Saturday, March 26, 2011

Tree sweaters?

I miss Austin, and all the craziness that goes on there. But I am still happy I chose to go to school somewhere else, so at least there's that. The other day I got a text message from our aunt with a picture of a tree with a sweater one. Why trees need to wear sweaters in Austin I don't know, considering that it is basically already summer there, but I didn't realize the number of trees covered in sweaters until I saw this re-nest.com article. According to this there were 99 trees covered in knitted, colorful, tree sweaters. Take a look at some of the pictures it's gorgeous and I'm sad I wasn't able to see it in person. I also think the photographer needs a bit of a shout out, those are really well executed photos for so many trees.
Crazy stuff happens in Chicago as well, but every time I see pictures of Austin I think, Texas is the only state that really has those colors. This may be true for other states, the fact that they have certain hues of color, but to me, Austin just screams the colors that it calls out. Look how blue the sky is, and how yellowy-green the grass is, and all of the colors. Maybe I'm just missing actual color because Illinois is covered in browns and grays right now, and winter won't end for a while.

When those trees are done with their sweaters please send them my way!

And as always, click on the image for the article in re-nest.com.

R

Thursday, March 24, 2011

What's with the huge purse?

I recently saw an article (not a good article necessarily) about why women carry such huge purses, the things they keep in them and why they think they need them as well as an interview with a therapist who suggests that it is a motherly instinct to have everything everyone else might need.  I don't think that's why people carry such large bags, I think it is probably just because it is in style and that there is so much stuff in them because it is easier to just add more than to clean out your purse.  But aside from that, I didn't think much of the article after quickly skimming it during a particularly slow day at the lab.

Today I came across another article that made me realize how serious of a problem this huge purse thing is.  A woman walked by a man in a restaurant and her purse got stuck on his face (it's hard to visualize, but just assume it happened).  She then proceeded to drag him 14 feet before noticing!! 14 feet! If someone added 160 lbs to my shoulder I would not be able to make it 14 feet let alone not notice the addition.  How big was this woman's purse?  And how oblivious is she?  These questions are not answered in the article, it is a medical journal article discussing the injuries the man sustained during the event, but they are the questions I would be asking if I was a local reporter on this case. And, what injuries did the woman sustain during the event?  After lugging 160+lbs around on your shoulder I would think you would have seriously pulled a muscle!

S

I love maps!

Especially interesting ones with a lot of information. Click the image to follow through to an interactive map of the US showing college degrees by county. The interesting part, I think, is the spatial difference of races as well. You can see where there are large numbers of hispanics and blacks based on the percentage changes, and it is also interesting to see which counties have high concentrations of college graduates in general. Take a look for yourself and see what kind of education is around the country.

In a related note, here is an article about Khan Academy possibly closing the education gap in America. Khan Academy is a YouTube based collection of videos teaching any number of basic subjects (and into advanced in some cases).  Bill Gates even supports the idea. It was started by a guy asked to tutor his nephews, but when their schedules didn't match he compiled videos to help them, and uploaded them to the web, from there the idea took off and he has since uploaded hundreds of different lessons. I haven't tried to learn anything from there, but I hear it's a good place to start if you're trying to learn something new!

A side note, I took the picture with Windows "snipping tool" it's a partial print screen feature, pretty neat!

R

Water purification is as easy as making ice cream now adays!

And actually easier, if you click on the image you can see a treehugger.com article about solar powered hamster balls purifying water in only a few hours. Through the process of evaporation and condensation, the hamster ball-like contraptions can clean up to 3 liters of water a day.

3 liters isn't much, but if you're not getting any clean water, it can save someone's life (I wonder if it tastes terrible though, ew)!

R

Just a little bit of laughs

epic fail photos - Red Panda Snowy Rail FAIL gif A poor red panda in the snow.  I think my cat would do the exact same thing.

R

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Facebook stalker?

I know I am! Well, at least a little bit of a Facebook stalker, I  just am investigating people's personalities, I don't want to invest my time in someone who isn't interesting... oh wait, I think everyone is interesting.

falsefleshHowever, this is a little bit of a comedy about Facebook. Please do NOT download this if you are my friend on Facebook, because it's creepy. A new website offers to give you ... estimated nudies of your friends based on their clothed pictures. Awkward, but a little bit hilarious as well. They say Facebook is opening new doors for people and I guess this could be one. False Flesh, it is called, and while I am not about to test it out, it is interesting. Clicking the picture will bring you to a funny article that explains this a little more. Ah, technology can bring you so many things!

