Sunday, September 25, 2011
Friday, September 23, 2011
My comment at powerlineblog.com about "shovel ready" stimulus jobs.
http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2011/09/no-shovel-ready-bureaucrats.php?fb_comment_id=fbc_10150341484143188_22994983_10150341773558188#f1cce0692c
Redrant: Someone sent me this link targeted to my posting. For several decades before this the starter "house doctor" weatherization jobs were a good source of "starter" jobs for those in job training programs and in "halfway houses" where the potential workers wanted to go "straight". The work was often dirty (liquid foam sticks to skin and hair) and the starting pay was not much above minimum wage. It also did not require many
customer service "people" skills, let the boss do the talking. It was perfect work for these "lost souls".
Weatherizing mostly older houses is a bit like "combat" where the squad has to assess the situation and figure out how to tackle it. The "lost souls" were in on this analysis. Every situation is different but in the case of old houses you start with the foundation. If it is rock of flagstone it will continue to shift. The house will remain structurally secure but will continue to shift. That created the "leaky window" situation where the best option is to plug every fall and remove the leak plug in the spring. Cost: around fifty cents in materials and half an hour of time every autumn if done by tenant or owner for each window.
In Minneapolis in the 1980's "house doctor" weatherization was mandatory for rental and optional for owner occupied housing. I am generally against government mandates but this tightened up the rental housing a lot so heating bills throughout the city were significantly lower for rental housing.
In my case when I bought my http://searshouse.com in 1986 it leaked like a sieve. It opted for the utility subsidized two hour intro for something like $25 which included a door fan. Fortunately it was a cool autumn day so the door fan dramatically showed all my air leaks. The guy did sill foam and then pinpointed other leak areas with something that looked like areasol can Christmas tree flock (easy to remove). I let him leave a half hour early in exchange for switch and outlet foam and window weight leak stoppers. I declined the advance work then having more time than money I did it myself. Suffice it to say it worked and http://searshouse.com is not an energy hog.
Anyway, I have encountered quite a few of these "lost souls" who went into weatherization over the years. They are mostly minority, mostly black inner city. Of course the inner city has the highest percentage of old houses which tend to leak like a sieve and there is a surprisingly high percentage of home ownership. The "fifty cent, half an hour per window" thing can make a huge difference in these older inner city owner occupied houses.
In talking to these "lost souls" I got the sense that they developed a feeling of self worth because they could help these poor homeowners with leaky houses. Resources were very hard to come by but I found that a lot of these people found good regular jobs. My guess is that employers asked them about the weatherization ideas and this showed their knowledge and qualifications.
I didn't follow the stimulus closely at the time but I sort of get the idea that the stimulus money was directed to out of work union members who were out of work. This created a situation where mostly white male suburban union members were given these "weatherization" job at two to three times the pay of the industry.
People in the skilled trades learn to do specific tasks very well and quickly. They were operating here well outside their skill area and there was a pressure to do it fast.
The "shoestring" weatherization industry caught onto this and complained.
They had a legitimate complaint. Greg Lang
Redrant: Someone sent me this link targeted to my posting. For several decades before this the starter "house doctor" weatherization jobs were a good source of "starter" jobs for those in job training programs and in "halfway houses" where the potential workers wanted to go "straight". The work was often dirty (liquid foam sticks to skin and hair) and the starting pay was not much above minimum wage. It also did not require many
customer service "people" skills, let the boss do the talking. It was perfect work for these "lost souls".
Weatherizing mostly older houses is a bit like "combat" where the squad has to assess the situation and figure out how to tackle it. The "lost souls" were in on this analysis. Every situation is different but in the case of old houses you start with the foundation. If it is rock of flagstone it will continue to shift. The house will remain structurally secure but will continue to shift. That created the "leaky window" situation where the best option is to plug every fall and remove the leak plug in the spring. Cost: around fifty cents in materials and half an hour of time every autumn if done by tenant or owner for each window.
In Minneapolis in the 1980's "house doctor" weatherization was mandatory for rental and optional for owner occupied housing. I am generally against government mandates but this tightened up the rental housing a lot so heating bills throughout the city were significantly lower for rental housing.
In my case when I bought my http://searshouse.com in 1986 it leaked like a sieve. It opted for the utility subsidized two hour intro for something like $25 which included a door fan. Fortunately it was a cool autumn day so the door fan dramatically showed all my air leaks. The guy did sill foam and then pinpointed other leak areas with something that looked like areasol can Christmas tree flock (easy to remove). I let him leave a half hour early in exchange for switch and outlet foam and window weight leak stoppers. I declined the advance work then having more time than money I did it myself. Suffice it to say it worked and http://searshouse.com is not an energy hog.
