Disqus - Latest Comments for Tschmidt

Re: Instant fertilizer: Farmer injects tractor’s carbon into the ground

Tschmidt — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 09:57:48 -0000

Great idea it it works. Really isn't Carbon sequestration since CO2 is not permanently removed from the environment but reduction in fertilizer use has great environmental benefit.

Re: Martha’s Vineyard oak die-off - a sign of things to come?

Tschmidt — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 09:52:14 -0000

That is bad news. I knew Maples in the region were at risk due to climate change but didn't think Oaks were also in danger. We heat with wood so have a practical stake in this. Plus as mrwg posted Oaks are beautiful trees.

Not looking forward to the day when our 13 acres goes back to what it looked like 150 years ago - open fields.

Re: Broadband network on “white space” amid TV signals

Tschmidt — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 22:17:01 -0000

The Cable industry is fighting this. They are worried about signal ingress from nearby transmitters. That is a little confusing since there is always the possibility of full power TV stations nearby.

As to it being a solution for rural broadband there are many wireless ISP servicing rural populations. Are they hamstrung due to lack of available channels?

Re: Helicopters and thermal imaging - can they see people in winter woods?

Tschmidt — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 20:32:06 -0000

Interesting article - I though IR was more sensitive then that.

One of the comments I found interesting is why lost hikers don't notice helicopter and make themselves more visible. From my experiences they are pretty noisy and travel relatively slowly. If I were lost and heard a helicopter I'd be very motivated to make myself as viable as possible. But that only works if you are near a clearing.

I wonder is there any kind of lightweight thermal flare/bomb hiker could carry to make them more observable to SAR teams? Smoke grenades are too heavy and dangerous.

Re: Life without a cell phone? Priceless (mostly)

Tschmidt — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 14:07:09 -0000

That's true but I love using the term Luddite since it bring up such vivid images.

Re: Life without a cell phone? Priceless (mostly)

Tschmidt — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 11:14:24 -0000

I'm a cell phone Luddite. Both our children have cell phones and our daughter got one for my wife a while ago. I have no desired to be that connected. Which is interesting since I strongly embraced email and the Internet. But that is a fundamentally different type of connectivity. I use it on my own terms when I chose. This post is a good example, I chose to read it and respond. It did not interrupt something else I was doing. Numerous studies have shown that multitasking reduces productivity. The human brain does not make context shifts quickly.

I fear we are creating a generation that will never know the joy of peaceful isolation and contemplation. They are always on, waiting for the next event to intrude into their lives. At the end of the workday it is interesting to watch two different groups rush out the door. The smokers, getting Nicotine fix, and the cell phone addicts catching up on what happened the previous few hours.

Popularity of cell phones means pay phones are a dying breed making it very difficult to make a call when traveling.

Re: Utilities dump Chamber of Commerce over global warming

Tschmidt — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 09:50:15 -0000

I've been following that story with interest. Hopefully more companies will replace stonewalling with action so we can focus on reducing Carbon Dioxide emissions.

I'm surprised CO2 reduction has been so controversial. US excels at invention and creating new technology. Where we have a problem is manufacturing - competing with low cost labor. A wholesale change in how we generate and use energy should play to our strengths. In addition to addressing Global Climate change should help our trade deficit. Just goes to show how hard it is to break away from the status quo.

I assume your prediction of an uneventful computer transition came true.

Re: Take the science knowledge quiz

Tschmidt — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 09:33:16 -0000

12/12 here to. Seemed pretty basic but then science/geography/history knowledge is pretty poor in the US.

Re: Seldom seen Shuttle Photos

Tschmidt — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 10:21:07 -0000

Need a yahoo account to view them. Any other way to access them?

Re: WiMax coming - and the unexpected perils of newspaper layout

DaveBrooks — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 10:31:35 -0000

In my column I'm vague about 3G/WiMax/LTE etc. ... "better vague than wrong" is one of my mottos!

Re: WiMax coming - and the unexpected perils of newspaper layout

Tschmidt — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 10:06:18 -0000

I assume irony of "live free or die" and being put in jail for growing your own Marijuana is lost on most folks. It is my understanding anti Marijuana laws were driven not because of its psychoactive effects but because hemp competed with cotton.

Interesting about Wimax. I though it was pretty much dead in developed countries with established cellular providers being beaten out by 3GPP LTE (long term evolution)

Re: “Open road tolling” on I-95

Tschmidt — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 13:23:57 -0000

True but a gas tax is a reasonable approximation since one only uses gas while driving. Toll collection has very high overhead costs and even with EZ-pass creates bottlenecks.

