My Current Podcasts

I thought I’d take a moment and note the podcasts that I’m currently enjoying.

There are a LOT of excellent podcasts and there are also a LOT of terrible ones. iTunes’ ratings help somewhat but, just like movie critics, you need to know the reviewer’s biases before you can really trust that their reviews are relevant to you.

If you know me, then maybe you know some of my biases and can figure out based on that if you’d enjoy any of these.

These are listed in order of preference from my favorites to the ones I like enough to listen to if I have the time. Yes, there are 39 of them, no I don’t get to listen to them all all the time. But I like having the option to listen to what I want, when I want.

Part of the reason some shows are more highly rated than others is that they are brief. I have more opportunity to listen to short shows (5-20 minutes) than the longer ones (1-2 hrs) so they get listened to more often.
Some of the podcasts are video podcasts and it again comes down to time available. I can easily listen to a podcast while driving, but a video podcast pretty much demands your full attention and so the opportunities to view them are much more limited.
Also, some of the shows are actually recordings of University courses or are infrequently produced, this will push them down in my frequency of listening and give them a lower rating. Keep in mind that I really like EVERY podcast below otherwise I just wouldn’t bother downloading it.

Just drag any of these to your iTunes podcast window and it will be added so you can check them out.

The Skeptic’s guide to the Universe – This is my favorite podcast of all. They publish regularly on Saturdays. They just published their 200th podcast and I’ve heard every single one of them. A group of intelligent folks discussing current issues with a critical (and often comical) eye. This is what you wish all folks were like when they get together to talk about things.

Slashdot Review – SDR News – Another podcast that I never miss. Published 5 times a week. A short 10 – 15 minutes podcast that’s great for keeping up to date on the latest news in the tech world.

60-Second Science – Roughly 60 second highlight from the world of science from Scientific American.

60-Second Psych – Roughly 60 second highlight from the world of psychology from Scientific American.

Astronomy Cast – A MUST LISTEN if you are at all interested in Astronomy. Start by listening to the back episodes. While they do cover some current topics much of the show is discussing various aspects of astronomy that will be valid for a long time to come. They’ve walked through the planets of the solar system (one per show), black holes, dark matter, interstellar distance, the shape of the universe and on and on. Fascinating stuff. Fraser Cain acts as the everyman asking questions of Pamela Gay, a physics professor with a great talent for clearly explaining the mysteries of the universe.

Are we Alone? – Science Radio for Thinking Species – Put out by SETI this podcast deals with plenty of topics beyond those to do with the SETI mission. Both the hosts, Molly Bentley (rowrrr!) and Seth Shostak offer intelligent discussion and well prepared and entertaining interviews. This is another show that I really look forward to.

Skeptoid: Critical Analysis of Pop Phenomena – Fairly short (usually under about 15 minutes) summaries of a particular topic. You know how you hear something and think “I wonder if that’s true?”. Well Brian Dunning get’s off his butt and does the research to provide a relevant and useful summary of the topic at hand. Often enough to satisfy your curiosity on a topic but a great launching point if it’s a topic that you have an interest in.

Quirks and Quarks Complete Show from CBC Radio – This is a generally science show, very polished and features interviews with folks on relevant topical science issues and discoveries. The host has a great skill for putting the interviewees at ease and fleshing out the relevant details of the topic at hand.

The Finer Points – Aviation Podcast – if you’ve ever thought of becoming a pilot or already are, you’ll enjoy this podcast. Start at the first one and work your way forward. Each is a 3-5 minute lesson that covers everything from aerodynamic theory to cockpit resource management to taking advantage of ATC resources. Good information and great reminders.

American Freethought – Very well reasoned podcast on topics from an Atheist perspective. Both the hosts are thoughtful in their commentary. If you are of a religious bent you probably won’t appreciate their candor concerning yours or anybody else’s beliefs. But if you can think rationally, you’ll appreciate their perspective. I think they are pretty fair in their assessments and largely non-inflammatory in their expression.

Clark Howard’s Call of the Week – A single call from the Clark Howard show that is thought to be of particular interest. I find it is useful for me about half the time.

Clark Howard’s Rip-Off Alerts
– This just helps me stay on top of the latest scams. As a fairly regular Clark Howard listener I often listen to about 2/3 of this podcast before moving on as much of his advice is common sense that I’ve heard him express before.

