minimalia's Profile

This appears to be essentially a nicely-designed evaporative cooler (also colloquially referred to as a "swamp cooler"). The drawback of these is that they only work within certain temperature/humidity ranges.

They're popular in places like Arizona. Unlike the other "solar-operated window AC unit" that's been passed around design sites lately, this one may actually work.

...which is not to say humidity-harvesting isn't entirely impossible. Just that you're going to need much more complex systems to do it, and you still need a fairly high existing level of humidity (WaterMill fails below 30% RH, this one probably would too).

Sadly, Cupajo is correct.

I'm really starting to get tired of these conceptual designs which cannot possibly be built. In the end, these aren't product competitions, they're just photoshop contests. Let's just skip the middlemen and link up some Worth1000 entries.

...of course, maybe I'm just being a bastard because nobody is giving me an award for my invisible weightless ring which makes you immortal, immune to all diseases, and fantastically attractive. I have another design for a ring which lets you fly and enables FTL travel, but I'm saving that one for the next award cycle.

but seriously do you guys just filter out stuff with PCs showing?

No, it's a giant conspiracy (involving pink unicorns from Australia, the IMF, and a secret cabal of editorial staff from Die Welt), and you're the first person to notice it. Congrats!

...posted from an HP workstation that looks like it was hit by the Ugly Truck...

I bought from the same place mentioned above; I just got the bare metal skeleton because I mounted mine behind a movable wall panel I was building. Quite satisfied. It took a while to ship, but that didn't bother me (it may bother you).

Also: holy crap, the boxes are heavy. Seriously. Have an elevator, or else some friends. This is probably why it took a while to get to me.

Speaking as an ex-Lit Theory grad (god help me), I never really understood the whole "book romanticism" thing.

...setting that aside, it's an odd premise for an article. Common, but still odd. Technology isn't antisocial, people are.

But hey, let's do it right, get to the root of things and ban the wheel & all forms of assisted transportation. Transport allows people to get where they're going without walking, and without having to hire a dozen porters. Think about all the conversations that would ensue if everyone had to carry everything by hand!

Really now, what's more sociable -- one isolated guy in a truck with ten thousand pounds of tomatoes, or a hundred guys carrying boxes? One guy in a truck disrespects the community at large; a hundred guys tromping down the street means all manner of conversations, work songs, and human interaction.

The wheel: antisocial technology par excellence.

Don't even get me started on the evils of fire.

Err, I should also say that I'm not opposed to Starck or his turbine. Heck, best of luck to him.

...I'm just saying the numbers being tossed around in the press are insane. There's probably small print somewhere saying "we only claim to achieve 80% of 38%".

As far as an anonymous note goes, what exactly do you think the person is going to do with that information?

...unless you intend to pay for the sleep study and resulting therapy (if any), it's not going to change your life one whit, aside from potentially garnering a new enemy.

Getting a note about something they can't change isn't going to well-received, and anyone who snores loud enough for you to hear probably can't fix their problem or they'd have done so already for their own reasons.

Be sure to anchor the hell out of it; people are heavy, especially when they "plop down" on a chair rather than easing themselves onto it.

I'm not saying you need giant bolts -- just be sure you get into the wall studs on both sides.

Having said that, folding shelves & chairs rule. One thing to watch out for is the back of people's clothing rubbing on the wall and marking it up (belts, poorly-dyed clothes, etc.). It's not tough to fix, of course, just a mild irritant.

I think next time I might mount things such that the "back" area is unusually durable, and try to hide it by working it into a paint pattern or something (eg: vertical stripe that happens to be the same width as the chair).

...that way I could use super-durable paint on that area, and conceal the change in tone/gloss.

Also, if you do any plumbing work on the supply lines elsewhere it may dislodge crud and thereby gunk up the aerator. This is especially true in large old buildings.

...so, for example, if you hear about plumbing work being done in your condo building, maybe check your aerators later that evening. I didn't, and nearly summoned a plumber after my water "stopped". Oops! Fortunately a wiser friend saved me from undue expense.