Scalability
by
David B. South, Jr.
reprinted from The Monolithic Dome Roundup Spring/Summer 1999
The
computer industry is buzzing over "scalability." Put simply, scalability
is a measure of how well an operating system "scales" from small to large
computers. For example, the most popular operating system on the market
(you know which one I'm talking about) does not scale well.
Instead,
there are special versions for different computers from small hand-helds
to corporate servers. Each version requires completely different types
of instructions to work on different types of computer hardware. On the
other hand, there is Linux (pronounced Lynn-ucks). It is a free operating
system put together by volunteers from around the world.
Linux is touted to be extremely scalable. It can run from a floppy disk
or scale up to fill gigabytes of hard drive space. Linux is written like
building blocks. If you only need a simple machine with no sound nor mouse,
you do not load those blocks. For large projects you load blocks like
"Symmetric Multi-Processing" where Linux can use many computers tied together
over a network to create one, large super-computer.
The ideas that fuel scalability are changing the computer industry. Instead
of creating a solution for a limited segment of the market, a flexible,
scalable solution could fill the needs of the whole market. These principles
apply to the construction business as well.
A traditional home is built using a wood frame walls and wood trusses
for the roof. Commercial buildings use tilt-up concrete walls with steel
roofs. You will not see your local Wal-Mart built as an A-Frame wood building.
Nor is your neighbor going to use concrete block and steel rebar for their
home. These construction methods are, therefore, not scalable. The Monolithic
Dome is.
The process of applying foam and concrete easily scales from small to
gigantic structures. Are you building a house? Use three inches of concrete
with steel rebar 10 inches on center.
Building a 43,000 ton cement storage? Use 12 inches of concrete with large
steel rebar, 6 inches on center. The building materials are the same for
both structures and the methods to apply them are similar. Only the size
and building purpose are different.
The advantages scale up, too. The tremendous energy efficiency, the longevity,
and disaster resistance are part of all Monolithic Domes from houses to
gymnasiums. By applying the principles of scalability to construction
we can pool our resources, streamline the construction process, and improve
the quality of the buildings.
Seasonal Changes
The first color issue of the Roundup, Journal of the Monolithic Dome Institute,
Summer 1997, was to be mailed July 1, 1997. Because of several maddening
errors with the post office, it was delayed a whole month. Ever since,
we shipped the journal every quarter, more or less, from that first mailing.
The problem is that each issue arrives at the end of the season marked
on the cover. Some of our subscribers were concerned that we were late
or that they missed an issue.
To resolve the confusion, we are changing seasons. At least, we are changing
the season marked on our covers. This issue is the Spring/Summer 1999,
the next issue will be Fall 1999 and our last issue this year will be
Winter 1999. This will not change the number of issues you receive with
your subscription nor will it alter the mailing dates of each issue. Instead,
it will ensure that each issue arrives before the marked season.
|