On Jan. 1, 2014, it will be lights out for standard incandescent 60- and 40-watt light bulbs. In order to comply with efficiency standards outlined in the Energy Independence and Security Act, which was signed into law by President George Bush in 2007, it will be illegal to manufacture or import them after Dec. 31. But retailers will still be able to sell off any remaining stock. In 2012, all 100-watt bulbs were phased out, and 75-watt bulbs disappeared the following year.
The old incandescent bulbs are highly inefficient — only about 10 percent of their energy output is converted into light; the rest is lost to heat. "Once all of our nation's 4 billion screw-based sockets have an efficient bulb in them, U.S. consumers will save $13 billion and 30 large coal-burning power plants-worth of electricity a year. The savings really add up," Noah Horowitz, senior scientist for the National Resources Defense Council tells Yahoo Shine. He adds that if you replace an incandescent bulb with a CFL (compact fluorescent light), you'll save about $50 over the course of the bulb's lifetime. LEDs (light-emitting diodes) are pricey up front — they run about $10 per 60-watt equivalent, but over time they offer a savings of $100 to $150 in energy costs. The numbers are compelling, but that doesn't mean that some of us won't mourn the loss of the mellow light emitted by old-fashioned bulbs, especially the 60-watt version, which accounts for about 50 percent of household lighting in the United States.
Lighting artist and designer Bentley Meeker, who runs a successful lighting design company in New York City, isn't a fan of all of the new, more efficient bulbs. "The soul doesn't connect to LED, it's a visceral reaction," he tells Yahoo Shine. "Until the mid-1850s, the only light that humans were exposed to was daylight and firelight — incandescent bulbs have a color that is similar to firelight." He believes that LEDs and fluorescents can be fatiguing on the eyes and unpleasant to live and work with for long periods of time.
Horowitz argues that the transition to energy efficient bulbs has been smooth and successful and that the technology and choices are continually improving. He says the main reason people aren't happy with some of the new bulbs is that they are choosing the wrong brightness level and/or "flavor" (the color of light the bulb emits).
Here are expert tips to comply with the new law, as well as to balance energy efficiency and cost savings with aesthetics:
- Don't inadvertently buy a bulb that's too bright. New bulbs are measured in lumens, not watts, which can be confusing. A 10-watt LED is as bright as a 60-watt incandescent, so if you purchase a 19-watt LED for a small accent light, it will seem glaring. The NRDC has a useful chart showing the light equivalences of various bulbs.
- Choose different types of bulbs for different purposes. Meeker uses LEDs and CFLs to light hallways, stairwells, and basements, and for spotlighting objects. For living spaces, he prefers halogen incandescent bulbs. He says they are a great substitute for the old bulbs, especially if you use them on a dimmer.
- If you want to use CFLs, choose the right color. Most people prefer the ones labeled "warm." The bulbs that are labeled "daylight" are bluish.
- Bring the bulb you want to replace to the store so you can find an equivalent that is the correct size and shape.
- The new bulbs don't work in recessed can lighting. You will still need to buy reflector bulbs, which are not subject to the same regulations.
- If you have dimmers, chose a halogen incandescent bulb or LED. Most CFLs do not work with dimmer sockets.
- Look for the words ENERGY STAR. "CFL and LED bulb quality can vary significantly," says Horowitz. "Be sure to only buy those that have the ENERGY STAR label," which ensures that the product meets the Environmental Protection Agency's strict standards for energy, efficiency, and performance. These bulbs are certified and tested by a third party and will save consumers an average of $6 in electricity costs per year, per bulb.
While some people are oblivious to lighting, most of us are sensitive to it, so it's worth being thoughtful about your choice of bulbs. Meeker, who has illuminated such venues as the White House Rose Garden and the Burning Man Festival puts it bluntly: "If the lighting sucks, people will be miserable."
