Re: !Re: Fluorescent Bulbs Are Known to Zap Domestic Tranquillity; Energy-Savers a Turnoff for Wives

[Marc_F_Hult <MFHult@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Tue, 5 Jun 2007 06:42:40 -0400, "Robert Green"
<ROBERT_GREEN1963@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
<oc6dnZd8J-A-3PjbnZ2dnUVZ_q3inZ2d@xxxxxxx>:
!Re: Fluorescent Bulbs Are Known to Zap Domestic Tranquillity;
Energy-Savers a Turnoff for Wives

>On Mon, 04 Jun 2007 13:05:18 -0400, Marc_F_Hult
><MFHult@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
><t6d8639fun26qgq44er19iivimk1lih6mr@xxxxxxx>:
>Re: Fluorescent Bulbs Are Known to Zap Domestic Tranquillity;
>Energy-Savers a Turnoff for Wives

>>On Mon, 4 Jun 2007 08:42:59 -0400, "Robert Green"
>><ROBERT_GREEN1963@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
>><092dnYLZgpxBlfnbnZ2dnUVZ_ozinZ2d@xxxxxxx>:
>>Re: Fluorescent Bulbs Are Known to Zap Domestic Tranquillity;
>>Energy-Savers a Turnoff for Wives

>> >Where have you been, amigo?  Spain again?  How was the flight?
>>
>> How do you know I didn't catch the zeronetcarbon, "Farewell To The Gulf
>> Stream Sail" with a bunch of pre-nostalgic enviros in anticipation of
>> the abrupt change in that global heat conveyor belt ? ;-)
>
>I just know. ;-)
>
>So how much of your yearly carbon allotment do you think you burned up on
>the trip?  You're good at numbers.  That should be a cakewalk for you.

I answered Bobby's cakewalk question -- and we hope that Bobby  had a
place to sit down when the music stopped -- in detail in my previous post.

So it's my turn to potentially re-cast the problem (~ "model formulation")
by asking a question:

If you are a soldier deployed to Iraq, on whose account does all the
carbon you use go?   Yours or Shrub's ?

>The AP article about the different per capita "carbon load" rates was
>really an eyeopener.  Some of the people that thought they were
ecological >angels turned out to have some of the worst numbers.
>
>http://www.boston.com/news/local/vermont/articles/2007/06/03/ap_impact_blame
>_coal_texas_leads_in_carbon_emissions_overall/
>( http://tinyurl.com/ys5zm8 )

In my experience, it depends on how you develop the conceptual models,
which precedes development of the mathematical models,  which in turn
necessarily precedes the number crunching -- which may or may not be a
cake walk.

If model the formulation itself is a cake walk, the model may be too
simplistic, and investment of more intellectual effort may be warranted. I
think that these posts in this newsgroup are typically weak in this first,
all-important step.

>Some solutions, like kudzu, seemed like miracles until they became
>plagues:
>
>http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/05/us/05goats.html
>
>First called ?the miracle vine,? kudzu eventually came to be known as
>?the vine that ate the South.

Tell me about it ;-) In April I prepared a Powerpoint for presentation to
a 3-state consortium of Soil and Water Conservation Districts that called
"Daffodils, Kudzu and Emerging Challenges". It deals in part with
increasing inroads of invasive species and relation to climate change.
Kudzu isn't only in the south any more. It's reached Maine. I've parked a
copy of this (big) ppt here:

www.danbeard.com/environment

Importantly for us, kudzu has overrun much of the 750 feet of riverbank we
own that is just across the Ohio River from Downtown Cincinnati.
Coincidentally, the Ohio River is the Mason-Dixon line and defines "the
south". I'm trying to get help to deal with it because it needs to be a
coordinated effort. I chaired the team that prepared the part of our
city's strategic plan that was approved last week that deals with rivers
and we begin to address it there. Also at www.danbeard.com/environment

+++++++++++++++++++++++
+++++++++++++++++++++++

In my opinion, the c.h.a CFL discussion is an archetypical example of the
imbroglio that develops when factoids obtained and used in non-objective
ways are used to prop up questionable premises and support pre-determined
conclusions. It's one thing to say I personally don't like CFLs. It is
quite another to claim that they are a "bad idea" as was done in this
newsgroup -- to its discredit in my opinion.

I also think that thoughtful objective (and model) formulation is often
missing in comp.home.automation. Way too often we see  the question of
"what's the best hardware?" asked (and answered !!) long before the
question of "What are the goals? What are the constraints? What is the
available skill set (eg) wrt to programming, and so on are addressed. This
has been so in c.h.a for years and years IME.

How many of us have a clear articulation of our vision, goals, objectives
strategies and projects for our "home automation"? Measures of success? Is
the goal "home automation" or something broader?

Or would that be too much like work ;-)

www.neuralhome.org
www.neuralhome.com
www.neuralhome.net
www.neuralhome.us
www.neuralhome.biz
www.neuralhome.info

Have fun and be safe -- keep one hand in your pocket ! ... Marc
Marc_F_Hult
www.ECOntrol.org