UC Berkeley Students Imagine a New Life for Old Bay Bridge Span

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: , , , , — admin @ 6:00 am February 26, 2010

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San Francisco’s Bay Bridge is undergoing some serious construction that will leave an ugly casualty behind: the old eastern half of the bridge span. Last year, Rael San Fratello Architects proposed that the obsolete span be converted into the Bay Line, a High Line Park for San Francisco. Not to be outdone, a class of graduate students at UC Berkeley’s College of Environmental Design have come up with other design fantasies for the aging eyesore.

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Skip To Make Some Light

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: , , , — admin @ 3:55 pm February 25, 2010

With all the energy you expend while jumping rope, imagine using some to power a handy torchlight fitted within the skipping rope handles. Torchlight in any form is a good idea, but the cool quotient in this Jump Light comes from the fact that you wont need any batteries to power the bulb. It simply runs by converting the kinetic energy from your jumps to electric energy. Now if that isnt motivational enough for you to skip just a bit more!

Designers: Hyun Joo Lee & Eu Tteum Lee

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These Speakers are Here to Spread Your Voice

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: , , , , — admin @ 7:24 am February 21, 2010

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Bored of your old computer speaker and thinking of buying some thing cool and unique which will suit your tastes then these Speakers will serve your purpose both the way. Its obvious that with a witty and stylish design, this is the perfect towards which modern and geeky generation to be attracted.

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A normal speaker is a device which converts the electrical impulses and generates the required sound but this MP3 speakers shaped to speak of you, to spread your thoughts when someone is speaking in a public area or singing during some occasions and keeping these two in mind, Designer Sherwood Forlee has really created an exquisite and unique, one of a kind design which says everything in itself.

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I really salute Sherwood for designing this as it encourages us by showing that its not necessary to always listen to people but even stand and speak up for ourselves against something wrong and injustice.

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I am in love with the shape concept of this speaker and if even you are impressed with this creation then it’s available with a price of$120. A set includes a pair of left and right speaker along with a power adapter. Its dimensions are H 4″ X W 6″ X L 2″ per speaker so won’t take up much space and you can connect it to your pc, laptop etc. So go ahead and speak up for your self or even you can hear your MP3 songs. But as the quantities are limited, you are requested to book the device immediately via mail.

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You may like to see some cool new gadgets then see The Candy Bar Video Projector Gadget or Bliptronic 5000 LED Synthesizer .

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This is a post from Walyou, who bring you the best New Gadgets gadgets, Cool Gadgets and Hi Tech News.
These Speakers are Here to Spread Your Voice

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The Scandinavian “Sofa Bed” by Harri Koskinen

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: , , , , — admin @ 11:45 am January 22, 2010

Nice and simple is the sleek and modern “Sofa Bed” from designer Harri Koskinen. The easy operation takes you from sofa to bed with a flip of the backrest which can then be removed to create a backless sofa. This Scandinavian influenced sofa bed can also sleep someone on the floor when the back is used as an additional mattress. Visit Harrikoskinen.com for a look at his other modern furniture designs.

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Post from The Scandinavian “Sofa Bed” by Harri Koskinen

The Candy Bar Video Projector Gadget

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: , , , , — admin @ 3:45 pm January 21, 2010

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If you are part of the gadget geek community around the world then you would definitely be carrying a cell phone, a laptop and an iPod or any other music player. While these fulfill our daily needs of work and entertainment, it is always nice to have something that brings you more freedom…which is what this iPod video projector is about…more freedom…to project and view any video, anytime anywhere.

If you are wondering how can a video projector be carried around with so much ease, then you should realize the size of the candy bar in your bag pack that is always carried around…this iPod video projector is just about that size and comes with amazing compatibility. Now you do not necessarily have to be satisfied with watching a movie on the go on your laptop, instead you can project a 60″ image from any video source using this video projector. Based on digital light processing technology this projector provides great resolution, and with that comes the price of $299.99.

