Large-Scale Weather Events: The Need for Upgraded Buildings

Large-scale weather events are becoming increasingly common, and the tendency to build back after a disaster without upgrading the buildings to prevent another one would be foolish. For decades, Los Angeles (L.A.) has had some of the strongest building codes for earthquakes and localized fires, but large-scale fire events are new to the region and appear to be a trend.

Fortunately, there are a variety of technologies and approaches to rebuilding after the fires are put out. Still, aggressive action at the state, county, and city levels will be needed to ensure that policies and rules are updated to provide architects and builders with clear guidance as to what will be allowed for new structures so that this kind of disaster doesn’t repeat itself in the future.

Rebuilding Strategies for a Safer Future

This week, let’s explore strategies like fire-resistant materials, advanced building technologies, and innovative housing solutions to rebuild and adapt for a safer future. Then, we’ll close with my Product of the Week: the Google Pixel Watch 3, which my wife gave me last Christmas.

Hardening Homes Against Wildfires

I grew up in Orange County, Calif., and trained to fight fires. I now live in Bend, Ore., where we tend to have big fires every year.

Last year, my wife asserted that we needed an SUV or trailer big enough to escape a fire should one approach our home. I argued that it would make more sense to harden our house against fire so we could shelter in place because, as we saw in prior fires, and with the L.A. fires, getting out can be problematic given the roads tend to become quickly clogged with evacuating residents and fire teams trying to get in.

The Importance of Fire-Resistant Materials

Like most homes in the area, our house is primarily constructed of materials that are not fire-resistant. However, incorporating fire-resistant materials into our home could significantly reduce the risk of damage in the event of a wildfire.

The Google Pixel Watch 3: A Product Review

The watch’s screen is up to 2000 nits, which makes it highly usable outside. However, it burns through the battery far faster (two days) than my old TicWatch. Charging is done through a magnetic charger rather than wireless inductive charging, similar to every smartwatch I’ve owned, but not as well as the Apple Watch.

The Google Pixel Watch 3 is particularly useful for competitive runners as it measures your time and distance and compares it to past efforts, pushing you to exceed them. It will integrate with other Google devices like the Nest Camera to see images on the watch or Google TV as the remote control, and it will work as an interface to your phone so you can chat with your watch (not all smartwatches do this).

The watch also has several safety features, including a timer that will trigger an alert if the time you set expires (say you’re on a questionable date or have a sketchy Uber driver) and fall detection that sends alerts if you have a hard fall. You can notify contacts from the watch of your location or let them know you can’t answer because you are already on a call.

Conclusion

While the Pixel Watch 3 isn’t as feature-rich or has as long battery life as my old TicWatch Pro 5, it is more comfortable, does a better job tracking my sleep and steps, and is easier to use, making it my Product of the Week.