NigelW

I would be fascinated to see what the implications are... http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/amp/69/1/66/ Has anyone, who is trained in this topic, explored this?

Can you define sustainability?

So if I understand you correctly, you are saying that for new construction a green roof is better because it has a longer lifetime, provides a thermal mass, actively cools in the summer, and reduces rain water run off. I would be curious to know what application you are talking about and maybe you're correct. I know that for myself I would prefer to pay for a cool roof if I were somewhere hot, say phoenix, where the strain on water resources are a little higher than some place like Michigan. My sources: Water usage: http://dogyears.com/edm/2007_guhathakurta_gober.pdf Building Energy Consumption and the UHI http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.3763/aber.2009.0310#.U_F91mPCeh4 Limits of Evapo-transpiration: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01944360903433113#.U_F-RmPCeh4

Have you detailed or installed any green roofs? On the face of it, I see cool roofs as an easier fix for existing buildings, urban, sub-urban and rural. I don't know if a green roof would be better in any setting for new construction. My focus of this post was on urban areas. There are a lot of cool ways of designing buildings, that is for sure. Are you aware of any limitations of cooling via transpiration? I know this is site specific, but do you know what effect freeze/thaw has on green roofs and the building envelope? Compared to a cool roof, there is much more risk in building a green roof. How have you seen these issues addressed?

71F difference before and after applying the product 'Supertherm".

Hello! I would like to celebrate my birthday and I am looking for help with deciding what I want to do. It's in about 4 months and I would like to do something special. What are some interesting ways of celebrating a birthday?

I want to be clear that I am not advocating the use of force to impose this on anyone. Why do you think its government that is initiating it? Urban Heat Islands are the result of current and past construction methods and infrastructure. I am simply pointing out that if Urban heat islands are a concern that people consider painting their roof white. I've gone over why the heating load on a roof is avoided. Roofs in the north are usually already covered in snow by winter anyways and I acknowledge that there may not be a need for things like this in remote areas. If I take a float plane to work I would not need an Austin Martin.. unless they started making jet packs! I would be curious to know if an oven effect would happen. I believe there may be an initiative in the USA to retrofit your home, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t work. Depending on where you live, maintaining a lawn could be really expensive. Dehydration is also more likely. True. Higher temperature doesn’t necessarily mean higher costs when comparing average city temperature to energy use. But it is the case that when people are uncomfortable, they will seek to adjust their environment. So, in that case, higher temperatures compared to room temperature means higher cost. If it is room temperature outside and 30 Degrees Celsius inside, you may find it more comfortable to exit the building or turn on the A/C. In winter, HVAC systems do a great job of maintaining the comfort level of the occupants. Building comfort is a requirement.

Just some thoughts / arguments on what evidence I've seen looking at water consumption in cities. A common method for dealing with increasing temperatures in a building is with air conditioning. Air conditioning takes energy. Higher energy means higher cost. Therefore higher temperatures means higher costs. Water usage necessarily goes up if there is a temperature increase through things like maintenance etc. Buildings materials, in general, absorb radiation and radiate heat outwards. Building materials that are whiter in color reflect radiation. Buildings that reflect radiation don't require as much cooling. Therefore buildings that reflect radiation prevent water usage. Buildings that are side by side will heat each other. Buildings that become higher in temperature require more energy and water for air conditioning and human health/comfort. Therefore the more compact a city becomes the more energy and water is required. As cities get more compact, more energy is required to maintain occupant comfort, health and bank account. With energy use, water consumption will go up as well due to more occupants per unit of space compared to before. My argument is that to maintain a standard of living while compressing cities to more compact spaces you require methods of preventing energy and water consumption to make the building more efficient and cheaper to live in. A method of dealing with a roof that absorbs large amounts of heat is to apply a reflective and weather resistant layer of paint called a cool roof. My arguments are straight forward, if there are any inconsistencies I would appreciate that they be pointed out.

