Andrew Ferguson
Rejecting Your Reality and Substituting My Own Since 1986
Subscribe to RSS FeedCost of Christmas Lights
A friend of my had a concern as to the cost to keep the Christmas lights on during this holiday season. As it so happens, I have a specialty in electrical systems. So, how much does it cost?
Let’s assume 5 strands of 150 lights each, for a total of 750 lights. We’re going to be old school and use the regular “white” Christmas lights, not LED’s. Christmas lights use “about 25 watts per 50-bulb strand”[1][2]. 750 lights is electrically equivalent to 15 50-bulb strands, or 
Thus,
Remember, that’s if you left the lights on all the time for two straight months. If you left them on for 8 hours a day instead of 24 hours, that would be $6.48.
Similarly, if you only used 2 strands of 150-bulbs each for 8 hours a day, that would be $2.59.
Or, if you used 2 strands of 50-bulbs each for 8 hours a days, that would also be grand total of 86.4 cents.
Point being, it doesn’t cost all that much to run your Christmas lights. It costs an order of magnitude less if you use LEDs, which use about 0.05 to 0.07 watts per a bulb. Move the decimal one place to the left on the above costs and you have a pretty good idea of what it costs to run an equivalent[6] LED string of lights.
And that’s how engineering works, folks.
NB: I’m experimenting with using 
- HowStuffWorks [↩]
- GreenOptions reports consumption for each mini-light at about 0.5 to 1 watt [↩]
- http://www.seattle.gov/light/accounts/rates/docs/2009Oct_rsc.pdf [↩]
- assuming you’re a residential user and use less than 16kWh/month [↩]
- kWh is a funny measurement and is actually not time based. For example, a 100 watt bulb that is on for one hour uses 100 watt-hours of energy. Similarly, a 100 watt bulb that is on for 30 minutes uses 50 watt-hours of energy. [↩]
- by number of lights, not output of light [↩]
Tags: Christmas lights, cost, electricity, energy, LaTeX, LED, power, watts
For the week of 2009-11-22 in Tweets
- remedied a mistake I made five years ago and got my #U2 tickets. #fb #
- is testifying in a mock trial. I'm a 36 year old car salesman. #fb #
- @jessegamble Dick's in reply to jessegamble #
- just realized that I really don't have any bonafide peers at work. #
- Closed out my #WaMu, er, #Chase accounts. It was my first savings and later my first checking account. I almost shed a tear. Almost. #fb #
- is gonna be in Colorado in < 24 hours! #
- @jackie1776 Stand By Me with @wilw in reply to jackie1776 #
- probably has the best friends in the world #fb #
- At the airport. UA 742 #fb #
- Vacation commencing in 3…2…1…Yeaaaa #fb #
- @lastmidnight WHAT??!?!? You hadn't been yet?? Crime against humanity! in reply to lastmidnight #
- @TrinitronX for sure. what are your plans for tomorrow daytime? and where is this "blue ice" place…and what is it? in reply to TrinitronX #
- My computer still works on the Mines network! #
- watching Glee makes me want to take voice lessons. #fb #
- RT @samuelgoodwin: @AndrewFerguson is wearing pants! Omg! #
- @jackie1776 it is the breakfast…and lunch…and dinner of college students in reply to jackie1776 #
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Getting Touchpad to Work with Windows 7
I’ve been using Windows 7 on my Toshiba M700 Tablet since the RTM was available on MSDN a couple of months ago. And it’s been great! No kidding. There were a handful of drivers I needed to download from Toshiba, but everything just works, except for the mouse.
Well, that’s not entirely true. The mouse works just fine. It’s all the special features that don’t work. And that’s not the fault of Microsoft, it’s the fault of Toshiba for not having the needed drivers.
Today though, I got sick of it. One of my biggest issues is that while I’m typing, my hands are very near the touchpad, practically on top. And more often than not, I’ll ever so gently catch the touchpad with my palm, and reposition the cursor. It drives me nuts. Fortunately it hasn’t been an issue because most of the time my tablet is docked at home. However, now that I’m on vacation and using it on the go, it’s been a huge issue.
The solution was easy though. After searching through some forums, several people noted that version 7.2.303.107 of the Alps Pointing Device Driver was working for people using all sorts of laptops with Windows 7 (including Dells).
The best place I found to get it was from the Toshiba Drivers Download Site for the Portege A600. Select “Touchpad” from the categories and click “Alps Pointing Device Driver (32/64bit) (v7.2.303.107; 10-06-2008; 7M)” from the results. It’s designed for Vista 32-/64-bit, however I’m using it on Windows 7 64-bit just fine.
