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Our good friend Larry Little is now featured on littleradio.com 10am to 12pm every Tuesday. Larry is an anomaly, he has made a career out of discovering new music and bringing it to the masses. Whether it's through his Future Sounds monthly compilation or discovering and managing bands that go on to National Stardom (the Killers). If you get a chance give it a listen!
http://littleradio.com
http://futuresounds.blogspot.com
For the last few years corn-based ethanol has been touted as the fuel of the future, our cure for oil dependency. Due to this we have seen increase demand globally which is already leading to negative side effects, escalating corn prices and diminished food supplies around the world. Not to mention the increases in pesticides, land used far farming, and most disturbing carbon emissions from coal based ethanol refineries. In the last few weeks the mainstream media has finally started to touch on this issue and is starting to create awareness.
What many people don't realize is that you can create biofuel from almost any sugar crop including maize, sorghum, potatoes, wheat, sugar-cane, even cornstalks, fruit and vegetable waste. The biofuel industry needs to diversify what Ethanol is made from, stop relying so heavily on corn. Politicians are doing the opposite, since the Iowa caucuses which were riddled with candidates changing their positions on corn based Ethanol including a perfectly timed about face from Hilary Clinton, we now have 200 corn based refineries slated to be built.
Obviously corn alone won't be able to sustain biofuel production in this country for much longer, there are may other crop options but the best candidate seems to be Bamboo. I always knew there were many environmental benefits to Bamboo but knew very little about the vast potential of this amazing plant. Not only can it be utilized for biofuel it also can be used for almost anything trees are used for, it has stronger tension than steel, stronger compression than concrete. The majority of the world uses Bamboo for construction and it has withstood earthquakes up to magnitude 9.0. There are many other uses to many to list but clothing, textiles, food, furniture are among them. There is a growing awarness of the benifits of Bamboo in this country and I'm sure as Corn and Gasoline become more expensive you will hopefully start to see vehicles that run on Bamboo-based biofuel.
Here are just a few of the benefits from growing Bamboo:
- It's the fastest growing plant on earth, some species can grow a foot a day!
- It's a carbon neutral crop which means it releases same amount of carbon when burned as it cleans out of the atmosphere while alive.
- Bamboo can grow in arid regions and is resilient to drought.
- There is no need for fertilizer, pesticides, or herbicides.
- Because the roots stay behind in the soil during harvest, Bamboo prevents soil erosion and help retain nutrients, it actually improved the quality of the soil with each planting.
- Bamboo adds 35% more oxygen to the atmosphere than hardwood trees.
- It’s not corn!
Other related links:
From today 4-29-08: Food scientists say stop biofuels to fight world hunger
I was killing time browsing through SkyMall on a flight the other day and I saw this... Does anyone think this is as funny as I do?
“If you love brownies that have crunch, caramelized, toasty edges, this pan is for you!”
(It even comes with a mini spatula!)
Arabesque
Graphic Design from the Arab World and Persia
This month Arabesque hit the market. Highlighting a part of the world were design is not often talked about in our western culture. The amazing calligraphy and illustration used in design from posters, brand identity and typography. Groundbreaking design work from artists from Egypt, Iran, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Lebanon. I am saving the silver for this one! Oh and be sure to go here, arabesque-graphics.com. Its a short interview with two talented young designers that helped pull this project together.
Courtesy of Robert the intern
Haus F at Kronberg, Germany was created by Meixner Schlüter Wendt Architekten a German architecture firm. The inspiration came from a Stealth Bomber of all things. Not only does it resemble a Stealth from the side but it also disappears into the hill when viewed from the front.
As a process for creative inspiration this at first seems a little lowbrow, more like the process for designing a custom chopper or taking design queues from a football to design a phone. Regardless I think this is a very interesting outcome, the house is unique and has interesting features that wouldn't exist without this process. For example, there's a motorized awning that adjusts for shade that is derived from a Stealth wing flap.
If I were the new occupant I would be tempted to create some irony by getting a Race car bed, a Hot dog phone, and a Space shuttle chopper.
I’ve done some research and have found some interesting facts.
- More than 100 million trees’ worth of bulk mail arrive in American mail boxes each year!
- 15% of all landfill in this country is junk mail.
- 250,000 homes could be heated with one day's supply of junk mail
- A response rate of less than 0.25% is considered acceptable for the 500 million U.S. credit card solicitations that are mailed monthly.
Here are a few different ways you can go about stopping the flood of junk mail from coming to your house.
The Bay Area Recycling Outreach Coalition has created a free stop junk mail kit that contains the 5 steps to stop unwanted junk mail. You can download a pdf of their mailer. They also have pre-written letters available on their site that you can use to send to the marketing companies.
GreenDimes. For a fee of $20, this company says they will the work of reducing your junk mail for you, and will monitor your address to keep it off. They also say they plant 5 trees when you sign up (sometimes it says 10 so I am not sure how many they really plant).
There is also 41pounds.org and stopthejunkmail.com that have the same service for a small fee.
This site takes your name off firm offer lists including credit card and insurance companies. Optoutpreescreen.com
A colleague sent us this information. She was very successful. She said to follow the instructions at these 2 sites first:
https://www.dmachoice.org/consumerassistance.php
http://www.privacyrights.org/Letters/jm1.htm
Then follow the rest of these instructions
Stop the Onslaught of Junk Mail petition
I’ve started writing my letters. We’ll see what happens.
Ever leaned on a pole waiting for a bus, wishing there was a place to set your magazine – or elbow? Check out the Paraseat by Stephen Haulenbeek - another great example of a simple concept complimented by modern design. A simple cantilever that makes use of structural elements already in place. Thus creating an instant seat, desk or elbow rest.
