“Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds, cannot change anything.”
— George Bernard Shaw
Archives for December 2013
NHL Hockey: It’s A Young Man’s Game
December 11, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Though the league has a handful of spry 40-somethings, the majority of players that take the ice in the NHL are much younger than their oldest peers.
Has the door opened for the NHL in Seattle?
December 10, 2013 By Leave a Comment
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — This is where the surf meets the sand. It’s a playground for the ocean seekers, and the golfers who flock here to play a round at the famed Pebble Beach, or The Links at Spanish Bay.
It’s not the kind of place that immediately brings to mind frozen ponds, a stick, or a puck.
A Little Inspiration For A Monday
December 9, 2013 By Leave a Comment
“You must form a clear and definite mental picture of what you want; you cannot transmit an idea unless you have it yourself.”
— Wallace Wattles
Portable MIDI Keyboards: 37 Keys, Lightning Connector
December 7, 2013 By Leave a Comment
IK Multimedia on Tuesday introduced two new keyboards for musicians on the go: the iRig Key Pro and iRig Keys with Lightning connector. They’re available for $149.99 and $129.99 respectively.
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Both keyboards sport 37 keys and the same feature set: pitch bend and mod wheels, an assignable data knob, lighted buttons for program and octave up/down, four programmable “Sets” keys to store custom setups, and an expansion pack to connect a sustain or expression pedal. They’re both bus-powered, requiring no external power source, and both are Core MIDI compatible, requiring no additional drivers to work.
Read the entire article here.
Food For Thought
December 6, 2013 By Leave a Comment
“Many of us spend half our time wishing for things we could have if we didn’t spend half our time wishing.”
— Alexander Woollcott
Landscaping Tricks to Manage Stormwater Runoff
December 5, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Help rainwater absorb slowly back into the earth with paving grids, gravel beds and other porous systems
Since I live in the greater Seattle area, I thought this post from Houzz was relevant.
If you’ve ever lived at the bottom of a hill during an extreme weather event, then you know intimately about stormwater runoff. I have distinct memories of watching my bunny rabbit’s cage float down to the bottom corner of the garden during major downpours, at the Dallas house I grew up in. Many family rescue teams had to be sent out to retrieve my furry friends.
Part of this was surely due to the fact that the Texas summers would dry out the land, and the big rains would be too much for the land to absorb so quickly. The result was a huge torrent of water gushing down the hill. However, it certainly didn’t help that all of our neighbors (ourselves included until we knew better) had huge, paved decks, effectively sealing off the majority of the earth that could otherwise absorb some of that water.
Last week I talked a bit about how a green roof is one way to help manage stormwater runoff. Another simple and straightforward way is to make sure that the landscape of your garden is permeable, including your hardscaping, paths, decks and driveways. I am by no means a landscaping expert, but in designing homes I often need to specify pavements as well. The following are a few applications where porous paving could be a good call.
Montréal | A Timelapse Discovery
December 4, 2013 By Leave a Comment
A beautiful look at my home town.
Montréal | A Timelapse Discovery from Stéphane MONG on Vimeo.