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Ceramic Technology in the Antiquity

Sun, 17 Jan 2010 20:52:06 -0600

“There is no reason to be surprised...when we see that large merchant ships are brought about by small steering oars and that potter's wheels spin smoothly at the light touch of a finger tip.1”

Ceramics have long maintained a widespread standard in society as durable utility items, most often in culinary applications such as plates, bowls, and vessels. The English word ceramic is derived from the Greek keramikos meaning pottery2, which is derived from the Indo-European word ker meaning heat3. The etymology suggests that ceramics were initially defined by the use of heat in their manufacturing process, and that pottery, the primary manifestation of ceramics in antiquity, popularized ceramics as a material. Even as humble pottery, however, ceramics were so pervasive in antiquity that they are now useful in drawing conclusions about technology, culture, and society in Ancient Greece and Rome. The development of ceramic processing itself was an integral step in the development of ancient materials technology, and the material properties and ubiquity of ceramics have made them one of the largest sources of ancient archaeological evidence. Ceramics also played a key supporting role in many ancient cultural traditions, and are a good case study for the juxtaposition of crafts and arts. Finally, social views of potters and craftsmen in general are useful for extrapolating the ancients' changing societal values.

Ceramics were one of the most important and ubiquitous materials in antiquity, and played a fundamental role in the development of materials science and materials processing. The earliest archaeological examples of ceramics in the Mediterranean date to approximately 10 000 BCE, and were of fairly poor quality. Techniques of coiling combined with sun-drying were used to create simple shapes, such as pots and jars, that lacked strength and erosion resistance. Around 2000 BCE the first pottery wheels developed, but they were not extensively used until 1200 BCE, towards the end of the Bronze Age. Homer referred to the relatively new existence of pottery wheels in the Iliad4. The wheel produced much sturdier pottery than coiling, and allowed vessels to have thinner walls. In general, the thinner the wall of pottery, the greater the skill and craftsmenship required, hence the higher the quality. Herodotus wrote about innovations in the construction of kiln technology5, occurring between 650-400 BCE, led to even better pottery through finer temperature control. Terra cotta, clay with various mineral deposits, formed strong chemical bonds when heated, making it virtually indestructible at the molecular level. As a result, much of it has survived as archaeological evidence. The most common type of pottery was heavy, undecorated whiteware, mainly used for eating and cooking. The ancients did have some elegant, decorative pots and eating wares, but these were limited to the upper classes and probably used only for special occasions. After 400 BCE, mould-made ceramics became popular, which utilized a process similar to bronze sculpture-making.

Ceramics were a significant technological development in antiquity since they were one of the first tangible products of civilized society. By definition, the quality of civilization is defined partially by the presence of technology, or at least an advanced state of materials development. Ceramics aided in improving conditions of food, shelter, and water, whose necessity to life made it a sensible technological starting point. Ceramic tableware acted to separate human food from the environment. Pots and pans were required in order to cook food, which broadened the range of available digestible foods. Ceramics also played a large role in the transportation and containment of water and food by allowing significantly better and longer term storage. Storage of food provided incentive to overproduce, since resource security was now possible. In terms of overall society, the capacity for food and water storage likely had a significant effect on the localized increases of populations into economically stable cities.

In terms of shelter, ceramics were formed into roofing tiles to provide protection from elemental damage and sunlight. Since ceramics were virtually indestructible on a molecular level, pottery shards were useful as part of the foundation for roads and houses that developed later on. Most likely, the availability and ease of accessing clay popularized ceramics as a material, since its raw requirements were available to virtually everyone. The development of ceramic processing technology to produce quality materials, such as the invention of the wheel and kiln, are examples of the ancients' ability to apply physics to common problems.

Ceramics were preceded by the use of mud-brick, which was primarily used as a construction material. Mud-brick was a combination of clay, sand, and water formed into a viable material. The use of sun-baking and coiling likely developed directly from mud-brick by experimentation and simply leaving the pottery outside. Reeds, grasses, and other organic harvestable materials were woven into wares, but decomposed fairly quickly and were not as effective at storing liquids at ceramics. The development of textile processing, which resulted in some container items such as water flasks, was fairly industrialized by the 1st century BCE. Although textile containers had some advantages, especially in that they were not highly brittle, they required considerable processing6 and never replaced ceramics as large-scale, permanent storage devices.

