8/31/2017 0 Comments Basic Trick Crack Pipes![]() For some good general notes on designing spacecraft in general, read Rick Robinson's Rocketpunk Manifesto essay on Spaceship Design 101. Also worth reading are Rick's. I've been asked to update some Excel 2003 macros, but the VBA projects are password protected, and it seems there's a lack of documentation. Foam Board Insulation - R Values and Types. By Todd Fratzel on Insulation. Foam Board Insulation Types. I’ve written several posts about how to insulation basement walls in which I promote the use of foam board insulation as the first line of defense against moisture and mold. Because of this I often get questions about which type of foam board insulation to use and what R values these products provide. There are three basic foam insulation board products on the market produced under several different manufacturer names. The basic types of foam board insulation include: polystyrene, polyurethane or polyisocyanurate. They include expanded polystyrene, extruded polystyrene, and polyisocyanurate unfaced or foil faced. DOW products has lots of information on their site about different foam board products here. I also recommend you read a recent article about Open Cell Vs Closed Cell Foam products to understand the differences between the two product types. Expanded Polystyrene Foam. Learn how to do just about everything at eHow. Find expert advice along with How To videos and articles, including instructions on how to make, cook, grow, or do.Expanded polystyrene foam (EPS) is the cheapest and least used foam board product on the market. This product typically has an R value of 3. Expanded polystyrene insulation is similar to the foam used for packing “peanuts” and it’s typically used for insulated concrete forms also knows as ICF’s. It is also sometimes used on commercial buildings for roof and wall panel insulation which is typically sandwiched between light gauge metal. Cost = Cheapest of the foam insulation boards. Extruded Polystyrene Foam. Extruded polystyrene foam (XPS) also known as blue board or pink board comes in many different thicknesses and edge profiles. This insulation board is probably one of the most widely used foam board insulation products in the residential construction industry. XPS has an R value of 4. This is the product that I typically use to insulate basement walls. It’s reasonably priced, light weight and easy to use. This product is also used to insulate the outside of foundation walls and even under slabs. Cost = This product is the middle of the road for these types of foam board insulation products. Polyisocyanurate and Polyurethane. Polyisocyanurate also known as polyiso is seen in all kinds of commercial building applications and more recently with residential building projects. Polyiso is typically used with a foil facing and it has an R value of 7. The reflective foil facing makes it an excellent insulation board when radiant heat is involved. The foil facing also makes it very easy to seal with good quality foil faced tapes. Cost = Polyiso is the most expensive of the foam board insulation products however it’s the highest R value. Polyurethane and polyisocyanurate are both closed- cell foams. They contain low- conductivity gases in the cells (usually one of the HCFC or CFC gases.) The higher R- Values (R 7. This can lead to a couple of disadvantages including: off gassing of HCFC or CFC gases, and reduced R Value over time as the gas escapes. Ode to the Graphing Calculator. The ridiculously expensive Texas Instruments graphing calculator is slowly but surely getting phased out. The times they are a- changin’ for the better, but I’m feeling nostalgic. I have some wonderful memories associated with my TIs. You probably have an expensive Texas Instruments graphing calculator packed away somewhere. In fact, I still have two. For years, TI graphing calculators have been on the school supply list of almost every student that even sets foot in an upper- level math class. They are the only calculators allowed on major standardized tests, including the SAT, ACT, AP, and IB exams. When I was in school, everybody had one. And if you haven’t poked your head into a high school for a while, that’s still the case—and they haven’t gotten any cheaper. My first graphing calculator, a TI- 8. Plus, which was the standard at the time, cost my parents $1. They’re still just as expensive, even though your watch probably has more computing power now. They can cost upwards of $2. No longer will less fortunate families be forced to shell out major moola for a plastic brick that spends most of its time taking up space in students’ backpacks. But recently, several school districts around the country dealt a worthy blow to the stranglehold Texas Instruments has long held on students and their families’ wallets. The calculator app Desmos, which you can install on your i. OS or Android device for free, was cleared for use on some standardized testing in 1. U. S. It’s also available in your browser. TI still remains top dog on 6. Texas Instruments president of education technology Peter Balyta, but its days appear numbered. This is a welcome thing for just about everyone. If this trend continues, no longer will Texas Instruments have a calculator monopoly, and no longer will less- fortunate families be forced to shell out major moola for a plastic brick that spends most of its time taking up space in students’ backpacks. Math will hopefully be more accessible to all. It’s truly for the better. Partly because I’m getting older and losing touch with the youth of today, but also partly because I loved my calculators and future kids won’t get the same experience I did. During my math journey from algebra to high- level college calculus, my graphing calculators became extensions of my brain. But that’s not where my love for the machines came from. No, it was the games and other “apps” that sealed my bond with my TIs. You see, in high school, my friends and I ran an underground ring of calculator game sharing. The process was simple. With a special cable you could install games you found within the darkest depths of the internet onto your device. Then, with the same cable, you could transfer the game data over to a different calculator. Oh, the hours I spent playing Snake, trying to beat my friends’ high scores. How I longed to beat Phoenix, a bullet- hell shooter that I still can’t believe was written in TI- Basic. From text- based adventures to a near- perfectly- recreated version of Bubble Bobble, my TI was my favorite gaming device. Anybody could play them in class and the teachers would be none the wiser. Now, I know kids can play games on their phones easily enough, but smartphones are the bane of teachers’ existence right now, and having those out in the open raise a lot more suspicions than an innocent calculator. My math teachers had no idea that the only numbers I was concerned with were my high scores. Some games, like ancient stories retold by orators through the years, were merely passed down from generation to generation. Nobody knew where most of the games originated, but everybody had them. Every week it seemed like there was a new game to acquire, and kids with the hottest collections of TI games—like me—had people lining up in the hallway. Like a shady back alley deal, kids would approach me at lunch and ask if I had anything new. No, today I’m pouring one out for my TIs. Your reign will soon be over, my friends, but I’ll never forget you.
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