If you are interested in other iPod video addons, then you should also take a look at the iPod Video Enlarger.

This is a post from Walyou, who bring you the best New Gadgets gadgets, Cool Gadgets and Hi Tech News.
The Candy Bar Video Projector Gadget

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12 Dynamic Bathroom & Bedroom Design & Decor Ideas

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: , , , , — admin @ 5:17 am January 20, 2010

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We spend at least one-third of our lives in our bedrooms and bathrooms, yet the design of these essential domestic spaces is nearly always an afterthought. But smart, sleek design can transform an otherwise bland room into a relaxing space that packs in as many features as possible without visual clutter. Instant lofts, bedroom tree houses and bathrooms that unfold like origami to reveal their components are just a few of the 12 beautiful bathroom and bedroom design and décor ideas that follow.

Hanging Bedroom in a Box

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Those living in small spaces have to be creative about dividing up the space, but putting up screens only gets you so far. This ingenious solution is an entire loft bedroom that securely hangs from the ceiling, providing a sleeping space that makes use of high ceilings. Positioned as it is within this particular room, the loft still leaves enough room for adults to stand up beneath it, but is low enough to easily walk into from the elevated portion of the space. The back surface of the loft could even be used as a movie screen.

High-Tech Futuristic Bathroom Design

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At first glance, this bathroom appears to be incredibly simplea ceiling-mounted showerhead and a slatted wooden floor in a large, empty room. But theres much more to this elegant, minimalist space than meets the eye. The floor opens up to reveal what lies literally just beneath the surfacea set of benches on either side of a luxurious tub.

Awesome Bedroom Treehouse for Kids

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What kid doesnt love a treehouse, especially one you can sleep in? This loft bedroom design for kids not only expands the usable space in the room, making use of an upper corner that would normally be empty, but its incredibly fun, too.

Modular Portable Bathroom for Small Spaces

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While porta-johns arent exactly coveted additions to modern homes, this modular portable bathroom by Fernando Silva has many of the bells and whistles small-space dwellers want. It fits a commode, shower, scale, fan and sink with mirror into one simple portable package in customizable designs.

Simple Loft Bedroom Design Idea

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Homes with open floor plans are bright and versatile, but what about privacy when it comes time to turn out the lights? This lofted mini-bedroom idea sections off a little bit of space, putting a bed on an elevated platform and leaving plenty of storage space underneath it.

Transforming Modular Bathroom Design

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Saving Time: Ten Trippy Time Capsules

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: , , , , — admin @ 9:13 am January 19, 2010

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Time capsules… messages from today to the world of tomorrow! Everything from perishable beer & cigarettes to an entire car have been sealed in vaults for 25, 50, 100 years or much longer. Time capsules may not be time travel but they’re the nearest thing to it we’ve got. Here are 10 of the trippiest.

Sacramento Cemetery Time Capsule

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This somewhat gloomy time capsule can be found in the Old City Cemetery of Sacramento, California. In an oddly humorous touch, the city’s Old City Cemetery Commission (O.C.C.C.) had the 1988 marker engraved “Here Lies History”. What kind of history? We’ll have to wait another 78 years to find out.

1939 New York World’s Fair Time Capsule

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At the bottom of a shaft sunk 50 feet beneath Flushing Meadows Park, smack dab between the Hall of Electrical Power and The Hall of Electrical Living of the Westinghouse Pavilion, is a 90-inch long, sealed time capsule. The capsule weighed 800 pounds and featured an outer casing made from Cupaloy, an alloy consisting of 99.4% copper, 0.5% chromium and 0.1% silver. Designed to last 5,000 years, the capsule was interred on September 23, 1938 with the expectation that it will not be opened again until the year 6939.

