toponymy

Rubber's Boomtown

2007-11-12T10:52:00.000-05:00

De haven van Manuas, originally uploaded by elinegijs.

Deep in the middle of the Amazon Jungle there is a city named Manuas. Situated near the confluence of the Negro and Amazon rivers Manuas acts as a transportation hub for the interior of South America. Founded to keep Spanish armies from floating into the Portuguese mainland but it later became wealthy because of the rubber trade.

Rubber trees naturally occur throughout the Amazon rain forest. Latex rubber can be extracted from trees in a way that is similar to gathering sap from maple trees. Although colonists and native South Americans knew about latex rubber there were few good uses for the sticky substance until 1844. In that year Charles Goodyear developed the first vulcanization process, this would lead to the now common brand of tires. By 1879 industries began exploring and extracting rubber from the Amazon.

The fundamental fact that explains Brazil’s entry into and domination of natural rubber production during the period 1870 through roughly 1913 is that most of the world’s rubber trees grew naturally in the Amazon region of Brazil. The Brazilian rubber industry developed a high-wage cost structure as the result of labor scarcity and lack of competition in the early years of rubber production. Since there were no credit markets to finance the trips of the workers of other parts of Brazil to the Amazon, workers paid their trips with loans from their future employers. Much like indenture servitude during colonial times in the United States, these loans were paid back to the employers with work once the laborers were established in the Amazon basin. (source)

Manuas was named after the original inhabitants of the area, the Manaós. In their language the word means "mother of God," ("Mãe de Deus" in Portuguese) an idea that would certainly conflict with the Catholic colonists setting up this new town. If the rubber boom had not occurred it is unlikely that any other wealth would have come into the area. Manuas' landmarks such as the Teatro Amazonas could never have been built without rubber money.

The rubber boom died out around the 1920s when industrialists discovered that rubber could be grown and harvested at a lower cost in Malaysia, Sri Lanka, and Africa. At this time synthetic blends of rubber also became prevalent reducing the amount of actual latex rubber needed for many rubber products.

No Toro, Más Dinero

2007-10-24T23:18:00.000-04:00

Plaza de toros de las Arenas (en su máximo esplendor)., originally uploaded by xip.

Sometime next year Barcelona will have its last scheduled bull fight. The city once was home to three bullrings, Plaza de el Torin (demolished), Plaza de las Arenas (closed in 1977), and the Plaza de Toros Monumental

These massive stadiums were designed for the "national spectacle" of bullfighting. However, many Catalans consider bullfighting a tradition that is "too Spanish." The Monumental has announced that it will hold the last scheduled bullfight in the city sometime next year.

Architect Richard Rogers has signed on to a 100 Million Euro project to transform the dilapadated Plaza de las Arenas bullring into a shopping destination. Catalans and tourists alike can now shop for shoes and CDs on the very soil where matadors and bulls danced to the death.

Sri Pada, Adam's Peak

2007-10-22T12:00:00.000-04:00

Shadow, originally uploaded by MaxxG.

No other mountain in the world is revered by as many different religions as Sri Pada. It is known as Al Rohoun to Arabs, Svargarohanam to Tamils, and Adam's Peak to English speakers. Even before Bhuddists arrived at Sri Pada (or any part of Sri Lanka, the island south of the Indian peninsula) the mountain had religious significance. An ancient and mysterious footprint was carved into rock near the mountain's peak. Abrahamic religions interpreted this as Adam's footprint, Bhuddists see it as a mark left by Bhudda himself during one of his many journeys to Sri Lanka.

Thirty miles of tiny islands seperate Sri Lanka from India. While geologists, oceanogaphers, and historians cannot agree on the age of the formation, most agree that it is a man-made structure. Hindus call it Rama's Bridge after the popular epic hero of Hinduism. Westerners typically refer to it as Adam's Bridge in order to tie together the region's religious metaphors. The water is typically shallow between these limestone islands (rarely greater than 30 feet) - this would presumably have aided human movement between India and Sri Lanka.

The Indian government has started a dredging project through the narrow and shallow strait. Although people have opposed the project on religious and environmental grounds their objections fell on deaf ears. It is officially known as the Sethusamudram Shipping Canal Project.

Retracing the footsteps of Alexander

2007-10-20T01:38:00.000-04:00

This BBC documentary attempts to follow in the "Footsteps of Alexander" (the Great, as he is known in the West). You can watch the entire thing on YouTube.

The two "webisodes" above highlight Alexander's truly earth-changing force. The island city of Tyre resisted his authority in 332 BC. Alexander ordered his army to build a causeway from the mainland to the Phonecian city (in modern Lebanon). The earthworks took seven months but had the desired effect. Alexander took over the city and essentially attached it to the shore. The 6/10 mile long road collected silt from sea currents and transformed the island city into a peninsular city.

Another video in this series discusses the Egyptian city of Alexandria far more eloquently than I can. Many cities throughout the Middle East and Central Asia bear his name. This map shows where a few of them are located.

A Tale of Two Monuments

2007-10-19T15:07:00.000-04:00

spire, originally uploaded by Peanut99.

The wedge on the right part of that photo is not an errant needle. It is the Dublin Spire, officially known as the "Monument of Light." At 400 feet tall this stainless steel spike punctures the skyline of a mostly horizontal city.

What is truly spectacular about the Spire is that it stands on the site of Nelson's Pillar. An IRA bomb demolished the top part of the Pillar in 1966 - nobody was hurt or killed by the blast. In fact, many Irish seemed happy that the monument to their British colonial past had suffered such a blow. Several folk-style songs, such as Up Went Nelson, commended the bombers and quickly rose to the top of the Irish radio.

One early morning in the year of 'sixty six,
A band of Irish laddies were knocking up some tricks,
They thought Horatio Nelson had over stayed a mite,
So they helped him on his way with some sticks of gelignite.

While the Spire has its own share of detractors, it is not nearly as unpopular as its predecessor. There is no "visitors center" or other means of interpretation on the site. A coil of metal at street-level is said to signify prehistoric Celtic megaliths. Beyond that the site is entirely void of description. As Witold Rybczynski says, the Spire "gains its power from its engineering, rather than from symbolism."

Rule of the East

2007-10-13T10:51:00.001-04:00

Vladivostok Station., originally uploaded by chimpsonfilm.

The Vladivostok Terminal of the Trans Siberian Railway is an elegant structure. It is eight time zones and several days' journey away from it's opposite terminus.

8-Bit Graffiti

2007-09-07T00:16:00.001-04:00

does this really need a title?, originally uploaded by Bernat_83.

Fixed-width, or monospace, fonts wouldn't exist if not for the invention of the typewriter. While many people claim to have invented the first typewriter it was first manufactured in Central New York. L.C. Smith, Corona, and Morse Chain Company were among the first to build typewriters for the general public.

Manual typewriters used these fixed-width fonts to simplify the key-to-print machinery. These fonts were adopted by early word processing programs and redrawn to for dot-matrix printers.

Nostalgic feelings run deep for these digital relics such as this Graffiti example, ASCII, and other 8-bit art.

Factories of Art

2007-09-05T00:23:00.001-04:00

dafen, originally uploaded by lila75.

The gates to the village of Dafen are marked by this giant sculpture. Dafen has gained international fame and noterity as a hub for art reproductions. Cribbing works like the Mona Lisa requires a great deal of technical skill.

In vast studios Dafen's artists create their reproductions in an assembly line fashion. Each artist adds only a few brush strokes, ones that he or she has perfected. The end result is a stunningly high quality painting that is difficult to differentiate from the original.

Dafen is located outside Shenzhen, a large Chinese city near Hong Kong. Each year more artists flock to the village. Spiegel estimates that over 5 million oil paintings come out of Dafen each year.

Australia's Meeting Place: Canberra

2007-09-04T15:41:00.001-04:00

Nighty Sky in Canberra, originally uploaded by OzBandit.

The largest and best known planned city in Australia is its capital: Canberra. Around 1900 Aussies debated whether to put the capital in Sydney or Melbourne, the two largest cities on the continent. Since it was located between the two cities Canberra was picked as a compromise in 1908. Currently it is the largest inland city in Australia.

The name of Canberra comes from the Ngunnawal and Walgalu tribes who inhabited the area. It translates to "meeting place." The nomadic tribes gathered around present-day Canberra to meet the annual Bogong moth migration.

"As the moths migrate southwards, their world collides with human society. Their route, followed for thousands of generations past, now passes over the bright lights of Canberra and other large cities. The lights fool the moths into behaving as if the sun is coming up. Their natural response is to dive down to the ground to find a dark place before the heat of the day sets in, and suddenly there are moths everywhere."

Bogong moths travel over 900 miles during their short lives. The aboriginal Australians met the moth flock every spring to feast on them. According to anthropologists the moths were mashed into a pasty meal that tasted like walnuts. The giant swarm of moths is critical for the ecosystem of the Australian Alps; they are a food source for many animals.

The design of Canberra was selected from an international competition in 1911. Chicago architect Walter Burley Griffin along with his partner and wife, Marion Mahony Griffin won the contract. Both had worked for Frank Lloyd Wright. The influence of his prairie style and the City Beautiful movement is evident in their designs.

Jeepney

2007-08-29T00:11:00.001-04:00

Jeepney, originally uploaded by Raphael Borja.

At least one resident of Manila is sick of his city's portrayal in popular media. Carlos Celdran, a tour guide in Manila, expressed his anger at outsiders who come to the Philippines in search of only poverty, slums, and desperation. In response to a photographer searching for Manila's "bat people" he wrote,

" I have always been so confused about why is it that the negative side of Manila is what a lot of photographers and journalists are interested in. My request to these people in the past to show a balanced picture of Manila (a good side, as well as a bad one), has always been met with confused stares. It's as if Philippine middle class values, arts, heritage, and beauty in the "normal" sense isn't beautiful to them or worse, it won't sell. To many, the Philippines has become the cliche/easy picking for the grotesque and I will not enjoin this cause. Once again, my apologies if I offended you or seem a little politicized or upset, but poverty and bat people is NOT ALL that we are about." (via MetaFilter)

The photograph above is a "Jeepney." At the end of World War II, the American military abandoned hundreds of jeeps on the main island of the Philippines. Lavishly decorated and often crammed full of passengers these vehicles act like buses on the streets of Manila.

