The coldest winter I ever spent
Archive for the ‘General’ Category.
This is a followup to my first posting of Fully Legal AR-15 in California. It’s gotten so many comments that it’s hard to sort through them.
Please make followup comments here. And don’t forget to read the original post!
Thank you.
I saw a converter box at Radio Shack yesterday for $60. With the $40 coupon, switching to digital will be easy.
See some reviews of converter boxes
My nice 19″ Neovo monitor broke a few months back. It sat in the dust for 3 months before I got it fixed. Why oh why did I wait so long?! Using only 1 monitor is like geeking with one hand tied behind your back.
State ban on serving trans fat first in U.S.
California became the first state to outlaw trans fat in restaurants and food facilities Friday when Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a bill banning the artery-clogging oils and shortenings.
The bill, by Assemblyman Tony Mendoza, D-Artesia (Los Angeles County), had started heated debate in the Legislature. But many Bay Area restaurant owners say they don’t use trans fats, and others say complying with the new state law will not be burdensome.
I was going to make a T-Shirt that reads “Outlaw Trans-fats and Only Outlaws will have Trans-fats”. But reading into the issue further (IE, the second paragraph of the article) it’s more of an issue of closing the barn door after the horse has left. Or to be more gentle about it, codifying a trend in law.
This reminds me very much of what Mary Ruwart, Libertarian presidential candidate said about child labor laws. On 7-6-08 she spoke on Marty Nemko’s radio show about libertarian issues. She had said that child labor laws in the US followed on the coat-tails of trends at the end of the industrial revolution. The laws didn’t stop people from hiring child-workers. The trend of children not working in factories had already taken place.
Given the choice, people would rather not send their children to work in factories. After enough wealth had been generated, it stopped happening.
She talks about child labor law starts at 44 minutes, 10 seconds.
Here is the whole radio show (30 mb, 60 minutes), Work with Marty Nemko, July 6th, 2008.
Similarly, it’s (apparently) not difficult or more expensive to make non-trans-fat oils. Individuals, restaurants and manufacturers have already made the switch.
I said it before and I’ll say it again
Harumph!
Governor William J. Le Petomane: HOLY UNDERWEAR! People murdered? Innocent women and children blown to bits? We must do something to protect our phoney-baloney jobs people. Harumph! Harumph!
All of the governor’s lackeys but one chant along with him: Harumph! Harumph!
Governor: I didn’t get a harumph out of that guy.
Another lackey: Give the governer a harumph!
Lackey: Harumph!
Governor: You watch your ass.
If you have lots of books to get rid of, Amazon.com can be a good way to sell them. Here are some tips. I’m making this list because I just went through another round of selling stuff and want to remember it for next time.
Bush or Batman is the hottest new game in town. You have to guess whether the quote you are about to hear was said by George W. Bush or Batman as played by Adam West. Sounds easy enough, doesn’t it?
“Right here I have a series of 30 quotes that were either by set by George Bush as president of the United States or Batman in the 1960s TV show.
I’m going to ask you as many as I can in one minute. your job is to attribute them properly
Bush or Batman.
And if you can get half of them right, you win…”
Bush or Batman?
local version:
Solar proponents claim that electric rates in California have been going up significantly faster than inflation, making solar a good deal. Here’s the data to prove it.
