31 Mar, 2008
Oil: We're Not Finding It
There are so many problems with this. But let's deal with a MAJOR problem: The oil companies aren't finding oil. Check out this graphic (which comes from here):
One important fact: It would take more than a decade to drill in Alaska, if we started now. The total amount of oil we could harvest from new Alaska sources would be, literally, a drop in the bucket.
The Age Of Oil is NOT over.
But the era of cheap oil IS. Drilling in Alaska isn't going to change that; sinking wells off our coasts won't, either. It's time to pursue new solutions. They exist. We're just being stupid about them.
We don't have to remain stupid . . . do we?
31 Mar, 2008
Census Bureau $$$ Issues
This sucks.
This past weekend, I received the U.S. Geological Survey's monthly report on Copper. It's a good report, about a half-page of verbiage and 10 pages of data. The only problem is that the USGS (a government agency) has fallen WAAAAAAY behind on these monthly reports. Not too long ago, they came on a timely basis -- and I posted the verbiage here. I no longer do that -- because they are so far behind. The report I got this week was on May 2007 . . . yes, in late March, 2008.
[Find the USGS minerals page here]
Is it another money issue? Yes, I think so. The USGS can't make its staff large enough anymore to do the basic things it used to do.
So: When you here people complain that your government is too big, here's one result. The people who cut have to cut somewhere. They are not going to cut:
a. Mandated things (like Social Security).
b. Important things (like Defense).
c. Things THEY deem important (whatever that might be in a person's situation).
b. Important things (like Defense).
c. Things THEY deem important (whatever that might be in a person's situation).
. . . so they cut stuff that might matter to folks in business, like the remodeling survey and timely reports on the nation's copper supply/demand situation.
30 Mar, 2008
CFLs Developments
LIGHTING DESIGNERS -- the IALD has issued a position statement on incandescent bulb bans. Included among 7 bullets in the thing:
Energy-efficient replacement light
sources must be adapted to suit the existing electrical infrastructure.
Those with simple and clear-cut applications must be made available as
soon as proven, but there will be cases in which an efficient source is
not ready for a particular use. When products cannot achieve
appropriate goals, continuance of incandescent technology specific to
those situations should be permitted.
Yep. Read the other 6 points. There's a lot to think about here. My interpretation of the IALD statement is that it boils down to one word . . . Whoa!
- - - - -
NEMA ADDRESSES FEARS -- the electrical manufacturers' group has issued a white paper (available FREE) addressed, apparently, to consumers. Despite that, the title they came up with was "Failure Modes for Self-Ballasted Compact Fluorescent Lamps - A NEMA Update." Catchy, eh? NEMA's release says it:
addresses
these concerns and explains in simplified terms why SBCFLs have
different failure modes from normal incandescent lamps; how existing
product standards meet safety requirements; and what the industry,
standards development organizations, and third-party safety agencies
have done and are doing to minimize any potential safety risk from
SBCFLs.
I am fairly certain that turnings CFLs into SBCFLs is not a consumer service.
- - - - -
NBC NEWS FANS FEARS -- an item posted to the CE Pro website carries the headline "CFL Cleanup: Harder Than It Sounds" and includes an embedded video of an NBC Nightly News segment on what happens when a CFL bulb breaks ("and mercury leaks out").
The 2-minute video deals with two main CFL issues, both stemming from the fact that the things include Mercury:
a. Whaddya do when the light bulb breaks? A Maine woman is shown; she asked local authorities and was eventually referred to a company that would charge her $2,000 for cleanup. That will pay for a lot of incandescent bulbs -- which you can buy now and store for future use!
b. Whaddya do when the bulb reaches the end of its useful life? There's still mercury in the damn thing. NBC News says: Take it to a household hazardous waste disposal facility. Hey, good luck with that! Unless you have a lot of HHW to get rid of on a regular basis (how much of that stuff do you use regularly), that means you'll have to STOCKPIILE used CFLs somewhere (safe) in your house, and (eventually) dump 'em all at once.
. . . so you don't blow the energy (and money) saved driving a few CFLs to the HHW site.
- - - -
ELEBLOG TAKE:
Here's a damn good bet: You won't drive one used CFL at a time to the HHW site (unless you are out of your mind). So you'll create a space in your house -- the top shelf of a closet, maybe -- where you'll put a box of dead CFLs, with the idea being that you'll "eventually" get those bulbs to the right disposal site.
