So Writer's Digest's current prompt is called "Birthday Blast," and it goes a little somethin' like this...Hit it!
You're out to eat a nice birthday dinner with your family when the waiting staff marches out from the back room with a cake. With everyone around singing happy birthday, you decide this is the moment to make that life-changing announcement you've been considering.
I wasn't sure where I wanted to go with this, but I thought I'd give it a try. Here it is...
A Time for Action
Geez, it’s cold. Way colder than I thought it would be. But then again I guess the freezing November air is better that the stale smell of all these damn books. So I keep the window open, overlooking the street below. It’s almost time. It’s like Wilkes said “Stay in position until the time is right.” I guess he and Johnson are where they should be. And though I can’t see or talk to Mikhail, I assume he’s in position as well. Now all I can do is wait.
I can’t believe how all of this has come together over the past few weeks. It’s only been a month since my birthday dinner, the night I told everyone that something big was going to happen.
***
We ate at Fredo’s , this small mom-and-pop joint just outside of Dallas. It wasn’t a big deal or anything, just me, my mom, my wife Marina, little June, Ralph and Carla. We talked and laughed and drank - but not too much, what with Marina being eight months pregnant and all. It was sorta weird, because this wasn’t really the kinda thing we did, going out to eat with other people and such. Maybe it was the cheap beer we were drinking. Maybe it was spaghetti and meatballs that made me feel like bursting. Who knows? But when the three of them waiters came out of the kitchen with that great big chocolate cake with candles and all, singing that happy birthday song to me, I just felt like I had to tell them all.
They all joined in singing. When they were done, I blew out the candles and made a wish. They clapped and laughed. I gotta say something, I thought. I didn’t care what Wilkes told me. So I stood up, tossed my napkin on the table, and cleared my throat.
“Hey, it’s real nice all the things you’ve done for me tonight, with the food and cake and presents and all,” I said. “You guys are like the only family I’ve got, so thanks."
They smiled and nodded.
“And I know that I’ve been a screw-up most my life. I know I’ve made a mess of things. But you guys should also know about all the stuff that’s screwed-up in this country.”
I could see Ralph look away and roll his eyes. He and I, we didn’t always agree on things. We had our arguments about lots of things.
“But I want you to know that pretty soon, something really big is going to happen. I can’t say exactly what it is, but I’ve been contacted by some pretty important people and I think that now I’ll finally have my chance to make a difference.”
“What is this all about?” mom asked. Marina looked confused.
“I can’t really say mom,” I said. “But it’s gonna big. It’s gonna be huge.”
“Who are these people?” Ralph asked. He was suspicious, like he didn’t believe me or something.
“People in some high places. Some groups I’ve been trying to work with as well.”
They didn’t know what to think. They were confused and I guess they should’ve been, seeing that I didn’t really tell them much. But then again, I couldn’t. It had to be a secret, at least for now.
“Well,” mom said. “It sounds exciting…and I’m sure you’ll make me proud Lee Harvey Oswald.”
“Thanks mom.”
***
And so now I sit here, in this cold building overlooking the street below. Waiting.
5.20.2010
5.17.2010
Waiting to Exhale
No, this is not about the movie...this is something completely different. So tonight I was at South Mission Beach waiting for some friends to show up so that we could play volleyball. Apparently the weather had scared everyone off and I was the only one there. But I took solace in knowing that there were far worst places I could've been on a Southern California afternoon than lying on a sandy beach, listening to the waves crash, and watching other groups play volleyball. So I pulled out my laptop and began to write. I wasn't sure what I wanted to write, but there was a prompt from Writer's Digest that I had been playing with in my head and I decided to write it. I know it's cheesy, but nonetheless the process was undeniably satisfying. Here's the prompt:
You and a friend break into your neighborhood swim club late one night to go for an after-hours dip. While splashing around in the pool, you go into shock when a dead body floats to the top. Worse yet—it's someone you know. Write this scene.
Waiting to Exhale
Claire fumbled for the latch, aided only by the light of the crescent moon keeping watch overhead.
“I’ve almost got it,” she said.
“Claire, let’s get out of here,” I said half-heartedly, knowing all too well that when she set her mind to something, nothing I could have said or done would’ve shaken her resolve.
