Oct
15
If have serious issue with compact florescent light because…
- No one looks good in florescent light
- CF bulbs contains mercury
- Only select models dim
- They burn out a lot sooner than advertised
- They dont work with all light switches, especially the high tech ones
- Or they will flicker, even when off, if you are using a high tech light switch.
Though mostly they just make my eyes hurt and give me headaches. Philips has come out with a line of High Efficiency Incandescent (HEI) light bulbs called Halogena. They work like normal bulbs but produce twice the amount of light for the energy consumed. Making them very close to CF in efficiency.
I have slowly started to replace all my dim-able lights in my house with these:
Philips 40-Watt R20 Halogena Energy Saver Reflector Flood Light
They work great. No hum or flicker while dimmed. The color of the light is white with a slight warmth to it. Overall I think it is a great find.
You can buy them at Amazon.com
or in stores at Home Depot. The only bummer is that few other companies are doing this. GE stopped their research into this technology in 2008 probably due to the fear that incandescent lights will be banned like what is happening in Europe. I hope that is not our future too.
Apr
27
I am in love with this new Samsung LED TV. Not only does the performance make me drool but that it is eco-friendly. The claim is that the LED TV uses 40% lower power consumption and an ultra low power consuming standby mode. In addition no mercury, lead, or volatile organic compounds are used in the construction which means it is clean and safe to recycle.
Though, one of the coolest things about it is that you can connect it to your network with Medi@2.0. This allows the user to do a lot of interactive things without having to connect a computer to it.
Internet@TV – Content Service: Receive content from Yahoo!, Flickr, and more via on-screen TV widgets.
DLNA®: Sync your connectable home electronics and display remote content on your TV.
Pre-loaded Content Library™ (Flash): Enjoy hours of built-in entertainment features then personalize it by adding content that’s available online.
USB 2.0 Movie: Show digital home movies, photos, PC presentations and more on your TV, using the remote.
Here are some of the stats
All of it is 1080P (1920×1080) including the PC input.
40″ Model (UN40B7000)
TV without stand: 39.2” x 24.8” x 1.2”
TV without stand weight: 32.6 lbs.
46″ Model (UN46B7000)
TV without stand: 44.4” x 27.8” x 1.2”
TV without stand weight: 39.0 lbs.
55″ Model (UN55B7000)
TV without stand: 51.7” x 32.1” x 1.2”
TV without stand weight: 48.9 lbs.
Inputs/Outputs:
- 4 HDMI ports v 1.3
- Anynet™ Plus (HDMI-CEC): allows peripheral AV devices such as a DVD player to be controlled by a Samsung TV remote control.
- 2 USB 2.0 Movie
- 1 PC Input
- 1 Ethernet
- 1 Optical Sound output
- 1 Component Video inputs
Specs:
- Built-in digital tuner
- 3,000,000:1 Dynamic Contrast Ratio
- Response time: 4ms response time (this is good)
- Auto Motion Plus 120Hz™: Reduces blur and enhances image detail when viewing fast motion video sequences.
- HD-Grade pixel resolution: High resolution pixel density is combined with a built-in image scaler to handle inputs from a variety of digital and analog audio/video sources.
Features
- Medi@2.0 (see above)
- Picture-in-Picture (PIP) (from any source to any source)
- Game Mode: with one touch of a button it enhances dark areas, sharpens the picture, speeds up the image processing response and enhances the sounds of your games.
Rock Band anyone?
Oh and if you want to buy one for me, I hear frys.com is having an amazing sale on them. 
Oct
4
[Repost from tribe.net]
Did you know that the city of San Francisco composts?
My objection to composting had been simple: Compost is messy and it smells.
Since my green bin is outside, I either have to take the compost out every night before it smells up the house or I need to find a container that does not stink and that I don’t need to clean. And if I do need to clean it, it is dishwasher safe.
Compost pail, charcoal filters and compostable trash bags on Amazon.com:
With shipping to SF it costs less than $0.60 per month to conveniently recycle my food scraps and not smell up my kitchen. I reduced my costs to less than $0.50 per month by purchasing Biosak 125 Compostable Bags from Costco South San Francisco (10th St. SF was out when I checked) for $13.99 (+tax).
Here is what you CAN compost: [http://www.sfrecycling.com/pdf/compostggss.pdf]
- All Food: fruit, vegetables, meat, poultry, seafood, shellfish, bones, rice, beans, pasta, bread, cheese, and eggshells
- Food-soiled Paper: waxed cardboard, napkins, paper towels, paper plates, paper milk cartons, tea bags, coffee grounds/filters, wooden crates, and sawdust
- Plants: floral trimmings, tree trimmings, leaves, grass, brush, and weeds
The following items are NOT accepted in the green cart:
- Styrofoam
- plastic bags
- plastic flower pots or trays
- diapers
- kitty litter or animal feces
- rocks, stones, or dirt
May
15
I am a NPR freak. I have a long commute and listen regularly to the new. I heard on the radio today that Thursday should have record breaking weather in SF, above 90 Degrees in the city and on our beaches! Just after that they reported on how the ice packs are at 50% capacity thus mandatory rationing will likely be needed in the East bay shortly followed by a summary of a speech John McCain gave in Portland on “human-caused climate change” his plan for a mandatory cap and trade system of carbon emissions. When the Republican presidential nominee seriously talks about carbon emissions, one has to admit it really is time to do something.
Now I don’t really believe that weather or a hot day is a clear signs of climate change but it still has a visceral impact. The idea that beaches in SF could be as hot as 90 degrees in May is kind of shocking. So I felt motivated to check out my household’s carbon footprint. I did it on several different sites (PG&E had the highest estimate) and they were all about 16 Tons/year for Karen and me (glad I traded in the sports car for a hybrid 2 years ago). Short of moving closer to work and changing my landlord’s appliances in my apartment, I can easily offset my household’s carbon emission for about $200/year. It sort of feels weird to just throw money at the issue but hey, if it means more trees are planted or old growth forests are funded and preserved, then who am I to argue with the free market economy.
Here are some links:
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