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All of a sudden my machine refuses to run regedit and cmd. All that happens when I try to run them is that all the shortcuts on my desktop disappear for a few seconds, and then reappear. Same thing when I try to run Windows Commander (a Windows management program similar to the old DOS-based...

It's a good idea to put in low voltage DC circuits regardless. If you ever go with solar panels then you can use the panel output directly for things like lighting, without using an inverter to convert to 120VAC. I think the standard for compatibility with solar panels would be 48VDC but I'll...

I know for a fact some parts of NYC have streetlights over 100 years old. And those cobra-style lights which are just about everywhere date from the late 1940s/early 1950s (except the ones destroyed by drivers). Most still have decades of life left in them. 200 years is a long time but not...

Those all use 5mm indicator-type LEDs which at best dim to 50% brightness after a few thousand hours (really bad ones can dim in a few weeks). Power LEDs like Crees or Luxeons use silicon encapsulant and really do last 50,000 hours or more. I have a Luxeon which has been running since January...

Believe me, a small minority here have been doing exactly that but unfortunately the powers that be for the last 8 years don't want to hear it. Maybe the new guy will do things differently, or at least we can hope. It looks like Australia is getting the brunt of this unfortunately but be aware...

I couldn't agree more. Also, to add to what Fushigi said, I agree that illegal drugs present a huge problem if they're made legal and people drive or operate machinery under their influence. However, we already have this problem with legal prescription drugs, many of which similarly impair...

I wouldn't say we're on the verge of making LEDs much cheaper, but this is a step in the right direction. Let's not forget that the die isn't the most expensive part of an LED. The package is what costs the most. Power LED packages are coming down in price but still high relative to the die...

The problem with my father was eating both the wrong foods, and more importantly eating too much food (he was close to 300 pounds in the end). There is no familial hyperlipidemia. He was fat, plain and simple. In fact, from what I've read most of the cases of high cholesterol are from being...

Some articles (and there's plenty more if google "overuse of prescription drugs"): Dangers of overuse of prescription medication Prescription Drug Use in America: The Startling Numbers And Their Implications Too Much Medication Prescription Drug Marketing Promotes Overuse

I'm obviously not an expert in those areas but I've done lots of research on the subject before reaching my conclusions. I've also seen the side effects of medication on my parents. My father never questioned what the doctors told him to take. I really wish he would have. He might well be...

The thing is we're going at it from the wrong angle. We've tried laws and enforcement. It doesn't work. If it did, then why do so many people try drugs, and why do they sometimes get hooked? To continue to do things the same way but expect a different result is the very definition of...

If you count the legal drugs, yes. And many legal drugs have long-term side-effects as bad or worse than illegal ones. Lipitor was responsible in large part for my father's death. IMO it's the legal drug problem we should go after first. I see far too many people stoned or otherwise out of...

One thing to remember is that alcoholism was at an all-time high during prohibition. Outlawing something doesn't make it go away. In fact, it makes it more attractive to some segments of the population. I dare say if we legalized all hard core drugs, not just marijuana, then drug abuse would...

This might be of help. Spamming was a problem on CPF until the new policy was put into effect. Specifically, here's what was done: In an effort to reduce spam in the forums by new members who only register in order to post spam, restrictions have been imposed on all new registrations. 1)...

Now that's the really puzzling part. I totally don't understand why an elite athlete like Phelps would take anything which might affect his performance or health. I won't touch cigarettes or weed for those reasons, and I'm not even an athlete. I just can't see shortening your life by a decade...

I don't get it either. Smoking weed isn't any worse than smoking cigarettes. It shouldn't even be illegal. Granted, I don't condone it, but then I don't condone smoking either. The only reason he is being chastised for this is because weed is against the law. Maybe if there's enough outrage...

This gives new meaning to the phrase "revenge is a dish best served up cold".

Nuclear fission is the best bet for now, nuclear fusion perhaps 50 years from now. Solar and wind can certainly find a lot of niches where they would work also but they'll never supply more than 25% of our power combined (and that's an optimistic estimate). Geothermal and tidal are a few more...

Let's take global warming out of the equation for a minute. Are there other good reasons to stop using fossil fuels? I can certainly think of a bunch: 1) Pollution for burning fossil fuels has greatly increased cancer and asthma rates. Both illnesses are very costly in terms of medical care...

It wasn't the death toll of 9/11 that mattered. As horrific as it was, that many people die in traffic accidents in under 4 weeks. Rather, it was the collateral damage, both in terms of actual physical damage, and damage to the economy. The physical damage was well into the tens of billions...

It'll work just fine. Any charger which charges regular NiMH well will work with Eneloops. Eneloops are no different than any other NiMH battery as far as charging or discharging goes. The difference is that they are formulated to lose less charge when sitting around.

The MH-C9000 is worth getting just for the break-in function alone in my opinion. This function allows you to enter battery capacity. The charger then charges at a C/10 forming charge for 16 hours, rests one hour, discharges at C/5 to determine battery capacity, and finally recharges at C/10...

Best thing for cells is to avoid cheap timed chargers (I think the charger which comes with Eneloops is like that). Even though charging current is low, they can overcharge cells. Another thing to avoid are chargers which charge cells in pairs. While they might be OK if used only for devices...

Another clue that the batteries are low-self discharge is usually a capacity rating of 2000 to 2150 mAh compared to "regular" batteries which are around 2500 mAh. Here is a lot more info on LSD cells

If there's no spinning platter then they have to be using a laser to read data. As to whether or not this will be viable, and when, who knows? 5 years is an eternity in the computer business. Who knows what speeds SSDs will be capable of by then, especially if they're interfaced directly to...

