Insource/Outsource

Protecting Bicycles with Innovative Modular Storage Systems

2010-01-14T06:28:00.000-08:00

The Palo Alto, California-based company, Bike Arc, was born out of a shared reverence for the bicycle and the environment. The design evolved from the collaborative efforts of celebrated U.S. bicycle advocate Jeff Selzer and Joseph Bellomo, an architect renowned for his leadership in holistic, green design. Bellomo and Selzer worked together on the Palo Alto Bikestation at the Caltrain depot. Bike Arc is patented in both the United States and in Europe.

PRODUCTS:

The concept of the Half Arc stemmed from the need to offer cyclists’ security as well as weather protection for their bicycles. Using the Arc design from the original Bike Arc, the Half Arc once again offers outstanding security in a light, small footprint.

The Umbrella Arc organizes bicycles in a beautiful and efficient manner. It combines the ease of use of the Rac Arc with sculptural organization. It offers an efficient use of space while providing shelter for bicycles in inclement weather. The Umbrella Arc effectively and securely parks 8 bicycles in less than 25 square feet.

The Tube Arc is the flagship of the Arc offerings. Each of the other Arcs was born out of this modular elegant design. The Tube Arc offers exceptional security, ease of use, and complete protection for the bicycle from the elements. The design was conceived to offer flexible, easy-to-install (assembled on site) bicycle parking structures with a “light” approach. The Tube Arc is adaptable from 16 bikes to upwards of 60+ per unit.

The Rac Arc was designed to offer basic, affordable, and attractive bicycle parking. It is a unique design that organizes and honors the bicycle while offering superb security. The design offers a variety of configurations adaptable to commercial and public realms, but is equally effective for use in a single-family home. The Rac Arc can also cantilever over existing or proposed landscaped areas.

The Loop Arc offers simplicity, affordability, and usability. Similar to the rest of the Bike Arc family, it maintains the organization of bicycle parking by providing each bike a designated “parking spot.” As the Loop Arc is two separate pieces, one that supports the front wheel and one that locks to the frame and back wheel, it can be used in a variety of locations and situations including sloped areas or on uneven ground. The Loop Arc works with all different types of bikes (including those with baskets) and no lifting is required.

The Car Arc provides covered shelter for vehicles including electric cars and electric bicycles. The structure is formed from the same curved 1”x3” tubes as the rest of the Arc family, but further extruded to provide enough protection for the entire length of a car. On top of the polycarbonate roof is a layer of solar film, which captures solar energy and converts it into power for the vehicles. The Car Arc is an affordable solution that has the potential to be used in commercial, public, and residential applications and can also be added to an existing car park to provide shelter due to its light load.

The Bus Arc is a further iteration of the Half Arc, generating both a bike storage facility and a waiting area. Recycled resin sheets are rolled and simply attached to the steel ribs, allowing people to sit under protection. An added benefit are the energy inverters, which produce energy that users can plug into while waiting for the bus.

The Ad Arc is a street level barrier screen that has the potential to display a variety of imagery depending upon the use. Each screen is fabricated from galvanized steel flat bars (fixed Ad Arc) or aluminum (removable Ad Arc) framing a transparent polycarbonate printed screen. Each panel can be easily and affordably replaced on a regular basis allowing users to frequently update their display such as a restaurant owner revising a menu or retail products. The size of the seating screen is also flexible, ranging from 2’ to 4’ in length and 3’ to 5’ in height to fit into every application.

The Transit Arc promotes bicycle routes along transit corridors providing safe and continuous bike commute corridors. For example, we believe there is an opportunity for bike connections to exist alongside electrified commuter train corridors with high-speed trains elevated aesthetically beautiful above such as the San Jose to San Francisco new High-Speed Rail and Caltrain.

The House Arc is a modular off-the-grid housing solution where the pieces are shipped (ideally, fabricated locally) to the site and erected by the user or community. The first House Arc prototypes to be built will be on the Big Island of Hawaii; completion is anticipated in 2009. We hope organizations dedicated to finding the most affordable off-the-grid modular housing solutions will consider the House Arc.

2009-03-26T06:48:00.000-07:00

From Maruja Fuentes.

I don't know about the elbow rest portion, but the sitting spot has excellent potential for bus stops, DMV's and the like. That is to say, potential for very hip versions of those places.

Chew with your lights on...

2009-03-09T05:52:00.000-07:00

Gummi Bear lights:

Around 7" by 4" wide and come in various colors. They have a 20-hour lithium battery, so no cord is needed. Place them anywhere in your German candy factory.

via Property Furniture.

Develop : Make : Object

2009-01-06T07:12:00.000-08:00

Objectified is a feature-length independent documentary about industrial design. It’s a look at the creativity at work behind everything from toothbrushes to tech gadgets. It’s about the people who re-examine, re-evaluate and re-invent our manufactured environment on a daily basis. It’s about personal expression, identity, consumerism, and sustainability. It’s about our relationship to mass-produced objects and, by extension, the people who design them.

Through vérité footage and in-depth conversations, the film documents the creative processes of some of the world’s most influential designers, and looks at how the things they make impact our lives. What can we learn about who we are, and who we want to be, from the objects with which we surround ourselves?

If only it were this easy...

2008-12-02T04:40:00.001-08:00

It's a whole new world, hopefully...

2008-11-05T12:20:00.000-08:00

Obama: the post-environmental president

What does the election mean for climate change and energy policy?
by Adam Stein – November 5, 2008

There’s been a bit of chatter in recent weeks about whether an Obama victory would truly be as transformative as many progressives hope and expect. Some have quietly suggested that nothing in Obama’s record, temperament, or platform should make us expect dramatic gestures. They say that those who think otherwise are letting the man’s remarkable personal story cloud their judgment of his governing philosophy, or discounting the extent to which every president is constrained by Congress.

There’s something to this, and ultimately any president’s legacy is determined as much by events as by his or her personal qualities. That said, I think that Obama’s presidency has a good chance of being a transformative one, particularly in the area of climate and energy. Circumstances have delivered up a set of interlinked crises — economic, environmental, and security-related — at just the moment that we’ve elected a person who seems to fully grasp the scope of the problem and the proper shape of the solution.

Obama has often been referred to as the first post-racial politician. When we someday evaluate his tenure, we may come to see him instead as the first post-environmental president, the leader who was able to connect the dots on energy, the economy, and security in way that elevates these issues above narrow interest group concerns and places them at the center of the political agenda.

Read the rest of the article HERE.

Happy November 4th...

2008-11-04T04:08:00.000-08:00

Google gives your ideas an allowance...

2008-10-13T05:03:00.000-07:00

Project 10 to the 100th is a call from Google for ideas to change the world by helping as many people as possible. On February 27, Google will choose the best 200 ideas, donating $10 million to help with their implementation. Deadline for submissions is October 20th.

Categories:
Community: How can we help connect people, build communities and protect unique cultures?
Opportunity: How can we help people better provide for themselves and their families?
Energy: How can we help move the world toward safe, clean, inexpensive energy?
Environment: How can we help promote a cleaner and more sustainable global ecosystem?
Health: How can we help individuals lead longer, healthier lives?
Education: How can we help more people get more access to better education?
Shelter: How can we help ensure that everyone has a safe place to live?
Everything else: Sometimes the best ideas don't fit into any category at all.

Criteria:
Reach: How many people would this idea affect?
Depth: How deeply are people impacted? How urgent is the need?
Attainability: Can this idea be implemented within a year or two?
Efficiency: How simple and cost-effective is your idea?
Longevity: How long will the idea's impact last?

You spin me right round...

2008-09-19T05:47:00.000-07:00

Look closely, tell me what you see...

Liverpool Biennial's Flickr Page

Launched on August 20th, 2008, Diller Scofidio + Renfro's Joyful Trees was a hit at the Liverpool Biennial MADE UP.

Celebrating 10 years of commissioning ambitious and challenging new work by leading international artists, the fifth edition of Liverpool Biennial’s International exhibition is MADE UP, an exploration of the power of the artistic imagination.

What's more to this than just a simple installation are the eerie sounds that escape the city in the background as the trees spin, complimenting the mechanical movement of the organic landscape. You can't help but think of the cars and buses as factory noises, pushing steam and popping hydrolic lifts, spinning the tress in circles.

Liverpool Biennial's Flickr Page

As a practical concept, think of the installation in terms of blocking heat gain. Perforated steel and other materials could be replaced with waltzing trees and spinning shrubs. It's a stretch, I know, but what really isn't in this day and age?

I've landed...

2008-09-18T06:10:00.001-07:00

I've been in Seattle all week, posts will resume shortly....

Von's in Seattle, with over 450 bottles of booze behind the bar.

Jennnnnnga...

2008-09-10T12:05:00.000-07:00

From ARBITARE.

Next Generation House is a small housing module for weekend use, located on the edge of a forest overlooking the River Kuma at Kumakura, opposite the temple of Shibatatehime.

The client is a timber merchant. The small pavilion, a 4x4 m cube, is made by assembling solid Japanese cedar blocks kept in place by their own weight and connecting metal cables running through vertical drill holes. Some of the inside cubes are laid off-centre to create shelves, small living areas and even steps to move from one level to another.

Offsets in the wall cubes also create windows with views of the surrounding countryside. The oblique glass windowpanes are held in place with plastic plugs. The mobile sheets are in transparent acrylic. Two roof skylights provide extra natural light – an architectural feature over which Fujimoto takes special care. At night, artificial light visible from the outside helps to dematerialise the cube by mixing the warm tones of wood with the amber glow of incandescent bulbs, emphasising the ways in which a structure made up of heavy wooden elements can seem so light and airy.

Sou Fujimoto (Japan, 1971) architect. He lives in Tokyo, Japan. His children’s mental health centre won an AR Award in 2006. He has taught in several Japanese universities. In addition to his work as an architect, he writes for international magazines like A+U. He is currently working on a series of housing projects: House N, Tokyo Apartment and the Future Primitive House.

He had a pretty interesting start at the ripe age of 20. Worthe a quick read HERE.

Let's go throw the proton around...

2008-09-10T08:16:00.000-07:00

Over at DVICE, they've got 30 stunning images of the Large Hadron Collider. Judging by a quick summize of Twitter, we're all alive and (still) cracking jokes, albeit poorly written ones.

Be careful not to step in any strange matter.

String cheese theory and hard-on jokes seem to be especially popular.

It's raining regulatory code, hallelujah...

2008-09-07T06:18:00.000-07:00

Catching rain water is against the law

August 12th, 2008 @ 11:49pm
By John Hollenhorst

Who owns the rain? Not you, it turns out. You're actually breaking the law if you capture the rain falling on your roof and pour it on your flower bed! A prominent Utah car dealer found that out when he tried to do something good for the environment.

Rebecca Nelson captures rainwater in a barrel, and she pours it on her plants. "We can fill up a barrel in one rainstorm. And so it seems a waste to just let it fall into the gravel," she said.

Car dealer Mark Miller wanted to do pretty much the same thing on a bigger scale. He collects rainwater on the roof of his new building, stores it in a cistern and hopes to clean cars with it in a new, water-efficient car wash. But without a valid water right, state officials say he can't legally divert rainwater. "I was surprised. We thought it was our water," Miller said.

State officials say it's an old legal concept to protect people who do have water rights. Boyd Clayton, the deputy state engineer, said, "Obviously if you use the water upstream, it won't be there for the person to use it downstream."

"Utah's the second driest state in the nation. Our water laws ought to catch up with that," Miller says.

Read the rest of the story HERE.

It came with a wrench...

2008-09-05T23:12:00.000-07:00

Building with the Swedish system of closed panel wall elements in Sigtuna, Sweden.

Want.

2008-09-04T05:20:00.000-07:00

My new guilty pleasure...

...is surfing the web...

...for a different kind of porn...

...known as stair porn.

Thanks to this website, I don't have to look very far...

Stair Porn

1. Wooden bookcase images from Living Etc, Elle interiör
2. Tolo House, Alvaro Leite Siza
3. Roarockit Skateboard Company Deck Stairs
4. Hanging Spiral Stairs, Didden Village, MVRDV
5. Wexford Hotel, Montego Bay, Jamaica

A homegrown post...

2008-08-18T05:39:00.000-07:00

When we die, let's donate our land to the city with the hopes that they turn it in to a field of cement corn. Think of it, Eulalia...cement corn as far as the eye can see!

Flickr user jfsl3.

I'm not sure that that's exactly what Sam and Eulalia Frantz envisioned for their land before passing from this life to the next. Actually, I'm sure nobody envisions such an image. Regardless, that was the fitting tribute they gave this corn farmer and his wife.

Sam Frantz had/has a rich farm history in Dublin, OH. He is most well known for his corn hybridization techniques, most notably from the 1930's to the 1960's. And from my perspective, as a child, Frantz road really was the heart of Dublin. Aside from the upper-echelon houses and neatly-cropped golf courses, there wasn't much in the area but expansive farmland and soccer fields, all of which stretched along the perimeter of Frantz Road.

Today, however, farm titles have been bought Sam Walton-style in favor of track housing, "upgrade-available" condos, and malls, malls, malls - I can even remember (a number of years ago) one of our independent papers running a contest to come up with a new city motto, and a jaded reader submitted the wonderful, "Columbus: Malltastic!"

Such is the feeling for a good portion of Columbus development, including but not limited to, the outskirts of Dublin in the mid-1990's. Many other areas, such as Hilliard, Gahanna and Westerville experienced the same sort of development. Some fared the storm, while others folded in favor of the next housing development or mall expansion.

The Field of Corn

Also known as Cornhenge, the Field of Corn with Osage Orange Trees was conceived by artist Malcolm Cochran, and commissioned by the Dublin Arts Council in 1994. The site sits in a large grass field adjacent to Nationwide Insurance. Around the time of completion, 1,500 employees had relocated from Nationwide's downtown office in Columbus to the Dublin suburb - a trend omnipresent with the Central Ohio business model of that time. In fact, many other companies did the same, opting instead for the bright lights of the highway outer belt, over the parking-choked commute nightmare that was/is downtown Columbus.

Given the influx of residents to the suburbs, the decision was an easy one for most executives, even if it meant driving the city to one of the highest downtown vacancy rates in the nation, a trend that reached its worst from 00-02.

Now, however, with the development of the Arena District and surrounding areas --in addition to 10-year tax abatement programs for housing and other businesses-- Columbus is seeing a reurbanization of sorts.

So why the corn fields for a post?

Well, I've lived in Central Ohio for 80% of my life and never really explored some of the established attractions. As a result, Malcolm Cochran's cornfields caught my eye (or recaught, for that matter) because I've seen it surface every now and again on the interweb; from Scott Beale's experience at Laughing Squid to Neatorama's post, even Roadside America. Some people have even made videos of the field, like this one of a crazed man running through the corn sculptures. So it obviously catches a lot of peoples' attention, whereas I've kind of mentally written it off.

So again, why the fields?

They're odd, but they're the good kind of odd, and we don't get much of that good-kind-of-odd in Ohio. Not to mention, I think Cochran was trying to make a statement about the suburbanization of of our culture by permanently establishing a cornfield as, well, a cornfield!?!? And an absurd cornfield at that! 109 pieces of 8'0" friggin' tall corn.

From plaques on the site:

Corn has been cultivated in Ohio for approximately 1800 years. It was known to prehistoric Native American Hopewell peoples (A.D. 100-500). Prehistoric and historic Native Americans combined plantings of corn, beans, squash, and gourds in their fields and small garden plots. Two important varieties of corn were Northern flint corn, which had 16 to 20 rows of kernels on long, thin cobs, and Southern gourdseed corn, which had short, stubby ears with up to 32 rows of kernels. By the mid-1700s, Native Americans in Ohio grew great quantities of corn, often in larger fields. Particularly along the Scioto and Miami River valleys, it was not uncommon to see thousands of acres of cornfields. The Wyandot Indians, who are known to have camped on scenic Indian Run just north of Dublin village, were prominent among the historic Native American cultivators of corn.

OK, so the installation's plaque might not expound on my theory of cornfield-as-a-development-statement, but I still thought it was worth a post. And given the recent influx of cheap condos, loft-style apartments and plastic buildings going up in our fair city, who knows? Maybe one day we'll see a public park downtown with 109 strategically-placed tiny buildings scattered across a grass field - a fitting tribute to the over-development currently taking place.

Check it out when you have time:

Field of Corn (with Osage Orange Trees)
4995 Rings Rd
Dublin, OH 43017

Try it out in Google Streetview.

They have a FLARE for kinetic movement...

2008-07-30T05:42:00.000-07:00

Some of you might know my obsession for the pneumatically actuated installation known as Hyposurface. I can't figure out if it's the flow or limitless functional possibilities that intrigues me more, but I'm fascinated by every color, click and wave.

Recently, a robot junkie peep of mine in San Fransisco pointed me to the water sculptures of William Pye and, for whatever reason, I was reminded more so of the mechanical movement in Hyposurface than the organic, hypnotic movement of Pye's water sculptures.

Call it an obsession with simulated movement, but for whatever reason, I'm more impressed with technological mimicry than its natural brethren. So I decided to go back to the Hyposurface concept and see if there was anything new on the market.

Needless to say, I'm in love with a new piece of technology. Take one part wall curtain, two parts stealth bomber, multiply by peyote and you've got:

FLARE: Kinetic Ambiant Reflection Membrane

FLARE turns the building facade into a penetrable kinetic membrane, breaking with all conventions of the building surface as a static skin. The FLARE system consists of a number of tiltable metal flake bodies supplemented by individually controllable pneumatic cylinders.

Due to the developed pattern, an infinite array of flakes can be mounted on any building or wall surface in a modular system of multiplied FLARE units.

Each metal flake reflects the bright sky or sunlight when in vertical standby position. When the flake is tilted downwards by a computer controlled pneumatic piston, its face is shaded from the sky light and this way appears as a dark pixel.