“Got it, “she said as the gate swung open, smiling proudly to herself. “Let’s go.” We walked along the path that wrapped around the maintenance shed, the path towards the rear entrance, a path I knew all too well. Though a year had gone by, it seemed as if nothing had changed, as if that day last summer was just yesterday.
“Claire, how do think we’re going to get in the…”
Claire pushed the rear door abruptly, loosening the lock, and then pulled it open.
“Come on, you really didn’t think Brett fixed the door, did you?” She smiled smugly as she walked in, expecting me to follow her in.
I stood in the doorway for a brief moment. I had stayed away for so long. How did she convince me to come back here in the first place?
“Hurry up, D. Before anyone see’s you standing there.”
The water seemed so calm, so serene, as the moonlight shimmered through the clerestory windows and danced hypnotically across the surface of the pool. I stood at its edge, numb, wanting to be anywhere but there.
“It’s time,” Claire said, taking my hand.
“Time for what?” I asked, but before I could look up from the water to meet her eyes, she yanked her hand and pulled me into the pool. I barely had time to catch a breath before I plunged into the cold abyss. A shivering sensation overcame me as my body temperature dropped. My lungs began to burn. And yet, strangely, I felt at ease. I swung my arms in wide arcs and rose to the surface.
“Remember,” Claire said. “Remember. You were so good. You were the best lifeguard we ever had. It’s been too long D. It’s been too…” But I shut her out. And in that instant I felt anger flow through my veins. She had conned me into coming here. She pushed me in the pool. She was forcing me to remember. To remember something I had tried so hard to forget.
I turned and began to swim away from her, to the far edge of the pool. Then, just as I grabbed for the rail to pull myself up, something bobbed to the surface. I screamed in disbelief. I pushed myself back and slipped back under the surface of the water, my arms flailing to keep afloat.
“D, what is it? What’s wrong?” I could faintly hear Claire yelling. But I couldn’t see her. My eyes were fixed on the lifeless body that was floating face down in front of me.
It was Samantha Rose.
“No!” I screamed. It couldn’t be. This wasn’t happening, not again. But in an instant, those thoughts left me and were replaced with a resolve to action. I swam towards Samantha, then dove beneath her so that I could lift her out of the water. I grabbed the rail with one hand and threw both of us onto the deck.
“Please don’t die,” I whispered repeatedly as I methodically administered CPR. “Please don’t die.”
I refused to give up.
And then I heard a deep breath of air, followed by a cough as water spilled out of the side of her mouth. I couldn’t believe what was happening.
“Samantha,” I said. “Samantha, are you ok?” She opened her eyes, and strained to focus on my face. She slowly pushed her seven-year-old body up to face me and managed a smile.
“I’m okay Dylan,” she said. I sobbed as I embraced her, not wanting to let go.
“I’m so sorry Samantha….I’m so sorry….I tried…I really tried.” Tears were streaming down the side of my face.
“I know you did Dylan,” she said. “It’s ok. It wasn’t your fault. It wasn’t your fault.”
I held her in my arms and rocked her.
“Are you ok?” Claire asked from behind, her hand resting on my shoulder.
I turned and looked at her, trying to wipe the tears from my eyes.
“I’m okay,” I replied. “I’m okay.” She looked confused.
“What’s going on, D? Who were you talking to?” she asked.
I cracked a smile for the first time in what seemed like a year and stood up to hug her.
“Just a little angel.”
You and a friend break into your neighborhood swim club late one night to go for an after-hours dip. While splashing around in the pool, you go into shock when a dead body floats to the top. Worse yet—it's someone you know. Write this scene.
Waiting to Exhale
Claire fumbled for the latch, aided only by the light of the crescent moon keeping watch overhead.
“I’ve almost got it,” she said.
“Claire, let’s get out of here,” I said half-heartedly, knowing all too well that when she set her mind to something, nothing I could have said or done would’ve shaken her resolve.
“Got it, “she said as the gate swung open, smiling proudly to herself. “Let’s go.” We walked along the path that wrapped around the maintenance shed, the path towards the rear entrance, a path I knew all too well. Though a year had gone by, it seemed as if nothing had changed, as if that day last summer was just yesterday.
“Claire, how do think we’re going to get in the…”
Claire pushed the rear door abruptly, loosening the lock, and then pulled it open.