The techniques for processing ceramics eventually led to the production of glass, described in detail by Pliny7. While glass is considered a ceramic with an amorphous rather than crystalline structure, by modern standards, the ancients realized they were similar due to the similarities of their processing techniques. Extremely hot furnace temperatures were required to process glass, and thus glass developed out of the kiln technology designed for ceramics and copper smelting. More refined techniques for producing brightly coloured glasses with a homogenous consistency were developed in the early Iron Age8. Glass blowing, which was invented in the 1st century BCE, allowed the production of transparent glass and more elaborate shapes with thinner walls9. Though glass did control a few niche markets, such as perfume jars, it was a rare material in general, and never attained the ubiquity of ceramics. The difficulty of glass production alone restricted its ownership solely to the elite classes, whereas ceramics, which were usually undecorated and utilitarian, were common to all classes.

The unique physical properties of ceramics made them a highly useful material to both the ancients and modern archaeologists. Because of their widespread use throughout society, the disposal of ceramics in abandoned wells and other landfills have provided modern archaeologists with a great deal of well preserved and chronologically stratified evidence. Other than being extremely resilient, ceramics were useful to archaeologists because their geographic origin could be traced based on the type of clay present in their composition. The types and prevalence of pottery during various time periods was also an indicator of social wealth at the time, since greater wealth indicated more slaves to produce pottery.

The utility of ceramics in antiquity was not limited to pottery, and the Ancient Greeks and Romans held an international reputation in the craft. Pliny discussed several uses of ceramics, including flue ducts and coffins, in context of their popularity and production throughout Asia and Europe:

“Nor are we sated by the presence everywhere of pottery products, with jars devised to hold wine, pipes for water, flue ducts for baths, tiles for roofs, fired bricks for walls and foundations, and items turned on wheels, because of which King Numa set up a seventh guild for potters. Indeed, many even prefer to be buried in pottery tubs after death like Marcus Varro... The greater part of the human race uses pottery vessels. Among table wares, the Samian is praised even now. Arretium in Italy also hold high rank, and – for cups alone – Surrentum, Hasta, Pollentia, and in Spain, Saguntum, and in Asia Minor, Pergamum. In Asia Minor, Tralles has its special products, and Mutina in Italy. Since even nations become famous in this way, these products too are carried this way and that across the land and sea from workshops renowned for the potter's wheel.10”

Pliny mentioned several key economic players in the ceramics market, besides Athens and Corinth, which are described by geographic location rather than individual craftsmen due to the importance of the type of clay used. Ceramics were also important to many hydraulic engineering projects, and were used commonly as tiles in the Roman bath systems. Large pots called pithoi were sometimes used as temporary housing11.

Besides utilitarian purposes, ceramics became important purveyors of culture and processes in ancient life. Decorated pottery contained a variety of art ranging from depictions of mythology to manufacturing processes and mining to historic battles. Pottery played an essential supporting role one in one of the Greeks' most famous cultural events – the symposium. Ceramics provided a container for wine and characteristic shallow cups for drinking, often adorned with the god Dionysus. The other cultural staple of the ancients – olive oil – also used pottery for its trade, transport, and decanting. Olive oil was so important to ancient culture that it was presented in greatly adorned pots to the winners of the Olympics. Ceramics played an underlying secondary role to many Ancient Greek and Roman traditions, and therefore ceramics were a key element in the formation of ancient culture.

The two most important centres for producing ceramics in antiquity were Corinth and Athens. Economically, Corinth had an extensive trade network and materials entered and left the city on a regular basis. As a result, Corinth became a dominant centre of production for ceramics earlier than Athens. Solon's economic reforms promoted the trade of ceramics in both Athens and Corinth, as pottery was the only viable container for exporting olive oil. In terms of geographic location, both Athens and Corinth were also surrounded by clay beds, and therefore the availability of raw materials encouraged the craft of ceramics. Due to the mineral content of the available clay, Athenian clay had reddish tones due to a high iron content, while Corinthian clay was a softer yellow.

