Sunday, January 13, 2008
Confounding Lawyer Ad
I've expressed my disdain for lawyer's advertising in the past, but there is one that really annoys me, because it doesn't seem to make sense. It starts with the lawyer (not a "non-lawyer spokesperson") saying the following (pretty nearly exact quote):
"Are you having problems with credit card bills? Medical bills? Is your driver's license suspended? Bankruptcy can help."
OK, the credit card bills and the medical bills I get. But can a bankruptcy actually fix a suspended driver's license? If it can, something is very wrong....
"Are you having problems with credit card bills? Medical bills? Is your driver's license suspended? Bankruptcy can help."
OK, the credit card bills and the medical bills I get. But can a bankruptcy actually fix a suspended driver's license? If it can, something is very wrong....
Labels: law bankruptcy advertising
Tuesday, January 08, 2008
Today I was posting a comment elsewhere on the Web, and made reference to something I developed some time ago. I thought I'd share it here:
Mark's Second Law of Internet Communications:
Mark's Second Law of Internet Communications:
- Any message criticizing another poster's spelling or grammatical error will itself contain a spelling or grammatical error.
It's one of the reasons I rarely criticize the spelling or grammar of other people on the Internet, the other reasons being that some otherwise very smart people are just bad at spelling, grammar or punctuation. Some just type poorly.
In case you're wondering, here is Mark's First Law of Internet Communications:
- Georgia sucks.
I know this has nothing to do with the Internet, but it's my first law of pretty much anything.
Labels: Internet spelling grammar flaming communications
Friday, January 04, 2008
A Better Light Bulb
I came across a copy of Smithsonian that I never got to reading, and inside was an article about light bulbs – not just any light bulbs, but compact fluorescent lights (CFLs), which apparently will soon replace the old bulbs we grew up with, assuming you aren’t 130 years old.
You may have heard about the environmental benefits of CFLs, which look like vanilla ice cream cones and are a lot more efficient than incandescent bulbs and therefore use less electricity. According to the Smithsonian article, however, they also save a lot money and last much longer than incandescent bulbs. Although CFLs cost more when you buy them, they pay for themselves in about six months through reduced electric bills, and then the savings continue for the life of the bulb – typically about ten times longer than that of an old-fashioned bulb.
Last week I bought just one 20-watt CFL (equivalent to a 75-watt bulb). I wanted to see if it gave off light in ways that might seem odd. When I first turned it on, over the dining room table, it seemed a little bit dim at first, but in about 10 seconds it got to full strength, and it seems perfectly normal. And I’m only using 27 percent of the electricity! Next trip to the store, I’m going to get CFLs for the hallway, the bedroom, and the closet. (The kitchen and living room already have various types of fluorescent lighting, and the laundry room light doesn’t get a lot of use anyway.) It will be interesting to see how this affects my electric bill.
The most notable downside to CFLs is that they contain small amounts of mercury, meaning that they have to be disposed of with care, and also are potentially dangerous if you break them. One professor points out that they should not be used as down lighting over kitchen counters. “A champagne cork hits one, you’ve dusted your whole kitchen with mercury.” The same researcher predicts that light-emitting diodes (LEDs) will be cheap enough for household use within four years. These are the kinds of lights used in mobile phones and some flashlights, and they are twice as efficient as even CFLs – and they don’t use mercury.
So now, with CDs having replaced phonographs, CFLs taking the place of light bulbs, and DVDs supplanting movies on film, maybe the question is whether Edison himself is becoming obsolete?
P.S.: When I went to the store, they had CFLs on sale -- a two-pack costs just $5.00.
You may have heard about the environmental benefits of CFLs, which look like vanilla ice cream cones and are a lot more efficient than incandescent bulbs and therefore use less electricity. According to the Smithsonian article, however, they also save a lot money and last much longer than incandescent bulbs. Although CFLs cost more when you buy them, they pay for themselves in about six months through reduced electric bills, and then the savings continue for the life of the bulb – typically about ten times longer than that of an old-fashioned bulb.
Last week I bought just one 20-watt CFL (equivalent to a 75-watt bulb). I wanted to see if it gave off light in ways that might seem odd. When I first turned it on, over the dining room table, it seemed a little bit dim at first, but in about 10 seconds it got to full strength, and it seems perfectly normal. And I’m only using 27 percent of the electricity! Next trip to the store, I’m going to get CFLs for the hallway, the bedroom, and the closet. (The kitchen and living room already have various types of fluorescent lighting, and the laundry room light doesn’t get a lot of use anyway.) It will be interesting to see how this affects my electric bill.
The most notable downside to CFLs is that they contain small amounts of mercury, meaning that they have to be disposed of with care, and also are potentially dangerous if you break them. One professor points out that they should not be used as down lighting over kitchen counters. “A champagne cork hits one, you’ve dusted your whole kitchen with mercury.” The same researcher predicts that light-emitting diodes (LEDs) will be cheap enough for household use within four years. These are the kinds of lights used in mobile phones and some flashlights, and they are twice as efficient as even CFLs – and they don’t use mercury.
So now, with CDs having replaced phonographs, CFLs taking the place of light bulbs, and DVDs supplanting movies on film, maybe the question is whether Edison himself is becoming obsolete?
P.S.: When I went to the store, they had CFLs on sale -- a two-pack costs just $5.00.
Labels: technology electricity savings environment
