Double fisted

I realize Bethany is putting up a picture of Silas every day, but I couldn't pass this one up from dinner. Healthy chunk of crusty bread in one hand and lightly steamed asparagus in the other. I love that he's getting to eat real food.

The Easter Bunny is dead

Huffing natural gas, died of asphyxiation.

Back on the bike!

I'm happy to report that I'm back on the bike after the surgery and commuting again! It feels great. My legs are complaining some, as I don't really know how to hold back on the hills. The shot above is a poor representation of how pretty the ride this morning was. It was sort of cold (mid-20's), but clear and sunny.

Family hike and run

I wanted to go for a run today, but also wanted to spend time with everyone. So, we all went over to Millvale across the Allegheny River to enjoy the nice snowy day. Well, at least those of use that like to go that far. Max (our cat) stayed at home. Guthrie and I took off and ran while Bethany and Silas strolled around and enjoyed the scenery at a slower pace.

The picture above is looking upstream at the 40th Street Bridge. Below is looking south across at Lawrenceville.


Guthrie was so happy to get out. The city looked pretty in the misty distance.


Yes, wet and muddy.

Guthrie got wet and cold, but much of the mud came off. Not a bad trade off, as we were heading to the car.

And, we eventually caught back up with Bethany and Silas on their way back from Mr. Small's Skate Park.

Inside at the races

I have been testing out the newly sewn-up guts to make sure that biking feels fine before I get back on the road for commuting. It does. Silas rode along with me yesterday. He seemed to like it. I'm hoping I can hook him on biking, canoeing, and running before he realizes that most people don't like to work so hard.

Melon study

After I recently clippered my hair all off, we took some pictures of Silas and me to show that his hairline looks nothing like mine. :)

Lighting questions on building science blog

Sorry for these cross-postings.

On my HGTVPro blog, I am asking for help from the community in compiling a comprehensive list of things people want in the lighting design of a house. If that strikes any of your fancies, please check it out and comment over on my Building Science blog post on lighting on HGTVPro.

Thanks.

Last of the canoe pics: Anuses of Pittsburgh

Some last photos from the river.

Spelunking by canoe

Kevin noticed a neat culvert or outlet into the river when we were out the other day. I couldn't pass up exploring it, despite the vague odor of sewage. It was a dry day and had been, so I was pretty sure we wouldn't be caught by any sudden deluges and flushed back out into the river.

It was a really neat experience. The acoustics were awesome. This was on the north side of the river, so the sun shone in for a little distance and reflected in further. There was a slight trickling sound of water far in. I got in far enough to see it, as shown below. Where the cross section changed from round to rectangular, it got too shallow to continue. The hips of my canoe were pretty close to touching both sides at that point, so it was pretty definitive. It was too narrow to turn the boats, so we had to backpedal to get out.

The photos are in chronological order, so go from the river inward.




Pretty much dark by this point. A little dim light. The pictures were only possible because of the flash. There was a weird sensation that just up ahead where it was dark, there was a huge pit and waterfall into somewhere much more subterranean. Of course, one would be able to hear such a thing, but that didn't stop the overactive imagination. It was kind of exciting.

Post on my official building science blog

I'm still trying to figure out how trackbacks work. On my HGTV blog, I put up a new post about strategies for conserving energy on miscellaneous electric loads. It's pretty dry, as it is more or less a cut and paste job from my work for our 2008 annual report to the Department of Energy. I've neglected that blog, so I felt it was fair to cheat. :)

Actual URL of the post: http://blogs.hgtvpro.com/hgtvpro/building_science/archive/2009/02/some_thoughts_of_energy_conser.html

Trackback URL: http://blogs.scrippsnetworks.com/cgi-bin/mt/mt-tb.cgi/1848

Canoeing the Monongahela River pt. 3: More Walls

The river has such a crusty history. Some of the old hints at the riverbank's former 'usefulness' are really interesting. I have no idea how some of the things we saw fit into the bustle of industry that was once here, but I enjoy looking at them.

The photo above is one of the supports of the Hot Metal Bridge. The last photo of the strata that can be found along the river was particularly fun. The building is part of the Pittsburgh Technology Center.

Canoeing the Monongahela River pt. 2: Wall

About a mile and a half upriver, we came across a fascinating iron (steel?) retaining wall.

First canoe excursion of the year

Kevin and I took advantage of the nice weather today to get out on the Monongahela River for a nice paddle. 3.42 miles. ~2 hours. 254 photos on Eric's camera. Unknown number on Kevin's.

Some pictures will follow. But not tonight, as it's bedtime for me.