While most pottery was not embellished, two major styles of decorated pottery eventually emerged from Athens. Black figure pottery, which consisted of black figures on a red background, was the first to develop12. To produce the effect, a slip (diluted version of the clay) was used to paint everywhere on the pot that was intended to be black. The pot was then placed in the oven and allowed to reach a temperature of about 800°C (although there was no device to measure temperature). The vent in the top of the oven was covered to allow the temperature to rise and the oxygen content to be reduced, causing the slip to vitrify. Vitrification is a process of making a material glassy through heat fusion13, which caused the entire pot to appear black. The vent was then opened to reintroduce oxygen and lower the temperature. As the pottery cooled, the slip remained black and the rest of the pot turned red. In red figure pottery, which developed afterwards, the process was inverted, producing red figures on a black background14. The advantage to inverting the procedure was that outlines and details could be drawn in initially, so that much more intricate designs were possible. With the black figure technique, finer details had to be etched in afterwards, resulting in a less attractive final product. The popularity of both the black and red figure styles contributed to the renowned reputation of Attic pottery15. Extra minerals also were sometimes added to produce others colours of pottery. Other styles, such as white figure pottery, developed with time.

Ceramics are a good example of the juxtaposition of crafts and art in antiquity. In Ancient Greece and Rome, potters were always considered craftsmen, yet in modern society, a very decorative or seemingly frivolous pot may be considered art rather than a utility craft. By modern standards, an artist is loosely defined as someone who demonstrates creativity or imagination and sometimes more strictly denoted as someone who creates something of aesthetic value. The line between art and utility is controversial, however, especially when one considers a utility item such as a pot that also was intended to provide aesthetic value. Can something be both a craft or utility item and a piece of art, or are they mutually exclusive? The Romans instead tackled the problem by breaking society into four general classes, which also reflected a hierarchy of social status: 1) Manual Labour; 2) Entertainment; 3) Education & Youth; and 4) Liberal Arts. Rather than judge 'art' by the final product or even the intention of the creator, the perceived level of skill that was required to perform the task was judged. Potters performed manual labour to create ceramics, hence all potters were considered craftsmen, regardless of the aesthetic value of their work.

Through society's treatment of potters and other craftsmen in general, observations can be drawn regarding societal hierarchies in antiquity. Social values in antiquity were largely determined by notable philosophers and writers reflecting on events of the time, such as Aristotle, and Plato. For example, Aristotle's three categories of knowledge were theoretical knowledge (the exploration of truth and being), practical knowledge (consisting of human action), and productive knowledge (the ability to make something). The categories were designed as a ladder, such that theoretical knowledge was the highest form of study. Since ceramics, by the origin of their name, were an application of a process, they fell into Aristotle's third or lowest category: knowledge for production. In contrast, modern science defines ceramics as non-metallic, inorganic substances with structures ranging from crystalline to amorphous16. Hence, the modern concept of ceramics suggests that it can be studied as the highest form of Aristotelian knowledge (theoretical knowledge). The freedom of application has allowed modern ceramics to encompass both the levels of pure science, such as studying the molecular composition and behaviour of the material, and applied science, including traditional structural applications and whitewares but also advanced military usages. Arguably, the Greeks' deeply rooted view of ceramics as a craft instead of a materials science limited their appreciation of potters and craftsmen. However, the ancients, including craftsmen, lacked a modern understanding of matter, so it is logical that they perceived ceramics as a craft instead of a higher science.

Throughout Greek history, in particular, changes in the treatment of potters and others who utilized productive knowledge was evidence of changes in the social system. The earliest ceramics, for example, were made during the late Bronze Age. Economically, Greece was in a dark time after the fall of the Bronze Age, and potters were appreciated as their work supported the growth of the community. The application of knowledge to productive tasks and the creation of physical products and technology was an honourable task, and a craftsman was known as a demiourgos or 'one who serves the community'. Both Homer and Hesiod wrote in high esteem of technology and craftsmen. In Works and Days, Hesiod described idleness as being very shameful, since the economy needed working people to progress17. By the 5th century BCE, a wealthy aristocracy began to emerge in Greece. The resulting clear division of status and wealth caused manual labour to become slave's work, and consequently no longer an honourable job. Because of money and slave-labour, the elites were free to engage in play-writing, politics, and the military. Potters and other craftsmen had very low social status, and as slaves, were not permitted to vote or partake in society. During this time, craftsmen were called techne banausos, which quickly became a pejorative and vulgar term. Philosophers even viewed writing about manual labour as degrading18, which likely contributed to the lack of written sources on ceramics production.

The changing view of potters and craftsmen, therefore, was a reflection of ancient social values throughout time. Ceramics existed primarily for utility in antiquity, although they played a supporting role in the development of many characteristic elements of ancient culture. The most common examples of ceramics in ancient society were everyday wares for cooking and eating, but due to their excellent mechanical properties such as strength, hardness, and durability, ceramics were also used for roofing tiles, pipes, flue ducts, and construction. The widespread use of ceramics in Ancient Greece and Rome has also provided modern archaeologists with multitudes of information about the past. Perhaps most significantly, ceramics developed as one of the first technologies from ancient civilized society, and thus played an integral role in both the development of ancient society and Western culture as it exists today.

