Hmmm…here’s a pretty interesting theory by Neal Adams about the earth expanding! Does this mean the once solid earth is expanding and getting more hollow? Give this video documentary a watch (10 mins)
Archives
All posts for the month October, 2007
“Design is a big part of the sustainability problems in the world. Design has been focused on creating meaningless (often), disposable (though not responsibly so), trend-laden fashion items—all design. Graphic design is particularly bad, though paper materials, at least, have a huge potential to fix this problem.”
Presentation given at IDSA Connection Congress, San Francisco 2007
Very interesting! Check out the PDF presentation and watch out for his upcoming book “Design is the Problem“.
“A very simple modification to a standard electrical coverplate changes its function from one of consumption into conservation. A standard junction box behind the face plate catches your coins and saves them.”
Neat! I’d probably need a cash or credit card slot, but I like the concept. I wonder if there are any electrical metering attachments, somewhat like the iSave water meter concept. This almost makes me want to make a piggy bank for the green, sustainability, aids, foundations etc…take all that pocket change that pile high monthly and donate it. A Donation Piggy bank.
via oboiler
Clemson Clay Nest , 2005
“The natural environment still manages to fill us with a sense of awe and amazement. despite the amount of scientific knowledge mankind has gathered, nature still holds great mysteries that we may never be able to unravel. This complexity has continually daunted man. In frustration, we try to control nature by enforcing order. as a result, we have distanced ourselves from the earth, even though our survival is completely dependent on it. We are now trying to regain our close connection to nature.There is an emerging art movement that is exploring mankind’s desire to reconnect to the earth, through the built environment. Referred to as ‘natural architecture’, it aims to create a new, more harmonious, relationship between man and nature by exploring what it means to design with nature in mind.” (via Designboom)
Very cool! I’ve always been a fan of art/architecture created using natural resources in their raw format. Reminds me of one of my all time favorite artist Andy Goldsworthy (books/Wiki) who makes some incredible art using natural resources.
Buy the book “Natural Architecture” here (Due out November 2007)
(DesignBoom has more page excerpts)
I just experienced one of the most unbelievable meals at Oleana in Cambridge MA run by chef and owner Ann Sortun who also has a book “Spice: Flavors of the Eastern Mediterranean“. Rustic, warming, vibrant, calming, and damn tasty down to the minuscule details. Chef Sortun’s creations are inspired from her travels and experiences from France, Spain, Italy, and Turkey for an Arabic-Mediterranean intersection of surprising flavors along with their superb personal staff in a very charming space!
Oleana is located in a quiet residential street side in Inman square with an outdoor porch space many have raved about though my first experience was inside. At first I expected an overly lavish pristine space based on all the reviews and consistency in most high end restaurants in Boston which I personally do not like as much, but Oleana’s was my exact cup of tea. Very casual, a humble friendly staff, and a tiled warming environment in a comfy space as if walking into a village side restaurant bustling full of conversations during a sunset somewhere far away from all the chaos most of us are use to.
The staff initiated the Oleana experience, servicing a few tables while greeting customers with smiles and stories while never seeming to be rushed allowing me to pester them with curious questions about their ingredients and unique flavor combinations (I’ll blame my questions on the cheerful bottle of wine). The menu changes often and the wine list is as diverse as their dishes. Plates were fantastic while the attention to details in sauces, blends, and accents on the sides delighted me the most. I’d usually keep finds like this a secret, but the experience was wonderful and one surely to share with others. I’ll post a pictures of the dishes I tried after the jump. If your in the area, seeking a sensational meal and experience, I say go to Oleana!
More Oleana dish pics at BostonChefs.com
Airtight Interactive bring to us Tilt Viewer, a new way to browse Flickr photos in a 3D space (instructions here). Also check out their other product SimpleViewer which I use for my photos (has not been updated lately).
I’m all for cool interfaces, but sometimes fun interfaces overwhelm the users experience being too complex and taking too much time hence not getting the user adoption needed. The thing I really like about Airtight Interactive is that they put just enough freshness into their products without over doing. Keep it rocking!