Science @ NASA feature Stories Podcast – Great 5 minute or so topical podcast that is essentially Dr. Tony Phillips reading his print article. Great for anybody who is interested in what NASA is up to.

The Clark Howard Show – I enjoy Clark Howard but after listening for a while you begin to get a good sense of what he’s going to say. But for particular topics I’m interested in his viewpoint. So I don’t automatically download all of his shows (2 hours a day… way more than I can hope to listen to). And I “get” (a button in iTunes) only the shows that I think will be novel for me based on the downloaded descriptions. It’s also just the right length for me to listen to while using the rowing machine. I don’t like wearing earbuds when I row and Clark’s voice carries nicely over the sound of the machine.

The Economist – In case you haven’t realized it, there is a world beyond America’s borders. The Economist offers great news and editorial insights from a perspective unlike that which is available from American media sources. Also, listening to the UK perspective on American issues is very eye opening. They’ve broken their podcast down into individual one article podcasts rather than a single podcast to cover the entire week. This is free and more than enough for me, but they offer paid subscriptions for WAY more articles if you’re interested.

Freethought Radio – from the “Freedom FROM Religion Foundation” (ffrf) this is a podcast of the radio broadcast that is hosted by the co-founder of the FFRF and her husband, a former preacher-turned-atheist. They are not ANTI religion but rather they are for both separation of church and state and for critical/rational thinking. This would be a good perspective for religious folks to consider. If you are OK with the government sanctioning religion, would you be so OK if it weren’t *your* particular sect that was the “winner”?

Skepticality – Science and Revolutionary Ideas – this is a pleasant podcast put out periodically and generally focuses on a single issue or interview. Swoopy and Derek are well regarded in the skeptical community and this podcast justifies that regard.

The Skeptic’s Guide 5X5 – This is targeted at folks who are interested in understanding skepticism from a logical perspective. You could take this podcast into a classroom and use it as a great launching point for discussion. Basically you have 5 skeptics talking for 5 minutes on a topic such as “logical fallacies” or “ad hominem attacks”.

IT Conversations – I actually am a paid subscriber. This is their free feed. There is a WIDE variety of stuff covered. My favorites are their keynote presentations from various conferences as well as Dr. Moira Gunn’s “Tech Nation” show. The original mission of IT Conversation was to capture pretty much ALL tech seminars and presentations in America if not in the world. After all, after the presentation is done it often just disappears, it is great to be able to participate in these presentations that I could never afford (either in time or in money) to attend.

Scientific American Podcast – About 20 – 30 minutes, Steve Mirsky often has relevant insights and interesting guests.

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory Video and Audio Podcasts These are very short videos highlighting current activity at NASA including the Cassini mission and the Mars rovers. This lets you keep up on stuff that is usually ignored by mainstream media because it isn’t “NASCAR”.

The Amazing Show starring James Randi – Although production of this show has fallen off a lot lately, this show has James Randi discussing his life experiences. Relevant for anybody in the skeptical community.

The Finer Points – Aviation Videos – Like the audio podcast, the finer points videos are brief videos covering specific topics in aviation. Very useful when visual aids are required to help get a point across. I find these complement the audio podcasts very nicely.

Cato Daily Podcast – Cato is a think tank and offers perspective on current political and economic issues.

Spill Movie Reviews – definitely an adult podcast, these guys live and breath movies. If you are curious about whether you a movie is worth investing your time in, this podcast can help greatly. They offer some much longer shows as well (LEOG – League of Extremely Ordinary Gentlemen, Cold Ones) which, while entertaining, are just too long for me to fit into my schedule. If I had more time or less interests I would probably listen to those too. As it is I just delete those.

Slacker Astronomy podcast – This USED to be a great podcast. It had 3 folks including Dr. Pamela Gay (from the Astronomy Cast podcast above) and was put out fairly regularly. But when Pamela left the show the production became somewhat inconsistent. I recommend listening to the earlier podcasts for great Astronomy information. For the current ones, I listen to any that have Dr. Doug Welch. He has a great sense of humor and is a font of knowledge and a real treat to listen to.

