Week Two - Wasting energy?

10/19/2007 - Friday

Hi ... I guess it's gonna be gripe time.

My goals have not been achieved this week. And, I feel sleep deprived, too. If I were feeling wide awake and had accomplished lots of other things I would be very upbeat, but to be dealing with two negatives is not my idea of a good end to a week. Nonetheless, I am looking forward to a decent weekend. I don't have much work to bring home with me for a change, and I did solve an issue with my 3-month-old computer. Here's the story on that one. While packing up my papers and computer equipment to go home on Wednesday, I felt something strange on the back of the computer and noticed a crack on the bottom left-hand corner of the case of my new HP laptop. Needless to say, I was upset; I didn't want to add that computer to my "a-bag-a-day" plan! How the crack occurred is still a mystery. I do not think it was in that condition the previous day; it must have occurred on Wednesday. But how? When I took it out of my carrying case in the morning after a short drive to my office, I would probably have noticed the crack because I would have held it in a similar way to when I was putting it in its case at the end of the day. Analyzing the events around that computer for the day revealed nothing extraordinary. I put in a locked drawer when I went to my lab-classroom lab to teach, and I took it out of the drawer in the afternoon and used it for about three hours. It was obviously cracked at that time, unless when I went out to the restroom, maybe one time, or out to see others in my department, maybe one time, something happened that I wasn't aware of.

Luckily the computer was still working fine, no problems with any of its operations. So, I checked out if it was still currently being sold; it was, which meant I could buy a replacement computer and keep parts from the other for later catastrophes. Upon reflecting on this, I realized how stupid that solution was, just eventually adding more clutter of plastic and metals to the earth unnecessarily, in addition to wasting money. But, I wasn't looking forward to going around with a cracked computer for three years, the length of time I usually keep a computer and find it to be useful. Also, the crack looked like it would jeopardize the overall strength of the case for protecting the electronics inside. I needed to find another solution. And, that solution would not be disposing of the computer. Yesterday afternoon, I looked for HP replacement parts and did find the part was available and HP would replace the back of the case for me. That will happen next week, but I will need to pay for it. The cost is less than the accidental damage plan would have cost me. That should make me feel better, but somehow it didn't.

Today, I went into my classroom lab and it was boiling. I mean the temperature was maybe 10 degrees warmer than the hallways or my office. Is there a way to recycle the excessive heat that was being generated in that room? I might tell you that the room is already environmentally unfriendly; it's an energy-consuming area filled with student computer stations, a teacher computer and other peripherals, along with a central unit controlling the equipment that enables teachers to display students' work on a smart board or on any of the computers in the room. A considerable amount of heat is generated by all that equipment, which is always on except during breaks. If today's heat were due to the AC not working in that area of the building, it may be that energy was saved, but it was sure an unpleasant experience teaching in the overheated room. I was more fortunate than many of my students who'd worn rather warm clothing for the gray day with rain showers we were having. I had heard the weather report that morning and knew it would be warmer than normal for October even though the day was gloomy. I wore only a light shirt and slacks. My teaching style includes movement and I ask students to be active as well, so we were all sweating after a while. My students and I saw not only electrical energy generating heat that was unwelcome and wasted but also human energy that was being consumed needlessly.

Stopping here without achieving the goals I'd set for this project, I am satisfied that today we disposed of more than enough energy calories to fill several bags, and saved at least one computer from the refuse heap. Enjoy the weekend.