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An exact replica of the 1938 Westinghouse Time Capsule was made and is kept at the Heinz History Center. As seen in the image above, the capsule contained a variety of everyday items including coins & currency, kitchen cutlery, a baseball and a kewpie doll. Here’s an optimistic color video from 1938 in which a family of “visitors” to the 1939 New York World’s Fair describe the time capsule:

11939 Westinghouse 5,000-years Time Capsule, via UnknownWW2InColor

1964 New York World’s Fair Time Capsule

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Greenwashing So Absurd, It’s Almost Funny

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: , , , , — admin @ 10:43 am December 17, 2009

[ See more under News & Politics or in the History & Trivia category ]

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When companies like Exxon-Mobil and McDonalds think green, theyre thinking of cash, not the earth. And after all, what matters to unscrupulous marketers isnt so much the reality of their brand or product, but how the public perceives itwhich often results in greenwashing so absurd, its almost funny. These 15 examples of extreme greenwashing range from woefully ignorant to downright malicious.

McDonalds Literally Greenwashes its Logo

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(image via: GreenBiz.com)

McDonalds wants everyone to know theyre going greenish. The fast food monster is swapping the red in their logo for green in an effort to convince Europeans that they care about the environment. To be fair, the company has made some important strideslike using environmentally-friendly refrigeration and converting used oil to biodieselbut this is still fast food relying on distinctly un-green factory farms for their supplies, to say the least.

As GreenBiz.com put it, This strategy is essentially the textbook definition of greenwashing: Promoting green in the abstract, literally re-painting your signage with the color green, while simultaneously making sparse, vague claims about environmental action.

Eco Smart Hummer

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(image via: Fail Blog)

Recipe for a whale of a fail: Take one Hummer, the most environmentally unfriendly personal vehicle known to man. Plaster it with images of glistening green leaves and phrases like EcoSmart, which just happens to be the name of your company. Watch your company lose credibility instantaneously, and become an internet laughingstock among the very people you were hoping would become your customers.

Even if this particular behemoth were somehow greener than your typical Hummer, that wouldnt mean muchbut would still be more forgivable than using one of these vehicles to advertise an eco-smart company.

Even Our Store Bags are Disposable!

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(image via: The Good Human)

When this New Mexico pet shop decided to go green, they apparently didnt bother finding out what that actually meanshence, their proud declaration that even our store bags are disposable! Though the people responsible for the ad probably didnt mean to deceive anyone, ignorance can be just as badits seriously confusing for consumers who are already not too clear on what makes a product green.

Cover the Earth with Toxic Paint

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(image via: Inhabitat)

Want some tips on how to greenwash? Ask Sherwin-Williams. Theyve built an entire marketing campaign around a supposedly green line of paint which, according to Inhabitat, isnt actually all that greenall while plastering billboards with their head-scratching logo that seems to advocate covering the entire world in toxic Sherwin-Williams paint.

Fox News + Going Green = ?

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(image via: Ecorazzi.com)

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The Tote Mumbai by Serie Architects

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: , , , , — admin @ 4:43 am December 8, 2009

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UK architects Chris Lee and Kapil Gupta of Serie Architects have designed ‘The Tote’, a banquet hall, restaurant and bar. Their brief was to incorporate a series of disused buildings from the city’s colonial past set within the Mumbai race course and convert them to form a series of restaurant and bars.
The interesting aspect of the site, however, lied not in the colonial buildings but in the open spaces covered by mature rain trees. These spaces are shaded throughout the year by the thinly wide spread leaves of the rain trees, allowing almost the entire proposed program to occur outdoors.
The interior of the lounge bar on the upper level is an intricate arrangement of 3-dimensional, faceted wooden panelling, acoustically treated with sound proofing material. The pattern of the panelling is a series of trees with intersecting branches.

The Tote,Mumbai, India, by Serie Architects
via: designboom

Have your year-end party with this home bar

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: , , , , — admin @ 6:45 pm December 1, 2009

Ubernerkle converts a Hemnes 8 drawer dresser and two Leksvik bookshelf cabinets into a home bar. See how it’s done in the vid.

Related hack:
Cheers! It’s a Kegerator.
A home bar from kitchen furniture.

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