” Each home packs flat and can be assembled by four people with a screwdriver and awl (both tools are shipped with the structure). Buyers can add multiple features on to the original 10×12 foot structure, including a kitchen, bathroom, window-walls, and closets.  The lightweight steel framework and corrugated walls can be easily disassembled and transported. ” …. More @  Dwell.com

“It’s not just Silicon Valley. The user-generated revolution is in full swing worldwide. Business 2.0 Magazine picks the best non-U.S. sites to watch….. <More>

“The rate of growth for a country’s gross domestic product, according to World Bank data, is represented by its pushpin color on the map. Countries with blue pushpins experienced the fastest GDP growth. A company can make money in a bad economy, of course, but generally companies stand a better chance to prosper in growing economies. (Taiwan’s GDP figure for 2005 comes from its government, not the World Bank”… <More&gt

“The Air Car should be surprisingly practical. The $12,700 CityCAT, one of a handful of planned Air Car models, can hit 68 mph and has a range of 125 miles,adequate for cities. It will take only a few minutes for the CityCAT to refuel at gas stations (or anywhere else) equipped with custom air compressor units. It should cost around $2 to fill the car’s carbon-fiber tanks with 340 liters of air at 4350 psi.

The Air Car, developed by ex-Formula One engineer Guy Nègre for Luxembourg-based MDI, uses compressed air, as opposed to the gas-and-oxygen explosions of internal-combustion models, to push its engine’s pistons”…. <More>

“A recently published patent application discovered by MacRumors reveals that Apple is investigating the use of solar power in versions of their mobile devices — both handheld devices and portable computers…..Apple’s not the only one exploring this technology as an old (2001) Motorola patent describes the same technique”….. <More> 

“By all standards of the modern world—economic development, literacy, scientific achievement—Muslim civilization, once a mighty enterprise, has fallen low. Many in the Middle East blame a variety of outside forces. But underlying much of the Muslim world’s travail may be a simple lack of freedom BY BERNARD LEWIS”…. <More>

Offbeat homes features the Joshua Tree House by Hangar Prefab; a site that is both petit and cool site with more designs them out at Hangar Prefab Lifestyel and the <Offbeat Homes Site>:

“The Maison evolutiV consumes only 48 kWh/square meter per year. Solar thermal on the roof provides hot water and the wool wood insulation helps to keep the house temperature regulated. Rainwater harvesting provides water for toilets and landscaping”…. Via ConceptTrends

We’ve already mentioned Jenesys’s Ecube prefab in a previous post, well now they have 2 new prefabs called Wings and the SR Series and both are simply cool:

“Features of the SR Series Our shed-roof, SR series combines modernist styling with state-of-the-art prefab construction techniques to provide a distinct aesthetic and superior performance. The SR Series is offered in three standard”…. <More>

“The 2000X is a serious transportation device with a top speed of 15mph*, giving it the power and endurance necessary to get around in any urban environment. What’s even more incredible, is that the 2000X can be easily folded up, and weighing only 19.5lbs (8.8kg), it is light enough to be carried on the subway, train, bus, or into work.
The XPORT SLX is one of the finest quality scooters available. With the full suspension, it provides a great ride even on bumpy terrain. Although not a speedster at 14 mph, its range is better than most scooters with 24V/10Ah battery packs - around 8 miles. It will climb many of San Francisco’s hills with a 160 lb rider”

The Forsen scooter is street legal and complies with European EEC and USA DOT guidelines (headlight, brake light, and turn signals)…. <More>

“The primary feature of this early Levittown house was its low, low cost– under $8,000 to purchase. With FHA-VA housing loans available, this meant home ownership with no down payment, or a tiny one, and a relatively low monthly mortgage “nut.”