Problem solved!
Tags: 7.2.303.107, Alpa Pointing Device, Dell, driver, mouse, Toshiba, Toshiba Portege M700, touchpad, Windows 7, Windows 7 64-bit
Vacation Time in Colorado
Sweet merciful days of awesome! Vacation is here! This is my first official vacation since starting work (I’ve had a couple of sick days, but no fun days off as of yet). I can’t help but chuckle that as my first vacation destination, I’ve chosen to return to the scene of the crime my alma mater. I worked so hard to get away and now I can’t help but return, must be some form of Stockholm Syndrome.
I touched down tonight in Denver at 8pm. I don’t really have plans for Thursday, so who wants to hang out?
Friday is an awesome episode of The Feed, but I’m free in morning and early afternoon.
Saturday is pretty open, except for around dinner time.
Sunday is open except for after 7pm when I’m hoping to head over to Merge.
I’ll be around Monday, but I’m hoping to hang out with Brother if he’ll let me.
Tags: Colorado, Merge, Stockholm Syndrome, The Feed, vacation
For the week of 2009-11-15 in Tweets
- my tuition reimbursement just cleared, and that makes me very happy. #fb #
- @kel_m according to wakoopa, i used facebook for just over 3 hours last week at home in reply to kel_m #
- @iansltx what are your thoughts on the #droid? in reply to iansltx #
- is learning #Perl….yea, I know I'm about 20 years behind the game. #fb #
- @TrinitronX saying, "use ruby" is like saying, "drive American." unless you back it up with facts about *why*, i will just ignore you in reply to TrinitronX #
- @kel_m Scuttle, from The Littler Mermaid in reply to kel_m #
- @kel_m Credit goes to Jeff Staples in reply to kel_m #
- The "N" came off today #
- @SAASAlumni Yes, I'd love to submit something. Is there a theme? Guidelines? in reply to SAASAlumni #
- hanging out in walla walla with the grandparents #fb #
- @mattmatt you made it to @Scobleizer iphone list: http://bit.ly/3sK8rW congrats! in reply to mattmatt #
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In BOSS Magazine
I think I would categorize this under “Creative Commons Success Stories.”
I was contacted a few months ago by publication company, Alter Communications, inquiring if they could use some of my photos in an upcoming issue of BOSS magazine, a quarterly publication for Dixon Valve & Coupling Company. This was during my Europe trip and I happened to be in Turkey at the time; but I was able to work everything out over email with Kim, the senior graphic designer, in just a few hours – which I think is quite amazing. All I really wanted was a byline credit and some copies of the magazine when it came out, and Kim was happy to provide both.
Fast forward to about a week ago, a flat package arrived for me at home. Inside were a couple copies of BOSS magazine, with a personal note (hand written, none the less) thanking me for the use of my pictures. I was pretty stoked. You can see the online version here: BOSS Magazine Fall 2009, or swing by my place if you want to see the hard copy.
Boss Magazine/Fall 2009 – Pages 12-13:
Boss Magazine/Fall 2009 – Page 14:
As a side note, these were the still in the days[1] I was shooting JPG[2]. To be honest, the photos weren’t that good, at least in my opinion. Had they been RAW, I would have been able to do quite a bit to pretty them up. But hey, if it works: it works!
Here are the original pictures: Fireworks moments before colapse and The Stardust collapsing.
- Jeez, I make that sound like it was 20 years ago or something..it was about 3 [↩]
- instead of RAW, which I do now [↩]
Tags: Alter Communications, BOSS Magazine, Creative Commons, Dixon Valve & Coupling Company, JPG, Stardust, Turkey
Designing The Brunton: 2009-2010
Earlier this year, I was asked if I would like to work on designing the front cover of The Brunton. Despite everything I was trying to get accomplished, I took this task on a way get some creative exercise. Working with the Student Activities Office (the department responsible for publishing The Brunton), I was able to come up with a pretty spiffy design:
I was also able to draw on my extensive collection of photos to pick 12 photos for display on the inside:
Left to Right, Top to Bottom: Andrew Ferguson ‘08 as an Enginerd, Mines Women’s Rugby, an Engineer participates in Engineering Days activies, Eileen Sullivan ‘09 bores a hole in a rock during Engineering Days, Audrey Nelson ‘07 enjoys a powder day, Lance Atkins ‘09 and Nicole Zambon hiking Mt. Democrat, the Mines Marching Band during Homecoming, Ben Keiser ‘07 stands in the Orecart during the march to the state capital, Blue Key member Corinne Johnson ‘09 gets doused in whitewash while supervising the M-Climb, new LED lights on the M, Paul Johnson ‘08 is Marvin the Miner along with Blaster.
