Solar System PET

smackaholic · Post by **smackaholic** » Tue May 15, 2012 1:57 pm

Yeah, 84 in houston would be pretty unbearable. Even Floridians think Houston humidity sucks. If your humidity got a few points higher, you'd need scuba gear.

Mikey · Post by **Mikey** » Tue May 15, 2012 2:42 pm

84 is warmer than I like it, 78 would be better but we try to run the AC as little as possible. But, like smack says, 84 in LoCal isn't like 84 in Houston. The hottest days here are also usually the driest. 84 in the shade is quite comfortable if there's any breeze at all and you're not doing physical labor. Our summertime highs rarely get over the mid 90s and then the humidity is 15% to 20%, or lower. At night it cools down nicely and I just sleep with the windows open and a fan on. It can be quite hot outside but the house will stay fairly comfortable until mid-afternoon with no AC. When I work at home on Fridays I'll sometimes turn it down to 80, and I'll wear shorts and just jump in the pool if it gets too hot.

smackaholic · Post by **smackaholic** » Tue May 15, 2012 4:26 pm

84 @ 15% humidity with a ceiling fan going should be reasonably comfy, maybe even slightly chilly. when we took our RV (with worthless cab AC) into the desert a few years back, I just kept my T shirt wet. Funny how you can actually feel almost cold in 110 degree weather with a wind blowing over a wet shirt. Of course, it only stays wet for 5 minutes. You go through a lot of water that way. Swamp coolers work pretty nice, so long as you aren't in a swamp.

Left Seater · Post by **Left Seater** » Tue May 15, 2012 5:29 pm

Ovens also produce a dry heat, but I don't want to hang out in one.

Mikey · Post by **Mikey** » Tue May 15, 2012 5:44 pm

Left Seater wrote:Ovens also produce a dry heat, but I don't want to hang out in one.

LOL. I used to say that when I lived in Vegas. What we have is nothing compared to that dry heat.

smackaholic · Post by **smackaholic** » Tue May 15, 2012 7:10 pm

Given the choice of vegas oven heat or houston crockpot heat, I think I'd go with vegas. fukk hot and humid.

Moving Sale · Post by **Moving Sale** » Tue May 15, 2012 8:16 pm

Left Seater wrote:Ovens also produce a dry heat, but I don't want to hang out in one.

Don't you live in Tx?

Left Seater · Post by **Left Seater** » Tue May 15, 2012 9:15 pm

Yes, I live in Texas. Hot and humid sucks just like sitting in an oven sucks.

Moving Sale · Post by **Moving Sale** » Wed May 16, 2012 1:05 am

Left Seater wrote:Yes, I live in Texas. Hot and humid sucks just like sitting in an oven sucks.

So you don't want to live where you live but you have the means to live someplace else? That doesn't sound very smart.

mvscal · Post by **mvscal** » Wed May 16, 2012 3:20 am

Mikey wrote: At night it cools down nicely and I just sleep with the windows open and a fan on. It can be quite hot outside but the house will stay fairly comfortable until mid-afternoon with no AC.

Yep. Just open it all up at night and close the windows and blinds during the day and it stays pretty cool. I run my AC maybe two weeks or three weeks a year.

M2 · Post by M2 » Wed May 16, 2012 4:58 am

KC Scott wrote:Minnesota laughs at Texas humidity

Not a chance in hell.

For those of us that travel the road and spend 2 to 3 months a year in these locations... the only thing Minnesota has over Houston is Mosquitoes. You can fly on the back of those things in Minnesota.

There isn't a place in this country with the humidity that Houston has... and it's not even close.

My electric bill ran around $500-600 a month on average during the year and I was only there about 6 months a year. You need to keep the AC running all the time even if you're not there. There's a couple of months in the winter where you don't need it.

As a U.S. General from the 1860's once wrote:

"If I owned Texas and Hell, I would rent Texas and live in Hell”

I haven't had to used my AC once in the Bay Area over the last 5 years.

The 50's, 60's, 70's and 80's... year round is your friend.

Mikey · Post by **Mikey** » Wed May 16, 2012 5:07 am

Yeah, I never heard of AC growing up on the Peninsula.
But then again, you rarely could swim in the ocean without a wetsuit either.

M2 · Post by M2 » Wed May 16, 2012 5:26 am

Mikey wrote:Yeah, I never heard of AC growing up on the Peninsula.
But then again, you rarely could swim in the ocean without a wetsuit either.

