Check out Home Depot. Best prices so far on LEDs. typically $10/$15 for standard 40/60 watt equivalents. Still not as cheap as CFL, but ZERO MERCURY and typically VERY hard to break.

My only beef is the glaring lack of "high output" (>100W) and decent candelabra wattage (40-60)

I have a bunch of ceiling fans that all take that new fangled specialty bulb. And the fan industry seems to have hopped on the CFL bandwagon with this new two post bayonet style bulb. Really pisses me off that I cant run LED in quite a few of my fixtures due to either VERY limited, underpowered choices, or no choice at all.

Check the Buffalo units. they are awesome. http://www.buffalotech.com/products/network-storage. Many of their products allow for access from about every system out there, SMB, FTP, etc.

You could also be running into port blocking issues at the ISP. That is where my suggestion of buying your friend a new router with VPN support. At that point you setup a VPN from your workstation to the NAS via the new router and you can have full access to the disk across the wire.

Its tricky, but in theory it should work.

You have everything you need in your description...just dont use his computer!

Buy a simple single disk NAS box. Then simply ask your neighbor, best friend, etc. (or relative across town) to plug it into their router (and tweak the port forwarding) so you can access it. Then use Crashplan (and something like DynDns.org) to make sure you can always resolve to that share.

I'd also suggest buying your data host a "thank you" gift of a brand new router that supports VPN (and remote admin so you can tweak) so you can encrypt your data tunnel and access it reliably.

Yes, its more complex than that, but you are already on the right track. Just add your own autonomous hardware at the remote site (and maybe a new router for their trouble) and you are all set.

Even better if you can reciprocate for your friend and host their backups.

I will add one cautionary warning. If you want TRUE disaster recovery, DONT use your neighbor. Flood? Tornado? Wildfire? Choose your remote host wisely. Remember if you need to recover your data, driving up to a couple hours to retrieve your backup wont be a big deal in the heat of the moment. Simply having it safe will give you warm fuzzies in your car on the trip to get the recovery media. But to be standing there saying "YES! I backed up off site!" only to realize your offsite backup across the street was also destroyed by the same disaster doesnt really help matters. (and will only put you deeper into despair) Just google "2008 Columbus, IN Flood" or "Richmond hill explosion pictures" for examples.

I agree... to a point. If its more than a quick 10-15 minute call they can expect to be billed for my time. Well, that is unless I was terminated, then the consulting clock starts ticking the minute the phone rings.

There is a fine line between an ongoing piece-meal brain dump, and raping you by asking you to come in for an hour or more to consult. Dont want to pay me for my time? Figure it out for yourself. *shrug*

I've been in both situations... happily answered the phone several times a day several times a week to answer quick questions. But when they wanted me to come in and spend several hours of MY time and gallons of gasoline (note its no longer THEIR time so I deserve compensation for something I am giving to them) damn skippy they can pay me just like they do the other consultants that come and go.

Felt sorry for one poor soul I used to work with. Was the only one in the company that could do what he did, and it was needed at least 3x a year. He let them walk all over him after they terminated him for no good reason. When the time rolled around to do the recurring programming tweak/task/report, they asked him to come in and he did... FOR FREE! *SMH*

Something this precise cant possibly be maintained.

Reminds me of the Top Thrill dragster. At every run it weighs the passengers + cars and exerts the exact force to get them JUST over the top without flying off or rolling back. The few times I have been there it has gone down several times a day for maintenance.

If Cedar Point cant keep something complex, yet not nearly so of this proposed venture running smoothly for its 1000 FEET of track, how in the hell do you expect something this mammoth to run smoothly over 3000 MILES of "track".

Just another pie in the sky "flying cars for everyone" vision.

...When it develops its own atmospheric systems. (that include the water cycle)

...Who refuse to upgrade software configuration tools used to program their hardware?

I work in the fire protection business. Fire alarm panels require special software to configure them for the specific needs of your building. The need to be tweaked periodically as the building is renovated, etc. so its not a one shot deal for the configuration.

Once a panel is released, unless there are glaring functionality problems, the software never gets maintained beyond a v1.0. In a vast number of cases, the custom software is OS dependent. So when the world moves from 98 to xp, xp to 7, etc. it actually breaks the programming software. The vendors take a honey badger approach and refuse to spend money developing new versions to keep up with the new OSes.

The vendor's suggestion? "Sell them a new panel!" Right. So because you are lazy and refuse to maintain your software (or for that matter make it so that its not OS dependent) you expect us to tell the customer "Yes we know the $100,000 solid state system you invested in 7 years ago works flawlessly, but we cant program it properly with our new equipment since we upgraded to the latest version of windows. You need to spend another 100K. We are flatly told "I dont care about your computers, my system works fine. Find a way to program my existing system or I'll find somebody who CAN!"

I have guys who have to lug around up to 3 or 4 laptops of varying age in their trucks because we have 10-20+ year old panels which work great and are mechanically sound, but the software to program it only run in the version of the OS that was current at the time it was released! (we even have a few that are DOS based)

or better yet, similar to the story a couple days ago about the app that "accidentally" shipped with a bitcoin miner...

As the IT God, script out a C&C structure to distribute the miner to all workstations across the company. between 5p and 8a you bring them to life and mine the hell out of the hundreds of PCs at your disposal... and run for cover when your bean counters start wondering why the power usage (and bills) at all of your facilities across the country suddenly shot through the roof. LOL

Screen Real Estate.

There is some stuff you Just. Cant Do. On a phone. The screen is too small.

IF his idea that phones will be a little bigger, do we really want to look like an idiot walking around with a giant brick to our head? Or have to wory about always using a bluetooth earpiece? And where will you stick that larger than you prefer phone?

IMHO an iPhone 5 is starting to get a little too big. The larger samsungs are even worse.

*golf clap*

"I already bought this shit. GTFO!"

Nothing more annoying than searching for a product, BUYING said product, and then for weeks/months later being shown ads for said product that I no longer have an interest in... BECAUSE I'VE ALREADY GOT ONE, YOU SEE?!?!" /French accent

I havent seen it in a while, but for a while we kept having issues with some implementations of Exchange refusing email based on our perfectly valid SPF records. The problem only occurred if we had both SPF AND SenderID (M$' so called "SPF 2.0") records for our domain. If we deleted our SPF records and only left the SenderID record, the mail would be delivered.

Way to go Microsoft in taking a perfectly good standard and deciding its not QUITE good enough and muddying the waters with your own crap.

On a related note they do have a pro model that the motor base is mounted UNDER your counter. (think permanent install)

Nice, but sorry, $650 is a ripoff. I dont care if it can shit tiffany cufflinks. I just want to make a smoothie.

http://www.blendtec.com/products/professional_series

(Still want one after seeing a similar setup on a former boss' cabin cruiser. kinda cool to remove the bit of removable countertop that plugged the hole and just drop the pitcher onto the base. No messing with the motor, plugging it in, etc. and motor storage was the best part... it was permanently in what would have been dead space under the counter.)

Nobody said Grandpa was smart or thought his cunning plan through... LOL