As I’ve mentioned before, Google and the internet has been invaluable the past few months. First to get information for documenting the value of our losses for insurance, more recently for getting information about materials for the new structure.
Now I’m done with that for a while and am curious about how effective the overhangs Steve (our architect/project coordinator) is proposing will be. Our first house was designed for passive solar, so we spent a lot of time looking at sun position and calculating how much sun would come in the windows in summer and winter. When I mentioned to Andy that I was going to try to do the same for the new design, he pointed out our solar book was one of the casualties of the fire. No problem, I said, I’ll bet I can find something on the internet.
Sure enough, a website called SunEarthTools.com not only has the formulas I need to calculate the sun position as a function of time for our latitude and longitude, it also does some of the calculations for me. I’ll still have to review some basic trigonometry when I take the overhangs into account, but the site will save me a lot of time. I do love the internet!
What about you?
When used properly, the internet is great! Sometimes it’s frustrating trying good information because of all the semi-spam websites out there, but it’s improving.
Unfortunately, for too many, there is a dark side — or, I guess I should say, many dark sides, of the internet. But I don’t go there. 😉
Though I guess I was once somewhat addicted by it, for me, now, it is a medium that I use for many things. I seldom “surf” the internet any more. And it’s far easier to walk away from it — which is exactly what we will be doing for the next six days… unless we happen to come across wifi or a good cell phone signal at Grand Canyon…
I do love the internet.
Usually I find to delve deeper I need print books. The internet seems to be stuff for immediate use – great but not everything.
(on internet now via verizon mobile hot spot in our phones — wasn’t expecting it. 😉 )
Mike,
I get most of my news off the internet. Even when I read a good article in a newspaper or magazine I’ll look it up to see if it’s been posted so I can send the link to a friend.
When we were evacuated I used it briefly in the evening to let people know where we were and to get the latest information about the fire. It was handy to get an idea of when we could return home.
Evan,
It depends on the topic. For instance, the site pveducation.org gives as good an explanation of photovoltaics as I’ve seen in technical books. And it has the added advantage of having interactive tools so one can change variables and see the results. It’s a great way of understanding something.
what? oh … this post is about the internet?
i got stuck on the word trigonometry!
you and my brother are the only people i
actually know who really USE it!
i can barely spell it. i am SO impressed monk!
love,
tammy j
So much for being away from the internet. 🙁
Our wifi was nonexistent yesterday (we didn’t try very hard). I knew that the weather was going to be iffy over the next couple of days, so, this morning, I decided to see if I could get online. The forecast from the National Weather Service, especially for travel in a motorhome towing a car on mountain highways, looked worse than “iffy.”
We were “scheduled” to travel from the North Rim to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon tomorrow. The forecast for tomorrow was for cold precipitation, possibly a rain-snow mix, turning to snow later, with snow tomorrow night possible on both sides, with accumulations of an inch or more. So we cancelled our reservations for South Rim — via internet –, made reservations for a campground 50 miles south of South Rim — via internet –, left North Rim a day early, and still fought stiff winds due to the changing weather on our drive today.
It would have been a lot more difficult to do all of this before the internet. (Trigonometry might have been easier 😉 ) It would have been difficult just getting a current weather forecast, not to mention canceling and making reservations from such a “remote” location.
Gotta love the internet!
tammy,
😀 Thank you. You made my day!
Mike,
I agree, the internet can be invaluable at times!
sorry forgot to reply…do not know why!
continuing education is a passion of mine as well…
the Internet has provided that truly as well…
my local library service has access to all manner of journals and newspapers that I can’t read in hard copy format
U-tube is good for instructions on how to do things…podcasts also good as is TED
email is great too as you can hear from someone faster than whatever, being able to send decent photos,
lots and lots of great ways to continue to be part of the educated, very easily 🙂