I did not intend to get laid off by Sentilla in May 2009. I was reminded of this when I saw a recent press release saying that they had raised an additional 15million dollars in August 2011. There in the picture was the very wireless monitoring unit that I had helped design and install with our first customer AT&T!

But I will never regret deciding to take what I had learnt and to share it using the Internet as best I could. Open4Energy began as a living example of my technical and communication skills, an on-line resume'.  I spent my days, first hopefully and then anxiously, looking for a new source of employment in an ever sliding economy.

There were many weeks where the only readers of our blog were my wife, my mother in England and the few open source engineers who found the experiences I published helpful to their efforts. But we believed that there was a need for someone to step away from the relentless marketing pressure on energy technology, who could simply write what was true, trusting that consumers are capable of making wise choices if left alone for long enough. Or as Gordon says - after all else has failed - Americans can be trusted to do the right thing.

You may wonder why I would post this video in my opening post in a blog about energy efficiency?

So besides that fact that I have this video and I think it is interesting, it is also the file we used to develop the Drupal integration with Vimeo - our media host. We all know YouTube - but I do not like the way they select the follow up videos, particularly on energy. The power factor scam industry has made a profesion of misleading on-line videos. I saw no reason for us to assist them in their efforts to deceive.

This is the first multi-media content Open4Energy has published, and it is using a 'plus' paid account as part of our increased investments to protect our readers. From unwanted information, as well as spam and Internet threats.

It was sent to me by a friend who has stood by me over ten years, while I have struggled to understand what could make a web site on energy saving persuasive. Not to those who are already passionate about energy saving, but to those wedded to themselves, sound bites and instant gratification.

It is a little concerning to think that listening to me wax on about digital persuasion may have been as exciting as watching the grass grow, but so be it! I can only hope that you will enjoy this first media element on Open4Energy a little more?

Today is a major milestone for Open4Energy. The upgrade to Drupal 7 is complete. The new face from AdaptiveTheme may look better, but it is technically superior and will support the growing number of mobile users we have! Finally we have relocated our hosting service (see SP&C link) to significantly up the security, performance and reliability of Open4Energy.

It is my pleasure to start our blog this evening after Thanksgiving. An opportunity for me to ponder on the broader issues facing us regarding energy saving. The Internet is yet in it's infancy, and it is difficult to know exactly how it and other emerging technologies will affect us and energy saving.

The only thing I can know for certain, is that like this train, things will change.

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