References:

1Plutarch, Moralia 20.588f (On the Sign of Socrates)

2The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language – Keramikos, URL: http://www.bartleby.com/61/roots/IE224.html

3Indo-European Etymology Dictionary – Ker, URL: http://indo-european.info/dictionary-translator/translate/English/Indo-European/?q=heat

4Homer, Iliad 18.599-601

5Herodotus, Life of Homer 32

6Herodotus, Histories 4.64

7Pliny, Natural History 36.190-194

8Pliny, Natural History 36.198-199

9Pliny, Natural History 37.29

10Pliny, Natural History 35.159-161, 163

11Aristophanes, Knights 792-793

12John Beazley, Attic Black-Figure Vase Painters, Oxford University Press, Oxford 1956

13Princeton Dictionary - Vitrification, URL: http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=vitrification

14John Beazley, Attic Red-Figure Vase Painters, Oxford University Press, Oxford 1956

15Athenaues, Philosophers at Dinner 1.28c

16Princeton Dictionary – Ceramic, URL: http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=ceramic

17Hesiod, Works and Days 293

18Plato, Republic 4.421d-e

Can Jesus microwave a burrito?

Tue, 29 Sep 2009 20:50:39 -0500

According to Urban Dictionary: Theoretically, yes.
I always thought it would be cool if you could experience a day in someone else's mind, thereby experiencing all of their thoughts and mental processes. At the moment, one of the ways in which we can catch a glimmer of the mysterious perspective of others is through auto-suggest based on millions of data from human input (in search engines). Unfortunately (or fortunately), these can sometimes be just as strange as you can imagine (or couldn't imagine).
For example, take these auto-suggest results from Mashable:

Do these sample results reflect a glimpse into the mind of a crazed search-obsessed few and the many others who simply select hilarious auto-results out of curiosity, or is this an accurate glimpse into the typical queries of the average 21st century Google-user?
I actually came across this one myself today:
(By the way, the reviews for this 1995 book on Amazon are great.)
I haven't done a thorough analysis, but my first impression is that this data is probably useful in some way. Search engines receive a huge amount of unique traffic each day, which means they have a huge sample base and virtually non existent sampling bias in that respect. I also think it's fairly safe to assume that the active, relevant part of current Western and European societies use the Internet fairly regularly, so demographically there is a good range, if you're looking at mindsets in Western cultures (obviously these results may not apply to other cultures).
However, I think there is still a huge range in how people actually use the Internet. I think some people try to use the Internet as a second brain (e.g. can jesus help me?), while others use it a global encyclopedia (e.g. when will i get my tax refund?), and still others as a method to vent their thoughts into an impossibly large and tangled void, in hopes that their philosophical musings will be become clear (e.g. when will the world end?). Let's not exclude those who it to obtain news, follow popular culture, and exploit the widespread availability of free data and media.
Perhaps you can determine that certain types of people typically use the Internet for certain things. For example, maybe teenagers typically use the Internet to acquire media (hypothetically, of course), while middle-aged people use it as an encyclopedia, and thirty-somethings like to contribute mindless chatter. Once you've then broken search results into these categories, you could begin to apply results to each category and determine in general what that demographic 'thinks about', relative to the depth of thought that they inputted in the first place. For example, searches regarding the meaning of life (assuming they're not for Monty Python) might be considered 'deeper' inputs than searching for the correct pressure level in a tire. From there, you could identify the particular thoughts that seem to occur and link them to each demographic. Alternatively, you could identify the relationship that that demographic has with the Internet, and you could draw something about how that relationship evolved and how it affects that demographic.
In any case, I think it would make for an interesting and probably hilarious study, so I hope that some psychology grads take it upon themselves to check this out in more detail (if they haven't already). Meanwhile, I typically keep my Internet interaction pretty shallow and limited basically to encyclopedic use and collaboration...which means Yahoo Answers is purely for enjoyment.

Hello World!

Sat, 15 Aug 2009 15:46:58 -0500

In collaboration with COSMOS magazine in Australia, in honour of National Science Week, the Australian government recently launched Hello From Earth. The site is dedicated to collecting messages that will be transmitted to Gliese 581d; the "nearest, Earth-like planet outside our solar system". You can read and submit cute 140 char comments that will be sent to Gliese 581d at the end of Science Week by NASA's Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex.