On a side note, U of Chicago has its own website like Facebook that allows students to "meet up for a hook up".  Weird if you ask me, but I guess it is using the idea of exclusivity that Facebook got its fame for, and for a, hopefully, safe hook up. I wouldn't recommend using a website like this, but I admire them for their efforts. (No, the link does not take you to the website, but a Chicago Tribune article about it... I wouldn't do that to you, though I did look at it and it wasn't an offensive looking website).

R

Spray them with a water bottle, or!?

I read this blog, and others, a little too much, but this is actually relevant to my life, and I think it is a good point. If cats hate the noise of foil so much, use it!  (for some reason MY cat could figure out the tape on the counter thing, and ignores you when you spray him with water.. this might work).

So put some foil where you don't want your cat to sit and voila! success... maybe? I'll let you know when I get around to trying this (Sydney?).

The picture is actually my cat, but clicking on it will bring you to the re-nest.com article!

R

Monday, March 21, 2011

Pretty things can come from some ugly things.

I-5, SeattleI've been ragging on cars a bit today, so for my last post of the evening (I've actually been saving stuff all weekend, but I'll save some of them for tomorrow so you people don't get bombarded [Jenny!] with too many posts).

Without cars, MANY of these beautiful pictures would not be possible, so I'm going to share them with you, just because I love transportation infrastructure and since most of these are transportation related I'll share it with you. Look at this gorgeous photo series from all over the world and appreciate what we have done as humans, even if some of it is extremely destructive to the natural landscape.

And of course, click on the image for the Pictorymag.com full story!

R

Bus lanes

I recently did research about Bus Rapid Transit possibilities in Chicago. I came to the personal conclusion, that unless the government is willing to stick its neck out (and by government I mean governor, mayor, not the overall government, I would HOPE the American people wouldn't start a revolution over a bus lane) and risk losing a re-election to implement an effective bus lane. The city is planning a "tester" lane in southern Chicago. The lane will be about a mile long, and will have a carpool/bus dedicated lane.

First: If cars can drive in it, it is not BRT, and will not work like one.
Second: a mile long, really? I can walk that, and probably faster than the bus can drive on it.
Third: they are thinking of making this lane parking for 18 hours of the day further reducing the efficiency.

We need to work on something more like Bogota, Colombia for a BRT system. I'm not saying that a semi-dedicated lane is a bad thing, it will probably help efficiency of the system down there, but it will not be a solution to the congestion problem, nor will the test be an overall success if it is put under so many constraints.

Read this TransportPolitic article for a little more information (and secretly I have an intellectual crush on the person who writes these things, 90% of the time I find them interesting).

R

Gas costs what?!

While I am thankful I don't drive, partially because gas prices are rising like crazy and I am barely struggling to feed myself (luxurious feeding of course, tonight I dined on Pate Chinois just like Grandmama makes, almost) but also because I don't want to deal with parking and a car in general. Either way, in class I hear about cars and gas prices all the time. Yes, gas prices are rising in the US, and you know what? It's a good thing, I think it should go up more. People drive all over the place, for no good reason, and when there are so many better ways to get around. And now since we will get more space on the bus (see S's post below) maybe the bus won't seem as bad any more.

click image for TreeHugger article
But really, gas tax in the US has been at 9¢ a gallon for years. This is not a percentage tax, it is a straight tax and therefore has not gone up as the price of oil has gone up. However, vehicle efficiency has increased, and driving has increased, and damage to the roads has increased as they age, and we NEED more money in the Highway Trust Fund (HTF) to support our road system. If it were up to me, we would walk everywhere and the gas tax would actually be pointless because we wouldn't be using gas for road use, but we would have to find another way to maintain our infrastructure. Since I know that walking everywhere is not realistic (although I definitely saw a lady in her 80s walking home with her two bags of groceries the other day and hope that will be me when I reach that age) I think we need to rework our taxation of driving system. We should implement a Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) tax, but I know that won't happen any time soon, and then part of the point of buying a Prius or electric car will be out, until we figure out how to get a VMT tax, the gas tax needs to go up.