By reflecting ambient or direct sunlight, the individual flakes of the FLARE system act like pixels formed by natural light. The system is controlled by a computer to form any kind of surface animation. Sensor systems inside and outside the building communicate the buildings activity directly to the FLARE system which acts as the buildings lateral line.

Read more about FLARE Facade HERE.

Gary Fisher hits nail on head...

2008-07-23T04:51:00.000-07:00

“Cars are the new smoking.”

-Gary Fisher

via Bike Portland, via via Matt Haughey on Twitter.

If cars are the new smoking, then SUV drivers are the new meth addicts.

Like Matt Haughey, I love love love this Gary Fisher quote. Can't wait to use it in a bar.

It's diamond-polished on the soles of your shoes...

2008-07-22T05:27:00.000-07:00

As we all know, I like my concrete. OK, so maybe not in a like-like sort of way, but a simple like.

Raw? It really does nothing for me raw. But inherent simplicity of the material, when spiced up a bit, can have a dramatic effect on a room (throw in a heating element and I'm sold!). Given its widespread use as a base in both residential and industrial design, I've yet to figure out why it is so underutilized as a final application.

So as we began tearing up 800 sf of carpet and began the process of prepping the concrete for an impending acid stain, I couldn't help but wonder what else was on the market to just treat treat/finish the floor as is; the term acid stain don't necessarily scream "chemical free" now, does it? One company that repeatedly surfaced in the blogosphere is the Utah-based Retro Plate Concrete Polishing System. They take an old floor, polish it up, and make it super shiny. Easy, eh?

Well, as it turns out, treating a raw concrete floor has other advantages I didn't know about:

From BuildingGreen.com:

Covering concrete with cosmetic layers can increase environmental and financial costs significantly over the lifespan of a structure as compared with using concrete in a structure-as-finish capacity. Polished and densified concrete floors (old or new) combine diamond stone-polishing technology with silicate chemical treatment to provide a significantly better alternative to film and wax coatings—highly durable, nearly maintenance-free, noncombustible… and the improved reflectivity can also reduce lighting requirements.

Who knew?

Neato.

More on Retro Plate and their sustainable polishing system:

Concrete in its “natural” state is a porous product that is susceptible to efflorescence, spalling and dusting; and it does not provide an aesthetic finish, nor is it easily cleaned.

That's why Advanced Floor Products has created a science and art that revolves around the conversion of concrete from being a plain, boring, and porous industrial floor, to being one of strength, longevity and beauty.

Rather than continually having to cover up the floor and trying to hide the inherent problems, only to create new ones, our skilled Certified Applicators create a floor that meets your long-term needs.

Through the use of our patented process of diamond grinding and polishing, in conjunction with the specially formulated RetroPlate, we eliminate your need for all topical sealers. We eliminate moisture vapor problems.

Bottom line: Look at the true costs of the product that you choose…and RetroPlate will generally be your cost effective choice. Short term or long term: we deliver the best!

-Retro Plate Concrete Polishing System

Anyway, now that the carpet is gone (but not forgotten) it amazes me to think how much acoustic insulation we will need. Even for a room that small, there is a tremendous echo. Such an echo would be minimized in residential applications (given the softer furnishings), but how do you make up for such a void in industrial applications? Where does the trade-off begin to level out of sound vs. durability?

Put it away after using the restroom...

2008-07-17T11:48:00.000-07:00

Insanely busy at work/home right now, so the posts have been few and far between. Here's a quicky for ya...

As someone that used to live in an 750 sf house --yes, house-- I can appreciate the size of a bathroom. Every single square inch counted as we bumped morning elbows with one another, sometimes reaching for the faucet while the other was spitting. Well, two of these would have made a world of difference.

But think bigger.

Airplanes, trains, metro stops...

Freedom Towers aren't free...

2008-07-02T10:12:00.000-07:00

Looks like even a bake sale couldn't save the proposed retractable roof for the World Trade Center transit hub, that is, unless you can sell about $40,000,000 worth of snickerdoodles.

Due to ongoing budget woes, it looks as though the Santiago Calatrava-designed structure will need to undergo a post-design facelift. Some might find this sad, but judging by the comments section in the story below, NY locals think the money should obviously be spent elsewhere.

From Gothamist:

Now that everyone knows rebuilding efforts at the World Trade Center are over-budget and very delayed, Port Authority executive director Christopher Ward announced that the Santiago Calatrava-designed transit hub would undergo some changes. Namely, the hub's "wings" will no longer close and open.

CityRoom notes Calatrava had previously said of the hub, "On a beautiful summer day, the building can work not as a greenhouse but as an open space,” on beautiful days and the anniversary of September 11 each year. Now, the Port Authority says, “This is a tough choice, but it is the right choice. It’s reflective of the kinds of choices we simply must make in the coming weeks and months if we are to establish priorities and milestones, to which we can be held accountable.”

Read the rest of the article HERE.

Bringing the Green Indoors: Beyond Humbolt County

2008-06-26T04:50:00.000-07:00

For centuries, naturalists have want to live, work and play among the flowers.

Why?

Well, the answer is simple.

The mere presence of nature in an indoor setting acts as a powerful agent of calm, emboldening the porliferation of atmospheres contradictory to that of a-typical office/home/leisure habitats. Add a few plants and a water feature, and what was once a "daily grind" is now a workplace oasis. Spruce up a wall treatment with live foliage and open some windows for natural ventilation, and what was once flourecent and cold is now lush and tropical. Sick buildings are getting better, and good buildings are getting great.

With the growing resurgence in the popularity of greenspace --in addition to the numerous quests for modernity and LEED points-- I was interested in seeing how much decoration and design was now being centered on the interior, rather than the landscaped, space.

Not surprisingly, there are literally thousands of new products catering to the urban gardener/ horticulturalist/resident/emplyee/designer. Some are unique, some enhance user experience, and some even heal.

Others are, well, just a little loopy.

This post samples 10 concepts or products that bring the green behind your front door (and I need to say that I've had so much fun visiting and revisiting some of these concepts, that I might just do this again).

Eco Ball Garden Chair by Krejci

The Dutch designer's dual-purpose Eco Ball will be offered in eco-friendly materials: recycled plastic, biodegradeable plastic and shredded wood, binded together with biodegradable adhesive.

Green Fortune Plantwall at Uppsala Konsert & Kongress

This vertical application of greenery provides a powerful impact on the envirnonment where it is built. It is almost like being outside inside. Plantwall can be varied both in size and shape. Depending on the size of the wall and the impact you want to create the choice of plants can be adjusted. It is possible to create a sophisticated wall that keeps its look over time, as well as a wild, heavily growing wall.

The Fung + Blatt Lawnchair

...fabricated from renewable materials of steel, rubber and felt, and then finished with a layer of sod or ground cover. It is contoured for comfort and fully functional. Before sod, the chaise body weighs 25 lbs. and can be shipped dissembled from its base. When “upholstered” with sod, the lawnchair is easily movable by two people. The lawnchair is equipped with a built-in “moisturizing” system that promotes even distribution of moisture under the sod, thereby minimizing evaporation and run-off.

Living Wall Planters

This innovative growing system graces penthouse apartments in Paris and chic restaurants in Italy. It's easy to see why; no other plant display creates such drama while being so easy to maintain. These wall-mounted and freestanding models are an easy way to add a breathtaking plant display to your home. Each kit includes the planting grid, top and bottom trays, a cedar frame, mounting hardware and complete instructions.

Interior Weeds by Arwin Caljouw

Interior Weeds is a project about nature. The way that weeds emerge and grow in the streets, are for designer Arwin Caljouw a beautiful thing. It shows the power of plants in the human environment. With the center piece you can create an interior plantation from street weeds or other personal selection of plants. The graphic tiles are an addition to a plain tile collection, which you might apply in a random and unique way. Being aware of our environment is the starting point for this project.

Indoor Grass Planters by Metaphys

The Metaphys products are designed with the common idea and they are consistent with the idea even though different companies produce the products: the idea is that all the creative process should start from "observation." By observing things, you have the perspectives of the second and the third persons, and thereby you can avoid being subjective. [Here]

Wallplant Presentations by Christopher Steele

Metal objects used around plants must be selected very carefully and prepared for planting. Many metals form toxic salts on their surface when exposed to air and water. These salts may build up and kill any plant life that comes in contact.

So why plant on metal anyway? For me it represents the wabi-sabi nature of existence. Changing and decaying. The persistence of life transcending technology.

The Outdoor Room - Steven Harris Architects

The building's interior organization is driven by its unique south facing rear yard which is enclosed by blind 35 foot high walls, creating a condition of total privacy. This allows the rear façade to be completely transparent. It also makes a private outdoor room that serves as an extension of the living and dining spaces; entry to it is across a marble slab that bridges a reflecting pond. [$16.5 million]

Folding Greenhouse by Daniel Schipper

A light-weight, flexible, modular greenhouse especially suitable for small spaces like cityhouses, balconies, roof terraces or town gardens. My folding greenhouse is a frameless folding construction made of different components of recyclable plastic which can be folded flat or expand when required.

Schiavello Vertical Garden by Joost Baker

The ethereal beauty of the found product... metals and petals. Joost Bakker, a sculptor who uses leaf and flower, raw steel and discarded objects among his construction materials. "I'm not really into luxurious finishes, I like using things that people perceive as ugly", says Joost. Vertical Garden is a sculptural, almost architectural form, allowing leaf and flower to inhabit spaces, to create spaces, with a natural raw beauty.

Callebaut, take me away!

2008-06-19T05:02:00.000-07:00

Still healing, still taking waaaay too long to type shorts sentences, so please pardon my mess. In the meantime, here's some more eye candy that's been floating around (sorry) the interwebs for the last week or so.

Seems Belgian architect Vincent Callebaut isn't expecting any of us to change our ways any time soon, and is developing a prototypical auto-sufficient amphibious city to float our future away. While I have no architectural/design background, I find myself questioning the feasibility of these 50,000-person eco-dorms, but fully embrace the wonderful futurist concepts presented in the following images.

Vincent Callebaut's Lily Pads

This form of Aqua Urbanism --from underwater hotels to floating foundations to power stations to epdimic outbreak barges-- has really begun to take off.

But you need look no further than the floating marketplaces like Benjarmasin, Damnoen Saduak, or Cai Be to see that the burdens of over-crowding and limited space have, indeed, taken us to see on more than one occasion. That being said, I'll take a Lilly Pad over Cai Be anyday, but only if I can choose my other 49,999 floaters.

Here's a view of two different levels...

Green mountain walls, solar panel roofs, submersed sea beds, palm lagoon rainwater purification systems, and a Co2-processing tiatium dioxide skin all help to maintain and improve the surrounding conditions without introducing any further degredation to natural resources. And if you live to 2100, you just might see it...

According to the less alarming forecasts of the GIEC (intergovernmental group on the evolution of the climate), the ocean level should rise from 20 to 90 cm during the 21st century with a status quo by 50 cm (versus 10 cm in the 20th century). The international scientific scene assesses that a temperature elevation of 1°C will lead to a water rising of 1 meter. This increase of 1 m would bring ground losses emerged of approximately 0.05 percent in Uruguay, 1 percent in Egypt, 6 percent in the Netherlands, 17.5 percent in Bangladesh, and up to 80 percent approximately in the atoll Majuro in Oceania (Marshall and Kiribati islands [my former Peace Corps locale] and step by step the Maldives islands). - Vincent Callebaut

And it's kind of purty at night...

Skin your car...

2008-06-12T05:32:00.000-07:00

Alas, my elbow is still broken and my arm is still casted, so the slacker posts shall continue. One of these days, I'll be able to type my standard 40 wph...yes, hour.

Actually, I wish I could write more because design-wise, BMW is currently on crack. Wonderful, tremendously addictive crack. Crack that makes you see illusory possibilities and make them concrete. Crack that turns design on its head.

If you are in a shipwreck and all the boats are gone, a piano top. . .that floats by makes a fortuitous life preserver. But this is not to say that the best way to design a life preserver is in the form of a piano top. I think that we are clinging to a great many piano tops in accepting yesterday’s fortuitous contrivings.

-Bucky Fuller

Have you ever ripped the side of your car? I didn't think so.

Behold, the BMW GINA Light Concept Car!

Instead of the standard aluminum, plastic or steel, BMW is experimenting with a textile fabric skin stretched around a metal and carbon fiber wire frame, thus allowing the car to be lighter in both performance and production footprint.

The concept is so flexible, in fact, that a design could conceptually change its shape. Imagine a Bugatti Veyron that pops up a spoiler to act as an airbrake. Now imagine something similar, only this time the airbrake is actually the shape of your car.

This innovative approach also affords other advantages for a clean design. Lighting can actually be placed subcutaneously, exposing itself through the transparent skin when needed.
The GINA Concept is based on the Z8 chassis -- a chassis where the frame carries the crash and structural load-- so the the addition of steel instead of textile skin would not improve, nor detract, from GINA's protection inside of the cockpit. The rider would be just as safe in a GINA as a Z8.

Watch as Chris Bangle, Director of Design BMW Group, explains the craziness behind the GINA concept...

The carrot or the stick?

2008-06-05T12:07:00.000-07:00

My typing abilities aren't what they used to be since I've broken my elbow, but Ill try to get the occasional one-armed post to the Insource/Outsource front page.

Behold: The Carrot Mob!

Carrotmob will be a non-profit organization. Our goal is to improve the world by helping companies embrace socially responsible choices. Our primary focus is the environment. We recognize that corporations must keep profit as their top priority. Historically, this fact has meant that the environment has suffered, since companies have made more money by harming the planet. We are going to put rewards in place that will make environmental responsibility the more profitable choice. Companies will do what we want, not because of negative pressure, or morality, or a boycott, or a petition...there are enough sticks out there. We need a big juicy carrot. They will do what we say because they won't be able to resist the profits.

We will create a large network of consumers. We will form partnerships with other larger advocacy groups to use their research and infrastructure. Together we will identify opportunities for improving corporate behavior. For example, let's say there's an environmentally harmful chemical in common brands of soap. We would approach several competing soap companies. We will explain the problem, and see which of them is willing to eliminate the harmful chemical. They will bid for our support. Each company will raise the bar with how much good they are willing to do. Perhaps Company X pledges to remove the chemical. Then Company Y pledges to remove the chemical and reduce factory emissions 20%. And so on. The bigger our network, the further they will be willing to go. We accept the best offer. Company Y agrees to take the steps that we want, and then we make it worth their while with a carrot: Everyone in the network buys millions of dollars worth of their soap, and in the process Company Y gains a wealth of reputation capital as well. The most responsible business decision also gets the most profit. Delicious!

Carrotmob Makes It Rain from carrotmob on Vimeo.

Bury me a building with a tree on top...

2008-05-29T12:49:00.000-07:00

Wow, what a nice reflection from the windows...

But wait, what's this view? From the inside, that's a...huh!?!?? Is that a window-curtained loading ramp leading to (shudder) yet another friggin' environmentally friendly parking garage?*

Or is it another crazy ski jump from Julien De Smedt, although I doubt that's the case given the unfortunate launch directly into the window. With De Smedt's concepts, however, you never know...

A walkable, livable, enjoyable green roof? Why, I think it is?!?!

I. Want.

OK, this building is old hat to most in the blogosphere, but I couldn't resist a repost.

About two months ago, the first shots of the School of Art, Design & Media, in Nanyang, Singapore came out and were, well, were grainy and pretty blah. Now, however, you can really soak it in...

Designed by CPG Consultants Pte Ltd, the award-winning design is five stories tall and is made entirely of raw, unpainted concrete, cement-sand screeded (screeded is right, yes?) floors, natural timber railings and raw glass.

It begs the question: is it a building with landscape or a landscape with a building?

Light goes in, heat waves stay out. Simple. The internal water feature in the sunken courtyard also provides additional cooling, and affords the possibility of grey water reclamation. It's funny though, all I can think of doing is giving a grandiose speech on one of the palmed islands in the middle while throngs of people lined the upper railings. It would make a CRAZY amphitheater!

Via HERE:

Located at the junction of Nanyang Ave and Nanyang Drive, the new iconic School of Art, Design and Media is situated in a wooded valley right in the heart of the campus.

The design was conceived as 3 intertwining blocks that are apparent natural extensions of the ground. These blocks interweave to enclose a picturesque plaza and landscape. Major spaces such as the Auditorium, Media Studios, library and art galleries surround this outdoor activity node.

Tucked indoors are complementary facilities such as Stop Motion Studio, 3-D Hi-End Computer Graphics Studio, Soundstage, Sound Recording Studios, Audio Visual Editing Suites, Hi-End Digital Post Studio etc.

The highlight of the building is the verdant turfed roof which blends with the ground contour. Apart from its visual impact, the turfed roofscape is a functional space which is easily accessible via sidesteps along the roof edge, thereby allowing the rooftop to be a scenic outdoor communal space. Environmentally, it helps to lower the roof temperature and surrounding areas.

The facade design is a glass curtain wall in neutral grey colour. The remaining parts of the building comprised off-form concrete walls which eschew painting or external rendering works.

The external finish is reserved in its primary condition to maintain its design integrity and naturalness. When night beckons, the building lights up like a beacon that announces its warm presence. The interior lighting streams through the glass curtain walls to render the building a dynamic stage against the backdrop of the external landscape.

*For those of you that don't know this yet, NO parking garage, regardless of LEED points, is environmentally friendly. Urbanize properly and through away the keys!

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!

2008-05-29T06:00:00.000-07:00

Time, time, time
See what's become of me...

Walking on flowers, permanently...

2008-05-21T05:38:00.000-07:00

Concrete...blah.

That's my usual reaction. Just plain blah.

