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First car-share lane to be built in the UK

Fri, 24 Mar 2006 12:59:18 EST

The concept of car sharing is becoming more and more popular, We have previously featured several companies on TreeHugger such as Flex-Car in the US, GoGet in Australia, Streetcar in London and we recently came across another company operating across the UK called City Car Club. However the concept of car sharing is not only related to these car pick-up schemes, but also the old-fashioned idea of the car-pool where people share the cars they already own. This used to usually be a neighbourly thing, but with the help of the Internet new widespread communities are being created. National Carshare is one such network in the UK where you can register to share your commute to work. Even the UK government has taken note of the car-sharing trend and has given the go ahead for a separate car-share lane to be opened on a motorway in West Yorkshire.

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feels like Spring to me

Fri, 24 Mar 2006 12:45:58 EST

What a good ride today. There was almost no wind, and I felt a little late this morning leaving the house, so I pedaled hard, and it paid off; I got to work quicker than I have in a while.

Here’s a picture of me with City Hall in the background:

pretty cloudy skies, aren’t they?

So I got to work 10 minutes early, part of which was the added speed from not having to ride into a strong wind, part of which was that I was pedaling hard, but I also hit a lot of green lights. I think I only hit one or maybe two red lights the whole way to work, and I usually hit a lot of red lights.

Too bad I have so much work to do today, because it feels like a nice day to go for a long ride.

ride distance: 7.5 miles

weather data from wunderground.com
temperature	dewpoint	humidity	pressure	visibility	wind	wind gusts	precip.	sky
30.9 °F / -0.6 °C	26.1 °F / -3.3 °C	82%	30.14 in / 1020.7 hPa	10.0 miles / 16.1 kilometers	South 4.6 mph / 7.4 km/h	N/A	N/A	Mostly Cloudy

Junobot Nathan Crow

Fri, 24 Mar 2006 12:45:20 EST

Buy on

Buy on cd baby

"instant hooks, rubber-banded synth melodies and mid-tempo beats set one bare foot in the early Reagan years and the other in the less naive '00s." -Cameron Macdonald (Grooves Magazine, Sacramento News and Review):

Eschewing the simplistic, 'cut-and-paste' aesthetic of current digital electronic music, Junobot uses his motley band of vintage synthesizers and drum machines to channel a solid update to the synthpop genre. The way Junobot idolizes 80's synthpop, you might expect a mash of Vicious Pink and Naked Eyes. Instead, he promises a style all his own with The Nature of Technology; electropop with meat on it's bones, electroclash without the irony, industrial with feelings.

Taking the pulsing one-finger basslines of Erasure's Vince Clark and the minor-key despair of Depeche Mode's Martin Gore, Junobot moves deftly between dancy melodies that lodge in your head and darker song subjects.

On "Plastic", he sings "...just give me something/something to live for/just give me something/but don't give me plastic..." The line rings out like a plea for substance in the often tasteless sea of modern electroclash- which is not to say he isn't a fan himself, indicated by the track "Love Me." Dressed up with an eighth-note octave bassline and moog-y melody to boot, the track is a plaintive robotic cry to a lover-to-be with analog chirps in the chorus.

"U R Not Me" rocks the hardest here with a vocodered request for understanding trembling above the dark layers of synth pulses and driving early industrial-like bass drums. Other standout tracks are the remixes by Lemans Electro and the Duke from Freezepop (whose 'Radiant Sun' remix of Smile delivers airy vocals conjuring warm spring days with "...the cute one in the corner..")