Levitt was able to offer these houses so cheaply because he was applying construction methods perfected in the deployment of prefab housing in the armed services during World War II. Bill Levitt had served as a Seabee during the war, and he learned the techniques of rapid construction using standardized parts, tightly controlled suppliers of goods and services, and a workforce with highly specialized skills. Like the Army’s builders, like the Seabees, Levitt took the mass-production assembly line and converted it so that workers moved from site to site doing their specific targeted tasks. Life, Newsweek, Time, and many other magazines delighted in the story of the painter whose sole job was to paint the window sills of each house; but the example was an apt one, for by moving crews of workers sequentially from house to house, Levitt avoided the necessity of craft workers, unions, and the rest. In addition, his program could tolerate high labor turnover, a dreaded feature of the new prosperity after the end of the war. If one worker left, another could be quickly hired and trained as a replacement”…. <More> NYTimes Slideshow

“Universal “Display Corporation announced the successful development and delivery of  a novel OLED display prototype to the U.S. Army. The prototype demonstrates the world’s first  flexible OLED display that incorporates both visible green emission for daytime operation and  infrared (IR) emission for use in dark environments.  Developed through a two-phase Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program with the  U.S. Army, this initial prototype was designed to demonstrate capabilities that would enable  soldiers in the field to view one display in two modes. Using Universal Display’s highefficiency  PHOLED technology, the OLED display prototype provides green-color emission for  daytime operation, and can be switched to operate in an IR-emission mode, that can only be  detected through specialized night-vision goggles, for covert operations. By integrating this onto  a flexible substrate, the Company has achieved a design suitable for portable, rugged and  conformable use both day and night in the field”….. <NewsArticle>  + <Product Website> 

announced the successful development and delivery of  a novel OLED display prototype to the U.S. Army. The prototype demonstrates the world’s first  flexible OLED display that incorporates both visible green emission for daytime operation and  infrared (IR) emission for use in dark environments.  Developed through a two-phase Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program with the  U.S. Army, this initial prototype was designed to demonstrate capabilities that would enable  soldiers in the field to view one display in two modes. Using Universal Display’s highefficiency  PHOLED technology, the OLED display prototype provides green-color emission for  daytime operation, and can be switched to operate in an IR-emission mode, that can only be  detected through specialized night-vision goggles, for covert operations. By integrating this onto  a flexible substrate, the Company has achieved a design suitable for portable, rugged and  conformable use both day and night in the field”….. <NewsArticle>  + <Product Website>

“Modcell™ was developed to enable straw bale insulation concepts to be easily incorporated by builders on a much grander scale. At Modcell™ we are very committed to sustainable design. What is especially interesting about this design concept is that each panel is assembled as near possible to the building site.

“We find a local farmer who has suitable straw bales, rent a nearby barn where we assemble the panels. The frames are flat packed and put together in the barn; they are then filled with straw bales and a lime render applied. This method of production means that the panels are using locally sourced materials and saves on expensive and environmentally damaging transport costs and the need for a central depot. It also provides a much needed income source for farmers”….. Via University of West England

“Unlike  Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and soon Ultra WideBand and Wireless USB, Sony’s TransferJet technology isn’t proposed as a disruptive transmission force: it uses electric induction to transmit data rather than the radiation field antennas used by 802.11 Wi-Fi kit.

This means that TransferJet won’t interfere with or be degraded by any surrounding radio signals “…. <More Via Tech Radar>

“The Hawking Hi-Gain Wireless-300N USB Dish Adapter extends your wireless network 6 times and boosts your data throughput 12 times! It is capable of transfering data up to 300Mbps. The Wireless-300N USB Dish Adapter is designed with advanced Directional Dish Technology for excellent range and performance.  A built-in dual antenna concentrates wireless signals for extended wireless range of up to 600%*, compared to a standard network adapter. <More>

Save on your energy bill with this Video from  Michelle Kaufmann Designs

“The SOLo LoungeTable by iF can harness over 17 kilowatts of solar energy every year in a typical outdoor setting. This amount of power provides the equivalent of 6,300 mobile phone charges, 8,400 digital camera charges, or 168 laptop computer charges annually — all without draining traditional, overextended sources of energy”….. <More>