[image from hellofromearth]

Aviary: Toucan

Sat, 11 Jul 2009 18:03:57 -0500

Aviary is a really cool web app for creating art. It includes applications for photo editing, image creation, vector editing, image markup, and palette creation, amongst other tools. Although the apps require a Flash plug-in, the entire suite is free, making Aviary an attractive substitute for the Adobe Creative Suite, especially for casual artists who don't need the extensive features or price tag of proprietary software.
I tried out Toucan, which is a simple app designed for palette creation. Toucan's intuitive, minimalistic interface allows the user to design a colour palette using up to 20 colours. The colours can be individually selected from a colour wheel, or various relationships can be chosen to select complementary and opposite combinations. Alternatively, you can import a picture and select colours from that picture to create a palette. Toucan's interface reflects design intent by allowing the user to increase the pixel size of images in order to make colour selection easier. Toucan also delivers the ability to view the palette through filters mimicking various visual impairments.
I made palettes for the two images shown below. Overall, I was really pleased with Toucan and I'm excited to try the other apps available from Aviary. Keep up the great work!

Palette 1: Tulips at Dusk
Jason took this photo at the University of Waterloo campus in the spring.

Palette 2: Glacier Point
I took this photo at the peak of Glacier Pt. during the fall in Yosemite, California.

Improving Sustainability at the University of Waterloo

Sat, 04 Jul 2009 18:25:10 -0500

Preface

A green report card was recently administered to universities across Canada and the US in order to rate the level of sustainability of campus operations [1]. The University of Waterloo chose to participate in only the dining survey study, in which it shamefully received a D+ rating; a far worse rating than either of its neighbours, the University of Wilfred Laurier or the University of Guelph, and a disappointing rank in its own right.

The intent of this article is to increase awareness of sustainable practices, and explore the feasibility of implementing sustainable practices at the University of Waterloo.

1.0 Potential Courses of Action

In order to most effectively target methods for increasing sustainability practices at the University of Waterloo, five categories were selected which encompass the breadth of the University’s operations. The categories were derived from the criteria provided by the green report card [1] and group discussions. The potential courses of action are illustrated in Table 1.

Table 1: Potential courses of action

Climate Change / Energy

Buildings

Food / Recycling

Grounds Operation

Transportation

Replace desktops with laptops

Green roofs

Make Tim Horton’s cups recyclable

Support fuel efficient cars for campus fleet

Initiate car or bike share program on campus

Use motion detection lights

Improve building insulation

Reduce paper usage

Implement rainwater harvesting to water grounds

Start a bike ‘recycling’ program for old bikes

Use high efficiency lights

Retrofit buildings to LEED certification

Make local farms primary produce source

Initiate planting strategies to offset ecosystem destruction caused by new construction

Organize a free student shuttle service (ex. to Cambridge Architecture school)

Install more solar panels

Improve HVAC efficiency

Replace bottled water with filtered water taps

Use solar harvesting

Increase paper/metal recycling

Replace CRT monitors with LCD monitors

Initiate composting program

Install ‘All-Off’ switch for labs

4.2 Criteria

Criterion 1

(Cost) RCA should minimize the monetary cost of physical components of the project, and the salary estimate for additional human resources.

Rationale:

UW wishes to improve the sustainability of the campus, but it must be careful not to plunge the university into debt in the process. The criterion will be measured by comparing the total cost estimate of each alternative and ranking them relative to the most expensive option.

Criterion 2

(Time) RCA should minimize the time it will take to complete the planning and implementation stages of the project.

Rationale:

The university will likely implement a combination of short and long term plans to help improve campus sustainability, but the interest of this project is to explore the short-term potentialities. Therefore, the solution must be ready for implementation by January 4, 2010. Each of the total time estimates for planning and implementation will be compared.

Criterion 3

(Difficulty) RCA should reduce the over complexity of the project as much as possible.

Rationale:

While UW will have to consider complex projects in order to ultimately achieve campus sustainability, the complexity of a project is tied to time requirements, which is pre-determined in this scenario. Since the desired course of action must be short-term, the project will also have to be relatively simple. The criterion will be analyzed by comparing the rank of each proposal for each the planning and implementation stages.

Criterion 4

(Impact) RCA should maximize the environmental impact of the proposal.

