Word: thermostat
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...what it can do for the country than at any time in three decades, Bush only talked about sacrifice on the battlefield, not on the home front. Whether out of fear of linkage between the war and oil, or a wariness of doing anything reminiscent of the sweater- wearing, thermostat-lowering Carter Administration, Bush devoted just 30 seconds to the crucial question of energy policy...
...course, not everyone has reacted as I have to the weather. My physics major roommate has begun ground-breaking research on a thermostat-controlled pajamas. My actor roommate uses the weather to inspire soliloquies set in the Arctic North. And my humanities roommate divides his time between exploring the ontological implications of "cold" and using the lack of "artificial heat" as a creative pick-up line...
...feet and warm ceilings, a gently rotating fan will even things out so you don't have to turn the heat up so high. (In summer switch the direction of the blades and increase the speed. The wind chill will make it feel like 72 degrees, even though the thermostat's set at 78 degrees.) A ceiling fan, says the weather lady, takes no more energy than a 100-watt light bulb...
This mathematics turns out to be surprisingly useful for controlling robots, machine tools and various electronic systems. A conventional air conditioner, for example, recognizes only two basic states: too hot or too cold. When geared for thermostat control, the cooling system either operates at full blast or shuts off completely. A fuzzy air conditioner, by contrast, would recognize that some room temperatures are closer to the human comfort zone than others. Its cooling system would begin to slow down gradually as the room temperature approached the desired setting. Result: a more comfortable room and a smaller electric bill...
...raise, recommended by a salary-review commission composed of wealthy Washington insiders, will automatically go into effect this week. But last week Wright, who had steadfastly refused to schedule a vote on the pay increase for Congress, judges and other high-ranking Government officials, tried to turn the thermostat down a notch. He conducted his own confidential poll of House members -- with results startlingly different from those obtained by news organizations. Nearly 60% of the lawmakers told Wright they wanted the raise to go through without a vote. Polls in which members were named and positions stated showed upwards...