The name "Manila" derives from the Tagalog word "maynilad", a reference the white mangrove-like plants named "nilads". Spanish conquistador Miguel López de Legazpi took over Manila in 1570 ousting the Muslim Sultanate that originally settled it. Since that time the city had been under the control of the British and Americans before gaining independence in 1946.

Korea's Ginseng Market

2007-08-26T11:50:00.001-04:00

/root - IMG_1040, originally uploaded by jeroen020.

The Latin name for the ginseng plant is Panax which means "all-heal." Carl Linnaeus, the man responsible for all those Latin names, had heard about the reported healing attributes of ginseng as the Chinese applied it. Since then the plant has become a staple of the alternative-medicine market. Ginseng boosters claim that the plant is effective against conditions as diverse as diabetes, male impotence, allergies, and cancer.

Because the actual chemical components of the ginseng plant cannot be patented for pharmaceutical purposes not much quantitative research has been preformed on its effects. Nevertheless many people in the East and West believe in the healing effects of ginseng. Some extremely wealthy Koreans are willing to pay many thousands of dollars for rare, wild ginseng plants.

The New York Times just reported that a 8.3 ounce ginseng plant sold for $65,000. The person who discovered the Lexus-of-plants claimed to have a spiritual experience before finding the plant on Mt. Sobaek, seeing "three pillars of fire." The struggling South Korean economy has driven many people into the mountains searching for the elusive root-plants.

The picture above is of Namdaemon market in Seoul, South Korea. Ginseng roots are preserved in jars and left on display for the market's patrons.

Seven (Several) Seas

2007-08-25T12:08:00.000-04:00

One of the categories of Anna Sova's online color pallets (for wall finishes) is called "7/10 of the planet." The description goes on to list the seven seas of classical antiquity:

Red Sea
Mediterranean Sea
Persian Gulf
Black Sea
Adriatic Sea
Caspian Sea
Indian Ocean

Curious about which cartographer coined the term I started to do some research. While I'm not trying to criticize the marketing staff at Anna Sova (who, in my opinion, have done a fantastic job of cataloging their many color options!) they might be a bit off about their listing.

At least four ancient nations described "seven seas," Hindus, Chinese, Persians, and Romans all called various bodies of water by this ambiguous name. The Romans dubbed the seven salty lagoons surrounding Venice such; the Hindus used it for the Punjab River; the Persians did the same for the Oxus River. This begs the question: why always seven?

Seven is held up as a sacred number by people around the world. There are seven days in a week, seven deadly sins, seven wonders of the world, seven "naked eye" solar bodies. Some people even suggest that seven is analogous to several: the use of the number seven might be a way of acknowledging the vast and unpredictable nature of water.

Rudyard Kipling might be responsible for the modern usage of the term. In 1896 he titled a collection of poems The Seven Seas. Nevertheless, modern attempts to mold the oceans of the world to the number seven seem contrived (dividing the Atlantic Pacific into North and South, for instance).

The Polar Bear Memorial

2007-08-24T19:12:00.001-04:00

Уехать за горизонт, originally uploaded by Mothlike.

You won't find it in Arkhangelsk, the location of the "campaign." It's in Troy, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. Allied commanders decided to deploy soldiers to Arkhangelsk after the conclusion of World War I. Their justification for this superbly dumb expedition was to defeat the Bolshevik armies and rejoin with the Czech Legion.

Fifteen hundred infantrymen from Michigan and Wisconsin were sent to fight over some of the coldest and most inhospitable terrain in the Northern Hemisphere. They joined an additional thirty five hundred British and French soldiers along the Murmansk coast; facing the White Sea and the Arctic Ocean. Their mission proved to be futile and directionless. Extreme cold, a shortage of supplies and the Spanish Flu combined with their unclear objectives deteriorated the troops morale.

After several public calls to bring "Detroit's Own" back home Woodrow Wilson (and the other Allied commanders) decided to pull the plug on the "Polar Bear Expedition." By the early summer of 1919 the soldiers began to return. It would take another ten years for the Russians to return the remains of the American dead. The Polar Bear Memorial in Troy has a quote from Stephen Decatur engraved on its base: "Our Country, in her intercourse with foreign nations, may she always be in the right; but our Country, right or wrong."

The Great Lake of Cambodia

2007-08-23T13:40:00.001-04:00

Reflection of living, originally uploaded by siggito.

High in the Chinese Himalayas the Mekong River begins its long journey to the sea. Parts of the river are strongly affected by the tropical climates of Southeast Asia. Melting snow combined with monsoons bring the river and its tributaries far beyond their dry season banks.

In Cambodia this torrential rain reverses the Mekong's flow. The water fills in the Tonlé Sap, or "Great Lake." During the dry season the small, marshy basin is at most around 3 feet deep. At the peak of the wet season the lake grows to six times its surface area and over sixty feet deep.

Less ingenious people might think of this region as uninhabitable. Cambodians, however, have built homes, businesses, churches and whole towns in the Tonlé Sap area. The house pictured above is designed to float with the rising waters. Other buildings are built on tall stilts (some over 30 feet tall).

Furthermore, the Tonlé Sap is a critical part of the region's economy. The lake/river water is ideal for fish breeding. Cambodians harvest shrimp, riel, and many other kinds of seafood from the pulsing lake.

City on Fire

2007-08-19T11:32:00.001-04:00

Urbanity, originally uploaded by Piax.

Last Summer the conflict along the Israel-Lebanon border drew the world's attention. Hezbollah militants provoked Israel into launching a full scale war against its northern neighbor. Unexploded cluster bombs in southern Lebanon remain after the month-long war. These places remain abandoned for fear of unexpected detonations.

Although most of the fighting took place near the border, Lebanon's largest city and capital was also bombed by Israeli forces. The ancient city that modern Beirut is built over was poorly understood until archaeologists returned following Lebanon's 15 year civil war. They uncovered layers of Ottoman, Roman, Phoenician, and Hellenistic civilizations.

How did we get here?

2007-08-15T21:56:00.000-04:00

Which of these is closer to reality? Which is more fun to watch?

Magic Highway USA (Distribution)
Uploaded by donaldtheduckie

I can't give you the answers. You have to decide for yourself. Via Great Lakes Guy and Paleo Future
.

America's Moving Adventure

2007-07-27T11:00:00.000-04:00

Fly Fishing, originally uploaded by champy1013.

I love U-Haul's slogan for its ambiguity. The reference to moving either implies hauling your junk across the country in an automobile or trailer or being emotionally moved by some unnamed force.

I will be on the move next week so posting will be light. Above is a picture of where I'm moving: Ithaca, New York.

Yes, it's very gouda!

2007-07-27T10:52:00.001-04:00

Market Square, Woerden, originally uploaded by groggy doggy.

Of the four cheese markets in the Netherlands only the one in Woerden is authentic. Here, dairy farmers who produce cheese set the sale price with a market foreman (marktmeester) in an open setting. The other three cheese markets (kaasmarkt) are historical reproductions for tourists. They are located in the cities of Alkmaar, Edam, and Gouda.

The Gouda you find at the grocery store did not come from Gouda in the Netherlands unless it says "Noord-Hollandse Gouda." The European Union has strict standards on how place names are used on food labels. Strangely, the city of Gouda is not located in North (Noord) Holland, but South Holland - somebody should alert the PDO/PGI/TSG.

Buried Treasure, c. 1914

2007-07-26T12:08:00.001-04:00

DSC_2153, originally uploaded by ichimusai.

Southern Europe is cited in countless history books as the fuse that ignited World War I. Macedonia (also called F.Y.R.O.M.) was under the control of the Central Powers during the war. The French army fought throughout the area. Joined by British and Serbian forces they attempted to repel Austrian, German and Bulgarian armies.

Fifteen years ago a farmer near Gradesnica (a town in Novaci, Macedonia) happened upon some old glass bottles. According to the Independent,

The cases appear to be dotted all over Gradesnica, like bones buried by dogs. One cache was unearthed by farmers plowing their fields. Two more were found when a glint of metal in the sand of an old trench caught one farmer's eye.

The cases were filled with wines and cognacs from World War I. French connoisseurs are paying enormous sums for these rare and spectacular bottles of cognac (the wine has gone bad, apparently). A bottle was recently sold for 5,000 euros. (via Chow)

Macedonia is negotiating for the use of its name. The dispute between Greek Macedonians and ethnic Macedonians ignites passions but doesn't generally affect the commerce and cooperation between the two nations. Greek Macedonians want to keep the name "Macedonia" for their provinces which go by the same name. They believe that it would be incorrect to allow Slavic Macedonians the exclusive use of the name. The Greeks want their neighbor to be called the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM). The dispute is in negotiation through the United Nations.

The city pictured above is the capital of Macedonia (FYROM), Skopje. Greeks use this name to refer to the entire nation in order to avoid confusion with their Macedonian province. Linguists would say that the Greeks are using a "metonym."

Iran in Pictures

2007-07-24T16:39:00.001-04:00

Yazd, panoràmica (2), originally uploaded by Sebastià Giralt.

The infamous autocratic regime running the Iranian government would like to have a total monopoly on photography. Nevertheless, last month the Iranian Flickr group celebrated their one-year anniversary. In spite of the national internet provider blocking flickr.com, these dedicated Iranians have been posting pictures of their nation for thirteen months now.

The city pictured here is called Yzad. Around a half-million people call this Central-Asian city home. Yzad is named after a Sasanian King who ruled in the beginning of the 5th century. Yazdegerd I, as he was called, was apparently a terrible leader, one account says this of him,

When he consolidated his power, he so greatly belittled the nobility oppressed the weak and shed so much blood that his subjects prayed to God to end his tyranny. He earned the epithet "the Sinner"

In the current asymmetrical, image-centric conflict, Iran's citizens might be gaining an upper-hand. Recently created webpages claiming to show Iran have "gone viral" in attempts to show what Iran really looks like.

Check the previous Toponymy post on The Fire Temple or Agiary to learn more about Zoroastrianism and the religious history of Central-Asia.

Wadi al-Hijarah

2007-07-23T11:57:00.001-04:00

GDL, originally uploaded by fritztroid.