[What about making HHW disposal more convenient? I guess that could happen. This is actually something I wrote about in the 1980s, when I was editor of Waste Age magazine.
Costs to municipalities of holding special "HHW days" are very high -- they are, after all, CONCENTRATING all of the HHW in their communities when they collect it in one place. That's risky (the municipal employees doing the collection, if that's the way your local entity chooses to pursue it, have to wear moon suits! Another option is to hire a special waste management company, at a very elevated cost, to do this work).
The costs are so high that, for just about every city and town, conducting HHW collections routinely is out of the question.
What was worse is that, in the 1980s, participation in special HHW collection days was very, very low. So you had (back then, anyway) a High-Cost, Low-Effectiveness event that greatly elevated risk. No one wanted that!!!]
Costs to municipalities of holding special "HHW days" are very high -- they are, after all, CONCENTRATING all of the HHW in their communities when they collect it in one place. That's risky (the municipal employees doing the collection, if that's the way your local entity chooses to pursue it, have to wear moon suits! Another option is to hire a special waste management company, at a very elevated cost, to do this work).
The costs are so high that, for just about every city and town, conducting HHW collections routinely is out of the question.
What was worse is that, in the 1980s, participation in special HHW collection days was very, very low. So you had (back then, anyway) a High-Cost, Low-Effectiveness event that greatly elevated risk. No one wanted that!!!]
My bet is that the following happens:
1. You forget the box of bulbs over time. Or you keep adding to it, but you never "get a roun tuit" . . . you never actually drive that to the local HHW collection facility, or manage to get it out of the closet and to the locale where they are collecting HHW on one special weekend each Spring.
2. Folks in your house (you, your wife, your kids, whoever) eventually find that box when you're ready to move. I believe in the hustle and bustle of Moving Day, you'll throw those bulbs in the trash. What are the chances that the special HHW collection day will be on the weekend the moving truck is coming? What's the realistic chance that, in the midst of all of those moving checklist items, you'll find 40 minutes to drive to a place that will safely dispose of those CFLs?
3. Or you'll just start throwing the CFLs in the trash one at a time (reasoning -- what could that possibly hurt?). The chief thing will be: Let's get that hazardous waste thing out of the house, now that it's no longer useful.
2. Folks in your house (you, your wife, your kids, whoever) eventually find that box when you're ready to move. I believe in the hustle and bustle of Moving Day, you'll throw those bulbs in the trash. What are the chances that the special HHW collection day will be on the weekend the moving truck is coming? What's the realistic chance that, in the midst of all of those moving checklist items, you'll find 40 minutes to drive to a place that will safely dispose of those CFLs?
3. Or you'll just start throwing the CFLs in the trash one at a time (reasoning -- what could that possibly hurt?). The chief thing will be: Let's get that hazardous waste thing out of the house, now that it's no longer useful.
- - - - -
Here's the thing: CFL market share ran up last year -- 180 million of them were sold to American consumers. According to the DOE, that gave CFLs a 20% share of domestic bulb use. Unless much more efficient incandescents are developed -- or LEDs become a lot cheaper (which is the EleBlog hope!) -- by 2016 every screw-in socket in your house, when replaced, will sport a CFL.
If all of this seems like "much ado about nothing," you are wrong. Mercury doesn't belong in the same environment with human beings. The environmental people (I'm a tree-hugger, so I'm on that team) have been very clear about the risks of mercury. Now, some of the same people are advocating CFLs because they use less energy than incandescents.
Above, some things -- pro and con -- for you to take a look at. I've read and watched this stuff, and the previous volumes of info, about CFLs. I'm against them just on the mercury angle.
. . . And I've not even dealt here with the fact that CFLs provide lousy light and are bad for some people (like my wife).
30 Mar, 2008
Non-Res Construction To Get Sick?
However, a two-part series on Non-Residential construction, posted in early March, might be worth your time.
Part One talked about how non-residential isn't immune.
Part Two provided further evidence, including specifics on niche markets.
30 Mar, 2008
ECs Gaining In Consumer A/V
Although builders rarely market custom systems, the majority of builders do offer them, and the percentage of builders offering various types of systems remained about the same in 2007 compared to 2006, Koenig noted. The type of company doing installs for builders, however, is changing, CEA found. In 2007, the number of builders saying they used electrical contractors grew, and the number of builders saying they used custom installers, or integrators, declined slightly. Also in 2007, builders relied less on major retailers and security installers than they did the previous year.
