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lydiajasso-blog · 12 years

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The Top 5 myths of Radiant Barriers

Despite years of tested research, some skeptics are still unaware of the true benefits of radiant barrier technology as it relates to the in home heating and cooling system. Radiant Barriers have been providing homeowners with lower energy bills for close to 30 years and have their purposes in the cooling system world much like the air conditioner or ventilation.

Radiant barriers block the suns heat rays that can enter into the attic through the roof. This heat then gets into the insulation of your roof and then transfers to any material touched by insulation, usually the roof, and now you have a higher energy bill because your attic is significantly hotter. Research shows that installing a radiant barrier on the inside of your roof could possibly reduce 97% of the heat that gets radiated from your roof to your insulation.

Before you select the proper Radiant Barrier system for your home, familiarize yourself with the facts and fiction of this technology. Below are the top 5 myths that continue to circulate about these barriers:

Myth #1 – Radiant barriers cook shingles

Truth – Radiant barriers may increase the temperature of your exterior roofline on a hot summer day by 2° to 5° as it reflects the sun’s rays from entering into the attic but it will NOT cook your shingles. On any given hot day, the temperature on shingles can range from 160° to 190° so the slight increase from the barriers are insignificant and does not quicken the degradation of your shingles.

Myth #2 – Over time the product delaminates

Truth - Radiant barriers installed 30 years ago have not delaminated and are working to the fullest of their capacity. With a high end product like LoMit and the new advances in the type of adhesive used, there should be no concern about the longevity of the process.

Myth #3 – Bubble products lose air over time

Truth – Bubble products do not lose air and effectiveness over time. These are industrialized products with individual layers of bubbles sealed with polyester manufacturing air pockets incapable of losing air.

Myth #4 – Radiant barriers cause moisture problems

Truth - Many issues resulting from home maintenance actually comes from a moisture issue. If you have a moisture problem that was not properly taken care of before installation then chances are it is not going to go away after installation. Seal all holes in the ceiling, make sure vents are pointed upward away from insulation, and make sure all duct-work, HVAC appliances, and light fixtures are closed properly.

Myth #5 – Dust affects the productivity –

Truth – It’s extremely difficult for a home to accrue enough dust in an attic area to reduce the reflective worth of aluminum. In the past, one-sided aluminum did serve as an issue over time in regards to dust accrual, however, these days double-sided aluminum is installed allowing for longer reflectivity of the heat. The end result is you will always have about 97% of heat transfer rejected when you have radiant barriers installed.

#radiant barriers #HVAC #air conditioner #heating system

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lydiajasso-blog · 12 years

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To Microsoft 8 or Not to Microsoft 8

You’re a person living two lives. By day you’re a computer programmer, by night, a computer hacker. Your life has just been turned upside down by the collision of these two worlds. My question to you is, do you take the blue pill and wake up tomorrow morning as if it was all a dream or the red pill and see just how far these two worlds really do intersect? This is for you and only you to decide.

Ok, ok, this is not the world of the Matrix, although, Microsoft would almost have you believing so. The launch of Microsoft 8 has many scratching their heads and pondering the behavior behind the company. Microsoft has stepped out of their norm, which has typically been to slowly and gradually, integrate the old software with the new. With their main clientele being that of large corporations, government agencies and with the intent to minimize the amount of friction involved with change, Microsoft always been gradual with fusing old fundamentals with the new.

With Microsoft 8, however, the company has taken a complete 360° turn. There is no slow integration, no time to get used to the new and then change out the old. What they have done is completely revamped the product and allowed for you the consumer to make a guess as to whether or not the new system is one that is compatible with your way of life, if it is worth the leap of faith or if you choose to walk away. Decisions that are to be made without actually using the product before it has been purchased.

So why the change in protocol? Many believe that with the aggressive campaigning from Google and Apple, Microsoft has slipped in the industry ranking. In order to once again join the ranks as a leader in the industry, Microsoft needed to join in with aggressive campaigning and show that they too have something worth talking about.

Whether or not you choose to take the blue pill, or the red pill, what Microsoft has intended to do with the launch of Microsoft 8, has been accomplished. It has gotten consumers, analyst and professionals to ponder and discuss the question, what if? What if Microsoft rejoins the ranks as one of the industry’s best? What if Microsoft 8 is the universal answer for that busy professional that allows for an easy transition from their work like to their home life? Does Microsoft 8 change the way of thinking like Apple did when they moved Mac into the OS X line? If so what do we do now? What else does Microsoft have in store for us?

