Another Negroponte Hit

I recently Blogged about a man with a mission to give third-world kids laptops. Well, quite by accident I found another blog post referring to an Engadget Article about the same program. While the blogger doesn't hold the same view as I do on the underlying motivation for the program, it is interesting to see people are actually buying these things. Well, my previous post really says it all. We'll see how it progresses.

LED CHRISTmas lights

So the newest trend in Christmas lights this year is LED Christmas lights. They are pretty cool - they look like old-fashioned strings of lights, and are Waaaaay energy efficient. An article in the local paper recently pointed out that 600 of these lights, running 5 hours per day for 30 days, will cost approximately 56 cents. Total. Compared, as the article says, to running the same amount of traditional lights for the same time - at the price tag of $23.00. Wow. No wonder my electric bill is so high in December and January.

But of course - my analytical nature came in. These bulbs are great, they use very little energy, and i imagine that they hold up better in storage because there is no glass on the bulbs. But, they cost a lot more. A recent trip to the store priced out a strand of 600 conventional type bulbs for $16. Right next store were the fancy new LED lights - 100 for $18. Yikes! So for 600 lights, you will spend $92 more for LED bulbs. And it will save you $22.50 in energy costs.

Hmmm - so what's the ROI? Assuming you are buying new lights anyway, just over 4 years at the 5 hours for 30 days run time. Could be more or less depending on how much you are in the holiday spirit :). So overall, would I pre-pay 4 years of electricity to save on the fifth and succeeding years? Well, assuming the lights hold up at least that long. This year, I'm gonna have to say no. Too much upfront cost, and I have A LOT of lights to replace. Maybe in a couple years, when the price comes down a little, and I have more disposable income for this type of thing. :)


Technorati Tags: CHRISTmas, Christmas Lighting, Analytics

Can we say "Gaudy"?

DirecTV last Friday made an offer to NASA. A 42" HDTV and DirecTV programming for the new living space on the International Space Station. They have even offered to have their top engineer assist in the installation of a dish on the station.

As if NASA Astronauts would be unable to install a consumer-grade satellite dish. I mean, most of the installers for consumers have at least a master's degree, right?

What a gaudy publicity move. At one point in the article, they were quoted "Sure, there’s the awe-inspiring view of planet earth from more than 200 miles up, but what do you do for an encore after you’ve entered your 180th day in space?” asked Jon Gieselman, DirecTV marketing senior VP.

Yeah -see? Marketing. Gimmick. The press they have gotten already is worth it, even if NASA doesn't accept the offer. Of course, DirecTV will have a field day if they do take them up on the offer. I can just imagine how far they could take it.

At one point, they do say it is one way to say "thank you" for all the technical advancements that they have obviously benefited from, but they do manage to get a plug in for their "capacity to carry 100 HD channels by year-end".

Full article on Twice.com Here.

Sisted Twister

ok - ok - bad play on words (derived from Twisted Sister).

Beyond that - there has been a lot of turmoil lately in the household with Thanksgiving fast approaching and a recent announcement from my sister (who recently moved out of my parents' house to live with a guy who isn't her boyfriend, but she says she is following God's will in "living her own life"). Please pray for serenity and wisdom during this time. There are bad feelings floating around because of the whole issue, but we're trying to let them go and follow God's will.

I will update later with more details, but thank you for your prayers.

New Style

I'm trying out a new template style. The dots were getting a bit busy for me. I put up a poll in the sidebar - so let me know if you like or not :^).

Dave is coming to Grand Rapids!

Dave Ramsey is coming to Grand Rapids January 24th! I've been listening to his radio show for a couple of months now and am Super-Geeked about seeing him live! You should definitely get tickets now!

Honorable Mention

Well, I was wondering about the whole blog thing. I had given it a little bit of time, and a few (very few) posts, and had come to the conclusion that maybe blogging was just not for me. It is fun to log different thoughts and wonder if someone might stumble across them, but then again...does anyone ever stumble across them? No one had left any comments on anything, and I was wondering if it was worth it.

Then I logged in. Hey! There are comments! On TWO posts nonetheless! :) That's when I remembered. I recently told A Raving Madman that I started a blog. Now, mind you, I didn't tell this person the address of my blog - so there is a weird stalker element here, but I digress. Said Madman felt it necessary then to post the link on another website. So through this act, I will be posting more to the blog, letting you all know how life is going, and the loose associations that go on in my head. May they be entertaining and hopefully informative to you :) !

Technorati Tags: Emerging Blogs