“Electrical contractors are gaining nationally,” Koenig said.
In 2007, 72 percent of builders used electrical contractors for custom installs, up from the previous year's 63 percent. Fifty-eight percent used custom installer/integrators in 2007, down from 2006's 62 percent, CEA's survey found.
30 Mar, 2008
Skeptical On Hydrogen
The laws of physics mean the hydrogen economy will always be an energy
sink. Hydrogen’s properties require you to spend more energy than you
can earn, because in order to do so you must overcome waters’
hydrogen-oxygen bond, move heavy cars, prevent leaks and brittle
metals, and transport hydrogen to the destination. It doesn’t matter if
all of these problems are solved, or how much money is spent. You will
use more energy to create, store, and transport hydrogen than you will
ever get out of it.
Bottom line: This is NOT a serious solution for the lifetimes of Americans alive today. That includes, no doubt, those who were born 5 minutes ago!
30 Mar, 2008
Move It To Iceland?
24 Mar, 2008
U.S. Grid Build-Out Needs
"There are 2.2 million miles of transmission and distribituion, and a million miles of that was constructed between 1948 and 1970. This equipment has 40 to 50 years' maximum life," and much of it is bumping up against the expiration date," the newspaper writes.
On the generation side, Croft is quoted as saying that we've not added much new electrical generating capacity in the U.S. since 2002, but that will change fast.
On the generation side, Croft is quoted as saying that we've not added much new electrical generating capacity in the U.S. since 2002, but that will change fast.
24 Mar, 2008
FMI Turns On A Dime
Q4 2007: http://www.concreteconstruction.net/industry-news.asp?sectionID=718&articleID=622755
FMI's outlook for
construction in 2008 has been revised slightly downward since the third
quarter, but certain segments, such as nonresidential and nonbuilding,
will remain strong, the report states.
Q1 2008: http://www.designandbuildwithmetal.com/IndustryNews/News/fmi_1st_quarter_2008_outlook.aspx
Nonresidential construction will see declines in 2008 and 2009, except some publicly funded segments.The nonresidential segments that are the most cyclical, or tied to the economy, will see declines in 2008 and 2009. These segments include office, commercial, religious and amusement and recreation. Lodging is the only exception as there is enough overhang from starts in 2007 that are still under construction in 2008.
24 Mar, 2008
AIA Index: Down In Feb, Too
Billings at architecture firms took a dramatic downward turn in February as the ABI fell to 41.8, the lowest score since the immediate aftermath of September 11 in October 2001. The ABI has now fallen more than 13 points since December, which is the largest two-month drop ever recorded in the dozen years of the index. This drop serves as the clearest indicator yet that softer business conditions are coming. Inquiries growth continued to slow this month, as the score fell to 54.3. Although any ABI score above 50 indicates growth, this is the lowest indication of inquiries growth in more than five years.
NOTE: If this item (or the graphic) seems familiar, that's because it's a REPLAY (one month later) of the info on the January AIA ABI release -- EleBlogged here.
24 Mar, 2008
Inflation Alert - Update
Copper prices have shown a strong upward trend since 2003. Copper appears in construction in the form of wire, pipes, some roof flashing and gutters and in many electrical and electronic components. In addition, brass fixtures have a large copper component.
Copper is in high demand worldwide, both for construction and many other products. The supply of copper comes from a limited number of mines that are subject to many types of disruptions. Recently, these have included power shortages in Zambia, continuing civil strife in Congo, earthquakes and strikes in Chile.
Nevertheless, copper prices do retreat at times. The PPI for copper and brass mill shapes fell 3.8 percent in 2007, though the cumulative change since the end of 2003 was still 141 percent.
In late February 2008, the price of copper futures on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange was more than $3.80 per pound, 40 percent higher than a year before. Although a slowing U.S. economy is likely to keep prices from soaring beyond the current level, the average price for copper and brass mill shapes in 2008 as a whole could easily exceed the 2007 average by 10 percent or more.
