Advantages of using CFL lighting
Compact Fluorescent Light or CFL as they are commonly known as have increasing become the lighting of choice - be it in homes or offices. Let's look at the advantages of having CFL lighting over the normal bulbs. First consider the various environmental impacts of using CFL. I guess around 4 years back an European Union ruling compelled all businesses in EU to dispose of most lamps, including fluorescent types in an environmentally considerate manner. This obligation now extends to USA and a host of other countries as well.
Make sure you install 10% more light than you need as the light output falls off with age, also the light output will not reach maximum until they are at running temperature.
Flicker from CFL lamps should not be an issue when they are new as the frequency at which they operate is around 20,000 Hz, however, as they age the smoothing capacitor in the power supply of the lamp circuit looses its capacity and the 50Hz mains flicker may become apparent to some more sensitive people. The solution is to change the lamp OR run them off 240V DIRECT CURRENT from a battery supply charged by your UPS perhaps.
A regular bulb creates light by heating a tungsten wire to white hot. 90% of the energy consumed by the lamp is lost as heat into the surrounding environment. A typical incandescent (ordinary) bulb has an efficiency of 12 to 15 lumens per watt (12 Lm/w). In other words you only get 15 units of light for every unit of electricity you put in. Now compare this with a CFL. This lamp creates light by exciting atoms of mercury vapour, making them give off ultra violet light. This UV then hits the white coating on the inside of the lamp and is converted into the light we see. Very little heat is produced in this process, giving this type of lamp an efficiency of 60 Lm/w which is 4 or 5 times greater than the ordinary bulb. So a 20 watt CFL will give the same light as a 100 watt bulb at one fifth of the cost (or electricity used and lower carbon emissions etc). You can also use them as Shop Work Lights.
Also, CFLs last about 5 times longer than incandescent. In addition to cost savings you're also saving electricity which reduces the demand for new power plants.
There are those that still argue against them based on their mercury content, but it's just silly. The mercury level in bulbs today is so low as to run no risk to the user. Where it is a problem is when they're disposed of, so the best thing to do is recycle them properly.
So yes, they are worth it. LEDs will probably be the ideal light in the future but for now they have many hurdles to overcome (cost, lack of fill lighting). For at least the next 5 years, CFLs are the way to go.
Three plus two dads to unite in megafilm.
Paramount Pictures has announced that the stars of the 80s comedy film "Three Men and a Baby" are to team up with the stars of 80s sitcom "My Two Dads" in a mega-dad movie. Steve Guttenberg, Ted Danson and Tom Selleck from "Three Men and a Baby" and the later sequel "Three Men and a Little Lady" will be joined by Paul Reiser and Greg Evigan from "My Two Dads" along with Robin Weisman who played toddler Mary in the former films and Staci Keanan as Nicole Bradford from the latter show.
The plot will see five retiring dads moving in together to be looked after by Mary and Nancy, who are now hot twenty-something step sisters. There is also a fun twist as both girls are very promiscuous in their lives and fall preganant during the film - but who is the father? Up to thirty men will be lined up as possibilities! The film, to be entitled "Five Men and their Two Ladies" will be released in November.
Confusion as studio announces Matt Damon will star in upcoming The Golden Girls movie.
Widespread confusion has surrounded the announcement by Buena Vista studios that the upcoming The Golden Girls movie, based on the iconinc 80s TV comedy series, will star Matt Damon.
Commenting on the decision, the sudio stated "Obviously, the original format needed to be updated for the big screen. Matt Damon will star as the son of Golden Girl Dorothy. He will live with the daughter of the character Blanche and the ensuing sparks will be the focus of the film, which will be set in the future." It remains unclear whether the original characters, four elderly women who decide to live together in Miami, will appear in the movie at all. However, Buena Vista has confirmed that the original stars will not be involved, something made more final with the recent death of Dorothy Zbornak actress Bea Arthur.
Golden Girls fans have stated that they are "appalled" at the changes to the format.
R.I.P. anti-intellectualism.
All the major US networks (except Fox) clear their prime-time schedules to broadcast an hour-long live Q&A session with a former constitutional law professor who discusses a number of complex issues in great detail and also warns people to wash their hands to prevent the spread of Swine Flu!
I guess the Temptation Island era is over.
Vodafone ZooZoo Cartoon Ads: Are they real humans?
ZooZoo's are the new eye-catching and very funny looking creatures in the new Vodafone ads that are mostly screened during the current IPL matches. But little did anyone know that they were real human's that were acting the show and not some animated character's as most of us had previously thought off. ZooZoo have now become an icon for Vodafone. Fresh from the Vodafone's Ad inventory, these cute and pesky looking characters promote most of Vodafone's services in a very funny, quirky and laughable way.ZooZoo's were conceptualized by the Ad agency O&M for the latest Vodafone Ad campaigns. ZooZoo characters though they look like animated characters are actually played by real people. The real people are dressed in white outfits. The sets have been constructed by shadows created by spray painting.
It seems that the production team divided the outfit into two separate parts - body and head. The body part of the outfit was stuffed with foam in some places, while the head was attached separately. To make it look bigger than a human head, a harder material called Perspex was used, which in turn was stuffed with foam (with scope for ventilation). Here's how they decided on the size of ZooZoo's head: a human head would typically reach up to the mouth level of this giant Zoozoo head. So the creators kept the hands and legs thin. Also, the cast comprised mostly of women – and occasionally children coz they fitted well into it. The thin limbs, contrasted with big bellies and a bulbous head, all add to the illusion that these creatures are ‘smaller’ than humans.
