Americans are still way ahead of China in garbage; a population less than a quarter the size of China's 1.3 billion generated 254 million tons of garbage in 2007, a third of which is recycled or composted, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
But for China, the problem represents a rapid turnabout from a generation ago, when families, then largely rural and poor, used and reused everything.
"Trash was never complicated before, because we didn't have supermarkets, we didn't have fancy packaging and endless things to buy," said Nie. "Now suddenly, the government is panicking about the mountains of garbage piling up with no place to put it all."
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Sunday, October 25, 2009
remote control codes (and problems)
[10/25/09] I was trying to program the RCA Systemlink 3 for my Apex TV (the code of which is not in the manual).
Tried the code search technique. The TV turned off, but then wouldn't turn on. Looks like when the code was locked in, it overshot by one.
So I checked what code got locked in and subtracted one (1).
The remote code turned out to be 072 which corresponds to a JC Penney TV (looking through the chart in the instruction book). Also LXI, NAD, Sears, Toshiba.
So the instructions are:
Press and hold the code search button until the indicator light goes on.
Press and release the TV button (the indicator light will blink and remain lit)
Key in 0-7-2 (the indicator light will turn off)
Test by pressing on/off button.
The code for my Sony is 002. The code for my Panasonic is 170.
***
Now for the Sony RM-V402 remote
1. Turn on the component to be programmed.
2. On the remote control, press and hold the S button.
3. While holding the S button, press and release the POWER button
4. Release the S button.
5. Press and release the appropriate component button for the component being set up.
6. Using the number pad, enter the component's manufacturer code.
7. Press the ENT button.
8. Point the remote control at the component.
9. Press the POWER button to verify operation.
Both Toshiba codes 059 and 060 work. Sony code is 001. Panasonic is 016.
***
[2/15/10 - Gave Sony remote to Sue to go along with Hitachi TV. I got it from Wellington in the first place]
***
Finally sold that heavy 27" Sony Trinitron flat screen on Craigslist. (Thanks Caleb.) Now to move back the Apex out of mom's room back outside. And to program the Oceanic DVR remote for the Apex.
From my notes, I had programmed it for the Panasonic on 10/16/09, so that's around when I must have gotten the Sony. The remote control model is the Atlas DVR-5 (5/25/12 - now it's the Atlas OCAP-5 backlit)
From the instructions, to program for the Panasonic
Press the TV button. The light will blink (light up red briefly) once.
Press and hold setup. The TV button will blink on the initial press then blink twice a second later
Release setup.
Enter the four digit code. [The TV button will blink twice if you did it right]
Panasonic codes are 0051 0250 0055 / 0250 is the one that works for our TV.
Now to figure out the code for the Apex. I remember the first time, I found it using the search technique.
The instructions for the Oceanic remote controls are here (Atlas OCAP-5 backlit).
It turns out that the Toshiba code 0156 works for my Apex.
To auto-program, press TV button, press and hold Setup until TV button blinks twice, enter 991 (TV button will blink twice), point remote at TV and press PWR button, press CH+ repeatedly until TV turns off, press PWR to turn on TV, press SETUP to lock in the code.
*** [4/5/14]
The Oceanic remote went bad with some of the keys not working (notably the 5 key and the page down key). Though oddly they would start working for a little while before not working again. Anyway, I got a new remote today (after going to Ala Moana yesterday and finding they're no longer there).
Anyway there's new instructions for this remote which is the RC122 (RC 1226001 on the Oceanic site). There's no setup key now. What you do is press and hold the TV and Select/OK button at the same time until the the five buttons at the top blink twice. Then enter the four digit code. The first code for Panasonic is 1021 which works. A lot of the other codes work too like 1028, 1253. Trying to find the code for the Toshiba DVD-R, 2584 and 2624 seem to work the best. At least they turn on/off the Toshiba.
***
[10/20/12] What about the Brookstone jumbo remote control at Donna's house? Found the manual online. The manual says it's the "super-sized tv remote".
Here's the specific instructions for the Panasonic TV.
Press and hold the TV button until the power light goes on.
Enter the code 003. The power light will go off.
Press the on/off button to see if it worked.
[go here for my post on my 8-in-1 Jumbo Universal remote that I bought for Walgreen]
*** [7/5/14] Bought a Sony remote control (Remote Commander RM-VZ320) from Best Buy. This is intended for Donna because the remote for her Sony DVD player doesn't work. Well, it's not strictly a DVD player but part of a Sony home entertainment system (with amplifier and speakers. But hopefully it'll work.
I also want to see if it'll work with the Sony DVD/VCR combo in the dining room at my mom's place. In particular, I want to see if I can access the setup to see if it's set up for a wide-screen TV.
I see the manual is online along with the code list.
Anyway, I tried it out with my equipment at home.
To set up any device, first press the SET button for 3 seconds until the light goes on. Then while still holding the SET button down, press the appropriate device button (e.g. TV) then release both buttons. The light should still be on. Then enter the 5-digit code that you looked up in the code list.
