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Energy Efficient Light Bulbs: Which Light Bulb is Best? | Suite101.com
Switching from incandescent light bulbs to more energy efficient light bulbs like LED lights, compact fluorescent light bulbs or halogen light bulbs?
Would you buy an energy saving light bulb? |
Simple survey. Please tell me the HIGHEST price you would be willing to pay for a standard energy saving light bulb. You can use these prices for guidance if you want: $0.25 $0.50 $0.75 $1.00 $1.25 $1.50 $1.75 $2.00 $2.25 …
Pointers for Choosing Wisely in the New Lighting … – Energy Circle
CFL energy efficient light bulb Remember the Olden Days, when the world was in black and white, and there were only a handful of light bulb types in the store? Those were also the days of extremely inefficient lighting… that …
Halogen Bulbs
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What is Crystal Arthritis?
By Nathan Wei
One of the more difficult diseases to diagnose and treat properly is crystal induced arthritis.
Of the many types of arthritis that can affect multiple joints, crystal-induced, or as it is sometime referred to, crystal associated arthritis, is probably one of the most common. It may cause arthritis in a single joint, two or three joints, or many joints.
When arthritis affects a single joint, it is termed “monoarticular.” When it affects two or three joints is called “oligoarticular.” When the arthritis affects more than three joints, it is called “polyarticular.”
Crystal induced arthritis generally starts as an oligoarticular arthritis but often rapidly becomes polyarticular.
It may be accompanied by other symptoms such as fever and perhaps even chills. Usually, the joint pain from crystal arthritis comes on relatively suddenly and becomes intense after a few hours.
The joints involved swell, become red, become warm, and are exquisitely sensitive and painful. Often times swelling of the joint extends into the soft tissues beyond the joint.
There are three major types of crystal induced arthritis. The most common is gout. Gouty arthritis is due to deposits of monosodium urate (uric acid) crystals. The underlying abnormality is a metabolic defect that leads to over production of uric acid or inability to excrete (get rid of) uric acid.
Gouty arthritis often affects the feet during the first attack. In particular, the great toe joint is classically affected.
Over the course of months and years, attacks become more frequent and more intense. Deposits of uric acid may accumulate near joints and in soft tissues. These are called tophi.
Gout is generally more common in men than women. However, after menopause, women begin to develop gout more frequently. In particular, women who are on diuretic therapy may be susceptible to developing gout.
The danger is that untreated gout can lead to kidney failure.
The second most common type of crystal induced arthritis is calcium pyrophosphate arthritis. This is caused by deposits of calcium pyrophosphate crystals inside the joint. Joints most commonly affected include the shoulders, hips, knees, and wrists.
Calcium pyrophosphate arthritis, because of its symmetry, may be confused for other types of arthritis, particularly rheumatoid arthritis.
What is more confusing is that often times both calcium pyrophosphate arthritis and rheumatoid arthritis co-exist.
Calcium pyrophosphate arthritis is often called pseudogout. Pseudogout attacks most often occur in the knees and wrists. Pseudogout is much more common in people past the age of 60.
The third type of crystal induced arthritis is hydroxyapatite disease. This is a close cousin to calcium pyrophosphate disease.
Identification of the type of crystal induced arthritis is made by examining joint fluid under a polarizing microscope.
The establishment of a correct diagnosis is imperative.
Appropriate treatment may be administered only after a definite diagnosis has been made.
Crystal induced arthritis may be difficult to manage.
In addition to non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, intra-articular steroid injection, physical therapy, and occupational therapy may be helpful. Unfortunately, treatments are generally unsatisfactory.
Some practitioners have used drugs such as hydroxychloroquine and methotrexate with some degree of success.
In addition, debridement of the affected joint using arthroscopy may be helpful.
It is my opinion that many people who have osteoarthritis often have crystal induced arthritis as well. This makes management much more difficult.
