Silo

15:13 Friday, 11 September 2026

Current Wx: Temp: 70.65°F Pressure: 1017hPa Humidity: 56% Wind: 8.84mph
Words: 227

From this morning's walk. It was a nice 54°F out, with clear skies and no wind to speak of. Saw cows, geese and a rabbit. No deer this morning, because I got a bit of a late start. After sunrise, but before it rose above the hill to the east, which is why the dome of the silo is illuminated.

Apple and OM System announced new products this week. Nothing from Apple really excited me, while OM System's new PEN model does feel pretty exciting. The only thing from Apple that kind of interests me is the Watch, because of the additional health features. Nothing like getting old to make you more interested in health tech than shiny new finishes on repetitive phone designs.

Oh, the Duo? Yeah, I'd rather buy a laptop, thank you. I got my 14" M5 MBP with 2TB of storage and 32GB of RAM for what that phone costs. To be fair, that was before RAMaggedon.

And I'm still pissed at Apple for changing the name of Lake Ontario in Maps. Talk all you want about Apple's "culture." They worship money just like ever other corporation, and have no core principles other than that. So factor that into how much Apple's "privacy protection" features are worth.

OBTW, shot this on an Olympus Stylus 1s compact digital camera. 300mm effective focal length.

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Build Something That Lasts

14:54 Friday, 11 September 2026

Current Wx: Temp: 70.41°F Pressure: 1017hPa Humidity: 56% Wind: 8.84mph
Words: 325

It was a beautiful morning to pour concrete. The Grand Prix Festival is going on down in Watkins Glen, and it's Mitzi's birthday. A lot going on.

We got the gable poured, and the footers for the deck and the porch. Next week they'll take down all the bracing and the platform and begin setting the parallel chord trusses for the open, "public" part of the main floor. Once that's complete, they'll frame up the main floor interior before setting the attic trusses over the remainder of the house.

Had an HVAC company out yesterday to look at the project. Discovered another challenge. While the floor trusses have an opening built into them to accommodate the main vent duct, there is no way to insert a five-foot length of rigid metal duct into it.

Because of course.

This is why I'm not convinced that any new construction home must begin with the HVAC design. You almost literally have to build your house around the HVAC system.

And it reiterates the value of an all-hydronic solution, where it's vasty more efficient, and easier, to run half-inch PEX anywhere you need heating or cooling than pushing air through ducts.

They're going to reach out to the truss company and speak to their engineers and see what we can do about cutting and later repairing three trusses to create an opening large enough to insert the duct. If that isn't feasible, we are at least fortunate that we have 9'4" ceilings, and we'll run a soffit across to the south side of the house, away from the stairwell, and then down along the south wall.

They believe we'll only need the air handler and ductwork for cooling. They're convinced the radiant slab will heat the entire house. I have no idea, but we're going to find out, that's for sure.

But it was a productive visit and I think I've found our HVAC contractor.

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