I noticed this logo on one of my boxes of table salt. I guess I should use salt the next time I want to shoo away a pigeon.

misc humor

Damn, I don’t want to know what’s behind this door…it may cause bilateral cataracts, however.

misc humor

Dimmer switches are a great option to control the amount of lighting needed in a certain venue. This also serves to limit unnecessary energy costs. What people don’t realize is that combining dimmer switches with compact fluorescent bulbs (CFL) is usually counterproductive; you not only get impure light, but also a shortened lifespan of the bulb.

I wrote about CFL’s in a previous entry. Many of these bulbs have come a long way, and produce high quality lighting. However, the standard CFL’s don’t play well with dimmer switches. Our amphitheater in the eye institute uses CFL’s on the dimmer, and the lights do not dim. In fact, they flicker.

Dimmer switches contain a triac circuit that cuts off the current to save electricity. This works for incandescent bulbs to cut back on heat production. With CFL’s, the interrupted current from a dimmer prevents adequate charge of the gas to produce light. The result is a dim, flickering light.

Installation of dimmable CFL’s would remedy the problem partially, but still may not be effective without changing the switch as well. Most dimmer switches are rated down to 40W of power–any draw below this cannot be controlled adequately. Given that most CFL’s draw less than 40W of power, one would need to replace the entire circuit.

The solution? I can think of two ways:

1. Continue using incandescent bulbs for your dimmer switches
2. Replace your dimmer switch
   with one rated for use with CFL’s, and replace your bulbs with dimmable CFL’s

misc tech

A vendor at a Japanese supermarket recently suckered me into buying this cucumber dressing. The dressing was imported from Japan and has no English on the bottle. I’m not sure what flavor the dressing even is, but boy is it tasty.

If I had to guess, I’d say this concoction includes soybean oil mixed with a ton of monosodium glutamate (MSG)–umami goodness. I typically associate MSG with soups or hot foods, but I guess MSG will taste good in any form.

If any of you comprehend Japanese, please let me know what the bottle says. I’ll definitely be going back to the market for more!

misc food

Most grocery stores now discourage the use of plastic grocery bags in favor of reusable canvas totes. Apparently plastic bags require too much energy to produce, and are unsightly populating landfills. Stores like Whole Foods even give a 10-cent discount when we opt out of a plastic bag. Others like Aldi, don’t even have plastic bags to offer. Years ago many stores in East Asia already began charging for use of plastic bags.

While it is true that plastic bags are produced from natural gas and recycling them can cut down on crude oil usage, we need plastic bags. Aren’t those large garbage bags we use in the kitchen made out of plastic (polyethylene)? What about the black bags lying on sidewalks of NYC awaiting transport to the landfill?

Plastic grocery bags are perfect as trashcan liners. They are the right size to help isolate your garbage from within your large 13-gallon kitchen trash bags. It typically takes me an entire week to fill a 13-gallon bag with trash. Do I want my watermelon rinds, chicken bones, and avocado pits lying in my kitchen for a entire week? Hell no.

Small grocery bags are also great for cleaning up pet litter, especially in the park.

Indeed, it would be a sad day when all plastic grocery bags are gone.

misc economy