Solar Panels–Thumbs Up or Thumbs Down

I’m walking on sunshine…

…and don’t it feel good!

Katrina and the Waves, 1985

Yeah, that song is little poppier than my usual opening. But we need to talk about the sun, and I didn’t think Soundgarden’s “Black Hole Sun” was appropriate. (Love the new Chris Cornell song though.)

Barb and I have never discussed how “green” we want the new house to be. Our builder has told us since the start of this project that instead of regular sheathing and overwrap on the exterior he plans on using something called the “Zip System”. We didn’t pay too much attention. Turns out Zip is a pretty new and hopefully pretty awesome way to build a tighter, better insulated, house. So we get one point for being ecologically correct. But the other day, the architect suggested solar panels. It seems we will have the perfect exposure for it, with a south-facing roof and a big pond on that side of the house. Should get plenty of sunshine, even if it is Chicagoland. But we are not sure if we should go ahead or not. It is quite costly, even with ComEd rebates and future electrical savings. And that wide open southern exposure also happens to be the first thing visitors will see as they drive up the street towards the home. With all the effort Barb is going through to choose the right stone, stucco and roofing combination, are solar panels really the first impression we want the house to make? And since Time Magazine just got done telling me that fusion is the unlimited energy of the almost near future, maybe we don’t have to worry….

I shouldn’t make it sound like I am not concerned about the environment. We actually do a lot of recycling, both at home and in the lab. In my Board of Education days we worked very hard to have the school building be a leader in conservation. But my car, and my driving habits, are on the gas-guzzling side and I do have a bad habit (just ask Barb) of leaving the lights on in every room I have visited, however briefly, during the day. So maybe solar panels are something we can do to help the world–if they aren’t too, too unsightly. What do you think? Worth it to put solar panels in a Chicago home?

There was no sun yesterday for Halloween. Our scoreboard read Super Size Bags of Candy Bought at Target: 2, Trick or Treaters: 0. And if we didn’t already have enough candy laying around the house, Barb and I came home last night with even more as a prize for winning the best costume prize at a Halloween party. A “Kudos” and an “Atta Boy!” in the next post to anyone who can guess exactly what our costume was. Send your guesses to les.raff@post.com

So if Halloween is gone, it must now be Movember. My pledge is to grow absolutely no facial hair. Believe me, it is better this way. But most of you know that prostate cancer is my interest both personally and professionally. Via the SeaBlue Prostate Cancer Awareness Runs I have been fortunate to raise a lot of funds over the past few years. I am also doing a bit of research, so if you or a loved one has had a prostate biopsy, please check out this site.

The sun sets early now, and this blog will go down as well.

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Sucking a Little Less Blood. Is it Trick, or Treat?

We know the fire awaits unbelievers….

…all of the sinners the same.

Unbelievers–Vampire Weekend–2013

Just in time for Halloween, and it’s a bloody mess! The hot shot, Jobsian (think Apple, not Biblical) CEO with the start up venture in California was going to change the way we lab rats did your blood work. No more tourniquets and making fists. No more scary needles and “just one more tube, dear.” She was going to do all your blood work with a little pin prick on the tip of your finger. She had big national pharmacy chains linking up as blood-drawing partners. She had Wall Street falling all over her. She was going to make the world a kinder, gentler, place.

Now, faster than you can say “Enron”, we read about questionable lab practices and not quite right federal inspections. And let me tell you, a few of my pathologist buddies are gloating! But every medical lab has been through those inspections, and we know how capricious and arbitrary the inspectors can be. By which I mean if they find a problem in MY lab, the inspector is capricious and arbitrary. If the problem is with YOUR lab, oh well.

