Four Amazing Green Greenhouses Built 40 Years Ago By Michael Jantzen

by Lloyd Alter
from http://www.treehugger.com/

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All images credit Michael Jantzen
Artist and designer Michael Jantzen is best known for his visionary building ideas like his M-House, covered recently in Fast Company, but I was really excited by his older stuff like his Autonomous House, that I called a Thirty-year old green wonder. Trolling the older work on his site, I found some amazing looking greenhouse structures, and called him to find out more. What he built and what he said is really remarkable. In fact, it's amazing.

In 1980 he built this commercial greenhouse to raise seedlings prior to the beginning of the gardening season in Illinois. The structure is designed to conserve energy by moving the plants from the outside to the greenhouse to an insulated section,

There is a large mound of earth and it is connected to the greenhouse. There is a steel culvert under the mound of earth insulated with foam insulation. At night the plants roll into this underground space to keep them at the temperature they need so we wouldn't have to heat the greenhouse at night.

This is a commercial greenhouse for growing seedlings. There is a track where you can slided the plant outside into a 35' glazed section, during the day when it was too cold outside, so you could pull the plants from the underground section to the glazed section. When it was warmer outside and you want to harden the plants to the climate, you could move the plants outside.

It was a machine for growing plants, where they could go from a superinsulated cave environment where you didn't need any energy at all. There was an insulated lid that closed up after the plants were in. As the temperature moderates and in the daytime, they would stay inside the glazed section.

Experimental Greenhouse 1987

Experimental Greenhouse 1987 was built for the Missouri Botanical Gardens. It was a modular, transportable unit.

This was much more complex; the white section at the end is super-insulated with foam.

The whole thing was automated; there is a little computer that monitored the air temperature and light levels, and moved the plants in and out depending on the available of light and heat.

And then further, the drawers where plants are sitting on stainless steel benches, there were plastic tubes with phase change material in them. That was the thermal mass that would absorb the heat in the rods while it the material liquified, and that would provide the heat needed at night. It was also designed to self-water and inject CO2.

There is a cable that runs to the back of the insulated tube to the opposite end, and pulls the tray out into the sun.

Note that there is only one section in the middle that is tall enough for a person to step in, so idea was to design the shape of the structure is designed so that you don't have to heat a large volume that the plants don't need, you only need one small section where a person can tend to the plants as they were moving past. In the summer, all of the panels slid open so that it could ventilate naturally. A very complex little structure.

There is a lot more; the early greenhouses that he designed to minimize the interior area, with wings for the plants and a lane down the middle for the gardener, minimizing the air that has to be be warmed.

Just room for plants and people.

The other greenhouses, like experimental greenhouse 1980, I was designing for the mass market. I was experimenting with growing plants in a cold climate. it was built with 2x4 and plywood and sprayed with foam on the outside to insulate. there were two layers of corrugated translucent plastic and in between was a blanket that rolled in between the airspace at night and rolled to the back in the daytime.

The corrugated section that you see you could close up like a roll-top desk. the side had a rock wall that would absorb heat during the day and you would blow air through it at night.

And there is still more material for yet another post to come. As I said, amazing stuff.

Hurricane Irene 'Big, Scary Storm,' Astronaut Says

by Andrea Mustain
from http://www.livescience.com/

Hurricane Irene seen from the International Space Station. CREDIT: NASA. View full size image

Astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS) got an eyeful of Hurricane Irene's increasing might today (Aug. 25) as their space capsule streaked over the monstrous Category 3 storm, which is barreling toward U.S. shores.

Ahead of the flyover, ISS video cameras revealed placid views of wispy white clouds scattered over the blue of the ocean. Then a huge mass of white appeared on the horizon: Hurricane Irene, a powerful debut storm for the 2011 Atlantic hurricane season.

Even from 220 miles (350 kilometers) above the Earth, the storm's muscle was on full display.

"This is a big storm," said astronaut Mike Fossum during a live video feed from the ISS this afternoon. As the ISS moved closer, a dense swirl of thick clouds filled the frame. [See the video of Irene here.]

"This storm is doing a good job of filling up the Caribbean here," Fossum said, and pointed out what he called the "classic pinwheel structure" of the storm.


It took the ISS roughly six minutes to traverse the breadth of Hurricane Irene, which has organized itself into a colossal storm with a diameter one-third the length of the entire U.S. eastern seaboard.