Here's the codes that seem to work best for my equipment.
Panasonic 42" Plasma TV: 00650
Scientific Atlanta cable box: 50877 (the menu button brings up the settings menu), 51877 (the menu button brings up the DVR menu). I can't find a setting where both the setting and DVR menu are both accessible.
Toshiba DVD-R: 12277. Unable to bring up the setting menu (where you can adjust for the aspect ratio of the TV for example)
Apex TV: 00765.
Sony Blu-Ray player: 11516. The subtitle button (the B button) doesn't work. However the eject button does work. That's interesting because the official Sony remote doesn't even have an eject button.
***
OK, testing at CCOH.
The Sharp TV in the dining room: 00818
The Panasonic DVD/VCR combo: 10864. Unfortunately I can't access the setup menu.
*** [7/13/14]
Took the Sony RM-VZ320 remote to Donna's house (to replace her broken Sony RM-ADP015)
Here are the codes I found that seem to work for her system
TV - Toshiba: 01256, 01356, 01524
Satellite Receiver DirectTV: 41377
Sony Home Theater DVD: 31622, 32522
The main reason for this remote was got get her subtitles working. The B button works for this. However a major disappointment is that the Menu button doesn't work, so I can't easily get back to the main menu after the movie has started.
[Sony RM-VZ320 remote split off into a separate new post and continued here]
*** [10/23/14] Ugh. The remote for my Toshiba DVD-R isn't working. Opened it up and one of the batteries looked kind of corroded. So dumped the battery and tried to clean the contacts. Still didn't work.
See that the Oceanic (Scientific Atlanta) remote still works on the Toshiba (I guess I must have programmed it earlier - [yeah see above]), but unable to access the setup menu. So I better not unplug it. [Cool, I found that the record button on the Oceanic remote works on the Toshiba DVD recorder. But I can't access the menu to finalize the DVD-R.]
Looked on ebay for a replacement remote (model SE-RO265) and saw none available. The DVD recorder model number is D-KR10. Hey I found one on ebay $28. And here's a DVD recorder model D-R410 for $39.99. Too bad shipping is $39.99. And no remote. [10/25/14 - swetenman is selling an EZ Copy remote for $20 which is supposed to be compatible. Do a search for "EZ COPY Remote for TOSHIBA DVD RECORDER D-R400 D-R430 DVDR DVR HDMI". Hint: Doing a search for R0265 gets more hits. That's a zero after the R.]
[12/7/14 - according to my notes written on the back of a Charles Schwab envelope, the SE-R0265 remote is evidently compatible with the following models of Toshiba DVD-Recorders: D-R400, D-R430, DKR10, DKR40, DKR40KU, DR400.
Anderic sells a replacement remote for $26.95 on ebay. So I guess I can always go with this one. It's 24.95 on their website. But going through the ordering process, shipping is $4.95. I guess I'll continue checking on eBay.]
[10/24/14 - hey this guy is selling a Toshiba DR430KU on craiglist. Maybe it's compatible. Looks like they use the same remote control. $40.77 from replacementremotes.]
I have several RCA SystemLink generic remotes. Don't know why I have so many. I think somebody must have given me one or two. But most of them are so old that they don't have a DVD button! 8). Wait, here's one with a VCR•DVD button. But I guess I don't have the manual with the codes for that one. I guess I can try Code Search. Didn't work. Tried the codes at this link. Didn't work.
[10/26/14]
And now the remote for my Roku HD isn't working right. It had problems before, then cleared up mysteriously. And now it has problems again.
Before I had to hold down the button for maybe a half-second before the Roku would respond. But when I tried it last night, it wouldn't respond. Then I accidentally pressed the Netflix button and it responded. So now the buttons seem to work, but not the main select button. I assume it's the remote that's the problem.
My options are to buy a replacement remote, buy a new Roku, try one of the universal or learning remotes or use my ipad app. I guess I'll use the ipad app for now.
Darn I kind of wish I bought a learning remote (which I only now am learning about) before my Toshiba DVD recorder remote died.
Or maybe I'll get a Logitech Harmony. I've heard about those but never actually tried one.
[10/26/14]
Hey, cool I see I can program the Apple TV to use a third-party remote
Cool, I programmed the Oceanic remote to control the Apple TV! The Apple TV didn't recognize some of the keys in AUX mode, so I used the VCR mode. Score one for Apple TV.
I guess I can also use this feature to check whether a remote is emitting a signal.
[10/26/14]
Damn. I lost what I was typing. OK, let's recap.
Went to the guy who had the DVD-Recorder, but didn't have the remote
Off to Best Buy.
See cheap RCA remotes have code for Roku. Like $10.95, even cheaper at Amazon.
But looked at rcavideoaudio.com and none of their remotes stated they had support any DVD-R's.
Looking at the Logitech Harmony's, model 650 and 350. I guess they would work, but pretty expensive. A little cheaper at Amazon.com.
