tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33023384171449033452009-10-12T22:28:35.274-07:00Ask me about your glass-related special projects! I love a challenge!Glass Geekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17564477290068072632noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3302338417144903345.post-92163881662071256712009-05-04T09:16:00.000-07:002009-05-04T09:17:29.227-07:00My friends at <a href="http://atkinsonsglass.com/"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Atkinson's Mirror &amp; Glass</span></a> will be at "Idaho's Largest Garage Sale" at <a href="http://www.expoidaho.com/"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Expo Idaho</span></a> on Saturday, May 16th. They'll have windows as low as $20, plus shower doors and some other cool stuff.<br /><br />The sale starts at 7am, and if you're a yard-sale geek you'll know you'd better get there early. Admission to get into Expo Idaho is $3. <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">BUT</span>, if you mention GlassGeek when you're buying something from Atkinson's, they'll pay your admission for you. What nice folks!<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3302338417144903345-9216388166207125671?l=glassgeek.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Glass Geekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17564477290068072632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3302338417144903345.post-90851023343255460422009-03-18T08:19:00.000-07:002009-03-18T08:50:40.103-07:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_k5hTmoSd9ck/ScEW3Z4H83I/AAAAAAAAABA/IwvsoDJZm0M/s1600-h/velux_sun_tunnel.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 181px; height: 181px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_k5hTmoSd9ck/ScEW3Z4H83I/AAAAAAAAABA/IwvsoDJZm0M/s320/velux_sun_tunnel.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5314554176368800626" border="0" /></a><br />We have a sun tunnel display in our showroom. It looks like a popcorn maker. A customer asked the other day about efficiency -- is it just a huge hole in the ceiling for heat to escape? I didn't know, and frankly, I thought he had a great point. I dug deeper.<br /><br />According to <a href="http://www.veluxusa.com/"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Velux</span></a>, their sun tunnels "meet Energy Star approval guidelines for energy efficiency in all climatic regions of the US" (<a href="http://www.veluxusa.com/products/residentialSkylights/sunTunnels/"><span style="font-weight: bold;">citation</span></a>), and their brochure says that testing indicates they do not lead to any appreciable heat loss.<br /><br />The difference between a big hole in the ceiling acting as a chimney for internal air and a sun tunnel is the airspace -- in a sun tunnel, it's sealed at both ends, and as such, is an insulative dead air space. There's no air movement up the shaft of the tunnel to create heat loss.<br /><br />(BTW, in case you're wondering, Velux has a couple different sizes of sun tunnel, and they're surprisingly affordable.)<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Image credit: VeluxUSA.com.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" >~ GlassGeek</span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3302338417144903345-9085102334325546042?l=glassgeek.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Glass Geekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17564477290068072632noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3302338417144903345.post-32911838904274081212009-03-11T15:10:00.000-07:002009-03-11T15:15:47.837-07:00Is glass a liquid or a solid? I've heard both, and you probably have as well. Descriptions of old glass in old buildings showing a "flow" pattern seem to accompany most claims of liquid status. Turns out, the answer isn't really all that simple, but basically, it's kinda both <span style="font-style: italic;">and</span> neither.<br /><br />According to <a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/08/070809130014.htm"><span style="font-weight: bold;">ScienceDaily.com</span></a>, "soft condensed materials" like toothpaste, peanut butter, plastic, and glass, fall outside the normal scope of definitions of either "solid" or "liquid." Read more on the link above. There's also some rather interesting related stories listed therein.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" >~ Glass Geek</span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3302338417144903345-3291183890427408121?l=glassgeek.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Glass Geekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17564477290068072632noreply@blogger.com0