There's a lot more in the AGC report, of course. Copper is in high demand worldwide, both for construction and many other products. The supply of copper comes from a limited number of mines that are subject to many types of disruptions. Recently, these have included power shortages in Zambia, continuing civil strife in Congo, earthquakes and strikes in Chile.
Nevertheless, copper prices do retreat at times. The PPI for copper and brass mill shapes fell 3.8 percent in 2007, though the cumulative change since the end of 2003 was still 141 percent.
In late February 2008, the price of copper futures on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange was more than $3.80 per pound, 40 percent higher than a year before. Although a slowing U.S. economy is likely to keep prices from soaring beyond the current level, the average price for copper and brass mill shapes in 2008 as a whole could easily exceed the 2007 average by 10 percent or more.
24 Mar, 2008
Construction $ Down Jan-Feb
YEAR-TO-DATE CONSTRUCTION
STARTS
Unadjusted Totals, In Millions of Dollars
Unadjusted Totals, In Millions of Dollars
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21 Mar, 2008
Pre-Wire Kit - Solar
21 Mar, 2008
Daylight Harvesting
(More)
21 Mar, 2008
Tags On Bees
There are numerous applications outside of electrical distribution, of course. Put a tag on a piece of construction equipment (anything from something large, like an augur, to a Fluke meter) . . . and, in theory, you'll be able to find it if and when it wanders away from a construction site. Tags applied to packages of prescription drugs could eliminate counterfeiting. Tags stuck on goods at your supermarket could not only eliminate shoplifting, but reduce the need for long lines at checkout counters.
And so on.
Well, here's another use. In London, scientists at QMUL (Queen Mary, University of London) are attaching tiny RFID tags to . . . bumblebees.
- - - - -
One interesting factolito in the story: Bumblebees average about 950,000 brain cells, humans have 100 billion. We're attaching tags to them, not the other way around. Yet I'm not sure that we humans are, on average, 100 billion times smarter than bumblebees.
21 Mar, 2008
S.A. To Resume Culling
[You might be able to access a Washington Post story on the subject here, which is longer]
The problem is caused by SUCCESS. The reduction of poaching (which, in this application, means "Killing") of elephants by killers who want to chop off and sell their ivory tusks has led to an overpopulation problem in South Africa's national parks.
This is another one of those situations that tells you we're all living on Earth (or possibly in Hell) . . . and not Heaven.
Culling + poaching is killing.
Elephants don't really know the difference. They communicate over long distances. Elephants 5 miles away -- to perhaps dozens of miles away -- can "hear" other elephants being killed. This is probably especially true in a cull, which features the machine-gunning of families.
ON THE OTHER HAND: Too many elephants in a limited piece of territory is a major problem. Elephants naturally do things (like knocking down trees and grazing) that, when there are too many in one place, lead to something that looks a lot like devastation. It's not only not a good thing for the elephants, it's bad for all fo the other animals living in that confined space (i.e., the South African natural park).
. . . this is probably more than you wanted to know about the situation. But the EleBlog is about both electrical construction AND elephants. Thanks for putting up with this!
20 Mar, 2008
Coal-Fired Plants On Hold
Your view on this will depend on your politics, perhaps:
PRAGMATIC -- we need electrical power in the U.S. We're going to have to use coal. The NRDC and all other environmentalists should just get the heck out of the way already!
ENVIRO -- we all breathe. Inhaling mercury pollution is VERY unhealthy for humans. We've got a big problem with this -- which will only get bigger with time. Let's start solving it already!
EleBlog take: The one thing I think we all know for sure is that energy is going to become more and more expensive over time. The NRDC can have its way -- and probably should. It just means folks are gonna pay a lot more for electricity (as they already are for gasoline and natural gas).
20 Mar, 2008
Electrical Demand + LEED
Now comes Paul Ehrlich, one of the gurus of building automation, to note (as part of an article found here) that Peak Electrical Demand Reduction is
(a) not a part of LEED
(b) pretty damn important, and therefore
(c) "the time has come to work with the USGBC to develop a LEED electrical demand limiting credit."
17 Mar, 2008
Ugly Forecast: Nonresidential
I found this graphic. Look at the green descenders on the right. And keep your mind on this: The forecast is for REAL (inflation-adjusted) Non-Residential Construction.