“Come on, you really didn’t think Brett fixed the door, did you?” She smiled smugly as she walked in, expecting me to follow her in.
I stood in the doorway for a brief moment. I had stayed away for so long. How did she convince me to come back here in the first place?
“Hurry up, D. Before anyone see’s you standing there.”
The water seemed so calm, so serene, as the moonlight shimmered through the clerestory windows and danced hypnotically across the surface of the pool. I stood at its edge, numb, wanting to be anywhere but there.
“It’s time,” Claire said, taking my hand.
“Time for what?” I asked, but before I could look up from the water to meet her eyes, she yanked her hand and pulled me into the pool. I barely had time to catch a breath before I plunged into the cold abyss. A shivering sensation overcame me as my body temperature dropped. My lungs began to burn. And yet, strangely, I felt at ease. I swung my arms in wide arcs and rose to the surface.
“Remember,” Claire said. “Remember. You were so good. You were the best lifeguard we ever had. It’s been too long D. It’s been too…” But I shut her out. And in that instant I felt anger flow through my veins. She had conned me into coming here. She pushed me in the pool. She was forcing me to remember. To remember something I had tried so hard to forget.
I turned and began to swim away from her, to the far edge of the pool. Then, just as I grabbed for the rail to pull myself up, something bobbed to the surface. I screamed in disbelief. I pushed myself back and slipped back under the surface of the water, my arms flailing to keep afloat.
“D, what is it? What’s wrong?” I could faintly hear Claire yelling. But I couldn’t see her. My eyes were fixed on the lifeless body that was floating face down in front of me.
It was Samantha Rose.
“No!” I screamed. It couldn’t be. This wasn’t happening, not again. But in an instant, those thoughts left me and were replaced with a resolve to action. I swam towards Samantha, then dove beneath her so that I could lift her out of the water. I grabbed the rail with one hand and threw both of us onto the deck.
“Please don’t die,” I whispered repeatedly as I methodically administered CPR. “Please don’t die.”
I refused to give up.
And then I heard a deep breath of air, followed by a cough as water spilled out of the side of her mouth. I couldn’t believe what was happening.
“Samantha,” I said. “Samantha, are you ok?” She opened her eyes, and strained to focus on my face. She slowly pushed her seven-year-old body up to face me and managed a smile.
“I’m okay Dylan,” she said. I sobbed as I embraced her, not wanting to let go.
“I’m so sorry Samantha….I’m so sorry….I tried…I really tried.” Tears were streaming down the side of my face.
“I know you did Dylan,” she said. “It’s ok. It wasn’t your fault. It wasn’t your fault.”
I held her in my arms and rocked her.
“Are you ok?” Claire asked from behind, her hand resting on my shoulder.
I turned and looked at her, trying to wipe the tears from my eyes.
“I’m okay,” I replied. “I’m okay.” She looked confused.
“What’s going on, D? Who were you talking to?” she asked.
I cracked a smile for the first time in what seemed like a year and stood up to hug her.
“Just a little angel.”
5.15.2010
Restarting...again
Ok, so it's been close to a year since my last post, when I recommitted myself to blogging more often and focusing on writing. Hmmm.....oh well. I have been writing, just not blogging. So I guess now is the time when I tell myself the same thing all over again. Here is an article that I just wrote for our local ASHRAE chapter newsleter. Nothing too exciting, but at least it's something....See you in a year!
Back to the Classroom: So…Does Heat Rise or what?
So there I was, lounging on my living room sofa on a lazy Saturday afternoon, being endlessly and inexplicably amused by a YouTube video of a 1970’s Soviet vocalizer, while listening to my daughter bemoan the fact that on such a perfect Southern California day she was stuck inside working on a 20-page research paper for her Geology class. Like a good parent I offered little sympathy, but rather reminded her of how fortunate she was to be living in the age of the internet, where she could do all the research from the comfort of her bedroom while enjoying the latest Charlie the Unicorn videos at the same time. After all, back when I was her age I had to actually go to a library, track down books using the Dewey Decimal System, check them out, and then craft my papers on a painfully unforgiving typewriter. Charlie the Unicorn hadn’t even been invented yet. I also reminded her of the great opportunity that was before her, to learn more about the interesting and exciting world of…geology. “It’s not like I’m planning to become a geologist,” she explained. “I mean – how often do you actually use what you learned in school?” And she had a point.
