David Herron's blog

The potentially never-ending cost of email attachments

July 13, 2011 - 8:36am — David Herron

What's the cost of sending an attachment through e-mail? The cost to you is essentially free except that it's amortized into the cost of your internet access arrangement. But what's the real cost? And what's the cost of all attachments sent every day? This may seem like a trivial question, but as we move towards "cloud computing" and storing everything, including our e-mail, in the cloud it's worth thinking about what it means and the various effects of storing our email or pictures or videos or social history in the cloud.

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The power of words to change the world

April 10, 2011 - 11:50am — David Herron

This short film illustrates the power of words to radically change your message and your effect upon the world.

External Media

Tracking Variations in the Earth's Magnetic Field

February 8, 2011 - 10:43pm — David Herron

Scientists have known for decades that the earth's magnetic field reverses from time to time, and that magnetic north fluctuates. Some wise guy (the Buddha) said once that everything changes all the time, and the only thing which doesn't change is the process of change. Anyway, the basic idea is that the magnetic field is not a static thing but varies and moves and changes.

Links:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2uIyUOAC1kU

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Measuring home heat loss through windows or pipes with a hand-held IR thermometer

December 8, 2010 - 11:49pm — David Herron

Earlier I wondered - Do window insulation films reduce heat loss in winter? That post links to a bunch of videos talking about using plastic films or other layers of plastic to sorta mimic multi-pane windows. The best insulated windows are apparently ones with multiple layers (multi-pane), but if you're like me and have a landlord it's not possible to swap out your single-pane windows for better ones. Maybe adding a sheet of plastic will add a good enough air layer to create some insulation effect. Maybe.

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Do window insulation films reduce heat loss in winter?

November 28, 2010 - 10:59am — David Herron

It's winter time and the noninsulated older house I live in is again cold. There's not a lot one can do with this old house, because the walls themselves seem to not be insulated (they're cold to the touch). But the windows are single pane and obviously a lot of heat is lost through them. Glass simply does not do much for insulation, though modern double or triple paned windows are much better. In my case this is a rented house, and it's simply not possible to install better windows. But something I can do without seeking landlord permission is to install window insulating film.

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What is life like from the iPad?

May 4, 2010 - 10:54pm — David Herron

Like somewhere around a million other people I have bought an iPad. It's a beautiful piece of technology. I know better than to believe Steve Jobs when he gushes about a gizmo on stage but gosh browsing the web with this thing really is a beautiful experience. And the size is good, the weight is light enough to slip into the backpack I take to work, and not notice the iPad. That backpack already carries one laptop and if it carried two, that would be too much. With a laptop and iPad it's okay.

Is it life changing? That remains to be seen.