Rationale:

The ultimate goal of sustainability is to achieve a closed-loop balance in which materials and processes are continually renewed. The relative impact of each course of action should be compared so that the actions with the most significant positive environmental benefits can be implemented as quickly as possible. The criterion will be calculated based on ranks relative to the proposal that produces the biggest impact from both short term and long term perspectives.

Criterion 5

(Visibility) RCA should be as visible as possible in terms of affecting the lifestyles of students, the community, and visitors.

Rationale:

Awareness of environmental issues that are facing the campus is a key step to making everyone more informed about making the best environmental choices. Choosing a course of action that requires student and staff interaction will increase their knowledge base and make them more comfortable implementing sustainable strategies in their personal lives. The criterion will be based on a ranking system compared to the most visible RCA.

The weighting of each criterion is discussed in Table 2.

Table 2: Weighting of Criteria

Criterion

Qualitative Weighting

Quantitative Weighting (%)

Weighting Rationale

Cost

Medium-High

While it is important to stay within budget, the course of action must provide incentive to continue sustainability trends on campus, and therefore cost was deemed less important than impact. Cost was given the second highest ranking because an unfeasible economic proposal will not be considered by UW and could be discarded regardless of its other merits.

Time

Medium

A short-term time constraint was required, therefore time was a key consideration for the proposal. Because there is some lenience with the amount of time that could be taken to fully implement a project, implementation time was also considered. Time is a less important criterion than cost because implementation time can be varied somewhat easily, while cost is a strict boundary that could nullify the proposal.

Difficulty

Medium

The complexity of a project in both planning and implementation stages is strongly correlated to the time required for planning and implementation, thus difficulty and time were given the same weighting.

Impact

High

The ultimate intent of the proposal is to increase the sustainability of the university; therefore it is logical that impact has the highest rank. If the project does not cause a noticeable change in the environmental impact of the university, then the proposal was in vain.

Visibility

Low

Visibility was given the lowest weighting because, while it is desirable for students and staff to participate and be involved in the university’s new sustainability efforts, it is not a factor that will prevent or allow UW to implement the proposal.

4.3 Recommended Course of Action (RCA)

The three courses of action with the highest probability of effectiveness are discussed below:

RCA #1

Install motion sensors, high efficiency light bulbs, and solar harvesting, with the intent of reducing energy consumption on campus.

Rationale:

UW could contribute to the campus sustainability effort by reducing its electricity consumption, and thereby lowering its carbon footprint and making the campus more sustainable. High efficiency bulbs can be integrated into the campus as the current bulbs require replacing, while solar harvesting will be implemented strategically across the campus, beginning with classrooms. Solar harvesting refers to using lights which can sense the amount of daylight in their directly affected area, and output an appropriate amount of light to meet a preset lighting requirement. Motion sensors will be implemented in non-critical lighting areas such as library cubicles, in order to save energy when desks are not in use.

RCA #2

Position composting bins in strategic locations such as campus eateries, and transporting the compost to an external, local facility for processing.

Rationale:

The university could significantly reduce its waste load that is currently sent to a landfill through a composting program, and thereby significantly boosting campus sustainability. Composting is a process whereby organic materials, such as food scraps and brush scraps, can effectively biodegrade into nutrient rich soil, with or without the assistance of organisms such as worms. Small composting bins will also be implemented on campus which will be maintained by students and staff for university benefits. A composting education program will be integrated into the student orientation program to inform students about the benefits of composting and prevent contamination.

RCA #3

Implement, on a per building basis, a system allowing run-off water to be collected from each building with minimal modifications to the current drainage systems.

Rationale:

The water will be collected in individual cisterns which will either drain into large collective tanks, or provide water immediate access via a faucet. The water will be used to sustain the campus grounds; excess water can also be used to clean the outside of campus buildings. Rainwater harvesting is convenient to implement on both a large scale (a cistern collection system) and a small scale (rain barrels) depending on the requirement. Precautions will be required to ensure that the rainwater harvesting systems are not damaged or vandalized to prevent leakage or spills. Ultimately, the systems would greatly reduce the university’s water consumption.

Finally, the recommended course of action was determined using the computational decision table shown in Table 3. Note that the lower the total score, the better the final rank.

