http://blog.alviston.com Fri, 03 Sep 2010 06:28:37 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en There are lots of cities that are synonymous with water: Venice with its canals, New York has the Hudson, Honolulu and the ocean. But most people probably don't think of Fresno as a "water town."  We only get 11 or 12 inches of rain a year after all.  We are actually considered a semi-arid ... http://blog.alviston.com/?p=112 I am always looking for products that perform more than one function and are easy to use. Because I am really into energy efficiency, these products often have to do with insulation. One of the reasons we use insulated concrete forms (ICFs) is that they are easy to build with. This may ... http://blog.alviston.com/?p=111 So we are working on this roof replacement job using a new type of insulated tile (which you are going to hear a lot more about later on), and I am making a run to the cardboard recycler. Yesterday, it was the concrete recycler. Tomorrow, I am going to use some ... http://blog.alviston.com/?p=110 I think I have finally figured out the real reason men and women get married: it is so they do not have to decide whether to get a car or a truck. Yikes! I spent the whole week going back and forth between a hybrid car and a pickup, both practical ... http://blog.alviston.com/?p=109 I did not really plan for it to happen. However, for the second time since graduating from high school, I am, sans auto: I have no ride! Now, for those of you reading this in New York City, you are probably thinking, "What's the big deal?" Nevertheless, for us Californians, not ... http://blog.alviston.com/?p=108 We have some weird habits when it comes to food. Let us say the family is sitting down to a nice Sunday dinner of roast beef and mashed potatoes (the good homemade kind with lots of butter), string beans, and salad. Everyone's favorite, especially Dad's. Arnold, the youngest, had to stay late ... http://blog.alviston.com/?p=107 You have probably heard of Father Damien, the Catholic priest who worked with the victims of Hansen's disease on the Hawaiian island of Molokai. Prior to his arrival, the leper settlement, located on the nearly inaccessible Kalaupapa peninsula, was a sort of "mad max" hell on Earth. Father Damien changed that. He ... http://blog.alviston.com/?p=106 Neither of us had said anything for at least an hour. We had "bouldered" over to the edge of the ocean on the rocks at Halawa Bay on Molokai. Behind us were 2,000 ft. cliffs with a 500 ft. waterfall right where it was supposed to be. There were very few people around. ... http://blog.alviston.com/?p=105 With the population of Molokai being that of a small town, you would not expect there to be much of nightlife. But let me tell you. I have been here just over two weeks now, working for F.E. de Camerones on several properties she is getting ready to sell. There is ... http://blog.alviston.com/?p=103 One of the first things I saw when I arrived on Molokai was a big, hand painted sign of a wind turbine with a slash through it. In comparison to the other Hawaiian Islands, Molokai is sparsely populated, with fewer than 8,000 permanent residents. I had heard that there were many ... http://blog.alviston.com/?p=102