thin because they're spending money on technological solutions (cameras, databases) and this money gets diverted from hiring and training detectives and beat pounders?
Can anyone shed any light on this concept of "riding bicycles too fast"?
Possibly on sidewalks ("pavements" in the Queen's English)? Riding on the sidewalk is illegal in most states of the USA. The UK seems to have a more relaxed attitude, with at least some sidewalks being actually marked for bicycle use. Fast bikes and pedestrians don't really mix well... Not that I'm condoning the Big Scolding Mamma camera system.
Catching the yobs and convicting them up is the answer
Nah, requiring all citizens to own guns or other weapons and be trained in their use is the answer (as in Kennesaw, GA). Once a few yobbos and/or chavsters get their scrotes shot off, they may reconsider their choice of profession.
Seen the vid. More like a series of burps. I still doubt that this is the kind of concentrated heat that would cause an Mg frame to ignite. Tell you what: if you'll buy me this laptop, I'd be glad to perform some destructive testing in my remote lair on Atlantis...
Burning magnesium is really bright.
... and it emits light in the UV spectrum when burning. "Warning: avoid looking at conflagration with remaining eye...":)
I know I don't have any fire extinguishers that will put out burning magnesium.
Try to ignite some magnesium ribbon sometime. It's not to easy - you basically have to *keep* it in a gas flame for a minute or so. No way a battery explosion will generate that amount of *sustained, concentrated* heat. Plus, magnesium ribbon is the pure metal. This is probably an alloy with components other than Mg that make it less inflammable.
Anyone remember the Tandy Radio Shack Model 100/101/102 "laptops"? - they were small BASIC-programmable computers that same out in the 80s with an LCD screen right above the keyboard and no moving parts to speak of since programs were retained in RAM by a backup battery. We still had some of them going strong and being used for field work on automation systems in a previous job (after year 2000:/ ). We had them literally fall down flights of stairs, and it didn't seem to have any bad effect. They just sort of bounced.
If one wanted a "tough" notebook for field work, why not revert to that kind of form factor? Screen above the keyboard covered by thickish Plexiglas - no screen hinges to break and the screen can be thicker. All storage on a (say) 5 GB Flash ROM disc. No moving parts. USB ports or Bluetooth to connect external peripherals when needed. Slightly slower processor than top of the line for lower heat production - a fan wouldn't be needed. All powered by standardized LiIon or NiMH AA-sized batteries. You should even be able to use alkalines or NiCads in a pinch.
I don't see the advantage of having a transparent display.
Projection units that use less energy since less light is blocked. Cars with regular mechanical gauges (easier to read than a digital dash) with a map display superimposed on the dashboard glass.
Oh, that must be some weird non-American thing used to allow people to use a phone with different providers. We don't do that over here. I think there's one provider that uses SIM, and it's not one of the ones planning on providing this service.
Actually, out of the "big four" - Sprint, Cingular/ATTWS, Verizon, and T-Mobile, two providers use GSM phones with SIMs - Cingular and T-Mobile. BTW, even with phones that don't have a SIM, the kid could just get another prepaid phone and forward calls to it.
Please, could you elaborate on how you cured yourself of Lyme?
I was pretty sure I had it from the symptoms, but the tests kept coming back borderline. Obtained Omnicef then amoxicillin for a "chronic sinus infection" until I could see a different doc. That doc said that it was quite likely that I did have Lyme, so she put me on a high dose of Ceftin then a lower dose of doxycycline after which I weaned off the antibiotics - total period of treatment was upwards of 6 mo (Aug 2005 to Feb 2006). Not always feeling 100% now, but pretty damn good as compared to before, and I know where to get medication if I happen to relapse.
Can you get a doctor to write you a prescription for doxycycline or a cephalosporin and see what happens? Chances are, if you have Lyme, you'll have a worsening of the symptoms some time in the first 2 weeks or so (probably earlier than that). It's known as a Herxheimer reaction and those who say that the reactions are always mild are kidding themselves. If you can call a week of spiking fevers, red swollen eyes, fucked up sore throat, headache, liquishits, and general body pain "mild," I don't know what you'd call severe. And, no, I wasn't allergic to the antibiotic as the reaction went away after a week, repeated in much milder form a month later, came back again slightly another month later and then didn't come back (thank God). And, supposedly, Lyme symptoms spike on a cycle of 3 weeks to a month due to the life cycle of the causal spirochaete.