AOPA Never Again – I think this is now defunct but it is an audio version of AOPA’s “Never Again” column where pilots write in to tell about bone-headed or unfortunate situations they’ve encountered in hopes of helping other pilots avoid making the same mistakes or recognizing bad situations. Getting the existing podcasts is well worthwhile.

Camera Dojo: Digital Photography Enthusiasts – more targeted toward folks who do photography for a living, these podcasts are nonetheless useful for picking up nuggets for those of us who snap only occasionally. Kerry is the glue that keeps things together while David is somewhat more flamboyant…

TEDTalks (Video) – These are brilliant. Simply brilliant. There are so many that I doubt I’ll ever see them all and keeping up is not possible for me. But these almost always impress me. These are brilliant people who are given 18 minutes to speak about a topic that impassions them. There are some short comic or musical ones too and those are always worthwhile too.

The Silicon Valley Astronomy Lectures Podcasts – These are infrequent and about 90 minutes long. An expert on some topic astronomical will fascinate you. I usually listen until somebody puts their kid up to the mike in the Q&A portion.

David Allen Company Podcast – Also infrequent, usually a 5 minute pep session on a particular aspect of David Allen’s “Getting Things Done” methodology. I enjoy the refresher.

EFF Line Noise Podcast – Too infrequent, the Electronic Frontier Foundation’s podcast will keep you up to date on their trying to keep overly intrusive government or overly controlling corporation activities and the EFF’s efforts to keep them in check.

Humanist Network News – Would be nice if this was produced more frequently. A pleasant podcast presenting information and issues from a humanist perspective.

Mr. Deity (video) – A laugh and a half. Picture “Woody Allen” meets god. I understand these podcasts are presented in biblical forums to stimulate discussion.

This I listen to immediately after I watch the show:
Battlestar Galactica Podcast – Now defunct as the series is over, these are meant to be listened to as the episode plays. I find that distracting so I listen to them a day or so after having watched the episode. The executive producer’s insights very much enhance my appreciation of the series as he explains what he was trying to accomplish and why things are presented in the manner that you are seeing. This same kind of interaction was what made me a fan of Babylon 5. Understanding what is behind the show adds a tremendous dimension to the experience.

These I listen to periodically. The entire session is available but I don’t want to listen to it all in one go. I typically listen to one every couple of weeks or so.
Rhetoric 10: Introduction to Practical Reasoning and Critical Thinking – Obviously a little chemical entertainment is involved in this lecturer’s make-up but that does not detract from the very interesting approach to a world view that Rhetoric offers.

Virgil’s Aeneid – Audio – I enjoy classical literature and don’t spend enough time on it. Classes such as this, that can be enjoyed during my commute are absolutely wonderful.

English 117s: Shakespeare – Spring 2008 Audio – A bit choppy due to the missing copyrighted works and the student questions that are not captured by the microphone but overall worth the effort.

History of the International System – If you enjoyed James Burke’s “Connections” series you’ll probably appreciate this lecture series explaining how we all end up getting along economically and politically.

That’s it (for now). The great thing about podcasts is that you can go back and listen to old ones where it’s relevant and you can skip forward as you see fit or if something is not of interest. Also, you pick up your show just where you left off. I haven’t listened to my radio in… I don’t know how long. The only reason I turned it on before was to make sure it was still working. The control of time-shifting my listening to my schedule is too powerful to allow me to go back to “the old way”…

Memory leak issue for RIM Blackberry Devices – Especially 8830

*** Update May 8, 2009 ***

Verizon finally did see fit to release the OS 4.5 update and, so far, it appears that it is addressing the issue for us. We set a date of May 15 (approximately 3 weeks after upgrading) as our “OK Date”. This means that folks in our pilot group would have gone 100% longer than before without a recurrence of their messages vanishing.

So, while the memory does still dip significantly in the devices I’ve seen, it appears that the updated OS is addressing the worst of the memory symptoms. Kudos! From the below you could see I was entirely not expecting this.

*** End Update May 8, 2009 ***

We have been having a problem for a while know that has surged to the forefront of our corporate consciousness at the beginning of spring break (April 4, 2009).

Folks on that day began reporting in droves (basically about 5% of my total blackberry user base) that some or all of their email had disappeared, many on that Saturday, but many others on the days after that.

