Dwelling

Ever Felt Like Giving Up Blogging? — Unfortunately blogging is not always fun. Things go wrong, people attack you for no good reason, and there are hackers and comment spammers to deal with too. But if we want to get the fun and rewards out of blogging, sometimes we need to ride over a few speed bumps along the way. Dealing with these issues is part of blogging. Sticking at it is the number one factor that splits the “ex-blogger” from the successful blogger. When things go wrong,  or when people get nasty, it is easy to pack it all in and move on to do something... [Tags: attackers, blogger, community discussions, creativity, dips]

Vanguard Homes Builds First WaterSense® Labeled Dwelling In USA: 20% More Water Efficient — The US Environmental Protection Agency has an aqueous analog to the well established ENERGY STAR® program. The 2-year old WaterSense® is a partnership program sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and is the symbol for water-efficient products, services and practices. Vanguard Homes of North Carolina USA is apparently the first partner-member to construct a new home that broadly meets WaterSense® criteria. WaterSense labeled new homes by Vanguard will be designed to be at least 20 percent more water efficient than homes current...... [Tags: analog, dwelling, efficient products, energy star program, environmental protection agency]

From Bauhaus To Outhouse: A View For Two Improves The Design — at Wikipedia), there is still a proper place in the countryside for a well-designed outhouse. For a small cabin or prefab in the woods, especially with a dwelling occupied a few weeks each year by only a handful of people, it's a cheap solution to a human problem as old as civilization. The outhouse shown here is made entirely of recycled materials - nails included - except for the roofing. Way cheaper than a composting toilet. At night, a 12 Volt DC bulb provides inside lighting. And...... [Tags: bauhaus, cheap solution, civilization, composting toilet, countryside]

Announcing SketchUp 7 — It's my pleasure to announce the launch of Google SketchUp 7. If you've been putting off getting familiar with Google Earth's 3D modeling "other half", now's the time to do something about it. After all, nothing makes a nicer holiday gift for your spouse than a 3D model of your dwelling or dream dwelling. Well, almost nothing.So what's new in SketchUp 7? Lots of stuff, but here are some of the highlights I think you'll find most interesting (take a look at the SketchUp website for a complete rundown).Some of the improvements we made to SketchUp 7 are especially useful for beginners. For example:Edges now... [Tags: 3d model, collaboration, crops, dwelling, facade]

SF Market Is In a Van Down By the River: Rent prices got you down? Maybe... — Rent prices got you down? Maybe you should try living in your car -- like the 2-3,000 people in the city who already do. Hot spots for vehicular dwelling: Ocean Beach, Dogpatch, Bayview and Golden Gate Park vicinity. According to homeless advocates, “You’re talking about people who were renters in buildings that were foreclosed upon.” Happy Thursday! [SF Examiner]... [Tags: bayview, dogpatch, dwelling, golden gate, golden gate park]

Bird Forces Hawaii To Transfer To Digital TV in Jan. — The nation is scheduled to convert to digital TV on Feb. 17. But most of Hawaii will make the switch a month early because of a volcano-dwelling bird. Federal wildlife officials recommended hastening the transition in Hawaii. That's so the Hawaiian petrel's nesting season on the slopes of Maui's Haleakala volcano won't be disrupted by the destruction of the old analog transmission towers nearby.» E-Mail This     » Add to Del.icio.us... [Tags: analog transmission, digital tv, dwelling, e mail, federal wildlife officials]

BBtv: Hunting for the Kappa Monster in Tokyo, part 2 — Today on Boing Boing tv we continue a series of transmissions from Tokyo by our monster-hunting comrade Sean Bonner, who vanished mysteriously while seeking a legendary shrine devoted to the Kappa, a water-dwelling, ninja-turtle-like, child-sized creature who is fond of cucumbers and human colon meat, which it may access by grabbing up your butt. In yesterday's installment, Sean hooked up with Matt Alt and Hiroko Yoda, authors of the previosly-boinged book Yokai Attack: The Japanese Monster Survival Guide, and the quest began. But the team vanished mysteriously, and we haven't been able to reach Sean for a week. Today,... [Tags: boing tv, bonner, butt, comrade, cucumber]