http://www.energy.ca.gov/electricity/weighted_avg_retail_prices.html
Utility-Wide Weighted Average Retail Electricity Prices 1980-2005
(nominal $) (cents/kWh)
Year PG&E SCE SDG&E LADWP SMUD BGP ESPs Other Municipal Utilities Historical 1980 4.76 6.09 8.43 5.61 2.53 6.72 1981 6.05 6.45 9.36 6.16 2.82 6.48 1982 6.24 7.37 11.26 6.11 3.03 7.60 1983 6.42 7.42 11.66 5.85 3.75 7.48 1984 7.86 7.64 11.80 6.08 3.92 7.79 1985 8.73 7.94 12.84 6.54 4.56 7.81 1986 8.72 8.20 11.66 6.74 5.45 7.65 1987 7.56 8.19 10.42 7.09 6.64 8.22 1988 7.85 8.51 9.82 7.57 7.35 9.05 1989 8.79 9.17 9.51 8.06 7.41 9.50 1990 9.24 9.45 9.22 8.39 8.27 9.82 1991 9.87 10.07 9.36 8.23 8.30 9.91 1992 10.42 10.36 9.47 8.62 8.21 10.34 1993 10.59 10.06 9.89 9.13 7.69 10.96 1994 10.71 10.28 9.69 9.53 7.96 11.49 1995 9.89 10.46 9.67 9.14 8.18 11.43 1996 10.20 10.22 10.36 9.12 8.14 11.36 1997 10.30 10.22 10.70 9.36 7.92 10.51 1998 9.74 10.10 10.16 9.76 7.63 10.95 1999 9.81 10.05 10.16 9.75 7.60 10.96 2000 9.82 10.12 13.72 9.79 7.61 10.97 2001 11.74 12.87 13.66 9.79 9.26 13.57 2002 12.72 12.82 14.45 9.80 9.27 12.72 2003 13.18 13.16 14.26 9.80 9.81 12.43 2004 12.72 12.18 14.55 9.66 8.60 11.88 6.19 9.34 2005 13.07 12.93 14.72 9.31 10.10 11.97 6.44 9.51
Note: Energy Commission staff estimated these prices using data from EIA, utility websites and submittals during the IEPR cycles.
Utility-Wide Prices – These include prices for residential, commercial, industrial and agricultural customer classes.
BGP – This category includes electricity rates for customers of the cities of Burbank, Glendale and Pasadena.
Other Municipal Utilities – This category includes rates for Redding Electric Utility, Silicon Valley Power, City of Anaheim, Riverside, Roseville, Modesto Irrigation District, Turlock Irrigation District, and Imperial Irrigation District.
ESPs – These rates only reflect the generation portion of the total rate. Other charges such as T&D must be added. ESPs – Energy Service Providers include Arizona Power Service (APS), Constellation New Energy (CNE), Pilot Power Group, Strategic Energy LLC, and Sempra Energy Solutions.
http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/electricity/epm/table5_6_a.html
Table 5.6.A. Average Retail Price of Electricity to Ultimate Customers by End-Use Sector, by State, November 2007 and 2006 (Cents per kilowatthour)
Residential Commercial Industrial1 Transportation All Sectors California Nov-07 Nov-06 Nov-07 Nov-06 Nov-07 Nov-06 Nov-07 Nov-06 Nov-07 Nov-06 California 14.26 14.47 11.94 12.23 9.75 9.66 7.8 7.27 12.23 12.38
http://www.neo.ne.gov/statshtml/115.htm
Average Revenue per Kilowatthour by State (Lowest to Highest Rate as of November 2007) Rank State Average Electricity Rate for All Sectors (Cents per Kilowatthour) 39 Maryland 11.58 40 District of Columbia 11.99 41 Vermont 12.11 42 California 12.23 43 New Jersey 12.84 44 Alaska 13.12 45 Rhode Island 13.55 46 Maine 13.66 47 New Hampshire 13.68 48 Massachusetts 14.71 49 New York 14.90 50 Connecticut 15.77 51 Hawaii 23.67
More info http://www.energy.ca.gov/electricity/index.html#rates
I gathered this information when I was trying to make a living selling residential solar systems. The job didn’t agree with me but this information is still valid. Check it out
Internal Rate of Return tutorial http://hspm.sph.sc.edu/COURSES/ECON/irr/irr.html
Solar time of Use (local copy) A paper about Electricity Rate Structures and the Economics of Solar PV: Could Mandatory Time-of-Use Rates Undermine California’s Solar Photovoltaic Subsidies? – shown to Lee by his neighbor Oren Ahoobim
Under PURPA, utilities are required to purchase electricity from QFs at the utilities’ “avoided cost.” (11) The Federal government, in formulating regulations, often delegates implementation to the States. This occurred with PURPA, as the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) delegated the authority for the determination of avoided cost to the States. In several States including California, avoided cost purchase contracts were very favorable to non-utility generators. For example, between 1982 and 1988, Standard Offer 4 (SO4) contracts written in California allowed QFs to sell renewable energy under 15-to-30 year terms.
