Air Deflector

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I was called by a client that rents an office with cubicles.  A woman in one of the cubicles was complaining about the air conditioning blowing down on her.  I was a little surprised about this since the vent was directly over her head and the vent had a ceiling deflector that should have distributed the cool air away from her.  But as always, the client (or client’s tenant) is always right.

The initial request was to close off the vent.  I was hesitant to do this since that would tend to change the balance of the system which we had struggled for months to get right.  We did a little research and found an air deflector at 1800ceiling.com

I installed the deflector and while doing the installation I checked and there was enough slack in the flexible duct work to move the diffuser two feet to the side.  (After checking with the adjacent cubicle dweller to make sure she was okay with that.)  So far, so good.  A satisfied tenant and thus a satisfied client.

I am a little concerned that this may be a temporary solution.  The diffusers are placed near the windows since that’s the area area where the most change in temperature occurs.  Since this tenant is apparently slightly cold blooded, she may well be too cold this winter once the HVAC system switches over to heat from AC.  That is a nice thing with this deflector though.  It will be as easy to remove as replace.  It is light weight as well, so the easy storage solution will be to just place it above the ceiling on the grid until it is needed again.

Walter E. Williams on Democracy

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Walter E. Williams

“Some say that big government is what the majority of voters want and that in a democracy the majority rules.  But America’s Founders didn’t found a democracy, they founded a Republic.  The Founders knew how democracy had led to tyranny.  Instead, they set up a limited government, with checks and balances.  Unaware of the distinction between a democracy and a republic, many today believe that a majority consensus establishes morality.  Nothing could be further from the truth.

Another common argument is that we need big government to protect the little guy from corporate giants.  But a corporation can’t pick a consumer’s pocket.  The consumer must voluntarily pay money for the corporation’s product.  It is big government, not corporations, that have the p0wer to take our money by force.  It should also be mentioned that private business can force us to pay them by employing government.  To see this happening look at GM or manufacturers that employ government to establish tariffs to keep out competition, or organized labor that thinks government should protect their jobs from non-union competition.  So it is a big government that the little guy needs protection against, not big business.”

  –  Walter E. Williams

The Master Flow Green Machine

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I have an attic fan on my house.  It is a solar fan with a thermostat so that it will vent hot air in the summer when I want to cool the attic, but not in the winter when heat in the attic is positive for energy savings.  Unfortunately the one I have is located on west side of the ridge so it only gets sun in the afternoons.

The Master Flow Green Machine Solar Powered Ridge Vent sits on the ridge.    This has the advantage of being at the highest point so it takes out the hottest air as well as being in a position to get the maximum amount of sunlight.

I would consider this Green that saves Green…

The World is Burning!

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A fire pit in the form of a globe or “Third Rock – Earth and all its glory reveal a fiery inner core through the continents of our planet” as it is put at the Fire Pit Art site.  There is a whole series of pictures including ones showing its creation at the Fire Pit Art site here.

I thought the image was fascinating.  Originally I thought this could be another option for the Firemen’s Memorial, but it’s not designed to a be a gas-fired display.  In any case, this is an interesting art piece, each one individually signed and numbered by its designer, Rick Wittrig.

It is made of 1/4″ steel, stands 40″ tall and has a diameter of 36″.  It has a drain in the bottom to allow rain to run out.

The Third Rock fire pit can be purchased at the Fire Pit Art site here for $1,679.