Can we fix it? Yes we can.

Let me apologize in advance if this rambles a bit, it's Monday morning, after all.

Two items struck me this week, first off this article on building passive homes in the New York Times (homes that use super-efficient insulation, sunlight and convection for low- or no-energy climate control) and the fact that the Maker Faire happened in NYC this past weekend (wish I could've afforded to go!).
Put these two items together in my mind and the thought process runs a bit like this:

-It's possible to build comfortable homes that use little or no outside energy
-There's a whole bunch of smart people dedicated to building and modding stuff themselves
-It's difficult and expensive to get materials to build passive homes in the US
-There's a whole community of people who like to build stuff for themselves
-It's possible to build low-or-no-power homes
-Why aren't there pre-fab/kit/whatever passive power homes all over the place?

The answer is that, of course, there are passive homes all over the place, just not usually in "modernized" areas. Brick, stone, earth and straw-insulated houses can be amazingly energy efficient, and homes built in caves or partially underground keep stable temperatures in a lot of conditions (and earn bonus points if they have round doors and a gardener named Sam).

But modern, high tech passive homes that meet urban building standards are almost unheard of in the US. Why?
Well, for one thing, the morass of zoning and codes required to build anything more complicated than a flower bed in most areas makes it hard to legally building anything novel, and two, because they can be more labor intensive, they're more expensive to build, and most contractors don't have experience in building them.

But, as the saying goes, if we can put a man on the moon, why can't we make affordable, super-efficient housing a common thing? What about combining passive homes with the concept of "tiny homes" to create low-cost, low-impact modular homes? Homes that could be built cheap and either by skilled labor or by DIY homeowners?

Materials are one issue, but if there's a demand for the building materials, somebody will sell them, and with enough demand, prices will get reasonable.

Another big obstacle I see is zoning legislation. How do you regulate non-conventional housing (well, for one, by making energy efficient housing conventional, but that's part of the long game), how about by getting a competent legal team to draft model housing laws that could sent to local governing bodies to help them adapt to the new process.

My Utopian ideal would be to have pedestrian friendly "cottage parks," which, like contemporary trailer parks with common sewage and water hookups (although those can probably be modernized as well), and dozens of modular, affordable, efficient homes that would provide the satisfaction and security of home ownership to the multitude of folks who can't even dream of it in this economy.

Yes, we'd have to get over the ideas of "I want a big house or no house" and "where am I going to put my stuff" but if you sell it right "better a small home as long as it's MY home" can win out. Plus, the added benefits of easy maintenance, the ability to customize and ridiculously low energy bills should appeal to those of modest means.

Low-Tech on the Go: Cheap Pocket Pencil Hack

I've talked about pocket notebooks in recent posts, they're handy things to have for keeping organized and jotting down ideas, but what do you use to write in them?

If I'm wearing a jacket or carrying a bag it's easy enough to carry a pen, but otherwise a pen in a pants pocket, where it's subject to being bent and banged up by whatever my clumsy posterior collides with, which can lead to a messy leak. In these cases, the humble pencil is a better choice.

Carrying a pencil does have one or two small disadvantages, first, a good point on is is vulnerable and easily broken, and two, one needs something to sharpen it with. You can carry a separate sharpener and keep renewing the tip if you like, but I like an all-in-one option. If money is no object, you can get one of these (and apparently there is a more affordable plastic option which I fully intend to snatch up if I come across one), but for those of us who are looking for cheap and easy, I've got another way.

Materials you'll need are:
Your pocket notebook (of course)
A pair of small binder clips
A piece of fine-grit sandpaper
A knife
A pencil
A cheap "stick" pen

Start by cutting the pencil down to about the length of your pocket notebook. You don't have to, but I find this makes it easier to carry the two together. Then put a bit of point on it with the knife or a sharpener.

Next take the pen. Remove the cap from the pen, and toss the pen back in your desk drawer (it doesn't need a cap there). The plastic cap should fit nicely over the point of an average Number 2 pencil.


Now, cut a piece of the sandpaper small enough to fit inside your notebook. Clip it in place with a binder clip.

Attach another binder clip to the edge of your notebook, you can then slip the clip on the pen cap through that, attaching your pencil to your notebook.
And there you have a pocket writing system. The sandpaper is all you need to sharpen your pencil (with patience you can sharpen it from completely flat, but for the sake of efficiency it's easier to cut your point and home and use the paper to refresh it as it wears down) and the pen cap protects the tip in your pocket and provides a clip.