This attitude from Microsoft may have come a bit too late by industry standards, but who doesn’t like to cheer for the underdog? So to Microsoft 8 or not to Microsoft 8? That is your choice. However, you cannot deny that at least Microsoft has your curiosity piqued.

To help you decide which virtual pill to take, below is a list of the new features being offered by Microsoft 8.

Quicker boot time - with a revamped use of system resources, boot up time is noticeably less.

Tile based interface – Microsoft threw out the feel of Windows and has presented the consumer with a new tile based interface that allows for easy browsing, application launching and document finding.

Snap – have you ever wanted to view two applications side by side? Now you can!

Multiple monitors – OK, OK in the past Microsoft has not been the best at being able to handle multiple monitors at once, however, with Microsoft 8 you will be able to do anything from stretch one screen across multiple monitors, or view different screens from different monitors.

On the go – you can now download a copy of your computer onto a thumb drive and take it with you wherever to you may go. This means your settings; wallpaper, files, and apps can be taken to any Windows 8 computer and used as if you are looking on your own device.

The new lock screen – with a glance at your computer, you will be able to tell, how many emails you have, how much power you have on your device from a phone to a laptop to a tablet, the tie, and the weather.

Search – click the search tools and you can easily search for any file, app, or setting. You also have the added feature of looking in application for the missing something.

Share – in the world of social media, this is almost a must. Microsoft 8 has an automatic share button that allows you to share via email or a social media of your choosing.

Keyboard shortcuts – not a fan of the mouse? Microsoft has added several keyboard shortcuts to ones already in place that allows for better time management.

Kids Corner – this allows for certain apps to be excluded from being in use while the kids play with your phone. They access only the games or apps that you have given them permission to use.

Hopefully this list will help you determine if taking the plunge and buying Microsoft 8 is worth the risk of not actually being able to slowly transition into the new system. Whatever you choose…

"I'm trying to free your mind, Neo. But I can only show you the door. You're the one that has to walk through it." - Morpheus, the Matrix

#Microsoft #software #information technology

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lydiajasso-blog · 12 years

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In April 2012 Google did it’s Penguin Update Noticeably affected the rankings of 3.1% of all queries.

In May 26th 2012 then rolled out Penguin 2, affected .1%

Recently on October 5th Google released Penguin 3 affecting .3%

Saying it will further lower the impact that low quality links have on a sites rankings. The definition of “Noticeably affected” is decided, stating that basically means a change to the rankings of a site that is in the top 5 results. So the percentages above are, in our opinion, lower than the actual affect. If you consider two factors.

1) That a “query” is different from the “sites affected”.

a. The number reported by google to be at least 500 times lower considering there are at least 5 sites above the fold for each query.

2) That there are sites that are affected that are below the fold (which is 99% of the entire internet).

So the affect is Drastically larger than Google is claiming, but it’s Google so who’s going to argue. I’m certainly not, I’m just going to be sure to include those variables in discussions with upper management about why our site was affected by an update that Google claims to only impact .1% when they say “are we in that .1%, and if so why, are we doing something terribly wrong”. Then the explanations about how we were #8, but now we’re #13 for our biggest term and Google doesn’t consider that to be “Noticeable” “Above the fold”, nor did affect all our “queries” in the same way, the majority of the long-tail phrases are fine.

What an explanation, and who’s word are they going to take. We shall see, yet again. Thankfully our local map rankings are still in tact.

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lydiajasso-blog · 12 years

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One of the easiest ways to escalate your local online presence is to increase the amount of local SEO citation, or mentions, your business has. The more your business is mentioned in online directories, review sites, or local business of chamber websites the more local ranking algorithms are able to determine you are who you say you are and that you are part of the community you say you are a part of.

Citations are an important ingredient to the ranking algorithm recipe; the more you are mentioned, the higher you will be ranked in major search engines. Local searches are becoming more and more social making online directories and review sites a valuable instrument in ranking high in listings.

Defer to the following list of directories and review sites to help increase your local SEO existence:

Judy’s Book