This idea is not only about getting more money into the HTF but also to decrease the desirability of driving, check out this treehugger.com article about the gas prices and the link in there from GOOD Magazine about the price of gas in other countries. If gas prices go up, people still find a way to survive, look at Europe, it's not like the UK's economy is dead because gas is over $8 a gallon, they just found a more efficient way to get around, and it is time we catch up!

R

Have you noticed the bus getting more cramped?

It may not be that public transportation is being used more regularly by more people.  Apparently Americans are getting too fat.  The federal government is changing its policy on the number of people allowed on a public bus by adjusting the average weight from 150lbs to 175lbs.  New calculations are also being made adding more floor space to the average area each person is using.  These numbers are less than some other agencies already use, but this increase will affect the commuters' quality of life!  I don't need an extra quarter of a square foot, but I will gladly take it if that means the sweaty guy next to me is a tiny bit farther away.  I wonder if the seats are going to be redone to fit the larger sizes as well.  This also means we will be waiting longer for the bus because it cannot hold as many people. 
Click the image to read the story.

On a lighter note, I think I will be borrowing some of this guy's dance moves, maybe if everyone did we could bring the average back down!


S

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Tea Time!

Since moving to Chicago I have started drinking a lot of tea. It could be that the water here tastes a little funny, but I will contribute it more to the fact that my roommate drinks tea all the time, so I started using her leftover hot water and drinking tea all the time too! Because of that I bought myself a little glass tea pot, and have started thinking about buying nice teas, there is definitely a difference in taste as you go up in quality. But tea balls are not cute, and the strings are a pain when you use tea bags, so I saw this and I'm definitely going to make one when I get a chance to get a rubber ducky!

Happy tea time!

2011_03_15-TeaBall.jpg


As usual, click the image for a description from (one of my favorite blogs) thekitchn.com

R

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Portion control at its finest?

I am all for people learning what is a portion and eating in moderation, but are we all really lacking so much will power that we need to have our food tell us what the correct amount is? This spaghetti box separates out the spaghetti into portions so you have to open a new section to get a second portion out, in theory limiting what you eat to 1 portion. I like to think that I can control my portions, and there are many other tools that can tell you what one portion of spaghetti is. But does the world need this? Are we all eating so much that we don't seem to know how to stop ourselves unless the packaging tells us to? Should everything we eat come in 100 calorie packs that we pay twice as much for just so that we don't over eat? That's what I use baggies for and reload them every day, but GOOD does make a point that maybe the world would waste less food if we were forced to see our portions all the time.
Click image for GOOD Magazine story

R

Work out for a smile :)

I think this idea is interesting: a solar powered shirt that rewards you for moving around by smiling at you; of course, it frowns at you if you don't move around too. I haven't seen a picture of one in the dark, but I would imagine it would work better in the dark than in the light because it is an LED based smile.  That makes me wonder how much the solar powered part will really work. However, it is an interesting idea, and could be a fun/nerdy shirt to own if I ever wanted to put the time into the DIY to make it. Click on the image for a treehugger.com article about it.Done!


R

Monday, March 14, 2011

I'm baking like a toasted cheeser, it's so hot here!

My family is a little crazy when it comes to quoting movies, not to the point where we aren't able to separate a serious conversation from a game of "guess what movie this is from" but.. we're almost that bad. This comic from thedoghousediaries.com reminded me of our winter days, standing around the wood burning stove coming up with lines.. though usually it's "I dunno, give me another line from the movie," but we've gotten good at guessing over the years, and we definitely have our traditional ones.


All Taken
Click to see full size

-R

Warning: a little graphic

This video is very interesting.  It discusses the idea of labiaplasty and describes why people would desire to have this done to them.  The filmmaker takes the stand against labiaplasty (and I tend to agree with her).  She talks to many people about the surgeries and vulvas in general.  It is a British production, so they have many funny names for their vulvas, but that does not take away from the seriousness of the video too much (although now I think about fanny packs differently).

I cannot imagine putting myself through so much pain to change anything, and especially not my "fanny". 