Sure, industrial concrete finishes in businesses and designer lofts are all the rage, but let's face it; no amount of acid finish, stamping or staining can warm up the feel of concrete to that of, say, a reclaimed wood plank floor salvaged from a 100-year old barn. Concrete is cold, unwelcoming and often times just plain boring, regardless of whatever faux tile finish or slate texture application you can find. Blah.

And while the concrete industry has made some tremendous advancements --from CER ATECH's carbon reducing sustainable concrete to cement based composites like Syndecrete (they've even developed a self-cleaning concrete from Essroc that uses photocatalysis to scrub itself)-- when it comes to unique aesthetics, not many concrete floors can hold their ground.

Try as they might, they're still just plain old, cold concrete floors. Scraped and scratched, dyed and bleached, blah concrete floors.

One solution?

Bring in the design team from Transparent House, a 3D visualization studio that specializes in creating photorealistic 3D renderings of architectural designs. They're taking concrete to a whole new (see: beautiful) level...

Transparent House Team presents its vision of the classic flooring material – concrete.

We’ve created a way to refine a popular element of contemporary interior design such as polished concrete flooring. The design concept allows for application of any pattern to the surface either when pouring or afterwards when the concrete has set. The fine floral ornament promotes the clean and simple character of the space while adding a touch of warm and live contrast and highlighting the cold austerity of the material.

Now THAT's the farthest thing from blah I've seen in a while.

Check out more of Transparent House concrete HERE.

How does your garden grow? In transit?

2008-05-21T05:09:00.000-07:00

Grown in Transit is a tremendous concept from the LifeSigns network, a web based portal for the Future Laboratory's extensive network of professionals working in the creative and branding industries. If you haven't already registered to read the LifeSigns material, now would be a good time to do so.

Each day, the LifeSigns team uploads trend-based stories and reports from a wiiiiiiiide range of events/trade shows/design outlets/solar systems. The material is very on-edge, fresh, and full of original content.

Sign up now and when you're approved (yes, you must be approved to read their content), you'll have full access to some amazing stuff.

The LifeSigns network's Grown In Transit:

This week, LifeSigns is continuing its menu of food trends from the Future Laboratory's new Food Futures Report.

Supermarkets and modern food transportation systems have sacrificed freshness and seasonality in favour of warehousing depots, bulk transportation and blemish-free produce. But a new attitude is emerging, with the creation of innovative ways of growing food in transit rather than refrigerating products into suspended animation.

Design Academy Eindhoven graduate Agata Jaworska's project Made in Transit, aims to eliminate the wasted time and trapped inventory in many supply chains by actually growing produce en route to the store. Jaworska's concept aims to move from best before, preservative packaging to ready by, cultivational packaging which consumers would open when the product was ready for consumption. Jaworska's first example would grow mushrooms on the way to the supermarket.

The instant a crop is removed from the ground or separated from its parent plant, a steady process of deterioration begins, says Jaworska. Methods to compensate for the loss of quality, taste and nutrients can only slow the process of deterioration down, but the result will never match what we have at the source of life. The grown-in-transit, concept enables growth along the way, to deliver absolute freshness and allow the consumer to harvest, their own food. The idea would also minimise the excess packaging, such as the plastic film and crates that protect delicate food items in transit. These are rarely re-used.

Award-winning chef Arthur Potts Dawson hopes to bring a community aspect to the trend with his veg barge, concept. He plans to create an aquatic allotment on one of the barges on Regent's Canal, adjacent to his Water House restaurant in Shoreditch, London.

The barge is an extension of the city-grown produce cultivated on the roof and in the front and back yards of Potts Dawson's Acorn House in the busy King's Cross area. It would service the restaurant by travelling up and down the canal as the herbs, fruits and vegetables grow. Potts Dawson is also keen to use the barge to serve the community, travelling into the Hackney borough to promote and sell locally-grown foods.

For more on this or other trends contact Hester Chan for copies of the Food Futures report or a ticket to the Food Futures Forum.

Holy Holmenkollen!!!

2008-05-13T06:11:00.000-07:00

Every now and then a project comes along that makes you say, "How?" The design is breathtaking, the size is extreme and the appearance, near impossible. Well, the future of the Holmenkollen ski jump in Oslo, Norway is just that kind of project.

The grandiose project was won late last year in a open competition by Danish Architect, Julien De Smedt, and is now commissioned to be built for the 2011 World Ski Championships! What do you think? The new design is simply awe-inspiring.

The International Ski Federation had requested that an iconic structure be built for the competition and as you can see, De Smedt didn't disappoint. Given the rich history of skiing in Oslo --in addition to the 600,000+ tourists that visit the existing jump year after year-- it's easy to see that interest in the location and culture will only grow. The ISF should be quite happy with the future of Nordic sport in Norway.

The jump will be a cantilevered steel structure, eagerly capable of handling the massive weight and power of snow and wind. Near the grounding point of the cantilever, there will a union and restaurant for spectators, tourists and officials. Additionally, there will be a public viewing platform at the crest of the jump, allowing spectators to view the athletes as they launch from into the air. I can only imagine what that view will look like! And with the entire structure lit from within, surrounded in a glass-plate façade, I can imagine the the view from outside the jump will be just as, if not more, breathtaking. To top it off, the peak is cut horizontally to accommodate an additional viewing platform with a 360º panorama view over the Oslo city landscape.

Construction is expected to be completed in 2009.

JDS/Julien De Smedt Architects is a multidisciplinary office, located in Copenhagen, Brussels and Oslo, that focuses on architecture and design, from large scale urban planning to furniture and design.

Vertigo...

2008-05-09T07:46:00.000-07:00

This was floating around work today from one of staff that frequents Dubai. It's a view from the top of the Burj Dubai, now the world's tallest building. It came with the following:

The attached photograph was taken from one of the tower crane platforms above the Burj Dubai this month. The Burj Dubai is still under construction and this photo shows it at a height of approximately 630 meters (2070 feet). Supposedly, it takes about 27 minutes travel time for a construction crane to hoist material from ground level to the top of present construction level.

It's probably one of the most talked about buildings in Dubai so I typically refrain from posting any additional details, but this vantage point was too difficult to resist.

Have a great weekend!

Great marketing...

2008-05-08T09:12:00.000-07:00

Sustainable advertising is funny.

Back in a minute, I need to greenwash the floor...

2008-05-07T06:05:00.000-07:00

I was watching a little television before bed last night and ran across a new series called Ax Men on the History Channel. It follows four logging crews through a season in the remote forests of northwest Oregon as they work in one of the most dangerous occupations in the world. As I watched, the little hippie inside of me silently shed a patchouli-scented tear as each tree was felled, then hauled up the mountain at breakneck speed (literally). The one-armed, prosthetically enhanced logger had defeated tree-after-old-growth-tree, and another house would soon begin construction.

After getting out of my morning shower the visions of falling timber stick stuck to the back of my head, so I decided to see what the show was doing in terms of sustainable practices. At the end of a long day, it sure looked like the Ax Men were simply clear-cutting the side of the mountain at random, but what did I know? I'm a mid-Western bike commuter with clean fingernails. He had, well, only five fingernails.

I googled and blogsearched, and while numerous interviews and reviews hint that the show is doing what it can to promote environmental stewardship, they don't, however, say how/why/who/when/what they're doing. There isn't any promotion of replanting, any exhibition of responsible forestry, or any environmental stewardship whatsoever.

Actually, the majority of the interviews seem to reiterate this comment made by one of the loggers, "The media has beat us up pretty badly, and I don't think a lot of people are really educated on how the woods are regulated."

We are doing something because we know environmental degradation is bad.

But what? What exactly are you doing? Who's watching you do it? Who recommended you to do it? Who's following up on how you did it or what affect it had on the environment?

***

As of late, questionable green promotions seem to be par for the course for the building, construction, and supply industries. And as far as the logging industry goes, they're acknowledgment of current environmental issues seems to be (in their opinion) adequate enough to ward off any further environmental stewardship. So, if that's how they want to play the game, who or how can we keep tabs on what they're doing? More importantly, how can we keep tabs on what we, as consumers, are buying?

Well, wood suppliers often make claims that their products come from "managed" or "sustainable" forests, but without independent certification, there is no way to really know. Increasingly, such claims are used as a marketing ploy to "greenwash" material that came from destructive forestry practices. That’s why it’s important to buy certified wood, but the fact that a wood product is "certified" does not mean that it comes from an ecologically-well managed forest. There are now various types of forest certification (see below), and most do not have meaningful environmental standards, enforcement mechanisms, or methods of tracking the wood through the supply chain to keep out illegally-logged material and prevent misrepresentation.

The only forest certification system that enjoys the support of environmental groups worldwide is that of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), which is independent, non-profit, and has a mechanism for tracking wood from the forest to the consumer – from first cut to your kitchen. The USGBC only recognizes FSC certification as evidence of the sustainability of a wood product. So, if you want verification that the wood you are purchasing came from a truly well-managed forest, demand FSC-certified material, and demand proper documentation.

Now here’s the tricky part. The fact that a company has FSC certification does not mean that what you are being sold is FSC-certified (I know, it’s complicated). Why? Well, many companies that have FSC "Chain of Custody" (COC) certification, which gives them the right to buy and sell FSC-certified wood even though they only sell a minute amount of FSC-certified wood. This is particularly the case in the wood flooring industry.

So buyer beware: Most FSC-certified wood products have on-product FSC labels, but watch out. If you are purchasing what you believe is FSC-certified wood but there are no FSC logos on the product packaging, it most likely is not certified, no matter what the rest of the information provided by the manufacturer or supplier might indicate. Some companies will even use the FSC logo on product samples, but ship uncertified material to fill your order. To verify the FSC-certified status of a wood product that does not bare the FSC logo, demand not only the supplier's COC certificate, but also an invoice or receipt detailing the FSC-certified status of each product on an individual line-item basis. If the invoice's line-item doesn't say "FSC-certified," the material is not certified. If the supplier gives you the run around, drop him/her like fallen timber.

Examples of questionable certification systems include:

SFI - Sustainable Forestry Initiative - Sustainable Flooring
• Funded and dominated by the timber industry
• Weak environmental protections
• Allows conversion of natural forests (including old-growth) into tree farms
• No credible Chain of Custody to keep out illegal wood

CSA - Canadian Standards Association
• Allows large-scale clearing of old-growth
• Fails to protect First Nations

PEFC - Program for the Endorsement of Forest Certification
• Weak environmental standards
• No credible Chain of Custody
• Mutually recognizes virtually all forest certification systems, including SFI and CSA
• PEFC wood could come from almost any source

ISO - International Standards Organization
• Standards address manufacturing practices, not forest management

IBAMA - Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources
• Program of the Brazilian government
• Low environmental standards, poorly enforced
• No Chain of Custody

None of the above forest certification systems enjoy the support of the environmental community. The FSC, on the other hand, is supported by major international conservation groups such as Greenpeace, Sierra Club, World Wildlife Fund, Natural Resources Defense Council, Rainforest Action Network, and many others.

So next time you're out and about or even spec-ing a new building, look for the FSC stamp and feel a little better about your purchase. You inner hippie need not cry, well, as much.

What time is it? Well, time first began in...

2008-05-02T06:39:00.000-07:00

Hans Tan Studio wants to tell you what time it is in as many words as possible on a sign that displays the time, offering a visual interpretation of a clock in paragraph form...all of which, at quarter till three (you'd think writing a repetitive, redundant, run-on, redundant sentence would be fairly easy, but you'd be surprised).

This work, Idea of a Clock II, is a literal conversation piece, playful in both form and function. I love how it drags out the normal function of a time-piece, forcing the viewer to read the time instead of telling the time. We could all use a little slowdown nowadays.

Although I don't normally post about installations like this, I found it too hard to resist. It's neat in an I'd-never-need-to-purchase-that kind of way.

In essence, the design is the sentence itself, where language is used to convey a clock as an idea, reducing a timepiece as an object to the immateriality of an "idea piece". The idea behind a designed object finally loses its pretense with matter and stands in front.

A Carectomy isn't as invasive as you might think...

2008-04-28T06:44:00.000-07:00

Don't believe me? You try living without your car for a year. Believe it or not, it can be done...

Considering that bicycles are the most energy efficient vehicles on the planet and gas prices are continuing to soar over $4.00/gallon, let's see what the future has in store for the modern two-wheeler, because it won't be long before the critical mass begins to push pedals nationwide.

By the way, Happy 1st day of Bike to Work Month!!!

Viva la velorution!

***

The Classic Design:
The Trio Bike 2.0 - Copenhagen
While the bike itself isn't necessarily a classic, the design certainly is. Commuters have long been searching for a bicycle that will help them multi-task trips to the grocery, library, bakery and onward. Sometimes, a saddlebagged velocipede just won't suffice. The style is classic and the design is, trends be damned, everlasting. Expect to see a new line of SUB's coming to a bike shop near you. Don't believe me? Check out a bike happy city like Amsterdam. Here's 82 pictures taken in 73 minutes.
The Trio Bike has been touted as, "the world's first family carrier bike with 3 independent functions: a bike, 2-seat buggy and multi award winning carrier bike. Simple interchangeable design requires no tools to switch between functions. Capable of carrying 80kg payload equivalent to 2 children aged up to 9 years."

Simple, adaptable, user-centered design from the Danes? Who knew?

***

The Future/The Now of the Modern Commute:
Storage!
As gas prices continue to fuel an unintentional, global environmental movement and more and more people continue to push their cars aside, bicycle storage --in addition to offering valuable LEED credits for a building-- will become commonplace. And as cities continue to trend towards an urbanized environment, the more wonderfully stylish ways in which to store those bicycles will begin to hit the streets!

Cyclepods
The entire award-winning Cyclepod line is made either from 90% recycled (and recyclable) aluminium, or fibre-reinforced plastic (FRP), which is 20% recycled and 60% recyclable. The pods also offer a solar-powered security light for ambient night light. I'd like to see the base put on a rotational wheel, so you could embed the entire system in a wall like a lazy Susan, making your own little bicycle closet!

Bike Tree
Think of it as an urban storage attic. And while their storage unit design is wonderfully modern, their website is horrifically dated and difficult to navigate. So please hold on tight as try to explain...

The trunk of the "tree," while somewhat larger in appearance, realistically takes up no more space than its live brethren. The bicycles are pulled up in to the canopy of the cover by battery-stored solar power, where they sit guarded by automatically activated security cameras until their owners requests them downward. It really is an amazing system, but the company could really use a makeover, especially if they're looking to compete in the tech sector.

The Tokyo Bike Lift
I have no other website information for this system, other than the fact that just about every tech website has published this video in the last week, thus making it valid in interest alone. I love the concept, but the application is entirely overdone.

***

The Future/The Now of the Modern Commute:
Sharing
I'm beginning to wonder just how trustworthy us Americans can be, considering bike-share programs seem to be taking off all over the world...except the United States. The system itself, however, is in reality just beginning to take shape.

According to some experts, the bike share concept --though 40+ years old-- is only in version 3.0. As far as current successes go, your choices are limited: Bicing in Barcelona, the Vélo'v in Lyon, and Vélib' [above photo] in France - all of which have shined to some extent. So why should the future excel, compared to the failures and minimal successes of the past? Integration.

New bike share concepts are now including modern mass transit. This "fourth generation" of bike share, like the one taking shape in the cities surrounding Washington DC, are planning on integrating their programs with bus and light rail, offering complete packages for maximized mass transit.

Some programs already taking shape: Portland, Tulsa, the aforementioned Washington DC area.

***

The Future of Bicycle Design:
TheftProof Bike - Core 77 One Hour Challenge
Seats get stolen, wheels get ripped off, and anything not bolted down soon disappears. So the question is, how do you add to a bike to protect it from additional thieving?

This concept from RBAid in the Core 77 One Hour Challenge won top prize for its inherent usability. After locking up, most users will already remove their bicycle seat, so why not integrate it into the security system? I think it's only a matter of time before we see this go in to production on novice/commuter bicycles.

***

The Future of Bicycle Design/The Modern Commute:
The HE: Human Electric Hybrid Vehicle
Like its predecessor the Twike (which only gets 550 mpg) the HE is the Toyota Prius of bicycles, only you are powering the gasoline.

The HE has powered stored in its battery cells to provide uphill and forward assistance, but recharges during downhill descents and during moments of de-acceleration from regenerative braking. Still not enough juice? The HE also utilizes photovoltaics placed on top of the vehicle.

***

The Future of Bicycle Design:
The Cube Urban Concept Bike
What looks more like a triathlon time trial bike is actually a foldable, collapsible concept of sexy.

My German is a little rusty, but if my translations are correct, here's what I can tell...

The wheels are made out of light-weight carbon, but collapse to next to nothing in just two steps. It was designed as something for "sporty" people to use strictly for commuting, instead of using their weekend sport bikes/mountain bikes (think of it as TheftProof Bike 2.0). Cranks and pedals are removable and the frame collapses on adjustable fulcrums, while the seat adjusts both horizontally and vertically.

I have long-believed that the folding bike would go the way of the flying car - always a want but never a possibility. This concept, however, brings feasible design to the table. I would NOT kick this design out of my morning commute.

But if it's not UrbanAdventure-enough for you, here's a much "harder" model from Folding Bike Innovations, called the Onyerbike (flash saturated site).

***

The Future of the Bicycle Friendly City/The Modern Commute:
I've seen the future, and it's got some big-aaaasssssss sidewalks. Nothing gets my commuter wheels spinnin' faster than the idea of physically separated bicycle lanes, 20ft wide sidewalks and independent streets for mass transit vehicles. Outside Online has a great article explaining these concepts (and more) after the picture.

From Outside Online:

Pedestrian Plan
1. I'M WALKIN' HERE!: Even, level sidewalks should be at least 20 feet wide to allow ample room for pedestrians and enough space for people to stop and chat or look in shop windows without causing a pileup.

