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The Feature Creep

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Electricity Allergy?

03/29/2006 6:47 PM

It looks like there is a rise world wide of people who suffer from, what is being called "Electromagnetic Sensitivity". The symptoms are headache, fatigue and problems sleeping. While both the industry and doctors are still unable to say for certain that this condition exists they do have this to say.
"Power quality is a well-known problem in the utility business, caused by the proliferation of computers, lighting dimmer switches, energy efficient bulbs, and other modern electronic gadgets. These new devices cause a more complicated use pattern for electricity than old-fashioned items such as incandescent bulbs, producing negative feedback involving high-frequency peaks, harmonics and other noise on electric wiring."
However one industry leader has this to say about the phenomenon, which generally is fixed by installing $1000 USD to install filtering.
"The utility industry's Mr. Sahl is skeptical about efforts to improve power quality, which generally cost about $1,000 to handle one home, and calls them a "waste of money."
He agrees that the action may make some people feel better, but only because they're affected by the power of suggestion and not by the power of electricity. "I hate to be blunt about it, but there is this well-established effect in science and we've studied it over and over and it's called the placebo effect."
Personally I don't think that people can be this sensitive to EM radiation. Maybe sharks and other highly sensitive animals, but I'm not sure. Bunk or fact?
Here is the link to the rest of the article.

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Guru

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#1

be suspicious

03/29/2006 11:32 PM

Be suspicious of any story that also wants to sell you a solution for $1000. We are constantly awash in electromagnetic radiation unless you happen to live inside a Faraday cage and then it's only reduced not eliminated. Except for the occasional Gamma ray it is all non-ionizing which does not alter chemical composition. I am not saying that they will never prove some effect but so far most of the studies that have claimed to have observed even the slightest effect have been found to be flawed. If there were any effect that was not at the threshold of detection it seems that we would have proof by now.

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The Feature Creep

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#2
In reply to #1

Re:be suspicious

03/30/2006 8:03 AM

I don't think that they are trying to sell you the service; I think they are pointing to the fact that removing line noise and spikes seams to remedy the problems. Personally I think that adding the dollar amount a bit sketchy; they could have just said "without expensive filtering added to the home."
AS for detection, I agree with that. maybe as the great Dire Straits once said, they just have Industrial Disease.

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#4
In reply to #2

Re:be suspicious

03/30/2006 3:58 PM

I too am allergic to electricty a couple of yrs ago I was closing a lg control panel & had trouble w/ the disconnect handle. I reached in to line up the rod & got stuck on the 480v primary of the 110v transformer. I could smell the skin burning. I had to concentrate to tell my Right arm to pick up the Left. Now whenever I deal w/ electricity I BREAK OUT in Caution! Seriously if I spend long periods of time VERY close to lg. power conductors, It gives me a headache. I'm talking inches from 50amps of 480v. Don't ask [ I'm pretty sure it wasn't a OSHA approved activity ] Garth

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Guru

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#16
In reply to #1

Re:be suspicious

04/11/2006 12:06 AM

Magnetic-Belts & Bracelets had long been used in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Srilancka since pre-WWII & some people claimed that they got releif of certain types of body pains. I do not know how?
But if you see different modes of medical cures in the whole world they may be if not millios but thousands like:
Alopathy, Homeo, Aaver-Wedik [India], Tibb-Uunaani [Roman Medication in Indo-Pak sun-continent]
Oco-Puncture, & a lot.
Every mode is generally accepted all over the world.

So why not EM Radiations?
I hope if some-one recalls of listening to RadioStations thru "X-tal Sets" just am aerial [Antenna] connected to a Xtal of Antimony thru cat-whisker to headphones.
We had been ignighting Flouroscent Tubes & Large Neon lamps near Aerial-Yards.
So energy [EM] is in there all around us.

Why warnings to switch-off Mobiles in Gas Stations are displayed?
More over "Prolonged use of Mobile Phone may cause cancer" had been a hot topic.
Bunk or fact?

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Power-User

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#3

"Electromagnetic Sensitivity"

03/30/2006 3:40 PM

"Electromagnetic Sensitivity" eigh? ... If you're calling for a vote, put me down for "BUNK" Power quality is more of a problem due to the proliferation of large motors than it is due to any computers or low watt anything. The phase relationship of the 60 cycles of current flow and the inductive reactance of various motors do more to dirty up the quality of power than anything else. Perhaps the sensitivity is a problem with the misuse of certain electronic appliances, such as all night gaming sessions or using the microwave as a hair dryer.

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The Feature Creep

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#5
In reply to #3

Re:"Electromagnetic Sensitivity"

03/31/2006 8:40 AM

As someone who is fond of all night gaming sessions I hope that it doesn't cause allergies. Of course now that I'm married I don't really get to plug in to my computer for the 5-6 hours I used to.

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#7
In reply to #5

Re:"Electromagnetic Sensitivity"

04/04/2006 7:59 AM

Ho! ... Perhaps in the interest of full disclosure, I should say that I'm guilty of the all night gaming sessions too. Though, I've yet to use the microwave for a hair dryer.

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The Feature Creep

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#8
In reply to #7

Re:"Electromagnetic Sensitivity"

04/04/2006 8:28 AM

Considering how little hair I have left I'd rather not irradiate it =)
As for all night gaming sessions, I'd just be happy if I could keep City of Hero's from crashing every 45 min.

