Solar as Alternative? June 30, 2008
Posted by Steve in : The City, Methods & Strategies, Adaptive Reuse, Tech Tips, Energy Efficiency, Entrepreneuring, Sustainability , add a commentI am beginning to look into solar options but I live in Illinois (never really known as the land of the uninterrupted sun) so I wanted to find out how to calculate whether an investment in solar makes sense in Chicago. I learned that the total solar energy available to the earth is approximately 3850 zettajoules (ZJ) per year, while worldwide energy consumption was 0.471 ZJ in 2004, according to the US Department of Energy. Even if you aren’t a solar panel installer, you can tell that there’s way more solar energy available than the world will ever need.
Doing my homework, I found FindSolar.com, a Web site sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy, the American Solar Energy Society, and the Solar Electric Power Association.
To get started, select your state and county, power company, and the type of system you’re interested in-whether it’s electric, hot water, spa/pool heating, or space heating/cooling-as well as your average utility expenditure. The online calculator then determines the average cost of a solar-electric system based on the data you’ve provided, plus any state or local rebates you qualify for. If you’re ready to start pumping out those rays, you can contact solar installers and distributors in the site’s directory for quotes or additional info.
Ready to Live in an Artist Colony? June 27, 2008
Posted by Steve in : Weblog , add a commentRecently, Coastal Living Magazine ranked the Top 10 Artists Colonies in North America which made me begin to think — where would I like to live if I wanted to be around other artists in a closde-knit community?
I still think Chicago has one of the most vibrant art scenes — check out the 29th Annual Fountain Square Art Festival in Evanston this weekend —
Check out the Coastal Living list — – what do you think? If I have to leave Chicago, I am partial to the last on the list — Todos Santos in the Baja of Mexico — below the orphanage in Colonia Vincente Guererro where I met my wife on a church trip called “vacation with a Purpose”
Most Popular Facebook Apps June 24, 2008
Posted by Steve in : Weblog , 4commentsSome of the best things (and worst things — why would anyone load up 50+ apps on their profile?) about Facebook are the Facebook applications. Facebook users have a wide variety of really cool Facebook applications to enhance their Facebook experience. There are nearly 5,000 Facebook applications, and the top applications have tens of millions of installs and millions of active users. The bad news, alas, is that 87% of the usage goes to only 84 applications! Only 45 applications have more than 100,000 active users. What do you like best?
Here are the top 10 most active Facebook applications:
1. Super Wall - The Super Wall application is an enhancement to Facebook’s original wall feature. Super Wall allows Facebook users to write messages, post photos and post videos on their wall.
2. Funwall - Funwall is very similar to Super Wall, but it allows for tagging photos and embedding YouTube videos.
3. Top Friends - The Top Friends application allows Facebook users to create a widget with up to 32 friends photos. By clicking on a friend’s photo you are taken directly to their profile page.
4. Video - Facebook Video allows you to publish videos to Facebook and send video messages to your friends.
5. SuperPoke - The SuperPoke Facebook application allow users to send enhanced pokes to their friends. Facebook pokes are a way of telling your friends that you are thinking of them.
6. Flixter Movies - Flixter Movies is a cool application that allows you to see what movies your friends’ like and how their taste compares to yours.
7. Are You Interested??? - This application allows you to ask people the question “Are you interested??? Why this is popular I am not sure.
8. iLike - The iLike Facebook application lets you add music and videos to your profile, dedicate songs to your friends, and see what concerts your friends are going to. This is a nice way of finding cool music.
9. X Me - This application allows your friends to do things to you. For example, you can add a button to your profile page to allow your friends to give you a hug.
10. Bumper Sticker - This is a really cool application. With the Bumper Sticker Facebook application you can create a bumper sticker and stick it to a friend’s profile page.
Laminin — The Glue of Life June 4, 2008
Posted by Steve in : Weblog , add a commentOne of my favorite speakers is Louie Giglio, of Passion Conferences and this is part of a great message entitled “How great is our God!”. This is pretty mind blowing…the first 3 minutes are standard sermon; but, then, it gets really interesting when he starts talking about the molecule Laminin, an amazing molecule in the human body. The pic on the left below is the scientific diagram and the one on the right is the actual molecule under an electron microscope. The stuff that holds our bodies together is in the shape of the cross! He quotes the verse Colossians 1:17 “He (Christ) is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.”
What do you think? How does Colossians 1:15-17 read to you? let me know…
Give ASTANA a chance June 2, 2008
Posted by Steve in : Weblog , add a commentAfter lying on a beach, then getting a call that he would line up 7 days later, Alberto Contador did the nearly impossible by winning the Giro D’Italia by 1:57 over his next nearest competitor. He deserves the right to defend his crown at the Tour de France next month….but sadly, this is now a sport about power and the French do not having the American and American teams win their tour each year. Let’s hope there is someone who says “let the best rider win” not “let the best rider who is allowed into the race win”