2. BIKER ALLEY: Creating a safe, welcoming environment for city cyclists begins with bike lanes painted a noticeable color (green in the Manhattan and Brooklyn pilot projects) and separated from traffic by parked cars or flexible bollards where possible.

3. NO PARKING: Free and cheap parking will have to be severely cut back. "You can essentially store your property in this public space that could be used so much more productively," says White. Selective removal of on-street parking will discourage car use and recapture space for wider sidewalks, bike lanes, bike parking, plantings, sitting areas, and even taxi stands.

4. EXTRA PROTECTION: Extending the medians through the crosswalks, in effect creating a protective bracket on the side of the crosswalk exposed to traffic, keeps pedestrians safe, gives them a mid-crossing refuge, and keeps traffic from cutting too close to the medians. Bollards serve as both a visible marker and physical barrier.

5. A WIDE SWATH: "We need to have extended, exclusive pedestrian crossing time," says White, "so people aren't molested by turning vehicles." Crosswalks should be clearly and uniformly marked, with signals recalibrated to a walking rate of 2.5 feet per second to give enough time to the elderly, young, and disabled.

6. LOOKOUT: The installation of both red-light and speed cameras, particularly in high-traffic areas, will keep motorists to slow, pedestrian-safe speeds.

7. LOUNGE AREAS: Encouraging cycling will require more bike racks and bike parking; making the streets safer for pedestrians will require more bollards and better lighting for sidewalks; and benches, tables, and other places to watch the world go by will foster community in public spaces.

8. STRIP GARDENS: Raised and widened medians with plantings serve as refuge, help "calm" traffic, and give the street a boulevard-like feel.

9. CURB ENTHUSIASM: "Bumping out" intersections with curb extensions and bollards (rigid three-foot posts) means safer streets, narrowing crossing distances, making pedestrians and cars more visible to each other, and keeping traffic in line. They should feature on the corners of high-traffic streets.

I want to riiide my biiiicycle....

2008-04-28T06:08:00.000-07:00

As Bike-to-work month continues to creep up on your back wheel, I thought it might be interesting to see how efficiently we could map our bike routes, breaking down everything from kilometers and calories, to routes and roads.

[Photo: Bicycle parking at a library in the Netherlands. The foldable plates on the top of the stands can be lowered over the seats if it begins to rain.]

Speaking of efficiency, I'm lazy! It appears as though Bike Hacks has already beaten me to the pedal. They've compiled a list of both global and location-specific mapping tools to help you organize your commute.

The list is quite impressive, not just in terms of interweb tools, but in terms of interest. It's great to see that there so many different regions picking up their bikes, and putting down those congestion-inducing car keys.

From their website (via Carectomy):

Crickey, there are a lot of ways to map your bike route! This list focuses on freely available versions. I’ve caught a lot of them, but I’m sure there are more. If you notice that I missed your favorite free bike route mapping tool, drop it in the comments!

There are plenty of places that’ll sell you a bike map, but I’m mainly interested in maps that are offered for free. And, amazingly, these aren’t all variations on (the excellent) Google Maps. This list is broken into two sections, with only the vaguest notions of organization. The first section are resources that are more global in nature. The second section are more location-specific maps.

ByCycle Good planner, might be dying. Could use help.
TopoRoute standard G-map overlay
Veloroutes G-maps, but with user-created routes
Bikelypopular option…G-maps with user created routes
RouteSlip some social options, with training log, etc
G-Map Pedometer basic G-map, with GPX output option
Klimb not web-based, but multi-platform interactive map builder
Pedaling.com lots of options for finding routes…some work
Bikemap.de based on G-maps with user routes
MapMyRide lotsa routes, weird interface
BikeRadar routes and then some
Trail Central offroad trails in several states
MapItPronto heavy GPS and training focus
Microsoft Mapcruncher lotta routes, but don’t try this with the Safari browser!
Cyclist Nexus free membership req’d
Cool Tools post several long distance North American maps

Wanna see some beautiful?

2008-04-25T08:21:00.000-07:00

Then check out the Sky Lantern Festival in Thailand. I can't even begin to imagine what this looks like in person.

Hearts starve as well as bodies; give us bread, but give us roses.

2008-04-24T04:37:00.000-07:00

In an uncharacteristic fit of romantic desire, free from the guilt-inducing sins of hangover or forehead glitter, I randomly and voluntarily decided to get my wife flowers. It's been a while, some might say far too long, but I wanted to do something special.

Daunted by the price tags, I sat there in a haze as I tried to break down the cost per ounce --as if I was buying cheese or bulk laundry detergent-- all for an item who's prophesy had been subsequently foretold: store to home, home to vase, vase to shelf, shelf to compost. Basically, it would be $60 to buy something just to watch it's slow, quiet death. How did this tradition begin?

Fortunately, there was a local nursery across the street and I decided to see what they had to offer. The combination of their aisle-after-aisle Ohio grown roses and the warm humid weather sprung my wallet into action, and I was out the door two ripe hybrid tea Peace roses (perfect, given the warm political, romantic and environmental climates).

Fast forward to one week later...

While the romantic sentiment took well, I wholeheartedly admit that I have never been an avid gardener, and our house has, for some time, been the Guantanamo Bay of gardens. My black thumb has consumed more plants than a Cheech and Chong movie, and it's all because of my laziness. On the first day I'll water and coddle, on the second day I'll just water, and on the third day I drink beer. Fourth day usually involves buying more beer and drunkenly pulling up dead plants. So what's a lazy beer connoisseur to do?

Well, for us lethargic gardeners that rent our homes, but consistently search for permanent solution sans permanent solution prices, Book of Joe had an interesting April 13th solution.

From the Picket Fence website:

Watering Made Easy Original Sprinkler System
The easy way to green grass. Here’s a permanent, hidden sprinkler that costs a fraction of the cost of an underground system. Click on your garden hose — no screwing. Sprinkler pops up as it waters up to 70 ft. diameter. Installs quickly and stays in place, adjusted as you set it. Simply mow over it. Includes sprinkler assembly, hose quick-connect, protection shell and cover, twine for determining location and layout guide. $39.95

Definitely more appealing than the temporary set-up of a Yard Camel and I'd honestly consider a purchase, but while I like the idea, I was trying to figure out if there was a way that I could set it up with a greywater reclamation system (remember the Aqus post?).

For instance, take the gray water package units from Brac Systems. It's all well and good from an ambitious standpoint, but tell me if this looks like a renter's set-up...

I'd be happy to invest 10% with our current landlord for its installation, but even if I was a homeowner, this project would daunting in scale alone. So I was wondering...

Given the ease of installation with of a rain catchment barrel, combined with the ease of use of a temporary sprinkler system, compounded with the impermanence of its implementation, given the power of water pressure as a result of gravity, could you hack it to be both eco-friendly AND affordable to the masses? Basically, could you do this...If we're going to utilize gravity to push the water through the pipes, the barrel would most likely need to be a tad bit higher than shown in my shoddy Photoshop rendition. But all in all, I think the concept could work. This way, you wouldn't need to permanently install the application, but could choose where you wanted to use the typically wasted rainwater in your yard or garden.

Version 2.0 attaches to the commode so I'll spare you the stinky details, but you get the point. Anybody want to hack this and tell me how it goes?

Best of Earth Day - 2008

2008-04-23T04:33:00.000-07:00

Since I spent most of yesterday home with an ailing 17 month old who sounded more Tom Waits than Yo Gabba Gabba, it looks like I'm playing Earth Day catch-up. As a result, I decided to take a look to see what transpired in my absence.

I was a little surprised.

Times are shifting and attitudes are changing; specifically, mine. As I sat at home covered in baby grime, I couldn't help but watch the boobtube and think, "If I hear the word "green" one more time, I'm going to dump my television in a lake!"

Not very environmentally friendly, I know.

So I sampled various areas of the interweb to see if their green-washing was as bad as their Hollywood brethren and came back with a little more than I bargained for. Apparently, you can have waaaaaaaaaaaay too much of a good thing....especially if the good things are intentions.

***

The Candidates
Both of the Democratic candidates for president addressed Earth Day in formal statements, while it appears as though John McCain sat idly by on a sweaty turnbuckle.

Barack Obama: ...we can choose a different future – a future where America is energy independent, and no longer funding both sides in the war on terror; a future where we’re leading rather than undermining the global effort to combat climate change; and investing in green energy technology, and creating the jobs of the future.
Hillary Clinton: When I am president, our nation will lead the world to tackle the climate crisis - and lead the global economy in new clean energy industries.
John McCain: Tonight John McCain will show why he will "drop kick" the competition in the upcoming election with his appearance on the WWE's Monday Night Raw.

Full "Sports Entertainment" Disclosure: While all three candidates did, in fact, appear on WWE's wrestling program, it looks as though John McCain was the only to suffer from Hulkamania, seeing as his WWE appearance post was the last one published on his blog. There was no mention of Earth Day or Earth Day-related activities on his blogroll. We hope he gets well soon.

While you're here, why not check your candidate to see how they formally address the issue of global warming?

Obama on Energy & Environment
Clinton on Powering America's Future: New Energy, New Jobs
McCain on Stewards of Our Nation's Rich Natural Heritage

Not much to comment on here...just your typical political hoop-jumping. I never give political accolades on policy, they're an eight year commitment.

***

The Search Engines
In the spirit of another holiday, Yahoo and Google continued their battle to out-logo one another on their front pages. No offense to Yahoo, but somebody in their graphics department really phoned this one in. In their defense, the still shot shown below is not how it appears. It's actually a nice Flash transition, going from their old red logo to the one shown...that is, if anybody actually enjoyed flash images bogging down their webpages. But does this actually do anything? Sadly, AOL and Ask.com users were unable to ever see the logos, considering they were all unable to turn on their computers.
Really? That's the best of the best on the front pages of the world's top search engines? Where's the creativity? While I understand that my posts are never world-changing, I do it because I'm my own audience. The information I learn here carries over to my work. But when your company name is, in itself, a noun and a verb, you can afford to move a mountain or two with your audience.

Meh.

Google did, however, have an interactive pop-up thingy where you could see what the rest of the world was doing to support Mother Earth, but that was about it. Looks like some employees need to stop hackey-sacking in the nap room with their Jamba Juice after their in-house yoga class and start working.

***

The Tech Industry Big Guns
I'm beginning to understand that the best events/releases seem to be the most somber, not to mention that the process is made that much easier when you make a bazillion dollars per year. So here's the big whigs.

If you can learn anything from these guys, it's that understating your achievements will make them appear to shine a little brighter - something I never really noticed before until now. Let your work prove itself and let others extol the virtues therein.

See for yourself...you can really tell who's earnestly making an effort and who's got their drinking bird working the keyboard.

IBM: They took the SIMS and made it 50 times more boring by making their earth-saving video game, PowerUp, free to users online. Check out the game here. They also participated in events hosted by the Earth Day Network. Check out their corporate environmental policy here.

Microsoft: Bill and the gang took the creative step of turning the front page of MSN.com green. Yep, that's about it. Don't hate too much, though...the B&M Gates Foundation is still one of the most amazing and effective charities in the world. I'll support an annual approach to global issues than a one day bash any day.

Intel: They kept it simple with a front page sign that said Earth Day, Every Day. You could then click on a sign directing you to learn why Intel is the largest purchaser of renewable energy certificates. I was actually quite impressed with their work. Read more about it here. They're proof that if you are doing good things, you don't need to shout.

Dell: Dell hosted a computer recycling event in Washington DC in conjunction with the EPA, TechTurn and the National Recycling Coalition. They also accepted monitors, printers, cell phones and PDAs, as well as any other crappy Dell items you might have purchased that finally crapped out.

Sun Microsystems: Sun passed on the party hats (like Intel) and kept their Earth Day activities low-key, focusing instead on their core participation year-round. This concept probably has PR traditionalists up in arms, but will undoubtedly surpass the current model for horn-tooting (read: green washing). Check out their feature Earth Day story here and anticipate awesomeness.

Sidenote: And as much as the corporate big boys and mainstream search engines would (apparently) like to tout their environmental stewardship, there's a severely diseased branch of their tree that's extending from all of their trunks: the data centers. The google's and Yahoo's and Intel's of the world are nothing without their data centers, which are growing in size and need year after year. So while these mainstream corporations continue to steam forward (pun intended) with plans to save the planet, studies show that they're leaving their energy hogging data centers behind:

-Fifty-one percent of companies have a solid plan to green their IT operations, down from 55 percent in 2007.

-60 percent said they turn instead to green building standards from the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) from the nonprofit U.S. Green Building Council.

-Fewer company representatives expressed plans to pursue carbon credits to make up for their operations' emissions: 18 percent in the recent survey, showing a drop from one-quarter in 2007.

-Power demand by data centers doubled between 2000 and 2005.

-65 percent said they lacked precise plans for improvement.

It was interesting to note that the companies doing the most were often the companies publicizing the least. And while it's safe to say that the Intel's, Sun Systems and B&M Gates Foundations are making tremendous headway, I'm interested to see how they move forward and adjust to new market developments, specifically in the area of data storage. It won't be long before such important parts of their companies will be required by LEED and BREEAM to comply with self-sustainability standards. So if 90% of your building is environmentally friendly but the other 10% is using the same amount of energy as the 90%, what kind of impact are you really making?

***

The Environmental Protection Agency
In honor of Earth Day, the nexus of environmental protection known as the EPA, formally announced a winner to their 2008 photo contest. Out of over 750 entrants, a picture from Richard Burkhart of Battlecreek , MI (below) was chose as the winner of the Enjoying the Environment catagory. Two other categories, Protecting the Wildlife and Nature & Wildlife were also up for grabs.

On this spring day my wife and I were enjoying the environment and beauty of Battle Creek River. I find it extremely interesting that this photo was taken within four blocks from the heart of Battle Creek, MI. Sometimes we can find true beauty and enjoy nature real close to home or in our own back yard. The reason I chose this scene was of the reflections of the trees and natural framing of the picture in this location.

Granted, this isn't the extent of their actions. The EPA, in fact, joined up with many other businesses and corporations to sponsor and participate in much smaller events. But isn't it a little surprising that a Photo Contest was one of the only features on their front page.

***

Non-Profits
Just a small sampling of Earth Day events from some of the major environmental non-profits. I know this isn't much in terms of relevancy and scale, but I had to at least make a mention of their efforts.

National Wildlife Federation: Asked you to make your own Earth Day checklist [here].
World Wildlife Fund: Asked readers to make every day Earth Day and share their Earth Day experiences [here].
Greenpeace: Nothing unusual.
Earthcorps: They're celebrating the entire month of April as Earth month with various activites [here].
Arbor Day Foundation: Surprisingly, they're more in to Arbor Day than Earth Day. Who knew?
The Nature Conservancy: They're not doing much...just trying to plant a billion trees by Arbor Day [here].
Sierra Club: They helped recruit for Earth Day events [here].

More proof that if you're celebrating the Earth year-round, why need a special day? Notice that all the sites made the information available to the reader without forcing it down their throat. 5-10 years ago these sites would have been just as saturated with green backwash as green peakcock of NBC or the ironically sponsored Caterpillar Green Spot on the Discovery Channel website.

***

The Interweb
I also took a small moment to summarize the Earth Day happenings of various websites, but wasn't really sure where to begin. There is such a large pond to fish from, so where a good place to start?

Many, myself included, would agree that Time Magazine's Top 15 Greenest Websites isn't the best place to start, but it'll have to do. While I don't agree with the way the sites were ranked, what can it hurt?

The daunting task of sorting through the web, however, was all the more proof that environmental information is now readily available on the net, so much so that it loses credibility. The reader is becoming more and more savvy to empty facts and graphic persuasion that websites that can simply offer an arena in which to learn are rewarded with the largest audience. Basically, give us the facts in a timely manner and let us decide. Feed us compost and get called on it immediately.

I'd like to see a corporate website with an unmoderated comment section :)

1. Grist
A whole heck of a lot of articles. They also asked you to stop recycling...annoying green cliches [here].
2. Treehugger
Asked its readers what they were doing for Earth Day [here].
3. Dot Earth on the NYT
Looks like they also rest on the hippie Sabbath. No blog update yesterday.
4. Climate Change on the Guardian UK
Just the usual articles [here].
5. Real Climate
A simple wrap-up about the Eauropean Geophysical Conference [here].
6. Environmental Capital on the WSJ
Wondered aloud if Earth Day was actually good for the Earth [here].
7. No Impact Man
Colin Beaven asks how he can be the kind of person who wants to try? Can the way you live really make a difference [here]?
8. EcoGeek
Just the usual articles [here].
9. Ecorazzi
Covered the Green Apple Earth Day and it's usual celebrity-related events [here].
10. Switchboard
Covered a story about the Sox and a family in the Bronx trying to live green [here].
11. Mongabay
Featured an interesting, non-Earth Day article on the nomads of northern Kenya, the Turkana [here].
12. Climate Ethics
No update since 4/21.
13. Climate Progress
Asks you to intellectually dump Earth Day [here].
14. World Changing
(First, can somebody tell me how WC is #14? Top three, at least!). Anywhoo, WC covered some of the top Earth Day stories of 2008 [here].
15. Planet Ark
Nothing out of the ordinary.

Once again nobody is really celebrating or actively participating in Earth Day per se, other than the fact that most are going about their business as environmentally friendly way.

***

If the above sampling is any indication how future Earth Days will come to pass, I give the planet only a couple more years before the celebration is not only commonplace in every household, it will last year-round.From what I can tell it's a banner year for Earth Day, insomuch as it might be facing an enthusiastic death on its own accord. And I think corporate America is starting to fear the fact that we might find the other two r's: Reduce and Reuse.

