http://inhabitat.com was founded two years ago by a NYC-based architecture student who seems to be have that magic combination of writing ability, intelligence, and beauty--read: not single. The blog covers issues of ecological sustainability in design and architecture. I've already read through all of this year's archives and am loving it. Expect the plagiarism to begin soon.
X Prize for auto efficiency
The “X Prize Foundation”:http://xprize.org has announced a new competition to achieve automotive efficiency. Arguing that competition breeds success and citing Lindbergh’s prize-winning trans-Atlantic flight, the X Prize foundation shocked the world with the original “Ansari X Prize for space flight”:http://www.xprize.org/xprizes/ansari_x_prize.html by making space tourism a reality. Now it seems the group’s target is more terrestrial with the multi-million dollar prize going to the first group that can make a car that, among many other things, gets 100 miles per gallon. Read the full list of “guidelines”:http://auto.xprize.org/xprize/guidelines.html if you’re interested.
Originally found through “this article”:http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/006420.html at “World Changing”:http://www.worldchanging.com
Patagonia sells their scraps
Outdoor company “Patagonia”:http://www.patagonia.com has always been good at being environmentally responsible, so I guess I shouldn’t be surprised by this. The DIY shoe is really just a $30 bag of scraps with instructions on how to turn them into something that sort of looks like a shoe.
You can buy the DIY shoe at the “Patagonia site”:http://www.patagonia.com/web/us/product/collection_alt.jsp?OPTION=FOOTWEAR_COLLECTION&catcode=SHOES_SP07_US.SHOES.MENS.CASUAL#yc or you could pay a lot more for the pre-built Nike version, “Considered”:http://www.treehugger.com/files/2005/03/nike_considered.php
Originally found at the “Gear Addicts blog”:http://www.sacaddicts.net/
Homemade Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
42 year-old Constable Nick Pointing might just be the perfect husband. His wife Carolyn has absolutely loved the story of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang for years and now thanks to four years of hard work and a lot of skill, she has one of her own. Nick and Carolyn built this road-legal (although not flight-worthy) replica of the famous flying car out of an old Land Rover.
Photo credit and original story at the “Daily Mail”:http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=446637&in_page_id=1766&ito=1490
Greenpeace releases latest "green electronics" rankings
http://www.greenpeace.org/international/news/chinese-company-tops-greenpeac the third in the series, represents the good side of one the ugliest businesses for the environment. Electronics are some of the more environmentally destructive products consumed in this world, full of toxic chemicals and harsh non-biodegradable plastics. Realizing that our appetite for the latest and greatest isn't going to just go away, Greenpeace has put together this consumer guide based on simple rankings addressing the way technology companies deal with the waste they produce.
It should be noted that Chinese computer manufacturer Lenovo has the highest ranking while uber-chic Apple maintains its last place standing. If you are an Apple user and you'd like Steve Jobs and co. to do something about making Apple more green, check out the "Green My Apple campaign.":http://www.greenpeace.org/apple/
Further reading can be found at the Greenpeace site "here":http://www.greenpeace.org/international/campaigns/toxics/electronics/how-the-companies-line-up or you can read the full reports from this and the previous two evaluations "here.":http://www.greenpeace.org/international/press/reports/guide-to-greener-electronics
Killer Apps for Mac – SizzlingKeys
Continuing in my series on applications that Mac OS X amazing, SizzlingKeys puts full iTunes controls at your fingertips regardless of what application you’re in. There are other programs that offer this ability, but I think SizzlingKeys is the best. With just a keystroke (that you can set yourself) you can pause, play, switch tracks, change the volume, mute, or even search your iTunes library. The best part of it all, like all of my “Killer Apps” choices, is that it’s free. Go to the “SizzlingKeys website”:http://www.yellowmug.com/sk4it/ to download your copy and try it out. In a move that only someone completely devoid of a sense of irony could think of, Home Secretary John Reid has ordered that some of Britain’s 4 million (count ’em) CCTV cameras also be equipped with the power