Anyway, I have encountered quite a few of these "lost souls" who went into weatherization over the years. They are mostly minority, mostly black inner city. Of course the inner city has the highest percentage of old houses which tend to leak like a sieve and there is a surprisingly high percentage of home ownership. The "fifty cent, half an hour per window" thing can make a huge difference in these older inner city owner occupied houses.
In talking to these "lost souls" I got the sense that they developed a feeling of self worth because they could help these poor homeowners with leaky houses. Resources were very hard to come by but I found that a lot of these people found good regular jobs. My guess is that employers asked them about the weatherization ideas and this showed their knowledge and qualifications.
I didn't follow the stimulus closely at the time but I sort of get the idea that the stimulus money was directed to out of work union members who were out of work. This created a situation where mostly white male suburban union members were given these "weatherization" job at two to three times the pay of the industry.
People in the skilled trades learn to do specific tasks very well and quickly. They were operating here well outside their skill area and there was a pressure to do it fast.
The "shoestring" weatherization industry caught onto this and complained.
They had a legitimate complaint. Greg Lang
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Al Gore's Fuzzy Logic
http://www.minnesotansforglobalwarming.com/m4gw/2011/09/gores-fuzzy-logic.html
Gore's Fuzzy Logic
To those of you who suffered through Al Gore's Climate Reality Project
you saw how he compared the skeptics to the tobacco companies of the
60's. Back then the Tobacco companies hired scientists to study the
health effects of cigarette smoking. He is saying because these
scientists had a vested interest in the outcome of their work, they
found that smoking wasn't harmful. Of course later we discovered that it
was indeed harmful because the evidence was overwhelming.
you saw how he compared the skeptics to the tobacco companies of the
60's. Back then the Tobacco companies hired scientists to study the
health effects of cigarette smoking. He is saying because these
scientists had a vested interest in the outcome of their work, they
found that smoking wasn't harmful. Of course later we discovered that it
was indeed harmful because the evidence was overwhelming.
In a way Al Gore is right, scientists who have a vested interest in
their studies might be prejudice in their work. The problem is Al Gore
is pointing his finger the wrong way. The 97% of Climatologists who get
paid to study Global Warming have a vested interest in Global Warming
being real.
their studies might be prejudice in their work. The problem is Al Gore
is pointing his finger the wrong way. The 97% of Climatologists who get
paid to study Global Warming have a vested interest in Global Warming
being real.
On the other hand scientists who don't have a vested interest have
overwhelmingly said that global warming isn't happening. In fact the
number is just the opposite of what Al is saying, 96% of scientists
don't believe in global warming.
overwhelmingly said that global warming isn't happening. In fact the
number is just the opposite of what Al is saying, 96% of scientists
don't believe in global warming.
The study that Al mentions came out last year saying 97% off scientists
believe in climate change, they surveyed 1,372 known working climate
researchers and found 97% of them still believe in global warming. I
think this pool is tainted because these are scientist who get paid to
study "Global Warming" which is a conflict of interest. That's like
asking tobacco company scientists if they think smoking is harmful.
believe in climate change, they surveyed 1,372 known working climate
researchers and found 97% of them still believe in global warming. I
think this pool is tainted because these are scientist who get paid to
study "Global Warming" which is a conflict of interest. That's like
asking tobacco company scientists if they think smoking is harmful.
On the other hand the Petition Project has 31,000 scientists who have
put their reputations on the line and have received no money and signed
a petition saying that they don't believe in man-made global warming.
Also 66% of meteorologists DON'T believe in man-made global warming.
put their reputations on the line and have received no money and signed
a petition saying that they don't believe in man-made global warming.
Also 66% of meteorologists DON'T believe in man-made global warming.
So let's do the math 97% of 1,372 is 1,330 who still believe in global
warming compared to 31,487 who don't. That's only 1 out 24 or 4% of
scientists who still believe in global warming.
warming compared to 31,487 who don't. That's only 1 out 24 or 4% of
scientists who still believe in global warming.
I think those of us who are on the skeptical side of the debate should
use the other side's tactic and repeat this over and over again ad
nauseum. 96% of Scientists DON'T believe in Global Warming.
use the other side's tactic and repeat this over and over again ad
nauseum. 96% of Scientists DON'T believe in Global Warming.