No longer will shoppers grudgingly accept a petroleum-based bag at the grocery on days when they forgot their cloth, but rather reduce their trip to only what they can carry. No longer will the SUVs be accepted as status symbols on suburban streets simply because Oh, the Midwest is just a car-oriented community, but rather ridiculed with the same absurdity they merit on their 7-mile per gallon trips to the soccer field. And no longer consumers consume for the sake of consuming, but rather necessity.

The notion and need for April 22nd as an individual day of awareness is naive. Such celebrations used to be necessary, but have expired under the weight and saturation of information. The public is ready and able.

And I know my words --particularly the previous paragraph-- have been said time and time again, but the culture has shifted (i.e. yes, dagnabit...and this time we mean it!). There's an EV hybrid mass transportation unit purring quietly off in to the future. If you're a corporation, a television company, a search engine, industrial magnate, celebrity, or even (have you checked the stock prices lately?) a commodity, your position of history on the totem pole no longer matters. If you don't jump on board, you could easily be left behind.

That Kelvinator is keen...

2008-04-21T07:06:00.000-07:00

Continuing with my online shopping spree, I love the simple design of these refrigerator magnets from Up To You.

They're basically just little leaves with magnets.

Nuff said.
But at $2.50 CAD a pop, me thinks a trip to the craft store for some supplies might be a little bit cheaper.

* * *

When you think about it, isn't the fridge one of the most boring appliances in the kitchen? They really are space-hogging eyesores, hidden beneath a cloak of doodled construction paper and report cards.

That is, unless, you've got some of these gems. I'm happy to see that classic is making a comeback.

My shopping spree continues...

The Boretti M-System Bombatino (€ 1.090)
This one's a coin flip. I can't figure out if I want the red Bombatino or the green Doppio. Both are wonderful Italian designs and excellent substitutions for those that can't afford a Ferrari, but want to spoil their beer.
The Aga Cordon Bleu Larder Refrigerator (price unspecified)
The fact that you can "test drive" these refrigerators before you buy them says something about their speculated price range, but no one can deny their good looks. And you want to talk about cradle to cradle, Aga is currently developing a system in which to operate their ranges on biofuels. So basically you could cook bacon, drain the grease into the stove, and then cook more bacon using the drained grease...or something like that.

Big Chill's Beach Cruiser Series (starting at $3500)
One of my personal favorite companies, Big Chill, specializes in the ultra ultra classic. With a wiiiiiiide arrange of colors to match your retro kitchen needs, Big Chill's refrigerators are just a couple of wings short of being mistaken for a T-bird. And why stop at just the fridge when you can have a matching oven? ($3700 and up)

Too plain? Then upgrade to their Lichtenstein-inspired architectural series.
Gorenje Retro Refrigerator (around $1000)
This UK-based company makes a retro model at a surprisingly low cost. A quick google-shop showed many different models hovering around the $1K price point. At that price, if it's big enough to hold a keg I'll need to add it to my man cave wish list.

The Bosch Classic Edition (price unspecified)
I'm really digging the stainless steel on black. This design came out around 2001 and won many awards, but I can't seem to find any for sale. If Sinatra had a fridge, this would be it.

Not only is the design great on the outside...

...but inside, as well. Ring-a-ding-ding.

And last but not least...

Classic Refrigerator.com (prices vary)
These guys were my original inspiration for a refrigerator/design post. If you want any of the aforementioned designs but claim yourself to be a purist, then you've found the right place.

The people at Classic Fridge actually restore old units into like-new chrome and steel beasts, living and breathing like the day they were born. Even the old names of the refrigerators sound great: Philco, Crosley Shelvador, Kelvinator.

I'm just wondering if you could update the old refrigerators with new technology, because while the designs are classic, their electric usage could use an update.

The Rise and Fall of Mashed Potato Village

2008-04-18T05:28:00.000-07:00

As a father of one --and trust me, my one counts for six of yours-- I can appreciate good product design when it comes to kid's toys/games/books/clothes, because it's easy to tell which designers actually have kids and which designers have "temporary" nieces and nephews. Well, the Spoon Sisters not only carry products with the child in mind, they also design with parents, imagination, and brain encompassed in both the form and function of their products.

I was originally apprehensive about the following item, but they're really starting to grow on me. At first, the Constructive Eating Utensils seemed pretty unnecessary. When I was a child, the bulldozer and backhoe and front loader already existed in my brain factory, so why would anyone ever need to spend $20 on something that simply recreated what already existed in the imagination? Same goes for the Airplane Spoon. Then I relaxed, pulled my panties out of a ball and realized that they're toys. Kids love toys. And the fact that there aren't any batteries in this toy and it doesn't make any sounds (non-kid manufactured sounds, at least), makes it A-OK in my book.

Your kids will be happy to hear it’s now okay to play with their food! Here is a set of eating utensils disguised as construction tools. Created by a husband and wife team with three kids, these utensils are scaled for little hands to hold. The set is composed of a "Fork Lift" Fork, “Bulldozer” Pusher and our personal favorite, the "Front Loader" Spoon. We all know little boys love trucks, but we’re sure as soon as "sis" sees these, she’s going to want a set too. Handles are textured to make for easy gripping. The PVC-free, phthalate-free plastic is rugged, lightweight and dishwasher safe. Fork and Spoon measure 5 3/4”L x 1" W; Pusher is 4 ¼”L x 1”W.
Price: $19.95

While you're there, why not pick up another design favorite for your environmentally friendly clothes line (it's almost Summer!), Swallow Clothes Pins? They need to make a really long pin in the shape of a squirrel for those heavy sheets. And possibly some tightrope walkers. And maybe some guys riding a zipline. I could go on and on...

Just chill...

2008-04-14T07:53:00.001-07:00

I haven't seen much on the blogfront in terms of HVAC and refrigeration since the Freeaire craze of last year (now installed in Killington, VT, where they estimate they're now saving more than 86,389 kilowatt hours of electricity, while eliminating an estimated 58 tons of global-warming CO2 emissions annually!!!), so I thought I might see what's on the horizon...

My search brought me to Ice Energy's Ice Bear, an amazingly simple concept with an equally simple installation procedure (off-the-shelf easy).

Similar to Freeaire, the Ice Bear utilizes cool air conditions to reduce power consumption. Whereas the Freeaire system requires frigid conditions to operate at maximum efficiency, the Ice Bear condenses and freezes water at night when energy consumption is less costly. It then holds the frozen water in an insulated storage tank until daytime when the weather warms.

As the warmer daytime temperatures engage the air conditioning, the refrigerant is forced through the coils in the stored ice and chilled before being pushed in to the building's HVAC ducts, thus providing a cool stream of efficiently refrigerated air.

The Ice Bear® 50 system has a capacity of 50 Ton hours of cooling, including 45 latent + sensible and an additional 5 sensible only. The unit provides 7.5 Tons of cooling capacity for 6 hours of continuous cooling.

Typical configurations:

-7.5 Ton for 6 hours
-5 Ton for 8 hours or more
-Offloading of 10 Ton rooftop unit, where 10 Ton unit is oversized due to high rooftop temperatures
-Offloading one stage of a 10, 15, or 20 Ton, 2-stage rooftop unit

There is also a residential unit capable of eliminating up to 95% of on-peak air conditioning demand. And as an added bonus:

Assists LEED certification

-Adds 3 or more points to the Energy and Atmosphere credits

-Contributes to Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) credits

-Brings Thermal Energy Storage (TES) enabling performance to refrigerant based air-conditioning projects

Now, since the Ice Bear claims to use an equal or lesser amount of energy --in addition to delivering a consistent capacity on 95+ degree days with no degradation in performance and no increase in power consumption-- I'm interested to see if this concept could be hacked to eliminate the majority of the power usage all together.

Consider a location like Kuwait that has an average January low of 45 degrees Fahrenheit and an average August high of 112 (the low for that month is a crisp 83 degrees)! With the exception of brown-outs caused by dust storms throughout June and July, I think it's safe to say that the area is drenched in sun.

So why not saturate the rooftop in solar, submerge the unit's storage containers underground to twice-insulate their exteriors from the harsh conditions,* and store the daytime energy in batteries for nightfall, using the saved energy to refreeze the cores at night?

*You're only depth-limited by accessibility...sink the parking 5-10 floors below the building and you could run the unit subterraneaously, making it even more efficient, but still accessible for repairs. Check some of the commercial case studies and decide for yourself. I think there are benefits that exceed the burden of peak consumption. I just don't have the book learnin' to prove it.

My Big Fat Green Wedding...

2008-04-14T06:16:00.000-07:00

Tired of the looking for a vegetarian meal in a marinated meat market?

Exhausted in your search for a patchouli-scented siren?

Need some spark in your hookah?

Dreaming of a dreadlocked darling to hacky your sackey?

Want to put the us in your Prius?

I could go on and on...seriously, I could.

But I digress...

While I'm long-since out of the dating pool (thank Ganesh!) with a lovely wife and a healthy-boweled17 month-old son, this little website was still able to catch my eye. To each their own, so why not the tree-hugging set, right?

Ethical Singles: The Matchmaking Service for People who Care about Humans, Animals and the Environment.

OUR MEMBERS INCLUDE:
-Green business practitioners!
-Vegan vixens!
-Organic farmers!
-Eco-warriors!
-Human rights supporters!
-Pacifists!
-Wildlife protectors!
-Earth-friendly consumers!

I wonder if you can be both pacifist and Eco-warrior, trudging into battle with a bulletless, flower-filled rifle stock? I have a feeling the soldier might look a little something like this...
It’s free to join, and as an added bonus there aren't any uppity couples gushing over one another in TV spots.

Hippie love is a wonderful thing. That reminds me, can you believe it's almost time for Comfest?

Woohoo!!!

Warmer than a family picture...

2008-04-09T06:22:00.001-07:00

Looking to jazz up your drafty old flat? I know, I know...just in time for spring.

Anywhoo, I was pretty impressed with the design of theses contemporary wall radiators from ProjectClima.

Why?

Because you can design it yourself!

Just visit their website and click on the Your Radiator icon.

ADACTO software has been designed to enable everyone, from the designer to the final consumer, to create their own radiator, giving the option to learn about its technical details as well as its prices.

With just a few easy and spontaneous steps, a very neat graphic display and a defined sequence, ADACTO design programme gives infinitives choices and possibilities of realization. Forms, colours and sizes, can be simulated in just a few seconds.

My only problem, however, is with the North/South designs such as the one below...

The vertically mounted radiator is entirely unnecessary. The circulated air --especially pre-shower in a bathroom-- will be cooler near the ceiling, where heat is not required. Similarly, in the first picture with the maroon radiator in the living room, the radiator is mounted far too high. The radiant heat will barely reach the space below it, thus wasting even more energy.

You always want it to be warmer near the floor for maximum comfort, yes? So why not spec them out to be horizontally mounted chest/waist-high or lower? Otherwise you're just making it cozy for the light fixtures.

You could even mount it as a raised baseboard along the length of a wall. The radiator would extend slightly off of the surface and add depth, while breaking the monochrome paint/tile.

Just some thoughts.

I giggled a bit...

2008-04-07T09:12:00.001-07:00

Why has it taken so long for somebody to do this?

Streetsblog types on two wheels...

2008-04-07T05:52:00.000-07:00

Continuing with my bicycle rant, please allow me to gush about my new favorite blog...

It was the April 3rd Streetsblog post that really caught my eye.

Why?

Well, this past week, I witnessed a State Farm ad in which an African American male stands in suit and spandex, embarrassed about how he needed to switch from four wheels to two because of recent surges in gas prices. He stood on a giant velvet red dot as the announcer proclaimed how "State Farm could get you back behind the wheel by saving you hundreds of dollars on car insurance." Saddened by his bicycle dilemma, the male unlocks his bike to head home as a coworker happens by, sarcastically noting, "Nice pants, Jim." Not only can he not afford to drive, but the ladies don't like his red bicycle shorts.

Needless to say, I wasn't very appreciative of the ad. Was the cyclist really put in the same situation as the yellow-plated DUI offenders of the world, mortified by the hollow gaze of his peers in the company parking lot? If anything, I hope we can say that his embarrassment was a result of his outfit. The spandex/suit jacket doesn't really work all too well, so why go aerodynamic solely from the waist-down?

Anywhoo, Streetsblog approached it wonderfully and the comment gates opened up, offering them a little more than they anticipated in terms of action. Here are some of my favorites from their contributing masses:

#12. Dan o: "...if they're trying to get crossover life insurance business, where's the guy's helmet?"

#17. Steve Ardrey: "...I routinely commute to work by public transit and BICYCLE. This keeps my mileage for insurance below 5k a year thus lowering my insurance rates."

#20. Ubrayj02: "This ad presents the option of riding a bike to work (instead of driving) as an emasculating, humiliating, experience - which will leave you struggling with a bike lock outside of work while your car-driving coworkers breeze by.

The skinny pants are meant to show how vulnerable men's genitals will be if they dare to use their bike to get around..."

Turns out, what I thought was just another good post --Freudian genital analyzation included-- was actually quite engaging. Apparently the blogbees buzzed loud enough that Streetsblog author Aaron Naparstek received a response (in the comment section, no less) from State Farm's Director of Marketing Communications, Tim Van Hoof. A proactive response to a legitimate customer concern...in a technologically advanced medium such as a blog? Huh?!?! You can read that HERE. Be sure to check out the comments, also.

So basically...(Great post + Great comments) x Great response = My new favorite blog.

Bonus? High quality, informative videos! I kept surfing and ran across these gems. My favorite so far? Their argument for the implementation of physically separated bike lanes.

Quite some time ago there was an article in Good Magazine titled, Decongestion: Five innovations in urban transportation that you won't find in America, yet. I was really impressed with Copenhagen and the length the Danes went to to create a bicycle-friendly city, so much so that we sent the link out to anyone and everyone that had local influence over urban planning and design. That was then. Now that the Mid Ohio Regional Planning Commission is looking for comments and suggestions as to the future of downtown Columbus, I thought nothing of forwarding the terrific StreetFilm links. Surprisingly, I received a direct response with 30 minutes from one of the Principal Planners, and hope that they truly take some of these wonderful ideas to heart.

Now, considering I was almost clipped twice last week on my ride home from work, the issue hit pretty close to home. While both of the aforementioned near-crash instances were a result of text-while-driving idiots, Ohio continues to ignore the implementation of hands-free laws nationwide. If this continues, it's safe to say (literally) that I want as much space as possible between us and them. Cement/trees/cars/pylons/unicorn statues...whatever.

What's more, is the fact that you can make some tremendously interesting barriers. While the parked cars typically act as the traditional buffer between cyclist and traffic, it's also possible to liven them up, adding trees and shrubs to the space and giving the metro area some greenscape in a place typically void of such surroundings. The more green downtown, the better.

See the StreetFilm argument for yourself:

And their movies are really catching on. Over the last year, StreetFilms has received over 500,000 views. While that might not be monkey-drinking-its-own-pee kind of numbers, it's huge when you consider genre-specific nature.

I look forward to stopping by on a daily basis.

Spring, she is risen...

2008-04-03T09:00:00.000-07:00

I am both sad and ecstatic at the prospect of spring...

The snow is officially gone and we have crawled out of our winter dens. I've been biking (weather permitting) to and from work as often as I can, and it feels great to be in motion again. I've packed on some winter pounds and with gas prices as high as ever, I can't think of a reason not to commute on two wheels.

But alas, as I put petal to the pavement I can't help but notice a grime. A filth. A yuck.

In addition to avoiding the 9,487,341,245 potholes from our city's use of cheap, non-Snowbelt grade pavement, I've found myself bouncing over bottles, swerving past cigarette packs, riding around wrappers, a flailing over fast food bags.

The snow plows, while adept at pushing snow off of our roads, also transport and and all rubbish to the curbside. Seeing as we've (yet) to install any bike lanes on any of our streets, this has left for some utterly disgusting rides.

Wanna see what I'm talking about?

You get this:

From this:

Welcome to beautiful Columbus.

Anywhoo...

In honor of Earth Day weekend --!April 25th-27th!-- my firm is sponsoring a clean-up at a Frisbee golf course near Grigg's Reservoir (it doesn't get anymore hippie than that), as well as an all-office/landscape scrubbing around the perimeter of our building (we happen to be situated at the north end of a quarry and the wind blows all the trash our direction, so we're constantly flooded with garbage).

I'm thinking I might need to extend that clean-up to my ride home. I encourage anyone and everyone who reads this little hole-in-the-wall to do the same.

Grab a biodegradable bag and a pair of gloves and hit your street/school/church/work/park/library/bar. Help get some of this disgusting grime off our roads.

The forsythia is about to bloom, so why not make a better backdrop for her pictures.

Columbus Forsythia picture from Flickr user jfsl3.

RIP design?

2008-03-29T11:26:00.000-07:00

Interior specialist and New Design pioneer, Philipe Starck, has told German weekly newspaper Die Zeit that design is dead, and that all of his work has been" unnecessary and materialistic." He states, "I [am] a producer of materiality and I am ashamed of this fact." As a result, Starck he plans on retiring in two years.

Say what he wants, but his Aprilia Moto 6.5 is purty. With gas prices booming I found myself window shopping for a commuter scooter, but I'd switch to one of these in a Mastercard minute.

Read on and see for yourself. Is design really dead?

Philippe Starck tells magazine design is dead

BERLIN (AFP) — Renowned French designer Philippe Starck says he is fed up with his job and plans to retire in two years, in an interview published in a German weekly on Thursday.

"I was a producer of materiality and I am ashamed of this fact," Starck told Die Zeit weekly newspaper.

"Everything I designed was unnecessary.

"I will definitely give up in two years' time. I want to do something else, but I don't know what yet. I want to find a new way of expressing myself ...design is a dreadful form of expression."

Starck, who is known for his interior design of hotels and Eurostar trains and mass consumption objects ranging from chairs to tooth brushes and lemon juice squeezers, went on to say that he believed that design on the whole was dead.

