Pie Chart

I am having a whale sized week of events and work.   I just needed to organize my thinking and I came across this TED lecture that I found fascinating and very useful.

David McCandless on The Beauty of Data Visualization.

A journalist and writer begins looking at patterns and is becoming a designer of Information patterns,

Compressing information into visual patterns; visual patterns being the language of the eye.

“Design is about Solving Problems”

Color makes a difference to our understanding, it interprets for our eye and intake filters.

One can take the glut of information amassed and piece it together to get the real information and the real data that is relevant to understanding and learning.

McCandless’ graphs and charts already completed are truly vital to understanding what our designs are teaching, sharing, and saying as we remodel and create new structures in our environments.

Hope you will enjoy this video.

Bamboo

I have completed six trips to the airport in the last few weeks.  With all the construction on the Interstate I never knew if it would take the usual hour or more and that was tough to judge.  I started loading up my car with CDs and lectures and trying different radio stations.

One trip took 3 hours to get back home!

One midnight run I tuned into a rerun of LIVING ON EARTH on NPR radio.  I heard 4 fascinating stories and one about  the  Bamboo Bicycle Studio I just wanted to share with you.

They have a blog.

San Francisco Studio of Bamboo Bikes

Two fellows in Brooklyn, New York started a bicycle company to design and build a cheaper, better bicycle for the folks of Ghana.  One that would be affordable to everyone and one that could manage the bumpy terrain.

They figured out how to make a very great bicycle out of bamboo.  It is about half the cost of a metal or steel made bicycle from China and of course bamboo is nearly in everyone’s back yard.

They offered workshops in Brooklyn and recently added a workshop in San Francisco and anyone can sign up and build their own bicycle.  Since the first airing of the story they now have a factory in Ghana and folks there are building their own bikes.

The bike is very light weight and sturdy.

I liked that this group survived and are still flourishing.  The whole concept made me feel good, and I liked how this became a Global endeavor.

I am sure there must be some drawbacks, but mostly after checking them out on line – it feels very win-win.

What do you think?  Could you design an environmental friendly bike?  Would you ride it?  Would love to know your thoughts about this project.  Have you heard about this before?

Thank you for coming by and reading. You are appreciated.

My Dream Bike is still in shop for repair at least I have another to  ride!

Wilsonia_pusilla

I came home from work early the other evening because my daughter and her friend were here for dinner.

It was just so great to have company and such good hearty food from the garden to enjoy.

The evening was lightening up my spirits and relaxing the tension from my shoulders.

When sudden out the window a flash of yellow darted into the Gravenstein apple tree, then another and I think I saw 4 altogether. We all got out of our chairs and our guest knew the name of the birds and identified them as Wilson Warblers – possibly on their way to winter in Mexico.

Then the sun broke through after a couple of gray misty days.

The colors were dazzling and there below the branches of their dance were a pair of Chickadees enjoying the treats in the sweat peas.

Chickadee

I felt grounded and as though the world was going to turn around just right – I had a sense of joy that has been missing from my life for quite awhile…Nature in her wisdom had brought me home.

Song: audio

Chickadee: audio

Does nature offer up joy for you? Do you take the time to enjoy? Are you so busy these days that these moments pass you by?

Just thought I would share a bit of the joy that just came to me- deep breath, sigh, and enjoy!

I have always worked on making my designs and projects as compatible with the surrounding area as possible and I am constantly learning new ways to keep the structure sustainable and Green.  It is my job and my value to keep growing my understanding so that I can assist in planning the future and the buildings that every living thing will need.

Climate change laws were submitted to Congress and our Legislature – they were good starts to addressing the problems and concerns of the environment.   From my assessment, they were good starts to the Architecture 2030 program and they were “baby steps” towards what the citizens want to have happen.

There were some incentives to help homeowners and small businesses get a grip.

But I think the Greed factor of big corporation and industries are still driving the resistance parade.  There were not enough votes and so they were shelved.

I know that our congressional and legislative representatives have a very short times to learn and understand the words of the experts and the folks on the ground, and I am not alone, Frog Blog is responding to this in frustration, in feeling that these divided and shouting lawmakers are still not being responsible to what the earth and most citizens are understanding.

Climate change is greatly on my mind as I prepare to vote in our primary election.  I want to be a voice for our future.   How about you?

Wanted to share this TED lecture with you about the oil spill – I think it is good information to share:

Inspiration

I have been working on project interviews lately and highly focused for many hours at a time.  I have found that I am enjoying reading some of the posts by bloggers from other fields of endeavor and I thought I would share with you some of the inspiring ideas I have discovered….

7 Dazzling Ways to Ignite Your Creative Spark

Here is a post on Delightful Work about how your childhood focus can assist in your choices now. Listening to your life work.

Tess on the Bold Life  gave me 40 quotes on boldness that empowered me.

On smiling just because you can The Levity Project

Career Planning Coach Karen Swim writes about Thinking Small to go Big

Lessons learned from Dr. K  on Interpersonal Skills and the Art of Persuasion

Or from London how about 5 Grown up Beers to Drink.  I do not drink beer but the article was fun to visit and explore.

Hope this list gives you some energy and inspiration?  Have you discovered any fun post to enjoy lately?  Inspiring? Change the pace and spiritlifting?

My daughter was on the tandem with me, her first time STPing. We started out from Husky Stadium about 5:15 am on July 17th.  We were doing 145 miles to Kelso, Washington on day one and the other 60 or so miles into Portland on Sunday.

And in the beginning:

and in the beginning 2010 Stp

Barely awake and ready to ride

barely awake and ready to ride

Freezing cold when stopped.  Where were our jackets?

freezing cold when we stopped moving

On cell phone cold and tired

on the cellphone cold and tired

Still smiling and tired at rest stop

still smiling and cold at rest stop

Had our jackets the 2nd day

second day had our jackets

Forgot to take pictures of the yummy banana bread!!

