Go Blackle
For those of you who do not know, there is a website search engine called Blackle, www.Blackle.com. It is powered by Google, so it is providing you with the same search engine. What is the difference? Why, the color of course. Blackle’s screen is, as the name suggests, black, and powering a black screen takes up less energy than powering a white screen.
I would love to end this post right now because I am in the middle of my own personal pity party and you’re not invited, but I feel like an energy saving tip is a poor excuse for a blog post, so I feel compelled to write something else.
Today, I went to the library and checked out the following books:
The Uses of Enchantment by Bruno Bettelheim (because I saw it on the shelf and thought it looked interesting)
The Man Who Mistook His Wife For a Hat and Other Clinical Tales by Oliver Sacks (because a friend recommended it)
The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien (because another friend recommended it)
Heroes, Villains, and Ghosts: Folklore of Old California by Hector Lee (because I saw it on the shelf and thought it would be nice to know about local area folklore; perhaps I can take the kids to these places and scare them into avoiding bad behavior)
Language and Mind by Noam Chomsky (recommended by a friend)
What does this tell you about me?
1. If you recommend a book to me, I WILL read it–or I’ll at least check it out from the library and try to read it.
2. I am prone to impulse buys. I realize I’m not technically buying these books, but the behavior is the same in a bookstore.
3. In three weeks and one day, I will owe the library $1.25 and counting.
EDITED TO NOTE: Blackle only uses less power if you use a CRT monitor (no school like the old school). If you use an LCD less than 24 inches, Blackle uses more power. Now you know.
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Thanks for the tip of Blackle. I’ll have to give it a try.
As for books, I recommend “Eat Pray and Love”, if you haven’t already read it.
For a wonderful story, try “Malokai” by Alan Brennart.
Ooh! “The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat” has some fascinating stories. I was just thinking of Oliver Sachs cuz he has a new book out and I wanted to go back and read TMWMHWFAH.
Re Chomsky: zzzzzzz. Let us know what you think. I couldn’t pick it up.
I’m going to recommend “The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay,” just because I love it. And it you don’t already have it, you must own “I Like You” by Amy Sedaris.
Haven’t read good ol’ Noam since grad school classes–boy you’re in for some light reading huh?
Any chocolate nearby? That could help
That’s a seriously eclectic reading list. I am very intrigued by the title “The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat.”
Thanks for the blackle tip. I’m going to start using it.
I have a similar relationship with my library.
Except I currently owe $40 for two DVDs. One that my kid stepped on and broke, the other that I swear I didn’t check out, since Sponge Bob isn’t allowed in my house.
Noam Chomsky, bleh. But I LOVE The Uses of Enchantment, which really made me vow to read more violent stories to my kids. That oughta learn ‘em.
I love parties! As if you didn’t invite me to yours!
Now I want to recommend something completely unexpected to you. I will be thinking about it for weeks.
Blackle may be using MORE energy than a white Google or other search engine.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Syp4uzvcSo
I prefer using Greenle, and I’m helping the environment - FOR REAL !
The Carbon Neutral Search Engine also offers black background search using Google Custom Search but offsets a minimum of 100g of CO2 per search. I read on the Google Blog the other day that their research suggests that a black background may use more energy too.
There are around 17 different versions of “black google” online. The best one I’ve found is http://www.cleanblack.com. Cleanblack is the only version that allows you to change the text colors of the google search results. Try it yourself by going to http://www.cleanblack.com/theme/