Mexico's "Second City" in terms of population and business activity is Guadalajara. It takes its name from the city in Spain located in Castile-La Mancha. The literal translation of Guadalajara is "River of Stones" from the Arabic phrase: Wadi al-Hijarah.

Spanish Guadalajara was occupied by the Roman empire, however, all physical evidence of their presence has vanished. As the Islamic caliphate spread across the Iberian peninsula it established hundreds of new settlements. An "alcazar" or fortress was built at Guadalajara, and some of its ruins remain. Even though Islamic settlers did not found Mexican Guadalajara, the name is still rooted in Arabic.

This picture shows the Hospicio Cabañas, a hospital for orphans, elderly, handicapped, and chronically ill people. Built in the early 1800s it is a massive and simple building. It is home to several works by Mexican muralist José Clemente Orozco. UNESCO has designated it a cultural World Heritage Landmark.

8th Continent

2007-07-18T12:27:00.001-04:00

morondava, originally uploaded by stephaneu_06.

Peter Tyson coined this nickname for Madagascar in the title of his ecologically-oriented book. The enormous number of species endemic to Madagascar draw biologists from around the world. Many distinct varieties of flowering plants, lemurs and chameleons of any color can be found only here. These species survive on Madagascar because of its isolation from other continents.

The central highlands and plateau divide the narrow island's East and West regions. Tropical forests are found mostly along the East coast while the West remains drier. This topography prevents plants and animals from inhabiting the whole of the island.

Geologists speculate that Madagascar is one of the oldest islands (having been separated from Africa for some 88 million years). That long period of time has allowed the fauna plenty of time to adapt to the special circumstances of their environment. It is also long enough that evidence of prehistoric creatures such as the Elephant Bird.

The Malagasy people have as fascinating story as their non-human neighbors. The island was settled between 1,800 and 1,500 years ago by Austronesian explorers from Indonesian islands. Sturdy boats and fast currents brought the Austronesian people from their home waters to places as far flung as Easter Island. Around the same time settlers from mainland Africa first discovered it.

The trees pictured above are known as Baobabs, and yes, this variety is found only on Madagascar. You can see them in the daylight and at sunset.

The Story of Booger Mountain

2007-07-17T16:39:00.000-04:00

I was going to title this post Unusual and Derogatory American Toponyms, but it just didn't feel right.

A ten minute segment on Weekend America pondered the significance of strange place names. Reporter Kelly McEvers investigated a small Illinois town named Goofy Ridge. According to local accounts it was dangerous, filled with meth-addicts, and really backwards. The "official account" of the origin of Goofy Ridge's name can be traced to a time when men in the area shot walnuts off one-another's shoulders (a la William Tell).

According to the sociologist interviewed here, the factual and truthful reason for Goofy Ridge's name is less important than how listeners respond to hearing an outlandish story. In his framework, toponyms like Goofy Ridge are applied by more powerful groups onto their weaker neighbors.

The second half of the segment is a discussion with Gary Gladstone, a photographer who sought out American towns with bizzare names (such as booger mountain). A gallery of his work is available online, you can go from Idiotville, Oregon to Tightwad, Missouri.

If you would like to listen to the segment you have two options. Download the MP3 [24.9MB] and start at the 31 minute mark. Or go to the Weekend America page and use Real Player.

Getting Around, Asia

2007-07-16T14:31:00.000-04:00

Getting Around, United States

2007-07-16T14:11:00.000-04:00

Previously, the Detroit People Mover.

Port

2007-07-16T12:25:00.001-04:00

Rabelo boats - II, originally uploaded by Vitor Rodrigues.

The city of Oporto, Portugal lies at the mouth of the Douro river. In the green and steeply sloped valleys of this river the grapes for Port wine grow. Port is known as a fortified wine which means additional alcohol has been added to kill yeast and prematurely end the fermentation process.

Port wine owes its name to the Roman Empire. The settlement on the Douro river was called "Portus Cale" by the Roman armies who discovered it. Cale referred to the Celtic people who lived in the area.

The boats in this picture are Rabelos. They are the traditional river boats used to carry barrels of Port down the river to Oporto.

The Spaceport of our Dreams

2007-07-13T12:54:00.001-04:00

Brought to you by Plan59 via Paleo-Future.

There's No Rio in Rio

2007-07-12T13:20:00.001-04:00

rocinha, originally uploaded by Priya Papriiika.

Rio de Janeiro translates to "January River" in English. However, there is no river in Rio, only a large bay. Portugese explorers found the bay on the twentieth of January, 1502 (and added Rio because that was a word used for any large body of water). When the city was founded some 63 years later it was officially named, São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro 20, after Saint Sebastian.

The photographer who took the above picture describes life in the city's favelas. These improvised buildings surround Rio and many other Brazilian cities, housing the poorest city dwellers. She describes the situation,

As for the real dangers of the favela, that would just be crossfire between the military police and the dealers or between two rival dealers. It’s pretty much a daily thing, so it’s not really any major deal for the regular people who live there.

The Brazilian government has recently announced plans to invest $1.7 billion to improve living conditions in the favelas. That money is expected to bring running water, street lighting, hospitals and schools to these neighborhoods.

Rio de Janeiro's statue of Christ the Redeemer made the cut in the recent 7 Wonders poll. Completed in 1931 it's the newest of the "new 7" and one of three located in Central or South America.

Mysteries of Toponymy Solved!

2007-07-11T14:54:00.001-04:00

The Springfield of Bart, Lisa, Homer, and Marge is in Vermont. Throughout the series, writers have offered few clues to the location of Springfield. There are over 50 towns and cities named Springfield in the US.

Springfield Vermont won the video contest put on by USA Today. You can watch all the videos online. The small city received more votes than its total population. As a result of its victory it will host the premier of The Simpsons Movie on the 27th.

3D Spaces: Raster vs. Vector

2007-07-11T10:14:00.000-04:00

It's difficult to verbally express how potent SketchUp is as a modeling tool. I think this video does an excellent job of showing how simply and seamlessly SketchUp can capture a real form in a digital format.

Compare that to Laser Scanning. The costs and intense software needed to interpret the "point cloud" generated by a laser scan make it unrealistic for the general public.

via Digital Urban.

Inukshuk

2007-07-10T11:11:00.001-04:00

Resolute Inukshuk, originally uploaded by davebrosha.

At the Bruce Peninsula National Park visitors center a small sign was posted telling people not to build Inukshuk. Parks Canada defines Inukshuk as "an Inuit stone cairn having the rough outline of a human figure." But the word can be more closely translated to English as, "something which acts for or performs the function of a person."

As far as I can decipher these rocky monuments are visual landmarks for the inhabitants of arctic Canada. The barren landscape and unusual solar activity make land navigation difficult. Inukshuk are markers that help Inuit and other arctic peoples orient themselves.

Part of the reason for this rock person craze is the Vancouver 2010 Olympics. The official logo is an Inunnguaq: "imitation of a person" built out of boulders, it is a more rare type of Inukshuk. Vancouver's Olympic organizers have dubbed their mascot Ilanaaq, the Inuit word for "friend."

Ringstraße des Proletariats

2007-06-29T10:41:00.001-04:00

up_wien_azw_karlmarxhof_01_h25, originally uploaded by urbanpilgrim.

This Viennese residence spans just over 1 kilometer (.68 miles) making it the longest continuous housing structure in the world. Not unlike Chicago's Hancock Tower, the building contains many of the amenities that its denizens need: kindergartens, doctors' offices, and a library. From a different perspective you can see the arches under this massive building that allow traffic to pass through it.

Karl Marx Hof is an example of a Gemeindebauten: municipal building (like public housing in the U.S.). The fortress-like construction of these buildings made them durable and also ideal for use by the military. Karl Marx Hof played an important part in Austria's February Uprising in 1934.

When I was in Vienna I got on a bus near Karl Marx Hof. Once I saw these pictures I immediately remembered having seen these enormous arches.

Sea Gypsies

2007-06-28T11:25:00.000-04:00

The Moken People anticipated the 2004 Tsunami that crushed Sri Lanka and Thailand. I mentioned them in an earlier post, but now (through the magic of YouTube!) we can have a look at this fascinating society.

Atlas Underground

2007-06-27T16:35:00.000-04:00

Time lapse video of the construction of the Atlas experiment at CERN. The underground particle accelerator will be the largest ever constructed, and perhaps the most complex experiment in the history of science.

Estonia Unexpected

2007-06-26T11:46:00.001-04:00

Tallinn, originally uploaded by Tashi Delek.

Helsinki's neighbor across the gulf is on its way to become the celebrity nation of post-communism. When compared to other former Soviet states, Estonia rated at the top of the heap in terms of economic and individual freedom, corruption, and human development. Furthermore, Estonia ranked at the top globally in the composite index State of World Liberty.

While other former Soviet states have devolved into despotism and disorder, Estonia has nurtured the growth of a legitimate, representative government. Most of the nation's trade goes through Nordic states with historic and cultural similarities. Iceland was the first nation to recognize the independent Estonia after the final Soviet forces left.

Soviet withdrawal from the Baltic states was precipitated by the longest human chain ever created. Around 2 million people held hands across Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, it reached over 370 miles. The deteriorating remains of the Soviet military installations in Estonia are easy to find. So called, "ghost bases" that many native Estonians weren't aware of until the departure of the Soviet military are beginning to attract tourists interested in the history of nuclear warfare and communism.

Have a look at Tallinn's old city hall and an inviting street cafe.

The Land God Made in Anger

2007-06-25T13:07:00.001-04:00

Namibie_Skeleton_Coast_02, originally uploaded by calips96.

Namibia's northern coast has been called many names. Portuguese sailors who happened upon the foggy, super arid shore called it the "Gates of Hell." The coastal area is extremely dry since winds come out of the East and not from the ocean. If that weren't enough the heavy surf makes it nearly impossible to launch a dinghy from the beach. Beached survivors faced an unforgiving march through one of the driest places on earth.

Those unlucky sailors soon learned why the native people of Namibia called this "The Land God Made in Anger." Now it is known as the Skeleton Coast after the bones left behind from hundreds of shipwrecks caused by this treacherous sea.

Ecologists study the area for two reasons: it's inhospitality to life, and the enormous seal colony that comes ashore at Cape Cross.

