Engineering, Management, Technology Consulting
I just found this on Adafruit, well, actually from Limor Fried on Google+.
Formulas and variables and integrals and derivatives: to the casual observer it looks like you’re doing MATH. But you’re NOT. Because when you solve for x, things EXPLODE. You’re doing ENGINEERING. Shirt created, designed and supplied by David Malki ! http://wondermark.com/
Perhaps you are like me and wandered out recently to Home Depot to purchase a replacement bulb. I realized that starting in January the bulb choice was going to change and at Walker Engineering we are always eager to put into practice energy efficiency so I was confident that I was going to purchase a Compact Fluorescent Light (CFL).
What I ran into was indicative of the graphic below showing all the different types that are available today. And while Mo works daily with the issue of lighting and energy tax credits I was stuck with my prior experience (unsatisfactory bulbs, too white, slow to light) with CFLs and a helpful Home Depot staff unable to explain the Color Rendering Index or the Kelvin Color Temperature scale.
I ran across the article Almost Time to Change the Bulb in the NYTimes and it did address many of my experiences. Mo adds the advice to this authors that it is best to test through the bulbs you like and are going to use in a room or area prior to selecting paint. Also painting a test swatch is very important now as the color perception you and others have is going to be affected by the color rendering and your own background.
If you were stymied by being unable to get a warm look to your wood floors with water based floor coverings, something that matches the fading polyurethane you may have grown up with, this choice is going to really challenge you.
Get a notebook out and place it in the cupboard with your replacement bulbs, write down your choice and the detailed specs on the bulb and your comments and observations on the replacement. Like wine, you are going to forget what you liked and disliked by the time you do the next bulb. And as Bob Tedeschi points out, the manufacturers are still working on new types of bulbs.
The question is not how many people does it take to screw in a light bulb, but how many does it take to buy a light bulb.
I converted to a standing workstation over the last month. I have an update on rookie mistakes. Don’t assume that just because one stands a lot of the day, the conversion won’t mean changes. The improvement I have made is the mat. Always one to hunt for a bargain I turned to a nearby Home Depot intent on purchasing EVA Foam Flooring to ease the concrete floor more than the ancient shop pad I was using. One of the floor people kindly directed me around the end of the aisle to where the Martha Stewart Living Anti-Fatigue Western Weave Mat was located. I pulled all the mats out and bounced and stood on them and the Martha Stewart clocked in as the “cushiest” by my scientific study. For $20 it is also the easiest on the wallet.
I write this standing on the Martha Stewart Anti-Fatigue mat from Home Depot. I am very impressed with the immediate improvement. I will let you know if it doesn’t hold up. At $20 this is an upgrade that pays for itself.
Walker Engineering believes in spending time as well as money on activities that matter. One sustainable practice we support at Walker Engineering wherever possible is the locavore movement.
Last year when biking across the country, I was fortunate enough to accidentally run into the Meadowview Farmers’ Guild which is actually the Harvest Table restaurant recently featured in the NYTimes.
On Saturday we were off to visit the Coast Range’s Tallest Waterfall and watch people who never took statics or dynamics try to master these concepts under duress. On our return we took time to eat at the Blue Goat Restaurant in Amity, OR to support a wonderful restaurant trying to provide a locavore experience close to Portland. Beautiful town, especially with all the wineries.
Blue Goat Restaurant506 S. Trade Street
Amity, OR 97101
(503) 835-5170
I was researching Standards to complete a project just the other day and I stopped to ask myself why I always explain to people why standards are NOT the bible of design. Standards for kitchen cabinets were set to lower costs and support a “non-use” kitchen as baking was going out of style and the argument goes on and on. Strong Towns caught my eye with this article I link to from Grist Confessions of a Recovering Engineer. I have included an excerpt below:
When they objected to the cost of the wider, faster, treeless road that would turn their peaceful front yard into the viewing area for a drag strip unless they built a concrete barricade along their front property line, I informed them that progress was sometimes expensive, but these standards have been shown to work across the state, the country, and the world, and I could not compromise with their safety.
In retrospect I understand that this was utter insanity. Wider, faster, treeless roads not only ruin our public places, they kill people. Taking highway standards and applying them to urban and suburban streets, and even county roads, costs us thousands of lives every year. There is no earthly reason why an engineer would ever design a 14-foot lane for a city block, yet we do it continually. Why?
The answer is utterly shameful: Because that is the standard.
