The halogen myth.

Halogen globes, how I loath thee.

LOW VOLTAGE DOES NOT MEAN LOW POWER.

THE STEP-DOWN FACTOR:
Firstly, the things are most likely running on a transformer, and not a switch-mode power supply (which are more efficient), so straight off the bat you’re wasting power. Dropping 240 AC to 12 DC comes at a cost. You have to factor that into the bulb wattage – a 50 watt bulb is probably using close to 60. Put your hand on the transformer if you know where it is – notice that warmth? That requires energy.

Edison lost the current wars – we don’t get DC power pumped into our homes. It needs to be converted. Depending on how it’s set up, you might even be using power when the lights ARE NOT EVEN ON.

THE QUANTITY FACTOR:
People have swarms of halogen down-lights – they pockmark the ceiling. Here’s a tip – the power each one uses gets multiplied by the quantity you have. Got 10 of the “low-power” 50 watt’ers? News flash – that’s 500 watts! (600 if you consider the loss in the transformer.)

This is irritating in the extreme. I’ve had arguments with people about it. I’ve been assured by some people that they are low voltage, and thus use hardly any power at all.

I repeat:
LOW VOLTAGE DOES NOT MEAN LOW POWER.
(Low voltage CAN be low power, but low wattage IS low power.)

I’m not going to explain voltage, current and wattage here, if you want to know how much power something uses, stick with watts. Low voltage allows electrical appliances to be run from solar panels, batteries and cars, because these involve limited power sources, most 12v goods use low power. Low voltage is less likely to arc (read: safer), and also allows you to legally do your own wiring (240 volt self wiring is a big no-no), and have them exposed to the elements – like garden lights. Halogen lamps are, to be blunt, a bit of a scam.

They are still incandescent globes, and thus produce a substantial amount of heat. In fact, quite a dangerous amount – the globe itself needs to be shielded (and not just from the heat, the shielding helps contain ‘explosive bulb failure’ shattering, and filter the UV rays that would otherwise provide a suntan.)

They do last longer and are more efficient than standard incandescent bulbs, but it’s marginal, and doesn’t compare with CFLs or LEDs.

FOOLS!
They’re marketed as being low voltage, giving the impression of low power (which I'm sure is entirely accidental, and not an attempt to exploit ignorance at all). Even in an old ReNew magazine there was an article about a woman’s super self-sustaining home, and how she “had some bad advice” and had halogens installed. She ended up replacing them.

And now, new homes are using more power than existing homes. The five-star rating – which Bracks promised would be 50% more energy efficient in 2004 – hasn’t worked (new home emissions are 6% higher - and that's on top of the increased energy use of existing homes). There’s nothing wrong with the standard itself, it just doesn’t factor in these “hip” lighting choices, nor the size of new homes. The Age believes the five-star rating cannot be revamped until 2009 at the earliest, which is a disgrace for the Steve “the great environmentalist” Bracks.


This article describes an award-winning home with 10 halogen lamps lighting the front porch alone.

Summary:
* Halogen lamps are a scourge on energy efficiency.
* CFLs and LEDs (go for Luxeons) that fit into halogen recessed lighting fixtures are available.
* The state government needs to fix the five-star rating, and spread the word on halogen lamps.

I,heart.

The heart symbol.

What does it depict? There is some controversy.

It doesn't look much like a human heart, does look a bit like a cow heart, but does appear to closely resemble the following:

* turtle heart
* male prostate gland
* spread vulva/pubic mound/buttocks/breasts

But the most realistic explanation seems to be found in the seed of the silphium plant:


This is an ancient silver coin depicting the seed.

"The seeds are distinctly heart-shaped. Since this plant was widely used as an ancient herbal contraceptive or abortifacient, this shape may have come to be associated with sexuality and love."

Yes, the all-but universal sign of love, is just a way of telling your partner you can abort or avoid any unwanted foetus.
I guess these didn't make the cut.

Funny Plant Names #1

Titan arum, or (Ancient Greek) Amorphophallus titanum - which translates to:
Giant, misshapen penis.

Flying = hatred of environment.

If an environmentalist fly’s in an airplane, they often get derided for it. Bob Brown, Al Gore, and now Leonardo DiCaprio – they wheel out the same argument all over again. Leo cracked it at Cannes when this false contradiction was put forward to him.

Did you fly on a gas-guzzling jet to arrive at the premier of his Eco-doco?
No, I took the friggin’ train.

(Paraphrased – “friggin’” was added for dramatic effect.)

A Toyota Prius gets 5L/100km.
Modern commercial flights get 3.5L/100km.

Aviation and jet fuel have around the same energy (MJ) per litre as petrol, around 20% of CO2 emissions in the US are from cars, around 4% from planes, etc. etc.