of speech. Sound like 1984? Check out this picture that’s been floating around the blogosphere of all the cameras around George Orwell’s former residence. Also, there is no way that anyone could write this story up better than “these guys”:http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=38718 at “The Inquirer,”:http://www.theinquirer.net check it out. It wasn’t long ago that do-it-yourself Swedish furniture maker IKEA didn’t dominate the world of yuppy interior design. Okay, that’s not true, IKEA has had that market cornered for a long time but it was only recently that they moved into home manufacture itself. BoKlok Homes (a partnership between IKEA and Swedish construction firm Skanska) have been building homes in Sweden for a little over ten years and are now moving to the UK. A BoKlok (Swedish for smart living) development in Gateshead has already been approved and their British partners, Smart @ Home are very optimistic about becoming “a major provider of housing in Britain.” Pictured here is the original architect’s mock-up used to get planning permission for the development. After being incarcerated awaiting charges for 226 days, Josh Wolf has been released. Wolf refused to hand over his raw footage (a journalistic right) of an anti-G8 protest in San Francisco after law enforcement agencies subpoenaed it. His justification was that there was nothing of consequence on the tape, which after having seen it myself, I would have to agree with. As part of Wolf’s release terms, he agreed to publish the footage online which can be found through his website “here”:http://www.joshwolf.net/blog/?p=324 or by clicking the picture below. Adding to the theme that doing kid stuff is just plain good for you, “the Scotsman”:http://news.scotsman.com/scitech.cfm?id=506592007 reported a study released yesterday that suggests that a common soil bacteria plays a role in fighting depression. Apparently the bacteria, Mycobacterium vaccae, has been shown to release seratonin in mice, a chemical linked to lower incidence of depression. Just like sleeping in and taking naps, science is suggesting that another of life’s pleasures commonly rejected by Purell-pumping soccer moms (getting dirty) is not only okay, but downright good for you. I love science.
Here is a picture of the floating status window in action on my desktop.
This entry was posted in Original Duenos and tagged apple, apps on .
Yet another step closer to Big Brother reality
IKEA to move beyond decorating homes, builds them
These houses actually seem pretty cool, they are all prefabricated pieces that can be assembled in a day cutting down in a big way on the waste associated with on-site construction. In addition to being less polluting on-site, BoKlok houses are also made of sustainable and durable materials. Perhaps most importantly, these houses are going to be filling a sorely-missed niche in the British housing market as property prices all over the country have soared astronomically in the past decade leaving most low-income families with very few options.
Here is a link to a “Guardian article”:http://arts.guardian.co.uk/art/architecture/story/0,,2048116,00.html about BoKlok. Photo credit to “e-architect.co.uk”:http://www.e-architect.co.uk/newcastle/ikea_housing.htm
Josh Wolf released, along with his footage
http://blip.tv/file/get/Fappy-JoshWolfVideo772.mov
The video in question shows what you would expect a video of an anti-G8 protest to look like. A very small amount of educated but frustrated American youths in facemasks and hoodies march through the streets shouting things like "Whose streets? Our streets" and "fuck the police state." After awhile, the mob mentality takes over and the protesters start throwing paint balloons at local shop windows, dragging metal newspaper stands into the street, and tagging passing buses. Police enter the scene and the whole thing is actually unremarkable. Still, it was good to see that Wolf had been right in his assertion that his footage showed nothing too important and it is even better to know that he is finally out of jail.
See my previous post about Wolf winning a Journalist of the Year award "here":http://duenos.net/article/89/josh-wolf-wins-journalist-of-the-year
A "BBC article":http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6524359.stm about Wolf's release
Dirt could help fight depression
Links to the “Scotsman article”:http://news.scotsman.com/scitech.cfm?id=506592007 and two past Duenos posts about the positive benefit of “sleeping in”:http://duenos.net/article/30/sleeping-in-is-good-for-you and “taking naps”:http://duenos.net/article/36