Sets were actually created to suit the size of the Zoozoos. Cinematically, ZooZoo's actual size was a trick: the creatures look smaller than they actually are on screen, this was done deliberately to portray a different world of sorts. For this, the speed of shooting was altered, it is originally shot in a high-speed format to make them look the size that they do and also make their movements look funny.
Also, another trick up the sleves of O&M was to use simple backdrops that were created and spray painted with neutral Greys – a colour of choice so that attention isn’t diverted from the ZooZoo's (main characters). And also for a supposedly ‘outdoor’ shot, even the shadow of a Zoozoo was kept ‘live’ and not done in post production: it was painted in a darker shade of grey on the ground!!. And an even lighting was maintained throughout. O&M claims that there was virtually no post production work done.
The films were shot by Nirvana Films in Cape Town, South Africa, with the help of a local production house there, called Platypus. Incidentally, the same combination of people also worked on the ‘Happy to Help’ series last year round for Vodafone.
Also there is a very cool ZooZoo community on Facebook which has thousands of fans(including me). The group has ZooZoo commercials that have been released so far, ZooZoo emoticons and also ‘Tag me’ application.
You can also watch all the ZooZoo Video's online here.
Reports: Cheney, Rumsfeld arrested in D.C. park for "lewd conduct."
Reports have surfaced that former Vice President Dick Cheney and former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld were arrested on Tuesday in a Washington D.C. park for "lewd conduct." According to several witnesses, the two men disappeared into some nearby bushes carrying various pictures and materials related to 9/11, a strange white powder and several toy tanks. Police were called after visitors to the park heard unusual sounds coming from their location, just a few miles from the White House.
D.C. police are refusing to confirm the incident, and have denied reports that the toy tanks, white powder and 9/11 materials were being used, as has been suggested by some witnesses, for sexual purposes. Representatives for the two men have declined to comment other than dismissing the story as "overblown nonsense."
Watch IPL Cricket matches Online for Free
Yes, you can now watch the ongoing IPL matches online for free from any part of the world. All you need is access to the internet and a free software from Microsoft called Silverlight.The official IPL site - www.iplt20.com has started to offer live telecast (not actually live), but works only on Internet Explorer with Silverlight 2 installed. But for those who're on the go, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced the availability of IPL Live on mobile phones too!
Many of my pals who tried watching it this way last evening said that the live coverage from http://live.iplt20.com suffered from frequent downtimes since the match started. The live coverage is viewable on Firefox browser by installing Moonlight, an Open Source alternative of Silverlight too.
Microsoft Silverlight works fine on Internet Explorer and Google Chrome browser. However, the continuous downtime of the DLF IPL Live stream has been kind of disheartening for users who feel promises were not fulfilled. BTW, mobile users will be charged per sec for watching live updates on their mobile by mobile service operators - so watch out for the bills too.
Screenshot on how to watch at the page.
Related :Watch Cricket matches LIVE online for free
The Best Online websites to morph your photos for Free
You must have seen some funny images posted on profiles of friends in social networking websites. Some snaps show your friend's on the front page of prominent magazines like Time, Fobes, The Week, etc. and sometimes their images are plastered to walls as advertisement and people starring it. These look cool at many times and you might have too wanted to get images of yourself onto such places.There are many free websites online that allow you to upload images to incorporate different things such as other clipart, text, text boxes, etc.. Or just for mounting on other predefined images. Here is a small selection of the best websites to morph photos.
WriteOnIt : This is absolutely a fun site to check out. It allows you to include your image on posters, magazine covers (with your own head - like the one above) and other photomontages. Also, there is no need for a registration.
Hairmixer : This site allows you to swap faces and hair. It has an option for you to upload your own photos or use the ones available online too.
Kyolo : This is a pretty basic site. In it, it only allows you to add text balloons to images. This can be useful at times when you want to make fun of your pals. Also you need to register.
PhotoFunia : The best site I must say!! Kinda different website which allows you to place the image you upload into an integrated picture. The final work can be easily downloaded or created as an avatar without registering.
FunPhotoBox : Very similar to the above website, but with other effects, and new listings every week. It also has a great feature to allow you to select the area of the photo you want to show. Also, no registration is required.
Ransom Note Generator : This website creates a text composed of letters cut from a magazine. You can place any image as a wallpaper and see the fun around your desk. No registration is required.
BigHugeLabs : This website offers many options. You can easily add text balloons, motivational posters, "warholizar" your photo, given to, and so on. It has a wide range of possibilities, but requires registration.
FaceInHole : classic put your face on the body of another kinda site. Many options and also up to date.AutoMotivator : You know those posters that are in some offices with motivational phrases supposedly? Here you can do the same. Of course, it's more fun to parody them. Lets you save the image on your computer or directly to Flickr or ImageShack (which is very cool). This site is part of a larger one called Wigflip, which give you other options to create graphics for your website with your own text, like post-it or labels. No registration required.
Have some fun with your images and fool a few folks too!!
Fox hires former president Bush to head animation commissioning department.
Fox Studios have announced that former US president George W. Bush has been appointed to be the studio's new Head of Commissioning for Animated Television.
"We believe that the President has a record of making the tough calls and staying the course," said one Fox representative, adding "He is simply the right choice." President Bush expressed delight at the news exclaiming "This is a real honor...and no, I won't be bringing back Futurama. They were right to cancel it based on the intelligence they had at the time."
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