Introduction

Hi,

the idea of this blog is to verify day to day assumptions with simple back of an envelope calculations. Those assumptions could be anything from "I save a lot of money collecting rainwater in a butt", to "Isolating the outside wall of my kitchen reduces my gas bill". We might also tackle some not-so-straight-forward questions like "How to count vehicles per hour passing a point" based on counting vehicles coming towards you while driving a car.

So yeah, it could go anywhere really 😀 Any calculations will be presented in a manner that is easy to understand, and I will link to sources so you can check my calculations. Be aware that I am based in the Netherlands so when I talk about prices they may be completely different for you (and will be in Euros)! So don't assume that any conclusion I might draw from my back of the envelope calculations equally apply to you. Verify, and draw your own conclusions is probably the best bit of advice I can give. And be aware of the units: I always use metric/SI units.

Also my promise: I do use large language models (LLMs) to check my language and spelling and perhaps to add an illustration or two, but the ideas and calculations are completely my own. Fight the slop! 😈

Still need to style this blog a bit before publishing the first article, but spoiler alert: It will probably be about bread ...

Acknowledgements & disclosure

The intro image was generated with the help of Gemini Nano Banana 2, based on an original image by Diana Light.