Then I see the One For All remote. Model OARUSB04G. For like half the price of the Logtitech.. And I see it comes with a USB cable for connecting to the computer. Like the Logitech Harmony. And it has learning capabilities. And the comments on Amazon say it's JP1 compatible.
OK, let's program it. Choose Toshiba DVD. I guess it works, but still can't access the setup menu.
I think the Info button corresponds to the Display button on the Toshiba remote. And the List button corresponds to the menu/list button. But I don't see a button corresponding to the Setup button.
My Panansonic TV and Time Warner cable box seem to work fine.
OK, let's try the USB cable. Connect to computer. Go to website at simpleset.com. Has me upload the settings file. Then choose DVD, only gives me the option of Toshiba, not a particular model number. So no real difference.
Getting nowhere fast.
There's a list of codes given. The instruction say SimpleSet codes are used for programming using the On-Remote Setup method outlined in the Getting Started guide. The problem is I don't see any Getting Started Guide.
Let's try the oneforall.com website... A search turns up no results. Looking inside the battery cover they another code under the OARUSB04G. It's URC 6540BE0-XXX-R Then under that 4408UE. Then under that MAXQ622X-2576-4.
OK, here's a thread from remotecentral saying similar to the URC-6440.
Then another link to hifi-remote.com. It has to do with JP1.
What's that?
From wikipedia: A JP1 remote is a type of universal remote, usually with a six-pin interface connector labeled "JP1" in the battery compartment, manufactured by Universal Electronics Inc. The JP1 interface allows the remote to be reprogrammed, adding new code lists and functions. Home theater hobbyists use JP1 to avoid obsolescence.
All JP1 remotes are made by Universal Electronics, Inc.[2] UEI sells various models under their One For All brand name,[3] and supplies remotes to consumer electronic manufacturers such as Radio Shack, Sony, and Sky, as well as North American cable TV providers such as Comcast, Rogers, Cox, Shaw, Charter and Time Warner.[4]
I see a file for Toshiba D-R400. But what do I do?
OK, here's the place to start for beginners.
Then I went to JP1 For Beginners
[see separate entry for this One For All remote]
*** 1/31/15
I had brought one of my old RCA Systemlink 3 remotes to ccoh since their other generic remote got lost or stolen. And now that one is gone too. Let's give them another one.
OK, how to program it? The above instructions don't seem to be working. The TV light doesn't go on and off. The other SystemLink 3 (the one with the reddish-purplish buttons) seems to be working, though you gotta press some of the buttons firmly. The SystemLink3 with the green fluorescent buttons works too.
I guess I should dump the one that's not working.
... Let's try new batteries before I toss the remote. WDYK, it worked. Though I had to press the TV button pretty firmly before it worked. Samsung code is 105.
Tried the code search technique. The TV turned off, but then wouldn't turn on. Looks like when the code was locked in, it overshot by one.
So I checked what code got locked in and subtracted one (1).
The remote code turned out to be 072 which corresponds to a JC Penney TV (looking through the chart in the instruction book). Also LXI, NAD, Sears, Toshiba.
So the instructions are:
Press and hold the code search button until the indicator light goes on.
Press and release the TV button (the indicator light will blink and remain lit)
Key in 0-7-2 (the indicator light will turn off)
Test by pressing on/off button.
The code for my Sony is 002. The code for my Panasonic is 170.
***
Now for the Sony RM-V402 remote
1. Turn on the component to be programmed.
2. On the remote control, press and hold the S button.
3. While holding the S button, press and release the POWER button
4. Release the S button.
5. Press and release the appropriate component button for the component being set up.
6. Using the number pad, enter the component's manufacturer code.
7. Press the ENT button.
8. Point the remote control at the component.
9. Press the POWER button to verify operation.
Both Toshiba codes 059 and 060 work. Sony code is 001. Panasonic is 016.
***
[2/15/10 - Gave Sony remote to Sue to go along with Hitachi TV. I got it from Wellington in the first place]
***
Finally sold that heavy 27" Sony Trinitron flat screen on Craigslist. (Thanks Caleb.) Now to move back the Apex out of mom's room back outside. And to program the Oceanic DVR remote for the Apex.
From my notes, I had programmed it for the Panasonic on 10/16/09, so that's around when I must have gotten the Sony. The remote control model is the Atlas DVR-5 (5/25/12 - now it's the Atlas OCAP-5 backlit)
From the instructions, to program for the Panasonic
Press the TV button. The light will blink (light up red briefly) once.
Press and hold setup. The TV button will blink on the initial press then blink twice a second later
Release setup.
Enter the four digit code. [The TV button will blink twice if you did it right]
Panasonic codes are 0051 0250 0055 / 0250 is the one that works for our TV.
Now to figure out the code for the Apex. I remember the first time, I found it using the search technique.
The instructions for the Oceanic remote controls are here (Atlas OCAP-5 backlit).
It turns out that the Toshiba code 0156 works for my Apex.