Table 3: Computational Decision Making Matrix

RCAs

RCA #1

RCA #2

RCA #3

Criteria

Wi (%)

Ci1

Pi1

Fi1

Ci2

Pi2

Fi2

Ci3

Pi3

Fi3

Cost

0.67

16.7

0.33

8.3

1.00

25.0

Time

0.33

6.7

0.67

13.3

1.00

20.0

Difficulty

0.67

13.3

0.33

6.7

1.00

20.0

Impact

0.33

10.0

0.67

20.0

1.00

30.0

Visibility

1.00

5.0

0.33

1.7

0.67

3.3

TOTALS

100

51.7

50.0 98.3

The physical costs of the composting program are green bins, biodegradable bags, and a transportation vehicle to move the compost. The service costs include hiring a transport driver, janitorial staff, and education/training staff. Note that the reduced load of garbage that will require maintenance and transportation should be subtracted from the list of expenses. As a result, the composting program was ranked first in cost.

The major physical costs of the lighting program are the motion sensors, new high efficiency and solar harvesting bulbs (note that the cost of buying normal bulbs that are already required should be subtracted from this cost). The service costs of the lighting program include new wiring, maintenance, installation, and repair, as well as electricians and lighting designers to plan the design. As a result, the lighting program was ranked second in cost.

The primary physical costs of a large scale rainwater harvesting systems are cisterns, storage tank, and new gutters, while the service related costs include installation and modifications, maintenance, changes to piping, specialists, and civil planners. This RCA received third in cost as a result.

In terms of planning time required, the lighting system would be implementable in some buildings after eight months, but certainly not the entire campus. Simply implementing high efficiency bulbs would be relatively quick, although the budget would provide a constraint (i.e. it is would cost an extraordinary amount of money to suddenly purchase thousands of new light bulbs). Consequently, this RCA was ranked first for the time criterion.

The length of time required to plan the composting program would be primarily dependent on how quickly UW could set up an agreement with a composting facility. The amount of time required to implement educational programs would also be a factor. The composting program could physically be implemented into the cafeterias quite fast. Therefore, the composting program was ranked second in the time criterion.

Intensive planning would be required for each building on campus in order to implement the rainwater harvesting system. As a result, the proposal could only be implemented on a small scale for the short-term deadline. Consequently, the rainwater harvesting program received the lowest ranking for the time criterion.

The two most difficult elements of the composting system are planning the education training that would be required to avoid contamination, and determining how and where the compost would ultimately be transported. The composting program was ranked first in difficulty since it is fairly straightforward in both the planning and implementation stages.

The difficulty of installing a lighting system would be quite substantial; each building would need its own lighting plan, and a specialist would need to develop a strategy for integrating the new system into the buildings. Since there are several components to this plan, it is considerably more complicated simply in terms of installation. Once the planning was complete, however, the actual implementation of the high efficiency bulbs and solar harvesting bulbs would be fairly straightforward. As a result, this RCA was ranked second for difficulty.

The rainwater harvesting strategy would require intensive planning of modification to the current buildings. Constructions sites and a new gutter system would also need to be developed. Due to the need for construction, the rainwater harvesting system was ranked third for difficulty.

In the short-term, the lighting program would have a small but consistent positive impact, since it would only be implementable in small doses due to the high cost. In the long term, the energy savings caused by the lighting initiative would have a very large impact on campus sustainability. Therefore, the lighting program was ranked first for impact.

The composting program would realize its full benefits very quickly since waste collection and disposal occurs on a regular, short-term basis. In the long term, more experience with the program would lead to less contamination and more useful resulting compost. Therefore there would be a slight increase in benefit over time. Since the long term benefits are less drastic than the lighting program, this RCA received second for impact.

In the short-term, the rainwater harvesting strategy would not provide significant benefits because the entire system would need to be constructed and installed before any benefit could be realized. The negative effects of construction would probably provide a negative short-term result. In the long term, rain water harvesting would significantly reduce water consumption. However, in comparison to the other RCAs, the water harvesting program ranked third for impact.

Composting stations would be prominent in all major student-populated locations such as food courts, thus student interaction with the system would be direct and strong, because everyone must use the garbage and recycling bins on campus. Visibility of the system would also be immediate once it was implemented; consequently, composting was ranked first for visibility.

The prominence of the rainwater collection system would be obvious to observers, although they may not understand or appreciate the system’s function. Interaction between students and the system would be low, although some staff interaction would occur through the water harvesting system. Thus, this RCA was ranked second for visibility.

The visible prominence of the lighting program would be discreet; students would observe it but may not realize what they are observing. In terms of interaction, students and most staff would have limited or nonexistent contact with the system, excluding motion sensor lights on desks. Therefore, students may not learn a lot from the lighting system or even be aware of its existence. Therefore, the lighting system received third for visibility.