The "Walking House" is a modular dwelling system that can move itself around through a motorized system of feet. The moving structure gathers electricity from its surroundings through onboard solar cells and wind turbines. Water for the house comes through collecting rain, and is heated through the solar power system. Read more about this interesting project at the link below. Walking House Read more | Permalink | Comments | Read more articles in Green | Digg this!... [Tags: dwelling, electricity, rain, solar cells, solar power system]

Gadget Lab Hackintosh: Now With Added Sound Output — Editor's note: This is the latest installment in Gadget Lab's continuing netbook hacking contest, which pits Mac-loving, cafe-dwelling, penny-pinching nerds Charlie Sorrel and Brian Chen against each other to see who can come up with the geekiest netbook mods. Brian Chen can bite me! Thanks to the tireless work of greater hackers than either of us, I now have the headphone jack working on the original, and still best, Gadget Lab Hackintosh. The workaround is a little clunky, but it means that I can now hook up my Medion Akoya Mini to a stereo, or use headphones. This is... [Tags: chud, computer hardware, developer tools, developers, dwelling]

Leaders Make Tough Times Work for Them — Good news. You still have your job. But don't exhale yet. And especially don't exhale if you're a manager. Recent research presents two reasons to hold your breath. One: your employees don't trust you. Randstad USA reported that a majority of those surveyed believed their bosses put the bottom line ahead of people and, worse, such bosses were not capable of running their companies. Two: financial troubles have shredded employee loyalty. The biggest reason is job cuts; survivors don't feel engaged and motivated. Fewer than half of "high income workers" surveyed by the Center for Work-Life Policy feel loyal. These... [Tags: attitudes, bottom line, conversations, creativity, dwelling]

Genetic Explanation For Moles' Poor Eyesight — Due to their underground habitats, moles' eyes have been modified by natural selection in ways very different from those of surface-dwelling animals. New research offers a detailed anatomical and genetic examination of the changes that result from living life in the dark.... [Tags: animals, dwelling, genetic explanation, natural selection, poor eyesight]

Russian Suspended 'Boob' Ceiling — Apparently suspended ceilings are popular in Russia because upstairs neighbors have a penchant for getting drunk and leaving the bathtub running all night. In Russia suspended ceiling is not only a stylish element of the flat interior, it can simply save your dwelling from flood made by the careless neighbors living above. Like in this case the practice shows that it is able to gather and hold all the water. Now the question is how to pour it off safely. But just imagine you wake up one morning and your ceilings look like this! If I woke up one... [Tags: bathtub, ceilings, cleavage, dwelling, element]

Eco Homes: An ecofriendly ‘Walking House’ for nomads! — Eco Factor: Moving house powered with solar and wind energy. Walking House is a unique dwelling system that enables the resident to remain on the move all day and night. Since the house is designed to keep moving, it cannot be connected to any grid for power needs. But that does not mean that you cannot charge your phone or your iPod in there, because this amazingly weird house makes use of solar and wind energy for all power needs. The designers also claim that a small greenhouse can also be added to the living module, to provide food... [Tags: composting toilet, designers, dwelling, ecofriendly, greenhouse]

Walking House: The Gypsy caravan of the future — Sure, when the oil shortage becomes oil-no-more, it would be nice to drive around in search of fuel like Mad Max, but what would be even better is to have your own movable home to wander the wasteland in. Something on legs that can roam anywhere. Something like this. But faster. It’s made to be a “modular dwelling system that enables persons to live a peaceful nomadic life, moving slowly through the landscape or cityscape”. It’s even environmentally friendly according to its designers, thanks to its use of solar energy, small windmills and a wood stove. So it looks... [Tags: beast, contraption, designers, dwelling, gypsies]