About the Author: Nathan Wei, MD FACP FACR is a board-certified rheumatologist and nationally known arthritis authority and expert. For more info: aa href=”http://www.arthritis-treatment-and-relief.com/arthritis-treatment.html” rel=’nofollow’>Arthritis Treatment and aa href= “http://arthritistreatmentcenter.com” rel=’nofollow’>Arthritis Treatment Center
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Mid-Season Al Playoff Predictions
By Jay Nault
The American League is extremely competitive in 2006, and nearly all of the postseason positions could come down to the final week of the regular season. All of the races at this point are too close to label a clear favorite, but history and trends in general will create a potentially riveting September for any of several teams.
AL East Winner:
Boston Red Sox
Why they’ll win the division:
This will likely be the most-watched race for the rest of the season because the way it’s shaping up, the Wild Card will come from the AL Central. As such, the division pennant will be akin to a sudden-death playoff in September. The Red Sox get the edge simply because they’re younger, healthier and play better together than the Yankees, who have questions all over their roster.
AL Central Winner:
Detroit Tigers
Why they’ll win the division:
The Tigers have been the surprise of baseball in 2006, and they’ve played so well so far that it’s unlikely they’ll collapse to the point where they fall out of contention. Teams that sit more than 30 games over .500 at the break almost always wind up in the postseason, and their chemistry and pitching, which leads the AL in team ERA, will carry them through to the division title.
AL West Winner:
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
Why they’ll win the division:
This will be a three-team race for the rest of the season between the Angels, Rangers and A’s, but the Angels get the nod for a couple of reasons. First, they have a more talented roster than their competition. Secondly, the Angels have a recent history of playing well in the second half and peaking at the right time. Third, the A’s and Rangers have been scrapping their way to respectable records, while the Angels have been far from satisfied with their play, and they have the ability to bring their collective game to a level that’s unreachable by the other teams.
Wild Card:
Chicago White Sox
Why they’ll win the Wild Card race:
In just about any other season or in just about any other division that didn’t include the white-hot Tigers, the White Sox would hold a comfortable lead. However, the Tigers are having an unbelievable year, and the White Sox have a lot of internal turmoil to go with their talent. The defending champs will defend that title in the postseason, however, as their record is too far above the Yankees/Rangers/A’s to have to worry about being caught at the end. They’ll also be an extremely tough “out” in the playoffs, as they obviously have the experience to present an enormous challenge to anyone they face in October.
After another look at each of the divisions over the next few weeks, we’ll revisit this issue and let you know who we think will win it all in October. Until then, sit tight and enjoy the ride – it’s going to be a fun second half in the American League.
About the Author: By Jay Nault sponsored by http://www.stubhub.com/ . StubHub sells aa href=”http://www.stubhub.com/mlb-tickets/” target=”_blank” rel=’nofollow’>baseball tickets: http://www.stubhub.com/mlb-tickets/ , concert tickets, theater tickets and more. Please link to this site when using this article.
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Mobile MVNO Predictions
By Josiah William
This will no doubt be a happy new year for some mobile phone companies, a sad year for some, and a very sad year for others.
The beginning of the New Year is the time for resolutions and predictions. Let me make some predictions on who will be the winners and losers in the prepaid cellular and MVNO arena for 2006.
I will start with the small prepaid MVNOs. Bad press is better than no press; that is at least what I heard. This will probably be my only mention of this list of companies.
Accell, Airvoice Wireless, Beyond Wireless, Extreme Mobile, EZ Link, iwireless, Graffiti Prepaid, PagePlus Prepaid, Omni Prepaid, O Mobile, MobilePCS, M3 Wireless, all either have weaknesses, obstacles, or just no reason for someone to buy their product. Some are in the process of changing from TDMA to GSM technology, others are under funded, others have high costs and others have poor marketing. I wish them well, but my prediction is you have not heard of most of the companies listed above and probably never will.
I have heard some good things about Callwave, Oxygen Mobile, and Liberty Wireless, but they are no longer competitive with the new rush of major players.
Bravo Cellular is small player that has an above average program that is very similar to the larger player, STi Mobile. Bravo and STI both use Sprint and offer competitive direct dial international rates. However, STI beats the Bravo rates, phones, and distribution by a good margin. Sorry Bravo Cellular, you are not good enough, but at least I gave you a paragraph.
I will jump from small to large MVNOs and prepaid programs.