17 Mar, 2008
Residential Integrator Lessons
17 Mar, 2008
Bicycle Charger For Cell Phones
Of course, $40 in Uganda might be a forbidding price. But -- in theory -- folks in a small town could go into this together. According to the article, the system can charge 8 phones per hour of bicycle riding. One could even envision an enterprising Ugandan getting a "micro loan" to buy this thing (assuming he/she already had a bicycle) and going into the business of riding the bike and recharging a lot of phones for people -- for a small fee.
17 Mar, 2008
Electrical Code Brouhaha: Ohio
You don't see many people willing to stand up and shout out against electrical safety in 2008. It's interesting -- read the release.
17 Mar, 2008
Green 'Without' Certification
But here's a quote from the director of facilities: "We would rather see the money spent on more green features than on paperwork. $50,000 will buy 10 kilowatts of solar power."
EleBlog take: Not an unreasonable action, it would seem. CSU, at least, is already moving into the post-green-craze era!
17 Mar, 2008
Green Bldg Products - Standard
It's an international green construction standard.
10 Mar, 2008
Frightening Reading
The graphic below is the LEAST of it.
10 Mar, 2008
Faster Wiring Video
Note that I didn't ask for or get any money from the mag or Rockwell for posting the link here. I think electrical folks need to stay "up" on this stuff!
According to the magazine:
The video shows how an assembler saves about 45 minutes using
Allen-Bradley Bulletin 1492 PLC Wiring System from Rockwell Automation.
The installation takes approximately one minute. The left video shows
an assembler installing the same wiring by utilizing traditional
terminal block connection methods, which takes approximately forty-six
minutes
10 Mar, 2008
UL Notice on GFCIs
Recent testing by
Underwriters Laboratories (UL) of samples obtained from both the
marketplace and several manufacturers indicates that some GFCI units do
not meet all current UL requirements and, under rare conditions, may
not trip when a fault is present, resulting in a loss of protection
from electric shock.
Read the rest here.
10 Mar, 2008
Green IT Competition
10 Mar, 2008
Green IT Competition
10 Mar, 2008
Easy Green Ideas
10 Mar, 2008
Licensing In Wisconsin
Some additional info from the story:
A recent survey shows the wiring
in over half of Wisconsin barns is 20 years old, or older. Proper
wiring of agricultural facilities--which are tough environments for
wiring due to dust, moisture, and other less than ideal conditions--is
critical for keeping our dairy animals healthy and productive,
according to the bill's supporters.
The state has seen a major reduction in stray voltage on farms since 1988. This is due in part to utility investments in distribution system improvements and utility-sponsored farm re-wiring programs. Continuing to address the secondary, farmer/customer side of the electrical distribution equation is necessary to make further improvements.
The state has seen a major reduction in stray voltage on farms since 1988. This is due in part to utility investments in distribution system improvements and utility-sponsored farm re-wiring programs. Continuing to address the secondary, farmer/customer side of the electrical distribution equation is necessary to make further improvements.
10 Mar, 2008
Lightning + Gas Pipelines
07 Mar, 2008
Green Bldg Video Tour
In
this video created by Guerilla Educators, Scott Kelly, the AIA's
(Philadelphia) 2007 Young Architect of the Year discusses the
architecture and each unique green component of his newest design, an
iconic office/manufacturing structure in Pennsylvania that will achieve
a Gold or possibly Platinum LEED rating.
Tune in with host John Sole and get some great ideas for environmentally friendly landscaping, stormwater management, straw bale construction, SIPS, natural ventilation, water efficient bathroom fixtures, waterless urinals and much more.
Tune in with host John Sole and get some great ideas for environmentally friendly landscaping, stormwater management, straw bale construction, SIPS, natural ventilation, water efficient bathroom fixtures, waterless urinals and much more.
07 Mar, 2008
CRE: The Next Subprime?
07 Mar, 2008
CRE: 'Worry, Don't Panic'
07 Mar, 2008
Residential Construction Jobs
According to the report, there were 2,032,000 folks employed in that category in February 2008, down from 2,172,200. If that doesn't seem like very much of a decline, you're tuned in.
On a separate line (just above that line), the numbers of "Residential Building" are 938,700 for 2/07 and 835,700 for 2/08.
If you add it up, you get job losses of roughly 240,000 jobs in residential in the past year. Considering that early 2007 housing construction was still in the run-off of a boom, and right now new residential construction is in the toilet . . . this might be a surprise.
But . . .