It would probably be easier to do with compressors, at least in terms of reaching temperatures like that, but it would also be much harder to control the temperature precisely. IIRC R12 and R134a should be good for around -50°F or so if you can get your low-side pressure low enough. R134a...

Electronics going into taxis. I needed to reach temps they might encounter in Alaska. Actually, -40°F probably would have been enough, but I figured why not overdesign the chamber for a little more fun? Yes, those kind of temps are a whole other degree of cold. Putting my hand in for a short...

And I've actually come pretty close to -60°F in my test chamber (chamber temp is large number on top left, lower number is set temperature): For anyone who complains about the cold, be glad you don't live here.

Trust me, you get used to the cold pretty fast. Funny how the first day when it's 50°F in the fall I'll be freezing but by January I can stay out all day in 10°F. One thing I can't get used to is heat. By the end of the summer I'm so worn out from the heat I think I'd die if cooler weather...

Congratulations! I've long thought that hooking up with the right person was really the only thing that mattered, and it couldn't have happened to a nicer person. Once you find that special someone, you'll have the motivation to make everything else in your life work out. It's also reassuring...

It looks like SSDs will beat the density of magnetic disks in 2009 Price to be announced....

We did something similar here on a few of the worst streets. Instead of a chalk outline, they put up a sign saying a pedestrian was killed here. The thing that annoys me most are the politicians who'll harp on the number of pedestrian deaths without distinguishing between those who were killed...

Not really but I can't afford a new mattress right now. At least I made it tolerable by putting one of those foam pads on it. Down the road I plan to buy something like a Tempurpedic, hopefully when the price comes down to earth.

I'm sleeping on a mattress older than you! ;) Seriously. It was purchased when we first moved here in June 1978.

It's just a spec for now. I think 5 years is actually optimistic for a 2TB SD card but they'll be cool whenever they come out. Heck, if you can get 2TB in an SD card, then that means you'll probably get 50TB in a 2.5" drive. Can't wait, but I'm sure I'll be well into my 50s when it happens.

I caught the repeat on my local PBS station about 2 weeks ago while I had the flu. It was broadcast in HD no less. Very interesting stuff to say the least. And I think sometime in our lifetimes we may well be able to recover memories and do other fun things. Of course, there are ways it can...

The memory cells have an extremely small capacitance relative to the circuitry used to change their state. Therefore, when erasing they'll end up pretty close to whatever state represents a zero. For example, let's say for a single level cell 0 to 1V is considered zero while 2 to 3V is...

No. The cells in an SSD can be in one of two states (or four in the case of MLC). Once you overwrite the entire drive with zeroes, all the cells are all flipped to the "zero" state with no residual memory of the previous state. The best analogy I can think of is discharging a capacitor to...

It sounds more like Merc's problem is similar to mine-he doesn't even get to the point where he's able to talk himself down. Once I got out of high school, I pretty much stopped meeting members of the opposite sex I found even remotely interesting. College forget it. Work even more so. The...

Looks like the prices are back to normal-$129.99 for the 7200 RPM Samsung, $169.99 for the Seagate. The 5400 RPM Samsung has been deactivated. No, I didn't buy it. I figure by the time I really need the space I'll either be able to get a larger drive for the same price, or the same size for...

Title says it all. Less than $0.10 per GB. Both models are on sale: 5400 RPM 7200 RPM Why get the 5400 RPM over the 7200 RPM if the price is the same? Reading the reviews, it runs cooler, uses less power, makes less noise, and should have higher reliability. It isn't as slow as the speed...

Vote libertarian. Libertarians basically won't interfere in either social or financial issues. My favorite part of their platform is getting rid of the income tax. I sincerely hope the GOP adopts that as part of their platform. I think if they had it would have put them over the top this...

I hate to say this but in a way I think this is the best possibly outcome. The last bit of ammunition about blacks still suffering the effects of slavery is gone forever with the election of our first black President. Granted, he's only half black but in the minds of most that's good enough. I...

The figures per mile are closer to $30 million than $1 billion. See here. Admittedly, they're much higher when building in dense urban areas, but that's only a small portion of the run. I'd say offhand the US needs about 50,000 miles of HSR to provide a comprehensive national network. That...

We're never going to raise GDP if we continue with this idiotic service-based economy and consumerism. We need to get real manufacturing back in this country and also have an economy based on capitalism again, not consumerism. There is a difference between the two. Capitalism is getting a...

http://www.palinaspresident.us/ Be sure to click on the items multiple times!

This is because as a general rule the people in the other countries don't lead the kinds of unhealthy lifestyles Americans do. If you have a population where 50% are chronically ill with the effects of obesity/lack of exercise/poor diet it's going to cost more no matter what your system. Also...

I pretty much agree with most of what you wrote, especially the parts about indexing monetary-based laws for inflation and ending the passage of new laws (perhaps require taking two laws off the books for every new one passed ;) ) Your take on Medicare/Medicaid was interesting: I submit that...

Googling the numbers here's what I came up with (year 2007): Social Security: $581 billion Medicare/Medicaid: $561 billion Defense: $549 billion Other discretionary: $493 billion Other mandatory: $309 billion Interest on the debt: $237 billion TOTAL: $2730 billion What can be cut? Get rid of...

Who said anything about gold? I know gold is too high right now. So is silver. Platinum is ridiculous. Palladium right now is only about $180 an ounce. It's been over $1000 an ounce back in 2000 when gold was $300. Maybe that's something to get into. As for gold, I suspect it will fall...