aka: Skyrien.
scientist, engineer, pursuer of knowledge, maker of things
And now, with today drawing to a close, I’ve fully accepted the fact that I have now entered my thirties! I’m reminded of the Friends episode where everyone turns 30, and got to say “zomg! I understand now!”
I have much to reflect on, and having read my post from ten years ago (when I turned 20), I’m realizing the full extent and speed of life. Ten years is substantial! Life!
http://korn19.ch/coding/days.php
It’s May 9th 2015, around the world yesterday and today were commemorations of the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II*, the most apocalyptic conflict the world has ever seen, and hopefully will ever see. It’s with an odd detachment that I reflect in this history while sipping a Starbucks frappuccino in Hawaii. For those of my generation, the world we live in is truly the product of our (great-)grandparents’ history, and seventy years seems such a short time ago for the transformation of everything.
(*In Europe, but for the sake of remembrance, let’s say WWII)
If anything gives us perspective into the relative insignificance our problems today, it should be the what the Greatest Generation endured through those few terrible years, which for the dwindling millions still alive today, remains a living memory, and for the rest of us, a foundation of our world we enjoy today. So powerful was the impact of that one terrible War that every single person that lived then and is alive today has been shaped by it and the world order that emerged from its ashes.
In middle school, our class had the privilege of being the audience to veterans of the War. This was in the spring of 2000, when an estimated 5 million US veterans remained alive, mostly in their 70s and 80s. I remember being told that we were very fortunate, as we may be the last generation of children privileged enough to meet and hear their stories first-hand. Recent statistics I’ve read suggest this is likely to be true, as 15 years later, fewer than 1 million vets remain, many in declining health. Still they gather, to remember what they can of a War that will soon become collective history.
Out of deference to the Greatest Generation, even with their first-hand accounts, I admit that I will never truly understand what it was like to live through this crazy period of our modern history, but it’s also with mixed feelings that I reflect on all that was destroyed and lost. How horrible is it that so-called civilized nations would take upon themselves as their national agenda to inflict such vast destruction on each other, drafting mere children, young men and women to slaughter each other and civilians by the millions across the lands of others. Why did this piece of history have to happen? And could it happen again?
Growing up in the United States, my perspective of the war was one where the Allies had no choice but to enter, with the US dragged in by the attack on Pearl Harbor, and fuelled by the just need to fight fascism of Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan. Given the stakes, it can’t be disputed that it was a just, necessary war. But as I’ve grown up, I’ve taken a more balanced perspective from the eyes of a global citizen looking back at humanity’s collective history. The sheer scale of the conflict in aggregate eludes any sense of individual comprehension. That the powers of the so-called civilized world could allow, as national policy, the absolute carnage that was the slaughter of nearly 100 million men, women, and children–most of which had no care in the world of the ambitions of the war’s executioners–defies rational understanding.
As an adult, I’m left with the disturbing realization that even those executioners of the war were mere humans, like you or I–humans, acting out of some sense of purpose and necessity. The victims, were everyone else–all innocents–whether they were the kids drafted into the conflict of their national leaders, or even worse, the victims of ethnic hate and mechanized genocide, and the unthinkable suffering of peoples and families in lands that were laid in waste through the conflict.
We live in an age today where we can, and should, learn to take a global perspective of the War, where the pain and anguish caused to peoples across all nations should be remembered, as to prevent such horrors from ever again touching our common human history. This responsibility is on all of us, and in a world where more nations are democracies than ever before, we must hold our leaders accountable to ensure that the long peace since the War remains a lasting peace for us and our succeeding generations. With the weapons of war at our disposal today, this is an imperative for our survival as a civilization.
It is with this understanding that I have come to further appreciate the international order that came to rise from the ashes of the conflict, not least of which includes the United Nations. Founded in the tail end of the conflict, and remains to this day (albeit imperfect as it is) a body devoted to international peace, it is an incredible common achievement of nations, given the years of horrors that preceded it.
It is certainly an imperfect body, but given that no major power has gone to direct war with each other since it’s founding, I find its role highly successful given its initial goals. The founding document is the United Nations Charter, a sort of constitution if you will, encompassing a shared treaty of all member states, which today is basically all the countries of the world. If you’ve never read the preamble, I encourage you to do so, if anything, to understand the common will of peoples just emerging from the ashes of the greatest destruction that mankind has ever inflicted on itself. For the sake of the lazy, I’ve included the text below.
May we all become more enlightened of our common history, and our individual roles to protect the peace that cost so many millions of lives.
Accordingly, our respective Governments, through representatives assembled in the city of San Francisco, who have exhibited their full powers found to be in good and due form, have agreed to the present Charter of the United Nations and do hereby establish an international organization to be known as the United Nations.
Signed, June 26th, 1945
Ratified, October 24, 1945
A few weeks ago, Seattle City Light sent out an offer for a free residential LED bulb as part of the Operation LED campaign. I hadn’t gotten around to buying one yet as I still have plenty of CFLs around, so I was pleased to take advantage of the offer, which, as far as I can tell, is still available here online.