I think the Peninsula down near Redwood City, etc., those towns just seem to run together to me... have the best year round weather. Seems like it's in the 60's in the winter and 70's in the summer even when it could be in the 90's and 100's in parts of the other Bay Area.

Mikey · Post by **Mikey** » Wed May 16, 2012 5:51 am

Yep, in the foothills behind Your Favorite University. It could get pretty hot sometimes in the summer but nothing like the East Bay could do. Drive straight over the mountain through La Honda to San Gregorio and you could hang out on a beach with no other people in sight. The drive was almost an hour on narrow mountain roads, and you could get to Santa Cruz almost as fast but that just wasn't the same. Turn off on Skyline Blvd., drive a couple of miles in either direction and you could go wandering off in the woods with no worries.

M2 · Post by M2 » Wed May 16, 2012 6:09 am

I'll admit... those towns off the el camino are pretty nice, but they're too close together for me and not very breathtaking .

It seems we all end up being close to what we grew up with. I gather you're close to the coast just above San Diego and can stay out of the smog that LA and Orange County sends down to you along with their shitty ass hot desert weather.

Goober McTuber · Post by **Goober McTuber** » Wed May 16, 2012 12:33 pm

M2 wrote:It seems we all end up being close to what we grew up with.

Sweaty male butt-sex?

Left Seater · Post by **Left Seater** » Wed May 16, 2012 2:56 pm

Sure I could live somewhere else, but climate isn't the only factor in where to live. When August rolls around you usually see a vacation PET from Lefty.

Moving Sale · Post by **Moving Sale** » Wed May 16, 2012 7:01 pm

It sounds like it is no factor at all which is kinda weird since you said you don't want to hang there.

Left Seater · Post by **Left Seater** » Wed May 16, 2012 7:46 pm

What?

I prefer cold to hot, but then I far prefer many other things about living in Texas.

How can you not understand?

Moving Sale · Post by **Moving Sale** » Wed May 16, 2012 7:51 pm

Dude I will NEVER understand living in TX I was just kind of wondering how you could, but it sounds like the answer is that you don't really put as much stock in your local weather as your post about living in an oven might indicate.

Derron · Post by **Derron** » Wed May 16, 2012 10:24 pm

What is this heat and humidity you speak of ?

ORZ006-WAZ039-170645-
GREATER PORTLAND METRO AREA-GREATER VANCOUVER AREA-
INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...PORTLAND...FOREST GROVE...BEAVERTON...
GRESHAM...OREGON CITY...LA CENTER...BATTLEGROUND...VANCOUVER...CAMAS
239 PM PDT WED MAY 16 2012

.TONIGHT...PARTLY CLOUDY IN THE EVENING...THEN MOSTLY CLOUDY. LOWS
AROUND 45...EXCEPT AROUND 40 IN OUTLYING AREAS. NORTHWEST WIND 5 TO
10 MPH.
.THURSDAY...CLOUDY IN THE MORNING...THEN PARTLY SUNNY. HIGHS AROUND
65. WEST WIND 5 TO 10 MPH.
.THURSDAY NIGHT...PARTLY CLOUDY IN THE EVENING...THEN MOSTLY CLOUDY.
LOWS AROUND 45...EXCEPT AROUND 40 IN OUTLYING AREAS. NORTHWEST WIND
5 TO 15 MPH.
.FRIDAY...MOSTLY CLOUDY IN THE MORNING...THEN PARTLY CLOUDY. HIGHS
60 TO 65. LIGHT WIND BECOMING NORTHWEST 5 TO 10 MPH IN THE
AFTERNOON.
.FRIDAY NIGHT...PARTLY CLOUDY. LOWS AROUND 40. NORTH WIND 5 TO
10 MPH.
.SATURDAY...PARTLY SUNNY. HIGHS AROUND 70.
.SATURDAY NIGHT...PARTLY CLOUDY. LOWS 40 TO 45.
.SUNDAY...PARTLY SUNNY. HIGHS AROUND 75.
.SUNDAY NIGHT...MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A 20 PERCENT CHANCE OF RAIN. LOWS
AROUND 50.

BSmack · Post by **BSmack** » Wed May 16, 2012 11:14 pm

smackaholic wrote:Given the choice of vegas oven heat or houston crockpot heat, I think I'd go with vegas. fukk hot and humid.

Vegas? You ain't seen heat until you've been in The Valley of the Sun.

Q: You know what the Heat Index is in Phoenix when it is 117 degrees and 15% humidity?