"In future there will be no more designers. The designers of the future will be the personal coach, the gym trainer, the diet consultant," he said.

Starck said the only objects that he still felt attached to were "a pillow perhaps and a good mattress." But the thing one needs most, he added, was the "ability to love".

Minnesota Representative Bachmann tired of being oppressed by light bulbs...

2008-03-27T12:19:00.000-07:00

Wow. Just wow. The Light Bulb Freedom of Choice Act.

Coming soon: a Freedom to Choose Lead Paint Bill.

Sheesh.

Bachmann bill would reverse phase-in of energy-efficient bulbs

Mar 26, 2008 6:58 PM (20 hrs ago) By FREDERIC J. FROMMER, AP

WASHINGTON (Map, News) - Rep. Michele Bachmann wants to put the brake on a national conversion from conventional incandescent light bulbs to energy-efficient compact fluorescent light bulbs.

Bachmann, a Minnesota Republican, has sponsored the "Light Bulb Freedom of Choice Act," which would repeal the national phase-out of the old bulbs.

"This is about freedom, this is about consumer rights," she said.
President Bush signed an energy bill last December that mandates phasing in energy-saving light bulbs starting in 2012.

Under Bachmann's legislation, the phase-out would be repealed unless Congress' Government Accountability Office can demonstrate that it would lead to real savings in energy costs, lead to significant reduction in carbon dioxide emissions and not cause a health risk to people.

Bachmann said she's concerned that the mercury content in fluorescent light bulbs could pose a danger.

"The least government can do if they are going to ban the household light bulb is provide evidence to back up their claims that there's some long-term benefit," she said. "Congress should not be in the business of promoting fads and Congress should always be in the business of watching out for the health, safety and budget bottom line of the American family."

The rest of the story can be found HERE.
Read the Star Tribune article HERE.
The original post was found via Rob Cockerham's cockeyed.com.

If you would like to reach Representative Michele Marie Amble Bachmann from Minnesota's 6th congressional district, you can contact her at the following locations:

Website
http://bachmann.house.gov/

Email
http://bachmann.house.gov/Email/

Washington Office
412 Cannon HOB Washington, DC 20515
Phone: (202) 225-2331
Fax: (202) 225-6475

Woodbury Office
6043 Hudson Rd, Suite 330 Woodbury, MN 55125
Phone: 651-731-5400
Fax: 651-731-6650

St. Cloud/Waite Park Office
110 2nd Street S, Suite 232 Waite Park, MN 56387
Phone: 320-253-5931
Fax: 320-240-6905

100% pure solar power from concentrate...

2008-03-27T10:31:00.000-07:00

At the Zenith of Solar Energy
Israeli energy startup Zenith Solar is pioneering a "concentrated solar power" method that is up to five times more efficient than standard technology

by Neal Sandler
Busines Week: Energy & Environment March 26, 2008, 1:20PM EST

Rooftops all over Israel look strikingly similar: More than 1 million households in the nation of 7.1 million people have solar panels that produce hot water—a relatively simple technology that gained popularity after the 1973 Arab-Israeli war, when oil prices shot up sharply. As of the early 1990s, all new residential buildings were required by the government to install solar water-heating systems.

Yet despite Israel's sunny climate and early lead in solar heating, it has been slow in adopting more sophisticated solar technologies that produce electricity from sunlight. Now, with oil hovering near $100 a barrel, a local startup hopes to build on the country's early embrace of sun power to carve out a new clean-energy business.

Zenith Solar, based in Nes Ziona near Tel Aviv, is a pioneer in a new type of solar energy that uses mirrors and lenses to focus and intensify the sun's light, producing far more electricity at lower cost. Compared with traditional flat photovoltaic panels made of silicon, this so-called "concentrated solar power" technology has proved in tests to be up to five times more efficient. That puts it on the verge of being competitive with oil and natural gas, even without government subsidies.

A Boost to Israel's Energy Supply
"Our goal is to utilize every suitable roof, backyard, and open space in Israel to turn households, hotels, and factories into net producers of electricity and thermal heat," says Roy Segev, the founder and chief executive of Zenith Solar. Founded in 2006, the startup has raised $5 million from a handful of private investors in Israel and the U.S. Now it's trying to raise an additional $10 million to $15 million to cover the cost of commercializing its technology.

The opportunity is compelling. Israel's National Infrastructure Ministry estimates solar panels for water-heating already satisfy 4% of the country's total energy demand. With technology like Zenith Solar's widely installed, the figure could jump to more than 16%—a big boost for a country now almost totally dependent on imported energy.

Zenith bought the rights to the solar technology from Ben-Gurion University and Germany's Fraunhofer Institute. A joint Israeli-German research team from the two organizations designed a working prototype, which consists of a 10-sq.-meter (107.6-sq.-ft.) dish lined with curved mirrors made from composite materials. The mirrors focus the sun's radiation onto a 100-sq.-centimeter (15.5-sq.-in.) "generator" that converts light to electricity. The generator also gives off intense heat, which is captured via a water-cooling system for residential or industry hot-water uses.

Tested over the past few years at Israel's National Solar Center in the Negev desert, the prototype achieved astounding results: A concentration of solar energy that was more than 1,000 times greater than standard flat panels.

Avoiding Costly Panels
One of the biggest advantages of Zenith Solar's approach, especially in today's market, is its limited use of polysilicon. Skyrocketing global demand for traditional photovoltaic panels has led to a worldwide shortage of the material and lifted prices tenfold in the past four years.
"Photovoltaic material accounts for 80% of the cost of standard systems," says David Faiman, chief scientific officer at Zenith, and a 30-year solar-energy veteran who was part of the development team. "Our technology succeeds in reducing this to less than 10%, while at the same time obtaining very high efficiency."

After further refining the technology, Zenith plans in the coming months to take its first major steps toward commercialization. Two large-scale test installations are planned for this summer at a kibbutz and a factory. The company will put 86 of its 7-meter-high dishes on an acre of land at Kibbutz Yavne to provide the community of 250 families with more than a quarter of their energy needs. The second project will replace fuel oil used to produce heat at a large chemical plant in central Israel.

Read the rest of the Business Week article HERE.
Read an older article from Reuters HERE.
Read a Next Energy News article HERE.

You'd work differently if you paid the bills at work...

2008-03-25T06:50:00.000-07:00

With the recent surge in interest of household energy monitors, I wouldn’t be surprised to see their development and transition in to user-centered building automation monitoring devices/displays.*

Hydro One, Canada’s largest power utility, recently completed a 500-home pilot project in which homeowners in five different Ontario cities were given indoor displays that allow them to track their electricity consumption in real time (they used technology from Blue Line Innovations). The study, the largest ever conducted in Canada, found an average 7 to 10 per cent reduction in electricity use over the course of a year, when compared to the same months and seasons in the previous year. Their findings support similar conclusions, including a similar study out of Oxford University.

I think it would be interesting to work in a building where the power usage is publicly monitored. It wouldn’t even need to be a digital display, but could instead incorporate colors/ambient lighting in to a lobby or entrance. If a building is running at peak energy and output on any given day, the colors shift to reflect the gross output (while I admit that it would be slightly incongruous to install a large electricity-draining light feature to monitor power usage, that’s where the designers would do their design magic, installing the feature with some technobabble something-or-other that doesn’t drain from the existing grid).

Basically, I know I’d be more inclined to turn off a switch or think twice before I plug in my peripherals during peak energy hours. And while we all should be so inclined to do so on a daily basis, reminders don’t hurt.

Here’s some ambient smart monitors for the home from Springwise to show you what I’m talking about:

Wattson, first of all, is a sleek, aesthetically pleasing device that shows homeowners through both numbers and colors how much energy they are using in their home. Consumers begin by attaching to their electricity meter or fuse box a transmitter device, which can measure both single and 3-phase systems. That, in turn, beams information directly to the freestanding Wattson device elsewhere in the house, where it instantly displays current usage. Wattson's LED display can represent energy use in euros, dollars, yen or pounds, while its pulsing, colored light also reflects the amount of electricity being used, ranging from cool blue for small amounts to red for high energy consumption. The wireless Wattson display is portable, and when appliances are switched on or off, it indicates how much energy they use. Homeowners can store up to 4 weeks of energy-use history on the device and download it for analysis on software that comes included; a forthcoming community feature will let Wattson owners compare their usage. Wattson was listed in Stuff Magazine's "Cool List" of the top 10 gadgets of 2007. It is priced at GBP 149.50 from UK-based DIY KYOTO.

The Home Joule, meanwhile, resembles a nightlight and plugs into any outlet in a home. The device displays not just energy usage, broadcast wirelessly by the consumer's energy meter, but also the real-time cost of energy, which comes wirelessly from the energy company. The colour of light emitted by the device represents the costs of the moment, with yellow and red light indicating expensive energy costs, while green means energy is cheaper. The idea is that consumers can then modify their consumption accordingly, switching off discretionary appliances at peak times of the day. The Home Joule is from Ambient Devices and is currently available only to customers of Consumer Powerline's demand-response program.

Finally, though not truly an energy monitor, we can't resist mentioning Ambient's beautiful Energy Orb, which also emits different colours of light to represent pricing information. This time, however, the device emitting the light is an egg-shaped orb that plugs into an outlet. The Energy Orb has been adopted by Pacific Gas & Electric and other US energy companies, and is priced at USD 149.99.

With energy prices heading nowhere but up, so, too, will demand for devices like these. One to get in on early, especially outside the US!

Websites: www.diykyoto.com — www.consumerpowerline.com — www.ambientdevices.com

*Keep in mind that I have zero planning/architectural experience, but what can I say? It’s fun to think out loud and predict grandiose changes in trends when working from the industry sidelines. I’m privy to my stupid ideas/thoughts/comments/all-office emails and nobody gets hurt.

Lacking Creativity?

2008-03-24T05:43:00.001-07:00

Aren't we all? I think this blog is proof of that...

Anywhoo, the good people over at Creative Something developed a Top 10 websurf to help get your design gears in motion.

Think of the following sites as a common cure-all for creativity block (it's like writer's block, only the glasses have thicker/blacker frames). They are intended to inspire...or at the very least, spur your plagiarism genes.

To get you started, here's ten through six:

10. Bauldoff is “a greeting of multifarious stimuli as observed by… author, Joe Bauldoff”. In other words: a superb source for creative inspiration through links, videos, and images of amazing design work, artwork, and all that jazz.

9. Computerlove is a social network for creative talents, and a beautifully-simple source of creative inspiration. Featuring new and talented creative designers, students, and artists, Computerlove is guaranteed to inspire you.

8. Tutorial Blog was one of the very first designer blogs I subscribed to. The blog provides creative design inspiration and articles, but is focused on tutorials for creative professionals. If you ever need a little bit of inspiration, Tutorial Blog is a good place to go. If you need unique design tutorials, Tutorial Blog is perfect.

7. Signal vs. Noise is the inspirational blog of online business-software developer 37signals. Signal vs. Noise is one of the most professional-yet-laid-back blogs I have have read, and everything posted there is always worth taking a minute or two to read.

6. FFFFound is an image bookmarking website, where members of the site blog about images they find online. You have to be invited by someone who is already a member to bookmark your own images, but browsing what others have found is free, and incredibly inspiring. Note that some artwork shown on Ffffound may not be safe for viewing at work.

Read the rest of Creative Something's Creative Websites HERE.

Foldable, Collapsable, Morphable Goodness, Part II...

2008-03-17T11:32:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I posted about all-things-foldable, so it's time to revisit the world of origami gadgetry. Let's see what we have...

1. For the warrior on the go, there's the MagPul FMG9 9mm Folding Submachine Gun.

It's conveniently disguised to look like a portable radio, but transitions into a gun faster than you can turn off a Jessica Simpson song. Coincidentally, both of the aforementioned items produce equal amounts of pain.

Why anyone would ever need a gun disguised as a radio seems rather mischievous to me (to put it lightly) and I'm not quite sure what kind of good could ever come of it...

...additionally, I'm not quite sure if I understand. If you go to the trouble of beach camouflage, why not add a modern iPod scroller or make it Sirius/XM capable? The AM weather radio look is sooooooo 60's. Or why not go completely retro and pimp it out in a ghettoblaster body/50 caliber fold-out mod? Breakin' III: Electric Semi-Automatic Laser Scope Boogaloo.

2. The Nokia shape changing nano-phone, Morph, isn't exactly a transformer...but it is more than meets the eye.

This shapeshifter utilizes space-age nanotechnology to give it elasticity, literally breaking the mold of it's plastic brethren.

The concept demonstrates how future mobile devices might be stretchable and flexible, allowing the user to transform the gadget into radically different shapes.

The more drop-friendly electronics become, the less replacements my clumsy self will need to buy. Excellent. And while the concept is uber cool, I can honestly say that I won't be spending a dime until it copies newsprint with the press of a thumb.

3. Foldable Solar Panels

Winner of two 2007 Nano50 awards, this novel approach to solar harvesting is garnering a lot of interest. Not only does it have the capability to replace existing solar technology, but but it could potentially cost pennies a yard.

Idahp National Laboratory researcher Steven Novack holds a plastic sheet of nanoantenna arrays, created by embossing the antenna structure and depositing a conductive metal in the pattern. Each square contains roughly 260 million antennas. Nanotechnology R&D usually occurs on the centimeter scale, but this INL-patented manufacturing process demonstrates nano-scale features can be produced on a larger scale.

There's a slight snag in the sweater, though. They're still trying to create a way to store or transmit the electricity. The alternating frequency of the current switches at a speed 10 thousand billion times a second (seriously) and that's waaaay too fast for your average blender or refrigerator to handle.

4. The Urban Skiff...it's not a schooner, it's a sailboat you idiot!

Earlier this month, Yanko Design featured an amazing invention by Thomas Giger, Anita Meyer, Florian Ueker, Femke Morf and Thomas Etter.

What looks to be a normal everyday skiff is, in fact, a collapsible version of its floating friends. Initially, I thought the urban in its name applied to its proposed usage; on small ponds in big cities, where owners would have little room to store their boats when not in use. The comment section, however, provide an interesting observation/application. User Funkenstein states:

I want one of these. Living in NY, if the sh*t were to hit the fan, everybody would be flooding the bridges, tunnels and roads out of the city. If you had one of these, you could sail down the river laughing at all the land lubbers getting eaten by zombies. In fact, they should make that the name of the product: “Escape the Zombie Apocalypse Boat”

So I'm not quite sure if this should be filed under foldable boat or foldable escape hatch, but I never would have thunk it to be used for emergency purposes, regardless of its obviousness. Still awaiting a pricepoint, though. If an apocalyptic emergency response firm gets their hands on the skiff, expect the cost to increase 500%.

Want something a little more sturdy? Why not buy the collapsible Catamaran?

5. The crossbreed Foldable Bicycle Wheel

OK, I know, I know...how many decades of foldable bicycles does it take before designers just give up already? There are numerous hurdles to jump and it seems as though every designer has, historically, come up short. Their offerings have been either awkward, inefficient, bulky, flimsy, or just plain ugly. Well, the crossbreed plans on changing all that:

The crossbreed folding wheel enables a full sized adult bicycle or wheelchair to be folded into a compact and convenient package for transportation and storage.

The project is currently being developed further in association with InnovationRCA, an innovation incubator affiliated with the Royal college of Art, London.

See for yourself:

This is nothing to laugh at, because the world is definitely taking notice. It'll be interesting to see what comes of it.

6. Foldable Origami Shoes

Just when you thought it couldn't get more ridiculous, the fashonistas had to jump in! Yet another Yanko submission, the foldable shoe is attempting to turn the manufacturing sector around by speeding up production and nearly eliminating the cost of shipping all together. A flat-pack shoe would dramatically reduce transportation cost, given the fact that each shoe box is void of so much usable space.

Is it practical? Well, see for yourself.

It is, however, interesting. And aesthetically, it's more than I expected. And if they continue to charge $50 per extra bag on flights, expect a flat-pack travel shoe to start selling well.

7. Bobby the Foldable Electric Scooter

Seen at the 2007 Tokyo auto show, Bobby is Yamaha's answer to the commute. It doesn't collapse as much as I would like, but when sticking a scooter in your trunk, every inch can count.

As you can see, the handle bars fold down and the back wheel folds inward. Soooooo, err, what makes it different? Well, this RFID enabled scooter can be turned on and off with a FeliCa-enabled cellphone. Feel free to ooh and ahh at will.

And if the rumors that suggest the Bobby has internet access are true, feel free to file this under idiotic. You'll be the only commuter to ever get laughed at by somebody on a Segway. Otherwise, keep the prototypes coming. Somebody's bound to hit the nail on the head sooner or later.

8. The T-Shirt Television

Marketers have found that there's a decrease in home television audiences, so they're looking for newer ways to shove adverts down our gullets. Yay.

I couldn't figure out why the video quality was so bad (all over the web, not just here), but it's because the shirt is basically an LCD screen stuck in a t-shirt, not a flexible screen capable of be washed.

You want to impress me? Take Taiwan's Industrial Technology Research Institute's flexible LCD screen and mount it to a hoodie. Waterproof it and you're golden.

Then give me a reason where and why I would ever need to wear a shirt with a screen on it.

9. The Feathercraft Foldable Kayak

Boats, in the foldable community, seem to be quite commonplace, but these Feathercraft Kayaks really stand out.

Ingenious design features have been incorporated to each model. The framework assembly of each model has similar characteristics, yet each is uniquely different. Longitudanal sections are shock-corded together like tent poles. To minimize assembly steps, chine and gunwale tubes for both the bow and stern frame sections are permanently attached to keel reinforcements plates. Deck bars are used as lever bars to extend the frame sections tightly into the skin. No additional tools are required for assembly. Because the framework is sectional, should damage occur, the individual section can easily be repaired or replaced. Crosspieces are either hand-cut from high density polyethylene, or are injected molded polycarbonate, depending on the model.