Hyperhabitats Turn Your Home Into a Digital Ecosystem [Smart Homes] — It may not be S.A.R.A.H., but Vincente Guallart hopes his smart homes will change the world. The objects in his model Hyperhabitats glow when they are in use, while an embedded microprocessor communicates that use to the rest of the building's network. The ultimate goal is to give the physical world a structure similar to the digital one. The Hyperhabitat is on display as part of Venice Biennale Architecture Exhibition currently going on at the Arsenale. The full-scale model of a youth dwelling contains mock objects made of methacrylates and each embedded with a microprocessor. Guallart worked with MIT's Center... [Tags: ambient intelligence, arsenale, atoms, digital identity, dwelling]

Walking House Is Lunar Module, TIE Fighter, and Cockroach Crossbreed [Robohomes] — Although it's as big as some of the apartments I'm looking now in Manhattan, the Walking House is not really a house, but a "modular dwelling system that enables persons to live a peaceful nomadic life, moving slowly through the landscape or cityscape". "Slowly" meaning "glacial-speed," and "peaceful nomadic life" meaning "trying to desperately escape the subprime crisis". And according to its designers, it has minimal impact in the environment thanks to its use of solar energy, small windmills and a wood stove. While it seems very alien in the video, it looks kind of cozy on the pictures inside.... [Tags: 18th century, carriages, cockroach, danish designers, darth vader]

Space Age Bar fit for George Jetson — If you’re looking for a bar in your home, but want something with a space age flair, this is right up your alley. It simultaneously ups your geek cred and makes your home look more like a 24th century dwelling. It will also give the aliens a place to mingle after you’ve been abducted and safely put back in your bed. It’s the work of architect Zaha Hadid, who designed this masterpiece. I don’t think it has a single straight line on it’s metallic surface. It was designed for a showcase involving Lacoste footwear for some reason. I wouldn’t be... [Tags: abducted, aliens, architect, bornrich, cred]

Ancient Hula Hoop Housing in China — Jerome melan at flickr Environmental Graffiti calls them hula hoops; Wikipedia calls them Fujian Tulou. They were built as far back as the twelfth century from rammed earth that is up to six feet thick. It is the original gated community with one entrance, a design based on the Chinese dwelling tradition of "closed outside, open inside" concept: an enclosure wall with living quarters around the peripheral and a common courtyard at the center. ...... [Tags: china, courtyard, dwelling, earth, enclosure wall]

Managing Your Own Fears — Fear is endemic in an organization facing hard times. But managers should not show fears they feel to their team. It sends the wrong signal and can cause employees to lose faith. Stoic, perhaps, but it is the reality of leading in an organization. Fear persists, however, so how can leaders deal with it is important. First and foremost, the leader needs to remain in control of himself and his team. Until told otherwise the manager must adopt the command position by knowing and acting on expectations for self and the team. Moving forward here are things a leader can... [Tags: business failure, clarity, colleague, command position, consequences]

Discovery -The Daily Flash (10/09) — GeoEye: Google's Super Satellite Snaps 1st Photo Google Earth turning into Google UnderwaterOxbridge lectures set for iTunes "The iPod is dying, and the iPhone's rubbish" Humankind at its peak Giant crystal found in Swiss AlpsDeep biosphere research points to new methods for recovering petroleumhttp://www.physorg.com/news142675948.html The world's deepest-dwelling fish five miles under the ocean's surfacehttp://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1071849/Caught-camera-The-worlds-deepest-dwelling-fish-miles-oceans-surface.html Thirteen per cent of the world's land surface is now a protected areahttp://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?xml=/earth/2008/10/07/eaprotected107.xml Using living cells as nanotechnology factorieshttp://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-10/asu-ulc100808.php... [Tags: cells, dailymail, dwelling, eurekalert, factories]