 Definitely do not watch this at work, there are some pretty graphic parts of the filming that could be pretty uncomfortable if anyone walked by, and don't let your kids watch this without you watching it first (I don't think anyone has any kids young enough to not make their own decisions about this, but just in case).




The perfect vagina from heather leach on Vimeo.

The video is in 4 parts and to separate the parts they put a few minutes of black screen between them, so when you are watching and then it suddenly goes black don't worry it's not over.

S

Remodel?

Some of you have already seen this site, but I still like it.  This girl from Australia decided to remodel a double decker bus as a new home.  It looks like a lot of work, but also a lot of fun.  She is planning to leave hers in one place, but a mobile double decker RV could be fun, I wonder if Strawberry would let us drive it up there.  I doubt we could make it.  Aside form the interesting remodel idea, I also secretly like this site because there is almost always someone wearing a shirt that says "Sydney" on it.  I don't know how she has time to do all of this and blog!



Click the image to see her blog.
I have been helping one of my friends remodel (mostly just with the tiling).  We did the shower and now we are working on the kitchen, but this has been over several months.  It is fun to remodel though, maybe I should buy a little house in Austin and remodel while I'm here, I'll be here for quite a while.

Oh, and a side note, Happy Pi Day!

S

Friday, March 11, 2011

Trashin' the Camp (or City?)

People produce a lot of trash. Not only have I felt like a lot of people do not realize how much they produce, but many people do not think they have to pay for it. A city in Maine has started "pay-as-you-throw" trash pick-up where you have to pay for every bag you throw out. I don't know if this would lead to more trash in the streets, secret dumping sites, or just less trash. In Sanford, ME, this actually led to 50% less trash being thrown into the landfill, and an increase in recycling by 150%. Recycling may not be the answer to everything, but at least it helps to reduce the waste that is just thrown away, and if people are given a free option to sort through their trash, and a charged option to just chuck it, I guess it works to reduce the landfill. I think this could definitely be a viable option for a lot of places that are having problems increasing their recycling and are searching for ways to deal with their quickly growing landfills. More power to Sanford that they could get this done and that it worked!

Click on the image for the full story and more information!
-R

How do we communicate? - It seems to be text now.


I guess I'm not the only one who prefers texting over talking on the phone, especially when you have to reach a lot of people in a short time. In Japan, after the earthquake and tsunami, people texted loved ones to reassure them of their safety, and updated their facebook status or twitter to reach those farther away. While I would make sure to call a few people if I could, it is nice to know that if the signals get too busy to call, we can text people when we need to get ahold of them. I'm not trying to make light of the situation with the comic, but it is true that texting has slowly merged into everyone's lives, and in a time of sadness and chaos that such devastation that can be seen in Japan right now brings, it is good to enjoy some comedy while realizing the true impact around the world.

It is amazing how far technology has come as well. Before phones a person in a traumatic experience could not reach their family for days, weeks, or even months. The family would probably not find out about the problems until that time either. With just phone lines that could easily be torn town with a tornado or earthquake, families could spend weeks searching. Even recently, with Hurricane Katrina in Louisiana, it was difficult to keep track of who survived, and which houses remained intact. Years later, families might still be separated, not knowing what happened to loved ones on that day. With text messaging so pervasive in the world today, it is nice to know we might be able to reach someone in the middle of a disaster, as long as you keep your hands on your phone.

I hope everyone in Japan is able to reconcile their problems caused by these disasters, and I will keep them in my thoughts as I go through my day, week, and year.

-R

I'll Rock-Paper-Scissors you for it!?

I've seen this image floating around the internet for a few days and I just want to say that I totally agree. While I would never punch someone who decided paper beats rock, it really does not make sense. Where did the idea come from in the first place?

According to many articles online, starting with wikipedia, the game of rock-paper-scissors is derived from a Chinese game from the Ming Dynasty. And according to many question and answer sites, because of it's original origin, the paper beating rock still remains. In the time of the Ming Dynasty, putting a paper request over the rock used to hold it in place while in the que (for the leader to review) was a sign that the request was denied. By hiding the rock, the leader effectively defeated the request.

I think this game needs to be updated, but at least there is a historical reason for paper to beat rock, and until it is changed, punching people might be more fun anyway.