STi mobile is a division of STi. STi is a major player in the prepaid calling card market with over $200 million annually in sales. STi mobile offers nice new LG Flip phones, aggressive rates, and extremely aggressive direct dial international rates. I would have considered them a medium MVNO program, but they stepped up to large with distribution agreements with Staples, CompUSA, and other chains. I predict success for STi.
Boost Mobile offers push to talk, excellent marketing, is owned by Sprint/Nextel and seems to want to be competitive with rates. I have heard they are not always in tune with their distribution and have some technical issues. However, they have 1.9 million subscribers so I predict continued success.
Tracfone and Net10 are the same company. They were the first successful MVNO with a distribution in the Wal-Mart chain. They have a large base of profitable customers and are aggressive marketers. However, they have always been boring to me. They made a major push with the Net10 brand, but it seems to me someone could have thought of a better 2nd brand. They even advertised on American Idol. They lack any hype or great offerings. This will be a good test to see if big distribution, a current profitable base, and aggressive marketing (even though off base) are enough. I predict success this year, but that is about it.
Virgin Mobile is the largest MVNO with over 3 million subscribers. While you can get a better deal and product from other carriers, they are already successful so I predict continued success.
The Cingular Prepaid Go Phone program offers really cheap phones, pretty good service, slightly high rates and invests a ton of money in marketing. I predict success because they can buy success.
The T-Mobile prepaid program offers decent phones, aggressive advertising, competitive rates, and has the backing of T-Mobile. They also have some loyal and satisfied customers. I predict continued success.
Up and Coming Prepaid Companies
ESPN Mobile and Disney Mobile are coming, but I have no information on their programs, so I decline to comment. However, I don’t understand why someone would buy a phone from them. I could see them providing content for other providers, but not function as stand alone MVNOs. They do have plenty of money to throw at this, so see what I know.
Ampd Mobile has a lot of money with $67 million or more in private funding and a $50 million investment from MTV. They were founded by Peter Adderton (I mention his name because he seems to like his name mentioned), also the founder of Boost Mobile. They claim they will offer revolutionary functions, service, and media from their phones, geared toward the youth market. I don’t have the guts to give them a thumbs down prediction, but they utilize Verizon, who has not been a great provider of service for MVNOs. Verizon also publicly has said they can develop their own youth-oriented marketing plans. It seems Ampd has it all, but if they do not have Verizon’s support and best deal, nothing else matters. I think they are exciting and entertaining so I wish them the best.
An interesting company is IDT. They are developing prepaid wifi cellular. IDT is a major international long distance carrier. Their plans in the future are to offer low international rates through cheap wifi mobile handsets. They also currently have a standard MNVO prepaid program called TuYo mobile. IDT has not revealed which wireless carrier’s network it is using to deliver the MNVO services, but has said its partnership is with a “major GSM wireless carrier,” which narrows the field to either Cingular Wireless or T-Mobile USA. Their TuYo mobile program is very similar to STI mobile in regards to service and international rates. It is only offered in four markets and they have started cautiously. I predict IDT will have success in a few years, but looks to be playing it safe this year.
For some reason, I am excited about Helio. It may be the $450 million in funding. It may be the technology of SK Telecom. It may be the CEO who also founded Earthlink.net and Boingo Wifi. I am most excited about what SK Telecom can bring to the table. They are the leading provider in Korea and are cutting edge with high end media offerings through great phones. They also seem to know marketing and pricing. It’s almost a perfect concept, except that I think Helio will be using Verizon as their back-bone provider. As I said with Ampd, it will be interesting to see if Verizon has changed and is now willing to give competitive support and rates to an MVNO. It is not whether they can do it….. it is whether they will do it.
I am a small business owner so I hate to predict the big guys beating the small guys, but it looks to me that enough big players in the prepaid MVNO market have their act together to make it tough for the small guys. However, small business owners should not be discouraged, because it is amazing how often major companies in any industry get tangled up in their own red tape, lose their focus and understanding of their customers and market, and let the small companies clean their clocks.
About the Author: Josiah William works in marketing for aa href=”http://www.cheapphonecards.com” rel=’nofollow’>cheapphonecards.com and aa href=”http://www.dealking.com” rel=’nofollow’>dealking.com.