"NSA,It's Illegal To Spy " , Said Judge
In a stinging rebuke to President Barack Obama’s surveillance policies, a federal judge on Monday branded the National Security Agency’s mass collection of Americans’ telephone data “almost Orwellian” and likely a violation of the Constitution. Former NSA contractor Edward Snowden cheered the ruling.
Appeals Court Judge Richard Leon invoked Founding Father James Madison and the Beatles in a frequently scathing ruling. Leon, appointed by then-President George W. Bush,ordered the government to halt bulk collection of so-called telephony metadata and destroy information already collected through that program. But he suspended his order as the case works its way through the courts.
“I cannot imagine a more ‘indiscriminate’ and ‘abitrary invasion’ than this systematic and high-tech collection and retention of personal data on virtually every single citizen for purposes of querying and analyzing it without prior judicial approval,” Leon wrote.
The judge also dealt a blow to the government’s argument that such surveillance programs — a source of controversy ever since Snowden revealed their reach in a series of unauthorized disclosures — are necessary to thwarting terrorist plots.
“The Government does not cite a single instance in which analysis of the NSA’s bulk metadata collection actually stopped an imminent attack, or otherwise aided the Government in achieving any objective that was time-sensitive in nature,” he wrote.
Leon said Founding Father James Madison would likely be “aghast” at the NSA’s activities — but also conjured up a Beatles-themed image to rebut the government’s suggestion that it does not collect Verizon metadata.
“To draw an analogy, if the NSA’s program operates the way the Government suggests it does, then omitting Verizon Wireless, AT&T, and Sprint from the collection would be like omitting John, Paul, and George from a historical analysis of the Beatles. A Ringo-only database doesn’t make any sense, and I cannot believe the Government would create, maintain, and so ardently defend such a system,” he wrote in footnote 36 on page 38.
Among Leon’s other flourishes, he warned that the so-called war on terrorism “realistically could be forever!” He expressed concerns about the “almost Orwellian technology that enables the Government to store and analyze the phone metadata of every telephone user in the United States.” And he said modern-day surveillance tactics would have been “the stuff of science fiction” at the time a precedent ruling was issued.
The White House had no immediate response to the ruling.
But Snowden, in a statement distributed by independent journalist Glenn Greenwald, cheered.
"I acted on my belief that the NSA's mass surveillance programs would not withstand a constitutional challenge, and that the American public deserved a chance to see these issues determined by open courts," Snowden said. "Today, a secret program authorized by a secret court was, when exposed to the light of day, found to violate Americans' rights. It is the first of many."
Baby Seat With iPad Attachment?That's Crazy !
Kid, I want to tell you about your future.
You'll be glued to a screen. Your fingers will be tap-tap-tapping to give you entertainment, enjoyment, and employment. And when your screen is taken away from you, you'll cry like a baby.
Some people don't want to believe this. These are the people who are ragingly raising their arms at a new baby bounce seat that has an iPad attachment so that baby can begin the process of pushing buttons on a screen.
It's made by Fisher-Price and it retails for a mere $80. Its full title is "Newborn-to-Toddler Apptivity Seat for iPad."
As the Los Angeles Times reports, a petition has been launched to have all these baby seats burned at the stake.
I exaggerate slightly. However, the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood wants you to sign its petition to encourage Fisher-Price to recall the product.
The campaign offers: "Because screens can be mesmerizing and babies are strapped down and 'safely' restrained, it encourages parents to leave infants all alone with an iPad. To make matters even worse, Fisher-Price is marketing the Apptivity Seat -- and claiming it's educational -- for newborns."
The campaigners believe that babies need "laps, not apps."
Fisher-Price countered with its own words to Fast Company: "The Apptivity Seat is a niche product that is only available online. Though we knew the product was not for everyone -- we have over a dozen seats from which parents can choose -- we wanted to offer it as yet another option for those parents who want the added feature of engaging in age-appropriate content with their children."
Some might be surprised that the company's statement didn't read: "Haven't you people seen "Wall-E?"
