News Briefs 09-10-2008
Posted by red pill junkie at 05:16, 09 Oct 2008"Will brief news for food" :-(
- Quetzalcóatl has returned! And in the form of... a house?? (More pics here)
- "LSD cured my headache, man!"
- This year's Nobel prize in Medicine opened old wounds —pardon the pun— and in Chemistry, scientist were awarded for their brilliant discoveries.
- Forensic analysis suggests Bach's wife may have written some of his music. With Einstein, that makes two who prove that REAL geniuses know how to relegate obligations ;-)
- Leading geneticist says human evolution has stopped. And now we go backwards to the tune of "Whip It".
- "One of these days, Chandrayaan-I: POW! to the Moon!!"
- McCain might hate planetaria, but the Bad Astronomer hearts them.
- Scientists meet for alien summit. Vulcan ears and Vader helmets are NOT welcome, though.
- Metallic vapor behind noctilucent reflectivity? 'Noctilucent'. Now THERE'S a word to write down, all you Scrabble fans out there.
- Incoming Reticulan vessel *implant activating* I mean, asteroid! exploded over Africa.
- Mother and son watched cow rise in golden-orange beam to disc. Poor, poor Bessie...
- Cattle mutilations is NOT a phenomenon exclusive to the U.S.A., you know.
- Deepest! Fish! Ever! Filmed!
- Ice Age people in Florida (video)? Come on, Nat Geo! Those retired folks are not *that* old ;-)
- The fight to save Ireland's sacred Hill of Tara from a freeway could end in a draw.
- You remember that 'uncontacted tribe' that was mentioned all over the web last year? Well, I've got some bad news for you...
- Now, Google wants to prevent drunk e-mailing—if suddenly I stop posting my weekly news briefs, you'll know why.
- Wikipedia: the answer to the prayers of lazy—and manipulative!— journalists all over the globe.
- Man in frenzied attack on priest after watching The Da Vinci Code. Perhaps the priest looked like Tom Hanks? :-P
- 'Miracolo!'. Italian plumbing bungle turns water into wine.
- Rating the paranormal TV shows.
- "Fosset. Steve Fosset." Take a look at the adventurer/millionaire's (RIP) super-secret flying submersible spaceship prototype —hot female side-kick not included.
- I haven't met Jay Walker, but because of his library, he's now my BFFL (Best Friend For Life).
Big thanks to Rick, Kat & Greg
Quote of the Day:
(On the defense of Oil companies):"Many people talk about loving the planet, but how many of them actually PENETRATE it"
Stephen Colbert
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Comments
2 May 2004
1 day 15 hours
"Will brief news for food" :-(
Maybe Greg could pay us news admin with food stamps?
30 April 2004
58 sec
Maybe Greg could pay us news admin with food stamps?
Let them eat books!
Kind regards,
Greg
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You monkeys only think you're running things
1 May 2004
1 day 8 hours
For anyone seeking a balance between the need for brain candy and the need to keep body and soul together, Amazon.com also sells groceries.
22 November 2004
1 day 22 hours
Note that this service is in the beta testing stage.
So would you be beta testing the service, or the food?
Oh I better add the
:)
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It is not how fast you go
it is when you get there.
2 May 2004
1 day 15 hours
Let them eat books!
Recycled paper only, I'm on a health kick.
10 August 2004
15 hours 8 min
As a ex-draftsperson I am very pleased that I didn't have to do the working drawings for this house!! What a night-mare! I'd love to know what the materials were that were used to build it. Concrete? Fibreglass? Ordinary house-building materials just wouldn't do the job.
Regards, Kathrinn
12 April 2007
11 min 12 sec
You'd be surprised how easy it is nowadays to undertake such complex projects with the help of CAD software. Personally, if it not were for this little machine in front of me, I would have never endured so much on the Constructions business! I HATED drawing plans when I was in college, I was too clumsy and dirty. And if you had to modify the project? ARRRRRGH!!!
Now, about the Quetzalcoátl building, it says here in a magazine I bought that it was made with a tubular structure of a ferrocement composite. The glazed tiles that cover the body of the snake like reptile scales were placed by hand. And the windows were custom-made too.
The architect, Javier Senosiain, has always advocated for an 'organic Architecture'. You can find more about his work here.
I like his style. It reminds me of Gaudí :-)
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It's not the depth of the rabbit hole that bugs me...
It's all the rabbit SH*T you stumble over on your way down!!!
Red Pill Junkie
1 May 2004
1 day 8 hours
What in the world is a 'ferrocement composite'?
Do you know if these 'tubular structures' are available in pre-formed sections that you, somehow, join together? That sure would make construction easier and faster -- and possibly a lot cheaper than conventional construction. I wonder how they cut the window openings?
No disrespect to Quetzalcoátl, but do you think you could run most of the tube through a small hill, to create a nice cozy hobbit house instead? If so, that would eliminate the expense of the tile and tilers, which might offset the added expense of hiring an earth-mover pre- and post- construction.
12 April 2007
11 min 12 sec
From Wikipedia:
I'm not familiar with this particular construction process, but I think it's pretty similar to fiberglass. You need a mesh or matrix material (the fiberglass or the chicken wire) and a bonding coalescent material (polyester resin or cement), so you can make any shape you want.
You could make a boat with ferrocement, but it would sink :-)
And yes, the forms are pre-cast, and assembled on-site.
No disrespect to Quetzalcoátl, but do you think you could run most of the tube through a small hill, to create a nice cozy hobbit house instead? If so, that would eliminate the expense of the tile and tilers, which might offset the added expense of hiring an earth-mover pre- and post- construction.
You could probably do a Hobbit torus! Frankly the material offers limitless possibilities.
The tile I think not only adds a nice aesthetic effect, but it might also function as a thermal insulating material. That's just me speculating, but it makes sense.
It would be great if they could automate the process more, so you could lower the artisan work and make things cheaper and more affordable.
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It's not the depth of the rabbit hole that bugs me...
It's all the rabbit SH*T you stumble over on your way down!!!
Red Pill Junkie
10 August 2004
15 hours 8 min
Thanks RPJ - makes perfect sense now you mention it - should have thought of that myself!
Incidentally, ferro-cement boats don't sink - a type of cement called Pozzolan is used, it's very light, the resultant structure very strong and marine termites break their teeth trying to chew holes in it! The first one in Oz was humourously dubbed the "floating footpath". I think it won a Sydney to Hobart race, too.
Regards, Kathrinn