Although most of you live in the United States, I do get visitors from other countries. I just found a WordPress plugin that automatically translates my site into other languages. Not being fluent in anything but English, I can’t attest to the quality of the translations, but I figure it’s worth a shot to help out my foreign visitors. Just click a flag on the right side of the page to choose the language you want to read. Pretty nifty, eh?
Jonathan – 1 Month Old!
Are you ready for this? Jonathan’s one-month birthday was yesterday. I know it’s cliche to say that time flies, but it’s cliche because it’s true. Check out Jonathan’s page for the update. I’ll try to post some new pics sometime next week.
Solar Water Heater, Part 2
UPDATE: Oncor has approved their partial funding of our project, and we have scheduled installation for March 3.
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About a month ago I wrote about solar water heating, which using the sun’s energy to heat water for showers, laundry, and other household needs. Due to overly conservative tax withholding last year, we are getting a big tax refund. Hmm…what to do?
I know! Let’s install a solar water heater!
So we are. Our contractor is Innerline Plumbing in Mansfield, one of the only plumbing companies in the area that can do this type of work. Our system is a Sungrabber, an active system that uses a pump, heat exchanger, and small storage tank. As needed during the day, the system pumps a dedicated water supply up to the roof, where the sun heats it. We get “solar panels” on our roof, but they are made of black plastic tubes that absorb heat rather than photovoltaic cells that generate electricity. Then the heated water flows back down to a heat exchanger that transfers the heat to the water we actually use, which is stored in our existing water heater. When the system isn’t operating due to insufficient sunlight or freezing temperatures, the system’s dedicated water supply remains in a drainback tank inside our house so it doesn’t freeze. Our electric water heater can pick up the slack as needed.
If we change our usage patterns a bit to use hot water mainly during the day, this system should be able to provide 50-80 percent of our hot water needs, dropping our electric bill $30-50 a month. Although the up-front cost is high (about $4800), with the 30% federal tax credit and Oncor’s rebate, our effective cost is only about $1500. The system should pay for itself in 30-50 months.
Since this project combines saving money with helping the earth, I feel like a kid at Christmastime! We hope to have it installed sometime in March.
Auto-Tune
A few years ago, a Simpsons episode told the story of how Bart, Milhouse, Nelson, and Martin (I think) turned into a boy band that produced recruitment material for the Navy. (Oh, how I love The Simpsons) Even though none of the four can sing at all, they had the right “look” for a boy band, and the music producers made up for the quartet’s utter lack of talent with a mysterious dial labeled Studio Magic.
Although Studio Magic is exaggerated for laughs, it’s based on a real technology called Auto-Tune. Using sophisticated computer processing, Auto-Tune can bend a singer’s voice to match the exact pitch he/she should be singing. Sometimes a singer only needs minor corrections that an average listener’s ear could hardly detect. Sometimes a singer needs significant help. Auto-Tune can make a voice sound normal or intentionally distorted, as in the weirdly electronic vocals of Cher’s “Believe” or Jamie Foxx’s “Blame It”. It can even correct a live performance so that a singer at American Airlines Center sounds in-tune even during an off night.
The majority of singers in popular music now use Auto-Tune for studio work, and many use it in concert as well. Ever notice how some singers sound much worse live compared to their CD recordings? Katy Perry, Taylor Swift, and the Black-Eyed Peas come to mind. I suspect they are not strong singers in term of pitch accuracy, so they use Auto-Tune for studio recordings but inexplicably opt-out for concerts. Kelly Clarkson, on the other hand, produces consistent, in-tune vocals whether on CD or live. Since Kelly earned a spot in the Texas All-State Choir, I assume she has a very accurate voice that needs little pitch correction.
Some purists hate Auto-Tune. They argue that it cheapens the art and craft of singing, produces fake-sounding music, and hides the “character” that makes music interesting. Others love it because it produces a cleaner sound, saves work and time in the studio, and gives fans a better experience when it’s used in concert. What do you guys think?
Paternity Leave
Friday night I returned to work after a month off (except for a couple of weird nights where my office was desperate and lured me in). Using a combination of vacation time, scheduled time off, and trades, I was blessed with the chance to spend a huge amount of time at home with my newly expanded family, and we had a great time. When I’m working, I’m asleep for the majority of Brenden’s awake time, so this break gave me a chance to wake him up each morning, play with him at the park and rec center, read with him, and marvel as he grows. Although much of our time was spent caring for one or both boys, the break let me spend some good time with Jenny here and there. Finally, it gave me the chance to see a new little miracle, a brand-new life that is partly me, partly Jenny, and partly the mystery of God’s handiwork.
Being back at work isn’t all bad, though. I like my job and most of my coworkers. I enjoy having a routine and official responsibilities outside my home. To be honest, being at work is easier than staying home with two boys under age 2, especially when one of them is Brenden! When Jenny and I can each take one of them, we get by OK, but when Jenny was napping or out somewhere and I had them both, things could get interesting really fast. Just a few days ago, I was holding Jonathan in one arm, propping up his bottle in place with my chin, and trying to cut up a pizza slice with a fork for Brenden with the other hand. Once the pizza slice ran out and Brenden was still hungry, I threw in the towel and called for backup.
In a nutshell, I had to come back to work to get some rest and to have the time and energy to blog! Sorry for the relative lack of posts, but I’m sure you understand. I am now officially back in business.
Thanks again to all of you who helped us out over the past month, whether through meals, babysitting, visits, gifts, prayers, or well-wishes. We are so thankful to have so many wonderful people in our lives.
Snowmageddon Dallas 2010
Although it definitely caused problems for some, we were delighted by Thursday’s record snowfall! We mostly stayed inside on Thursday while it fell, admiring out the window and getting some painting and other work done inside. I did take Brenden out front briefly and showed him how to make and throw a snowball. From then on, his favorite word (other than “no”) became “ball”. Brenden loved looking out the window and kept saying, “No! No!” (which, in this context, means snow)
Thursday night I took some pictures during the last few hours of the snowfall. On Friday we bundled up and actually played in the snow. Brenden got to walk around in snow for the first time and helped me build our first snowman. He was a great sport for a while until his hands got cold and wet. Jonathan made a brief trip outside but spent most of the afternoon inside with Jenny. Here are some of our pictures: