Not sure how long these feeds have been broken, just noticed today. I used per-user RSS feeds to follow a few posters who generally write on subjects I'm interested in, but now they aren't resolving.Typically used this format: https://hn.algolia.com/userfeed/<username>Is there an alternative available or is the RSS option gone permanently?
I linked to the response sections instead of the paper because the paper is boring.
The AMA isn't technically a union, but performs similar functions.
And, online only, Green Building Advisor: https://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/
Another book he was involved with is "This Old House" (technically by Bob Vila I think) which is also good, but suffers again from the march of time. There are just certain things they show that wouldn't be done the same way today.
Insulation/air-sealing can get you pretty comfortable in New Hampshire.
Like, if I asked you what restaurants you like to go to and what some of your favorite meals are you would probably have an answer. If I gave you the choice between two drinks, you could probably pick one over the other (or neither, or both) with some confidence.
In the same way, try to develop opinions about where and how you live.
I thought I had notes on a second brand that was more commercially oriented (maybe started with an 'R'?) but I can't remember the name at the moment.
- They finished the floors instead of having a subcontractor do it. Everyone's comfort for various home improvements tasks differs, but this is one that I typically see farmed out. The people who do it everyday are very fast and competent - as a first timer it's hard to avoid making mistakes. I also advise people to avoid floor stains. One advantage to a real wood floor is it's easy to repair and refinish in the future, but this gets a lot harder when you start needing to stain match. Floor stain also kind of violates the tenants of 'honest materials' that the author discusses.
- To build on their point about veneer plaster walls, cost really comes down to subcontractor comfort with that detail. It's only 'slightly more expensive' if you have a contractor that does it all the time. If you live in an area with a lot of plaster homes, you'll have more luck finding someone who can do this work affordably. For example, I once had an architect specify a particular plaster finish ('venetian plaster') where we could not find someone comfortable doing the work within a two hour drive.
- They discuss the slow drying of the floor finish they used as a negative (true). A good place to use slow-drying finishing techniques is the exterior, as you can leave it alone for a lot longer as compared to a floor you want to walk on immediately. For example, pine tar exterior finishing materials take weeks to dry, but you don't NEED to touch the siding during that period.
- In the second part they show a north and south elevation of the finished home. The north elevation really doesn't reflect the historic character they succeeded so hard to emulate and/or build from in other aspects of their home. Comparing these two elevations is very instructive.
I hope their next published section addresses energy efficiency and adjacent topics (like window selection). It's a huge part of building a modern home that doesn't always get the attention it should. I did appreciate the time spent discussing air flow in part 2.
Building on their reading list, if you like older/vernacular homes start with:
"House" by Tracy Kidder
"A Field Guide to American Houses" by Virginia Savage McAlester
"American Shelter" by Lester Walker
"The American House" by Mary Mix Foley
And maybe move on to:
"A Concise History of American Architecture" by Leland Roth
"American Vernacular: Buildings and Interiors, 1870-1960" by Herbert Gottfried
"Norwegian Wood: The Thoughtful Architecture of Wenche Selmer" by Elisabeth Tostrup
"Big House, Little House, Back House, Barn" by Thomas Hubka
And then maybe:
"The Well-Built House" by Jim Locke
"The colonial House Then and Now" by Francis Underwood
"Little House on a Small Planet" by Shay Salomon
the digestate is then spread on farm fields using similar methods/equipment used to previously spread manure.
We looked into compression/cleaning for biogas, but both the capital requirement and ongoing operational cost was too high for the gas volume produced by the farm.
The most consistent use of compost heat has been to ensure proper pathogen reduction in certain waste materials such as wastewater byproducts. A popular example of this is called a 'dutch tunnel' (add 'composting' to that if you google it) where you have a pretty robust, loader accessible composting container which largely self-heats for pathogen reduction. I use the term 'largely self-heats' because there are aeration/mixture characteristics that are required for proper temperature development.
Searching EPA 40 CFR 503 is a good introduction to the process, because there is been a lot written about it and you can easily find guides/introductions.
"To run the factory continuously instead of only eighteen hours a day, giving employment to several thousand more men by employing three shifts of eight hours each, instead of only two nine-hour shifts, as at present." https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/learning/general...
And when it comes to 'automotive household income' the numbers work out even worse than MrGilbert's example. The average American household owner more than one car per driving adult. https://www.bts.gov/archive/publications/passenger_travel/ch...
