Freaky financial week, to say the least. Suddenly 2008 seems so...recent. Why do we find it worth the risk to invest our money? Among the most common responses: Build/Increase wealth, provide long term financial security, and improve one's life style. “Return on investment” has become a cliché, the idea being that you put your money out there somewhere, and it comes back bigger & stronger. It’s the ‘putting it out there somewhere’ that’s unpredictable. Sometimes the investment does return home bigger & stronger. Sometimes it gets beaten up & shaken down, and limps home shrunken & frail. Sometimes it gets [...]

"It's not because we're bad at our job or anything. This is for your safety. We're doing this for you. This has nothing whatsoever to do with our ineptitude." Ok. "The dog ate my homework" seemed worth a try at the time. So let's spread the utility giant's rationale (and there's plenty to spread) across other markets: What if the pizza guy rang the bell, came into your kitchen, and took food out of your fridge? Or the doctor showed up for a visit and emptied your medicine cabinet. The paramedic arrives at the accident and punches someone. Your landscaper [...]

The Original Silicon Valley- Part II We crossed the threshold from simple to infantile in our ‘Earth Science by a Dummy’ segment last week. The point was proffered that silicon, a primary component of semiconductors, is basically sand. Super fancy stuff is made out of dirt. It was meant to make you go “Hmm.” Semiconductors help form the basis of modern electronics, and that means cool toys. Your phone performs functions that border on miraculous, no matter how nonchalant we act about it. In reading various definitions of semiconductors that elude my grasp, it seems safe to say that part [...]

It is the best of times (if you have solar), it is the worst of times (if you don’t). Here’s a bedtime story we think you’d like to wake up to: Rich and Paul Mann are brothers and next-door neighbors. They’re both married, two kids, two cars, and a mortgage on their 1800 square-foot homes.  They have the same annual income. Ten years ago, an average household electric bill for Rich and Paul was around $180. That Was Then, This is Now In May 2008, Rich installed 24 solar panels on his home. He didn’t have any cash available at the time, [...]

We are living in an advanced age - so many things in our home have multiple purposes or multiple functions. Think about it - we still call our mobile device a phone, but how many of us use it only for sending and receiving calls? We do a lot more than talk on a phone; we find a restaurant with great reviews, send text messages, play games, and use GPS directions. You know that meal around the dining room table with loved ones is irreplaceable, but these days, most of us love to eat while we watch tv...in the living [...]

Homeowners often ask two questions when they're considering a home improvement project: 'How much does it cost?', and 'How long will it take?' These are important questions to answer from the start. After all, the payoff should be worth the inconvenience. For example, we justify the hassle and expense of a kitchen remodel by remembering that, at the end of the project, our home is more fashionable, functional, and valuable. A solar installation project is the same ... yet different. We don't call solar fashionable or trendy, (although you can dress and decorate more stylishly with the extra cash solar [...]

Horsepower- 18th century Scottish engineer James Watt coined the phrase ‘horsepower’ based on his own equations. Since he was hoping his steam engine would perform work traditionally done by horses, such as moving heavy loads, pumping water from mines, or grinding mash at breweries, he needed a succinct way to compare what his invention could do with what his customers were used to seeing. Watt multiplied the speed by the force of a working horse, and devised a formula for measuring strength: "Horsepower" is the unit of energy needed to move 550 pounds the distance of 1 foot in 1 second. [...]

If it's done right, the penetrations a professional solar installer makes on your roof will keep moisture out longer than your roof will, in much the same way the best welders proudly proclaim (and prove) that their bead of material is stronger than the pieces of metal they sew together. Here's the deal:  Whether it's restaurants, roofers, or retailers, these days we do reviews. It's quick, easy, free, and a fairly good competence barometer. A good plumber will not leave you with a leaky faucet...for many years. A good solar team will not leave you with a leaky roof. At [...]