Our Bright, LED future

Our lighting class is going pretty well. The teacher has a very clipped German accent, very monotone, but varying in volume especially when condemning incandescent bulbs, praising T8 fluorescents, or depicting our bright, LED lit future. The class is actually very good because the professor gives us what we need to know and how to apply it in the field of lighting design. It's a fairly technical class, we're learning about corresponding color temperatures, color rendering indices, lumins per watt, and a lot of optical stuff about illumination and intensity. He is adamant about telling us never to specify incandescents (regular light bulbs) because they use three to four times the amount of energy of an florescent, are only 10% efficient, and have a very short rated bulb life. The only things going for them which make them so attractive are their initial low cost, easy replacement, and the quality of light they produce is warm and renders colors beautifully. However, their high energy use, low efficiency, and short lifespan has led California to ban them in some regard, exactly which I can't recall. Our teacher predicts that within 3 years, several other states will follow suit. For now, he recommends standard fluorescent lights for almost everything, with an eye on LED lights which should soon surpass fluorescents on efficency, cheapness, and brightness.

Speaking of changing technology, I thought I had lost my old 1 gigabyte jumpdrive between Buenos Aires and Tempe, and I had been hurting for it already this semester, so I went out and picked up a new one to replace it when I heard of one on sale. My 1 gig jump drive I picked up about a year ago for about $80 which was a screaming deal at the time. The 2 gig jump drive on sale was a mere $30. Of course, a few days later I found my old jump drive in a shirt pocket that had been packed away, but its good to have the expanded portability. I have heard that the school print shop is now using the latest jump drive sticks which can hold 8 G of data. Its beyond my comprehension.

Studio is about the same. Our teacher will be gone to a conference tomorrow, so its another work on your own day. I'll upload some images when I have something interesting to show. Nothing too much else going on, still working on my major list of things to do. Paid my graduation fees yesterday. $18. I wonder what they want it for. Maybe its for the diploma and the cord? Who knows.