Back in October, this EleBlog post explained why the decline in residential construction was so subdued. The BLS (in a special report) said it didn't count the illegals employed in residential on the upside (during the housing construction boom) . . . and thus it didn't count them on the way out.
Clearly, a lot more than 240,000 people have lost jobs in residential construction. Yes, the job losers were illegally here -- but (a) they are STILL people, and (b) not having their numbers in here is, at the very least, confusing.
07 Mar, 2008
EC Jobs Sitch
Production workers working for Electrical Contractors in Jauary averaged 723,2000. That was UP 2.14% from January 2007 but down 1.1% (8,000 jobs) from December 2007.
In other words, there's no reason to panic in these numbers. In the 11 years since 1998, January employment in the EC game was higher only ONCE -- in January 2001 (an out-of-sight boom year if we ever saw one!).
So: January 2008 was a pretty good month for this industry!
07 Mar, 2008
Construction Jobs - Down
January 2008's figure (subject to revision) was 5,363,000, so overall employment in consturction was down 1.27% sequentially.
These are tiny percentages. It's hard to postulate an economic collapse from this.
(More)
07 Mar, 2008
Private Sector Job Losses
The data also show an INCREASE in government jobs of 38,000.
That means the private sector lost 101,000 jobs. Not good.
06 Mar, 2008
$1 Trillion In Losses
He's penned a February column here that goes into all of the interconnected crap that's going on. Here's the conclusion, which isn't X-rated, but certainly isn't for those with fragile constitutions:
There is thus a broader risk that many leveraged investors in both equity and credit markets will be forced to sell illiquid assets in illiquid markets, leading to a cascading fall in asset prices to below their fundamental values. The ensuing losses will aggravate the financial turmoil and economic contraction.
Indeed, adding up all these losses in financial markets, the sum will hit a staggering $1 trillion. Tighter credit rationing will then further hamper the ability of households and firms to borrow, spend, invest, and sustain economic growth. The risk that a systemic financial crisis will drive a more pronounced US and global recession has quickly gone from being a theoretical possibility to becoming an increasingly plausible scenario.
EleBlog Take:
1. Roubini has a blog at www.rgemonitor.com. You have to pay for many services there; I don't, but that's not reflective of my respective for this guy.2. I am aware that many financial commentators, stock newsletter writers, and others sometimes call One Big Thing right, and then get everything else wrong for the rest of their careers. Robert Prechter is the exemplar of this. Perhaps Roubini will turn out to be a perma-bear and wrong about every single thing from 2008 on forward . . . but right now, we're in his sweet spot.
3. I can legitimately claim that I've been writing about the mortgage finance bubble for years. On TEDMAG.com, you can find a (long) column which includes a reference to it -- dating back to 10/7/04. Yes, 2004! Click on the link above. Here's what you'll see:
When we had multiple bubbles, our national economic leader,
Greenspan, refused to acknowledge their existence; then he would not analyze
the extent to which things had gotten out of hand; finally, he refused to do
anything at all. The same thing is happening NOW with the mortgage finance bubble!
AND -- here's how I concluded that column:
To my way of thinking, the only open questions are:
1. Have we made things WORSE by hitting Bubble Consequences with everything? I think so. But that's a guess.
2. How bad could things get? I don't know. But: See the graphic below. That other peak in total U.S. Debt (governments, businesses, and private citizens) dates back to The Great Depression. We've exceeded it now. It took a long time to get out from under that sticky wicket.
3. When will Bubbles start hitting us? I don't know, but the 2005-2006 time frame sure seems reasonable.
4. If I'm right, and Bubbles starts clobbering us in the next 24 months, when will he get tired and stop? That's the worst of all. The SOB is, judging by the last Great Depression, indefatigable. It took World War II to get us out of the last one.
OK -- so I was a bit off on the timing. We started getting punished by the bubble NOT in 2005-2006, but in 2007.(More)
06 Mar, 2008
Manufacturing's Worker Shortage
While it may be true that companies "want" workers with the skills for
modern manufacturing I'd like to see what they're offering in terms of
compensation....
With the aforementioned compensation it's no wonder there's a shortage.
$10 - $12 / hour
12 hour rotating shifts
Self funded 401 K's
Limited employee medical coverage, with no payment for pre-existing conditions, and family coverage only if the employee pays the whole bill.