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#9
In reply to #8

Re:"Electromagnetic Sensitivity"

04/04/2006 11:27 AM

City of Heros? I'm still addicted to Halo, the first version. Just spent 3 days of a two day weekend on it. Err... I was checking out the graphics card in my recent purchase. Yeah, that's it. Hair? Vastly over rated. High foreheads are a sign of intellect. Yeah, that's it.

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The Feature Creep

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#10
In reply to #9

Re:"Electromagnetic Sensitivity"

04/04/2006 11:35 AM

I'm a MMORPG addict. My recently married status cuts down on that. I haven't played Halo more than 3 times as my twitch reflexes are a weeee bit to slow. I'm still debating getting Half-life 2.
As for the hair, my wife tries to tell me that its from having to much testosterone =)

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#11
In reply to #10

Re:"Electromagnetic Sensitivity"

04/05/2006 1:59 PM

The Grandsons tried to get me into ORPG. For some unknown reason, it didn't take. I played Diablo II, which is a hybrid RPG / 3rd person shooter, and enjoyed it for quite a while. Then the repetitive nature of the game got to me.

Halo requires good hardware to enjoy it. I recently antied up for an iMac G5 2GHz, which has a decent 128MB graphics card. Then I got a high resolution mouse. That's when the fun began. Halo is only partially about the twitch. There is more emphasis on strategy throughout the game.

Perhaps I'll get into the MMORPGs when I have more time. Like retirement in 2010.

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#12
In reply to #11

Re:"Electromagnetic Sensitivity"

04/05/2006 2:11 PM

My wife and I play Diablo II on occasion. She hates it when I play a Necromancer with @20 pets that kill everything on the board and then asks me why I never attack anything. =)
I do have a good computer set up, I built it myself and made it so I could play Doom 3 at full speed. However when I installed it I couldn't see a darn thing so I stopped playing. (If you've played Doom you know what I'm talking about.)
If you are looking for a low maintenance MMORPG City of Hero's is good; there are noon of those stupid grinding out repetitive tasks over and over and there is a monorail that takes you from place to place.

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#13
In reply to #12

Re:"Electromagnetic Sensitivity"

04/05/2006 11:09 PM

Thanks! I'll give it a try. I love exploring virtual worlds. I can't help but marvel at the capability of the programmers to create such stunning 3 dimensional spaces together with full AI characters. I get the feeling of being in a contained reality within another, my own reality. Playing on the HoloDeck of the Enterprise in Star Trek Voyager, Elite Force added another dimension to the experience, too.

I also like simpler things, like exploring small rivers and lakes with little more than a canoe and an ice chest full of sandwiches and beer (and cokes and water of course).

Boy did we ever strey from the subject?

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The Feature Creep

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#14
In reply to #13

Re:"Electromagnetic Sensitivity"

04/06/2006 7:53 AM

I think the proper term for what we are doing is "thread-jacking".
As for exploring virtual worlds, we used to share the building I work in with a video game company. It was always great to hear them talk about what they were doing.
As for exploring the real world, I do plenty of that too. I was an Eagle scout and we did a lot of hiking and camping. My wife and I travel a lot too. We went to England and Scotland last year; deciding where to go this year. So far it's either Disneyland or Vegas.

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Anonymous Poster
#6

Too bad...

03/31/2006 8:44 AM

that the aluminum foil hats have now been proven to be ineffective! ;-)

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The Feature Creep

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#15
In reply to #6

Re:Too bad...

04/06/2006 8:32 AM

Not only were they proven to be ineffective, MIT students proved that they BOOST the ability of brainwave modification.(provided they exist and operate withing expected frequencies.)

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#17

Re: Electricity Allergy?

02/04/2008 9:24 PM

My theory is that it is not an "allergy" (poor use of the term by the way) to electro-magnetic fields, but rather an adverse reaction to high frequency sound coming from SMPS based electronics. Most of the effects that people are noticing are relatively recent to the modern world, i.e. the last 20 years, whereas widespread use of electricity has been a fact for almost 100 years now. The difference is, the "miniaturization" of electric and electronics devices by virtue of SMPS power components in the past 20 years. Some people are sensitive to the almost inaudible high pitched "whine" they emit, some of us are not. My wife is, I am not. If she is feeling her migraine headache coming on, she moves to a room with incandescent lamps and NO fluorescents (no CFLS either) and it instantly subsides. We used to think, like others, that maybe it was the strobe phenomenon of the FL lights, but then she also got it from having the laptop turned on in that room, even if the monitor was turned off. The thing they (FL lights and laptop PC) both have in common is a SMPS. She now has a study (room) in which she has NO SMPS based electronics or electrical devices and she retreats there whenever one of her migraines starts to come on. It immediately helps. She put a stereo in there while I was off on a trip last year and started having the migraines again. I replaced it with my old 1970's vintage component system (with linear power supplies) and solved the problem again. It solved the problem for us and I have recommended that to others who suffer, and THEY reported back that it worked for them to.

Think about it, we are all now awash in SMPS devices; PCs, monitors, flat screen TVs, fluorescent lights, CFL bulbs, audio devices, cell phones, clocks and small appliances with "wall wart" SMPS units, electric blankets, even many simple electric fans and heaters (with electronic fan speed control), dimmer switches, microwave ovens, even our large appliances all have electronics on them and they ALL use little high frequency Switch Mode Power Supplies inside. This anecdotal evidence is NOT scientific, but from my perspective, it's irrefutable.

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