Our Three Dimensional History

2007-06-22T09:58:00.000-04:00

We've all thought at one time or another, "what would it be like to walk around in London in 1616?" Thanks to CANOMA and SketchUp, now you can!

The effect is more pop-up book than true visualization. But imagine what we might learn about ancient civilizations,

military history,

and cities buried under new development.

Via Digital Urban.

Virtual Landmark, II

2007-06-21T16:28:00.000-04:00

An automated email replied to the Royal College of Art's suggesting that Google Maps add a temporary marker for their 150th anniversary exhibition at the Kensington Gardens. After a week and a half of apparent inaction the college took matters into their own hands.

They decided to install their own marker in the appropriate location.

See the original Virtual Landmark.

Incarceration Postcard

2007-06-20T09:51:00.001-04:00

cell_block_no_11_new_prison_1_27_07, originally uploaded by jacksonista.

Before Uncle Jimmy tires to bust out of the clink he might try to get in touch. If he's in the Michigan State Prison at Jackson he can do just that with this handy postcard. (He could even circle his cell in red marker!)

As I understand it, Jacksoners refer to the prison by its address on Cooper Street. Of all of Michigan's prisons, the Jackson facility is located in the most urbanized area (it is also likely the largest concentration of correctional facilities in the state, followed by Ionia).

The political implications of prison location are somewhat interesting. It seems that prisons tend to be placed in rural areas where they artificially boost the population. This website shows examples in Michigan, New York, Ohio, and lots of other states. Furthermore, it looks like the number of prisons (and prisoners) has escalated dramatically in the past 20 or so years. Investigating further into New York I discovered that the state has a maximum security facility solely for women.

*Old News: San Pedro in La Paz, Bolivia; where inmates pay to rent their cells with money they earn in the prison's economy

Ramblin' Man

2007-06-19T12:23:00.000-04:00

Last.fm has made my workday fly by. Splicing together thousands upon thousands of people's musical tastes it quickly picks out songs I (usually) enjoy like some kind of personalized DJ. For instance, here is a selection of songs labeled Ambient, where I discovered the Ramblin' Man.

After I heard Lemon Jelly's Ramblin' Man I rushed to find a freebie download of the song to post here. But, as far as Google knows, there is no free version of the song. The lyrics list out 67 places where the singer has visited. The only Continent that isn't included is Antarctica.

~~You can listen to a few other Lemon Jelly songs online such as, 76 (Stay With You), Nice Weather for Ducks, and Sim Time.~~

*I had toyed with posting this annoying video as an example of Toponyms in popular media, but I couldn't bring myself to watch it for more than 10 seconds.

Late Addition: The songs don't work. So in their place have a look at the rivers and lakes hiding under Antarctica.

We are Tuna

2007-06-18T11:20:00.001-04:00

Tsukiji Fish Market, originally uploaded by x-girl.

And we're all just waiting around at the Tsukiji Fish Market in Tokyo. Around 1972 Japanese fish wholesalers discovered the delectable taste of the Bluefin Tuna when caught in the seas near New England. American fisherman didn't have a market for the giant fish so they were happy to put them on transcontinental flights to Japan.

The Tsukiji Fish Market is the largest market for seafood in the world (by area and tonnage of product). It moves around 4.4 million pounds of seafood daily. There is practically no limit to the diversity of sea creatures that are sold at Tsukiji: eel, lobster, oyster, barnacles, sea pineapples, octopuses, squid, puffer fish, sweet shrimp, and flying fish can all be found at wholesale prices.

Tuna, however, are the main event. Buyers for large distributors and single restaurants all gather at Tsukiji for the daily auction of Tuna. The stakes are high. According to Vanity Fair the buyers can lose control:

The tuna weighed 200 kilos. At ¥100,000 per kilo, the possessed bidder had paid ¥20 million—the equivalent of more than $170,000—for a fish whose parceled meat could never recoup that amount.

The tricky part about this auction is that the buyers cannot truly know the quality of the fish until it has been cut open. Clues about the texture and taste of the fish are derived from the fins.

The official name of the Tsukiji Fish Market is the Tokyo Metropolitan Central Wholesale Market. It is owned and operated by the municipal government through a law dating back to 1923. Officials in Tokyo are debating the practicalities of moving the public market to a new, larger site. Vendors and buyers seem to be adamantly opposed to the proposal since the former Tokyo Gas site has severe ground pollution.

One would imagine that a place as crowded with live and recently decesed sea creatures would posses a certian smell (putrid or gut-turning, for instance). However, according to at least two visitors it doesn't stink.

Via Vanity Fair, If You Knew Sushi, and CHOW, Sushi Scribes.

The Bridge on the River Kwai

2007-06-16T13:41:00.000-04:00

Last night I watched The Bridge on the River Kwai. I had vague memories of the film from childhood but I couldn't remember the plot.

It's rare that a piece of infrastructure takes the spotlight as singlehandedly as this bridge does. The British Colonel (Alec Guinness), through his stubbornness experiences a sort of stockholm syndrome. His crippled pride leads him to identify with his Japanese captors. His reversal is so strong that he wants to build a bridge that will stand as a monument to British ingenuity and craftsmanship. Once it's finished he sees it as the only sure thing he has accomplished in his 29 year military career.

Another topological curiosity in this film is the Japanese Colonel's initial proclamation that the labor camp was on an island. Because of this he said that escape was impossible, that this was the reason no barbed wire had been erected around the POW camp. Toward the middle of the movie a British officer reveals that this is patently false. The infamous railway is entirely in Southeast Asia, the Kwai river is in Western Thailand.

The natural landscape takes on an interesting bit part as well. The Kwai river's diminished flow; the hazards of the dense, tropical jungle; and the constant threat of heat exhaustion all pressure the non-native characters in this movie. (While the Thai women appear able to carry munitions through all kinds of terrain without breaking a sweat!)

In any event the movie is excellent. I was probably too young to appreciate it the last time I saw it.

Cluj-Napoca

2007-06-14T10:55:00.001-04:00

Our Neighbourhood, originally uploaded by sonykus.

From the photographer's description:

The oldest rows of these blocks were built in the '50s and '60s. Then, legend has it that former dictator Ceausescu once came to visit the (Atomic Physics and) Chemistry Research Institute nearby. He noticed that the whole place looked too relaxed, almost like a Spa, with decent conditions, lots of parks and green spaces between all those blocks.

He was outraged of this terrible waste of living space, and ordered a second wave of construction, starting immediately. So there came this second wave in the 70s, filling in the gaps between the older buildings with new rows of 5-story blocks, killing out most of the parks and the green lanes left. And thus, the whole thing got as crammed as you can see it today. ...

This picture was taken in a city named Cluj-Napoca in Romania. The city of 300,000 holds the title as the historical capital of Transylvania. There is some controversy about the etymology of the region that seems to fracture down lines of Latin and Hungarian interpretations. Literally translated from Latin, Transylvania means "beyond the forest."

*The city's wikipedia article lists Cluj as a sister city to East Lansing, Michigan, but I can't find any other confirmation on that.*

Abandonment Enthusiasm

2007-06-13T15:52:00.001-04:00

Brown Sugar, originally uploaded by Ride My Pony.

Although I was familiar with the idea of Urban Spelunking, I had no idea it's presence was so strong on Flickr. I've listed out a few of the pools where Flickrites can add their pictures of abandonment.

The Graffiti Project on Kelburn Castle

2007-06-13T14:53:00.000-04:00

More on the Graffiti Project and Kelburn Castle.

Infamous Address

2007-06-12T10:33:00.000-04:00

Nazi Germany's General Foundation for Welfare and Institutional Care was located at Tiergartenstraße 4. It was the bureau responsible for the deaths of physically and mentally handicapped people in the years just before the holocaust. Germans who knew about the program as simply the T4 Action.

The building is no longer there but a plaque in the sidewalk commemorates the horrors that were mandated at the site. Hospitals throughout the nation were ordered to perform euthanasia on patients who were considered incurable. That meant the“criminally insane,” schizophrenics, epileptics, people with Huntington’s, chorea, advanced syphilis, senile dementia, paralysis, encephalitis and “terminal neurological conditions generally” (and of course "non-Aryan" patients were always welcomed by T4).

The instigators and participating physicians of the T4 action were charged in the "Doctors' Trial," one of the several trials following the major war crimes trial. 20 of the 23 defendants were medical doctors, seven were hanged.

Istanbul, not Constantinople

2007-06-11T13:46:00.001-04:00

Istanbul, Turkey, originally uploaded by balavenise.

Turkey's largest city has gone by many names. The Roman-derived name was officially dropped in 1930 by Atatürk's national reforms.

Currently, the sprawling, dual-continental city is building a rail tunnel to connect the two sides of the Bosphorus Strait. Early in the construction, however, an ancient seaport was unearthed. According to the BBC:

Just a few metres below ground, they found an ancient port of Constantinople - named in historical records as the Eleutherios harbour, one of the busiest of Byzantium.

Like Boston's Big Dig, the discovery of historical artifacts is likely to slow down the project. The tunnel is projected to open in 4 years at a cost of $2.5 billion.

Baikonur Cosmodrome

2007-06-11T10:38:00.001-04:00

Energia Launch Site Panorama, originally uploaded by galexian.

In the vast and dry nation of Kazakhstan the Baikonur Cosmodrome remains an operational testament to the Space Race. Baikonur is the world's oldest and largest operational space launch facility. After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 it continued operation in partnership with the Commonwealth of Independent States.

The Baikonur Cosmodrome is home to a tremendous amount of space exploration history. The first human spaceflight (Vostok 1) launched here as well as the first unmanned satellite (Sputnik 1). The facility was crutial for the International Space Station construction after the 2003 Columbia disaster.

Now, like so much else, the old Cosmodrome is a tourist attraction. RusAdventures offers a six day tour that departs from Moscow with your choice of English, French or German tour gides.

See an illustrated map of the facility.

Destination

2007-06-08T16:56:00.001-04:00

., originally uploaded by Tresselboard.

This airport island is located someplace in the Maldives. Even at a low altitude the photographer could capture the entire runway and habitation of this island. Without more detail it's impossible to know if it is a secret military installation or an exotic resort. The capital of the Maldives has a similar sort of picture on Wikipedia.