-R

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

AirBnB - A fun way to visit interesting houses

While in Brazil this December I stayed in a few houses that my friends and I picked off of AirBnB, a website designed to rent independently owned apartments as vacation houses. I love the site, and would recommend that people try it out if they are planning a vacation somewhere. However, recently I read an article on apartment therapy with intriguing interiors, all from airbnb. While one stood out for me, I love all of them. I hope that next time I go on a vacation I'll be able to stay in a place as cool as this:

Click image for link to airbnb.com description

Some people need to listen to this a little more

Click image to see product description

R

Planning to move to a new town? Why not design it yourself!

 Apparently Facebook is planning to move out of Palo Alto, but not very far. Menlo Park, their new desired location, will be seeing a revamped image as the social networking offices move in. To win the trust of the residents, or possibly just for a publicity stunt, Facebook plans to revamp the neighborhood and focus on the community feeling in the area. While they won't be making a whole new city like Disney tried to do (image) they will be revamping the feel of the neighborhood, hoping to make the residents feel comfortable with the new big addition to their home town. As a planner I think this could be a really exciting opportunity. Helping to redesign a neighborhood can be a test of patience and skill, working with residents, Facebook, and other businesses in the area, the planners must make sure no one is miserable with the new design. As a renter, I fear that the changes to the neighborhood will not be beneficial for many of the residents. In the article, Menlo Park is painted as a blue collar workers town, where people who work in lower wage jobs in San Francisco and Palo Alto can afford to live. In reality rents are already unbearably high in Menlo Park, but the influx of Facebook workers will only drive those rents higher, forcing residents who are already struggling to make rent out in search of new apartments.

Facebook isn't moving too far however, and the shift in workers' residences may not change dramatically with such a small move. I still think many workers will opt to live closer and move into Menlo Park, and as the superpower that Facebook has become grows more people will flood in. Hopefully the enhancements that Facebook makes to the community will make up for the shift in residents, and the plans will include increased housing numbers to accommodate the influx of new renters and buyers looking to move into the area.

I have linked an article about the plans to the picture of Epcot so you can learn more about it.

R

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

The Choco Treasure - The American Kinder Surprise

The other day I was shopping for pre-Lent candy and came across something interesting.


These are the American version of the Kinder Surprise Eggs, they have toys inside the "real chocolate" eggs.  I tried one (of course) but they are not quite as good.  First of all, the toys are not as fun (they have stickers and little puzzles, while the Kinder Eggs have fun characters you get to build yourself).  I got stickers in my Choco Treasure, and it was still exciting to open the egg to see what was inside.  The chocolate is not as good either (not too surprising), it is missing the inner layer of white chocolate and it tastes like Hershey's. Unfortunately (for them anyway), I think they only sell eggs to people who want to compare them to the Kinder Egg, so I doubt there will be many repeat buyers.  All in all it was a good experience (although I will probably not be buying another egg), I love the excitement of opening the egg to discover the toy inside, and I am happy we at least have something like the Kinder Eggs I miss (my friend lived in Germany and she used to send them to me, but we have lost touch now)

S

Monday, March 7, 2011

Biking season is coming up again

It has been freezing in Chicago. I haven't been able to do much biking, but with the new idea of charging your phone WHILE  you bike I might want to. In the freezing weather here my phone dies a lot quicker than on a normal day. Luckily it has started warming up and my battery life is more than a day, but I had a few days there when I actually would get home without my phone even on because the battery didn't last!

I won't be biking in the snow, but I think everyone should start biking. I've always wondered about why we aren't using the lost energy from our bikes for something, and this could be the perfect solution. I have also considered convincing someone who is a little more handy with mechanics than I am to make a stationary bike that powers a fan in front of you so you feel like you're actually biking, the faster you go, the more wind is generated (then I wouldn't sweat as much either.. eww).


Click on the picture to read a great article from treehugger about charging and biking. So many awesome things show up on that blog, but not all of them are relevant to my life, this one could be! 
-R

Fresh-Printed Pate - The New French Cuisine.

