The Home Crowd

What a great little animation!

watch the american housing market spiral out of control.

subprime from beeple on Vimeo.

Brazilian mechanic Alfredo Moser has come up with an ingenious system of daylighting to keep down power bills.  And the shopping list is quite short.

• 2-liter plastic bottle (empty)
• Water (h2o, nice and clean)
• Film roll canister, to cover the bottle’s cap (might be hard to track down, who uses a film camera anymore?)

(Screengrab from the youtube clip, as their clips tend to disappear randomly)

Clever!  This of course, is only useful during the daytime, but I’m certain that puts a nice dent in the ol’ power bill.  It may not seem practical for most of us with attics.  But let’s keep in mind the old sheds you need a flashlight to visit at two in the afternoon, or that open-framed garage when the only natural light comes from your whirlybird roof vent (that spinning thing that squeaks and looks like a christmas ornament).  Of course, the water bottle technique would only be appropriate should you be really in need of light, AND money’s really tight.

They state that the bottles don’t cause the roof to leak, and I’m not certain about their waterproofing method.  But I do know this…. plastic melts.  Give it one simmering hot July afternoon, and I think the water bottle melts like that time you left your favorite CD on the dash of your car.  Maybe a thicker plastic container, say, from a juice container may hold up better.  But if you’re serious about natural daylighting, it’s best to do it right.

My suggestion?  Track down a natural daylighting system such as Solatube.

(Yeah, it’s pretty much what you’re thinking, the light comes in from above, and is routed downward via an ultra-reflective ductwork)

Not only will you cut down on that power bill, but you’ll enjoy bright, natural daylight in the darkest corners of your home, which would have otherwise been dark or unnaturally lit.  Also, installed correctly with it’s corresponding hardware (flashing, waterproofing),  and you don’t have any worries about leaks.  And feel good about saving energy, saving money, and on and on should this type of technology gets picked up in commercial buildings….bet that’d brighten up the ol’ supermarket.

Best of all – You’re home will appear to be co-piloted by R2-D2 himself!!!

Check out Solatube’s site and presentation here – Solatube

DIY, No Electricity lighting from 2 liter bottles from Lifehacker

Shelves that can be disassembled, and reassembled as….. your coffin?  Not sure I’m liking where this is going, but definitely for those who despise their next-of-kin enough to frustrate their mourning with a fun IKEA-ish coffin assembly (unsure if multi-tool allen wrench is included).  Yeah, I know it’s some artsy exposition or something, but geez.

Their synopsis:

Shelves for Life was a self-initiated project by the designer to further explore ideas of built-in sentimentality within our possessions. The aim is to make stronger emotional relationships with our belongings and encourage life-long use.
The shelves are CNC cut in oak veneered plywood to the customer’s measurements. They are intended to be used throughout life as storage for personal belongings. On death, the shelves are dismantled and rebuilt as a coffin. Shelves for Life was launched at the British Library during the Travelling Apothecary Show and simultaneously at Liberties as part of Design UK, during London Design Week, September 2006. The project was subsequently featured in the international press.
The project is currently in production.

Oh yeah, one other thing learned from the construction photo, if you’re gonna die, die thin…

Shelves for life – Link

Spotted at Jalopnik,

How sweet is this?  A stock car, go-kart race track right in your front yard!

Looks like they live out in the middle of nowhere, which is exactly the location of “making your own fun”

But…why?

• When pouring the driveway, purchased far too much concrete..
• Knew your riding mower was fast, but without lap times, who’d believe ya?
• Proving ground that your guests actually are too intoxicated to drive after late night parties.

Or, perhaps, just a big fan of racing.  Just goes to show that if you have a big enough property, and the determination, you too can have your own race track.  However, if you plan on racing heavy machinery, you may want to bank the corners somewhat, or suffer the consequences.

More pics at Jalopnik – Link

Credit Crisis, Housing Bubble (and bust), Economic downturn, potential “mild” depression.  All terms floated around during this very certain recession.  Unfortunately, it’s harder to understand the financial storm that brought us here, than the “ideas” spouting from the talking heads of how the economy will dig itself out of this hole.

Graphic Artist Jonathan Jarvis has created this animation explaining the run up to our current disaster, and it’s definitely worth a few minutes of viewing as the turn-by-turn animation is somehow easier to grasp than plain diagrams (shown previously here) or article snippets from the news outlets.

(Not pictured: animation of how we get out of this mess)

also, see more about this project here at it’s website, Crisisofcredit.com

Bassett Furniture begins a very lengthy giveaway promotion today.  Lasting from September 4th, 2008 to December 18th, 2008, they’ll be giving away one custom sofa each day in honor of their 106th anniversary. 

Kinda fun, it’s kinda like the “build you car” portion of any carmaker’s website.  Except here you may actually have the option of getting your sofa in “hunter’s orange” whereas Hummer can’t understand why outdoorsmen may actually find this useful.

Bassett Furniture is a leader in home furnishings, providing design solutions with custom designed furniture, stylish accessories and complimentary in-home design service. The company’s custom upholstery capabilities gives customers an unmatched variety of design options including 750+ fabrics, arms, backs, pillows and bases.  With a user-friendly website and a well-trained staff, custom designing Bassett upholstery is simple, enjoyable, a great value, and best of all, delivered within a remarkable 30 days.

The interactive custom upholstery tool online at BassettFurniture.com, allows the winner to get creative and build their dream sofa from scratch.  Choosing from small to extra large, the first choice is the scale of the sofa.  Custom design your selection with extensive choices, including 10 options for arms, five choices for the back and six choices for the leg.  Customers also choose from more than 750 fabrics, along with design features such as constrasting welting, pillow fringe, monogramming and wood leg finishes.

The custom design can be created both online and in-store, allowing you to see every step and design detail as you build your custom sofa.  Change the fabrics as many times as you like, change the arm shape or change the accent pillows to create your perfect look to fit your lifestyle.  Then, submit your design online for your chance to win.

Also, the room planner is a fun tool.  It’s flash based and let’s you lay out a room fairly quickly…

Bassett Room Planner

But tinker with it, and good luck to you… Hope ya win a nice new sofa!

Link to Bassett Furniture