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Mid-Season Nl Playoff Predictions
By Jay Nault
As we round into the second half of the 2006 season, many fans begin to look ahead in hopes that their team can either catch fire or hold their lead and qualify for the postseason. In the National League, it appears that the postseason picture is beginning to take shape. One team is all but cemented in its place, another has history on its side and the rest have different factors in their favor that will aid in their quest to play into October.
NL East Winner:
New York Mets
Why they’ll win the division:
In short, the Mets will win the division because they’ve simply dominated it so far in 2006. As of this writing, they hold a 12-game lead on the second-place Phillies and they’re not showing any signs of slowing down. They have very good pitching, timely hitting and a team “chasing” them that isn’t showing many signs of life. The only word of caution that needs to be heeded by the Mets is that sometimes teams that “coast” into the postseason can be surprised in the first round of the playoffs, especially if they meet a team that’s been battling to qualify. Regardless, the Mets have time to worry about that possibility.
NL Central Winner:
St. Louis Cardinals
Why they’ll win the division:
The Cardinals are going to win the NL Central for a few reasons. First, they have the best team, and in a 162-game season, there are very few anomalies that can play above their heads for that long. Second, they’re getting hot at the right time, winning seven in a row as of this writing, while their “competition,” the Reds, continue to fade after a hot start. The Cardinals also have slightly better pitching and hitting than their divisional competition. The Cardinals won’t clinch too early, but they will clinch.
NL West Winner:
San Diego Padres
Why they’ll win the division:
The Padres not only have history on their side, but they’ll also be pushed throughout the season. The Padres have never failed to qualify for the postseason after leading the division at the All Star break, which is where they are in 2006. They also play in a mediocre division where no team is a threat to go off on a tear in the second half. However, their lead is slim, and the Dodgers will remain within striking distance through the rest of the season, forcing the Padres to keep the pedal to the metal through the last week of the season.
Wild Card:
Los Angeles Dodgers
Why they’ll win the Wild Card race:
The Dodgers will qualify for the postseason more because of what their competition doesn’t have than what the Dodgers bring to the table. The Reds, who currently lead in the Wild Card standings, have a tough second-half schedule and lack the consistent pitching needed to hold their lead. The Phillies, Brewers and Astros are too inconsistent and/or inexperienced in general to mount serious challenges, and the Dodgers will continue to press the Padres for the NL West crown as that division will remain competitive throughout the season.
This is how things should shape up in 2006, and the next time we revisit this subject, we’ll analyze how the rest of the postseason will unfold.
About the Author: By Jay Nault sponsored by http://www.stubhub.com/ . StubHub sells aa href=”http://www.stubhub.com/mlb-tickets/” target=”_blank” rel=’nofollow’>baseball tickets: http://www.stubhub.com/mlb-tickets/ , concert tickets, theater tickets and more. Please link to this site when using this article.
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Hate Energy Saving Light Bulbs? Heres A Bright Idea..
When it was announced in January last year that the European Union was banning incandescent light bulbs – the ones we’ve traditionally been used to – a lot of people in Britain were hopping mad (please note I resisted the temptation to say ‘incandescent with rage’). They didn’t like those new fangled compact fluorescent (CFL) energy saving light bulbs, not least because it was someone in Brussels trying to shove them down our throats, screw them in place and light up our mouths with them! (Not literally of course). But for one thing, they come in funny shapes that stick out of the top of lamp shades, and they don’t shine as brightly as proper light bulbs, and they have to warm up before they get to full brightness – surely that’s a step in the wrong direction!
All this fuss led to a light bulb buying frenzy, with people stocking up on traditional light bulbs, and the Daily Mail newspaper even giving away 25,000 incandescent light bulbs to its readers! But despite all this commotion, energy saving light bulbs were here to stay, so thank goodness someone took up the challenge to make them better! Witnessing the outrage felt by the people of Britain at being force fed oddly shaped bulbs (not literally), the nice people at Ledon had a bright idea, a light bulb moment you might say (groan). And so they set out to replace the CFL energy saving light bulbs with something better, which is why they created… fanfare moment… the LED light bulb.
