Mitt Romney the New Urbanist

Here is a link talking about how Mitt Romney supported some of the New Urbansim philosophies when he was governor of Massachusetts. We may have an undercover agent yet...may ...

http://www.oregonlive.com/mapes/index.ssf/2011/12/mitt_romney_friend_of_portland.html

Vermicomposting

I have seen the benefits of worm casting first hand after reviving some nearly dead discounted broccoli starts. Vermicomposting is becoming a viable industry that can both act as a fertilizer and prevent plant diseases. In my hometown of Charlotte, the airport has just launched plans to build a vermicomposting system that will use scraps from the thousands of visitors to turn a profit. Why pay someone to haul it away when you can make money off of it?

Worm Power takes a worm bin to a whole new level and makes it economically viable. Here is a good perspective from the business side talking about venture capitalists investing in these emerging agribusiness industries.That's right, look out Beau for the emerging organoagri-industrial complex sweeping the nation.

Green Infrastructure Video

Because communication is so important in what we do, I thought this video would be interesting for you all. Very nicely put together video here on green infrastructure. 

Crabtree Commons Project

Here are some select pages out of the Crabtree Commons project. We created a commons area within a cottage community that had to have doors to past and present, windows to the future, peace talk tables, and other crunchy stuff. I spent a lot of time looking into sacred geometry and fractals, the vast majority of which didn't make it into the final cut. Fractals were fractaling everywhere on this one and it quickly became time to execute. Nevertheless, I am excited to apply what I learned in the future. Also I feel like Sketchup and I finally really bonded. We had a long talk, I learned her likes and dislikes, and I think I know how to treat her  right in the future.

This was a difficult project for me. While I had a few minor aha moments (the viewing pavilion/hammock), I never reached the grandiose Aha! that I think we all strive for. I would love to hear all of your comments on this project, or if you feel you reached an Aha! in your own projects.

 

 

 

Fractals

This PBS special on fractals is one rabbit hole worth leaping in to. It seems hard to put some of these into an existing design, as I found out with our latest project, but fractals could certainly be the overriding concept in  future designs.

Sacred Geometry

 

 Part 1

Part 2

This is a re-post that Taze put on MSU's LA facebook page. This guy is too awesome. If you haven't checked him out - you should!

Time

Ten Things Everyone Should Know About Time

After just completing a project dealing with time, I though y'all might enjoy this. Only slightly far out after where we all went on our project.

http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2011/09/01/ten-things-everyone-should-know-about-time/
By Sean Carroll
"1. Time exists
2. The past and future are equally real
3. Everyone experiences time differently
4. You live in the pas
5. Your memory isn't as good as you think
6. Consciousness depends on manipulating time
7. Disorder increases as time passes
8. Complexity comes and goes
9. Aging can be reversed
10. A lifespan is a billion heartbeats"