New construction lighting issues and a blower door

Here are a couple of pictures from two nice houses we consulted on recently. I wanted to show some of the funky lighting that happens when there are a bazillion people working on things and not all of them give a shit.

In the picture above, I'm not sure the architect intended the sconce to be where it is. Even if he did mess up and not realize how spacially challenged that location is, the electrician and site super both should have caught it and had it fixed prior to final fit and finish.

Below, there are several things I can nit pick about the kitchen lighting, most of which aren't visible in this picture. However, I want to point out how important it is to choose light fixtures and/or bulbs that have the same color characteristics, especially in an indirect lighting use. The recessed can and pendant lights are fine for color, but the two undercabinet areas are lit completely differently. The one on the left has a warm light (lower color temperature) and the one on the right is bluer and has a higher color temperature (cool white light). Yes, it's confusing that warm white light has a lower color temperature than the cool white light, which has a higher color temperature. But then again, this is from an industry that calls bulbs lamps and lamps luminaires... In any case, the fixture on the right should be longer to fill more of the space over the switches.


The picture below is of a blower door. It is essentially a nylon sheet to block the door and a calibrated fan. You depressurize (or pressurize) the house to a certain level below (above) the outdoor pressure. From knowing the pressure difference and the flow rate through the fan, you can estimate how airtight or leaky the house is. It's a fun, but sort of painstaking, process. Half the time I've done it, I've finished up and am putting things away when I realize I forgot to close all the windows all the way or block the dryer vent (known hole). Then we have to redo it. I don't usually do this type of testing, so I'm not as good at is as the guys who do it all the time.

We recommend this type of testing on every new house to be able to know the envelope was built tightly. I recommend it also to existing houses because it can help the homeowner make decisions on what projects to tackle first to get the biggest benefits from retrofits.

When I leave for work

It's hard to get up and leave the family in the mornings...

Coffee cup musings

Coffee. It gets me through the afternoons. This is my favorite coffee cup in the office. There are three of identical manufacture, but this one stands out to me. There are lots of other mugs here, but they're all too large. Too much mass. Too much coffee. Not set up for good sipping. The smaller mugs reduce my coffee intake, saving my liver from certain death.

The bit of personality that makes this particular cup special to me is that it has a small crack. The handle is actually only fully attached at the bottom. The top is sort of vee-connection now. The crack profile aligns and supports the handle side to side, but not against the torque induced by lifting the cup by the handle when it is full of coffee. Every time I pick up this beautiful piece of imperfection, there is a slight shift as the top part of the handle separates ever so slightly. Perhaps I have heightened senses, but I would swear I hear the tiniest 'chink' as it pops into its loaded equilibrium position.

Some day, this cup will dump hot coffee all over me and my keyboard. I love the uncertainty and adventure I experience every time I pick up the mug. The little things get me through my days.

Part of the cycle

Where does the soul go? When does it go? Is there a soul to depart? What connects and coordinates those entropy-loving neurons, cells, molecules?

This young creature only got to grow as large as Guthrie, our dog. Must have been hit on the road above and then dropped down to the trail.

Maybe the saddest part is that there may possibly be a cycle for this soul, but there is no cycle for the body. Some city worker will pick this adolescent deer up, throw it in a plastic bag and then in a truck. It'll eventually make it's way to some stratum in a landfill to be compressed into a jelly, never to decompose properly and become food for carrion beasts, worms, and microbes. Not to be born into new life for eons, perhaps.

Well, maybe we'll start mining the landfills sooner than later, speeding up the process.

I suppose the cycle is still there. We just screw it up for a while, as is typical.

First run of the year

I made it out for my first run of the year yesterday. I had to take a month off because of the surgery and recovery, but I'm feeling good. I went out for a casual 2 miles on a nice, sunny Sunday afternoon. Bethany, Silas, and Guthrie strolled along the Eliza Furnace Trail while I ran and then we continued to stroll together for a bit. Guthrie was so happy to get out. Between me being cooped up, and Silas taking up so much of Bethany's time and energy, the poor dog spends much of his time on the couch either sleeping on licking one of his paws raw.

Below is a funded mural on the large retaining wall that supports the Parkway East and an entrance ramp up to the highway from Bates St. It cracks me up that the little description calls it public art, but they covered up all the other 'public art' in the area with gray paint. Evidently, the only art that can be public has to be officially consigned.

Below are some shots from and of the Hot Metal Bridge. It was an important bridge in the steelmaking heyday and the war effort in WWII. The bridge was a rail line between the blast furnaces and rolling mill of a steel plant.