To auto-program, press TV button, press and hold Setup until TV button blinks twice, enter 991 (TV button will blink twice), point remote at TV and press PWR button, press CH+ repeatedly until TV turns off, press PWR to turn on TV, press SETUP to lock in the code.
*** [4/5/14]
The Oceanic remote went bad with some of the keys not working (notably the 5 key and the page down key). Though oddly they would start working for a little while before not working again. Anyway, I got a new remote today (after going to Ala Moana yesterday and finding they're no longer there).
Anyway there's new instructions for this remote which is the RC122 (RC 1226001 on the Oceanic site). There's no setup key now. What you do is press and hold the TV and Select/OK button at the same time until the the five buttons at the top blink twice. Then enter the four digit code. The first code for Panasonic is 1021 which works. A lot of the other codes work too like 1028, 1253. Trying to find the code for the Toshiba DVD-R, 2584 and 2624 seem to work the best. At least they turn on/off the Toshiba.
***
[10/20/12] What about the Brookstone jumbo remote control at Donna's house? Found the manual online. The manual says it's the "super-sized tv remote".
Here's the specific instructions for the Panasonic TV.
Press and hold the TV button until the power light goes on.
Enter the code 003. The power light will go off.
Press the on/off button to see if it worked.
[go here for my post on my 8-in-1 Jumbo Universal remote that I bought for Walgreen]
*** [7/5/14] Bought a Sony remote control (Remote Commander RM-VZ320) from Best Buy. This is intended for Donna because the remote for her Sony DVD player doesn't work. Well, it's not strictly a DVD player but part of a Sony home entertainment system (with amplifier and speakers. But hopefully it'll work.
I also want to see if it'll work with the Sony DVD/VCR combo in the dining room at my mom's place. In particular, I want to see if I can access the setup to see if it's set up for a wide-screen TV.
I see the manual is online along with the code list.
Anyway, I tried it out with my equipment at home.
To set up any device, first press the SET button for 3 seconds until the light goes on. Then while still holding the SET button down, press the appropriate device button (e.g. TV) then release both buttons. The light should still be on. Then enter the 5-digit code that you looked up in the code list.
Here's the codes that seem to work best for my equipment.
Panasonic 42" Plasma TV: 00650
Scientific Atlanta cable box: 50877 (the menu button brings up the settings menu), 51877 (the menu button brings up the DVR menu). I can't find a setting where both the setting and DVR menu are both accessible.
Toshiba DVD-R: 12277. Unable to bring up the setting menu (where you can adjust for the aspect ratio of the TV for example)
Apex TV: 00765.
Sony Blu-Ray player: 11516. The subtitle button (the B button) doesn't work. However the eject button does work. That's interesting because the official Sony remote doesn't even have an eject button.
***
OK, testing at CCOH.
The Sharp TV in the dining room: 00818
The Panasonic DVD/VCR combo: 10864. Unfortunately I can't access the setup menu.
*** [7/13/14]
Took the Sony RM-VZ320 remote to Donna's house (to replace her broken Sony RM-ADP015)
Here are the codes I found that seem to work for her system
TV - Toshiba: 01256, 01356, 01524
Satellite Receiver DirectTV: 41377
Sony Home Theater DVD: 31622, 32522
The main reason for this remote was got get her subtitles working. The B button works for this. However a major disappointment is that the Menu button doesn't work, so I can't easily get back to the main menu after the movie has started.
[Sony RM-VZ320 remote split off into a separate new post and continued here]
*** [10/23/14] Ugh. The remote for my Toshiba DVD-R isn't working. Opened it up and one of the batteries looked kind of corroded. So dumped the battery and tried to clean the contacts. Still didn't work.
See that the Oceanic (Scientific Atlanta) remote still works on the Toshiba (I guess I must have programmed it earlier - [yeah see above]), but unable to access the setup menu. So I better not unplug it. [Cool, I found that the record button on the Oceanic remote works on the Toshiba DVD recorder. But I can't access the menu to finalize the DVD-R.]
Looked on ebay for a replacement remote (model SE-RO265) and saw none available. The DVD recorder model number is D-KR10. Hey I found one on ebay $28. And here's a DVD recorder model D-R410 for $39.99. Too bad shipping is $39.99. And no remote. [10/25/14 - swetenman is selling an EZ Copy remote for $20 which is supposed to be compatible. Do a search for "EZ COPY Remote for TOSHIBA DVD RECORDER D-R400 D-R430 DVDR DVR HDMI". Hint: Doing a search for R0265 gets more hits. That's a zero after the R.]
[12/7/14 - according to my notes written on the back of a Charles Schwab envelope, the SE-R0265 remote is evidently compatible with the following models of Toshiba DVD-Recorders: D-R400, D-R430, DKR10, DKR40, DKR40KU, DR400.
Anderic sells a replacement remote for $26.95 on ebay. So I guess I can always go with this one. It's 24.95 on their website. But going through the ordering process, shipping is $4.95. I guess I'll continue checking on eBay.]