Layoffs and downsizing anytime business gets a little hairy, or the "numbers" aren't what they need to be in order to get management their "large" bonuses and Wall Street their "profits
12 hour rotating shifts
Self funded 401 K's
Limited employee medical coverage, with no payment for pre-existing conditions, and family coverage only if the employee pays the whole bill.
Layoffs and downsizing anytime business gets a little hairy, or the "numbers" aren't what they need to be in order to get management their "large" bonuses and Wall Street their "profits
With the aforementioned compensation it's no wonder there's a shortage.
Right on!
Next to this, becoming an electrical apprentice, and training to become a journeyman electrician -- a very well-paid professional -- sounds like Heaven.
(More)
06 Mar, 2008
Copper Goes Nutso (Again)
Yesterday, for instance, Copper got near $4.00 per pound. At this minute it's trading around $3.96 (check copper + other base metals prices at Kitco).
Back on 1/25, Barino explained why copper prices were higher: It's the economic stimulus package, he said. If you read past the lead, Garino also credits HUGE demand from China.
I don't know if one can believe that the economic stimulus package -- less than $200 billion added (via borrowing from China, by the way) in tax refunds -- is more than a drop in the bucket in a $13 trillion economy. Note that 70%-plus of the economy is consumer-driven, making it a $9 trillion Consumer Economy.
With a $9 trillion steady-state consumer spending situation, and with the backdrop of housing prices falling like bricks, $200 billion is making a difference . . . to copper prices . . . or anything else? Doesn't seem likely.
06 Mar, 2008
Worthless Advice
Do you embrace change?
The Luddites, who smashed machines in the early 1800s and claimed that technology would destroy standards of living, had it exactly backwards.
Technological development over the past two centuries has raised standards of livings around the world so much that we now worry about the gap between the leaders and the laggards. Many must "diet," and farmers get paid to idle their fields, because we have too much food.
As design and collaboration technology lower the cost of building and manufacturing, these trends will only accelerate (different forms of technology tend to advance at different rates, and tend to reinforce each other's growth rates.)
So don't be a luddite. Don't fear the changes that technology brings. Embrace the new, the untried, the possible, and recommit every day to being open to new ideas. We don't want you to end up like these guys did...
"Don't fear the changes. Embrace the new, the untried . . . " blahblahblah.EleBlog take:
a. If people could control their fear, it would not be an emotion.
b. The kind of people who are able to "embrace the new" are those who don't share 98% of their DNA with chimpanzees. I've met damn few of these; you?
c. I sometimes write blog entries that don't appear here. I often have ideas to post something here that, with time, look like the crap that they are in the clear light of the next day . . . hint, hint.
06 Mar, 2008
Going Green: Poking Fun
Posted yesterday: "Poking fun at going green."
Worth reading? Kinda. The blogger starts out well, but then gets all too serious about what, after all, is a short article in a daily newspaper. He concludes:
I hope by then the Washington Post editors will be able to separate the
serious from the silly and give recognition to what is truly going
green.
In the blog, the cause of CFLs is taken up. Personally, I don't happen to believe that buying CFLs is a "Green" activity. So in the EleBlog's point-of-view, this NEMA blog entry is WRONG-O.
06 Mar, 2008
'Next Way' Of Green = Modular
The gist: You build off-site, you reduce waste. Home components are each made precisely -- so they fit perfectly (or closer to perfectly) when brought together on-site. That makes for a more energy-efficient house!
Problems:
a. As the story says, "modular houses don't have the best image among buyers."
b. If this thing caught on, I'm not sure the modular housing manufacturers could gear up quickly to meet elevated demand.
b. If this thing caught on, I'm not sure the modular housing manufacturers could gear up quickly to meet elevated demand.
Another benefit: Modular homes are built one heck of a lot faster than "stick-built" houses.
EleBlog take: This story is worth reading because:
1. It correctly ID'd a trend, 9 months ago.
2. This trend is NOT abating.
3. Modular is green. It's a powerful and short slogan.
4. Most importantly: We're going to hear more about this, I think.
03 Mar, 2008
Commodities: Podcasts
Go here to hear podcasts of interviews with 5 members of the magazine's "Commodity Council."
What do they say? I've not listened. But as soon as this posts, I'm gonna!
(More)
03 Mar, 2008
Home Tech: Another Missed Boat?