In looking into the issue I discovered that our Blackberry help desk has been fielding similar issues on the order of (anecdotally) 5-10 such incidents per week.

The problem has been largely experienced by our 8830 users. Made more awful by the fact that only this past summer we upgraded most of our handhelds to the new 8830 model.

Facts that I have at my disposal:

  • RIM claims that the memory manager in the 4.5 OS addresses this issue
  • I have a BOLD (OS 4.6.x) that shows massive memory consumption that is corrected by removing and replacing the battery or by simply performing a reset (Alt – Right Shift – Del).
  • People are complaining about this issue whether their devices communicate with a corporate BES or not (in the various forums that I have been reading)
  • The vanishing messages are a normal function of the low memory manager on the Blackberry OS. The priority is to allow new incoming messages and (supposedly) the last resort is to delete the oldest or least accessed existing messages to make that room

This is what I am thinking:

  • The problem is device related and is a memory handling issue
  • The problem has not been resolved with OS 4.5 but rather folks now receive a warning at about 400K of memory so they can take action before messages begin to vanish
  • The problem manifests in devices other than the 8830 but newer devices have so much memory that the issue is masked and wreaks less havoc. My bold can easily get to 6 Megabytes of file free out of 37 that are normally available. That’s 31 Megabytes of space that’s being wasted. That’s also more than double the maximum File Free that I used to have on my old 8830. Except for those apps supplied with the bold, my 3rd party apps are the same on this device as I had on my 8830.
  • The sudden surge in reports stems more from the fact that so many people were going to be out of the office and needed their email accessible on their handheld devices than any sudden change in the environment (indeed, I had been out of the office for the 2 days prior to this issue and I’m the only one making changes to our BES). Unless Verizon is monkeying around with stuff on their network.

RIM is insistent that the issue is resolved in the 4.5 OS. Since Verizon is our primary service provider and they’ve been unable to certify the 4.5 OS for their devices for about a year now, this is not a reasonable solution for us.

Plus, it seems that there are a fair number of other Blackberry users out there who are encountering this issue regardless of their handheld version or OS.

What needs to happen:

  • Short term: I need to create an application that would reset the device on a schedule. One of my team members has found one called “QuickPull” that *almost* fits the bill but needs some tweaks (see below) and can’t be distributed via BES.
  • Long Term:  RIM needs to get off its behind and acknowledge this memory management issue and actually address it. Pull back on the whiz-bang (crappy storm for example) and make sure that the basics are rock solid. Folks needing to reset their devices on a daily basis is just silly.
  • Long Term as well: What’s with this limited memory in these devices? We should be able to upgrade or add memory as we need to. The advice from RIM to “remove applications” and “minimize what you store” belongs back in the late-80’s along with a 640K memory limit and QEMM software!

Specs for reset application:

Since it is going to be necessary to create a workaround to allow folks to use their devices with the security of a corporate email system (i.e. messages not disappearing) I need to find or create a reset application that –

  • Resets the device (reclaims all that wasted memory)
  • Is distributable by BES (ALX and COD files)
  • Operates on a schedule that is user configurable but has a default time set by policy. That time is localized (i.e. 3 am is 3 am your timezone).
  • Prompts user to allow delay or skip of reset
  • Recognizes phone in use and delays reset
  • Can be set to only reset if device is locked
  • Inexpensive

That’s what I have. So far I’ve gotten to the point where I can produce a “Hello World!” app on my handheld. Let’s see how long it takes to address this workaround.

We’ve been working unproductively with RIM – they keep wanting us to delete applications / themes etc.

We’ve been working with Verizon, they’re promising the 4.5 OS RSN (Real Soon Now).

Kill A Watt EZ P4460 – Sunbeam Therapeutic Mattress Pad

Back in October, 2008 I picked up the Sunbeam Therapeutic heating pad from ebay. The price was much better than I was able to find either locally or even on my normal shopping haunts on the “intertubes”. I was able to get this new for about $150.

Let me say, in no uncertain terms, this is one of the best purchases I have made in recent memory.

Unlike a normal electric blanket, this heats from the bottom so the bed is thoroughly warm when you get into it, and you are comfortably warm as you lie in it.

You just set it to preheat the bed (I find at least 15 minutes before you want to turn in) and you will not believe how great it is to slip into a warm bed every night.

