Excellent.

Well, except for the company part.  I like watching some of those players — lots of talent there.

But when Kraft, Belichick, and Brady have a chance to lose I love it when it comes true.

And congratulations to the Giants.

New fixture and intent to use the LEDs.  Turned out those gifted 2 were not strong enough, so I began looking around.  Learned a few things.

Phillips has a fairly new 60 watt equivalent (yellow/orange top but light is white), supposed to be the only one of its type, usable on dimmers, HD sells and new price is 1/3 of old, right at $15 until (or through?) March.  According to an article, at a recent show another company announced theirs, supposed to be the same, for even less.  Not on the market, yet, so Phillips trying to get theirs sold on basis of bulb life so new ones have less market for a long time.  EXCELLENT reviews on that bulb EXCEPT it cannot but used in an enclosed fixture, as in my new kitchen one.

Another learning point is that some of the cheaper bulbs work OK, though non dimmable, but they emit radio signals that interfere with lots of things including televisions, wireless phones, and even electronic picture frames.  One reviewer even put a spectrum analyzer in the house (his even interfered with his neighbors!) and found RFI all over the spectrum.  I could do the same with my HAM radio.  

Oh!  One review I read had that Phillips 60W bulb in ceiling fans with no problem — I always wonder about vibration with ceiling fan bulbs.  I have CFCs running well in 2 of my 3 ceiling fans, the two not dimmable, but when the bulbs die I’ll switch to LEDs.  I do get long life from the CFCs, however — four 40W equivalents in each of those fans.

LED prices have come down some, none, or quite a lot depending on the supplier.  Some prices range up to 4 times what you can buy for elsewhere.  In that market it really pays to shop.

I’ve still got a lot of CFCs in use and about 10 spares, so I’ll be using those for a while yet, but it seems my “entry” into LED is just about the right time.  I’ve got 4, 2 my son gave me and 2 I bought, and that will hold me until there is more of a selection, especially for 60 watt equivalent and above for enclosed fixtures, and by then the prices will have dropped even further.

_______________

And if you’ve thought of safety gloves, those that help prevent cuts, such as when you’re using a mandolin for thin slicing or other cutting tasks, I’ve done a lot of reading on that over the last few months and I’ve learned:

Kevlar is not as good as Kevlar Plus.  Steel mesh is somewhat better.

Cut is not the same as puncture and puncture is not very well prevented in any safety glove.

Different industries (therefore common tasks) use different gloves based on the type of hazard.  Not all cuts are administered in the same way, so the protection has to be different in different circumstances.

Level 5 protection based on standards of the United States are FAR superior to those using European testing standards.  By comparison, European standards are pretty much worthless — important if buying a foreign (European) made glove.  The statistics on the differences are astounding.

I’ve gone a lifetime (so far) without wearing such gloves, though I’ve worn protective gloves of other types in the military for specific tasks.  BUT, I may be crazy while not stupid.  I know my attention to detail, my reflexes, my eyesight, my hearing, all those things of the human machine, are aged and therefore not as sharp as they may have been before.  Problem is that glass or metal remains as sharp as it ever was, and I keep my blades that way.  Dull blades are more dangerous than sharp ones as they cause slippage.  I actually use my sharpening kit.

So, I’ve delayed too long, having most of my information for months now but nevertheless procrastinating.  Gloves are on order.

Ordered two, though many feel only the hand holding the item being cut needs protection.  I agree I need only one in the kitchen, but for  working with sheet metal or glass I want two, so two are on order.  My choice, one with a stainless steel mesh as its protective element, available a few places, is the one shown here: http://www.magidglove.com/Wells-Lamont-13302-Whizard-Handguard-II-Wire-CutResistant-Gloves-133023M-1.aspx?DepartmentId=223#ctrlTabs_tab2.  Be warned, that place has a heck of a shipping charge.

So, when I croak there will be 2 of those gloves available to share among 3 sons.  Hmmm.  No, just can’t see buying three!

How do these people manage to load their weapons with the correct ammo?

Police have been accused of getting their sums wrong when they swooped on a shopkeeper’s business and seized a cache of gun-shaped calculators - because they feared they could be used in a robbery.

The 30 calculators were among a haul of toy guns confiscated by police in a raid on a warehouse in Sherborne, Dorset, which is owned by shopkeeper Mark Ashley Miller.

Mr Ashley-Miller, who runs the gift shop The Present Finder, was stunned when officers descended on his warehouse and confiscated £1,140 of stock.

They were seized after someone saw the toys on sale on The Present Finder’s website and made a complaint to firearms police.

Detectives are currently in the process of assessing the ‘weapons’ to decide whether they must be destroyed or returned to the shop.

More (complete nutty story) at:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2092116/Live-let-divide-Police-swoop-gift-shop-seize-30-gun-shaped-James-Bond-calculators–case-used-ROBBERIES.html

http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2012/01/25/woman-claims-neighbors-energy-efficient-windows-are-melting-her-toyota-prius/

The Green window, made of, uh, glass? attacks the Green car, made of, uh, plastic?

Let the light sabers rattle!!! or buzz, or whatever it is they do.

I can’t get into women’s boxing, but a round or two of Greenies doing a basic light beam bout might be interesting.

Stand by for the next nutty Kalifornia law in 5…4…3…2…1…