Here's what Parks Associates sees for the "high-end home entertainment system" market:
. . . and here's the verbiage:
Adoption of networking technologies will make installed home theaters and multiroom audio systems more affordable, opening up this market to more consumers at low-to-medium income levels, according to Parks Associates' new report High-end Entertainment Systems: Analysis and Forecasts.
Total U.S. revenues for installed home theaters and multiroom audio systems will grow from $6 billion in 2007 to more than $11 billion by 2012, and analysts forecast the number of new installations to grow 67% over the same period, from 166,000 per year in 2007 to 277,000 by 2012.
"The high-end A/V market is in a major stage of transition," said Bill Ablondi, Director, Home Systems Research, Parks Associates. "Digital content is approaching the performance and quality of analog media, with the added flexibility only digital content offers. Reduced costs coupled with advancements in wireless and powerline networking technologies are also growing the retrofit portion of the market, at a time when mid-market construction is slowing down. Soon PC-based systems from companies such as Dell, HP, and Cisco will compete for customers who traditionally purchased systems from JBL, Sony, and Yamaha."
. . . and here's my favorite part:"Currently, the majority of high-end A/V customers are wealthy," Ablondi said.
"In addition, most installed entertainment systems are sold into new homes or
homes going through a major renovation. This mix will change as builders,
installers, and integrators become more accepting of 'no-new-wires'
technologies."
03 Mar, 2008
Unemployment Data: Another Take
The unemployment numbers lie.
Just because you still have a job doesn’t mean you are still making the same income. How much has the income of closing attorneys, builders, appraisers, home inspectors, title examiners, loan originators, lumber salesman, misc supply salesman, various trade contractors etc dropped? They are still employed earning 1/2 of what they earned last year if that lucky. Those that are unemployed now don’t show up in statistics because most were self employed or sub-contractors and therefore ineligible to apply for unemployment.
The writer, it turns out, is an Atlanta home builder. Read Herb's blog/the guy's post here.EleBlog take: The words above are SO common-sensical, so logical, and so obvious that I am humiliated to have not thought it up months ago. And I'm also feeling a bit stupid about playing catch-up with a blog entry that's more than 40 days old!
02 Mar, 2008
FlatWire Video (from TV)
02 Mar, 2008
Cabling Best Practice
Your server is working slowly and the accounts department is complaining that queries are taking three times as long as normal. You start by checking everything from the top of the network stack down.
The applications seem to be performing alright, and there are no viruses or unexpected packets in the system. There are no Trojans on the server, and no one is downloading gigabytes of music to their iPod. You are stumped. But did you think of going to the communications room and checking the server's patch cable?
Yes, it's probably aimed at customers more than contractors. But it makes for interesting reading. The applications seem to be performing alright, and there are no viruses or unexpected packets in the system. There are no Trojans on the server, and no one is downloading gigabytes of music to their iPod. You are stumped. But did you think of going to the communications room and checking the server's patch cable?
02 Mar, 2008
Cellphone Recycling
Headline: "Cellphone recycling is on the rise"
Rest of it: " . . . but still uncommon."
According to a survey, 9.4% of used cellphones are recycled. The link takes you to the story (words). But the table (not included online) in the print edition of TWICE magazine shows:
36.75% "stored" used cellphones.
15.54% "gave it to a family member or friend"
10.19% claimed the cellphone was "lost or stolen" or the user threw it away.
8.53% gave the phone to charity
7.99% "kept it" (and are still using it -- which seems to indicate the survey was sloppily written or administered)
5.73% "returned it to the store"
- - - - -
EleBlog Take:
a. This isn't a "green" blog, but I thought this was interesting.
b. by my reckoning, you take out the 8% of respondents who said they are still using the old phone, and the 2.73% who said they "don't know." So you have a divisor of 90, not 100.
. . . then you take the people who recycled it, gave it to charity, or returned it to the store -- that adds up to better than 23%.
. . . add in the people who gave it to someone they know (15.54%)
AND: You have roughly 39% who did NOT allow their used cellphone to go to waste.
Now add to that the 36.75% who said the used cellphone is "stored" -- and you have 75-76 out of 90 respondents who are doing something productive with the freaking thing.
. . . as opposed to only 10.19% who said the thing was gone.
THEREFORE -- the headline is stupid. The news here is actually GOOD.