There are many other factors to consider, but the fact remains – unless you’re car-pooling your freaking Prius, cycling, or taking bus/rail, it’s better to fly.

The real issue is whether the flight is necessary at all. (Oh and private jets are ridiculously inefficient, and do not apply.)

Teste-ing my patience, and I'm ovary it.

There are a few issues fundamentalist and extremist Christians seem to put a lot of emphasis on.

Gay/lesbian relationships. Any partners that have the same genitals should have less rights.
Abortion. They’re against unwanted cells being removed from the female genitals.
Pornography. Basically any film that shows genitals.

I’m noticing a theme… Genitals. Genitals are pretty neat, they provide enjoyment and procreation. Our species, as with others, requires them to avoid extinction. But somehow, they’re evil. Not entirely sure how or why that works, but it’s not the most irrational position of religious folk. It’s somewhere between compulsory facial hair and abstaining from certain foods on certain days.

We have plenty of laws to appease these people on the pornographic side – age restrictions, content restrictions, advertising restrictions, airing restrictions, heck, I can’t even fetch the newspaper while airing out Little Larry.

I know – strange at it may seem – there are folk out there that aren’t even impressed with the sight of my equipment. But somethings you have to learn the hard way.

Regardless, they’ve won. A moral victory in the war against whatever it is that access to pornography does. I’m sure they must have a Hairless Palm Appreciation Society or something. Those of us that meet the requirements, and are considered mature enough to access the material, can admire the beauty of God’s handiwork until the cow’s come home.

(Note to self: change that metaphor.)

But something sinister is afoot – “A NSW council will use money from a secretive religious sect (the Exclusive Brethren) to appeal against a court decision allowing a sex shop to go ahead, says an adult industry association.”

Of course, the Exclusive Brethren usually shoots for “it wasn’t us, it was just one of our members.. they acted as a concerned individual..” They use this excuse each and every time they’re accused of meddling. Even when the election ads are almost identical across different countries.

But it this case, the money was donated directly by the cult itself, without using a member as a proxy. Actually, I’m lying, it was donated by a “businessman”, the council had no idea he was even a member of EB.

Another sect member spontaneously meddling in the politics they deride – what an amazing coincidence. Mysterious ways indeed.

Green and golden showers.

In an effort to deal with the effects of climate change without putting effort towards preventing it, the CSIRO has received government funding into kidney research.

Human kidneys will be genetically engineered to adjust the filtration process. Only potable water will be delivered to the bladder, making urine safe for the garden, safe for the laundry, and safe for human consumption.

“I think once the public get over the yuk-factor, there will be a high uptake on GE kidney replacements” claims the CSIRO director. “Golden showers will become crystal clear showers – and unlike traditional methods of hygiene, there is no need to warm the water.”

Remember where you stood

ChoiceWork

Don't like WorkChoices? You'll love ChoiceWork! It's the same policy, just rebadged! Sure, only an idiot would fall for such a ruse, sure it's an insult to the Australian public, but c'mon - it's ChoiceWork! 'Choice' is slang for good, and 'Work' puts food on the table, who could possibly argue against it?

UPDATE: Sez has a post about this, including the Mcleod's Daughters AWA Sacking clip...

WordChoices

One in three drivers taken to hospital following major car accidents have drugs in their system - a figure doctors believe is "disturbingly high".

Magnificent choice of words.

Sciencefictionology

Scientology. Commonly accused of messing with people’s heads, causing mental anguish, harassment, etc.

Their plan to disprove this involves showing a video clip of an otherwise sane and composed man, a man whom they harassed, having a loud outburst. The sort of outburst commonly associated with mental anguish.

Well shit, I’m sold.

Single sentence post #1

If an employee of a company (that just happens to own shares in the same company) pushes for greater dividends, which results in greater government lobbying, which results in softened industrial relations laws, which results in the employee getting the sack – do his cries make a sound?

Baby jacking.

Howard successfully hijacks an abandoned infant!

Not wanting News Corp to soley capitalise on the plight of a baby, the Prime Minister has cock-sucked his way into both Rupert's good-books, as well as being "That Guy To Vote For Wot Said Wot I Was Thinkin'".

Libs - 2.

GMOh?

I have no particular beef with GMOs. I'm sure they'll have some amazing benefits one day, something that makes patents on life worthwhile. One day. Apparently Victoria is set to lift it's moratorium on them.

That's concerning.

But what is NOT concerning is - people may not know. If we are not ALLOWED to know whether man has genetically altered a product before we consume it, that is not concerning.

It is an outrage.

If the public MIGHT be concerned about that aspect about a product (and they will be), they deserve to know. Like trans fats, like all the other warnings that deserve to be (or are already) on products.