Rose Center Park about noon on Sunday

Rose center park

Support team at our arrival

support team waiting arrival

It was quite a ride!   Will you join us next year?

Old Refrigerator

This is not about the bicycle part of my adventures;  this is about the green endeavors.

Our 33 year old refrigerator, out in the garage for garden produce as the freezer part never worked well, really gave up the ghost and some kind of liquid (Freon?) all over the floor.

We called the Appliance store where we purchased it and they would not recycle because we were not purchasing a new one.  But they told us to call Puget Sound Energy before we paid someone to take it to the landfill.

We did!

Puget Sound Energy has a recycling program and they pay an incentive fee.   We set up an appointment; washed and dried the old frig inside and out, and then kept it running.   We took the escaping fluid to hazardous waste management and they accepted it.

The truck came right on time and several forms were filled out and a check will be mailed to us in 4-6 weeks to say thank you for recycling.

80% of the old machine will be recycled and we have already noted a drop in our power bill because it was not very energy efficient in this day and age.

Great Idea and Concept and we were happy to participate.

Do you have a good recycling of appliance program in your area?  We also have a used construction materials store, which we have taken a number of items there such as old windows and door knobs and extra flooring material.   Recycled lumber store? Recycling made fun?

London Skyline

Since my Architect was so interested in the London Festival of Architecture and we have been highlighting this summer’s events here on BA, I decided I should read the book for the Architects Enigma Contest.

The book arrived too late for participation in the contest and we do not know London well enough to answer the clues, but it made following the events much more interesting and fun.

Summer fun is a good thing.

The book is billed as a “fast-paced thriller taking the reader on a page-turning ride along the line between London’s colourful high life and its dark, sinister underworld.”

The main character architect Rob Gilbert is of course a wealthy designer doing international projects and we all know that architects are quite a wealthy lot!!!????  My architect is 1/3 of the way through the book now and he says Mr. Gilbert is a JERK, and the story is interesting.

I am sure Gilbert smokes at least 2 cigarettes and has at least 2 alcoholic beverages per chapter.  He does his best work under the influence.

Yes it is a fast paced page turner, because the chapters are so short and move the time frames along dramatically.   The author does not waste a great many words on feelings or interpretations and the Gilbert fellow is really caught up in himself.

The women in the story are definitely a male fantasy expectation.  It’s a good thing that Gilbert’s daughter is so smart.

It is a fun read and fast.   Good for the beach or an afternoon on the deck.  It was fun to look up the REAL buildings that were referred to and see what they look like on the NET.

We all know of course that all architects are wealthy!!!

The Master Plan – another architect story by Bancroft is coming soon.

exterior-sun-shade-in-position

I also wanted to check on our production of solar energy from our panels as our payment check from the Energy Company will arrive near the end of July.

Our Personal Achievement:  besides a lower bill and hot water

all-in-a-row

Energy produced  966.9 kWh  over 10 months  and 164.2kWh this month
That could power for 1 day:  2,9230 light bulbs or 967 computers

Light Bulb

The carbon offset equivalency = 19 Trees planted or 85 gallons of gas not spent.

Forest

The Enphase Community has generated   16.6 GWH

Which is the equivalent of:

• Taking 2,280 cars off the road for a year
• 1,030 acres of forest planted
• Avoiding production of 11,923 metric tons of C02
• Consuming 27,728 barrels of oil
• Of powering 565,190 homes for 24 hours.

I was impressed and am still excited about taking the risk for the solar panels…

Related posts:
Solar Construction on our roof
Making exterior skylight sun shades for our house
Solar Energy more than just a bright idea

Puzzle

If I registered for this competition, I might win the prize which would be enough to repair my Dream Bicycle?

My Family has ordered me the book, which is exciting in the first place and I think this will be a good riddle to work on.

My book will be here before June 9th…

Here is what the site specifies, does it look interesting to you?

The Architect’s Enigma competition, to be launched at the London Festival of Architecture (LFA) on 19th June will reward the first person who can solve a graphic riddle with £1,000 cash prize.

Entrants must simply purchase a copy of The Architect, by Charles Bancroft and register free of charge online at worldarchitecturenews.com. The international competition is open to everyone.

The launch at the LFA will reveal the first clue, an “odd looking shape” which has been generated from the storyline of the book. The publishers expect that initially it will be almost impossible to crack and every week new clues will be released until it is solved.

Charles Bancroft says he is; “very excited about the challenge as a new level of interaction between readers and a story, they will have to really engage with the plot and the characters to discover the link.”

Phil Sills of Raptor Press in Boston said, “This competition promises to be a lot of fun and embodies the spirit of Charles Bancroft’s thriller, The Architect; colourful, fast paced and a celebration of London. It also brings to life the enigma of the book’s central character, London based architect, Rob Gilbert in graphic form.”

Since its release in October 2009, the gripping thriller has established a growing following and has received consistently strong reviews. It has also smashed sales records at London based World Architecture News selling more than any other book in its 7,000 + online titles.

Reviewers have praised the work for its “cinematic style” and “thrilling and cleverly interwoven” plot and Bancroft is currently working on a sequel, “Masterplan”, which is due out this autumn together with an audio book version of The Architect.

The competition will be open for registration on Friday 21st May 2010 and participants are urged to get hold of their copy now and register early in anticipation of the first clue. Full details of the competition will be available on worldarchitecturenews.com and lfa2010.org

The London Festival of Architecture runs from June 19 – July 4. Further details can be found at www.lfa2010.org

Let me know if you are going to enter.