Topic: Episode #330

[Old Hoplite]

Still nobody got WTN? You're not trying ...

Why bother?  Who's That Noisy is fun to listen to, but there is no point in trying to "play" it... even if we know the answer, someone else has probably posted it already by the time we've downloaded and listened to the episode.

And that "someone else" is 99% of the time Trinoc.

[Citizen Skeptic]

wtn is for me the same as trying to dunk a basketball - exercise in futility. so i don't play and usually just lose focus during that part of the show.

[Danquixote]

Just wanted to let everyone know:

I took a moment to pray for the control group in the study, today.  That should account nicely for the lack of statistical-significance in the results.

Also, it's fun to think about how easy it is to retroactively screw with science.

[amysrevenge]

I think I read somewhere that high power (2kW or more) electrical appliances are difficult to use because of higher currents and voltage losses at 120V, but that it's possible to get a biphase supply at 240V to get around this. Or am I remembering this incorrectly?

It's something like that, yes.  Generally things like ovens and clothes dryers are on 220 VAC circuits (nominal voltage is normally 110 VAC), but you wouldn't see a 220 VAC receptacle available for regular use in most homes.

Typical household fuses are 15A, which at 110 VAC will trip at about 1650 W (the actual voltage is a bit higher most of the time, so it's probably over 1700 W).  You can get bigger fuses (and use bigger cables) if you like, but 15A seems to be pretty standard for older homes in my part of the world, anyway.

In my old apartment, we couldn't use any appliances in the kitchen if the dishwasher was running (the whole kitchen, barring fridge and oven, was on a single 12A circuit).

[Moloch]

Still nobody got WTN? You're not trying ...

Why bother?  Who's That Noisy is fun to listen to, but there is no point in trying to "play" it... even if we know the answer, someone else has probably posted it already by the time we've downloaded and listened to the episode.

I miss the skeptical puzzle 

[Kwisatz Haderach]

Still nobody got WTN? You're not trying ...

Why bother?  Who's That Noisy is fun to listen to, but there is no point in trying to "play" it... even if we know the answer, someone else has probably posted it already by the time we've downloaded and listened to the episode.

I miss the skeptical puzzle 

You're not allowed to say you miss the skeptical puzzle, that's insulting to the current puzzles!

 

 

[Old Hoplite]

As to UFOs and Area 51.

The government acknowledged the existance of Area 51, also known as Dreamland and Groom Lake in 2003. But of course the UFO community (read nutballs) do not accept that while highly classified work takes place there, such as the development of Stealth tech and the supposed development of the hypersonic Project Aurora drone, that it has no hidden aliens or the wreak of the Roswell saucer.
 

[Trinoc]

I've put up a poll about how many people play WTN and who would like to keep/replace it:

http://sguforums.com/index.php/topic,39036.0.html

So far only two people say they play it more than rarely/never (and one of them is me), but the keep/replace vote is about 50/50 with maybe a slight lean towards replace.

[jfcorbett]

During Science or Fiction, Steve asserted that US energy consumption decreased in the period 2007-2009 "because people are trying to conserve." Upon hearing this, all the other rogues unquestioningly jumped onto the self-congratulatory bandwagon... "We're decreasing our CO2 emissions." "Hooray for us!" "Now China's gotta get on board!"

That is a stunningly wrong interpretation! The actual cause of decreasing energy use is well-known and pretty obvious.

Assuming you've been on this planet the past 4 years, you may have heard of the financial meltdown and great recession that occurred in the same period? Tons of businesses shut down, production dropped, massive unemployment set in, the economy contracted, and yes, therefore energy consumption fell. Or is that what you meant by "people trying to conserve"? By getting fired?

Now there's a semblance of economic recovery, so energy use is rising again. Did we have a change of heart? Are we trying less hard to conserve?

If anything, energy use and CO2 emissions in the US (and worldwide) fell despite our best efforts. We have no lessons to teach China in that respect.

[Trinoc]

During Science or Fiction, Steve asserted that US energy consumption decreased in the period 2007-2009 "because people are trying to conserve." Upon hearing this, all the other rogues unquestioningly jumped onto the self-congratulatory bandwagon... "We're decreasing our CO2 emissions." "Hooray for us!" "Now China's gotta get on board!"

Indeed. And last time I looked China's total emissions were about the same as those from the US, with four times the population. Go figure who it is who needs to get on board.

[Elderdoofus]

Most of the biomass projects in Northern New England (The real New England, everything else is a suburb of NYC) are or will be using wood waste. Most of this comes from slash and "trash" trees leftover from logging operations. There has also been a big increase in the home use of wood pellet stoves, as they are more efficient than standard wood burning stoves. Besides, the pellets can be used as a fiber rich breakfast cereal.

[lukebourassa]

It took me a while, but I found Dr. Novella's rap album on Amazon...

[Citizen Skeptic]

During Science or Fiction, Steve asserted that US energy consumption decreased in the period 2007-2009 "because people are trying to conserve." Upon hearing this, all the other rogues unquestioningly jumped onto the self-congratulatory bandwagon... "We're decreasing our CO2 emissions." "Hooray for us!" "Now China's gotta get on board!"

Indeed. And last time I looked China's total emissions were about the same as those from the US, with four times the population. Go figure who it is who needs to get on board.

That's because most of china lives in poverty and they don't have big screen tv sets, computers, or even electricity most of the time. If you looked at the industrial cities the story would be substantially different. The problem comes when they can all afford that cable.

[Trinoc]

It took me a while, but I found Dr. Novella's rap album on Amazon...

(click to show/hide)

So who's the dude with the gun?

(Not that the picture encourages gangsta racial stereotypes! Oh no, not at all!)

[Trinoc]

During Science or Fiction, Steve asserted that US energy consumption decreased in the period 2007-2009 "because people are trying to conserve." Upon hearing this, all the other rogues unquestioningly jumped onto the self-congratulatory bandwagon... "We're decreasing our CO2 emissions." "Hooray for us!" "Now China's gotta get on board!"

Indeed. And last time I looked China's total emissions were about the same as those from the US, with four times the population. Go figure who it is who needs to get on board.

That's because most of china lives in poverty and they don't have big screen tv sets, computers, or even electricity most of the time. If you looked at the industrial cities the story would be substantially different. The problem comes when they can all afford that cable.

Maybe, but to say China (India, etc.) need to "get on board" is disingenuous. They have not messed up yet, the way we have done in the West, and I think there is a much better chance that they will do a half-decent job of it than there is that we will reduce our wastage. If/when they have achieved comparable prosperity using maybe half the energy we use per capita, they will certainly be able to point to us and tell us to get on board.

European per capita CO₂ footprint is already around half of that for the USA (which is the biggest offender among countries of any significant population, except maybe Australia), so there should be room for improvement even well below that level.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_carbon_dioxide_emissions_per_capita