I can’t remember the last time I used a Laplace Transform to solve a function, or the last time I had to balance a stoichiometric chemical equation (I’m sure you guys do it ALL the time….sure…). I think that while we were in school, we learned the fundamental concepts behind the science that we now practice, but that once we actually go to put those concepts into practice, we discard them in favor of easy-to-remember rules of thumb and standardized processes. We’ve come to rely so heavily on the computer programs that we use to improve our efficiencies, that we’ve forgotten the basic principles that those programs are based on. So I thought that it would be good time to go Back to the Classroom – to take a look at some the fundamental concepts of how the science of heat transfer and thermodynamics actually work when we attempt to harness them to design efficient, safe, and comfortable indoor environments.
A few days ago, I had the opportunity to speak on radiant cooling at the annual Radiant Panel Association convention in Reno, Nevada. The day before my presentation, I sat in on a discussion on radiant floor heating and the viability of radiant floor cooling. The well-intentioned main speaker stated that radiant floor heating works fine, but that radiant floor cooling just doesn’t work. When asked why, his response was simple: “Because heat rises. It’s physics.”
Everyone in the room seemed to agree. And so I started thinking – Is this simple physics after all? Was his argument sound?
POP QUIZ: Raise your hand if you think that heat rises.
It’s natural to think that heat rises. After all, we recognize that floor registers work better in heating applications. We see concepts like the chimney effect employed in local projects like the New San Diego Children’s Museum to draw hot air out and cool air in by allowing the sun to heat a tower of glass. We understand how stratification works within a high-ceiling area or in a multi-story atrium as the heat rises to the upper regions. So we know that heat rises – right?
Wrong. A simple review of your trusty, but dusty physics or heat transfer text shows that heat does not rise. Hot air rises. Hot air rises because of the difference in density between the hot air and the surrounding air. Following Archimede's principle, the buoyant force pushing the hot air up is equal to the weight of the displaced air. Because the hotter air is less dense than the cooler air that it is displacing, it will naturally rise. This is referred to as natural convection. This principle is applicable when we are relying on convection for heat transfer. In the case of radiant floor cooling, however, we are looking at another form of heat transfer: radiation. Radiation heat transfer doesn’t rely on air. It relies on electromagnetic waves. You remember the Stefan-Boltzmann Constant, don’t you? Ok, neither do I. But the important thing here is this – if we are saying that heat does not specifically rise, then what direction does it go?
Give yourself an extra credit point if the Second Law of Thermodynamics just popped in your head. The second formulation, or the Clausius Statement of the Second Law, states that heat will always naturally flow from hot to cold. So heat transfer naturally occurs whenever there is a temperature difference. Therefore, in the case of radiant cooling, it doesn’t matter if the cooled surface is the floor or the ceiling or the walls or objects within the space. What matters is the relationship between that cooled surface and the space around it. Regardless of where the cooled surface is, up or down, the heat from your body will naturally flow towards it, leaving you with a cooling sensation.
Therefore, radiant floor cooling should not be dismissed based on the misconception that heat rises. I’m sure there will be those who will adamantly declare that cooled ceilings work better. I would agree, not because of the spatial relationship between the cooled surface and the occupant, but because a cooled ceiling can be driven to lower temperatures, dew point permitting, and because of the convective component that was discussed previously. Both are viable alternatives for energy-efficiency and have their own sets of pros and cons. The point of this rambling was not to sell anyone on the idea of radiant floor cooling, but to challenge some preconceived notions that many of us may have regarding fundamental heat transfer because of the extended time we’ve spent away from the classroom.
Okay, that’s all for now. Class dismissed. I’ve got some YouTube videos to catch up on and a geology paper to read…
Back to the Classroom: So…Does Heat Rise or what?