I used to be a missile silo

2007-06-07T13:34:00.000-04:00

And not just any missile silo, but an intercontinental ballistic missile silo.

This old ICBM silo in Albiene Texas has been decommissioned and turned into a pool for scuba diving. It was mentioned on an episode of Geo Quiz as perhaps the deepest pool on earth. (The show focuses most of its attention on the intentional pool Nemo33 in Brussels, an indoor pool 33 meters deep and 33 degrees celcius.) It's a fascinating example of adaptive reuse and demilitarization.

Listen to the MP3 Audio of the GeoQuiz.

Honey Barge

2007-06-07T13:07:00.001-04:00

Nile, near Aswan, Egypt, originally uploaded by Zinnie.

The world's longest river flows supplies much of the life in arid Egypt. Besides transportation, water, and fish the Nile was important for beekeeping.

Migratory beekeeping began during this period [5000 years ago] as hives (in mud pots) were put on boats or rafts which sailed up and down the Nile following the honey flows, much as beekeepers in the U.S. do with 18-wheelers today

The anciently named country currently is home to around 82 million people.

[Thanks to MeFi for the inspiration and Zinnie for the image]

Eccentric Spaces

2007-06-06T16:31:00.001-04:00

I was excited about reading this book when I first found it on Paperback Swap. It's a strange piece to say the least. Harbison explores fictional and real spaces with emphasis not on materials and history but on the conceptual frameworks that in which we experience spaces.

Eccentric Spaces takes a gnarled journey through European painting, writing, and cities. Harbison's writing is thick and soupy in places where he gets twisted around on various tangential subjects. He succeeds when discussing the various treatments that authors of fiction (and historical fiction) give to settings.

This is truly a mysterious book that belongs in no genre. It would function well as a starting off point for architectural conjecture or urban planning debates. Nevertheless the book feels dated and too deeply European and it too often gets mired in unmanageable comparisons.

*Cross posted from A Single Step*

Strange Maps

2007-06-06T11:26:00.000-04:00

I feel the obligation to recommend Strange Maps as an excellent source for eccentric cartography. The recent posts on the Stockholm Metro Map in English and the Inglehart-Welzel Cultural Map of the World were really spectacular.

Survivalism

2007-06-05T14:36:00.000-04:00

The End of the World

2007-06-01T11:34:00.001-04:00

Intensidad... o Lago Fagnano, originally uploaded by Any Manetta.

Ushuaia, Argentina is the southernmost city on the planet. The lonely town on Tierra del Fuego is serviced by the Southern Fuegian Railway, more popularly known as the End of the World Train. The narrow gauge railway was built to service the penal colony of Ushuaia and aid in the construction of a full prison there. The penal colony has since shut down and the train is now a tourist attraction for visitors to Argentina's southernmost lands.

The Day Begins in Borobudur

2007-05-31T15:39:00.001-04:00

The Day Begins in Borobudur, originally uploaded by kristupa.

Sir Thomas Raffles dubbed this enormous temple Borobudur when he "rediscovered" it in 1814. This Buddhist temple is located near the center of the Indonesian island of Java. Archaeologists and historians believe it was built around 800 AD although there is no written record of this. The place, along with any ancient site, is known as candi in the Indonesian language. The original name for this temple was lost centuries ago when it was abandoned.

See Suroboyo Ku, Monas, and Persija fans from Indonesia.

Intimately Bound

2007-05-23T16:55:00.001-04:00

3452, originally uploaded by J D J Ford.

Immortalized by Homer's epic poems, the island of Ithaca quietly occupies the Ionian Sea. Many historians have argued whether or not the tiny, mountainous island was actually the home of Homer in spite of the 1800-year-old coins depicting Ulysses. The island has been governed by the Venetians, French, Turkish, and Romans at various times.

After the American War for Independence the state of New York decided to survey its Western frontier. Soldiers who fought in the war were awarded with fresh tracts of land starting at 600 acres. Simeon DeWitt and his clerk Robert Harpur chose the names of the newly created townships from those of classical antiquity. The city of Ithaca, New York was once a part of the larger Town of Ulysses: both names that originate in Homer's Odyssey.

The nearby town of Lansing, New York was settled in 1791 after the Sullivan Expedition cleared out the Iroquois tribes that had inhabited the prime Cayuga Lake territory. It was named after John Lansing, Jr., the military secretary under General Philip Schuyler. John Lansing, Jr. was a New York legislator, mayor of Albany, and state supreme court judge in the newly independent state.

Nearly thirty-five years later, the brothers Jerry and William Ford promoted cheap land in "Biddle City" to the residents of Lansing, NY. According to them the town "had an area of 65 blocks, contained a church and also a public and academic square." Sixteen men purchased tracts from them to settle in this frontier town. What they found was a waterlogged floodplain at the convergence of the Red Cedar and Grand rivers. The disillusioned settlers quickly named the area Lansing in honor of their previous hometown. (The area they built on is currently inside the Old Town neighborhood.)

Another John from New York founded Ithaca, Michigan. The Gratiot county seat was named in honor of the city in New York. It doesn't seem like any real estate scams were involved with that decision. Nebraska, Georgia, Ohio, and Wisconsin also have Ithacas.

A flickr map of the original Ithaca (center, the largest island you can completely see).

manitoulin

2007-05-22T11:26:00.001-04:00

manitoulin, originally uploaded by Rich Garella.

The largest freshwater island in the world is in the world's 3rd largest lake. Manitoulin Island is very sparsely populated, only about 3,500 people live in the two municipal divisions. The island connects to the mainland of Northern Ontario by the Little Current Swing Bridge. The Chi-Cheemaun ferry service brings cars and people to the island from the Bruce Peninsula.

Los Angeles. 1871

2007-05-18T21:05:00.001-04:00

Los Angeles. 1871, originally uploaded by caen61.

A massacre of Chinese Immigrants took place in Los Angeles in 1871. It was sparked by the accidental killing of a white man during a Tong War. This took place mostly on a street called Calle de los Negros, which was later renamed Los Angeles Street. Currently this is a main passage on Skid Row.

Kwame Nkrumah Memorial

2007-05-18T20:42:00.001-04:00

Kwame Nkrumah Memorial, originally uploaded by eileenbortey.

This monument is in Accra, Ghana. It honors the nation's first president, Kwame Nkrumah. He led the African nation through the initial struggles of independence from the British (they called the colony The Gold Coast). He was educated in the US and a strong voice for Pan-Africanism.

The Art of Displacement

2007-05-04T10:34:00.000-04:00

One of the first YouTube videos that caught my attention was this guy acting like spider-man. Sure, that looked like it would be fun, a little dangerous maybe, but still fun. What I didn't know then was that this had a name: Free Running.

Free Running is the successor to Le Parkour, a style of movement based on efficiency, reach, and escape. It's originated from French solidiers in Vietnam who found applications on the battlefield. Free Running developed under more banal conditions, "in this otherwise wholly unremarkable suburb of Lisses." The Guardian describes it succinctly,

A new urban sport which emerged from the southern suburbs of Paris, free-running uses gymnastic skills to find alarming new ways of navigating the urban landscape. It is the free-runners' fondness for catapulting themselves at dangerous heights over anxiety-inducing distances that has brought them notoriety - initially within the confines of their mayor's office, but more recently on an international level.

Free Running has evolved into a philosophy of sorts. According to Sebastien Foucan (a character in the latest James Bond film), "I see it as a way of freeing onself from the constraints of conformist behaviour." The free-form motion of human bodies navigating built landscapes is something to behold. Unlike classical gymnastics, Free Running lends itself to personal expression. The lack of a controlled setting (padding, safety nets, etc.) forces the Runner to confront their fears and build confidence.

What is also fascinating about this phenomenon is how it emerged from an urban environment that children found uninteresting.

Lisses is a quiet town 50 minutes south of Paris, situated beyond the warehouses, car-crushing plants, abandoned building sites and rubbish dumps of the more deprived suburbs. The roads are well swept and the gardens are tidy. It's a safe place to live, and the local school-children find it very dull.

Lisses' mayor invoked The Law of Unintended Consequences when he installed barriers to obstruct Free Runners. What the city forgot is that Free Running is about avoiding obstacles, using the human body to move around barriers. The city faces a perverse incentive, attempts to quell this "problem" with physical implements will invariably lead to increased attempts at Free Running.

For years developers, builders, and building owners have tried to protect their property (and liability insurance) by installing anti-skateboarding obstructions. This concept of built-in control is addressed by the excellent Architectures of Control. Free Running (and it's predecessor, Le Parkour) are human examples of adaptation. I find it inspiring.

Google Video search for Parkour and Free Running.

Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time

2007-05-04T09:19:00.000-04:00

Good non-fiction answers a question you hadn't thought to ask. I had not realized how difficult it was to measure longitude. This short book details the scientific and political struggle of John Harrison, a British clockmaker. Although a volume of this size or much greater could explain the intricacies of clock mechanisms, this volume doesn't particularily do that. It does show how Harrison had to fight the entrenched scientific idea that longitude could only be found using astronomy.

Indeed, before Harrison, that was the case. On land longitude was measured using telescopic readings of Jupiter's moons. At sea, however, telescopes couldn't hold an image long enough to be accurate. Harrison's clocks attempted to measure the difference between a ship's port time and the local time. This works because one hour of longitude is actually one twenty-fourth of the earth's daily rotation. Before Harrison, nobody had built a clock sturdy or accurate enough to use for navigation.

British Parliment came up with the Longitude Act, a sort of early request for proposals, that would reward the winner with a large cash prize and fame. The prevailing academic notion was that the Moon's cycles could be used to cipher longitude. This was pushed by Isaac Newton, and a host of other astronomers who thought mechanical solutions were too fragile. But the moon is not visible behind clouds, during the day, and when it's obscured by the earth. Furthermore, the moon-method required at least 45 minutes of calculation by a ship's navigator.

Despite the political pressure not to use mechanical clocks for navigation, Harrison's worst enemy was his own perfectionism. His dealings with the Board of Longitude (the people in charge of awarding the prize) were tumultous largely because of how he dispariaged his own craftsmanship. Regardless, the H-4 (also known as The Watch) was a masterpiece of timekeeping that demonstrated extreme precision and ease-of-use.