I have a Timex clip watch (sort of like this) that is handy for travel (especially if I'm some where my cell phone doesn't work), and for timing when I'm running.
Dude, that looks ginormous and ugly. Instead, why *not* carry a cellphone?
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As if the British in their Colonies were that much better, especially during the 20th century...
-b.
There are actually several different kinds of British plugs. The giant square prong plug is only the most recent incarnation. There are the "lighting" plugs that have round prongs and are more akin to a US plug in size. They were actually the standard until the 70s or so. There are also shaver sockets with two prongs spaced similarly to US sockets. Some even have a voltage switch to select 115V or 230V.
UK plugs are ridiculously overengineered, but I can't say the same about the rest of their house wiring. Having an entire floor of a house on a single 30A circuit is still shockingly common. As are "ring mains" where all the outlets are connected in a giant loop with hot and neutral returning to the fusebox in two directions (this is still a parallel circuit). The problem is if one branch of the circuit is broken, the other side may be asked to carry twice rated current.
-b.
It's actually *drying* that takes up the most energy. If you live in the suburbs (or even in a city house) and have a backyard, there's nothing wrong with having a clothesline when it isn't raining or freezing out. And, no, not all places are controlled by tyrannical neighborhood associations, especially if you put the line where it isn't visible from the street.
-b.
BTW, you can't actually do much about electric heater devices' efficiency since they're already practically 100% efficient - i.e. they convert almost 100% of their electricity input to heat at the heating coil. You can do something about electric house heat - supplement it with a heat pump which moves heat rather than generating it. Since it's a heat engine in reverse, you can actually move more heat than energy put in. The only problem is that they work poorly in very cold weather, which is why I said "supplement" not "replace."
-b.
It's actually *not* illegal to plug in a non UL-approved device in the US. Your fire insurance just may not pay if it burns your house down - Underwriters Labs is actually an insurance testing organisation.
You will have electrical codes that say that fixed devices that are part of the house's wiring must be UL-approved, so you'll need large appliances and the wiring itself to be UL approved to pass inspection.
-b.
Manufacturing costs: you get economy of scale on the power supply circuits.
Liability: if the power supply blows up, *you* didn't design or build it. Also, users of the circuit can't be directly exposed to 120VAC.
Size: yes, the circuit can be smaller, and the extra parts are out of the way on a floor or wall.
The problem with many wall wart bricks is that their transformer's primary winding is energized all the time and thus drawing power. The "power" switch on the device only switches the low-voltage side. Whereas, if the circuit is built into the device, the power switch often switches the high-voltage side. What we need is a better power brick - one that doesn't stay on all of the time but checks if there's a closed circuit between one of the outputs and a "switch" line maybe 1x/sec and only turns on if there is. You'd still need to draw a bit of power in pulses, or maybe you could run the testing circuitry off a backup capacitor internal to the 'wart.
-b.
That'd be bloody silly, after all, different circuits need different voltages to work.
Circuit breakers, believe it or not, are designed for a limited number of on/off cycles. Using them as switches isn't a good idea - they may later jam and not turn off when you need them. Far better to install wall switches for each outlet they you need controlled if you want to go that route (but keep in mind that you'll be losing settings on some devices without flash RAM). BTW - 30W for sleep mode? WTF - if the power supply is really that inefficient, they'd probably be better off charging an NiMH battery and using that to bootstrap the thing from standby/off.
-b.
My apartment has some narrow light fixtures from the 30s or 40s. Even the "small" CFL lights Just Don't Fit. It's not a matter of diameter so much as of length. If someone can find me a short CFL, I'd be thrilled.
-b.
Until someone comes out with a DVR that can copy content to an external device (USB HDD or DVD burner) without DRM encumbrances, most people would rather use a VCR or watch pirated shows. At least content recorded on a VCR can be copied at will (Macrovision is a joke and not on TV anyway).
As far as DVRs being "great" - yeah, they're cool, but there are so many other toys that are cooler because their use doesn't involve sitting in front of the Great Glass Gazoonga(tm).
-b.
Stupid question, but what is VZW Mobile Web? I thought that most unlimited data plans were in the range of $40-$50/mo. Is this some sort of limited deal where you can only access sites "approved and blessed" by the honchos at Verizon Wireless? If so, I'd take a small laptop or PDA over this "service" in a second. Borrowed WiFi connections are very easy to come by.