Mine arrived today, and I was expecting something much cheaper, but no! This is actually quite a nice bulb, a Phillips Dimmable 60W equivalent light, selling for $8.25 a piece on Amazon, as of this writing.
After using it for a while, I can say that I’m sold, and will be buying LED bulbs exclusively from now on. With price points for conventional bulb-replacements as low as they are, the only thing stopping me from replacing my entire home setup are that my current CFLs are still going quite nicely. Those guys last!
Seattle City Light’s regular mailings suggest that they care quite a bit about responsible generation and consumption of power, and are often engaging the population on these topics. They are proud of how they’ve come along in being carbon neutral, and it’s commendable. Some 96% of grid provided electricity under Seattle City Light comes from renewable sources, and I’ve been impressed at some of the larger initiatives around solar power including community solar farms that they’ve undertaken. Rather than just an agency to take your money, it, to me, as a public utility, it seems like they recognize their role in ensuring the region’s resource management is sustainable, and that engaging the population is a crucial part of getting the citizenry involved.
Of course, as a voting member of my municipality’s public utility, I expect as much, but I’m impressed with the LED campaign. Thank you, City Light, for providing me my first ever home LED! It was only a decade ago that CFLs became a mass market product, but alas, like all tech, innovations are quite disruptive, and I see very few benefits of keeping around CFLs over LEDs.
Now, onto the light!
The first thing I noticed after pulling out the bulb was that it wasn’t quite a bulb at all; more like a plastic halo around a thin/flat core. Not that I’m complaining; whereas CFLs had a myriad of components and intricate/delicate glass loops, the LED bulb was just a solid plastic core, simple and elegant, and felt quite durable.
It was fully encased in plastic, and felt quite sturdy, at least compared to glass light bulbs and CFLs; this one seemed like it would withstand a fall from a kitchen counter. Some earlier generation LED bulbs needed to incorporate a fan to prevent overheating, but this one seems to be entirely passively cooled and runs (mostly) silently. It does warn against using in a fully enclosed container, though it also states that it is suitable for use in damp conditions.
The overall shape is that of a flattened standard bulb, so fit should not be a concern for most settings. The standard light bulb socket (E26) is used here ensuring near broad compatibility.
I was concerned that there may be some trade-offs with the LED compared to incandescents or CFLs, but after a bit of use, I legitimately can’t think of any beyond the upfront cost. The color spectrum is stated to be 2,600K, and it felt quite warm indeed, at least at the level of the “natural spectrum” CFLs I had been using.
It was also quite bright! At only 10.5 W, it expends a mere sixth of the 60W incandescent bulb it replaces, and 40% less power than the CFL. More crucially it, allegedly, has a 22-year lifespan! That’s incredible, that a disposable product could last that long. Whoa.
If you squint really closely, you can make out the physical hoop where the light diodes are situated, but in most cases, it’s too bright to look at directly.
I was also curious to know how it would do temperature wise, and I was surprised at how hot it did get. While markedly cooler than incandescent or CFL-bulb temperatures levels, it felt quite warm to touch. I suspect this could be improved upon in the future, for perhaps a a next gen bulb may need only 5W, with less heat dissipated.
Even with this, this is a big step forward.
LEDs are awesome, and in early 2015, they’re reaching a price point where I’m fairly certain that their adoption will accelerate through this decade, and be the preferred source of light everywhere. The key benefits that I saw from my brief time with this bulb are:
Instant on – When you want it, it turns on as soon as you flip the switch, instantly, even faster than incandescent bulbs. This was not true for CFLs, many of which had a noticeable delay (up to a second or several seconds) between flipping the switch, and the CFL being warmed up and at full output.
Power efficient – CFLs were already quite remarkable in their efficiency, and LEDs take that another leap forward, saving yet another 40% in my personal case. There is less heat wasted.
Temperature tolerant – I had replaced a refrigerator bulb with a CFL, and was plagued by dim lighting due to the cold. LEDs on the other hand seem much more tolerant to the temperatures needed, producing far improved light. They’re also much cooler to touch than incandescent or CFLs, though I only ran mine a few minutes.
No mercury! – CFLs are known for their various warnings indicating the dangers of broken bulbs and often including obvious warnings that inside contains things like mercury, cadmium, and other potentially toxic substances. Not so for the LEDs, as far as I can tell, which is a huge step forward in safety.
Durable – The bulbs themselves, if they’re anything like this Phillips model, are far more durable and protected from damage (and injury to the user) than bulbs of previous varieties. I suppose they’ll need to be to weather 22 years of use.
Long lasting – Incandescent bulbs lasted some 2000-4000 hours at best, CFLs last some 8,000 hours, and LEDs an incredible, 25,000 hours! Under given use cases, the methods would last 2-3, 5, 20-years, respectively. I remember reading that the light bulb industry deliberately reduced the lifespan of their bulbs, in order to sell more replacements. So, hooray for pro-consumer changes that throw out that strategy, in favor of innovation-driven replacements.
So, overall, I’m pretty pleased! Thanks again Seattle City Light!