Yes, yes - perhaps the autoworkers we are talking about are not 'average' and own fewer cars per household. And yes, yes - moving the minimum wage probably resulted in wage increases for higher paid workers as well. If you want to move the goalposts again do some legwork and show some work, otherwise you're just promoting a paper-thin narrative on the basis of "but what if".
https://www.jlconline.com/how-to/electrical/solar-panel-fire...
and here's a follow-up: https://www.jlconline.com/how-to/electrical/solar-panel-fire...
I've been rocking Bogs Turf Stompers for the last five years or so, but they've been discontinued I think (at least the steel toe version has been).
Anyone else have good luck with non-leather steel/composite toe lace up workboots?
https://freshairarchive.org/search/guests
In creating avenues for discovery ('collections' and 'topics') the simplest one seems to have been ignored - just listing all the segments with relevant metadata. Hopefully I'm just missing something obvious.
It's well accepted that the highway boom of twentieth century had a negative impact on city life. That's why the Big Dig put that city-cutting highway underground in Boston, and (one reason) why the viaduct in Seattle is going underground, and why the I-93 corridor in Massachusetts became a public transit route instead. Here's a longer list:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freeway_removal
Transforming private residences into hotel rooms makes it easier to visit and harder to live. Acknowledging this doesn't mean people don't like Airbnb, it just means that both the positive and the negative impacts of their business model are being discussed.
What a great project, glad the university recognized your effort.
Hangouts with James Fee is a podcast primarily about the business side of GIS, I haven't seen a new one in a long while now though. https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/hangouts-with-james-fee
Have conversations with difficult people, sure, but have a conversation, don't just let stuff like that slide by! Not sure how long I'll be subscribed if those attitudes keep receiving clear air.
"This Old House: Restoring, Rehabilitating, and Renovating an Older House" by Bob Vila.
An older book, only the carpentry is relevant today, but a nice picture-driven exploration of sensitive home renovation.
"A Place of My Own: the Architecture of Daydreams" by Michael Pollan
I didn't get a lot out of this because it was a pretty simple project that was being described, but it's a good look at the challenges of design, and a good primer if you're looking to do your own small project. Plus, Michael Pollan is an enjoyable writer.
"House" by Tracy Kidder
Follows the construction of a home in MA with a lot of builder perspective. Explores the common issues associated with running a small carpentry company frame to finish. There is also "The Apple Corps Guide to the Well-Built House" by Jim Locke which is written by a member of the firm profiled in "House" - haven't read it yet.
"Last Harvest: How a Cornfield Became New Daleville" by Witold Rybczynski
Follows the evolution of a farm field into a subdivision.
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A little more challenging:
"The City in History" by Lewis Mumford
Best described as a "Tome" - a staple in intro level planning classes.
"building Construction Illustrated" by Francis Ching
A good illustrated primer on basic residential construction assemblies, will help with visualization of written descriptions and vocabulary.
"Big House, Little House, Back House, Barn" by Thomas Hubka
The evolution of farm yard structures, of interest if you've ever wondered about the repeating patterns you see on New England farms.
"A Field Guide to American Houses" by Virginia Savage McAlester
This book will tell you what every type of house is. If I remember right, I believe it also has a section on vernacular houses. A similar book that I own but have not read is "A Field Guide to American Architecture" by Carole Rifkind. I also like, and have read, "American Vernacular: Buildings and Interiors, 1870-1960" by Herbert Gottfried
"How Buildings Learn: What Happens After They're Built" by Stewart Brand
A great look at what happens after construction is completed, I love this book for it's treatment of a seldom-discussed reality of the construction trades.
"Builders Guide: Cold Climates" Joseph W Lstiburek
Lstiburek is opinionated, and usually right. Find more books of this style at: https://buildingscience.com/
"The Checklist Manifesto" by Atul Gawande
Changed how I approach documenting and completing tasks - in a business like construction where it's hard to go in reverse, it's been a major component of my success since I first read it in 2011. Simple in concept, hard in practice.
"Too Big, Will Fail" is a pretty common refrain from anti-infrastructure personalities, but when it comes to simple civil engineering projects it doesn't matter what the scale is if the mechanism is proven. Solving CSOs isn't the Hyperloop, it's just building a bathtub big enough in the right place and figuring out how to drain it appropriately when it fills up.
Milwaukee, Chicago - these are examples that prove that stormwater management is a solved problem. So let's apply that solution to places where the problem still exists.
Anyways, cool link, I didn't know about Milwaukee's system.