O-Train swings through Tampa

We joined 2,000 folks yesterday in Ybor City (the old Cuban / Italian district of Tampa) to see and hear Barack Obama. Very cool. Obama is certainly an engaging speaker. Earlier in the day, we had quite a bit of driving rain and gusty wind. But by the time we had all gathered and Senator Obama was speaking, the sun was shining and it was truly a beautiful day.

Among the things Obama said:
- By the end of his first term as President, the United States of America will have universal healthcare for all Americans
- The war in Iraq was a huge mistake (Barack Obama is one of the few in office who has been saying that since before we invaded). He said the troops should be brought home, and that needs to be complete within a year (personally, I think we should get out now, but it's nonetheless positive to support the troops and bring them home, rather than continuing to escalate).
- The men and women who have served overseas deserve our support while they are away, and they deserve our support and absolutely the best care when they return home injured.
- We cannot allow our children to be the first American generation to inherit a country in worse shape than it was when our generation took the scene. We need to address climate change and global warming and energy policy now. It does not make sense to have energy corporation executives making energy policy.

We're not among the folks who can afford to pay thousands of dollars to hobnob with the national political candidates. Barack Obama's visit - the local visit of the O-Train - reminded me of the whistle stop train tours we've heard about from earlier years, when ordinary folks could hear the candidates speak. And the crowd did look like a cross-section of Tampa, which was very cool: all ages, ethnicities, at least one person I know to be a local millionaire, plenty ordinary schmucks like me, gay, straight, folks who looked like they just came from church, and some who looked like they just got up. A true cross-section, and that is the kind of base that will get a candidate elected to the White House!

Water heat: Solar is delayed a week

Well we were supposed to get our solar water heating system installed on Friday. Solar Source had called on Thursday to confirm, but by noon Friday no one had shown up nor called. So I called them and was told that I should have been told on Thursday to call the morning of our installation to see if we were on the schedule for the morning or the afternoon. Huh? OK, well we certainly did not get that instruction. Fine. We were told that we were on the schedule for the afternoon. At 3:30pm, I faxed the local manager at Solar Source to state that I was a bit disappointed with this first encounter with the company. At about 3:45pm ...with no one having shown up yet, and still no call, I called Solar Source. They were going to put me on hold and check on the status of the crew. But I wasn't real keen about having someone show up at 4pm or later on a Friday to begin what we had been told could be several hours of installation. I asked to be rescheduled, and for a morning installation. At this point, we are slated to have the system installed on Monday, 23 April. And that's perhaps fairly fitting, since it's the day after Earth Day :)

Solar water heat coming on Friday

By this time next week we will no longer have a hot water heater in our garage. We are going completely solar for our water heating. We did some research and have signed on to purchase a ProgressiveTube system (pic) through SolarSource. They will install the system next Friday, and I am stoked! Since we get so much sun here, there's really not much worry about lack of sunshine. In some areas, one would retain the electric or gas-powered water heater as a backup ...but we should be OK. Since our current gas water heater is only 2 years old, I'll plan to sell it on Craigslist; there are plenty of landlords who look for good used appliances for replacements in their rental properties.

The USA unloads far more greenhouse gases to the atmosphere than any other nation. So as a partial contribution to reducing our dependence on fossil fuels, my goal is to reach a point of consuming half of the natural gas and electricity that were using when we first moved into our house. We've got most of the incandescent light bulbs replaced with fluorescents, the programmable thermostat has been set to keep the place a little warmer in the summer and a little cooler in the winter, we're of course converting our water heating to have a zero carbon footprint (apparently water heat accounts for about a third of the energy usage in all-electric homes), and we're trying to be more diligent about turning off lights and devices that are not in use. We've also gotten rid of most of the grass in the back and side yards (ALL of it in due time) and have been replacing it with drought-tolerant Florida-friendly plants (this doesn't save a lot of fossil fuel, but it does reduce use of fertilizers and reduces the area of mowed lawn ...and does a fair amount to conserve water).

But the biggest contribution to CO2 emissions is, of course, automobiles. I'm usually able to work from home a couple of days a week, so that helps. Our local bus system does have some routes now that did not exist a year or two ago, so it's now time for me to do some research and see if there's a way for me to work via bus ...without the commute consuming the full day with transfers and waits. We'll see.

One step at a time ...as long as we keep stepping.

Best part about life in Tampa

Well DUH! The weather! And this time of year is awfully hard to beat. This morning (Saturday) I got up about 8am, did a few miles on the treadmill, went out back and hosed off and then did some laps in the pool before making some coffee. Sat out on the lanai drinking coffee and reading the paper. I love this view ...the relaxing water, the blooming hibiscus just outside the pool cage, the bamboo past that which is starting the annual growth spurt (we're at about 2 meters high now, and I expect it will double this year). The tall foliage in the background is a young oak tree in the neighbors yard (which I shall diligently trim whenever branches start to hang over into our back yard; I do not want any risk of a tree falling on the fence / pool cage if a hurricane decides to visit!)

And of course, one can't beat just relaxing with friends. This pic was last weekend ...Shirley on the left and our friends Michelle and Howard (Michelle is the one with a glass of Spanish wine). There's always so much that we could be doing around the house and yard, that it helps to have friends stop by and kind of force us to just chill ...Speaking of chill, I must admit that I did not go in the pool at all in February. But I did use the pool in January and December and the other months ...thanks to solar pool heat and thanks to feeling a bit warm when I get done exercising ...probably couldn't handle the water during the cooler months other wise :)

Vents ARE installed correctly

Vents ARE installed correctly

Let the record show: I am a dork. I took some rough measurement of the location of the clothes dryer and then went back up in the attic and had a more thorough look about. Duh! The dryer vent is installed correctly, and should have been easy to spot. Of course, my mission yesterday was to check that the Solatubes would fit where we want to put them, so it was quite by accident that I saw some mystery vent open to the attic area.

To make it easier to crawl over to the area of the vents ...and in large part to make it easier when we install the Solatubes ...I began screwing down some boards today, across the roof trusses. Having to be careful to locate the truss every 24 inches and NOT step on drywall (and most likely break through to the living area below) ...is no fun. With these boards fastened, I can now slide along much more easily, and can also push or drag tools and materials more quickly.

So with a more measured inspection, I discovered that the dryer and plumbing vents are, in fact, installed properly. That leaves the mystery of what the purpose might be for that open tube that sticks up. Here's a pic of all three vents. Ideas?