Posts Tagged ‘education’

Looking back on the first week of class

I’m just now sitting down today to do my blog post.  Today is Friday but it’s been a busy day!  We did our recycling trip and had a wonderful lunch out, then did some water system maintenance and filled some orders.  I’ve been slow to get to my blog posts this week because I’ve been staying pretty busy with things.  For example, I have my Electrical Wiring book to study.  I have my notes from Basic Wiring class to study.  I have orders to do maybe 2-3 times a day.  There are meal times that take up some time, errands to run, and other household things that need doing. I get a nap for 2 hours a day, which is much needed in the early afternoon so I can make it into the evening. During my free time, I like to use my iPad to surf the web, and that probably takes up at least an hour a day, maybe two.  So I stay pretty busy during the day.

Thinking ahead to Solar Technology

But right now, as I sit at my iPad, I am developing some warm thoughts about my upcoming Solar Technology class.  I’m really waiting for that class to start.  It won’t start until February 7, which is 24 days away.  Basic Wiring is nice, but we won’t get to cover anything directly related to solar energy in that class.  The focus is primarily on residential wiring.  It is lots of useful and practical information that electricians working on houses will have to know all the time, but I want to know how to install and wire up solar panels.  The closest I think I will get is wiring up a cable to a service panel, which will be necessary to do in order to install inverters and AC disconnects. Read more…

First day at Durham Tech

Yesterday I had my first class at Durham Tech. I got up at 6 AM sharp, then got ready to leave around 6:45. It wasn’t too hard to get ready to go at all, since I had practiced it a number of times. And although I had only tried the drive to Durham Tech’s main campus once, I made it today taking a new route just fine. I went down a road that was much less traveled for about half the time, then took Highway 147 the other half of the time. I got to campus at 7:15, and secured the third parking spot in front of the building.

I walked inside, and the classroom was still closed. I next checked out the lounge for internet access, which was very easy to find. I sent my husband an email to test out my connection. I didn’t stick around too many minutes; about the time that I was getting ready to leave another person walked in and asked if that was the student lounge. I said yes, and went on my way. Little did I know that he was one of the students who would soon be in my class.

The classroom door finally opened a few minutes later, but nobody was inside. There were 2 people outside though, probably waiting to go in. I went inside and took some pictures of the class because of all the interesting equipment that was laying around. Read more…

My first trip to Durham Tech’s main campus

More than enough excitement for the day

Today was the most tiring day in a while. I woke up at 6:35, left around 7:15, and took 25 minutes to get to Durham Tech’s main campus in a drive that just fell short of harrowing at times. The traffic was not any heavier than usual, but what made it so difficult was having to adjust to the changing light conditions at first. Then came the full blazing sun, shining right in my eyes for long stretches of time while I was traveling 55 mph on Highway 147.

I could barely see ahead of me, not to mention the cars coming in from the side, or the lines marking which lane I was in. I had maybe about 1 second of visibility in front of me at any one time while I was facing the sun directly. It’s quite a demand to place on my poorly functioning processors so early in the morning. Needless to say, afterwards I was quite run down. I didn’t regain my energy until 11:30 this morning, well after I had gotten back from Durham Tech and stopped to run a few errands.

Still looking on the bright side

Although I was wiped out by my early morning drive, it has not greatly impacted my excitement at being able to take my Basic Wiring class. I will just have to leave earlier in the morning (about half an hour earlier, I’m thinking) so the sun won’t have risen above the horizon yet. Then I will be one of the first cars on campus, and can claim my parking space right beside the front door. Read more…

New textbook for first class 6 days from now

I’m finding it imperative that I do my blogging at my first sign of quality free time. Tonight I finished my orders at 8:15, and I immediately ran upstairs to my computer. I have to go to bed on time tonight because tomorrow morning I’m making my first dry run of my morning trip to Durham Tech’s main campus. It’s January 4, and class starts bright and early at 8 AM on January 10.

My textbook for Basic Wiring I arrived promptly this morning. It’s Electrical Wiring Residential, 17th Edition by Ray Mullin and Phil Simmons. We ordered it yesterday from Construction Book Express and because they were based in South Carolina, I got my book today! I’ve been carrying it around everywhere so I can get a chance to read it when I find bits of free time. I showed my husband the table of contents so he could see how useful the knowledge was that I would be learning this semester.

The textbook is based on the 2011 National Electrical Code (NEC), which is like the bible for electricians – anything you need to know about proper safety and electrical installation, you can reference it in the NEC by article number.  The textbook has all kinds of useful information like how many conductors can fit in a box, calculating voltage drops, understanding electrical symbols, how to wire all the different rooms in a house, and of course the all-important section on electrical safety, which is absolutely important so I can ensure that I’m physically able (like being alive) so I can keep working with electricity. There’s nothing worse than getting to enjoy one’s work one moment and then pzzzzt… Read more…

Applied to Durham Tech’s Solar Technology Course

It took me a while, but yesterday I went to Durham Tech’s Orange County campus and completed my application for the Solar Technology course.  The two people I spoke with were enormously helpful, and I ended up submitting my application as a visiting student also – to get my foot in the door for the fall semester.  So today, I’ll write about my experiences at the campus, some information about the programs offered, my consideration of the Renewable Energy diploma, and then some thoughts toward the future of solar power.

The Campus

The Orange County campus building is absolutely beautiful.  It was more than I had expected it to be, and I already had high expectations from what I had read on Durham Tech’s website.  Once you turn off Highway 86 onto Waterstone Drive, you’re on a big but otherwise empty road through forested and open parkland until you drive around a gentle curve, and there before you the building emerges up on a hill.  Approach the building from the other direction (Old Highway 86) and you see the very front of the building, decked outside with its triple array of solar panels.

The building is a green building, with lots of natural skylight indoors.  There is also an expansive park-and-ride lot to enable easy public transportation to and from the building.  The parking lots themselves were also expansive compared to the number of cars that were actually there that day; I’m sure there will be more in the future as more students sign up for the Sustainable Technologies program.   Read more…

Working a green job

Green jobs are, in my opinion, the best kinds of jobs.  They are good for the environment, usually have some element of social responsibility, and pay a living wage.  There is nothing excessive about a socially responsible green job; you get enough to live by, you give enough back for others to be able to do the same.  Everyone wins.

How to find a green job

More people than ever want to be at a job that’s friendly to the environment and families.  Only a few want to be at jobs full of politics, corruption, and bureaucracy.  So how do you find a green job at a time when it’s difficult to find any job? Read more…