Not only are Ledon LED bulbs shaped like, well, like light bulbs, they whack out their full brightness the instant they are switched on – so at least we are back to where we started! But then there’s a whole bunch of other reasons to think LED bulbs are the bees knees. They are far more efficient than long life incandescent bulbs, at least 85 per cent more in fact. You can expect an average lifespan of 25,000 hours for LED light bulbs. That means that with typical usage your LED light bulb could have a lifespan of 25 years! It would last nearly three years without ever turning it off, if you are so inclined, although switching it on and off does nothing to shorten the lifespan of this amazing bulb. They also use five times less energy than the old bulbs!
LED light bulbs are also much more efficient than those CFL energy saving light bulbs everyone hates. While a CFL bulb might last 8-15 times longer than an incandescent bulb, its lifespan will be significantly shortened if it is switched on and off regularly. In comparison, an LED bulb can be switched on and off as often as you like, and it will still last 20 times as long as a traditional bulb. CFL bulbs contain mercury, which is bad for us and makes disposal more difficult, but LED light bulbs contain nothing but goodness and light, errr, probably. OK, the science part isn’t important, but they certainly don’t have anything nasty in them, and you won’t have to worry about disposal anyway because they will probably last longer than you do. Light quality is as good as traditional incandescent bulbs, and there are no health issues associated with LED bulbs, unlike CFLs which have been known to cause adverse affects on people with epilepsy, migraine sufferers, people with lupus and even autism. So the basic message is this – the only bright thing to do is get LED light bulbs in your home.
Blogging And RSS: Predictions For 2006
By Kath Dawson
What’s in store for us in 2006? Inspired by Google’s poor search relevancy and making friends with Wall Street rather than its users, disaffection is growing apace and surfers are switching their loyalties to Yahoo and MSN. Conspiracy theorists believe that Google influenced pay-per-click and the ranking process to crank up their share price to almost double that of January 2005.
But whatever negative sentiments are shared about Google, all of the major search engines have recognised that users are demanding far more specific search, a trend driven by localised search, personalisation and increased specialisation. These three initiatives are narrowing the scope of the current problems inherent in generic search.
Today, web users are demanding far more selection and choice, with personalised content gaining the upper hand. This has been achieved with syndication through RSS. Today, the web is no longer about surfing and passive reading; it’s about creating, sharing, socialising and collaborating. Increasingly, many new websites are disseminating news and views through blogs and articles.
RSS really did make headway last year – and expect even greater take-up this. Instead of the web browser, users are increasingly looking for content via news feeds. This allows them to see at a glance what sites have added new content on any of the topics they select as being of interest. This means less time is wasted on checking to see whether or not a site’s content has changed. It also ensures a more efficient delivery platform.
But it’s not just news sites that have converted to RSS feeds, companies are increasingly offering information via news feeds using WordPress as a seamless and integral part of their website. This method of information delivery helps users evaluate new content and, as a bonus, categorised sections of WordPress blog are being indexed from the home page. This in turn increases the volume of data on the site, thus boosting PR ranking, and broadens keyword exposure.
Also, professional blogging has a very bright future. Internet search now finds many blog sites on first-page returns. Many professionals are also using external blogs, such as blogger.com. When these keyword-rich blogs are linked to the main site, it helps the site to grow. However, the blog should be fresh, as it would be foolish to merely duplicate content and get the main site blacklisted.
The third aspect of the paradigm is article writing. The aim here is to provide interesting articles that, even though they have limited time exposure on the engines, do find themselves float to the top very quickly.
So the professional blogger has a lot to look forward to in 2006. And as business blogs start to take hold as the new standard for marketing, public relations and SEO, 2006 should witness a huge increase in demand for their services.
About the Author: Kathryn Dawson, BSc (Hons), MBA, is the general manager of Strategy Consulting (aa href=”http://www.strategyconsultinglimited.co.uk” title=”http://www.strategyconsultinglimited.co.uk” target=”_blank” rel=’nofollow’>http://www.strategyconsultinglimited.co.uk). She is responsible for client, supplier and associate relationships, delivering effective search engine optimisation solutions to her clients.
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Halogen Bulbs
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