*Cross Posted from A Single Step*

Ride, Ride, Ride

2007-05-02T12:07:00.001-04:00

Life as a diagram

2007-05-02T11:17:00.000-04:00

Regular Service Will Continue

2007-05-01T13:29:00.000-04:00

Meanwhile, enjoy today's Get Fuzzy!

It's not Tiny, it's Cozy!

2007-04-12T13:47:00.000-04:00

Feeling cramped in your home? Then you're not likely ready to live on 100 square feet. Tumbleweed Tiny House Company builds housing that is small enough to haul behind most pick-up trucks. The layout here shows a 100 s.f. home. These homes come complete with electricity and running water (which can be connected from a standard outlet and garden hose respectively). Also, since these buildings can be hauled they apparently don't have to pay property tax! NPR has more pictures and details about these tiny homes.

*PS* You might have noticed the "Hopper" feature on the right. It's brand new! It should show the last five things I've decided to broadcast from my Google Reader feeds.

Virtual Landmark

2007-03-14T12:18:00.000-04:00

Found over at Digital Urban.

The Agenda of Place

2007-03-01T14:19:00.000-05:00

Project for Public Spaces does a lot of great work. They identify the best practices of some of the most inspiring civic spaces in the world. That doesn't mean they're right 100% of the time.

After reading "Toward an Architecture Of Place" on Planetizen I might have been led to believe that Vienna's relatively new contempary arts museum (officially Museum Moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig Wien, MUMOK) was a brutal scar on the streetscape. However, I have the benefit of experience, and I can honestly stay that the structure is actually a superb piece of the Museumsquartier.

What PPS misses in this article is that the MUMOK is a piece of a much larger district called the Museums Quartier (MQ). This very large collection of institutions is located in central Vienna near the palaces of old Austrian Emporers. The semi-enclosed space creates a vibrant, art-focused crowd. While it is something of a tourist magnet it is hardly devoid of street-life. The monolithic structure of MUMOK stands in contrast to the rigidly fenestrated streets and the exterior buildings of the Museums Quartier.

My experience in Vienna hardly led me to the conclusion that any building failed to "add to people’s experience of the ground floor." A plethora of street-level attractions already exists on the pedestrian scale. In the context of the Museums Quartier, MUMOK stands as a hyper modern interpretation of exhibition space and a dark compliment to the Leopold Museum. While I can't speak to the other two cases of unfriendly architecture that the article cites, I do believe it's important to consider how a building fits into its surroundings before condemning it.

Soundmark

2007-02-28T10:22:00.000-05:00

Architects, designers, planners and all those associated professions often describe the "image" of the cities, neighborhoods, and regions. The overwhelmingly visual nature of place-based discussion crowds out other sensory experiences. The architectural demands for aesthetic appeal would seem to leave no room for acoustic experiences. Nevertheless, the fields of sound design and acoustic ecology exist on the outer edges of urbanism and architecture.

Aside from the science and technology surrounding opera halls and recording studios little is understood about how sounds interact with physical spaces. A few intrepid recorders have put their soundscape samples online. The largest collection of natural sounds (mostly animals) is Cornell's Macaulay Library. (I can't get this to work on my work computer, but perhaps you can!) SoundTransit provides a way to listen to a trip around the world. Dozens of other websites also provide recordings (scroll to soundwalks and soundmarks)

At least one architect embraces the role of sound. "Using lasers, heart monitors and other technological gadgets, Christopher Janney explores the nature of creativity and the origin of the soul." (Listen to the article at NPR, ~5 min.) Adding sound-features to buildings could have significant benefits for the blind, too. The technology to process visual images into patterns of sound are already available. It would certainly be an interesting treat if the design and planning community could get out of its visual-cortex and mold spaces around different methods of sensation.

Florida

2007-02-27T12:08:00.000-05:00

Seeing as I am traveling to Florida next week I thought I ought to devote a post the Sunshine State.

Although we're not going as far as Miami, this ocean-hugging metropolis deserves some mention. Miami is one of the largest cities in the US, it is also one of a select few that boast 4-pro sports teams. While my generation associates the city (and its beaches) with bronzed and waxed MTV eye candy, the city has a fascinating history outside this stereotype. Significant settlement and development didn't start until the end of the Third Seminole War and the construction of a train line into south Florida.

The Florida Land Boom changed all of that. Real estate development took off in the Miami area around the 1920s. This led to the largest collection of Art Deco architecture anywhere in the world and a huge influx in population. Americans looking for a tropical destination found out about Miami and its warm climate. The realtors forgot to mention the hurricanes, however, and after a series of nasty storms and the onset of the Great Depression, the Florida Land Boom ended. The legacy of this boom lives on, however. Fisher Island, a private resort inaccessible by car, is named after a prominent developer of the era. It is one of the wealthiest and most exclusive places in the country.

St. Augustine is generally considered one of the oldest settlements in North America. It is also home to one of the first black markets created by US policy. Sir Gregor MacGregor seized the tiny Amelia Island and created a micronation. The island where MacGregor intended to evade the Embargo Act and import slaves is just outside of St. Augustine. His 'Green Cross of Florida' flew over the island for the summer of 1817.

The Spanish colonial area of Florida is prosaically known as the "First Coast," a name meant to distinguish this coastal region of the state to tourists. Likewise the "Space Coast" is the home of the Kennedy Space Center (area code 3-2-1) and the Miami are is the "Gold Coast." Then there are the others, the ones that seem different but don't seem to distinguish themselves quite so well. The "Sun Coast" seems to describe the beaches from Tampa Bay to the Everglades, the "Emerald Coast" occupies a scenic piece of the panhandle, and the "Treasure Coast" fills in a rural gap on the Atlantic side. Finally, there is the "Nature Coast," which apparently is the least desirable (and swampiest) piece of ocean-front real estate.

Florida has the distinction of having two cities owned by the same corporation. Disney owns and operates the cities of Lake Buena Vista (pop. 16) and Bay Lake (pop. 23).

Ildefons Cerdà

2007-02-13T13:51:00.000-05:00

He's the Barcelona planner who made grid-pattern streets functional and desirable. Formerly a civil engineer in Madrid, he came to Barcelona to help with the Eixample district. With the taste of Madrid's congstion and disease fresh in his memory he designed a street pattern that would relieve urban stresses.

Ildefons Cerdà was mentioned in a Gaurdian article, "Reach for the Skies." The piece is about the artists and architects of this Catalan city such as Gaudi, Dali, Domenech i Montaner, and Puig i Cadafalch.

Float On - Float Off

2007-02-08T15:54:00.000-05:00

MV Blue Marlin & Thunder Horse

Dockwise Heavy Transport Shipping can build a sweet boat. Technically they're known as Heavy Lift Semi Submersable Vehicles. They are the boats that haul oil-drilling platforms and damaged naval vessels.

Their most significant client is the oil & gas industry. Imagine what else could be done with this monumental technology. It seems as though a ship like this could move whole cities over vast distances. A few of them could create artificial islands and instant runways.

Los Algodones

2007-02-07T10:25:00.000-05:00

Pleasant weather, sandy beaches, and exotic attractions are generally associated with tourism. Most Americans never associate medical care as a factor in their vacation planning. But that's changing - with rising health care costs more and more Americans are seeking treatment and surgery outside the US. The phenomenon is known as Medical Tourism.

Some claim that those seeking health care abroad should be called Medical Refugees. Middle-class, uninsured Americans who cannot afford the price of health care simply must seek lower-cost options; these are increasingly found in places like India, Singapore, Hungary, Thailand, and Columbia.

Last night on Nightline a clinic in Los Algodones, Mexico was featured. The border town is a Medical Tourism hot spot featuring pharmaceuticals, dentists' offices and opticians at unbelievable prices. Dr. Jose Diaz Barboza runs a different kind of operation. He uses stem cells to treat all sorts of ailments. These stem cells usually come from sheep or horses, but he does admit to using some human stem cells on serious cases.

In terms of economic development this is a huge waste for the US. Our failure to address the enormous cost of health care has resulted in a very under-served population. Without insurance coverage or a reliable governmental program, people must consider this option. Given enough time (or increased financial pressures) perhaps medical facilities in Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean will rival US counterparts.

Sze Tsung Leong

2007-02-06T14:44:00.000-05:00

via Metafilter, the photography of Sze Tsung Leong. His pictures document the urban areas of East Asia and the loss of historic buildings.

Hong Kong, China

Chongqing, China

Shanghai, China

Shrinking Cities

2007-02-05T10:54:00.000-05:00

A friend of mine from the Urban Planning program passed along a hot tip - namely the Shrinking Cities exhibition in Detroit. Cranbrook Art Museum and MOCAD are hosting the event. Here is how they describe it,

Cranbrook Art Museum will host part one of the exhibition entitled Shrinking Cities: International Research, which examines the phenomenon of urban decline in the four focus cities: Detroit, Halle/Leipzig (Germany), Manchester/Liverpool (Britain), and Ivanovo (Russia). These cities are explored and represented in diverse forms of documentation by artists, architects, researchers and others. Themes include a worldwide study of urban depopulation, the change of urban landscapes, everyday practices and political conflicts under the conditions of decline.

MOCAD will host part two of the exhibition entitled Shrinking Cities: Interventions, which presents strategies for change and action. It is divided into five areas: Negotiating Inequality, Self-Governance, Creating Images, Organizing Retreat, and Occupying Space. The artists see the four depopulated cities in question as offering opportunity, a blank slate or canvas for developing news ways of living and working.

Read more about this exhibition or the whole shrinkingcities project online.

Three Letter Code

2007-01-31T10:06:00.000-05:00

Sometimes reddit grabs some great toponymy pieces. This is one of those times.

Airports are often called by their Identifier Code, a 3-letter combination. Detroit Metro Airport is called DTW while Grand Rapids' Gerald R. Ford Int'l Airport is GRR. The codes stand somewhere betweeen close-approximations and cryptic jumbled signatures.

Read the full piece: Airport ABC's - an explination of airport identifier codes.

Fallout Shelter

2007-01-26T12:04:00.000-05:00

The fallout shelter located below the main Lansing library rekindled my fascination with Cold War architecture and obsolete spaces.