I’m also able to keep the house and room temperature cooler at night with no decrease in comfort. And, as you’ll see below, the cost of running the heating mattress pad is vastly less than that of running the little room heater that I use in our master bedroom and obviously less than that of using the furnace to keep the whole house warm when you’re going to be ensconced in your bed all night.

As if that’s not great enough, both sides of the bed are independently controlled so his and her (or his and his… hey I’m not judging) preferences can be met. I don’t need much if any heating after I get in while Michelle likes things a little warmer for longer.

But wait! That’s not all! (picture a ginsu knife ad) Each side has 3 zones that can be heated independently. So if your feet get cold but your torso or head are fine then you need only heat that part of the bed. You can heat any of the zones from nothing through 10 different levels. And hot is pretty danged hot. The most we’ve ever played with is level 6 and I’ve settled on level 3 as my maximum. 

I keep mine set for head – 1, Torso – 2, Feet – 3 while Michelle keeps hers set as head – 1, Torso – 2 and Feet – 6.

The control is wireless. Of course the mattress pad and the control unit need to be plugged in but the wiring can be completely inobtrusive. Here are some pictures of how I have it set up in our master bedroom. One warning, the remote can sometimes not communicate properly with the receiver unit. When you press any of the buttons, the receiver will make a beeping sound. If you don’t hear this then your command wasn’t sent. Just press another button and press your original again and it will work. I usually turn the pad off and then on again to be sure that it’s set to what I intended it to be.
There is no danger in this, the mattress pad will shut off automatically after 10 hours anyway if you somehow manage to leave it on. And the receiver unit has a light on it representing each side of the bed (sort of the way a stove light lets you know the burners are on). If you crouch down and peek under the bed you can assure yourself that the mattress pad is on or off.

Bed with fitted sheetReceiver unit and wiring under bedBed showing wired connections to mattress pad

You are sleeping on a mattress pad with wires in it. If you really try you can feel them. There’s no getting away from that. Sunbeam has seen fit to make the pad reasonably thick so I have not found this to be an issue.

As you may or may not know, we had some furnace issues during the cold snap that we had recently. Partly due to the “Sunbeam Therapeutic Mattress Pad” I did not have to rush to address the issue. I had no worries about us being uncomfortable. Add some well-placed space heaters and the furnace is merely an inconvenience rather than a crisis.

The following power tests were done with the unit in “preheat mode” which I understand means full blast. It is very difficult to make claims about power consumption at any point in time as all six zones seem to operate independently of each other. So the peak consumption is created by me letting the pad cool off, then setting both sides for full power.

The results comprise reasonably reprsentative winter use of this mattress pad. i.e. we used it every night and many nights even left it on all night long.

RESULTS

Elapsed time: 546 hrs (about 23 days)
Measured Maximum Consumption 1 side on preheat (Watts): 63
Measured Maximum Consumption both sides on preheat (Watts): 128 (don’t ask why it’s not quite double the single side, the results were the same regardless of which side was the single side)
Measured Consumption when not in use (Watts): 2
KWH: 4.23
Cost –
     Actual (for duration of test): $0.44
     Daily: $0.01 (rounding involved here)
     Weekly: $0.12
     Monthly: $0.53
     Annual: $6.49 < -- Take with a grain of salt. We will probably only use for about 5 months a year.

Samsung NFL Shop Offer

Samsung LN52A650 TV rebate requestI purchased my new Samsung TV set back in January from Amazon.com.
It had associated with it a rebate that is mediated through CheckMyRebate.com. Fortunately I do not factor rebates into my purchasing decisions as that would be a frustrating practice indeed. But this one was for $200 at NFLshop.com and, well, $200 is $200.

So I sent off the rebate and put a note in my “tickler file” to remind me to check up on it.

A few weeks ago (at about the 10 week mark – the outside limit for which I should have to wait according to the form) I checked on the web site and it indicated that all was well but that it is still pending a final audit.

Rebate Details

Tracking No:  20784649 
Date Posted:  2/6/2009 10:30:00 AM  
Date Processed:  2/16/2009  
Date Shipped:    


Your JANUARY NFLSHOP.COM OFFER offer was received on 2/6/2009 , processed on 2/16/2009 and is pending Final Audit.


