Thanks, Mark. Coming from you that means a lot!

My computer is a heck of a system, and it does get used a lot. Even when I am not sitting at the keyboard, it is frequently working, downloading and transcoding audio books, running backups, etc. I spend a fair amount of time on the internet (including this bbs!), and I do not watch television, ever. (Nor does my neighbor, that's why TV sets were not mentioned in the catalog of electrical consumption.)

My computer is my vice, and since I do not smoke, nor drink, nor chase women (except for SWMBO), nor drive fast cars (my car averages 44 mpg on the highway!), nor indulge in fancy high-tech toys (I own a single very good point-and-shoot camera and an iPod Shuffle, and that's it), I consider myself entitled to one lavish extravagance.

If it costs me a bit extra to run it, oh well... A single 1KW solar panel will produce daily more electricity than my computer uses. I'll just consider the cost of the panel to be another piece of computer equipment.

tanstaafl.