-b.
-b.
If you're British, they sort of are. Our Constitution codified many protections that were part of British common law or parts of compacts like the Magna Charta. We just attempted to make sure that those protections were applied equally, fairly, and consistently.
-b.
What's more, he only notified the FAA after the fact. So no NOTAM was issued. If someone had needed to make an emergency landing that night, he would have likely been killed and Daly would have gone to prison for a long time.
Daly's justification for the bulldozing, BTW, was security after 9/11, although he wanted to close Meigs well before (in the 90s). The only problem is that lack of an air traffic control tower actually makes the Chicago business district's airspace *less* secure, not more.
-b.
Have you thought that they might be stretched pretty thin because they're spending money on technological solutions (cameras, databases) and this money gets diverted from hiring and training detectives and beat pounders?
-b.
Possibly on sidewalks ("pavements" in the Queen's English)? Riding on the sidewalk is illegal in most states of the USA. The UK seems to have a more relaxed attitude, with at least some sidewalks being actually marked for bicycle use. Fast bikes and pedestrians don't really mix well... Not that I'm condoning the Big Scolding Mamma camera system.
-b.
The Defence Regulations were approved by Parliament, though.
-b.
Nah, requiring all citizens to own guns or other weapons and be trained in their use is the answer (as in Kennesaw, GA). Once a few yobbos and/or chavsters get their scrotes shot off, they may reconsider their choice of profession.
-b.
Seen the vid. More like a series of burps. I still doubt that this is the kind of concentrated heat that would cause an Mg frame to ignite. Tell you what: if you'll buy me this laptop, I'd be glad to perform some destructive testing in my remote lair on Atlantis...
Burning magnesium is really bright.
-b.
Try to ignite some magnesium ribbon sometime. It's not to easy - you basically have to *keep* it in a gas flame for a minute or so. No way a battery explosion will generate that amount of *sustained, concentrated* heat. Plus, magnesium ribbon is the pure metal. This is probably an alloy with components other than Mg that make it less inflammable.
-b.
If one wanted a "tough" notebook for field work, why not revert to that kind of form factor? Screen above the keyboard covered by thickish Plexiglas - no screen hinges to break and the screen can be thicker. All storage on a (say) 5 GB Flash ROM disc. No moving parts. USB ports or Bluetooth to connect external peripherals when needed. Slightly slower processor than top of the line for lower heat production - a fan wouldn't be needed. All powered by standardized LiIon or NiMH AA-sized batteries. You should even be able to use alkalines or NiCads in a pinch.
-b.
Projection units that use less energy since less light is blocked. Cars with regular mechanical gauges (easier to read than a digital dash) with a map display superimposed on the dashboard glass.
-b.
Actually, out of the "big four" - Sprint, Cingular/ATTWS, Verizon, and T-Mobile, two providers use GSM phones with SIMs - Cingular and T-Mobile. BTW, even with phones that don't have a SIM, the kid could just get another prepaid phone and forward calls to it.
-b.
I was pretty sure I had it from the symptoms, but the tests kept coming back borderline. Obtained Omnicef then amoxicillin for a "chronic sinus infection" until I could see a different doc. That doc said that it was quite likely that I did have Lyme, so she put me on a high dose of Ceftin then a lower dose of doxycycline after which I weaned off the antibiotics - total period of treatment was upwards of 6 mo (Aug 2005 to Feb 2006). Not always feeling 100% now, but pretty damn good as compared to before, and I know where to get medication if I happen to relapse.
Can you get a doctor to write you a prescription for doxycycline or a cephalosporin and see what happens? Chances are, if you have Lyme, you'll have a worsening of the symptoms some time in the first 2 weeks or so (probably earlier than that). It's known as a Herxheimer reaction and those who say that the reactions are always mild are kidding themselves. If you can call a week of spiking fevers, red swollen eyes, fucked up sore throat, headache, liquishits, and general body pain "mild," I don't know what you'd call severe. And, no, I wasn't allergic to the antibiotic as the reaction went away after a week, repeated in much milder form a month later, came back again slightly another month later and then didn't come back (thank God). And, supposedly, Lyme symptoms spike on a cycle of 3 weeks to a month due to the life cycle of the causal spirochaete.
-b.
Dude, that looks ginormous and ugly. Instead, why *not* carry a cellphone?
-b.