[10/24/14 - hey this guy is selling a Toshiba DR430KU on craiglist. Maybe it's compatible. Looks like they use the same remote control. $40.77 from replacementremotes.]
I have several RCA SystemLink generic remotes. Don't know why I have so many. I think somebody must have given me one or two. But most of them are so old that they don't have a DVD button! 8). Wait, here's one with a VCR•DVD button. But I guess I don't have the manual with the codes for that one. I guess I can try Code Search. Didn't work. Tried the codes at this link. Didn't work.
[10/26/14]
And now the remote for my Roku HD isn't working right. It had problems before, then cleared up mysteriously. And now it has problems again.
Before I had to hold down the button for maybe a half-second before the Roku would respond. But when I tried it last night, it wouldn't respond. Then I accidentally pressed the Netflix button and it responded. So now the buttons seem to work, but not the main select button. I assume it's the remote that's the problem.
My options are to buy a replacement remote, buy a new Roku, try one of the universal or learning remotes or use my ipad app. I guess I'll use the ipad app for now.
Darn I kind of wish I bought a learning remote (which I only now am learning about) before my Toshiba DVD recorder remote died.
Or maybe I'll get a Logitech Harmony. I've heard about those but never actually tried one.
[10/26/14]
Hey, cool I see I can program the Apple TV to use a third-party remote
Cool, I programmed the Oceanic remote to control the Apple TV! The Apple TV didn't recognize some of the keys in AUX mode, so I used the VCR mode. Score one for Apple TV.
I guess I can also use this feature to check whether a remote is emitting a signal.
[10/26/14]
Damn. I lost what I was typing. OK, let's recap.
Went to the guy who had the DVD-Recorder, but didn't have the remote
Off to Best Buy.
See cheap RCA remotes have code for Roku. Like $10.95, even cheaper at Amazon.
But looked at rcavideoaudio.com and none of their remotes stated they had support any DVD-R's.
Looking at the Logitech Harmony's, model 650 and 350. I guess they would work, but pretty expensive. A little cheaper at Amazon.com.
Then I see the One For All remote. Model OARUSB04G. For like half the price of the Logtitech.. And I see it comes with a USB cable for connecting to the computer. Like the Logitech Harmony. And it has learning capabilities. And the comments on Amazon say it's JP1 compatible.
OK, let's program it. Choose Toshiba DVD. I guess it works, but still can't access the setup menu.
I think the Info button corresponds to the Display button on the Toshiba remote. And the List button corresponds to the menu/list button. But I don't see a button corresponding to the Setup button.
My Panansonic TV and Time Warner cable box seem to work fine.
OK, let's try the USB cable. Connect to computer. Go to website at simpleset.com. Has me upload the settings file. Then choose DVD, only gives me the option of Toshiba, not a particular model number. So no real difference.
Getting nowhere fast.
There's a list of codes given. The instruction say SimpleSet codes are used for programming using the On-Remote Setup method outlined in the Getting Started guide. The problem is I don't see any Getting Started Guide.
Let's try the oneforall.com website... A search turns up no results. Looking inside the battery cover they another code under the OARUSB04G. It's URC 6540BE0-XXX-R Then under that 4408UE. Then under that MAXQ622X-2576-4.
OK, here's a thread from remotecentral saying similar to the URC-6440.
Then another link to hifi-remote.com. It has to do with JP1.
What's that?
From wikipedia: A JP1 remote is a type of universal remote, usually with a six-pin interface connector labeled "JP1" in the battery compartment, manufactured by Universal Electronics Inc. The JP1 interface allows the remote to be reprogrammed, adding new code lists and functions. Home theater hobbyists use JP1 to avoid obsolescence.
All JP1 remotes are made by Universal Electronics, Inc.[2] UEI sells various models under their One For All brand name,[3] and supplies remotes to consumer electronic manufacturers such as Radio Shack, Sony, and Sky, as well as North American cable TV providers such as Comcast, Rogers, Cox, Shaw, Charter and Time Warner.[4]
I see a file for Toshiba D-R400. But what do I do?
OK, here's the place to start for beginners.
Then I went to JP1 For Beginners
[see separate entry for this One For All remote]
*** 1/31/15
I had brought one of my old RCA Systemlink 3 remotes to ccoh since their other generic remote got lost or stolen. And now that one is gone too. Let's give them another one.
OK, how to program it? The above instructions don't seem to be working. The TV light doesn't go on and off. The other SystemLink 3 (the one with the reddish-purplish buttons) seems to be working, though you gotta press some of the buttons firmly. The SystemLink3 with the green fluorescent buttons works too.
I guess I should dump the one that's not working.
... Let's try new batteries before I toss the remote. WDYK, it worked. Though I had to press the TV button pretty firmly before it worked. Samsung code is 105.
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Americans cooling toward global warming
Americans seem to be cooling toward global warming. Just 57 percent think there is solid evidence the world is getting warmer, down 20 points in just three years, a new poll says.