"We're used to traveling a long way in a short amount of time," Fossum said, "and if this storm is stretching from Cuba to the Carolinas, this storm is one big, scary storm."

Fossum noted that even over North Carolina's outer banks, a region not projected to feel the effects of the storm until Saturday morning, "there's thin stuff that's actually spiraling way out here."

Hurricane Irene is packing winds of 115 mph (170 kph) with higher gusts, and could potentially strengthen in the coming day, according to the latest report from the National Hurricane Center.

The ISS crew has been watching Hurricane Irene's development for several days now.

Although the ISS circles the Earth every 90 minutes — 16 times a day — because it travels at a slight tilt in relation to the equator, the panorama on view below changes with each pass.

During a video interview earlier today with SPACE.com, a sister site to OurAmazingPlanet, Fossum noted that yesterday (Aug. 24) the storm appeared to undergo a pronounced change, and its structure became very uniform.

According to the NASA ground crew, Hurricane Irene has a wind field 300 miles (480 km) wide, and shows no signs of weakening.

"Our prayers and our hopes are with the people who are hunkering down," Fossum said. "Good luck.

• Video: See Irene from the International Space Station 
• Infographic: Storm Season! How, When & Where Hurricanes Form 
• In Photos: Hurricane Irene

Andrea Mustain is a staff writer for OurAmazingPlanet, a sister site to LiveScience. Reach her at amustain@techmedianetwork.com.

Beavis and Butthead make fun of Jersey Shore

Beavis and Butthead are back and they couldn’t have found an easier target to pick on. Watch as the rip into the STD infested cast of Jersey Shore with all of the awesome jokes you grew to love. MTV is currently still making the episodes, stay tuned for more clips like this as they start to air.

How To Be A Successful Homeless Person

By: Maurice
From: http://socialhype.com/
In today's economy we don't know what can happen to us. Many of us have too much pride to go running home to our parents or seek government help so instead we decide to become a hobo.

Well if you chose to be homeless or get stuck in that unfortunate situation, here are some useful tip that can help you become a successful homeless person.

10 beatboxers with ridiculous skill

By Kristin ConardFrom http://matadornetwork.com/

Doug E. Fresh, beatboxing pioneer, performing in Brooklyn. Photo: Jason Persse.

Using little more than their mouths and a mic, beatboxers turn themselves into musical instruments.

BEATBOXING started in the 1980s as an element of hip hop. Since then it has progressed with beatbox competitions and world championships, and people such as these 10 ultra talented beatboxers turning it into an art form in itself.

Beardyman

He got his nickname from a show early in his career where a name was needed for the flyer, and at that exact moment, he had a beard. And a star was born. He was the 2006 and 2007 UK Beatbox Champion, and he has a touch of the tongue-in-cheek comedian to him when he performs – check out his “Kitchen Diaries” clip on youtube.

Nathan “Flutebox” Lee

I remember in high school band that only girls would every play the flute. So wrong – another UK beatboxer, Nathan “Flutebox” Lee makes the flute manly and, frankly, bad ass.
Here’s a bonus to working at Google – they apparently bring in some pretty wicked live entertainment.

Doug E. Fresh

Doug E. Fresh was one of the pioneers of beatboxing in the 1980s. His website proclaims him as “the original human beat box.” I don’t know if he was the first person ever, or just the first one to popularize it, but I don’t know that I care – he’s still around, and he’s good.

Rahzel

This New Yorker beatboxer and former member of the group The Roots is known for his ability to rap/sing and beatbox at the same time. He does it here at the 2005 Red Bull BC One.

Eklips

French beatboxer, performing since 1990, Eklips is also a member of Le Remède. Watch him perform the history of hip hop in 4 minutes.

Bellatrix

Men may be able to hit bass notes easier, but there are some amazing women beatboxers out there, like Bellatrix. She started performing in 2004, and in 2007, she formed The Boxettes – an all female beatbox group. In 2009, she became the Female World Beatbox Champion. Watch her face off for that prize with Swiss beatboxer Steff la Cheffe.

Biz Markie

Biz Markie is another beatbox pioneer and legend. Along with more traditional performance venues – concerts, clubs, etc., he’s also performs on the American children’s TV show Yo Gabba Gabba with the “Biz’s Beat of the Day” segment. (Rahzel’s also been on the show.) At first, I thought it was a bit off putting that he’d be on a kid’s show, but then as I thought about it, it makes sense – he’s introducing kids to the genre.

