Studio Neat sent me an email saying my Glif is on its way. Pretty excited about it. Seriously. I’m feeling pretty good about being one of the contributors for this project via Kickstarter…my name is really on there between my good friends Byron Sheppard and Francois Nguyen.
Occipital’s 306 Panorama app
It didn’t take long, but I have found another app that has distracted me recently. It’s Occipital’s latest creation (the guys that made the RedLazer app, sold it to eBay, nice) called 360 Panorama. I give credit to Michelle Kaufmann‘s twitter feed (@mkaufmann), she was messing with it a few days ago and posted a 360 deg view from her house. What caught my attention was the viewer that gives you the ability to pan back and forth. It got me thinking about how great it would be to show a client their project during the construction process with a panorama that they can pan back and forth. Once you upload your image, Occipital has made it very simple to tweet the link for anyone to view. Although I need some practice to get a good match once I’ve done a full rotation, I think that my (hopefully) soon to arrive Glif will really improve the quality of imaging! Sheesh…this post has a lot ‘o links…better work one more in here…
Here’s a quick video from Occipital’s website showing the app in action -> 360 Panorama App in action
My New Fav iPhone App “HeyTell”
I have a lot of apps on my iPhone. Probably more than I should. The good news (for my wallet, and wife) is that most of them are free, which are my all time favorites. Especially when I find a free app that does something so great that you wonder how in the world could it possibly be free in the first place. There’s one in particular right now that I’m really having fun with called HeyTell. In fact, since downloading it I don’t think there has been a day that I haven’t used it! (Disclaimer: Not all uses have been for productive activities, e.g. sending Nacho Libre movie quotes to co-workers in my poor imitation). In short, HeyTell is “instant voice messaging” or “Push to Talk, Starting at $0.” Trust me on this, you and your other iPhone or Droid carrying friends+colleagues will find a way to use or abuse this awesome app. And it’s free. So stop reading this post already and…Oh, fine, see ya later I guess…sheesh.
(Yeah, my battery is about spent and AT&T doesn’t have great signal here. You can’t be surprised by either facts.)
Ustream vs Qik
Construction projects in Wyoming are more often considered “remote” and at times many of the owners, architects, engineers involved aren’t located in close proximity to the jobsite. For years we’ve been able to take digital photos and email them in a relatively short amount of time to anywhere necessary showing project status or issues that need input or comment from people at a distance. Recently, however, mobile phones apps have surfaced that give a leg up on simple digital photos. Live video streaming from a mobile device is rapidly improving and becoming somewhat of a real tool in these remote situations. Two apps stand out at this point: Ustream and Qik. If you have a video capable phone and haven’t tried either of these apps out, you should. The possibilities in construction projects are numerous, as I’m sure is the case in any industry where showing a live video feed of what is happening would be beneficial. From my standpoint, the jury is still out as to which app is preferred since I see pros and cons to both programs, but are there others that I’ve missed?
Predictions for 2010 Sustainability
The real estate/design/construction industry took a big hit this time last year, and the Rocky Mountain resort areas were not immune. Many of the design and engineering firms were forced to stare straight into the eyes of laying off talented people and even facing the possibility of going under. Construction companies took a while longer since their workload lasted through 2008 and into 2009, but even so, the writing is still very much all over the wall. All the while, a movement which started decades ago has been exponentially gaining momentum in the wings and is rapidly becoming an element that differentiates one company from another in an industry which has experienced very little relative change, at least since the introduction of cowboy hard hats. Often called “green building”, the movement is challenging us to re-evaluate the way we design, build, operate, and live inside and outside of structures, and challenging us to build them so that they are “sustainable”. There have been recent statements alluding to 2010 being the beginning of the sustainable era. Having never been great at guessing the future, it’s better to post what the more gutsy writers had to offer:
- “10 Sustainability Predictions for 2010” by Val Haskell and Rob Farris from information-management.com
- “15 Green Predictions for 2010” by Tom Raferty from greenmonk.net
- “Ten clean technology predictions for 2010” by Nicolas Parker from cleantech.com
Regardless of these predictions being right or wrong, having witnessed what has happened in the last 2-3 years it is probably safe to say that 2010 will be interesting. Let’s hope we’re nearing the upward swing soon!
Thermal Imaging
Recently we’ve been asked by clients to review their homes for ways to save energy, air infiltration, along with moisture and mold problems, then give suggestions as to how to fix the problems. There is only so much you can accomplish when standing in a building for the first time and looking around for any visible problems since there is a lot that can be missed.
To give us an advantage in assessing the issues, we’ve started using an infrared camera to quickly identify the problem areas and give us an idea exactly how bad the problem might be. As much as I’d like to tell you the camera is the perfect solution and that everyone should have one, you can’t rely on the images alone. There has to be knowledge of the building science behind what is happening.
We’re excited to have this amazing tool in our hands and look forward to continuing to use it as a resource for our clients!