I apologize if it seems that I may be wasting your time. This is just where I am at. The idea that I should feel pride in having survived my childhood is something my father would say. It was wounding and discouraging. It comes to no surprise that I may declare that in a preemptive measure. I am also sorry for transferring that expectation onto you. What my parents chose to do to me is nothing an innocent child should go through. I do think there is something wrong with me when I picture my mother, who is giving a young child a disapproving look for looking at a pretty girl, is struck by a car and instead of the traffic stopping it gets busier and the body is run over again and again. When I was younger my father made me work for him splitting fire wood. I remember once being behind him with an 5 lb. axe. I remember rocking it on my hands as if preparing to strike. I can picture it actually happening... the axe being driven into his spine and seeing him convulse on the ground. I feel very uncomfortable sharing this. I see now that the truth is I had no choice as a child. I had to comply or die.

Well I chose to comply. I chose to survive. Can I take credit for surviving then? Is there anything in my life I want to change? I never want to see my family ever again. I feel like I'm still anticipating it.

I'm assuming that you mean if I want to change I have to assign responsibility. I got where I am today by choosing what I did as a child. I no longer have to choose to be helpless or isolate myself to serve the needs of shitty people. I don't seem to connect with what you've written. What is the alternative? Enjoying it? Honestly, I kinda do. A baseball bat really doesn't cut it...

So a friend helped me connect with my anger. All I can seem to think about lately is a slow motion dis-assembly of the people responsible for my neglect and isolation as a child.

Realizing your coworkers and family are lying about something about something as fundamental as what is right is pretty painful. I have a hunch that this is my round about way of saying that my coworkers are religious, child abusing, fuckers. It makes me angry and I am choosing to stay there. I'm afraid that if I express utter disgust that I will lose my job. But, then what? Do I start my own business? I barely have my head above water financially and was not something that was modeled for me.

But choosing to conform to society has huge benefits! Social acceptance, money, and whatever else comes with it. The truth is that I will have chosen to accept something as true that is or is not a lie. Which is something I still struggle with. I don't know that I can dismiss someone based off of my anxiety and yet I can't live without trusting what people what people say. There is simply not enough time for me to run and learn their profession and come to a conclusion about something they said in the past. It is way more efficient to trust what people are saying... but I wonder if there are any more criteria one can use to determine if someone is looking out for their best interest?

I've had similar thoughts. If it is true that religion is a placebo, then I can see value in defining it as such. In other words, fantasy is a drug and so are placebos. I acknowledge that Sam Harris has distorted views. Telling children terrible stories rather than the truth is something that I oppose. I am using this video to explore the definition. I also don't know for certain what the definition of religion is. I've seen chapels in town with the phrase "God is Love" posted on a message board outside. Placebo: a simulated or otherwise medically ineffectual treatment for a disease or other medical condition intended to deceive the recipient. Sometimes patients given a placebo treatment will have a perceived or actual improvement in a medical condition, a phenomenon commonly called the placebo effect. (Wikipedia) I would also appreciate feedback on my post. I don't know exactly what encompasses an ideal post in this instance. I seem to have this idea that everyone on this forum knows everything. Thanks!

It just occurred to me that I ignored how atrocious the comment section can get for Stef's videos. I don't know how he does it. I wonder why I ignored it?

Thank you for the correction, Pipin. I am trying to improve my ability to think, it's really quite hard and I don't expect 12 years of public school, years of video game, drug and alcohol abuse to magically disappear. I think I know why I felt uncomfortable posting this.