I just checked again today and can see nothing has changed so I sent them the following note through their “Contact Us” form.

Hi,

I sent my rebate for the “Samsung NFL Shop Offer” on January 19, 2009.

I can see that it has been received and has been “Pending final audit” for nearly two months now (nearly 3 months from when I sent in the rebate).
Can you please review this case and expedite it?

Thanks,

Marc


I’ll post the results. I’m posting this blog entry just so that others will have something to find and can see what works and what doesn’t in trying to reclaim money promised by manufacturers and retailers who use these awful rebates as incentives.

*** Update April 16, 2009 ***

I *did* receive the following response yesterday:

Dear Marc

We have received your rebate on

2-6 it can take 8-10 weeks from that date

Thanks

Jenn

By my math that would mean I’d receive the rebate by… tomorrow (4/17).

Let’s see what happens.

*** Update April 24, 2009 ***

I sent this to them today:

Hi Jenn,

Just checked and I still don’t see any movement on the rebate, it’s now been 11 weeks since the rebate was recorded in the system and 14 weeks (over 1/4 of a year now) since I actually mailed it in.

Marc

Mortgage Insurance – Predators?

As you may or may not know I refinanced my home recently. Even before the deal closed (you’ll recall it was delayed a few times) I began receiving solicitations for mortgage insurance.

To date I have received over 20 such solicitations. Heck, 2 more arrived just today.

I take issue, not so much with the idea of mortgage insurance itself – although if you are properly insured it really is not necessary – but rather the way that these solicitations present themselves.

Since I eventually just stopped opening the solicitations, many went straight to the recycling pile without further scrutiny, I cannot claim that those others were identical to EVERY ONE that I did open. But of those that I *did* take the time to read, they all presented themselves in such a manner as to try to make you think that this communication is from your bank and is somehow integrally involved in your mortgage dealings.

The one in front of me right now has a header that reads:

Urgent Notice – Complete and Return

And prominently in the portion that would normally contain a return address if it were a business letter it lists my lender as “SUNTRUST MTG INC.” in upper case and bolded.
It’s not until about halfway through the letter that they indicate the name of the actual insurer in normal font. And, except for the mice-type at the bottom where they list some additional riders and disclaimers they do not mention their name again.
They do not even mention the name of the insurer on the postage paid envelope. The address simply reads “Customer Service Department”.

I think it’s dirty pool, I’ve written about this before in reference to Budget Rent-a-car and others teaming up with Elite Excursions to trick folks into signing up for programs by sending folks checks with agreements printed on them in fine print.

I’m still gobsmacked at how many of these vultures come out of the woodwork to take advantage of an already terribly confusing process to prey on the unwary, the elderly and perhaps the just plain overwhelmed.

Shame on them all.

The following images I include as they are representative of what I have been receiving. I don’t mean to single out these companies any more than I would single out any of these other bottom feeders.

The only good thing I can say is that you at least you are not committed to actually paying premiums based on this solicitation.

Both Envelopes and the stub from American ClassicActual Letter from Americo
Both Envelopes from Americo

Cat Tree for Mav and Phoebe

Phoebe in her Cat TreeMore or less on impulse we bought a cat tree a few days ago off the Internet.

Maverick and Phoebe spend their nights in the laundry room with their cat beds on a utility table (Mav) and the clothes dryer (Phoebe). Michelle has never been a big fan of the utility table, so we’ve now removed it and replaced it with this cat tree.

We picked this up from “CozyCatFurniture.com“. It’s called the “Cat Cheap Tree“. We ordered it on March 28th and it arrived promptly on April 1st. It needed to be assembled, of course. All the parts were in there and everything fit together properly (which is nearly a miracle :)). It’s really nice and solid. Both the cats were drawn to it immediately and “helped” put it together.

I like it enough that I’m thinking of getting another one for the TV room, but don’t tell Michelle!

BTW you can’t quite make it out, but Phoebe’s new collar tag says “Princess” on it in addition to her name and our phone number.

Furnace / Air Conditioner replacement cost

Our house is a bungalow (a “stepless ranch”) comprising about 2,500 square feet. Four bedrooms with two and a half baths. It was built in the late 1970’s and the attic-mounted air conditioner is original while the furnace is probably about 20 years old. Both are due for replacement.

The existing air conditioner is a 4.5 ton Rudd unit and the furnace, well.. I don’t really even know what brand it is. Nor, I suppose, do I really care 🙂

I’ve had 3 guys come in and offer estimates. The first guy was very professional, recommended by a friend who used him to install her furnace. One thing I liked was that he offered a pretty reasonable (I think $140/yr) maintenance schedule to keep everything up to snuff once installed. But he did not do any calculations or measuring besides estimating the needed tonnage of the air conditioning unit based on the power connections and outside coil size and reviewing all the registers and returns throughout the house. He also inspected the current ductwork.

The second guy walked cursorily through the house, indicated a disdain for variable speed furnaces and indicated that he could get pretty much any furnace I wanted for a very good price.

The third guy noted the model number of my existing air conditioning unit and went and looked it up to determine what the existing tonnage was. Then went through the attic to inspect the existing duct work and reviewed all of the registers and returns. He then returned a week later to fully measure all of the rooms and did the calculations to determine the proper a/c and heater sizing should be for the house as well as offering recommendations for additional registers in some of the more poorly served areas of the house.

I discussed a desire to zone the house with each of them, as well as to include a humidifier solution and an allergy-suitable filtering solution.

It seems that to zone the house will require pretty much removing the entire duct system and replacing it.

As my existing furnace is in the attic over the garage, I was warned by at least two of them that a humidifier system up there would need a waiver as there is the potential for freezing and associated pipe bursting issues.

I had initially thought to install some kind of heat pump or heat pump / gas hybrid furnace but it seems that the cost for that would be prohibitive.

<soapbox mode>In the end I’m thinking I’ll just ditch the zoning idea, forget about the humidifier and go with a normal gas furnace as, frankly, I’m not in any position to evaluate these things nor am I in a position assess the value of the opinions proffered by my local installers. It seems such technologies are only for folks with ties to educational institutions and / or the resources to employ experts in such fields. So I’ve resigned myself to the usual “whatever is for sale at a price I can afford and the environment can go to hell” position that we all end up having to take when we try to pursue these things beyond a superficial layer.

I can rant all day on the number of times I do a ton of research into new technologies only to find that it’s all theory and that you can’t actually *implement* what you’ve researched. I’m learning… slowly. I’m starting to drink more booze too.</soapbox mode>

Anyway, I received estimates and would like some opinions on them if you have any experience with these things. I think I’ll try to post the below information in some “furnace forums” I’ve seen too.

This from Coolray:

Trane XV80 (16 Seer) (model numbers unreadable)
Listed scope of work:
Install new Trane (5) Ton XL16I (16) SEER R410A Dual Fuel System to include Heat Pump Condenser, Coil, pad, variable speed furnace, new refrigerant lines, metal plenums, safety pan w/switch, drain sensor, new EWC Electronic(3) zone system, New R8 Supply and return ductwork, new Trane clean effects high efficiency air cleaner and vision pro digital t-stats. Lifetime parts and labor warranty w/annual maintenance.
Steam Humidifier S2000 add $1,295 and will need electrician to add separate circuit.
$11,698  (system)
$ 3,885 (ductwork)
$ 2,915 (zoning)
-$1,000 (federal rebate)
Total $17,528

I’m contacting him now for a simpler quote, in keeping with my reduced expectations above.

This from Seasonal Heating & Air:
(They actually provided me with 6 variations, this is the one most in keeping with what I would want)

Heil Equipment:Premier Grade with 5 year no hassle warranty
Duel Fuel system
4 ton 13 seer heat pump R- 410 A freon
4 ton 13 seer coil
80% gas 100,000 BTU furnace
Remove existing furnace,existing coil,all ductwork and discard
Install all new duct work R-6 Flex
Supply Plenums, Return Plenum
Add 3 supply outlets( master closet, work out room, laundry room)
1 year labor warranty
compressor 10 year warranty
parts 10 year warranty
limited lifetime warranty on heat exchanger

Optional items:
Programmable t-stat(s) 7 day = 100.00
Touch screen thermostat = 300.00
Humidifier(s) = 450.00
Media air Filter(s) system= 300.00
Electronic Air cleaner April Air 5000 = 950.00

Total (w/o optional items) $6,000

This from Bardi Heating & Air Conditioning:

Install New 14Seer 5 Ton R410-A Variable Speed Heating and Cooling System
The above price includes all equipment, labor, and materials to install a new American Standard 5 ton Heating
and cooling system in the attic. Add supply to master closet and hallway. Add supply to laundry and create return
from existing supply in laundry at door. Install 11/8 x 38 refrigerant line set down exterior to new unit location.
The warranty is 5Year Parts, 10 year compressor & 1 Year Labor.