It was a pretty fun project and didn’t take too much time. The Student Activities Office was kind enough to give me a lot of creative control, with only a few requirements. I also got a credit and a short biography on the first page of the The Brunton, which I thought was pretty spiffy:
Front cover and calendar photos taken by Andrew Ferguson, 2009 CSM graduate with a Degree in Engineering, Electrical Specialty. Front cover designed using a USGS topographic map of the Golden Quadrangle (7.5 minute series).
Over the course of his five years at Mines, Andrew amassed a wide variety of photos through his work with The Oredigger and personal projects.
After graduating, Andrew returned to the Seattle area to work in the aerospace industry. You can follow him on his blog and see more of his photos, from Mines and around the world, at http://AndrewFerguson.net.
All of the photos used in this year’s Brunton are of Mines students or places related to Mines
Update: I found some of the original designs I was working with. This was after the stage where I picked the initial photo to use on the front:
Version 1
Version 2
Version 3
Version 4
Version 5
Version 5b
Tags: Audrey Nelson, Ben Keiser, Corinne Johnson, design, Eileen Sullivan, Golden Quadrangle, Lance Atkins, Matt Matteson, Nicole Zambon, Paul Johnson, published work, rugby, Student Activities Office, The Brunton, The Oredigger, topographic map, USGS
For the week of 2009-11-08 in Tweets
- back from my first retreat as a high school youth leader. ready for vacation. #fb #
- is going to Haiti on a mission from God #fb #
- i parallel parked a 15-passenger van today. on my first try. i am that awesome. #
- has been accepted to NSCC #fb #
- is enjoying #thunderpocalypse in seattle #fb #
- Talked to girls at a bar #
- is brewing beer. Well, my roommate is brewing beer. #
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For the week of 2009-11-01 in Tweets
- Why can't all my weekends be this good? #fb #
- lol, slightly amused at all the friend requests being made after the retreat #
- Check out one of my first websites before Geocities deletes it: http://geocities.com/starbase156/index.htm #
- got a random gift certificate from amazon…weird, but cool #fb #
- still doesn't have a halloween costume #fb #
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Operation Water Engineering: A Mission Trip to Haiti?
For several months now, shortly after I saw The Advent Conspiracy, I have wanted to be involved in humanitarian/missionary projects to bring clean water to places that don’t have it.
Last semester (Spring 2009), I was part of a group at Merge (Flatirons Community Church) that was looking for opportunities for college-aged people to be more active in mission work. It was at that point that I started developing more passion for using my engineering skills to serve other people, specially with regard to getting access clean water.
A specific idea I had was doing what I’ll call “emerging technology transfer.” The idea is that we would take some form technology and extract the emerging technologies out of it to be put to use in different ways. For example, technology in a Toyota Prius, could be used to design a wind turbine where the blades would be made using the same composite technology[1], which would connect to a generator that is based on the regenerative braking system. The same motor-generator system would also be used to power the water pump. Excess energy would be stored for later use in NiMH batteries ius. And for the cloudy days, the efficient gas-engine could be used. There are other issues, such as: will they be able to maintain this equipment? So I digress.
Convergence, the Young Adult Ministry at University Presbyterian Church, is going on a mission trip to Haiti in January to “come alongside UPC ministry partners Bruce and Deb Robinson as they serve the Haitian people through various community development initiatives, mainly through flood control projects.”[2]
From upcconvergence.files.wordpress.com:
We will be doing a variety of work, ranging from irrigation projects, rebuilding structures damaged during hurricane season, and more. We will primarily work on construction projects. If you have specific professional skills, we will inquire to see if they might be useful to the community. In addition, you will get to see how God has been working through the Robinsons during their time in Haiti.
As it turns out, I do have specific skills that could probably be useful. I have a passion for the project, I can get the time off, and I can mostly afford the trip (if I decide to go, I may ask for some fund raising help). I’ve also never been to Haiti before, which would sort of tack on a bonus country to my Travel the World goal.
But there’s still that hint of reservation…is this what I should be doing?
- I actually don’t know if such technology is used on the Prius, just assuming here. [↩]
- http://upcconvergence.wordpress.com/mission-trips/haiti/ [↩]
Tags: Advent Conspiracy, Bruce Robinson, clean water, Convergence, Deb Robinson, emerging technology transfer, Flatirons Community Church, Merge, Prius, Travel the World, University Presbyterian Church
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