A: It's 117 FUCKING DEGREES!!!!!!!!!!!

It is so hot in Phoenix that the pools need air conditioning.

ucantdoitdoggieSTyle2 · Thu May 17, 2012 1:58 am

Only DOHRON could do a copy/paste from a website whose formatting is just as ugly as his posts.

Left Seater · Post by **Left Seater** » Thu May 17, 2012 2:03 am

Moving Sale wrote:Dude I will NEVER understand living in TX I was just kind of wondering how you could, but it sounds like the answer is that you don't really put as much stock in your local weather as your post about living in an oven might indicate.

Why am I not surprised that you wouldn't understand no state income tax, a housing market that didn't crash, people that will look you in the eye and shake your hand, charitable giving, and an economy better than most.

Also, your reading comp needs help. My comment about ovens was related to Vegas. Something Mikey got right away and further commented on to help people like yourself who missed it the first time around.

Mikey · Post by **Mikey** » Thu May 17, 2012 2:09 am

Texas is more like a vegetable steamer than an oven.

M2 · Post by M2 » Thu May 17, 2012 4:22 am

Papa Willie wrote:Houston doesn't have M2's and TVO's in it, so that makes it a far superior place to live in than anything in California by default.

You really are this stupid.

M2 · Post by M2 » Thu May 17, 2012 5:28 am

Papa Willie wrote: we consider you an inferior.

Who are these imaginary friends of yours... tubby ???

We'll be waiting.

Moving Sale · Post by **Moving Sale** » Thu May 17, 2012 5:37 pm

LS,
No what you said was

Left Seater wrote:Ovens also produce a dry heat, but I don't want to hang out in one.

Followed by...

Left Seater wrote:Yes, I live in Texas. Hot and humid sucks just like sitting in an oven sucks.

So you don't want to hang out in an oven and where you live is as bad as living in an oven and yet you still do it but you want to live there even though you just said you didn't.

Etch-a-sketch moment much?

As for your list of great things about TX...

no state income tax- Not too familiar with your tax structure, how does TX make $ then and why is that any better than taxing income?

a housing market that didn't crash- Neither did the SLO housing market

people that will look you in the eye and shake your hand- people do that here

charitable giving- HUH? You crornered the maerket? WTF are you talking about?

an economy better than most- But worse than SLO

And our weather doesn't suck and we have hills and the ocean plus lakes and mts close by and clean air and... and...

Derron · Post by **Derron** » Thu May 17, 2012 5:52 pm

Moving Sale wrote:
And our weather doesn't suck and we have hills and the ocean plus lakes and mts close by and clean air and... and...

Clean air ?

Nice people ?

and you in SLO...???

Fuckin shit hole state..

Derron · Post by **Derron** » Thu May 17, 2012 5:53 pm

ucantdoitdoggieSTyle2 wrote:Only DOHRON could do a copy/paste from a website whose formatting is just as ugly as his posts.

Yeah with out pictures you just can't understand..I get it...

Van · Post by **Van** » Thu May 17, 2012 5:53 pm

SLO > anywhere in Texas. That one's a no-brainer.

Smackie Chan · Post by **Smackie Chan** » Thu May 17, 2012 5:57 pm

In his sig, Van wrote:Smackie Chan, smug DJ extraordinaire

C'mon, now. Smug?

Moving Sale · Post by **Moving Sale** » Thu May 17, 2012 5:58 pm

Geography smack about a place I don't live? Really Duhron?

Nice job supertard.

Van · Post by **Van** » Thu May 17, 2012 6:05 pm

Smackie Chan wrote:
In his sig, Van wrote:Smackie Chan, smug DJ extraordinaire
C'mon, now. Smug?

That night? Absolutely. ('Sup, 'Sray.

)

Anyway, okay, would you prefer 'giddy'? In addition to being smug, you were also like Smackie Hopped Up On Meth. I'd never heard you sound so peppy.

Smackie Chan · Post by **Smackie Chan** » Thu May 17, 2012 6:06 pm

Van wrote:
Smackie Chan wrote:
In his sig, Van wrote:Smackie Chan, smug DJ extraordinaire
C'mon, now. Smug?
That night? Absolutely. ('Sup, 'Sray. )

Anyway, okay, would you prefer 'giddy'?

Smug it is.

Van · Post by **Van** » Thu May 17, 2012 6:08 pm

Shit, you responded too quickly.