Our dad talked to me about this the other day so I had to look it up.  They print biomaterials using a 3D printer and then seed cells onto the structures to make functioning organs.  This is interesting to me because I work with biomaterials for regeneration, but possibilities exist for the removal of all animal cruelty in the food industry, well, not in the near future, but you can imagine.  We could print steaks and seed some cells onto them, they can be made to order with different fat content etc.

Aside from that, the idea of smart biomaterials to form scaffolds for regeneration is very important.  This TEDx presentation presents the idea of taking a piece of tissue the size of half of a postage stamp to regenerate an entire organ as if that would be easy.  I would not give up half a postage stamp of my bladder, it would leak all over the place!  I guess if it was already leaking it would be something to consider, but this idea works much better in animal models when the subjects are all genetically identical so the piece of organ from one rat will not be rejected by the rat it is implanted into.  Anyway, Anthony Atala gives an interesting presentation that very nicely sums up the biggest goal for my area of study (except I'm working with neuro-regeneration).


S

Saving Energy

So, obviously this is not my comic, but I love it. We should solve the energy crisis in a much more efficient way.

I have been trying to greenify my life, though not with ramps for everything, but in general. I love to walk everywhere (which, without a car isn't hard to convince myself to do) and turn off lights, and everything of that sort, but lately I have been trying to remember to unplug my computer when I'm not using it, because even the charger plugged in uses energy, and the same goes for my phone charger. I always use a reusable water bottle, and a ceramic mug instead of a paper cup. Maybe I should get some wheelie shoes so I can start rolling down hills and use overall less energy!
-R

Print Your Own Meal

To continue on the food thread.  A double-decker bus cake may be easier to print.  An engineering group from Cornell and a French culinary institute have combined forces to print food in 3D.  We have a 3D printer in our lab, but it works with light polymerization and I would not eat anything out of the printing chamber, the slimy yellow liquid polymer is gross.  The printer they use is different though, it adds layers and they gel or harden on their own (thermally or due to mixing), more like glue or jello.   Maybe we can get them to print something for Christmas!
 (Click the image to view the story)
They are working through an organization trying to make 3D fabrication more accessible, I think this is a good use of their printers. http://www.fabathome.org/  We could have jelly bellies shaped however we want, maybe they would look like their flavor...buttered popcorn shaped jelly bellies anyone?

S

Sunday, March 6, 2011

"That" Cake

I've been dying to make cake lately. Lent is coming up, and what better excuse to make cake than the fact that I won't be able to eat sweets for a month and a half in a few days.

www.tastespotting.com/features/that-chocolate-cake-recipe-scharffen-berger

I'm not going to lie that I was sucked into this recipe by the way it describes the cake. Who doesn't want to make "that" cake? So tonight that's exactly what I did. Unfortunately, I'm a little worried that I ruined the texture because I just didn't trust the recipe enough, and I added a little more flour to make up for the fact that it calls for a cup of water (what?). We will see what my coworkers think of it on Tuesday. It was great to just focus on making a cake for a while though. The frosting will happen tomorrow. Also, Scharffenberger chocolate is something S and I have in common interest, we even toured the factory twice.

On a side note, this is all in preparation for making my birthday cake, which will be very similar to this one:
www.treehugger.com/metro-bus-birthday-cake-photo-001.jpg

Once I get some experience decorating I will be able to make that, hopefully that skill is just genetic.

R

The Heft Hurler - Some people's priorities are just different

We spent every Girl Scout cookie season selling cookies after school.  Rain or shine, wind, sleet, snow, whatever, we were in front of Pak-n-Save or the bank with our table and cookies.  We didn't realize there would be such controversy, all of our customers were possibly in danger!  Watch out, Ms. Wanke, you may need to get stitches after eating your roommates cookies.

We no longer sell cookies, but we buy them every season, if anyone asks us to buy Girl Scout cookies, we stop.  Apparently the Chicago Girl Scouts are not as dedicated as we were though, they have been hiding, or just not selling their cookies.  Come on, a few feet of snow can't stop the Girl Scouts of America, we are tough, we want some cookies!
Read the story here:  http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/2011/02/22/2011-02-22_florida_woman_busted_for_assaulting_roommate_over_girl_scout_cookies.html
Read a follow-up story here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/02/22/girl-scout-cookie-assault_n_826854.html