Block · one region of the page, as the scanner read it. It may hold a whole story, part of one, several, or an advertisement; stitching blocks into articles is the next step. Text is supplied OCR.
Page 2 · column 3 of 9 · from the scan, no model involved
By DAPHNE HUTCHINSON
Rappahannock W Staff Writer
Ken Ritvo and Sam Clifton have built the proverbial better mousetrap of the construction industry with their Solar Design firm and they're now waiting for the world to beat a path to the door of their Washington office.
They rely on all the traditional tools—hammers, nails, saws, scaffolding, trowels. But they've added a new approach to the traditional route contractors follow by introducing one of the marvels of technology—a computer.
‘‘Basically, we're here because it's fun and the only way we can make building fun is to take the drudgery out. We’ve developed an efficient system for doing that," Clifton explained.
“Lots of people believe that computers think,” Ritvo said. “Computers don’t think. You have to know what you're doing. The computer only speeds up the image making. It's garbage in, garbage out,” he added with a grin.
They’ve filled their computer with the equivalent of tons of that garbage—data on how much a lead carpenter is paid, the cost of a sheet of plywood, how long it takes to complete specific stages of a construction project, the effect of dark tile on a passive solar heating system and literally thousands of other pieces of information.
89.8%