I swear, this ideas been sitting in my sketchbook for the last 6 years, but again, someone beats me to the market (my design is still a bit slicker I think). Anyhoots, yeah, check out these Silhouette Wine glasses with a voided space allowing ya to drink wine without the need to tilt your head all the way back. The voided space also lets ya dig your sniffling nose right down to the wine as well as creates a keyed position for the wine head to sit on when poured. I’m not sure if I’d cough up the $54 price tag for each glass, but it’s cool to see this idea in the market.
via Gizmodo
Source: GreatWineGlass.com (with semi cheesy sales video, but cool manufacturing video)
I’ve been traveling like a mad man in the last 6 weeks but last weeks PopTech Conference concluded my adventure leaving me numb with ideas and way to much to post about. I’ll roll out my PopTech recap soon, but here are some oddball inspirational links for the week.
– 10 Most Bizzare Scientific Papers.
– Flock review (a new browser)
– Sony’s Bravia: Pyramid commercial (ribbons)
– A floating Dutchman
– a cute scary Halloween costume
– The Fall and Rise of Bathing Ape.
– 250k iphones unlocked out of 1.4 million sold…uhmm… Apple, customers are saying something.
– Neat Environmental Paper Dispenser
Woa, bang, boom, yikes, aha! That about sums up my experience at Gadgetoff 2007. What a mind torching adventure with a surplus of surprises, ear wrenching explosions, curious minds, and a safari into a wonderful world of gadgets we all love to geek about! Everything from flame throwing bbq’s, rocket bikes, robotics on wheels, and hybrid cars roamed every corner while gaming devices, weird toys, numbing food items, interactive screens, musical instruments, and hot air balloons filled up the rest of this landscape of greatness with people from all ages and disciplines.
Gadgetoff’s spontaneous flow of events kept you on your feet, jumping from boats, to buildings, into a rustic railroad house, and a cool science museum while somehow getting us all to sit calmly in an auditorium for several intellectually stimulating lectures. We were a geek fest storming the town in fashion with electronics in every pocket, Segways leading the crowd, and individuals rifling with excitement on anything cool and usually out of the ordinary.
I’ll post a few pictures on my adventure after the jump with notes, otherwise, hit up Gadgetoff.com, their blog, or a bunch of their YouTube Videos thanks to Michael (co-founder)
“Two weeks ago, TED.com hit a milestone: posting our 150th TEDTalk. To help you keep track of all the TEDTalks you’ve watched and want to watch, here’s a simple, low-tech tool: a list of all the TEDTalks posted to TED.com so far, in the order they were posted.”
Nice, a master list! via TED
Other inspirational conference video sources:
– GEL videos
– POP!TECH PopCasts
– GadgetOff
– All Things DigitalÂ
I’m off to the mind-numbing idea-gathering Pop!Tech Conference focusing on “The Human Impact” this week in beautiful Camden Maine October 17-20. If your not one of the lucky ones to attend, be sure to tune into their interactive LIVE STREAMS . Yes, I said Live and free! Otherwise, if you want some catching up to do, go through their Pop!Casts videos from previous years, go through their blog, or check out my post from lasts years fun trip
As usual, I’ll be back with goodies to post about.
It’s been a busy few weeks on my side… apologizes for the lack in postings, but keep sending me goodies. Besides my trips to NC, NYC, MI, RI, and ME this week, it should be back to normal by months end. Enjoy these links.
– Insane Base Jumping video: Jumping closer is better.
– Are you Left or Right Brained: A quick visual test. I saw both.
– Cool convertible jacket to bag: seems ninja like. I want!
– Aptera Hybrid Car on pre-order: Jetsons like Hybrid car.
– Table Frisbee: The new underground home sport.
– A Giant Pink Bunny Doll
– iPod Cassette Tape hack: Making your ipod retro cool!
– Blobbing: catapult your friends off a blob of air.
– USB 3, finally!
– A “Simpson’s” Scene to Reference guide.