Month: November 2010

Bed Bugs

A complete guide how to get rid of them. I hope i will never have to use this guide.
2015-05-28: Bed bugs were nearly eradicated in the days of DDT, but have since evolved resistance. They loom large in our fears.

But its dominance went through a hiccup in the 50 years following the Second World War. During this time, the bug was a mere phantom in the United States and parts of Europe, Asia and Australia, wiped out, in part, by DDT and other modern chemical marvels. The pest was so rare that it shrank in our collective memory until it seemed like it didn’t exist at all, save as a bogeyman in a nursery rhyme: Good night, sleep tight. Don’t let the bed bugs bite. Then, starting in the early 2000s or so, bed bugs descended like a plague on New York and other cities across the world. The exact story of their comeback isn’t clear, but the best version is this: not long after the DDT deluge, some of the bugs had evolved resistance to the insecticide – an evolutionary inevitability – and survived in pockets worldwide.

Domed City

Eco-city 2020 is a proposal for a domed city for the rehabilitation of the Mirniy industrial zone in Eastern Siberia, Russia designed by the innovative architectural studio AB Elis Ltd. Dome cities can be made profitably and that they can provide energy efficiency and other benefits. Examples were provided of large EFTE (superstrong and light teflon) and aluminum structures that provide climate control for the interior structures and current largest examples of geodesic domes. An EFTE Geodesic dome can probably be brought down to $1K per m2 in cost. However, even $5K per m2 domes can be very profitable. Domes can make buildings inside more economical by reducing the need to heat or cool them. The Dome themselves can leverage atmospheric and other effects to maintain constant internal climate and generate power. The domes can use vents and can have a large chimney for airflow and even more temperature control.

lots of megascale architecture recently

311 is not a joke

the service also helps city leaders detect patterns that might otherwise have escaped notice. After the first survey of 311 complaints ranked excessive noise as the number one source of irritation among residents, the Bloomberg administration instituted a series of noise-abatement programs, going after the offenders whom callers complained about most often (that means you, Mister Softee). Similarly, clusters of public-drinking complaints in certain neighborhoods have led to crackdowns on illegal social clubs. Some of the discoveries have been subtle but brilliant. For example, officials now know that the first warm day of spring will bring a surge in use of the city’s chlorofluorocarbon recycling programs. The connection is logical once you think about it: The hot weather inspires people to upgrade their air conditioners, and they don’t want to just leave the old, Freon-filled units out on the street.

Facebook skeletons

“I think all of us know that politicians would have to confront the Facebook skeletons in their closet, but that it would be in 20 years, not in 2 years. By the time the next generation comes into power, they’ll just assume this is how it’s always been.”

the “politician embarrassed by social networking” trope gains steam.

Synergon

Synergon is a BLARP: a business live-action role-playing game. Players create fantasy characters who start out as low-level corporate drones and then perform boring, soul-destroying repetitive tasks set by a game-master (called “The Boss”) until they level up. Players also fight one another for the chance to do more boring, soul-destroying tasks.