Cup ramen timer
October 28, 2005
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There have been times, especially in college, when I would live only on Ramen Instant Noodles. This kitchen burner-shaped device is an "Instant Noodles Timer". After boiling water, you place the cup on the timer, which automatically shows a red light on. Then you set the handle for either 3 or 4 minutes and wait. When the time has passed, you'll hear a chime announcing that your noodles are ready. Only for cup noodles, you ask! Yes! But this proves to be a very popular product.
Free Spirit Spheres- Habitat for the Un-Tamed Spirit
October 10, 2005
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Free Spirit Spheres explains that "the uses for these durable Spheres are limited only by ones imagination and include: healing, meditation, photography, canopy research, hunting & leisure." Though preferably made to be hung from trees as shown, like a tree house, they can also be hung from any other solid objects or placed in cradles on the ground. Four attachment points on the top of each sphere and another four anchor points on the bottom are each strong enough to carry the weight of the entire sphere and contents. The Spheres skin (made of two laminations of wood strips over laminated wood frames) is waterproof and strong enough to take the impacts that come with life in a dynamic environment such as the forest. This way of living makes me think a lot about Robin's Hood's forest town, but that's just my imagination churning. To give you an idea a Hand Crafted Wood/Fiberglass Sphere which Sleeps 4 in 3 beds, has a countertop stove, sink and refrigerator and is Plumbed and wired for 20 amp, 120/240 volt AC, starts from $120,000. But that's top of the line.
Free Spirit Spheres go into production (Gizmag)
Amphibious houses
October 04, 2005
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I am captivated by the thought of these floating houses like these sold in Germany I previously covered. The Dutch smartly preparing for climate change and rising water levels are largely depending on these amphibious homes. If and when the rivers will rise above their banks, the houses will rise upwards as well. 37 of the floating houses are already strung along a branch of the Maas. The cellar, not built into the earth like I first thought is built into the platform. The hollow foundation can be compared to the hull of a ship, safely buoying the structure up above water. Two steel posts which are drivin deep enough into the earth to withstand currents you would find in the open seas prevent the houses from floating away and so as the water level sinks they sink back down in sequence. These model houses are built to last at least one hundred years, and can be fixed in the dockyard if there are any problems. If only New Orleans can somehow implement this brilliant idea.
Amphibious houses (we-make-money-not-art)
Floating houses rise with floodwaters (BoingBoing)
Floating Home
September 30, 2005
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If you have a fascination with water this new lifestyle may be for you! Buying a home by the water is expensive and hard to find then how about buying a home in the water? So why not make use of the water as the Londoners do in Little Venice asks the German based Floating homes company? In large German conurbations there is sufficient waste land with areas of water that could be reactivated and brought back to life by floating homes. These homes are modern inside to say the least, and feature a wide range of floor plan modification options. Sounds like an acquired taste, but hey what bachelor wouldn't want to be able to say: Hey! Let me take you back to my house, it's in the middle of the lake, we can be as loud as we want!
Floating home (Yanko Design)
wogg pavilion- step into the future of cool
September 04, 2005
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Created by a team of innovative swiss designers, and inspired by the aerodynamic beauty of hangliders and chinese lanterns, the wogg-pavilion’s architecture provides unlimited possibilites of use; from protection from the sun or rain, privacy from neighbors, an extra room, to a trade show-stopper or an instant gazebo. Both lightweight and rugged this sharp piece of eye-candy comes in two sizes and four colors: orange and light gray in large, red and ivory in small. Setting up is easier than pitching a tent; simply insert the flexible fiberglass rods into each section of the four-hooped frame, then adjust the tie-down ropes to secure your wogg-pavilion at any angle. A large wogg-pavilion goes for $1,450 while the small size retails for $1,190.
Studio mousetrap wogg-pavilion