Fallout shelters were once part of a larger network of "Civil Defense." Unlike Homeland Security, the CD services actually attempted to find ways to prepare and recover from emergency situations. The pressing matter of the day was nuclear attack from the Ruskies. American public buildings found innovative ways to integrate fallout shelters into their plans. Homeowners stocked their basements with the supplies necessary to survive a long period of nuclear fallout. If you're not lucky enough to live or work at a fallout shelter equipped building then you can look up the nearest one.

With the end of the Cold War and the declining threat of nuclear warfare, interest in fallout shelters plummeted. Most home shelters were turned into recreational spaces containing bars, exercise equipment, and sofas.

The fallout shelter is an example of a space created for survivability. It's political roots in the Cold War are undeniable, it is a unique and easily identifiable symbol of that conflict's legacy. In this War on Terror we are now immersed in there has been no equivalent. Americans have responded with magnetic ribbons and a few other gimmicks, but nothing to compare to the endurance of the fallout shelter.

The Kremlin is Huge.

2007-01-19T10:14:00.000-05:00

Did you know that Vladamir Putin's favorite sport is Judo? He has written two books about it. You can buy one on Amazon.

What I really meant to write about was the enormous nature of Moscow's Kremlin. However, it is so big (68 acres) that I really don't know where to start. So let's go from the beginning

1. Kremlin is the Russian word for "fortress", "citadel", or "castle." Westerners typically associate it only with the Moscow Kremlin.

2. The Kremlin existed before the Communists. In fact, the site has been continuously fortified since the 11th century.

3. It was destroyed twice before the structure that currently inhabits the site was built. The first time it was raided by Mongols, then a fire burned most of the wooden fortress.

4. After the fall of the Byzantine Roman Empire, Ivan III thought that Russia would be the successor state, the "Third Rome." To display the might and wealth of Russia he commissioned a battalion of Italian architects to build up the walls, towers and cathedrals.

5. Yes, I said cathedrals. The Kremlin consists of churches, tombs, palaces, and an armory. This whole complex is synonymous with the Russian government. Thus, it's not surprising to learn that it's enclosed by a 9' thick wall.

Trailer on Pontoons

2007-01-09T10:34:00.000-05:00

The correct term is Aqua Lodge but neighbors have dubbed them "house barges." The Richmond Times-Dispatch discloses the controversy about these vessels. While state authorities might note environmental concerns, the real heart of the issue can be summarized in this one line (from the Times-Dispatch).

Sarah Gormus, who lives across the creek from Bay Marine said, "It looks like a trailer park in the water."

Martha Urbanism

2007-01-08T09:47:00.000-05:00

Her media empire is enormous, her fan-base is unimaginable, her image is spotless. This May you can live the Martha Stewart lifestyle in Central Florida.

Avellino, like it's predacessor in North Carolina, will combine community and branding in a new residential development.

The west Orange County homes will feature front porches, garages at the rear of the homes accessible by alleys, and smaller lots with community open spaces and sidewalks to encourage people to walk and mingle in the neighborhood.
Prices for the single-family homes are expected to start in the low $300,000s; town homes in the mid-$200,000s. They will range in size from 1,594 to 2,700 square feet, and all of the model homes will feature furniture and decor from Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc.
Four other KB Home/Martha Stewart communities are planned -- a second one in Georgia, a second one in North Carolina and one each in Texas and California.

Can Martha beat the housing slump? Will the Martha and the Donald join forces to create an Apprentice-styled neighborhood? Wait and see.

The Godzilla Tower, Tokyo

2006-12-11T14:27:00.000-05:00

from Ironic Sans

Hell-on-Earth

2006-12-11T10:04:00.000-05:00

The Death of Pinochet led me to do some refreshing of my Chilean Geography. I recalled learning about a brutal desert in that snake-shaped nation, it's called the Atacama. This desert is 50 times more arid than California's Death Valley, and likely the driest terrestrial environment on earth.

The Atacama is situated between two mountain ranges so that moisture from the nearby Pacific Ocean rarely reaches the ground. The average rainfall is ~1 millimeter per year. The climate is so inhospitable that NASA researchers have used it to test research equipment proposed for use on Mars. Perhaps even more surprising is how long the Atacama Desert has existed.

Google News turned up a current story on an extremeophilic deep sea shrimp this morning. The microbial life in the Atacama is also an extremeophile in terms of water demand (and other things). Understanding these fringes of life could lead to breakthroughs in our understanding of biology and evolutionary behavior. Why do some organisims thrive in places where almost every other creature would be tortured? How are they different from the dominant forms of life? We might never get satisfying answers to these questions - especially since scientists continue to find life in improbable places.

a rundown

2006-12-06T10:48:00.000-05:00

Since I don't have time to do any of these topics justice in a full posting, here is a rundown of some things that I've been exploring.

Habitat 67 - I saw it first in a big, softcover architecture book under the heading: Clusters. People still live in Habitat 67. The designer is architect Moshe Safdie, a Palestenian-Canadian.

Container Bay - A collection of projects built from shipping containers. Some have been built while many are only planned. FYI: I've been working on my own container home in SketchUp. I'll get some stills up here once it's ready.

Rights & Obligations - Berlin's Hauptbahnhof (The new main train terminal) is about to get a judicial renovation, "The Berlin District Court has ruled that Deutsche Bahn must rebuild whole sections of the new Hauptbahnhof according to the architect's plans, setting a spectacular precedent."

Urban Rail . net - This is neat.

Green Real Estate Portfolios - The Slatin Report covers the trend.

Oklahoma SuperSonics

2006-11-14T10:54:00.000-05:00

Should the public foot-the-bill for professional sports? Like it or not most major league franchises are supported and subsidized by the residents of their metropolitan area. Ususally taxes are accumulated to build or improve stadiums & ball parks. While franchise owners can generally afford astronomical payrolls for their players, they argue that the facilities must be built (in part) by the whole city.

Seattle and Sacramento bucked that trend last week. Both cities turned down proposals to raise taxes to build new homes for their Basketball teams. The Seattle vote very nearly garauntees that the SuperSonics will move by 2010 (to Oklahoma City). The fate of the Sacremento Kings is less clear.

"Public sentiment turned against the Sonics last winter when Mr. Schultz, the Starbucks chairman, demanded that the state provide $200 million to refurbish the city-owned arena. The team would have contributed $18 million." (Planetizen)

Sounds familiar, doesn't it.

"I'll gladly pay you Tuesday for a Hamburger today..." - J. Wellington Wimpy.

Wouldn't it be awfuly nice if the city paid for over 90% of your house, slashing your costs on that Half-Mil McMansion to a paltry $50,000. Of course you would have to allow guests over regularly for quality food, drinks and entertainment. $8.50 domestic beers, $45 entry fees, $3 coffee, and don't forget the merchandise to remember your visit!

It's about damn time people realized that cities shouldn't willingly fork over their tax revenues for these kinds of projects. I don't disagree that there is some public benefit to having a prominent sports venue. It makes good sense for large businesses who need to entertain clients, it can help to promote local history or industry (such as the Detroit Pistons, Pittsburgh Steelers, and the New England Patriots), and it can help to establish a place on a network of national and international destinations.

The tenor of the argument in Seattle no longer needed to "overpay" for professional sports since the city had so much already going in its favor.

“Citizens in Seattle look around and see Microsoft and Boeing doing fabulously, the Port of Seattle is booming and trade with China is going to define this city’s existence for the next 50 years,” Professor Olson said. “Seattle has said, We can be a big-league city, we can be an international city, without kowtowing to professional sports franchises.” (nytimes)

The Citizens for More Important Things led the campaign to deny public funding of a new arena for the SuperSonics. SacBee has more on Measures Q & R.

Bejing Olympics: 2008

2006-11-12T20:54:00.000-05:00

Herzog & De Meuron are designing the Olympic Stadium for Bejing's 2008 Olympics. It's very imposing. It looks practically supernatural, like a webbing that happens to contain a stadium.

The Piezo Effect

2006-11-03T18:21:00.000-05:00

Why isn't there a better name for this?

2006-11-03T10:29:00.000-05:00

Astronomers call it "the blob" or "giant blob" and it is the most massive thing in the universe known to man.

You have never really seen "the blob," it is too dim for the naked human eye. Even so, it's not much worth looking at. You would think that a galaxy cluster over 200 light years in width would be pretty remarkable, right? Well it is, but not for its looks. "The Blob" is one of the oldest structures in the universe, it formed 12.7 billion years ago. Astronomers also speculate that this cluster is something like a nursery for whole galaxies.

Previously known structures with such high density are much smaller, only about 50 million light-years across. "The densest regions in the universe are the places where galaxies are thought to have formed first. Because this is one of the biggest structures known, it must be one of the very first to have formed," said Philip Best, an astronomer at the Institute for Astronomy at the University of Edinburgh in the U.K.

In any case, I'm calling on anybody who can read this to think of a better name for this awe-inspiring, mysterious part of our universe. After all, I think we can do a lot better than these old blobs.

Thanks to Seed Magazine for their blurb about "the blob" in their last issue.

Trip Pictures Ready!

2006-11-02T19:00:00.000-05:00

More of that church..., originally uploaded by Helmers.

It's official, they're all up. See the Fall Loop.

Silver Floating Pillows

2006-11-02T18:08:00.000-05:00

Sidamo, Yirgacheffe, and Harrar

2006-11-02T10:43:00.000-05:00

(without realizing it, Starbucks users begin thirsting for a grande upon reading these words)

Wine aficionados know Champagne, Bordeaux, and Alsace - they're all French wines, and regions of France.

The three names in the title share this dual identity crisis. Starbucks uses these three names for its Ethiopian coffees. They are also places in Ethiopia. The most significant of the three (in terms of population) is Harrar.

(disclaimer: I'm no anti-globalization nutjob trying to get you to sign a petition. Seriously, this just interests me as an intersection of commerce, geography, and food.) I learned from Oxfam America about Ethiopia's attempt to protect the trademark on these place names. Starbucks opposes this plan and wants the ability to brand its coffee without paying for the naming rights.

Personally, I believe that if a product can only be produced genuinely in one place (like French wines, Cuban cigars, or African coffee) then distributors should play fair with the producers. Starbucks is hardly the 'evil empire,' they're just trying to make a few more pennies on each cup of hot Ethiopian coffee that passes over their counters. Ethiopia's plan to retain the trademark makes financial sense for an impoverished nation where coffee is a key commodity ('providing 65%-75% of Ethiopia's foreign exchange earnings').

ps. thanks to Co-op America for the email.