Matisyahu

Matisyahu is a Hasidic Jewish musician who blends reggae music with beatboxing, Jewish musical motifs, and rap. He came onto the scene in 2004 with his first album “Shake Off the Dust…Arise.” Skip to the 2:30 mark in this rendition of “One Day” for his freestyling.

Kenny Muhammad

An old school beatboxer, Kenny Muhammad is known as the “Human Orchestra” after performing in a score composed by conductor and composer David Eaton. He’s also the originator of the “wind technique,” which is basically audible breathing while simultaneously making other noises – try it for yourself with this tutorial, though it make take you quite awhile to have the breath control and skill to do it well.

SkilleR

SkilleR is one of the world’s fast beatboxers, and while a relative newcomer to the scene (he’s in his early 20’s), he was Bulgaria’s first national beatbox champion and he’s performed worldwide.

Reporter Asks Soccer Player to Autograph Her Bare Ass, Is Turned Down (Video)

From: http://www.totalprosports.com/

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Well, I guess we’ve got another sideline correspondent to add to our list of sexy international sports reporters. While we’re at it, we should probably also add her to our list of sexy Latin American sports babes.
The only problem? I can’t seem to figure out what her name is.

Ah, who cares. Like Shakespeare said, what’s in a name?

The point is this: at end of this sexy reporter’s interview with (now former) CD Saprissa player Wilson Munoz on the field at a Costa Rican soccer game, she asks him for an autograph. Then she hands him a pen, unzips her pants, pulls them down, and points her thong-clad rear end at the guy. Flabbergasted, he politely declines, gives her a peck on the cheek (the one on her face), and bids her farewell.

Of course, after Munoz leaves, the sexy reporter becomes the story, and is immediately interviewed by other reporters. I don’t speak spanish, but from what I can tell, she generously offers to reenact the entire encounter.


So now the ethical question of the day. Wilson Munoz: gentleman or idiot?
Hat Tip – [Off the Bench]

Brutal Knockout By US Army Taekwondo Captain

Uploaded by blackoreaninja

US Army Taekwondo team captain knocks out some weak kid @ 0:51

Why even wear them?

 

imgur.com

Exploring the Eerie Underworld of Belgium's Abandoned Crypts

From: http://www.environmentalgraffiti.com/
Written by Michele Collet

Photo: Sven Fennema
A dark, eerie corridor leading to the resting places of the dead.

Treading deep underground, Sven Fennema explores the realm of the dead – a place where people were buried long ago. The labyrinthine tunnels of an old, abandoned crypt lie before him, full of mementos, grave plates, and the traces left by those who loved and came to pay their respects to the deceased.
Photo: Sven Fennema

Dripping icicles seep into the dark dank confines of the crypt.

Do the souls of the long departed also inhabit these subterranean corridors? Ask the man who took these haunting pictures, Sven Fennema, a leading light in urban exploration photography whose work tells the story of this forgotten underworld.

Fennema was born in 1981 in Xanten and now lives in Krefeld near Duesseldorf in Germany. Since 2007, the art of creative photography has been his passion. He loves exploring lost and abandoned places as he much as he loves modern architecture, and his knowledge of both serves him well.
 Photo: Sven Fennema 

In these images, Fennema captures the essence of a crypt in a small town in Belgium, conjuring the ghosts of the people who died and those who came to visit as well as the rack and ruin in which it now lies. We can feel the eeriness of this vault, a place abandoned to the skeletons hidden behind the crumbling walls and the spiders that now make it their home. This image of green mold creeping over the concrete above plastic flowers – beside the resting place of a long forgotten body – is a perfect example of the way the photographer captures atmosphere.

 
Photo: Sven Fennema

 A lone chair beside a plaque, as if waiting for a loved one to come and pay their respects to the deceased.

Crypts have a mood all to themselves at the best of times. They are sad and lonely spaces, especially for those visiting their loved ones. Yet abandoned, they become even more atmospheric, especially for an urban explorer: "The mood of a place creates an overwhelming feeling,” Fennema told us. “And the best example for this would be the old crypt, featured in the second chapter of our book [Anderswelten (Other Worlds)]. I never experienced something like this before. Seeing this unique place with the decaying graves and remains of remembrance – like the old crosses and flowers – was already special, but the rest is hard to describe."