Re: “Open road tolling” on I-95

DaveBrooks — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 10:49:20 -0000

On the other hand, tolls place more of the cost on those who actually use the service - which has a certain fairness aspect.

It's like charging people to ride the bus or subway.

Re: “Open road tolling” on I-95

Tschmidt — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 10:45:22 -0000

I wish they would just get rid of the tolls and raise gas tax a little to pay for construction and maintenance. Seems like a much better solution to trying to use technology to solve a political problem. EZ-pass is convenient but one more intrusion of Big-Brother and is costly to implement.

Re: Distilled Water (Not)

Tschmidt — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 10:06:32 -0000

It is evaporation that leaves behind the nasties.

Condensation brings whatever dirt is in the air with it.

I had the same idea as a kid and took a sip from our dehumidifier - tasted awful.

Re: Turning old dams into hydropower dams

DaveBrooks — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 13:32:14 -0000

Yeah, I deleted a bunch of them but they're still coming - sigh

Re: Turning old dams into hydropower dams

Tschmidt — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 10:01:41 -0000

Hopefully the dam will either be used to generate electricity or breached.

Breaching it was discussed a decade or so ago but was felt that would release pollution trapped in the sediment. Current study indicates that will not be a major problem.

I agree hydro seems to have fallen off the radar. Years ago it was billed as "free electricity" now we are finding out as with all energy sources there is a price to pay.

Looks like your blog has attracted a spammer.

Re: Comcast redirecting bad URLs to their own ads

Fran Taylor — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 06:36:46 -0000

No, in all cases it is the MAC of your cable modem

Re: Comcast redirecting bad URLs to their own ads

Tschmidt — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 10:24:37 -0000

Good point – I had not read the Slashdot article.

Media Access Controller (MAC) address is the low level address used by the communication interface. For example each Ethernet NIC is assigned a unique 48-bit address by the manufacture. Without a unique address there is no way for network devices to communicate with one another. This is different then the IP address, which is assigned later when the IP stack is configured.

In the case of Cable the MAC address of interest is that of the router's WAN port or if PC is directly connected to Cable modem the PC’s Ethernet MAC address.

Re: Comcast redirecting bad URLs to their own ads

Tschmidt — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 21:07:07 -0000

Keep in mind opt-out is a browser cookie so opting out is pretty fragile. Wipe out the cookie or use a different browser and you have opted back in. If you have a hone network each PC and each browser has to opt-out. If Comcast really though this was a useful customer service, rather then just another revenue source, why not encourage customers to opt-in rather then forcing then to expend energy opting-out?

Why not bypass ISP nonsense and run your own DNS Resolver? Can either set it up on an individual PC or if you have a home network, with an always-on server use it as a shared DNS server. DNS for a home network is easy and not very demanding.

I've been using Treewalk for years. That way I don't care what the ISP does with DNS.
http://ntcanuck.com/

Re: I’m - egad - average in electricity use!

Tschmidt — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 15:24:44 -0000

Given how hard we have worked to reduce energy consumption I'm surprised and dismayed we are so much higher then local average. 21 kwh per day seems pretty low. We don't have AC which is why I assume there is such disparity between northern and southern states. California's stats are amazing.

Re: Electrical Outlets

Tschmidt — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 15:11:10 -0000

Here are the pro and cons of Ground up vs Ground down. Not as cut and dried as one might think.

http://www.mikeholt.com/technical.php?id=ground...

Re: Can three 20-watt CFL bulbs overwhelm a 600-watt generator?

Tschmidt — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 12:59:15 -0000

Was able to access it today without problem.

CFLs are like other electronics that use switching power supplies. They draw power for only a portion of the AC cycle so current is higher then expected, even though actual power consumption is low.

Re: Can three 20-watt CFL bulbs overwhelm a 600-watt generator?

Tschmidt — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 13:55:17 -0000

Looks like site may have been "slashdotted" I was unable to access.

I find it hard to believe a CFL has higher inrush current then an incandescent.

Re: Apollo program was Leif Ericson, not Columbus

Tschmidt — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 19:30:31 -0000

Agree with the analogy. I'm a big fan of space exploration but given cost/benefit trade off of automated probes compared to sending people I think we are much better off with probes for a while.

Lets settle worldwide economy and see if we can pull together an international effort to share glory and cost.

BTW I wonder if LRO images will finally settle the "moon landings were faked" debate or will deniers just assume LRO images are also faked?