A Thousand Mile Loop

2006-11-01T19:54:00.000-05:00

The trip odometer rolled over onto 1,000 miles just as we pulled into Lansing on Monday. The pictures will be up on flickr soon. In the meantime, I've rediscovered the Slatin Report, an excellent online periodical about real estate.

Now that more than a year has passed we can safely ask, Who's rebuilding New Orleans? Hispanics, and probably in massive numbers. According to a Tulane study about half of the construction work is being done by Latino crews. Many of these workers came along with firms from Arizona, Texas, and California, their crews are primarily first and second generation immigrants from Mexico and Central America. It's unlikely that most of these workers will settle in New Orleans, but their sudden appearance is already changing the landscape.

"'We're seeing day-worker sites in New Orleans for the first time,' noted R. Kelley Pace, director of the Real Estate Research Institute." Observers in NOLA say that Hispanic laborers are doing some of the toughest and most dangerous jobs. Contractors aware of the questionable nature of their labor's citizenship are taking unscrupulous risks.

What kind of impact will this influx of Hispanic people mean for New Orleans? Before Katrina the area had about 6% Hispanic population, the hurricane might transform New Orleans into a new hub of Hispanic culture and business. It could bring the wave of immigration to the doorstep of the American South.

Also from the Slatin Report: People who think the new World Trade Center project is a fiasco. (Letters in response to Vision Not Accomplished.)

What's your Big Bird like?

2006-10-25T12:04:00.000-04:00

Did you know that Sesame Street has regional variations around the world? Many countries have their own versions of the popular American children's show. Each of these shows has its own unique cast of Muppets. Wikipedia has a huge list of them, here are some notable outtakes:

Canada: Dodi, essentially a Jack-Of-All-Trades, though most commonly known as a bush pilot.
Israel: Kippi ben Kippod, or Kippi Kippod, a giant porcupine analogous to Big Bird
Mexico: Abelardo Montoya, the equivalent of Big Bird, with Green and Red feathers (Mexico's National colours; also the colors of a Parrot, one of Mexico's most numerous and representative birds)
India: Boombah, a hedonistic lion who believes he is descended from one of India's historic royal families. (via Gallli Galli Sim Sim)

This all came after learing about "The World According to Sesame Street," a PBS site detailing regional adaptations in Bangladesh, Kosovo, and South Africa. The South Africa version got a spat of attention for introducing an HIV-positive muppet character to the show in order to address the AIDS epidemic in Africa.

Preparing for Pittsburgh

2006-10-24T10:43:00.000-04:00

Ash and I leave for Pittsburgh on Thursday. There will be plenty of pictures upon our return to Lansing. Until then I'll post a few links of interest:

Hybrid Train: "The Green Goat is a diesel-electric hybrid in which the normal massive diesel locomotive engine is replaced by a 290-horsepower inline 6-cylinder diesel truck engine and a 600-volt battery bank. The batteries supply the power needed to drive the electric traction motors on the wheels of this 280,000-pound 'goat.' "

Niagara Escarpment: The largest geological feature remaining from the glacial retreat in the Great Lakes area. Also a world biosphere reserve.

Electroland: A firm that seems to specialize in building-integrated LED spaces. A lot of their work seems to be user/building interactive.

Hotel Puerta America Madrid: Every floor of this hotel was designed by a different person/firm. I can't even imagine how expensive and posh this place is.

Subtopia: Guide to Military Urbanism.

Sealing It Up

2006-10-14T17:34:00.000-04:00

The Supplies, originally uploaded by Helmers.

Today I took the initative to seal up the gaps in my house to make it more energy efficient. I wanted to see how hard it was for a non-handy person to heal up a leaky house. Result: surprisingly easy.
See the whole process

The Energy Manhattan Project

2006-10-12T11:02:00.000-04:00

In August Wired Magazine wrote about MIT's decision to develop clean, affordable sources of energy. I stumbled upon it while reasearching Emission-to-Biomass (E2B) technology, a process pioneered at MIT (more on E2B below...)

Wired outlines a bunch of what MIT is working on through the Energy Research Council:

Spinach-derived Solar Power
Various Battery Technologies for Vehicles and Portable Electronics (we're doing that in Michigan, too)
Building Technology (mostly to reduce A/C use)
Turbocharging an automobile engine with plasma from a small ethanol tank (Tony, this one is all you... I don't get how this is supposed to work.)
And E2B

The article mentions a few more. But the last one stands apart from all the rest.

E2B technology turns Carbon Dioxide and Nitrogen Oxides emissions from smokestacks into raw biomass which can be converted into ethanol, biodiesel, hydrogen, or a bio-solid (which can be burned alongside coal in most power plants). MIT was the first place to demonstrate this technology over 2-years ago. Using algae, which feed on the Carbon Dioxide and other polluting gasses, these 'bioreactors' transform harmful waste into fuel. That said they are not 100% efficient, their performance depends on the availability of sunlight to induce the algae to grow. Still, even on cloudy days this process eats ~50% of the Carbon Dioxide emissions.

The truly amazing thing about E2B technology is that it is not just a pollution remedy. The end-product is a useful and profitable energy commodity. It makes sense for energy companies to deal in energy products such as ethanol and biodiesel. By implementing E2B a power plant can slash its emissions and broaden its portfolio in renewable energy.

If you want to learn more about Emissions-to-Biomass check out these websites:

GreenFuel Technologies
GS CleanTech
Random weblog

Refugees in America

2006-10-11T15:02:00.000-04:00

Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program just released a report detailing the living where refugees are living in the US. In 1980 the Refugee Act was passed to, "provide for the effective resettlement of refugees and to assist them to achieve economic self-sufficiency as quickly as possible after arrival in the United States."

According to the report over 2 million refugees have entered the US since then. They break down the regions of origin in their summary,

These flows were marked first by refugees primarily from Southeast Asia and theSoviet Union in the 1970s and 1980s during the Cold War period, followed by Europe in the 1990s during the Balkans period, and now a growing number from Africa in the 2000s during the civil conflict period.

So, Brookings asks, where are they all going. Even though refugees are only ~10% of total immigration, they are a fascinating demographic. Most refugees are living in cities that already have a high foreign born population, L.A., Chicago, and New York. Over the past few years, however, new gateways are emerging for refugees in Seattle, D.C., Atlanta, and Portland (Oregon). The report also mentions something regarding unusual concentrations of refugees from particular nations,

Nearly half of Iranian refugees were resettled in metropolitan Los Angeles, one in five Iraqi refugees arrived in Detroit, and nearly one-third of refugees from the former Soviet Union were resettled in New York. [emphasis added]

Read the summary or the full report(PDF) on the Brookings Institute webpage.

Copper Vandals

2006-10-10T18:55:00.000-04:00

The price of copper is nearly double what it was last year. And 2005 was the highest price for copper in nearly a decade. And it's costing Detroit more than a few pennies (okay, I apoligize for the pun).

In the past weeks the City of Detroit has sustained around $1 million in property damage. Vandals are targeting all sorts of copper products: electrical wires, air conditioning units, exposed pipes, vases from graveyards, sewer grates, and church bells. The completely recycalable metal is being purcased by scrapyards for anywhere from $0.90 to $3.30 per pound (depending on the yard and the condition of the scrap). For the unemployed, homeless, and destitute stealing copper is a profitable enterprise.

However, it has become increasingly dangerous. Attempted thefts of live wire have accounted for three deaths in Detroit and four more round the nation. It seems as though people are going to even more dangerous lengths to retrieve copper. In Detroit these scrapyard bounty hunters are raiding consruction sites and tearing down utility lines just to get their hands on this now-precious metal.

Tigers Stadium

2006-10-08T23:49:00.000-04:00

Last night the Detroit Tigers crushed the NY Yankees hopes for a World Series (in spite of paying their players $194,663,079.00 in 2006.) Although I rarely follow baseball, it was really exciting to watch the Tigers win last night.

Although it's all still talk and paper, there is a serious proposal to redevelop the old Tigers Stadium (the one at Michigan & Trumbull). After a bout of proposals for museums, confrence spaces, and even a Wal-Mart had all passed, the latest plan seems to have moved beyond the drawing board. Currently, Detroit's EDC has decided to investigate the deconstruction techniques that will be necessary for the site. Retail and housing wil surround the historic baseball diamond. The outline of the original park is slated to become a public playing field.

If you want to read more here's a June Freep article about the plans and a late September Detroit News piece detailing recent delays. Here is the article that I lifted the picture from.

City of Debris

2006-10-06T18:35:00.000-04:00

CIMG1810, originally uploaded by Helmers.

This is what I was talking about earlier. From this angle the site looks like a grand avenue of debris, like some kind of negative landscape. The two ditches mirror a tree lined street. The heap of rusty scrap could be a monument to some long-ago war.

If you want to see more just click on Helmers up above.

Osaka, Shanghai, Tokyo, Singapore, and Taipei

2006-10-06T11:23:00.000-04:00

According to Urban Land Institute (ULI) these are the real estate hotspots in Pacific Asia. Two of the top three are in Japan, ULI seems to be endorsing the Japanese market strongly, an indication that the poor economic situation there is nearly over. Here is the quick & dirty run down of their Asia Analysis:

Strong development markets include Bangalore, Ho Chi Minh City, and Mumbai, and these cities also are high on investors' buy lists. Other solid buy cities include Guangzhou, Bangkok, Beijing, Seoul, New Delhi, and Kuala Lumpur. The relatively mature markets of Melbourne, Hong Kong, and Sydney are viewed as hold markets. Manila and Jakarta are the lowest-ranked cities in the survey.

What are developer/investors working on in these cities. Offices are at the top of the list with the highest amount of investment. Just behind that is the hotel & resort sector. "New Delhi ranks as the best market for purchasing hotel and resort properties, with Mumbai, Ho Chi Minh City, Beijing and Taipei following." There're two Indian cities on that top five - it looks like the tourism industry is about to come to India in a big way.

Beyond offices and hotels the report says that retail, industrial/distribution, and housing are expanding in that sequence. I have only read the press release, but the full report is available on the ULI website.