 
Photo: Sven Fennema

Light shines in from skylights in another long corridor filled with the remains of the long dead. Water marks and mildew stain the crypt.

Crypts, of course, are stone burial vaults, most often built below ground, underneath church grounds or beneath the church itself. Some are even constructed on the grounds of private estates, though this particular crypt was part of a church and dates back to the 19th century.

 

Photo: Sven Fennema

Spiderwebs cover plastic flowers left behind long ago.

Fennema told us a bit about the history of this crypt: "In the past, when it was built, the crypt was one of the most popular places for underground graves in the country. When it was first expanded, it consisted of star-shaped hallways [when viewed from above] and was made for up to 400 graves. But the upkeep of it grew expensive, and these kinds of tombs became more and more unpopular, so the authorities stopped maintaining it and it was abandoned."

 

Photo: Sven Fennema

A fallen flower holder lies on the floor behind a chair for visitors.

This particular history mirrors what has happened to many crypts in our modern world. They are built increasingly less often, as cremation becomes ever more popular; and while regular cemeteries may remain with us, crypts are dying as places for burying the dead. The expense of crypts is a major consideration given the extra work it costs to build them and maintain them for visitors... This eerie image speaks volumes: how many people sat on this chair grieving for their loved ones?

 

Photo: Sven Fennema

In black and white, the timelessness of a bygone era is captured.

History notwithstanding, Fennema cannot help but return to the atmosphere unearthed in the crypt: "There was the sound of dripping water everywhere, which also dropped on us and which gave us goose bumps, together with the silence. The air was very cold and wet, and you could see your every breath – also an experience I will never forget. It was as if death was close beside you somehow. The crypt was full of those strange plastic flowers – still with their bright colors – but it was also full of spiders' webs and other kinds of decay.”

 

Photo: Sven Fennema

Withered old leaves line the cracked floor of the crypt.

The bodies are still entombed in the crypt even though it has been abandoned. Perhaps there were no longer any relatives to come and visit or perhaps the lack of upkeep stopped visitors from coming. Either way, the rot set in.

 

Photo: Sven Fennema

A decorative finial and picture holders attest to the care this lost place was once given.

At one time, someone cared for these long dead people, and the reminders of this can arrest the heart and mind, as Fennema explains: "There were the old crosses in front of the graves and other remains like figures and pictures; even some grave plates, already fallen. And then there was that lonely old little chair, perhaps made for past visitors – but for a long time nobody has used it as a seat in which to remember their lost ones. The most fascinating thing can be a direct motif which is just overwhelming, but also simply the mood or history of a place can catch me totally."

 

Photo: Sven Fennema

A cracked ceiling above the tombs of the dead add to the sense of desolation in the hall.

Fennema told us that after many years of abandonment, the crypt has now become too dangerous to access, and the authorities have actually closed up the entrance. One of the last photos Fennema saw of the crypt showed it to be full of half a meter of water.
 

 

Photo: Sven Fennema

As you can see from these images, Sven Fennema turns abandonment, decay and ruins into things of beauty. We asked him how he achieved this: "My simple answer would be: The beauty is there, you only have to see it. Abandoned places carry a lot of beauty and many stories; for me it's important to look at them over time and think about it, then the way I will present them grows in my mind. The natural decay is something unique, and of course another very important matter is the right light and moment, which can make a huge difference. I work with several exposures which I merge manually – my best way to manage the light."

 

Photo: Sven Fennema

Fennema not only takes photos; he has also published a book, with a friend, Bjoern Pretzel, called Anderswelten (Other Worlds): "The idea to create a book came to me, together with my friend Björn Pretzel, in mid-2009," he explains. "I met Björn on a tour in spring 2009 and since then we have gone on most of our tours together. These tours are very special and sometimes unforgettable. It's not only about taking pictures, but the adventures, stories and special moments."

“All this we wanted to gather together to make something really special,” Fennema concludes. “On the one hand, it was about showing a special collection of pictures, but the book also gives some background information and speaks of the overall mood.
 

 

Photo: Sven Fennema

A long, sad hallway replete with decay and ruin, with bodies resting in peace behind the walls.