OK, so I didn't understand any of that...

But when I said that they stand out, it was actually because of the photo gallery. A pack-and-kayak retirement would be pretty friggin' awesome. There's numerous shots of people floating the waters of Venice, under and in between crevasses, along coastlines, etc.

My plans might be changing.

10. SPLAT Dish Rack

The SPLAT from Jill Davis Design is beautiful in form and function. It takes real talent to take something so commonplace and make it look interesting. And as one of the dishawasherless few, I can wholeheartedly appreciate this design.

Not to mention, the more you can hide something so typically bulky, the better. Although if my drying rack looked like this, I probably wouldn't put it away.

Sustainable humor...

2008-03-11T13:07:00.000-07:00

From Eluvium.

I'd recommend looking over her site, but then I would see you for the next 12 hours. Pretty original, considering what's out there (hey, I'm not afraid to admit that I'm a right-click addict).

From meatballs to pool halls...

2008-03-10T06:13:00.000-07:00

You've got to admit, pool tables are an obnoxious void of space.

Nothing screams I'm holding on to my bachelordom or I had a tax return to blow more than a big felted monster in a living room/basement/garage conversion.

But alas, they're fun.

It's the kind of "extra" you never want to have, but it never hurts to know somebody that has one. Unless they're moving, of course, because we all know that there's not enough beer and pizza in the world to help someone move slate. Same goes for sleeper sofas. Same goes for California King mattresses.

And aesthetically, while there are quite a few tables on the market that could (possibly) add some beauty to a modern room, like this luxury table featured on Trendir...

...or this impeccably restored Brunswick Monarch from Billiard Restoration...

...most, however, come up short.

But even if you had a Monarch or a Tresserra planted next to your wet bar, 99.5% of the time, when not in use, you'd still be stuck with a big felt carpet-weight crushing your cashmere (actually even if I could afford this table, I could never justify buying cashmere carpet).

So what's a pool player to do?

Move a Fusion Table in to your loft...

...or dining room...

...enjoy your meal and then slide back the top to reveal...

...an evening of fun.

The best part? It turns back to a table when you're finished. No more slate eyesores.

Check out Fusion Tables for more.

How much do you need?

2008-03-07T07:49:00.001-08:00

I've blogged about Tiny Homes before, but the Tumbleweed website deserves a mention. I was floored!

We build tiny, portable houses here in Sonoma County then roll them off to buyers everywhere...We also sell plans for these houses and larger designs as big as 770 square feet.

The houses and their owners are a breed all their own. They really make you question how much you want vs. how much you need. Averaging about 100 square feet, Tumbleweed homes provide the inhabitant a way to live as minimally as possible, utilizing low-output appliances in a small space to minimize impact.

There are two parts of me that are supremely jealous: the six year-old boy yearning for the ultimate treehouse, and the 19 year-old college student subsisting happily on a ramen/salsa diet in a 10' x 10' dorm room. Check them out...

But what I don't understand is why they always seem to be parked/planted on a snow-peaked mountainside in a remote area. Maybe I'm a tad bit claustrophobic, or maybe I'm sick and tired of winter, but I would DEFINITELY want to be in a region that I could relax comfortably outdoors as often as possible...like Baja? While it's obvious that some of these homes would appeal to the environmentalist/hunter/outdoorsmen, there's a niche market of people like me that would happily plant one of these on the coast and pack it full of Milagro and Sex Wax.

Walk on through and let me know what you think...

How much do you want?

How much do you need?

I know that I would need a much bigger oven, but the house --in a warm climate with surf, sun and drink-- would more than suffice.

They're about $30,000-$50,000. I'll take three (does that defeat the purpose?).

Insanity...

2008-03-04T05:33:00.000-08:00

Brilliant insanity, mind you...

I recently surfed across the German website, Convertible City. I found myself in awe.

I would write about it, but I invite you to peruse their list of projects on your own. From the wonderful floating Rucksack House...

...to the playful Braunschweig city theater...

...to the engineers that thought up the pool on the Spree...

Wonderful. Truly wonderful.

Leave your message after the beep...

2008-03-01T11:50:00.000-08:00

From MSNBC News:

Google Gives All SF Homeless Free Voicemail

KNTV-TV
updated 11:19 a.m. ET, Thurs., Feb. 28, 2008

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. - Google has made an announcement that could help hundreds of homeless people in San Francisco get back on their feet.

Every single homeless person in the city will be given a life-long phone number and voicemail, should they choose to accept it, NBC11's Lisa Bernard said.

Google is partnering with San Francisco to provide the service to homeless individuals and to shelters and agencies so they can distribute the numbers to their clients.

The announcement was made at a Project Homeless Connect event at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium Wednesday.

A homeless person will be able to call in for his or her messages from any phone.

The move by the city and the company would allow someone to be able to fill out a job application, which asks for a call back number.

It will allow clinics to share test results.

Mayor Gavin Newsom and Google said they want to empower people.

"How do you communicate as a homeless individual? " Newsom asked. "How do you expect your life to turn around if you can't even get information or if someone can't even get in touch with you?"

"It just seems exactly like any other voice mail," said Craig Walker, senior project manager of Google. "There's no stigma attached to it that 'hey this is a temporary thing' or 'this is an 800 number.' It's really just a local number owned by the user."

One man who used to be homeless said the right message can raise the spirit.

"Having your family, friends and loved ones being able to say 'here I'm thinking about you, I love you, I want you to know you're mine, and I miss you,' can have a monumental change in one's behavior."

"Providing phone and messaging capabilities and access to vital health care is an extraordinary step forward in the city's commitment to a comprehensive approach to addressing the needs of this vulnerable community," Newsom said.

"We're firm believers in the power of technology to improve the daily lives of individuals and communities as a whole, and we recognize that access to phone and voicemail services is one way that Google can help San Francisco's homeless stay connected with family, friends, social workers, health care providers, and potential employers," Walker said.

Walker said the program was ready to start right away.

***

Unfortunately, if the program works, they'll need cell phones to access those voicemail accounts.

AT&T announced this year that it will abandon its pay phone business, selling all of its 65,000 pay phones. It be only a small dent in the million-plus pay phone market, but admittedly, the industry is in obviously rapid decline.

Regardless, Google continues to give me hopeful willies with their pet projects. Some are a little outlandish, like using balloons to catapult their wifi program:

Jerry Knoblach wants to bring wireless service to millions of rural Americans. His plan: Beam it down from balloons hovering at the edge of space.

This isn't just hot air. His company, Space Data Corp., already launches 10 balloons a day across the Southern U.S., providing specialized telecom services to truckers and oil companies. His balloons soar 20 miles into the stratosphere, each carrying a shoebox-size payload of electronics that acts like a mini cellphone "tower" covering thousands of square miles below.

Cheap, disposable hydrogen-filled balloons carrying miniature versions of cellphone towers may soon provide service to rural, sparsely populated areas. WSJ's Amol Sharma visits Space Data, a company that makes the specialized balloons.

His idea has caught the eye of Google Inc., according to people familiar with the matter. The Internet giant -- which is now pushing into wireless services -- has considered contracting with Space Data or even buying the firm, according to one person...

***

Others will be all too helpful (see: life-saving):

Google Goes to the Doc's Office
The search giant's pilot program with the Cleveland Clinic is aimed at giving patients and doctors better access to electronic medical records

The U.S. health-care system is the most costly in the world. Yet it's also remarkably antiquated. The medical records of as many as 90% of patients are hidden away in old-fashioned filing cabinets in doctors' offices. Prescriptions are scribbled on paper. Most Americans need to fill out separate medical histories for each specialist they visit. "We are trained, like Pavlov's dogs, to repeat the same information 17 times," says Scott Wallace, chief executive officer of the National Alliance for Health Information Technology, a not-for-profit alliance of health care providers, information technology vendors, and health and technology associations. The result: mistakes, duplicated tests, botched diagnoses, and billions of dollars in unnecessary costs and lost productivity...

***

I wouldn't be dissapointed to receive a Google paycheck. Alas, it's been reported that Google receives over 20,000 resumes per week (1,000,000+ per year) and employee turnover is next to zero.

It's little wonder why there's so much interest.

Spring is almost here...

2008-02-29T06:24:00.001-08:00

So why not walk more?

WWKCS: Where Would Kevin Costner Stay?

2008-02-25T11:07:00.000-08:00

Water World, Berlin!

Claustrophobic? Hydrophobic? Acrophobic? Ichthyophobic?

Have I got a hotel for you!?!?!

The Radisson SAS Hotel in Germany is, well, actually quite pretty. By American Radisson standards (see: Midwest US Radisson Standards), it's not surrounded by the archetypal Applemacaroni Pablo Grilles, nor is it slathered with man made retention ponds and cheap shrubbery, subsiding wholly on the surrounding goose poo.

It's, in fact, located in the middle of Berlin, sits directly across the room from the beautiful Berlin Cathedral...

...and contains an aquarium that would make the Caspian Sea jealous.

Behold!

The AquaDom!

From the ground-up.

From the up-ground.

From the terrace to the up-ground.

From the oh-my-God-I'm-in-the-evil-villain-spot-from-a-Bond-movie position.

Photos: Under CC License from Flickr user jeeeeeandlo.

It is, in fact, the largest cylindrical aquarium on the planet (our planet).

25 meters x 11 meters = 900,000 liters salt water! That's (in Midwest terms) 450,000 2-liters of Mountain Dew!

And before you go and pat the Radisson people on the back, check out the Reynolds Polymer Technology, Inc. portfolio. They made this wishing well, but are by no means a rookie in Water World. They're not afraid of the large-scale (see: Dubai) fish ponds, so this is by no means new to them. Then again, you need to congratulate the SAS folks for agreeing to a vision like this. You thought by a house with a pool was a major investment!

Let me be your concierge...see for yourself:

From their Website:

One of the most exciting hotels in Berlin Mitte, the 5 star Radisson SAS Hotel features the world's largest cylindrical aquarium with 2,500 tropical fish. The AquaDom is 25 metres high and situated in the hotel lobby.

Gulf Coast Goodness: Part II...

2008-02-21T05:52:00.000-08:00

In my previous post, I was (beyond) pleased to bring you some Gulf Coast goodness. A simple, unexpected search had me down in the dumps and I, consequently, felt it important to acknowledge some good in the world.

So while I wanted to continue the thread, further tipping my hat at the thousands of people that continue to pull light from the clouded confines of the coastal South, I re-read my post and have since concluded it's crap. I think I'm going to revert back to my odds-and-ends posting. I'm thinking too much without saying anything.

But I digress...

Here's some great organizations, followed by a brief summary of their work:

100 Homes in 100 Days
An Affordable Housing Initiative leading an effort to rebuild 100 homes in 100 calendar days, in order to address the issue of insufficient housing in Pascagoula, Mississippi.

Hands On Gulf Coast
A disaster response project of the Hands On Network that focuses on an array of volunteer projects. They are working to rebuild and revitalize coastal Mississippi through the deliberate involvement of volunteers in community-based projects that empower residents to create a more promising future for their communities.
Hands On Gulf Coast Blog

Engineers Without Borders
A wonderfully involved organization (similar in structure to Doctors Without Borders, et al.)that designs and implements engineering projects in developing communities around the world. Projects like their Capdau School Playground project, as well as their Rebuilding After Katrina Using Local Resources, tend to fall by the media wayside due to their faceless nature, but need to be recognized.
Americorps is by far one of the largest orgnaizations servicing Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida and Texas. Don't believe me?

Americorps have provided more than 16,000 people of all ages and backgrounds are helping to meet local needs, strengthen communities, and increase civic engagement through 304 national service projects across Mississippi; with an additional 24,000 people and 262 national service projects in Louisiana, more than 100,000 people and 332 national service projects in Texas, 21,000+ people working on 111 national service projects throughout Alabama, and 82,000 people working on 213 projects in Florida.

243,000 people + 1222 projects = the Corporation for National and Community Service providing upwards of $110,500,000 to support Gulf Coast communities through national service initiatives.

Wow.

The Restaurant Opportunities Center of New Orleans
3500 Canal St., New Orleans, Louisiana, 70113, United States
Phone: 504-931-0369

The Restaurant Opportunities Center of New Orleans is a member based organization dedicated to improving work conditions and raising industry standards for all people working in New Orleans’ restaurants. They survey and interview the city’s restaurant workers in order to educate the public and fight for improved industry standards.

The Edible Schoolyard NOLA
With undoubtedly the prettiest logo of them all, ESY NOLA aims to create and sustain an expansive organic garden on the public school campus of Samuel J. Green Charter School in New Orleans. The Edible Schoolyard is integrating organic gardening and fresh seasonal cooking into the school’s curriculum, culture and food programs. It involves students in all aspects of farming the garden—along with preparing, serving and eating the food—as a means of awakening their senses and encouraging awareness and appreciation of the transformative values of nourishment, community, and stewardship of the land.

The random anatomy of a search...

2008-02-05T06:08:00.000-08:00

There are many things I love about the internet...

There are numerous interesting/comical/friendly/provocative/time-squanderable/innovative sites that can completely engulf an evening.

But what I really love is the fact that you can begin a search without direction and, somehow, end up at point B. Initially, you never really had the intention of getting to point B, can't remember what directions you took to get there or how many times you circled the block, didn't even realize you were at point A to begin with, but somehow, someway, ended up at a point B. Basically, I like it because it gives and hour and a half and three glasses of wine some weight, so you don't feel like you completely blew an evening doing squat.

Well, let's take a look what just transpired. Here's the anatomy of my most recent surf...

My search today began as a result of an in-house email link to Green For All, a fairly new organization with (as they put it) a simple but ambitious mission: to help build a green economy strong enough to lift people out of poverty.

I like it. Sustainable job training in the field of sustainability to make employment sustainable? Obviously wonderful.

I couldn't help but think of the South. For those of you following the New Orleans rebuild you will no doubt understand the green movement dilemma that is facing the area. Basically, they're subjecting a bustling area to copious amounts of construction when it (unfortunately) has very few skilled construction workers to handle the construction. So, in my opinion, organizations like this will have a far greater long-term impact than anything else in the philanthropic development field. You should expect to see similar non-profits expand nationwide.

That search-and-surf led me to dig further, so I decided to read other articles about poverty in the south as a result of Katrina. I found this. The statistics told a rough and tumble story in 2005:

Gulf Coast States hit hardest by Katrina: Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama

Rates of extreme child poverty in these Gulf Coast states are among the highest in the country.
- In Louisiana, 13% of children live in extreme poverty—the second highest rate of extreme child poverty in the country.
- In Mississippi, 12% of children live in extreme poverty.
- In Alabama, 8% of children live in extreme poverty.

Across the United States, 7% of children live in extreme poverty.
Child poverty rates in these states are also higher than the national average.
- 23% of children in Louisiana live in poor families.
- Nearly a quarter (24%) of children in Mississippi live in poverty.
- 21% of children in Alabama live in poor families.
- Across the United States, 17% of children live in poor families.

So I couldn't help but wonder, where are we now?

I moved on to an excellent resource: the Institute for Research on Poverty. They compile poverty-related articles published throughout the United States and compile them into an (almost) daily post. I've always thought of the IRP is an excellent State of the Union tool in which to gauge the action/inaction of problematic issues far and wide. You get to see which programs are working in which areas and which problems are regrettably recurrent in others.

Here is a small sampling from random dates in their Poverty Dispatch section. I decided to pull these headlines in particular, because I thought it would be interesting to analyze the gulf coast-specific stories in order to separate the positive from the negative. I was hoping to see a transition from mostly bad to hell of a lot better. And sorry about most of the pre-2008 news links. Most of the non-linked articles are outdated and not available, since the smaller online publications don't readily cache their stories like the big boys (and I know, I know...while some of these might not be directly related to Katrina, I still thought they give a small depiction of progress/regression):

2006:
- Public Housing: All Fall Down - Louisiana
- Students with Hurricane-displaced Parents: Students left alone and angry. - Louisiana
- Poverty Under the Stars: The Night the Gulf Coast Civic Works Project was Born
- Alabama Medicaid missing growth trend - Alabama (Outdated Article)
- New Orleans Population Is Reduced Nearly 60%
- Poor are often denied legal aid, panel told -Mississippi
- Renewal money for New Orleans bypasses renters.
- Many of Katrina's migrant workers go unpaid - Louisiana (Outdated Article)
- Miss. poor and working class struggling after Katrina, NAACP says - Mississippi (Outdated Article)
- Katrina's poorest evacuees fare worst, study finds.
- Survey: State fails poor collegians - Alabama (Outdated Article)
- State faces 'rising tide of low-income students,' study says. (Outdated Article)

2007:
- Push on to get children health care - Louisiana
- In Turnabout, Infant Deaths Climb in South
- New law blamed as La. health care rolls cut - - Louisiana (Outdated Article)
- RAND study: Affordable housing lags in Mississippi's post-Katrina recovery. (Outdated Article) - State's poverty dips; still near worst - Alabama
- Study shows dropout numbers worsening - Louisiana (Outdated Article)
- Legislature OKs tax break for low-income residents - Louisiana (Outdated Article)
- New energy for Katrina cleanup. (Outdated Article)
- Little Progress Seen for Poorest After Hurricane
- South leads in early childhood education (Outdated Article)
- Working poor still need relief. (Outdated Article)
- House OKs bill to increase state minimum wage - Mississippi (Outdated Article)

2008:
- Enrollment decline spurs Medicaid changes
- State Children's Health Insurance Program - Louisiana
- So many places to live, but so far out of reach - Louisiana
- Homeless School Age Children - Alabama
- Working poor see little of state's prosperity, group says. - Alabama

While I hoped that this might show a small transition, everything appears to be stagnant. And looking back, I guess I should have known that no publication is going to report on a truly good event unless it's substantially advantageous to the region. The bad will always outweigh the good in reporter world. So this was probably just a big waste of time with, obviously, no statistical merit whatsoever...oh well.