“Available in sizes from 133 to 256 m2, Heidi’s has an arc roof that rises from the ground to the north to soar over the building that terminates in
a huge glazed south-facing wall, protected by slatted larchwood
sun shades. The standard 220 m2 version has an energy consumption
of c. 50 KWh per square metre per annum”….<More>

“Both videos reflect Man’s inhumanity to man. Wilders’ film does a poor job differentiating Islamist ideology from Islam the religion. If a mosque was built in my neighborhood or a Muslim family moved in next door my first inclination wouldn’t be to assume they’re terrorist sympathizers seeking to make me live under Sharia.

Al-Saeed isn’t off the hook either. You can’t compare soldiers wacking some Iraqi kids around to launching planes into skyscrapers or beheading hostages”…. <Via AMerican Mind>

“Those 3,000-square-foot palaces of glass and steel may look great in magazines, but they lose some luster when the $800 heating bill arrives. Enter the new breed of mini modulars: modern kit buildings that won’t break the bank”…. Via Ready Made

The Death Of Socrates

“The trial and execution of of Socrates in Athens in 399 B.C.E. puzzles historians.  Why, in a society enjoying more freedom and democracy than any the world had ever seen, would a seventy-year-old philosopher be put to death for what he was teaching?  The puzzle is all the greater because Socrates had taught–without molestation–all of his adult life.  What could Socrates have said or done than prompted a jury of 500 Athenians to send him to his death just a few years before he would have died naturally?”…. <More>

Via You Tube “we want to call attention to the fact that the Secretary of State called for torture when she was National Security Adviser. Rice led White House meetings on torture that were so detailed, according to ABC News, “the interrogation sessions were almost choreographed.”

http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2008/02/palazzo_chupi_goes_on_the_mark.html

“Today the remaining two units of Julian Schnabel’s pink West Village Palace, having been rejected by Bono, then by Madonna, went on the market. The views (river and harbor, from various terraces), amenities (pool, parking, access to the Schnabe), and schnabulous details (cast-bronze door handles, stone fireplaces, cast-stone railings, beamed ceilings, terra-cotta tile floors) put the price at $27 million (for the duplex) and $32 million (for the triplex)”…. <More>

Tied to every tree was a 42-teethed pure American pit bull terrier, trying its hardest to break its chain and eat its neighbour

Set at the 1956 General Motors Motorama, this is one of the key Populuxe films of the 1950s, showing futuristic dream cars and Frigidaire’s “Kitchen of the Future.”

“The Aladdin Company of Bay City, Michigan was one of America’s most long lived manufacturers of mail-order, “kit homes.” Begun in 1906 by two brothers, Otto and William Sovereign, the family-owned firm continued to manufacture houses until 1981. Over the firm’s long history it sold over 75,000 homes to both individual and corporate customers”…. See <Alddin Town>,  <A House from  a Kit> , Bay County Historical Society  and <Aladdin>

“Looking at the video of this quadruped robot takes one right back to the StarWars films - only this isn’t fancy computer graphics animation but the real thing.  A big dog-like pack ‘animal’ that can handle  difficult terrains”…. <Article>

“The PowerCube 600 is going to be hard to top. In what appears to be a ginormous (and inexplicably uncomfortable) recliner, the creators have managed to shove enough solar panels in this foldable, “portable” generator to crank out 600-watts of power.

You’ll also find 3,500-watts of continuous inverter output, 2,400 amp hours of battery storage and a rugged / watertight case. Even when closed up, this beast measures 72- x 124- x 50-inches, and while it technically is a mobile solution, 2,000-pounds isn’t exactly what you want to lug around each time you feel like hosting a LAN party in Zzyzx, California”….. <Via Engadget>

“>watch?v=80HWunSt7rs]