Fennema explains the process: "We started talks with our publisher, who liked our idea, and immediately we started working on it. After a year involving a lot of work, we finished and were very happy in the end. We are glad we could convince the publisher to produce the book in such high quality so that we can now say it is exactly how we wanted it to be. Now it's been on the market for a year, and already more than half of our first edition is sold out, which is really a wonderful feeling, telling us that what we did was right.”

Sven Fennema has a number of series depicting abandoned and lost places that you can see on his website. His superb work has turned heads around the world and caught the attention of urban exploration lovers everywhere. We want to thank him for being kind enough to take the time to answer our questions.

Do you want some Wi-Fi with that beer?

By Om Malik

From http://gigaom.com/

Wi-Fi is everywhere, and thank goodness for that, otherwise we would all be stuck paying through the nose for minuscule bandwidth from greedy carriers that want to overcharge for overloaded and poor 3G networks. Now there are a lot of places where you can get Wi-Fi: coffee shops, fast food joints, some train stations and shopping malls. The latest place to join the Wi-Fi revolution, according to entrepreneurial blog Springwise? Pubs, the epicenter of British social life.

Dutch beer maker Heineken has sponsored free Wi-Fi in 100 London pubs and will add another 200 pubs across the U.K. by the end of 2012. British newspaper The Independent will provide location-specific content on the network. This is a brilliant idea; sponsoring free Wi-Fi access is much better and cheaper advertising opportunity for big brands, something we’ve been saying forever.

However, what Heineken has done right is targeting its ideal audience/customer demographic in the right location. Google sponsoring Wi-Fi on Virgin America, and at some airports, was another such clever co-branding/marketing effort that targeted the right audience.

Hey Nike, how about coming up with free Wi-Fi at baseball stadiums?

Ghostbusters 3 Hopes To Shoot This Spring, Moving Forward Without Murray?

Author: Eric Eisenberg
From: http://www.cinemablend.com/

 

 

Back at the start of this year I had the chance to sit down in a one-on-one interview with director Ivan Reitman when the subject of Ghostbusters III came up. While rumors were flying around involving potential casting and story, Reitman said with authority that, "Virtually everything you’ve read on the internet [about Ghostbusters III] is not accurate." It was a pretty eye-opening statement about Hollywood's rumor mill, but now Dan Aykroyd has opened up a bit about the project and if we can't trust one of the stars of the film who can we trust?

The veteran comedian was recently a guest on Denis Miller Radio where he said that the project hopes to begin production in the spring and talked both about the film's plot and what's going on behind the scenes. One aspect that Aykroyd confirmed is that the film will indeed see the older Ghostbusters passing the torch to a group of youngsters, but the reason is because the original group is not doing so great. Said Aykroyd, "My character, Ray, is now blind in one eye and can't drive the cadillac. He's got a bad knee and can't pick up the pack. Harold [Ramis], Egon, is too large to get into the harness. We need young blood and that's the promise. We're gonna hand it to a new generation. Production in the spring, I hope."

So with that aspect of the story confirmed, who might we see in the new group? One actor that has caught Aykroyd's eye is Matthew Gray Gubler, who plays Dr. Spencer Reid on Criminal Minds and was Joseph Gordon-Levitt's friend Paul in (500) Days of Summer, but Aykroyd didn't say if they've approached him yet or if he's just on a list somewhere. He then continued by saying that they will be casting and that the new group will include three guys and one woman. "We're going to see everyone that wants to do it," said Aykroyd.

The most interesting thing the comedian said on the program, however, was about the development of the project and the involvement of Bill Murray. For as long as the project has been around Murray has been the lone hold-out and the solely responsible for holding up production. At the start of the audio Aykroyd said, "Yes, we will be doing the movie and hopefully with Mr. Murray. That is our hope." He then continued by saying that while Murray is the lead character and "contributive to it in a massive way," he alone does not make up the entire picture. "The concept is much larger than each individual role and the promise of Ghostbusters 3 is that we get to hand the equipment and the franchise down to new blood."

Is Aykroyd suggesting that they Ghostbusters 3 could move forward without Murray? While it's entirely speculative at this point, it almost sounds like Aykroyd is trying to butter us up so that when it's announced that the sequel won't have Dr. Peter Venkman the blow will be softened. I know there's thousands of fans out there who want to see another Ghostbusters, but will they go see it without Murray?

Van Damme Friday - Int'l JVCD Forum

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