And the share of people who believe pollution caused by humans is causing temperatures to rise has also taken a dip, even as the U.S. and world forums gear up for possible action against climate change.
In a poll of 1,500 adults by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, released Thursday, the number of people saying there is strong scientific evidence that the Earth has gotten warmer over the past few decades is down from 71 percent in April of last year and from 77 percent when Pew started asking the question in 2006. The number of people who see the situation as a serious problem also has declined.
The steepest drop has occurred during the past year, as Congress and the Obama administration have taken steps to control heat-trapping emissions for the first time and international negotiations for a new treaty to slow global warming have been under way. At the same time, there has been mounting scientific evidence of climate change — from melting ice caps to the world's oceans hitting the highest monthly recorded temperatures this summer.
The poll was released a day after 18 scientific organizations wrote Congress to reaffirm the consensus behind global warming. A federal government report Thursday found that global warming is upsetting the Arctic's thermostat.
* * *
[10/27/09] Have you heard that the world is now cooling instead of warming? You may have seen some news reports on the Internet or heard about it from a provocative new book.
Only one problem: It's not true, according to an analysis of the numbers done by several independent statisticians for The Associated Press.
The case that the Earth might be cooling partly stems from recent weather. Last year was cooler than previous years. It's been a while since the super-hot years of 1998 and 2005. So is this a longer climate trend or just weather's normal ups and downs?
In a blind test, the AP gave temperature data to four independent statisticians and asked them to look for trends, without telling them what the numbers represented. The experts found no true temperature declines over time.
And the share of people who believe pollution caused by humans is causing temperatures to rise has also taken a dip, even as the U.S. and world forums gear up for possible action against climate change.
In a poll of 1,500 adults by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, released Thursday, the number of people saying there is strong scientific evidence that the Earth has gotten warmer over the past few decades is down from 71 percent in April of last year and from 77 percent when Pew started asking the question in 2006. The number of people who see the situation as a serious problem also has declined.
The steepest drop has occurred during the past year, as Congress and the Obama administration have taken steps to control heat-trapping emissions for the first time and international negotiations for a new treaty to slow global warming have been under way. At the same time, there has been mounting scientific evidence of climate change — from melting ice caps to the world's oceans hitting the highest monthly recorded temperatures this summer.
The poll was released a day after 18 scientific organizations wrote Congress to reaffirm the consensus behind global warming. A federal government report Thursday found that global warming is upsetting the Arctic's thermostat.
* * *
[10/27/09] Have you heard that the world is now cooling instead of warming? You may have seen some news reports on the Internet or heard about it from a provocative new book.
Only one problem: It's not true, according to an analysis of the numbers done by several independent statisticians for The Associated Press.
The case that the Earth might be cooling partly stems from recent weather. Last year was cooler than previous years. It's been a while since the super-hot years of 1998 and 2005. So is this a longer climate trend or just weather's normal ups and downs?
In a blind test, the AP gave temperature data to four independent statisticians and asked them to look for trends, without telling them what the numbers represented. The experts found no true temperature declines over time.
Friday, October 16, 2009
backup programs
Still looking for a good backup program that works with external hard drives.
Maybe the first thing to try is Windows XP Backup (found from this article while googling cloning your computer.
Maybe the first thing to try is Windows XP Backup (found from this article while googling cloning your computer.
Monday, October 12, 2009
RevoluSun
As the sun beats down on her St. Louis Heights home, Susan Chandler walks to her laundry room in the morning and taps on a DC-AC inverter to check how much carbon dioxide she has kept out of the atmosphere. Her daily average: 14.2 pounds.
Then she walks to the meter box on the side of her house and watches the black line rotate backward.
"I love to see the meter spinning backwards, which means I'm reducing my electricity," she says. "Rather than going to HECO, it's saving the world."
Chandler had earlier installed solar water heating and CFL light bulbs in her five-bedroom residence, but decided to make a bigger leap toward the "green" movement by adding six photovoltaic panels from RevoluSun to reduce her dependence on the grid.
"I'm making my own electricity," said Chandler. "For me, it's pretty exciting."
A professor at the University of Hawaii Public Policy Center, Chandler opened her house to the community yesterday to showcase RevoluSun's solar module, which generated 86 kilowatt hours of power and offset 142 pounds of atmospheric carbon dioxide in just 10 days.
Chandler expects her electricity bill to be around $25 with the addition of the solar panels, compared to the $125 bill she's paid in the past.
RevoluSun, a new company, hopes to educate the community and expand awareness of affordable solar systems to help Hawaii become more sustainable and lower electric bills.
***
[10/27/12] From Consumer Lines October 2012
Because of the many considerations involved with purchasing one of these systems, we developed “Going Solar,” a helpful online resource accessible at: http://goingsolar.heco.com.
Solar water heaters can last 15 years or longer, and PV systems can last 30 years or more.
While these systems will pay for themselves over time with the savings on your monthly electric bills, they do require a financial investment.
