Add moose to the list.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F...

In this context, they're talking about a test sample. Perhaps the summary should have been edited to say so in plainer English.

Don't you need to move the spool of abs (or whatever plastic they're using) up there? I don't think this is about the weight that travels up there, but rather the time to deliver parts there. If X plastic widget will get the primary air scrubber(s) working again right now, that vastly trumps relying on a secondary for six months.

How about Arizona to Fairbanks. Seventeen days for the trip is quite a long time, though. I've driven between LA and Fairbanks twice, and can do it in 7 days without pushing too hard.

I couldn't agree more. Where I live, I pay a monthly fee simply to be connected to the grid, whether I use any electricity or not. I assume that if micro-generation becomes common that the co-op must increase this fee. I will happily pay an increased fee to have the night-time and winter generation that are impossible with solar.

A transfer switch, combined with a good inverter (or a pair, depending on your load) can provide this today. (The transfer switch is mandatory for any solar install, anyway, so as to keep utility workers safe.) In fact, this has been possible for at least 15 years. In fact, a good inverter can act as the charge controller for your batteries, as well as manage a back-up generator to keep the batteries charged during an extended outage. If you want a good system that provides backup power, I would talk to somebody about designing it for you, rather than trying to cobble it together yourself.

There's a very nice graphic, so you needn't strain yourself by reading. You only need to scroll, and click twice. While the picture seems to paint a very precise picture, the article states that the timing is ambiguous, so it might not land so directly in North America.

Bad news for me, though. I live at 65 degrees north latitude, and had a power outage for most of a week last winter in November. (That's fall for those of you who have more than two seasons.) There were so many trees in lines and transformers blown that they had to bring parts from outside, and crews from Anchorage. While the temperatures weren't yet brutal, (actually, they never really got there last winter) 0F in November is quite enough to freeze pipes.

Thankfully, I have a wood stove, a slightly abnormal interest in portable lights, and more portable cooking stoves than any one family can possible need. There's one cell tower close to my home, and I charged a large battery and my devices at work each day, so I didn't even lose internet access. I lost running water, but easily melted enough snow for water for drinking, washing and toilet-flushing. I also used snow to keep everything in the refrigerator cold, and moved everything in the freezer outside into a cooler. I was much happier than the neighbors 1/2 mile each way.

Unfortunately, we're facing an unseasonably warm September. I'm not sure what I'll do if power's out for several days right now. I can buy water and dry ice from town, but will the internet pipes freeze up? ;-)

In response to another comment, I took a look at the 50g, and at the Prime and very nearly bought the 50g right then. I noticed, though, that I can get a used 48gx for $200-$250. It's a hefty price difference, but there's zero learning curve. Maybe I'll think about it for another year or so. . .

Take a look on Amazon for the HP50G for $87. It reviews well, and the top reviewer appreciates the feel of the keys. I bought an HP35S for the PE exam a few years ago, and keep it for a backup in case my 48GX dies, but I don't really like it. Unless it's directly on a desk surface*, it frequently misses the "enter" and the "+" keys. You can imagine, I'm sure, that missing any key can be a real pain in the ass. Also, the stack on the HP35S is frequently too small for my needs; doing simple statistical work on it sucks; it has very little unit conversion; and, memory available for programs is just too damn small.

I've been waiting, but you may have helped me make up my mind to buy the 50G, instead of trying to find a used 48GX

I also noticed that HP is making one that they call the "prime." It sells for $115, and I have no idea about the keys. The top reviewer on Amazon loves the thing to death, but mentions that "RPN Mode" needs more work. If "RPN Mode" needs more work, I'm not sure that it'll be all that useful for me.

*I tend to put my calculator on my engineering pad, or perhaps on a reference book while I'm doing calculations.

It hasn't been open-book since, at least, 2000. When I took it, I was given a small booklet with useful equations and a pencil. The only materials I was allowed to bring were my calculator and my coffee. (Maybe I had an eraser, too. When I took the PE exam, they wouldn't even let me have my own eraser.)

They disallowed calculators like the HP-48 beginning in 2000, the year I walked into the exam with an HP-48. Thankfully, the proctor allowed the calculators because NCEES had done a poor job of informing examinees. I doubt that there were more than a handful of students who had anything besides a graphing calculator, with the HP-48 being the clear majority. I'll be in bad shape when that calculator finally dies.

*shudder* This made me think of Repo Men.

Unfortunately, those sensors sometimes fail. With no "call," then one direction may never get a green light. (Of course, if this happens, then the tech will call an engineer to get a timing plan, then go out and reprogram the faulty controller, if it's not networked.) Freezing conditions, et c. can ruin in-ground loop sensors, and optical sensors can become befuddled by fog, snow and sun. Radar-based sensors are becoming more common, and because they're mounted on an arm or on a pole, they can be replaced more easily than the inductive loops.

It's called signal preemption. Opticom is IR-based, and in fairly common use. There are several other systems available for signal preemption, including:

• --GPS-equipped vehicles communicate with a control center, which does the preemption,
• --audio-based, which react (hopefully) to a siren,
• --rf-based.

There may be others, but these are the ones I'm familiar with.

Article four, clause 1 includes the text:

This is the basis for the conclusion that we have a specifically protected right to travel.