FlashLadyBug.com

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Okay, I guess the title of this is a little odd….I don’t know anyone who’s ever tried to use their computer tower to support an air conditioner, or anyone who’s ever tried to air condition a hard drive to improve performance by sticking it in front of a window-mounted unit.

The real PSA in here to to be careful to protect your computer from power surges over the summer. Air conditioners, in particular, put a huge load on the average home electrical system (especially in older homes.) When an air conditioner turns on, or shuts off, its possible to have a power surge that runs through the electrical system into your computer, and can fry hard drives, among other important computer components.

I suppose while I’m on it, I may as well mention that during the summer, computers can also be subject to power outages and brownouts. Make sure that you save data when you’re not using your computer, just in case the power shuts off while you’re away. More importantly, do your part to prevent brownouts in the first place. Remember to turn off your computer when you’re not around, or out for the day. Check to see if your monitor has a sleep mode that it goes into when you’re away. Not only will you help prevent brownouts, you’ll save the cost of the electricity too.

Read more about it here
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/237648/air_conditioners
_may_pose_threat_to.html

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Additional Notes:

If your computer is plugged into a different circuit than your air conditioner (If you turn off the circuit breaker / pull out the fuse that your air conditioner is plugged into (and it shuts off) but your computer stays on), you’re most likely OK. And, It’s always a good idea to use a UPS or other quality surge protector with your computer.
-Joe

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Another additional note : Be careful if you have a large laminator plugged into the same circuit as multiple computers and and air conditioner. When the circuit breaker goes, neither the computer, or the air conditioning user will be very happy. No further comment.
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Haha, NOT FUNNY
- Joe

Just a quickie here. . . .

A new waffle iron that makes keyboard-shaped waffles, ready to serve.
No word on price, production, or actual functionality. . .

http://www.techeblog.com/index.php/tech-gadget/keyboard-waffle-iron

I guess this is kinda one of those kinda strange, and pointless, but cool links I’ve found online.

“ast month A group of 60 GT logistics students, led by logistics expert
John Bartholdi, a professor in the Stewart School, sent identical boxes
bound for places like Lomé, Togo and Split, Croatia. With no indication
that there’s a competition underway, each carrier picks up its parcel,
and the race begins. The progress of the packages was tracked online
and students followed the often Byzantine journey (across oceans,
rivers and jungles and sometimes by bicycle) from Atlanta, Georgia, to
a location that may not even have an official street address.”

The packages are tracked throughout their journey.  In different years, different carriers have “won,” sometimes delivering all the packages, sometimes only one or two.  The destinations from Atlanta, GA this year :

Apia, the only city on Upulu, one of the islands comprising the
country of Samoa, in the western Pacific Ocean. Upulu has no street
addresses.

* Florianopolis, an island off the coast of southern Brazil just
above Uruguay; considered by the carriers to be a “remote area.”

* Harare, capital of Zimbabwe, which is currently experiencing hyperinflation and political unrest.

* Tikrit, birthplace of Saddam Hussein and a center of Sunni insurgency in Iraq.

* Yangon, until recently, capital of Myanmar, one of the most
isolated countries in the world. The city was formerly known as
Rangoon, Burma.

Read the full story (not all that long) here
http://www.networkworld.com/community3/?q=node/14778

Powered by ScribeFire.

“Killing penguins might be evil. I’m not 100 per cent sure. I’ve
never thrown one to a killer whale and then decided how I felt about it.”

Read the article for the rest of the background info.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/04/23/google_penguins/

If Google really is trying to be this “good” company, providing both good, free services, shouldn’t they also try and be a “green” company? I understand that data centers need power. I use the internet for many hours each day, to write this blog, to search for images, and for email and games. I’ve countless searched for stuff on Google. Data centers are good. But if Google’s really raking in all this money, shouldn’t they at least make an attempt to use green power, or reduce their carbon emissions?

If we hold Google responsible for the electronic world, to provide good services, and be ad good web citizen, shouldn’t we hold them to the same standards in the physical world? Maybe Google can’t afford to totally go “green,” but thats not excuse not to try.

Okay, the really useful post of the day.
How to rip a phone book in half.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pGvEGFkvNs

Well, it seems like Vista isn’t all its cracked up to be.  No surprise.

Dell originally stopped offering XP on most of its machines when Vista came out.  Enough customers were asking that XP return though dells IdeaStorm project.  Initially, Dell stopped offering XP for a majority of computers, save for a few geared towards small business, not quite ready to make a switch to Vista.  Microsoft will stop selling XP in January, so the long-term effects of Dells offerings are yet to be seen.  Personally, I’m in no hurry to see Vista on any of my computers anytime soon.

http://news.com.com/2100-1046_3-6177619.html?part=rss&tag=2547-1_3-0-5&subj=news

Okay, I know we usually try and report on actual real stuff…
But a little humor never hurt.

“Roomba Violates All Three Laws Of Roombotics”

http://www.theonion.com/content/news/roomba_violates_all_three_laws_of

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“Not only is the tasty and delicious Brazil Nut
one of the most nutritious nuts around, it also happens to be the
world’s most radioactive food – at least until Uranium Crisps hit the
shelves.

A result of the extensive root system of this largest of Amazon Rainforest trees, the Bertholletia excelsa collects and concentrates an unusually high amount of radium from
the soil – much of this being stored, as many toxins are, in the fatty
meat of the nut. It has been estimated that the Brazil nuts contains up
to 1,000 times more radium than the next highest radioactive food.

So
high is the level of radiation found in the nut, it has been shown to
register “33 percent hotter than the natural radiation level of [a]
room.”

…

“most authorities agree that there is little to no risk of ill-effect
from eating the nuts, even in quantity. Despite the prestige of
occupying the top radioactive spot, the amount stored and radiated is
nevertheless miniscule and simply does not compare to the level of
radiation found elsewhere in our daily lives.”

Read the full story here
http://noumenon.roderickrussell.com/brazil-nuts-for-that-healthy-glow

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I found this after a little bit of link chasing, and trying to get the correct story to go with the photo.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/tiki/sets/72157600049254981/

This is the caption to go with the photo :

“Photos sent to me by my friend Danny with this caption:

My wife’s uncle works in a military hospital and told me about this.
Its pretty amazing. Kevin Garrad (3rd Infantry Division) was on a
street patrol in Iraq (Tikrit I believe) and as he rounded the corner
of a building an armed (AK-47) insurgent came from the other side.

The two of them were within just a few feet of each other when they
opened fire. The insurgent was killed and Kevin was hit in the left
chest where his IPod was in his jacket pocket. It slowed the bullet
down enough that it did not completely penetrate his body armor.
Fortunately, Kevin suffered no wound.”

Technically, because the earlier posts are towards the bottom of the page, the one below this came first.  Odd coincidence?  Possibly.  I had NO IDEA Brian was looking at that…

Don’t try and beat the train, and don’t stop on the tracks.

So, on to the link…
http://www.metacafe.com/watch/472994/train_hitting_a_car/