built environment

my business is regional, with a global reach via the web. i’m an online member of the apple consultants network, based primarily out of Los Angeles, CA. soon i will have my premiere membership, to move up in the consultants rankings.

first, at comdex 2002 in las vegas, i was fortunate enough to hear apple computer and microsoft discuss the future of the digital home (music sharing, home automation, home server, and the digital hub). The mac is many years ahead of microsoft in tight integration of software and hardware. i was even quoted in CNET coverage of the comdex event (at the end of the article).

in response to this, i’ve expanded my business to consulting on mac OS based solutions and home building. The new website will launch 7 January 2003. But you can see the work in progress at my site:

by late 4 January 2003, most of the content i want to include will be ready. today, please see my mission statement and basic web layout. the rest of the site (excluding the consulting) is completely finished and i think interesting to explore (green living, building hints, etc.).

Mission Statement
Green Building Concepts offers information exchange for building a more resource and energy efficient home. Using Apple Macintosh based solutions, we can integrate home and small business systems to reach the computer network, home office, and digital hub dreams of customers around the globe. Think of Green Building Concepts when you need assistance in OS X jaguar (both client and server platforms), digital photography, internet media creation, wired and wireless networks, home automation, and selecting products to fit your digital and web lifestyle.

the EHX expo has finally matured into a viable show. as the wireless revolution has gripped the computer industry with 802.11a networks, imagine using similar technology to automate your entire house. the company presentation i attended from vantage controls used $20 dollar self powered buttons, programmed from the internet to set up various lighting scenes, dimming modules, scripts, and talking with pressure or contact switches, the sky’s the limit in the amount of control.

the program currently runs in windowsXP, but it’s a one time use thing to upload the control language to the modules wirelessly, and then you have a fully customized house, without ripping into a single wall. the hardwired system is better, but when you have legacy plaster, the fully functional wall may be very difficult to open. on new construction it’s easy, but this is the first system for old construction and remodeling.

this morning begins a new day in my web/architect journey. about every two years i make it out to the building industry show, and this time i have project in mind.

we are going to build a recreation room on the land of our father. it will be a demonstration room for high efficiency building, using the latest techniques and products. it should have a passive solar voltaic system, low-e glazing, and awesome building performance. what’s nice, as that structure goes up, then the natural gas absorption cooling will go to both units, along with the electricity, on demand hot water heating, hydronic warming, access flooring, and other things i’ve been wanting to do for seven years.

i just might get published for the work. do you know anyone that wants to study with the greenconcepts.com president in planning and building this unit? the pay will be poor, but the education will be priceless.

being out all day is very taxing. this week i’ve been away nearly every day for over 10 hours. what a bear. first a couple hours in lancaster on monday, yesterday all day in buena park at PHCC, and today all day at the final cut pro user meeting and the education expo. i guess it’s only one week a year.

in little under three hours i became certified as an installer of natural gas piping, along with revolutionary plastic PEX potable water piping. this means anywhere in the country i’m licensed to purchased these specialty equipment. it’s rather scary that anyone can take the seminar and walk out with a license. now i can “rewire” the natural gas lines for greater efficiency and appliance servicability. remember these little events called earthquakes in CA? with flexible water and natural gas lines, it less likely that they would blow up, or punch through a wall. i’ll let you know when i draw my first 10 meters of tubing next time.

i think i’ve found a solution for my early waking up. why not go to sleep early! if i’m in bed by 9:30 PM to 10:00 PM, then if I’m awake by 4:30 AM, i’m getting 6.5 hours of continuous sleep, mostly terrible for an adult, who probably needs 8.25 hours of sleep, but much better than 5.5 or 4.5 hours of sleep. lately i’ve been building in long commute times to my school site in lancaster, and again sometimes i go to long beach, that’s a perfect opportunity to nap. at the end of the day i’m probably approaching 7.25 hours of sleep, but like any good sleep researcher would tell you, it’s the continuity of sleep that is most important, not the duration. this morning i’m off to buena park, about 1.5 hours away by subway, to learn about CSST. you ask what is CSST? this is the technology to deliver natural gas over corrugated stainless steel tubing. rather than wrench together black iron (conventional) why not deliver, using a manifold, natural gas to each and every appliance equally (homerun piping)? this is what CSST can do, along with added flexibility of the tube, which hopefully will last longer than iron (no rust), and not break in a earthquake. take a look at one major supplier gastite.

when choosing a green energy provider you have several choices. i prefer all solar, all wind, and all biomass. hydroelectric, nuclear, and natural gas are too large and devistating to warrant extra attention. how many salmon have died, societies and natural wonder buried, and lives ruined due to hydrolectric? go solar. go wind. go biomass. i guess you can also go hydrothermal, but is much harder to find.

when it comes to renewable energy, i prefer the smaller project to the global scale project like dams (hydroelectric). so many wonderful areas of this planet are capped due to a hydroelectric dam. societies have died due to hydroelectric. if i bought into a green power system, i would look exclusively for either an all solar, biomass, or wind driven turbine to reduce the dam destruction. i also like natural gas as the fossil fuel over coal or oil. nuclear is also very good, but in light of 9-11 and other events, maybe it’s not the best 22nd century energy source.