I have been trying to make a house a bought in the Washington DC area more efficient. honestly been amazed with my 1950s cinder and brick construction house's ability to retain heat and cool. It has minimal to no insulation I have been adding a mylar or aluminum type reflective system to it as I go. (the walls are not thick enough to contain the normal insulation and i do not want to shrink the room that much)
I do not have huge amounts of money for the project and DC is a bloated and super expensive market. I have been doing the work myself while going to a normal job. as result I have had to deal with a house with NO A/C this summer (since February). I will admit it has not been that fun but it is actually livable with a ceiling fan on low and the windows open well into the upper 90s (F). Which is a far cry from the "new" construction I see and have lived in built with wood (stick built) houses.
I picked this house because it was small (100 sqft), built well, and the utilities really centrally located and it had some real character (I could see the gorgeous small home it would make at the end of the day ). Even during the coldest winter nights I could keep everything from freezing with a simple space heater set on low.
I know in my reading about passive solar heating they talk about thermal mass and I read a few articles out of university of Alaska on insulation which mention it. I think the thermal mass of the block and mortar construction of my home helps keep it cooler also. (I find minimal information on cooling mostly heating)
the brick or stone construction method requires less painting (or vinyl covering). Future maintenance is minimal and generally tends to last longer. That alone makes it seem to be a more over all energy efficient home. as you need less energy to build and re-build the home with age. I am assuming the "stone" takes less energy to mine and build then to produce the vinyl. I could be wrong though. I never had proper time or resources to really delve into that aspect.
I wonder if it is better to use stone then wood and if the overall energy costs of the stone are lower over the long term? it is an interesting thought i don't have answers to only speculation.
From the article: "Kids think it must be pretty boring to go into high-tech because if you do, you're a geek," says Archey. "We have to do a much better job showing how exciting the world of technology is." and "Money can help fuel interest. So, certainly the average high-tech salary of $75,500 in 2005..."
I got into CS because I was interested in it. I am having trouble finding a CS position that is not a cleverly masked IT job. I find that similar to the immigrant orange pickers and low level construction jobs these are jobs that most Americans don't want. This is why they are getting "outsourced". I have taken a non-paid technology directorship to fuel my interests in the CS venue where I can actually do some real work.
Basically, I have a paying job that is boring; I hate it and am looking for a better one. I am looking for a CS job where I have power and control and I can work on interesting problems. I personally think these companies are having trouble finding people because they are not offering real salaries and benefits for the up time demands they levy on their employees. The "IT" people are rarely ever at a managerial level and have to jump through hoops for people that know nothing about technology. You need to work very hard to stay up to date and they don't pay for that level of commitment. When I go into interviews they offer paltry pay and average benefits. then expect me to be on call all the time and not get overtime pay. The jobs are very low level in the company and normally there is some guy that knows less then me that is supposed to be my boss. Why would I want to work in these types of companies?
One commenter states many IT people are working in stores and selling cell phones. I have considered leaving the industry as I can make the same money and have less stress working in other fields. I just can not bring myself to do it because I really like what I do when I can actually get my hands wet in CS type stuff. It is getting harder and harder to actually get my hands wet with anything interesting while getting paid.
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Why is the web special? I don't think I was even given the option of formal education for protection/safety in the so called "real world"?
I have been trying to make a house a bought in the Washington DC area more efficient. honestly been amazed with my 1950s cinder and brick construction house's ability to retain heat and cool. It has minimal to no insulation I have been adding a mylar or aluminum type reflective system to it as I go. (the walls are not thick enough to contain the normal insulation and i do not want to shrink the room that much)
I do not have huge amounts of money for the project and DC is a bloated and super expensive market. I have been doing the work myself while going to a normal job. as result I have had to deal with a house with NO A/C this summer (since February). I will admit it has not been that fun but it is actually livable with a ceiling fan on low and the windows open well into the upper 90s (F). Which is a far cry from the "new" construction I see and have lived in built with wood (stick built) houses.
I picked this house because it was small (100 sqft), built well, and the utilities really centrally located and it had some real character (I could see the gorgeous small home it would make at the end of the day ). Even during the coldest winter nights I could keep everything from freezing with a simple space heater set on low.
I know in my reading about passive solar heating they talk about thermal mass and I read a few articles out of university of Alaska on insulation which mention it. I think the thermal mass of the block and mortar construction of my home helps keep it cooler also. (I find minimal information on cooling mostly heating)
the brick or stone construction method requires less painting (or vinyl covering). Future maintenance is minimal and generally tends to last longer. That alone makes it seem to be a more over all energy efficient home. as you need less energy to build and re-build the home with age. I am assuming the "stone" takes less energy to mine and build then to produce the vinyl. I could be wrong though. I never had proper time or resources to really delve into that aspect.
I wonder if it is better to use stone then wood and if the overall energy costs of the stone are lower over the long term? it is an interesting thought i don't have answers to only speculation.
I think this is a great for anyone to attempt!
From the article:
"Kids think it must be pretty boring to go into high-tech because if you do, you're a geek," says Archey. "We have to do a much better job showing how exciting the world of technology is."
and
"Money can help fuel interest. So, certainly the average high-tech salary of $75,500 in 2005..."
I got into CS because I was interested in it. I am having trouble finding a CS position that is not a cleverly masked IT job. I find that similar to the immigrant orange pickers and low level construction jobs these are jobs that most Americans don't want. This is why they are getting "outsourced". I have taken a non-paid technology directorship to fuel my interests in the CS venue where I can actually do some real work.
Basically, I have a paying job that is boring; I hate it and am looking for a better one. I am looking for a CS job where I have power and control and I can work on interesting problems. I personally think these companies are having trouble finding people because they are not offering real salaries and benefits for the up time demands they levy on their employees. The "IT" people are rarely ever at a managerial level and have to jump through hoops for people that know nothing about technology. You need to work very hard to stay up to date and they don't pay for that level of commitment. When I go into interviews they offer paltry pay and average benefits. then expect me to be on call all the time and not get overtime pay. The jobs are very low level in the company and normally there is some guy that knows less then me that is supposed to be my boss. Why would I want to work in these types of companies?
One commenter states many IT people are working in stores and selling cell phones. I have considered leaving the industry as I can make the same money and have less stress working in other fields. I just can not bring myself to do it because I really like what I do when I can actually get my hands wet in CS type stuff. It is getting harder and harder to actually get my hands wet with anything interesting while getting paid.