I haven't read The Age's coverage on this, but if the moratorium is lifted without any labelling requirements, Labor are down 4 points - otherwise, only 1 point.

UPDATE: Read The Age's coverage, found nothing about labelling.

Party Ratings

OK, here is my updated Party Ratings chart. Rudd ruled out statutory contracts, which there was a small amount of doubt over, so points for that. I like his trades-in-highschools plan, it seems to allow students to be flexible in their studies, rather than be condemned to either in a high/tech school. I'm not a fan of Kevin painting himself as fiscally conservative, I don't see that as Labor's role, it's not a joy seeing the alternative to the conservative party call themselves conservative, we've just had a decade of fiscally conservative rule and it'd be nice if that could change at some point.

Liberals and Greens haven't done anything to raise or lower their positions, although I was proud the Greens, once again, didn't attempt to smear the ALP while defending themselves against the pro-nuclear slander.

Rupert Murdoch goes green.

Rupert Murdoch goes green.

I’m not really sure of his motivation. How can you make such a dramatic switch, from no concern to steadfast determination to prevent? It does happen, so it’s not entirely unrealistic. There is money to be lost in climate change, and money to be gained in avoiding it, so there’s the possibility it’s merely an economic move.

Maybe it’s just the latest rich-guy fashion, maybe it merely serves to ease the guilt, who knows.

He bought himself a hybrid car. Good, hybrid private jet/glider would be nice.

He plans on making the entire News Corp business carbon neutral. Aside from cashing in on carbon credits, I’ll assume that this will come at a cost, and mucho kudos for that.

It’s important to be cautious of Greenwashing, and those planning to exploit climate concerns, but I doubt this applies here.

However, I have reservations. *ahem*

“This one is clear. Climate change poses clear, catastrophic threats. We may not agree on the extent, but we certainly can't afford the risk of inaction”

But Mr Murdoch signalled that News Corp would not be reporting climate change as "the end of the world".

Uh.. what?

"The challenge is to revolutionise the message," he said. "For too long, the threats of climate change have been presented as doom and gloom — because the consequences are so serious.

"We need to do what our company does best: make this issue exciting. Tell the story in a new way.

Clear, catastrophic threats, can’t afford the risk of inaction, I got that bit. But not the end of the world, revolutionised message, no doom and gloom, make it exciting, tell it a new way? Sorry, you may have just lost me.

And I think Murdoch just admitted guilt to the long list of accusations of media manipulation right there.

So let me get this straight, just so we’re clear on this Mr Murdoch. The Australian, The Courier-Mail, The Sunday Mail, The Cairns Post, The Gold Coast Bulletin, The Townsville Bulletin, The Daily Telegraph, The Herald Sun, The Weekly Times, MX, The Geelong Advertiser, The Advertiser, The Sunday Mail, Messenger Newspapers, The Sunday Times, The Mercury, The Sunday Tasmanian, Northern Territory News, The Sunday Territorian, The Tablelands Advertiser, The Tablelander, Fiji Times, Nai Lalakai, Shanti Dut, Papua New Guinea Post-Courier, The Sun, News of the World, Times Newspapers Ltd., The Sunday Times, The Times, New York Post, The Timesledger, Bayside Times, Whitestone Times, Flushing Times, Fresh Meadows Times, Little Neck Ledger, Jackson Heights Times, Richmond Hill Times, Jamaica Times, Laurelton Times, Queens Village Times, Astoria Times, Forest Hills Ledger, Ridgewood Ledger, Howard Beach Times, The Courier-Life Newspapers, Caribbean Life, and Fox News will all now be reporting that climate change is bad yet exciting, but not the end of the world.

So, what you’re saying is, for this whole time, for the decade of the Kyoto Protocol, you’ve had the ability to adjust the reporting angle of climate change from the news sources that most citizens of the western world get their news from, and you’ve decided NOW to allow it be considered real and a threat?

You are a monster. What was the policy before – claim it’s not real, spin it as not a threat? I’m pretty sure that was the angle, and I’m pretty sure the angle was your decision because you just admitted your own ability to twist the reality of news in your publications.

Imagine the public opinion you’ve shaped in that time. Giving equal credence to conspiracy nuts? What ignorance you’ve spread, what inaction are you culpable of?

You want to claim the pro-environment viewpoint now, you carry the blame for the anti-environment viewpoint of the past, and every single perception of the changing world in the millions upon millions of minds that have laid trust in the accuracy of your publications.

Go repent elsewhere.

Budge it

I feel obliged to post on the Budget 2007™©®, but I could care less. An election year budget from a tax-cut-vote-buying party facing a hostile electorate?

Gee, I wonder what it could possibly contain.

Not impressed they’re spending more on military (sorry, ‘defence’) than education, but more is spent on industry, workforce, infrastructure, transport and energy spending – if you add them up together. I haven't examined it with much gusto, the environment spending and tax cuts was more than I could stomach.