Additionally, the new law makes a credit available to those who add qualified solar panels, solar water heating equipment, or a fuel cell power plant to their homes in the United States. In general, a qualified fuel cell power plant converts a fuel into electricity using electrochemical means, has an electricity—only generation efficiency of more than 30 percent and generates at least 0.5 kilowatts of electricity. Taxpayers are allowed one credit equal to 30 percent of the qualified investment in a solar panel up to a maximum credit of $2,000, and another equivalent credit for investing in a solar water heating system. No part of either system can be used to heat a pool or hot tub. … These items must be placed in service after Dec. 31, 2005 and before Jan. 1, 2008.
30% tax credit… $2,000 for a PV system and $2,000 for solar water heating
A very important tax form. Print the whole thing out and read.
There is mention of a credit for using solar illumination
? Increased the energy percentage from 10 to 30% for solar property placed in service after December 31, 2005.
There is mention of a credit for property that generates solar or geothermal power
For purposes of line 2, solar energy property is equipment that uses solar energy to: ? Generate electricity,? Heat or cool (or provide hot water for use in) a structure, or ? Provide solar process heat (but not to heat a swimming pool).
solar energy property includes solar energy property as defined in the line 2 instructions and equipment which uses solar energy to illuminate the inside of a structure using fiber-optic distributed sunlight.
And if all that fails, try getting Energy Film low e film. You could save 15% on your energy bills. Lasts 10 years. DIY. Costs $40 for a 4’x7′ sheet, maybe $500 for a whole house instead of $12,000 to install low-e windows. Energy Film blocks out 70% of solar heat in summer, retains 38% of escaping heat in winter and blocks 97% of UV rays while still allowing 77% of natural light into a room.
A while back I was considering getting a handgun. I wanted it to be easy to handle for both myself and my girlfriend. I decided on the Beretta 92FS. Actually, the box tells me that it’s a Beretta M9, the same thing with different markings.
I was a little disappointed because although the Springfield XD9 is very sexy, the grip is too large for my dainty woman’s hands. No matter, the Beretta is a fine handgun.
For your pleasure, here’s some links and research I did in buying the gun…
* Charlotte talked with a very nice female cop, she recommended Glock47, Glock 27, Glock 26. And to check the website for Kahr arms …..LC action drop down menus on weapons….. Weapons for women…..
* Beretta 92FS. $575 The official handgun of the US Armed Forces
* Beretta 92FS Vertec site reads “good for small handed shooters”(?)
* Springfield XD9 4″ $500 grip safety but no thumb safety. Inexpensive, comes with case, 2 magazines. Green bi-tone is pretty.
* Springfield 1911-A1 9 MM. Model PI9134L Thumb safety, grip safety, more expensive, single stack
* Smith & Wesson 3913 recommended by http://www.womenandguns.com/wfn/somany.html
* Browning HiPower recommended by http://www.womenandguns.com/wfn/somany.html
Other info
At Jackson Arms, Monday night is Ladies Night (1/2 price for Ladies). They have Berretta 92 and Springfield XD9 but they’re both broken :-(. Call back in a few weeks.
Use http://gunbroker.com to figure street price
Maybe buy a gun from On Target Guns & Accessories in Ukiah CA 707-462-8513
Maybe buy a gun bag from http://Tommysgunpack.com. They are often at local gun shows
Maybe call these ranges looking to rent handguns or to shoot at
http://www.corneredcat.com – A great site with info like how to rack a pistol if you aren’t strong and how to dry fire and such. And it’s pink!
http://www.pistolprowess.com/Choosing_a_Pistol.htm Double-action / Single-Action (like on the Beretta 92FS) is bad: “With a DA/SA gun not one but two different trigger pulls must be learned. Novice shooters often pull their first shot low as a result of the heavy DA trigger”
“Typically “single stack”, designs such as the 1911 models work well for shooters with small hands”
http://www.womenandguns.com A good site, check out the forums too.
http://www.sightm1911.com The M9, Beretta 92 F, has the smoothest slide and the lightest recoil spring of any major caliber pistol I know
Good for small hands ParaOrdnance 18-9 (according to: http://womenandguns.servertalk.in/womenandguns-ftopic850-0-asc-15.html)
http://womenandguns.servertalk.in/womenandguns-ftopic850.html
To reduce recoil, don’t get porting; it’s louder and has more flash, which could temporarily blind you consider getting Shok-Buff (http://www.wilsoncombat.com/a_shokbuff.asp) instead