:P

Left Seater · Post by **Left Seater** » Thu May 17, 2012 7:51 pm

Moving Sale wrote:
no state income tax- Not too familiar with your tax structure, how does TX make $ then and why is that any better than taxing income?

a housing market that didn't crash- Neither did the SLO housing market

people that will look you in the eye and shake your hand- people do that here

charitable giving- HUH? You crornered the maerket? WTF are you talking about?

an economy better than most- But worse than SLO

And our weather doesn't suck and we have hills and the ocean plus lakes and mts close by and clean air and... and...

Let's see.

Both states have a sales tax and in Texas we pay about .375% more.

Both have property taxes. The rate is higher in Texas, but the payments for a similar size and quality house are lower in Texas due to inflated prices in CA.

Both states have to pay gas taxes, which CA pays 30 cents more per gallon.

CA has an income tax that tops out at 9.3%, while TX doesn't have one.

SLO has an unemployment rate of 9.7% as of March 2012, while we have 6.6% here. This rate is climbing in SLO while falling here. (per bls.gov)

Non farm wages are growing in both for year over year by month, but in SLO it declined for three of the past six year over year months, while growing each of those months here. (per bls.gov)

Business is continuing to leave CA while business is continuing to relocate here.

So how is it that the SLO economy is better? Just because you say so?

Oh, we also have hills, lakes, and a huge body of salt water. Our mtns are only an hour plane flight away.

So yes your climate is better, but I will still take TX over CA any day.

Van please keep letting everyone you know in CA how SLO is better than anything TX offers. We would prefer they stay there too, way too many have found their way here in the last 4 years.

Mikey · Post by **Mikey** » Thu May 17, 2012 7:58 pm

I'm wondering how much TX gets from oil and gas extraction fees (taxes, whatever) per bbl or CCF compared to CA. From what I hear the oil and gas companies are getting off pretty easy here.

Goober McTuber · Post by **Goober McTuber** » Thu May 17, 2012 8:25 pm

So where are your panels coming from, Mikey?

The U.S. Commerce Department on Thursday assessed penalties against solar panels imported from China, the latest move in a sun power trade dispute.

The decision was viewed as a victory by solar panel manufacturers, including Helios USA in Milwaukee, but was criticized by a coalition of installers and inverter manufacturers who said it would drive up the price of solar panels for consumers.

The finding follows up on a similar move in March in unfair trade practices complaints filed by domestic solar panel manufacturers like Helios. They charged the Chinese were unfairly dumping panels in the U.S. at prices below the cost of production.

Helios makes panels that are more efficient than typical solar panels because they can generate more power using the same amount of space. The firm was expanding last year, until a flood of imported panels in the market prompted it to cancel one of its production shifts.

Tariffs proposed Thursday range from 31% for several key panel makers, including Suntech and Trina, as well as duties of up to 250% on certain other Chinese solar panel manufacturers.

In addition, the Commerce Department decided that the tariffs should be retroactive, meaning they will apply to Chinese panels over the last three months.

The decision represents a victory for SolarWorld USA of Oregon, which led the fight, as well as other domestic solar manufacturers.

According to an analyst interviewed by Bloomberg News prior to the ruling, any tariff of at least 10% could be considered a victory for domestic manufacturers.

The domestic solar manufacturers released a statement praising the preliminary ruling.

“Commerce’s ruling in the SolarWorld case is a bellwether decision,” said Steve Ostrenga, chief executive of Helios. “It underscores the importance of domestic manufacturing to the U.S. economy and will help determine whether the country will be a global competitor in clean technologies or outsource them China. It is also critically important for thousands of U.S. workers.”

But a coalition of installers and other groups lobbied against the move, saying it would escalate prices and reduce sales of inverters made by U.S. firms.

“Today SolarWorld received one of its biggest subsidies yet – an average 31% tax on its competitors,” said Jigar Shah, president of the Coalition for Affordable Solar Energy, in a statement. “What’s worse, it will ultimately come right out of the paychecks of American solar workers.”

Mikey · Post by **Mikey** » Thu May 17, 2012 9:02 pm

I wouldn't buy the Chinese crap at any price. OK maybe if they were free. They have basically no QC to speak of, no consistency from one lot to the next of equipment with identical labels. They probably cut their wafers with melamine, too.

The panels that we're using (and they're already stacked in my yard) are made by Sharp. They have a relatively long track record of reliability and qualtiy. It's a Japanese company but the panels are assembled in Memphis, TN and they qualify under the "Buy American" clause of ARRA.