Moving forward.

Since the bad stories had me down, I headed off to find a silver lining...to the place where dreams are made and prayers are answered.

That's right...

...the non-profit, altruistic, fraught-with-financial-strain hippy dippy world. A place I like to call "home."

Numbers and headlines be damned, these organizations have been fighting for the region since first raindrop, so there's bound to be some warmth underneath this wet blanket. They're first responders with follow-up, giving with gusto, energy in action....I could go on and on.

So let's see some of the good they've been doing in order to offset these disheartening figures/stories. What, exactly, is the non-profit community doing to ameliorate the current situation in the south?

Wanna buy a $425 t-shirt?

I know, that headline made me do a double-take, too.

My first philanthropic googling brought me to GOOD Magazine*, a publication I've been praising since the start of '07. I couldn't understand why in the hell they would be promoting a t-shirt for (almost) half-a-grand. That is, until I visited the organization's website Buy A Meter. Not only is the site incredibly creative and well designed...

...but the $425 t-shirt comes with a water meter for a Hale County, Alabama family.

Eight young graphic designers from San Francisco, New York, Baltimore, Dallas and Dubai came to Hale County to live among the residents for one month. Inspired by the late architect Samuel Mockbee and the work he did with Auburn University’s Rural Studio, they studied the county's neediest citizens and developed this organization.

One in four families in Hale County are not connected to the municipal water system (wow) and Buyameter hopes to change that. You can buy your shirt and meter HERE.

*Unfortunately, in the same issue of this wonderful magazine you can find a piece about a $250 pizza loaded with lobster and Beluga caviar. How can you promote a $425 meter and a $250 pizza?

Pirates are fighting to save music.

As if Austin wasn't already trendy enough, it now has pirates!

The Pirates for the Preservation of New Orleans Music (PPNOM) is a Texas Nonprofit founded by Texas pirate band The Jolly Garogers. The PPNOM is dedicated to raising funds to rebuild the music education programs of the New Orleans public school system. And if the pirate/Austin connection wasn't hip enough for you, it also works with SXSW and the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and Foundation.

It's a small organization, but I thought its inclusion to this post was significant because issues like this are often overlooked. Preference is usually given to projects that physically rebuild the gulf coast and as a result, the creative arts suffer. With cities like New Orleans --cities that literally bleed music-- it'll be undoubtedly hard to carry on the tradition of song and dance if the succeeding generation never touches a trumpet, sings a scale or beats a drum. So while I'm sure there are a ton of other non-profits doing something similar, gimme a break...I'm just doing a search here.

Children are still suffering the effects of trauma from Hurricane Katrina.

OK, that statement might be obvious to most, but think about it...

Think about the graphic images we witnessed as the hurricane made landfall. Graphic images we witnessed from the comfort of our couches. How fresh are those images in your memory? Now imagine that you're a six year-old child being held above water as your father wades laboriously through sludge and debris to an awaiting fishing boat. A stranger takes you in their arms. Your home is destroyed. Your mother is in tears. You are soaked to the bone. How fresh are those images for you now?

Project Fleur-de-lis is an extensive mental recovery effort aiming to soften those troubled memories through communication, rehabilitation, training and support.

They offer a three-tiered program of rehabilitation called a "Stepped Trauma Pathway" that includes therapy and intervention. It identifies and addresses all psychological or psychoeducational problems (sorry Tom Cruise) that occur in children and adolescents. Studies show that 80 – 90% of those touched will be helped in their first tier of care.
It really is some amazing work. See the results for yourself HERE.

Sitting around the digital campfire, telling their stories.

Elie Wiesel once said, "There are victories of the soul and spirit. Sometimes, even if you lose, you win."

I think we can all agree that the stories of Katrina need to be told. Fortunately, the Hurricane Digital Memory Bank is here to listen. Their aim is to collect and record these stories, compiling a virtual compendium of heartbreak, hope, sadness, and memory.

From their website:

The Hurricane Digital Memory Bank uses electronic media to collect, preserve, and present the stories and digital record of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. George Mason University’s Center for History and New Media and the University of New Orleans, in partnership with the Smithsonian Institutions National Museum of American History and other partners, organized this project.

Generously funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the Hurricane Digital Memory Bank contributes to the ongoing effort by historians and archivists to preserve the record of these storms by collecting first-hand accounts, on-scene images, blog postings, and podcasts. We hope to foster some positive legacies by allowing the people affected by these storms to tell their stories in their own words, which as part of the historical record will remain accessible to a wide audience for generations to come.

You can browse contributor's stories HERE. Some bring tears to your eyes, others are comical. But whatever you read, I think it's important that we really reflect on the life experiences of these people. It's imperative that we understand their story in order properly diagnose, analyze and rebuild their world. Additionally, such a forum for survivors can only aid in the mental rehabilitation of the afflicted and bring on a proper --albeit distorted-- form of closure. It's mere existence is tragically wonderful and entirely necessary.

Because the dirt is dirty.

The Common Ground Collective is a non-profit that formed in the wake of Hurricane Katrina to provide immediate aid to residents in the Gulf Coast region, as well as long-term support in rebuilding their communities in just and sustainable ways. This volunteer organization is huge. It's grown to over 50 organizations with a network of over 1700 volunteers providing relief to more than 50,000 residents in four Parishes - New Orleans, St. Bernard, Plaquemines, and Terrabone.

CGC operates four distribution centers, free medical clinics, emergency home repair, legal and eviction defense work, free computer and phone access, a women and children’s center, and other related projects. Ambitious much?

Let's look at one of their projects...

The Meg Perry Healthy Soil Project focuses on ways in which the community can restore its land and environment using the safest, most practical methods. They are currently testing various areas --including Gert Town, the Lower 9th Ward, and the zone affected by the Murphy Oil spill in St. Bernard’s Parish-- looking for toxins and heavy metals. If any are detected, then they combine their efforts with communities and homeowners to reduce health risk from contaminated soil through NATURAL bioremediation.

Very cool.

OK, my search is over and it's time for bed...

I think it's safe to say that the entire disaster was mishandled (that's putting it lightly) in the very beginning and our government is very much to blame, but the Gulf Coast would be nothing without altruistic spirit of the concerned American.

A quiet evening of search-and-surf has made me realize that instead of playing the blame game (like I typically do), we need to periodically take a step back and embrace those that are embracing our nation. It's emotionally engaging to dig deep and see how many people are doing excellent work and, in the past, I now realize that I've been focusing my efforts far too often on the sour instead of the sweet. Why not build up those that are rebuilding?

You see? You travel along the interwebs with no intention of going anywhere, yet you somehow end up at a point b.

Theirs is definitely bigger than ours...

2008-02-04T04:53:00.000-08:00

Enercon, the third largest turbine manufacturer in the world, is going a little bit nuts over in Germany...

The Deutschland-based, multi-national energy company has been on the scene for quite some time, specializing in the production of wind turbines, the construction of desalination plants, and the publication of unfortunately-named magazines (Windblatt). Well, they appear to be VERY ambitious at the first of the three, considering they've now built the turbine to end all turbines...well...that is, of course, until a bigger one comes along.

The E-126 prototype (pictured below) is a behemoth!

The tower alone is an amazing 131 meters (429 ft) high and required a 180 meter (590 ft) crane for construction.

The Tower walls are over 45 cm thick and required over 110 cubic meters of concrete to build. Located near the Ems River, the silty ground was soft and required 64 fifty-six-centimeter thick piles driven in to the ground 24 meters deep to support the structure.

It can power over 5000+ European 4-person homes, but what I like most is the optimized blades that turn in on themselves. In the event of high winds the blades do not shut down completely, but rather tilt like the prop on a place. The drag is reduced and the blades continue to spin at an optimized 12 revolutions per minute.

Read the Press Release pdf (courtesy of Windblatt Magazine) here.

Original find via Metaefficient.

Coming out of a coma...

2008-02-02T11:07:00.001-08:00

For the last five days, it's been hell week at work. All should be well next week.

I'll be mirroring posts until Wednesday...

Here's an interesting one from Web Urbanist:

What if the Package Were Part of the Product? 5 Innovative Industrial Designs for Ecological Living

What if you could simply reuse packaging as part of a product rather than sending away for disposal or recycling? Some industrial designers have taken up the challenge with varied results. Like creative flat-pack designs, the constraints of the projects become opportunities for self-expression and to (literally) think outside the box.

Read more here.

I need a tarp for my drool...

2008-01-23T08:04:00.000-08:00

I have been a HUGE fan of classic camper design for quite some time now (and yet somehow, I managed to land a wife). You've heard me go on and on about my love for the classic American standard, the Airstream. What can I say? Nothing gets my wheels turning like a 36' silver twinkie.

And even though I've yet to do a full-length post about my toy-lust for its brother --the shapely tear drop camper-- I can assure you my toy-lust for this towable is one in the same. For instance, check out this beauty:

How could you resist those lines? I definitely wouldn't kick it out of my camp site...classic whitewalls, beautiful curves, simplicity...ahhh, to dream.

Well, yet another camping icon has done the impossible and improved upon an already brilliant design.

For decades, Deadheads and hippie CEO's have commuted to/from the granola farm in Volkswagen style, whirring and squeaking their loaf-like Westfalias at (almost) the speed of sound (by speed of sound I mean speed limit). Held together by bumper stickers and resin, the v-dub design has lasted the test of time, thus leading to some truly awesome customizations and fabrications.

Like this retro stretch mod with camper top:

Or this crunched version:

Or this stretch mod with pristine paint:

I swear, those fold-out windows make me giddy every time.

Well, Canadian designer Alexandre Verdier is my new best friend. He's taken the iconic hippie-mobile, added a dash of hippie, sprinkled some hippie, and garnished it with hippie dippie.

BEHOLD:

The Verdier Westfalia! It has just about everything. And the everything has just about everything. For instance, this solar/diesel hybrid doesn't employ simple solar tech, but instead uses modern solar-tracking technology that follow the sun's path for maximum exposure. The cooking range swivels so you can get your soy dog on both inside AND outside of the van.

There's also other light touches: a multi-media computer with wireless internet, a maple exterior veneer, a pneumatic suspension for stationary stability (when lowered), an energy consumption dashboard, a passenger seat that turns into a staircase (seriously), and a half door that also turns into stairs:

For his work, Verdier and his team received the Special Prize at the Caravaning Design Award 2006/2007 at the Caravan Salon in Dusseldorf, Germany. The Salon is one of Europe's largest caravan exhibition and trade shows.

Visit his website HERE.

Oh...and another thing...can I borrow $69,000?

UPDATE: My boss sent me this. I can't say I'm a fan (of the slick new appearance, not my boss). How could you throw away all of that classic character? I'd rather they remake the new Westfalia identical to the old Westfalia.

The Revolution of Old School....

2008-01-23T07:24:00.000-08:00

Just a quick post for this morning.

My friend, Deena, sent me a link to this obvious, but amazing, doctor who is trying something new...kind of...

The people of Williamsburg, Brooklyn and Manhattan now have Jay Parkinson, MD.

Lucky New Yorkers...

He's combined tech and medical savvy to form a new kind of practice: a flat-rate, insurance free/abled, accessible, mobile, chat-enabled, instant messaged, e-visit experience.

I encourage you, the reader, to visit his site regardless of your health.

I encourage you, the doctor, to follow his lead and copy EVERYTHING he is doing.

A World at Peace...

2008-01-16T12:54:00.000-08:00

Guess who's only 12 years away from retirement?

No, not Lavar Burton, although the rainbow reader is 50.

It's the Peace Symbol!

Seems like only yesterday it was just a lonely circle...

In honor of this special day, Happy Birthday Peace has been set up so that you may create your own version of this wonderful symbol. As for myself, instead of creating some unschooled Photoshop monstrosity, I decided to study the philosophy I've come to advocate, but never really explore.

For starters, why do we fight? Religious posturing? Not if any of these books/scholars/scriptures are taken to heart. Let's explore...

***

Christianity
Blessed are the gentle,for they shall inherit the Earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they shall be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall be shown mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Blessed are those who have been persecuted on account of justice, for theirs is the sovereignty of heaven.
Jesus in Matthew 5:5-10

Confucianism
Tzu-Kung asked: "Is there one principle upon which one's whole life may proceed?" The Master replied, "Is not Reciprocity such a principle? ...what you do not yourself desire, do not put before others."
Analects of Confucius, 14.22

Taoist
Those brave in killing will be killed. Those brave in not killing will live.Of these two, one is beneficial, and one is harmful.
Lao-zi, Tao Te Ching 73

Buddhist
Hate is never conquered by hate. Hate is conquered by love. This is an eternal law.
Dhammapada 1

Sikhism
God adjudges us according to our deeds, not the coat that we wear: that Truth is above everything, but higher still is truthful living. Know that we attaineth God when we loveth, and only victory endures in consequences of which no one is defeated.
Prayer for Peace

Judaism
What is hurtful to yourself do not to your fellow man. That is the whole of the Torah and the remainder is but commentary.
Talmud, Shabbat 31a

Sufism
The wars of mankind are like children's fights -all meaningless, pitiless and contemptible.
Jalal al-Din Muhammad Rumi, Masnavi-I Ma'navi

Below: A Sufi dancer in Cairo, Egypt

Quakers
All Friends everywhere, this I charge you, which is the word of the Lord God unto you all, Live in peace, in Christ, the way of peace, and therein seek the peace of all men, and no man's hurt.
George Fox, Founder of the Religious Society of Friends

Shinto
Although the people living across the ocean surrounding us, I believe, are all our brothers and sisters, why are there constant troubles in this world? Why do winds and waves rise in the
ocean surrounding us? I only earnestly wish that the wind will soon puff away all the clouds which are hanging over the tops of the mountains.
Prayer for Peace

Bahá'í
There is not one soul whose conscience does not testify that in this day there is no more important matter in the world than that of Universal Peace.
'Abdu'l-Bahá

Islam
If anyone slew a person—unless it be for murder or spreading mischief in the land—it would be as if he slew the whole people. And if anyone saved a life, it would be as if he saved the life of the whole people.
Koran, 5.32

Caodaism
We pray that the wisdom of the great tao be widely spread on earth. Shining the way to all creatures of nature's birth. May all humanity be redeemed, and our whole world know peace. And may the places we meet to worship you be granted safety's lease.
The Five Vows

Below: A Caodaist Temple in Viet Nam

Jainism
A man should wander about treating all creatures as he himself would be treated.
Sutrakritanga 1.11.33

***

Hmmmm...

But then again, isn't it taking books/scholars/scriptures to heart that, more often than naught, causes/justifies/catalyzes injustice and war? **sigh**

And sorry Wiccans...you're not as published on teh interwebs. Not to mention I was too nervous to search the Scientology website.

But I digress...so how did the peace symbol come to be?

Design Boom has a great article on the origins of the symbol as whole on the world stage:

The anti-nuclear emblem or the peace sign is one of the most widely known symbols in the world. It was invented on the request of Lord Bertrand Russel, head of the British 'campaign for nuclear disarmament' or CND and sponsor of mass marches and sit-downs in London. The graphic symbol was designed bygerald holtom, a member of the CND movement, as the badge of the 'direct action committee againstnuclear war', for the first demonstration against Aldermaston (a British research center for the development of nuclear weapons) in 1958. Holtom, a professional designer and a graduate of the London Royal College of Arts, had originally considered using the Christian cross symbol within a circle as the motif for the march, but various priest she had approached with the suggestion were not happy at the idea of using the cross on a protest march.

Interesting...a non-denominational approach to representational design. Which begs the question, where would this symbol be if had stuck to its Christian guns? Read more of the article HERE.

Of course, Design Boom also points out that "there have been claims that the symbol has older, occult or anti-Christian associations and that it was a 'symbol of death'." I don't care, I like the first explanation better.

What about the other peace sign, victory, that you can make with your hands? Well, the peace sign or victory salute is said to have begun in Europe during World War II when the V for victory (victoire in French, vrijheid in Dutch) sign was painted on walls in the dark as a symbol of freedom from occupying forces.

Oddly enough, it was also used as a sound, with the dot-dot-dot-dash (di-di-di-dah) of Morse code. Coincidentally this sounds a lot like the opening bars of Beethoven's Symphony No.5 (and the Roman numeral for 5 is V!). As a result these bars were (along with the Morse code signal) broadcast by the BBC constantly during the war and became known as 'Fate knocking at the door'. Very cool.

The victory sign was described as 'the most amazing piece of propaganda devised in this war'.
It became immortalized when Britain's wartime leader Winston Churchill was repeatedly filmed using the sign as a victory salute. The sign was very widely used by peace movements in the 1960's and 70's as a symbol of victory for peace and truth, until Dick Nixon made it even more famous.
Want more peace-related goodness? Why not find out what happened this week in peace history? You'd be surprised how much peace you don't hear about. For instance, today is the anniversary of the WWI Paris Peace Conference.

On another front --this is something that relates on a whole different level-- this is a COMPREHENSIVE collection of historical progression in the United States Peace Corps. It's a pretty amazing account all things Corps. But what I found interesting was the story of its inception. Ideas+Words=Change.

Little known fact, while it was one of Kennedy's most enduring legacies, it started with fortuitous and unexpected moment. Kennedy, arriving late to speak to students at the University of Michigan (Go Bucks!) on October 14, 1960, found himself thronged by a crowd of 10,000 students at 2 o'clock in the morning. Speaking extemporaneously, the then-candidate challenged American youth to devote a part of their lives to living and working in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. He casually asked if students would back his effort to form a Peace Corps? Their response was immediate: within weeks, students organized a petition drive and gathered 1,000 signatures in support of the idea.

Below: President Kennedy greets the very first Peace Corps volunteers in August, 1962.

It's amazing what a dialog can start...