I’m a little more concerned about VICTORIA’S POWER STATIONS BUYING WATER FROM THE INTERNET in order to run.

Little worried about each kilo of ice costing Australia $284,000, tripling in the last 4 years.

A bit troubled by Rudd failing “to repeat Labor's pledge to abolish all statutory contracts — despite being asked six times yesterday.”

I believe I read uni’s may have the option to allow 100% of students to be full-fee paying in selected subjects – wouldn’t mind finding out more about that.

I'm not sure what else was snuck in whilst the fascinating dollar-numbers were jiggled in front of the media like shiny, pretty-coloured keys.

So forgive me if I neglect to comment on the pre-election bribes – it didn’t even deserve to even make the news.

LAST (thus far)

Fuck it.
L A S T

Last last last.

Lastie lastie lastie last.

Welcome to lastsville, population: you.

LAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAST!11one

Knock knock,
Who's there?
Last
Last who?
Just last. Just plain old last. Not second last, not third, precisely last. I'ma get dat ballot, and put da fuggers last.

Stage 3 Policy Restrictions

Australia is experiencing a decade-long political-empathy drought, and the major parties have initiated Stage 3 policy restrictions.

What State 3 Policy Restrictions mean:
Under Stage 3 policy restrictions policies can be released on specified days, usually during a sporting event, tragedy, or other distraction. A vague press release fitted with spin and rhetoric can be used to educate the public on party policy.

A policy dripper system can be used to slowly release policies, making collection and overall understanding of policy difficult, as well as delaying any critical judgement until the last minute, when the full policy can be argued against.

Personal attacks:
To keep the public from straying into awareness of policies and promises, a concerted effort will be used to focus on personality. For example: emphasis on the leader, his/her experience, which one of the two leaders would you trust, the deputy leaders’ hair/attire/menstruation. The topics raised should have no effect on the future of the nation.

Ignore the future:
Avoid promises, such as no child living in poverty by 1990, not by setting realistic goals, nor by devising policies in an attempt to achieve those goals, simply avoid promises regarding outcomes altogether. Concentrate on the past – claim that under a party’s previous reign a certain poverty statistic was worse, rather than work towards eliminating poverty itself.

Willy Heffernan

Bill Heffernan has announced his resignation 24 hours after his decision to become unable to maintain an erection. “Three months ago, I decided to lower my sperm count to zero. There was probably the odd one or two of the little soldiers floating around, so I figured I was still fit for public office."

"However, on Thursday I successfully attempted erectile dysfunction, which I enjoyed. I plan on maintaining my lack of erection, therefore I must resign from my position as Chief Planter of Slander and Smear into the Public Consciousness.”

Industrial scurvy.

When Howard got the senate, he removed practically all the food from the workers rights pantry, and we were very upset. Previously it was stocked with all manner of healthy food.

---

But Rudd promised to rip up this no-food policy, and we were pleased. However some were concerned by the fact he was only promising a food aid package that didn’t meet some of the minimum nutritional requirements of the ILO.

---

Then Howard attempted to trump Rudd, with a new pro-food policy:

A half-eaten cookie.

The Digg'ers, United, Will Never Be Dugg Down.

I popped into Digg the other day, only to find each and every site linked on the democratic-news site included a reference to a certain hexadecimal number. Apparently this number helps some rich folk get richer, and they'd been throwing threats around to ensure this illegal number didn't get onto the Intertubes.

The number of Digg's for each was quite impressive, I thought it was a potential defacing, but it just turns out it was democracy in action. It was nice witnessing this new form of protest - apparently it's the "online equivalent of the Boston Tea Party."


It made international headlines.

Wikivolution

I had an idea to create a video clip demonstrating the evolution of a Wikipedia page a few days before I a video appeared which did just that. Which leads me to believe either someone is stealing my thoughts, or great minds think alike.

Lock-in the latter. Anyway, it's "a timelapse of the first 12 hours of the Wikipedia article documenting the VT Massacre", and it really shows the evolution of knowledge-collection of Our Dear Information Repository. The mechanical and slightly haunting soundtrack really highlights the mystique behind the phenomena.

Water water nowhere

Less than 30%!!

We knocked our Melbourne water storages down below 30%. Congratulations everyone! I’d like to thank the excessive gardeners, especially you over-waterers – couldn’t have done it without you. Urine flushers? Where are you? Prop’s che, you helped make this milestone a possibility. Obsessive compulsives, hygiene and body odour nutters, industry, sporting associations – I couldn’t possibly list them all, but well done. It’s a great day.

But our Great Work is not yet done. Today it has, strangely, rained heavily directly into the catchments. So keep on wasting!