But I wish Ms Entrepreneur and her company well. Change is good. And lots of things have gotten small. You can go to Lending Club and make teeny tiny consumer loans. You can go to PredictIt and make teeny tiny political bets. So why not drive to the drug store and give a teeny tiny drop of blood for your lab work? And maybe someday, replace the drop of blood with a teeny tiny microchip circulating in your blood stream. The chip will send out signals with all your blood counts and chemistries. Drive under the Devon I-Pass Transponder on the Tri-State after the office party and the overhead electronic sign will flash to the world “Driver of Brown Ford Fiesta in the far left lane is anemic. And he has a blood alcohol of .18. Keep your distance!” Gives a whole new meaning to Amber Alerts.

Size IS important, but it is not about big or small, it is about getting it right. Barb and I reviewed the engineering drawings on the new house with our architect the other night, and came across the “impervious surface” limit. The building code says only a certain percentage of the lot can be covered by substances such as asphalt, concrete and roofing. Well, we aced it! One more paving stone on the patio, or one extra inch on the driveway would have set us over the limit and sent alarm bells ringing. But we are perfect. I don’t know if the architect is very, very good, or if we just got lucky! It is a good thing that Barb and I weren’t planning on putting in any playground equipment with an impervious safety mat in the backyard. Got to hope current and future grandkids won’t miss a swing set!

Have a happy and safe Halloween. And remember to read/comment/subscribe. Otherwise the vampires will suck your blood.

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photo credit: Carlee Huttle as Vixen in Dracula via photopin (license)

Why You Should Be Reading This Blog

You can check out any time you like…

…but you can never leave.

The Eagles–1976

Another Newbie Blog on ChicagoNow. What is this one all about? Call it a personal adventure if you like. My wife Barb and I are young (in our own minds) empty nesters, rattling around in a big suburban home with Max and Phoebe, our resident dog/cat combo.The kids are long gone. So after months of flip-flopping, U-Turns and a 360 or two, we decided to defy reason and build a new, too large, suburban home. We are losing a bedroom here and powder room there, but it will still be a home dedicated to our lifestyle. We began documenting our progress with the blog downsizemaybe at WordPress. We have developed many dedicated followers there, and look forward to migrating with them to this new, more grammatically correct, version in ChicagoNow.

One thing we discovered when building a home from scratch is that for long periods of time, particularly in the early phases, NOTHING HAPPENS! There is only so much that I could write about the horrors of financing this project or the fun of picking out windows. The blog has therefore evolved into a more open forum for my inner ramblings. Sometimes my mind is on music, from classic rock to Broadway show tunes. Other days you may read about my car, my pets or my family, though not necessarily in that order. Current events? Sure, sometimes.

I try to keep my professional life (I have a full-time career as a pathologist) out of the picture, though one day you may see a sidebar on what pathology is all about. It’s not much like “Quincy” or one of those “CSI” shows, Miami, Chicago or otherwise. And I certainly don’t know any docs like Cathy Martin, the pathology resident on “St. Elsewhere” who liked to lure her lovers underground for energetic morgue sex.

Despite my best efforts, not everyone will love this blog. To make it easy for you to decide, here are four reasons NOT to follow Downsize, Maybe:

If you don’t like having a particular tune stuck in your head all day. One of my partners gave up reading the blog after she complained the opening lyrics in a particular post were driving her crazy and wouldn’t stop. As for me, I can’t stop singing “Hey, Jealousy”, the tune that introduced the last post on the old site.
If you are waiting for Barb to write a post. Forget about it. Unless all of you ask very, very, nicely.
If you need a new post seven days a week. Sorry, but I just don’t have the juice for that. Three or four posts a week should serve all of us just fine.
If you are looking for a ranter. I am a laid back guy, though non-vaccinators drive me up a wall, and some presidential candidates do too.

But if you want a tune filled, mellow and entertaining blog, Chicago but a bit suburban, with an occasional twist or two, this will be the place for you. Any comments, suggestions, criticisms or complaints are encouraged. We even have a Facebook Page Downsize, maybe that you can contribute to.

So welcome aboard. Please keep your arms and hands inside the car while you enjoy the ride.
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