@Freddie DeBoer:
Ah, that is a different matter altogether. Note that the flag is hoisted on the foremast, and that the smokestacks are all linked to each other and the two masts by a network of stays (or "cables" for all you landlubbers). My guess is that the stacks were not self-supporting, and since tying them together like that would leave the two outer stacks only supported in one direction, they had to add the masts in there to give bidirectional support to all four stacks. Does it make sense now?

Other uses for the masts would be that little white box on the foremast, which I'm pretty sure is a crowsnest used to (unsuccessfully) watch for navigation hazzards, and they probably had a radio antenna strung up on one or both masts to get greater range.

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But my biggest question? Why did the glasses shake, and not the boobies? Why!!

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Honestly, if you don't want to keep sending alkalines to the landfills, start buying the newer hybrid NiMH batteries instead, like Sanyo's Eneloop brand. They'll hold some portion of their charge for over a year, so once the remote stops working properly all you have to do is drop them in the charger overnight. Alternately, simply realize that unless you're one of those idiots who spends more time channel-surfing than actually watching something, alkalines should last you a few years if they're fresh. Alternately-alternately, if you use alkalines in other devices, simply realize that a remote control uses a fraction of the amount of power that, say, a camera uses, so once your batteries stop working in a different device, put them in the "for use with remotes" pile, and swap them out as necessary (you were already going to throw those batteries out anyways, and now you don't have to pay to recharge batteries just for your remote).

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From what I've read, Greenpeak hasn't done much more than lower power requirements slightly, and stick some non-replaceable lithium batteries in the unit, which depending upon usage, could either be fantastic, or extremely annoying. I'd prefer to see manufacturers utilize a system where rechargeables in the remote could be charged by docking the remote to the television or stereo receiver, amplifier, etc.

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"Green Peak is hoping its technology gets combined with a new RF remote control standard called RF4CE being developed by Panasonic, Philips, Samsung and Sony. We could see a lot more RF remote controls being included with HDTVs and Blu-ray players in the fall. But Green Peak's name won't be on any of them, despite what you see in the picture. They're selling their technology to folks who make the remote controls."

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