So there I was, lounging on my living room sofa on a lazy Saturday afternoon, being endlessly and inexplicably amused by a YouTube video of a 1970’s Soviet vocalizer, while listening to my daughter bemoan the fact that on such a perfect Southern California day she was stuck inside working on a 20-page research paper for her Geology class. Like a good parent I offered little sympathy, but rather reminded her of how fortunate she was to be living in the age of the internet, where she could do all the research from the comfort of her bedroom while enjoying the latest Charlie the Unicorn videos at the same time. After all, back when I was her age I had to actually go to a library, track down books using the Dewey Decimal System, check them out, and then craft my papers on a painfully unforgiving typewriter. Charlie the Unicorn hadn’t even been invented yet. I also reminded her of the great opportunity that was before her, to learn more about the interesting and exciting world of…geology. “It’s not like I’m planning to become a geologist,” she explained. “I mean – how often do you actually use what you learned in school?” And she had a point.
I can’t remember the last time I used a Laplace Transform to solve a function, or the last time I had to balance a stoichiometric chemical equation (I’m sure you guys do it ALL the time….sure…). I think that while we were in school, we learned the fundamental concepts behind the science that we now practice, but that once we actually go to put those concepts into practice, we discard them in favor of easy-to-remember rules of thumb and standardized processes. We’ve come to rely so heavily on the computer programs that we use to improve our efficiencies, that we’ve forgotten the basic principles that those programs are based on. So I thought that it would be good time to go Back to the Classroom – to take a look at some the fundamental concepts of how the science of heat transfer and thermodynamics actually work when we attempt to harness them to design efficient, safe, and comfortable indoor environments.
A few days ago, I had the opportunity to speak on radiant cooling at the annual Radiant Panel Association convention in Reno, Nevada. The day before my presentation, I sat in on a discussion on radiant floor heating and the viability of radiant floor cooling. The well-intentioned main speaker stated that radiant floor heating works fine, but that radiant floor cooling just doesn’t work. When asked why, his response was simple: “Because heat rises. It’s physics.”
Everyone in the room seemed to agree. And so I started thinking – Is this simple physics after all? Was his argument sound?
POP QUIZ: Raise your hand if you think that heat rises.
It’s natural to think that heat rises. After all, we recognize that floor registers work better in heating applications. We see concepts like the chimney effect employed in local projects like the New San Diego Children’s Museum to draw hot air out and cool air in by allowing the sun to heat a tower of glass. We understand how stratification works within a high-ceiling area or in a multi-story atrium as the heat rises to the upper regions. So we know that heat rises – right?
Wrong. A simple review of your trusty, but dusty physics or heat transfer text shows that heat does not rise. Hot air rises. Hot air rises because of the difference in density between the hot air and the surrounding air. Following Archimede's principle, the buoyant force pushing the hot air up is equal to the weight of the displaced air. Because the hotter air is less dense than the cooler air that it is displacing, it will naturally rise. This is referred to as natural convection. This principle is applicable when we are relying on convection for heat transfer. In the case of radiant floor cooling, however, we are looking at another form of heat transfer: radiation. Radiation heat transfer doesn’t rely on air. It relies on electromagnetic waves. You remember the Stefan-Boltzmann Constant, don’t you? Ok, neither do I. But the important thing here is this – if we are saying that heat does not specifically rise, then what direction does it go?
Give yourself an extra credit point if the Second Law of Thermodynamics just popped in your head. The second formulation, or the Clausius Statement of the Second Law, states that heat will always naturally flow from hot to cold. So heat transfer naturally occurs whenever there is a temperature difference. Therefore, in the case of radiant cooling, it doesn’t matter if the cooled surface is the floor or the ceiling or the walls or objects within the space. What matters is the relationship between that cooled surface and the space around it. Regardless of where the cooled surface is, up or down, the heat from your body will naturally flow towards it, leaving you with a cooling sensation.
Therefore, radiant floor cooling should not be dismissed based on the misconception that heat rises. I’m sure there will be those who will adamantly declare that cooled ceilings work better. I would agree, not because of the spatial relationship between the cooled surface and the occupant, but because a cooled ceiling can be driven to lower temperatures, dew point permitting, and because of the convective component that was discussed previously. Both are viable alternatives for energy-efficiency and have their own sets of pros and cons. The point of this rambling was not to sell anyone on the idea of radiant floor cooling, but to challenge some preconceived notions that many of us may have regarding fundamental heat transfer because of the extended time we’ve spent away from the classroom.
Okay, that’s all for now. Class dismissed. I’ve got some YouTube videos to catch up on and a geology paper to read…
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