> While it's likely most of us can afford the extra cost of leaving our > gear powered up to keep it dry, it doesn't sound like the right choice > for those who want to be good stewards for our planet.
I don't know. What has the planet done for me lately? I see a lot of oil not being pumped to make gas for my car, a lot of radioactive material not generating electricity, and a lot of sunshine just bouncing off the surface of the earth without doing any useful work. I don't consider the 5% I spend when my TV is shut off to be "wasted". It's sitting there doing exactly what I want it to do: Be ready when I hit the button on my remote control. Similarly, my computer runs all night, doing a few tasks that I schedule for overnight but mostly just downloading email, filtering spam, and waiting to be there first thing in the morning so I don't have to wait for it to boot up. It's like the batteries in my laptop, Wii-mote, or cell phone. When I'm not actively using the device, the batteries are slowing dying. I'm not "wasting" that energy -- I'm "using" it to keep those devices ready for me to use at a moment's notice. I want *more* things to be always on, ready for me to use them. I rented a Prius once and one of the cool things was you just got in and pressed the "on" button and started driving. That was nice. But I want the heater pre-heated so I don't have to sit in the cold for the first five minutes of my trip. I want the air-conditioner pre-cooled for similar reasons in the summer. I want hot water as soon as I turn on the shower. I want coffee ready when I get up. I want the lights to be green when I get to the intersection. If the planet really wanted my attention it would do something about the weather -- or the Virginia Tech shootings. Now *that* would be impressive. Craig NZ0R _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: [email protected] You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