Hi, I was listening to an audiobook by Steven Novella titled "Your Deceptive Mind: A Scientific Guide to Critical Thinking Skills." He was running through a list of fallacies and gave explanations for each. Emotional pleading to true Scotsman fallacy. I found it very useful! One fallacy that threw me through a loop was the fallacy fallacy. I feel acute discomfort in posting this. But it may be worth exploring. This fallacy is described on Wikipedia as: The formal fallacy of analyzing an argument and inferring that, since it contains a fallacy, its conclusion must be false. Example 1: We should eat healthy food because a nutritionist said it was popular, therefore we should eat bacon double cheeseburgers every day. Example 2: We should pay taxes because our government said so. Therefore we shouldn't pay our taxes. Example 3: Racism shouldn't be banned because we're racists. Therefore racism should be banned. Example 4: Cell phones in classrooms shouldn't be banned because if there is an asteroid heading towards Earth we need to know about it. Therefore cellphones should be banned. Example 5: Our country is self sufficient, we are apart of our country and therefore we are self-sufficient. Therefore you are not self-sufficient. Example 6: Our city is like any other city because of God. Therefore our city is not like any other city. Example 7: Our Family is fine because family is family. Therefore Our family is not fine.

Hello! Those of you in the Edmonton area that are available Thursday night are welcome to join us at Transcend Coffee - Garneau at 6:45 PM. We have are very fortunate to have scheduled at 7:00 PM via Google Hangout, Adam O'Brien of BTC Solutions who will be giving us an introduction to bitcoin! A very exciting evening. If you can't make it out, we hold meetups every week! We are open to ideas or suggestions for future meetup locations, content, or scheduling. We are a newly formed group with room for more. The content of our last meetup was debating UPB in a nutshell. If you feel like beating the isolation, come on down! I look forward to hearing from you. Sincerely, Nigel

Hello, How does the use of possessive pronouns used in families effect the perception of property in adulthood? Does anyone see this as something interesting to explore?

@Pipin I remember consciously making the decision in high school to portray myself as a less than I am. I remember being fascinated with the 100 years war and other topics in history and art. That all faded when I decided to fade into the crowd. Drug abuse soon followed. I am behaving the same way at work. Reading through 400 page architectural specifications with contradictions and misused products can be a fun challenge, but I can’t stop thinking about actually learning how to think. To top it off, I think I may be reproducing the feelings I feel at work in other people in this board. I don’t fully understand why I did what I did in high school and I don't know how to move past it. The question that is killing me is, why didn't anyone help me to understand? @SamuelS I may very well be onto something. Perhaps if I chose to have kids I can raise my kid(s) using first names only. Language is tribal, right? I don't know, I would just prefer not to have my child potentially confuse ownership and parental bond. I do agree with Pipin that it is the current state of things, though.

I accept that the word "my" is used to describe unique relationships. So saying that someone is my friend can be accurate. As opposed to saying my country. Which is not accurate. Can it also be true that by using "my friend" one can exploit you? Erg, I feel embarrassed. Questions I never felt safe to ask when I was a child are coming up now. I may just be dense, Pepin.

Come to think of it, as a teenager,I remember talking about the people responsible for raising me as "my parents". I wonder if there was a certain level of misdirected emotion because of it. If I think a person is "mine" I may become frustrated when they don't act like my property. Like a car, computer, etc. I am disowned, like "I am property and no one wants to own me" I wonder how the language can be put most accurately to show self ownership.

Consider parenting as a verb. If Patrick is the person responsible for my well being he would be called a parent. In the act of parenting, he would be parenting me. It was difficult to actually write those sentences, I must admit, as I am used to saying my father etc. Can you please define bond? I can accurately describe a bond with a lover. Rachel and I are in love. Can you define a high level of information? You would agree that the value in “my friend” would be considerably less if children who were conceptually illiterate took on that phrase without knowledge of what it means. Would you? I think it would be more valuable to accurately say that person’s name. If I have a friend would snowboards with me, then I can say that Bob and I are going snowboarding. I do not have to say “my friend.” If a child is talking to another child about who they live with, they can simply say Bob parents me. “Also, Bob who parents me said this.” I am not sure how the word “my” is specific compared to a persons name. You can replace girlfriend with Rachel(nothing against Rachels). “Rachel won’t stop nagging.” You would argue that “my X” does not at all imply ownership? My car, my watch, my post are all examples of establishing ownership with that phrase. @SamuelS Did she ever call you "her husband"?

I don't mean to pry too much as I don't know you personally. Why do you think it was strange and disturbing?