An important consideration is connecting your PV system to the grid. Most residential customers select our
Net Energy Metering program, which provides full retail credit for excess electricity sent to the grid. Other
options are the Feed-In Tariff and the Standard Interconnection Agreement. These programs are described
in detail on our website.
Then she walks to the meter box on the side of her house and watches the black line rotate backward.
"I love to see the meter spinning backwards, which means I'm reducing my electricity," she says. "Rather than going to HECO, it's saving the world."
Chandler had earlier installed solar water heating and CFL light bulbs in her five-bedroom residence, but decided to make a bigger leap toward the "green" movement by adding six photovoltaic panels from RevoluSun to reduce her dependence on the grid.
"I'm making my own electricity," said Chandler. "For me, it's pretty exciting."
A professor at the University of Hawaii Public Policy Center, Chandler opened her house to the community yesterday to showcase RevoluSun's solar module, which generated 86 kilowatt hours of power and offset 142 pounds of atmospheric carbon dioxide in just 10 days.
Chandler expects her electricity bill to be around $25 with the addition of the solar panels, compared to the $125 bill she's paid in the past.
RevoluSun, a new company, hopes to educate the community and expand awareness of affordable solar systems to help Hawaii become more sustainable and lower electric bills.
***
[10/27/12] From Consumer Lines October 2012
Because of the many considerations involved with purchasing one of these systems, we developed “Going Solar,” a helpful online resource accessible at: http://goingsolar.heco.com.
Solar water heaters can last 15 years or longer, and PV systems can last 30 years or more.
While these systems will pay for themselves over time with the savings on your monthly electric bills, they do require a financial investment.
An important consideration is connecting your PV system to the grid. Most residential customers select our
Net Energy Metering program, which provides full retail credit for excess electricity sent to the grid. Other
options are the Feed-In Tariff and the Standard Interconnection Agreement. These programs are described
in detail on our website.
Friday, October 02, 2009
Firefox memory leaks?
[10/28/10] OK, nothing has really worked that well so far. I think the only solution is to install more memory on my computer.
But in the spirit of never giving up, I'm going to try SpeedyFox.
Mozilla Firefox is a fast browser, but with the lapse of time it starts working much slowly. The reason is fragmentation of profile databases. A free tool SpeedyFox is designed specially to resolve that problem. [via frwr_news]
***
[10/2/09] When I leave my computer along for long stretches, it often becomes really slow with long hard drive activities when using applications. I suspect it's swapping memory to disk, so I may have a memory leak.
There was recently an application on frwr_news to fix Firefox memory leaks (and other apps). Decided not to use it at the time. But I googled Firefox memory leak fix and came across this pages which suggests some Firefox configuration tweaks.
So far I changed browser.cache.disk.capacity to 5000, it was defaulted to 10000.
And I'll toggle Network.prefetch-next to false.
[10/12] Seems to be working. My computer used access the hard drive for long stretches after leaving it alone and coming back hours later. Notice it's not doing that any more (cross fingers).
***
[4/23/10] The slow firefox came back. I think all the settings reset when I upgraded the browser. Anyway, I took a look with task manager what was running when firefox was releasing the memory, and it showed a program called sysfader was running. Googling it showed it manages some windows animation effects (like fading out windows and menus.) So I turned it off and firefox now seems to release memory on shutdown much (much) quicker. The last time I did it anyway... We shall see. The first time I tweaked sysfader, it somehow changed the windows appearance from Windows Classic style (which I prefer) to Windows XP style. [I knew something looked different.] So I changed it back.
***
[5/28/10] Firefox was getting really slow after exiting. It would remain in memory (looking at task manager) as the hard disk churned for several minutes. Then memory would slowly get released back to the system. I think I finally figured out what the problem was. It was clearing the disk cache when exiting. I turned off that option and it's much faster now in releasing the memory after exiting. And the disk churning is very minimal now. Go to Tools/Options/Privacy. Then click the Settings Box to the right of Clear History When Firefox Closes. Uncheck Cache.
OK, seems to slowing down as the cache fills up. But still faster than before (so far).
[6/9/10] Firefox was getting superslow again thrashing the hard drive, even before exiting. And a long time after exiting too. Try a new approach. Create a new profile as per these instructions.
[6/10/10] I had left Firefox running and went to sleep. Hours later, I came back and the hard drive was churning. Took a little while to exit firefox. Seemed to exit memory a little quicker, but far from instantaneously. Maybe a couple or three minutes.
OK, try this config.trim_on_minimize and see how it goes.
[9/9/10] still trying. latest tweak: change browser.sessionhistory.max_total_viewers from -1 to 0. Supposedly this reduces the amount of RAM Firefox uses for its cache
But in the spirit of never giving up, I'm going to try SpeedyFox.
Mozilla Firefox is a fast browser, but with the lapse of time it starts working much slowly. The reason is fragmentation of profile databases. A free tool SpeedyFox is designed specially to resolve that problem. [via frwr_news]
***
[10/2/09] When I leave my computer along for long stretches, it often becomes really slow with long hard drive activities when using applications. I suspect it's swapping memory to disk, so I may have a memory leak.
There was recently an application on frwr_news to fix Firefox memory leaks (and other apps). Decided not to use it at the time. But I googled Firefox memory leak fix and came across this pages which suggests some Firefox configuration tweaks.
So far I changed browser.cache.disk.capacity to 5000, it was defaulted to 10000.
And I'll toggle Network.prefetch-next to false.
[10/12] Seems to be working. My computer used access the hard drive for long stretches after leaving it alone and coming back hours later. Notice it's not doing that any more (cross fingers).
***
[4/23/10] The slow firefox came back. I think all the settings reset when I upgraded the browser. Anyway, I took a look with task manager what was running when firefox was releasing the memory, and it showed a program called sysfader was running. Googling it showed it manages some windows animation effects (like fading out windows and menus.) So I turned it off and firefox now seems to release memory on shutdown much (much) quicker. The last time I did it anyway... We shall see. The first time I tweaked sysfader, it somehow changed the windows appearance from Windows Classic style (which I prefer) to Windows XP style. [I knew something looked different.] So I changed it back.
***
[5/28/10] Firefox was getting really slow after exiting. It would remain in memory (looking at task manager) as the hard disk churned for several minutes. Then memory would slowly get released back to the system. I think I finally figured out what the problem was. It was clearing the disk cache when exiting. I turned off that option and it's much faster now in releasing the memory after exiting. And the disk churning is very minimal now. Go to Tools/Options/Privacy. Then click the Settings Box to the right of Clear History When Firefox Closes. Uncheck Cache.
OK, seems to slowing down as the cache fills up. But still faster than before (so far).
[6/9/10] Firefox was getting superslow again thrashing the hard drive, even before exiting. And a long time after exiting too. Try a new approach. Create a new profile as per these instructions.
[6/10/10] I had left Firefox running and went to sleep. Hours later, I came back and the hard drive was churning. Took a little while to exit firefox. Seemed to exit memory a little quicker, but far from instantaneously. Maybe a couple or three minutes.
OK, try this config.trim_on_minimize and see how it goes.
[9/9/10] still trying. latest tweak: change browser.sessionhistory.max_total_viewers from -1 to 0. Supposedly this reduces the amount of RAM Firefox uses for its cache
Thursday, October 01, 2009
merging outlook express messages
Nelson had a block of missing messages from his Outlook Express sent folder which were still on the old computer and wanted them on his new computer. Not sure why there were missing.
I found this message thread which was helpful for hints, but I couldn't make it work when I tried to exactly follow their suggestions.
Here's what I wound up doing after playing around a bit.
Found the location of the old messages and backed up the folder to an external drive. (Did this previously).
Created a new Outlook Express identity on the new computer. Called it something like Old.Messages.
Copied the old messages to the Old.Messages Outlook Express folder on the new computer overwriting any duplicate files. (Make sure it's the right folder or you might overwrite the current messages! You might want to back up the current messages first.)
Go to Outlook Express and change to the Old.Messages Identity. Rename the folder you want to import to something different than what's in the current messages Identity. (I did this for safety so as not to erase the current messages. Again, you might want to back up the current messages, just in case.)
Go to the current Identiy. And create a folder that's the same name as the one you renamed in the Old.Messages.
Go to Outlook Express and go File, Import, Messages, Microsoft Outlook Express 6. Choose the Old.Messages Identity. Click Next. Click Selected folders. Choose the folder which holds the messages you want to import.
Click Next. The messages should be imported into the current identity.
Then you can copy the messages you want in the new folder to the desired folder.
Actually I think you can import directly into the folder. Not sure if it'll overwrite the current messages or just make a duplicate if the message is already there. Duplicate I think.
I found this message thread which was helpful for hints, but I couldn't make it work when I tried to exactly follow their suggestions.
Here's what I wound up doing after playing around a bit.
Found the location of the old messages and backed up the folder to an external drive. (Did this previously).
Created a new Outlook Express identity on the new computer. Called it something like Old.Messages.
Copied the old messages to the Old.Messages Outlook Express folder on the new computer overwriting any duplicate files. (Make sure it's the right folder or you might overwrite the current messages! You might want to back up the current messages first.)
Go to Outlook Express and change to the Old.Messages Identity. Rename the folder you want to import to something different than what's in the current messages Identity. (I did this for safety so as not to erase the current messages. Again, you might want to back up the current messages, just in case.)
Go to the current Identiy. And create a folder that's the same name as the one you renamed in the Old.Messages.
Go to Outlook Express and go File, Import, Messages, Microsoft Outlook Express 6. Choose the Old.Messages Identity. Click Next. Click Selected folders. Choose the folder which holds the messages you want to import.
Click Next. The messages should be imported into the current identity.
Then you can copy the messages you want in the new folder to the desired folder.
Actually I think you can import directly into the folder. Not sure if it'll overwrite the current messages or just make a duplicate if the message is already there. Duplicate I think.
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