Consequently, the most desirable course of action, as rated by the given criteria, is the composting program.

2.0 Cost/Benefit Analysis

In order to gauge the feasibility of the given proposal, a cost/benefit analysis is performed to weigh the major cost estimates of the project against the benefits that the proposal will ultimately achieve [2].

2.1 Scope of Analysis

The composting program will be considered in this analysis. The monetary and time-related costs of the proposal will be determined, as well as the cost of failing to initiate actions at UW to promote sustainability.

2.2 Cost Analysis

In order to implement a composting program on campus, additional required costs must be considered in addition to the physical costs of the collection process. A tentative cost analysis of the proposal is shown in Table 4, based on a one year analysis.

Table 4: Cost Analysis

Item

Unit

Unit Cost ($)

# of Units

Extended Costs ($)

Composting Bins

Lump sum

275

5,500

Paradise

Sat, 04 Jul 2009 17:19:06 -0500

written 2006, month unknown
a dusky twilight consumes the haze,
while smokey wisps of burnt spruce waft lazily about.
energy jolts the air,
as the night ensues.

the dawn, dusted with lazy stars,
brushes the horizon with pastels
in an imprecise wave of artistry.
the lemon petals of a blushing primrose
peek forth from their hibernation,
kissing the sparkling rays of morning sunlight.

the brilliant sun shines spectacularly
through the broken maze of tree branches,
splitting the sky and dividing the heavens.
the sweet mossy scent of honeysuckle and fir brush infiltrate the senses,
while dewdrops lace the blades of grass
like angelic filigree.

a dense, fragrant thicket of junipers
lines the footpath surrounding a silvery lake.
the placid water stands in dignified solitude;
reflecting the infinity of space
through the pearly illumination of a clouded crescent moon.

Winter Afternoon

Sat, 04 Jul 2009 16:39:50 -0500

written january 6, 2006
true refreshment - moreso than an infinite number of chilled drinks or icy dips in a pool,
is the crisp vigour of softly tumbling downy flakes
drenched in the aura of afternoon sun.
from the tip of each pine needle
carelessly lies the curvacious form of a frozen droplet,
poised perfectly at the utmost moment of fall.
for the surreal character of the beauty, the irresistible object,
clings to the unchanging force;
since any component of nature is never truly stagnant.
behind the pane of glass, a wick blackens and bends,
struggling against an invisible foe.
thrashing wildly, it struggles to be tall and strong
like it once began.
but the persistent orange flame silently consumes it;
so slowly it appears nearly peaceful, like the aging of youth
into the acceptance of an unavoidable death.
calm consumes the imagination;
but the primitive instruments tick ever onwards,
encapsulating the memory in the archives of an eternity
that will remain unheard.

love poem (2)

Sat, 04 Jul 2009 16:19:24 -0500

written April 2008
when the sun dips
below the rosy sea,
and nightingales sing
their sultry melody,
the night unfolds
with surreal grace,
each timid petal
gleaming with dewy lace.
hours will pass,
and though night turns to day,
the twilit beauty of the dusk
will forever stay.
while the stars will
chase the moon
until the sun
brings morning's tune
dreams will linger on
and the memory of the night
will be refreshed
by every twinkling light
(originally dedicated to Deslyn D. & husband)

love poem (1)

Sat, 04 Jul 2009 16:16:06 -0500

written August 2006

Love's been around
since the start of the ages
when people were beasts,
and lived far from their cages.
But throughout all this time,
we've been stuck on one quirk:
What is love exactly,
and how does it work?
Love 'en francais'
might be sweeter than most,
if you were to judge
by the kiss that they boast.
The Germans write music;
the English write prose;
Romantics might send you
a beautiful rose.
But cynics say lovers are thick in the head,
and others think love is just going to bed.
Simple folk put it best when they say,
(and I quote): Love is a lot like milking a goat.
Sometimes it's hard to keep things in control;
when you're kicking and screaming,
love sure takes its toll.
But if you take a deep breath,
and don't mumble and mutter,
the love will flow out
like fresh milk from an udder.
See, love comes from the heart,
and if you don't break it,
your love will become whatever you make it.
So whether love leaves you with tears or with laughter,
I hope that you both will live happily ever after.
(originally dedicated to Jody & Jeff D.)

The Font Conference

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 19:47:01 -0500

I first saw this video some time ago, but it is even more hilarious to watch now. I have never heard someone enunciate "Microsoft" so perfectly. "You must be insane!..."