Monday, September 19, 2011
Adios Walgreens
Redrant: I grew up next door to Robert Reyer, the owner of Reyer Pharmacy in St. Paul, MN. He was a World War II fighter pilot who had to bail out at least twice over the English Channel.
The pharmacy was located in a relatively remote area of St. Paul, Selby at Fairview. Even in the mid 1960's Minnesota's high welfare benefits and lack of residency requirements made Minnesota a "welfare magnet". Starting in the mid 1960's his drug store was frequently robbed. Bob would pull his gun and detain or if they did not comply shoot back. As I recall he killed at least two and hit a few others.
He sent many a robber to prison and became a local "Dirty Harry" of sorts. He was never charged with any crime any never had a civil lawsuit against him. He finally closed the place and worked for a different pharmacy because of insurance costs. Greg Lang
http://www.shotinthedark.info/wp/?p=22986
The pharmacy was located in a relatively remote area of St. Paul, Selby at Fairview. Even in the mid 1960's Minnesota's high welfare benefits and lack of residency requirements made Minnesota a "welfare magnet". Starting in the mid 1960's his drug store was frequently robbed. Bob would pull his gun and detain or if they did not comply shoot back. As I recall he killed at least two and hit a few others.
He sent many a robber to prison and became a local "Dirty Harry" of sorts. He was never charged with any crime any never had a civil lawsuit against him. He finally closed the place and worked for a different pharmacy because of insurance costs. Greg Lang
http://www.shotinthedark.info/wp/?p=22986
Friday, September 16, 2011
Who should foot the bill for electric car charging?
http://www.startribune.com/blogs/129896438.html?uccb=1316162212072&cr=1
MY SUBMITTED COMMENT AS A REDRANT:
"The charging stations are a silly "symbolic" measure. Also, what happens if you have an electric car and someone gets to the space first?
Also, are public "electric cars only" parking spaces legal? ........ What constitutes electric vehicle and how can the enforcement people tell? The most popular electric vehicle is currently a Ford Ranger conversion. It looks just like a regular Ranger except for a plug where the gas filler pipe used to be.
My $15 "Kill-A-Watt" can act as an electric meter You would need something a bit more sophisticated but a card read electric meter could easily be incorporated into the charging stations.
The logical time to use the "free" charging is during the business day when electric demand is highest. Users would "top-off" at home at night when they are paying for the electricity themselves. ........ I recently checked and there are road use taxes for propane and natural gas based on energy equivalent. If we get enough electric cars for them to be relevant there will be a road use tax on the electricity. ....In the early 1970's the Twin Cities got it first (35W and Crosstown). This is still the only one.
MY SUBMITTED COMMENT AS A REDRANT:
"The charging stations are a silly "symbolic" measure. Also, what happens if you have an electric car and someone gets to the space first?
Also, are public "electric cars only" parking spaces legal? ........ What constitutes electric vehicle and how can the enforcement people tell? The most popular electric vehicle is currently a Ford Ranger conversion. It looks just like a regular Ranger except for a plug where the gas filler pipe used to be.
My $15 "Kill-A-Watt" can act as an electric meter You would need something a bit more sophisticated but a card read electric meter could easily be incorporated into the charging stations.
The logical time to use the "free" charging is during the business day when electric demand is highest. Users would "top-off" at home at night when they are paying for the electricity themselves. ........ I recently checked and there are road use taxes for propane and natural gas based on energy equivalent. If we get enough electric cars for them to be relevant there will be a road use tax on the electricity. ....In the early 1970's the Twin Cities got it first (35W and Crosstown). This is still the only one.
Thursday, September 15, 2011
From an email I recieved from the National Republican Congressional Committee
Dear Supporter,
I wanted to send you a quick note to follow up on Tuesday's special elections.
First, let me say thank you. Because of your support, Republicans won NV-02 and NY-09 by historic margins.
While there is a long way to go until next November, Tuesday's results paint an incredibly bleak picture for National Democrats.
These contests were a referendum on the President. To put it simply, after this week's elections, Democrats are very concerned that Obama and his failed policies will drag them down next fall.
Now, Democrats are attempting to spin these losses in various ways - going so far as to claim that NY-09 is a "difficult" seat for them.
Here are a few facts you should know about how "difficult" NY-09 is for Democrats:
- This is the first time a Republican has held this seat since 1923
- Three of the district's previous Representatives were Geraldine Ferraro, Chuck Schumer and Anthony Weiner
- There are 130,000 more registered Democrats than Republicans
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