It's worth considering why the company thought there might be a market for such a piece. Could it be because Fisher-Price's research showed that parents are increasingly short of time, especially as they're spending far too much of it glued to their iPads?
Still, it's not as if buying the seat is compulsory. Perhaps, instead of attempting to pressure Fisher-Price, the campaigners might find some way of shaming anyone who buys these things.
In the end, though, charming and noble as their arguments might be, isn't this a lost cause?
Every adult spends the largest portion of their day mesmerized by one screen or another. Technology has encouraged us to do this and we, like cheery lemmings, have happily succumbed.
In the future, we won't really care about other people. Robots will do our caring for us and robots will be the only beings that will care about us.
Robots, indeed, will probably have our babies for us too. We'll be too busy living our lives through screens.
So, why worry? Perhaps the best parenting you can give your children is to equip them for the future world, not merely your own.
Promoting Gran Turismo 6
Mario Andretti is helping PlayStation promote its new video game, Gran Turismo 6.
PlayStation is marking the launch of Gran Turismo 6 with the social video documentary ''First Love,'' which focuses on Andretti and the moment he fell in love with his 1948 Hudson Hornet.
The third chapter of the video documentary was posted to GT6firstlove.com on Monday. It explains the process of scanning a rebuilt Hudson Hornet for Gran Turismo 6 and showing the moment the car was presented to Andretti.
Andretti won the Indianapolis 500 in 1969 and went on to a long, brilliant career before he retired from IndyCar in 1994. He last got behind the wheel for a lap in 2003 when he tested a car for son Michael at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Andretti's car hit debris left when Kenny Brack's car hit the wall, sending his car flying through the air and flipping end over end. He walked away unhurt.
Guy W. Longworth, senior vice president of PlayStation Brand Marketing at Sony Computer Entertainment America, said Andretti was perfect to help PlayStation market Gran Turismo 6.
''He's somebody who's been incredibly successful in the business for decades and we wanted to partner with someone who's as passionate about race car driving as we are,'' he said. ''He was passionate about our program. He came up with some interesting ways to bring it to life. We couldn't have enjoyed working with him more.''
GT6 includes popular series such as the FIA GT Racing, Le Mans Series, World Rally Championship and NASCAR.
Le Golden Xbox One
The Xbox One has gone gold. Literally.
Harrods, the British retailer with a penchant for making expensive things even more expensive, has introduced a version of Microsoft's console that is plated in 24-karat gold.
The price tag for this ostentatious game system? A cool £6,000 ($9,750). Take that, eBay!
Gold plating aside, there's no difference between this and any other Xbox One you might pick up. It doesn't even come bundled with a game.
Harrods is no stranger to ridiculously pricey everyday items. The store has also offered a diamond-encrusted iPhone case for $111,000, a men's shirt for just under $45,000, and a $10,000 box of Swarovski-studded chocolates, which probably results in the most luxurious ulcer known to man.
Despite its insane cost, the Xbox One is hardly the first console to get the luxury treatment. There's a long tradition of plating game goodies in gold, though there's a not-too-surprising lack of data on who, exactly, is buying these things.
In 2009, for example, Computer Choppers dipped five PlayStation 3s in gold for ultra-high-end gamers, complete with diamond-encrusted logos. The selling price? $9,000 each.
Custom Choppers, in fact, will gold plate just about any gadget you'd like. They've also created a 24-karat Xbox 360 and Wiimote, and if you don't want the gold iPhone Apple is offering these days, they can give you the real deal.
The award for weirdest gold-plated game system, though, may go to THQ. In 2009, just as the publisher began showing signs of the financial troubles that eventually doomed it, the company commissioned a gold-plated Wii which it then had sent to the Queen of England as part of a PR stunt. And it worked -- one of the more surprising revelations of the last console generation was that Queen Elizabeth loved the Wii and apparently was a "natural" at Wii Bowling.
Wonder how she feels about Ryse: Son of Rome?
