Thursday, December 27, 2007

Science and Art come together to brand a city

Once in a while I come across a story or idea that surprises me with its simplicity and potential that I not only grin, but become a little ashamed when I realize what an impact a simple idea could have.

A gentleman in Seattle (I hope I don't embarrass him by calling him a gentleman) is instituting The First International Solar Sculpture Challenge 2008. There are rules stipulated in the challenge:
1 There shall be no batteries in the structure. All the solar should be direct use.
2. I think the sculpture should be bigger than a breadbox
3. The art installation should remain in one place. (I can envision it moving around but I think it should not be a vehicle or that moves more than 10 feet from a basic spot)
4. The sculpture must include either photovoltaic cells, solar flat panels, solar thermal evacuated tubes, or wind mechanics or all of the the above mentioned to qualify for entry.
5. The structure sculpture must be placed in the city of Seattle by the Summer Solstice 2008 (June 20th 23:59pm 2008)= June 21 2008


I suppose the reasons why this is a great idea are actually rather evident. First it creates the opportunity for educational and research institutions to create programs that would showcase their student and faculties talents. It would allow for more public installations that would raise awareness as well as create areas that could be activated or reactive as destinations. It could also put the city hosting it on the map as a concentrated nexus of art and technology. I suppose my favorite part of the whole challenge is that it is incredibly attainable and should be relatively easy to gather all the support needed (from local government, schools, businesses, artists and professional organizations) to pull this off.

So, who in Cleveland is going to put one together for here?

Monday, December 24, 2007

Finally, an acceptable use for beets...

As you travel the roads this holiday season, perhaps you may be so lucky as to wander upon the remains of one of childhood's most distasteful threats, the beet. During the extraction process of removing sugar from sugar beets it was noticed that the left over material had a very low freezing point.

Someone thought that this would make a handy de-icing material for roadways and so viola, beet juice road de-icing mixture which has already been tested in Akron may find its way onto more Ohio roads.

Supporters say that the beet mixture is less harmful on cars than straight Calcium Chloride (road salt) which is corrosive to metals (ie. bridges and cars)and deadly to vegetation (ie. roadside lawns and farm fields). All sugar has been removed from the solution before it can be used for roads, otherwise it may attract animals (or small children).

Questions remain. Will the roads appear purplish? Will liver and onions find an acceptable use as housing insulation? Will Dwight Schrute's beet farm reap the rewards it has deserved lo these many years?

Sunday, December 23, 2007

Selfish altruism - buying things locally is really just spending money on yourself...

..if one figures that supporting local businesses means supporting local infrastructure (through taxes), and, um, supporting local government's descision making processes (which are at times questionable).

Anyway, there are only a couple of days left until the big Tuesday morning gift exchange. I wonder if one could hear the simultaneous sounds of millions of packages being unwrapped from space? I took a strange route this year. I didn't do the internet thing so much, instead I tried to wander around some smaller neighborhoods and window shopped. I have so far successfully avoided all 'Big Box' stores as well and instead concentrated on the many community downtowns that surround places that I enjoy visiting anyway such as Waterloo, Tremont, Cleveland Heights/Coventry and of course Lakewood. I could probably list off what I purchased from where since I doubt anyone in my family gives my internet voice any attention but I won't, just in case.

Anyway, for those of you in the time crunch, looking for ideas or places to window shop I would like to remind everyone of the many local gift guides available on the Internet.

Cool Cleveland's Local Gift Guide
COSE ibuyneo Website
Green City Blue Lake Gift Guide
Cleveland.com (Plain Dealer's) Local Guide.
Cleveland Free Times Local Guide

Of course a real treat to those receiving and those doing the shopping is to take a walk along the many commercial downtown streets of the neighborhoods you enjoy and window shop. Make sure to check out for any specials in the chocolate shops (or free samples), stop for some coffee or hot chocolate in a local cafe, grab a decadent bite and enjoy having the freedom to spend the time really picking out something special instead of madly dashing about in a frenzy. I know there is a rush, but you should take the time to enjoy all of the holiday and what it really means.

Happy holidays everyone.

PS. In case anyone is wondering, for the holidays I would really enjoy it if more people got involved in their local communities, whether it be mentoring a child, cleaning up a street or even just taking part in a community planning discussion. That would be a really nice gift for me. Oh, and chocolate.