Equipment is (American standard):
AUD120R9V5 variable speed 2 stage gas furnaces
4TXCC060 Aluminum Evaporator Coil With TXV

Total $15,165

So, what do you think?

I’ll post the updated Coolray estimate when I receive it.

The Mentalist

I’ve been watching “The Mentalist” since it first began airing last year and was very happy with the show. The premise of a guy who was attuned to the minutia that most folks never notice using his abilities to solve crimes rather than just dupe the public with cold readings and other mystical flim-flam was quite appealing to me.

Is it just me or, starting with episode 16 – where Jane loses his sight – the series took a serious left turn into buffoonery and started stretching credibility beyond the point where I at least am able to enjoy it. Running around a parking lot, blind with a hail of bullets chasing you and then trying to drive, again still while blind, to avoid a skilled and intelligent killer was just silly and stupid.

The most recent episode, where everybody and his dog is being hypnotized (“in a trance”) to do outrageous and ridiculously out of character things was equally disappointing.

It’s as though some network execs came down from their offices, chased out all the writers and the director and decided they could do a far better job of the show themselves by removing the intelligent content and ensuring that any character development that was carefully crafted for the first 15 episodes would be summarily tossed out the window.

I am very disappointed…

As a rant, if you ever saw the pilot episode for “Lois and Clark, the new adventures of Superman” and then saw any of the episodes that followed, you can see the EXACT same thing going on here. That pilot had thoughtful characters and a seemingly intelligent plot being mapped out and that was gutted and discarded in favor of a sloppy, silly weekly romp through dumb-land..

Beyond Fear by Bruce Schneier

I’ve been working my way through Bruce Schneier’s book for a while. Not due to any shortcomings in the book itself, but rather other distractions have been interfering with my reading for the past few months and I’ve fallen well behind as my “to read” shelf has been growing steadily.

“Beyond Fear” should be required reading for EVERY SINGLE ONE of our legislators. Well… this book and the constitution. Knowledge of both of these tomes would go a long way towards stemming the tide of ridiculous, pandering, appear-to-be-doing-something-ANYTHING laws that seem to flood out of State and Federal government houses each month.

Combining relevant examples with 5 comprehensive steps that should be evaluated as part of any important security assessment, Bruce pragmatically walks the line between impractically crippling defensive measures and vulnerably insecure systems that must be used by myriad folks on a daily basis. He emphasizes our natural tendency to overestimate certain kinds of (ultimately irrelevant) risks while we casually accept on a daily basis risks that are of far greater likelihood and, ultimately, consequence than those we emotionally invest ourselves in.

While Bruce does not say this explicitly, the examples and figures in his book support the statement that I have heard made that “If you read about it in the newspaper, it’s not something you need to worry about.” (BTW, this can apply to positive things too, like reading about someone winning the lottery). The only reason it’s being reported is because it’s unusual or spectacular. That’s why the handful of deaths airplane crashes (631 in the U.S.A each year) receive so much publicity but the thousands of people dying in car accidents (41,700 in the U.S.A. each year) receive only the vaguest of coverage.

Perhaps my favorite quote in the book on this topic is that “More people are killed every year by pigs than by sharks.”. To contrast with the numbers above, about 0.6 people are killed in the U.S.A. each year by sharks. That’s five orders of magnitude less than the automobile figure. Yet how many people do you know are fearful of going swimming, yet have no problem driving to the corner store for some milk?

Anyway, there are great examples given of computer issues, financial issues, terrorist issues and even beekeeper issues. You will not want for examples that you can relate to.

Definitely a starting point for a reasoned, rational discussion on how to make the best possible trade-offs for the most useful and unencumbering risk reduction in a world of finite resources.