More Tickets for Big Stupid Cars

Fri, 24 Mar 2006 12:35:31 EST

Here is another version of the ticket for poor vehicle choice, like the one that riled readers in February. Its from the Alliance Against Urban 4x4s, a UK based group whose goals are "to make driving a big 4x4 in town as socially unacceptable as drink-driving, and to increase taxes on the most polluting vehicles, including increases in road tax and a higher congestion charge in London." London Mayor Ken Livingstone agrees: "When you see someone trying to manoeuvre it round the school gates, you have to think, you are a complete idiot." Before everyone starts writing about how useful 4x4's are, we point out that a) the Alliance is against Urban 4x4's and b) this treehugger drives a lovely 4 cylinder powered Subaru 4x4 that is very useful for getting through snow and carrying lots of stuff that we need for our day job. It is all about scale. ::Alliance Against Urban SUV's via Bonnie in London

More Tickets for Big Stupid Cars

Fri, 24 Mar 2006 12:35:31 EST

Keep On Top of the Modern Board and Social Game Revolution at CriticalGamers.com

Fri, 24 Mar 2006 12:34:31 EST

Is your closet full of mid-century board game titles like Monopoly and Sorry!? Are you still answering questions about 1980's science and technology questions from a dusty version of Trivial Pursuit? The staff at www.CriticalGamers.com can help move you from the drab repetitive gameplay of yester-year into the entertaining world of modern Eurogames and social card games.

Blogpire Productions is pleased to announce the addition of www.CriticalGamers.com to our growing family of product- and category-specific Web logs. CriticalGamers.com will provide news and reviews of social board games, Eurogames, and card games. Critcal Gamer's goal is to weed-out the mediocre from the slew of modern table top game titles, and to keep readers posted on what's new and popular in the world of social gaming.

At CriticalGamers

Harvest Trike: And The Healthy Farmers, Healthy Profits Project

Fri, 24 Mar 2006 12:32:14 EST

Sore back and knees do not have to typify the produce-grower's life. And, family organic farmers don't have to make their kids and employees dislike their jobs either. All it takes is a bike mod like this one to pick those berries in comfort (second view here). The Healthy Farmers, Healthy Profits Project at the UW-Madison,( Wisconsin, USA) came up with the manually powered wheeled cart design shown, along with other tools along a similar line. If you have Power Point or a PPT viewer we highly recommend you take five minutes to download and view the slide show. Solar variations are practically begging to be incorporated into some of the devices, but, the project certainly deserves credit for "getting the bike rolling". The site offers plans for the do-it-yourself builder.

Snowing in Bay Area

Fri, 24 Mar 2006 12:31:00 EST

I was working too hard to put this picture in action. Hope you like the way it is for now. Check this first photo from one of the great viewer from Bay Area. Have a great snowing day.

Bio-Oil: Growing Your Own Petroleum Substitute

Fri, 24 Mar 2006 12:29:03 EST

We've shown you how to make your own biodiesel before, and now there's a way to make oil, too (sort of). Bio-oil, more specifically, made from sawdust, wood chips, or just about any organic matter. Wired has a story about some researchers who, hoping to ease America's addiction to oil, have developed a process to create bio-oil that can be processed into fuels and chemicals. Bio-oil is produced through a process called pyrolysis, in which organic scrap materials are finely ground and heated at 400 to 500 degrees Celsius, without oxygen. In just two seconds, about 70 percent of the material vaporizes and is condensed into bio-oil; the end result looks surprisingly similar to petroleum. Though bio-oil is chemically very different from petroleum crude, it can be converted into a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen known as "syngas," which can be processed into a high-grade hydrocarbon fuel, such as automotive diesel. Alternatively, the syngas can be combined with steam to produce pure hydrogen, which could be a handy helping hand for the burgeoning hydrogen economy. Looks a little complicated for a typical DIY, weekend project, but cool nonetheless. Much more at ::Wired via ::Make and ::Jalopnik

bush_pilot_button [Flickr]

Fri, 24 Mar 2006 12:28:05 EST

voxefx posted a photo:

z.about.com/d/politicalhumor/1/0/3/4/bush_pilot_button.jpg

bush_pilot_button [Flickr]

Fri, 24 Mar 2006 12:28:05 EST

voxefx posted a photo:

z.about.com/d/politicalhumor/1/0/3/4/bush_pilot_button.jpg

Lessig of Liberty

Fri, 24 Mar 2006 12:22:19 EST

So is the blogosphere a land of the free and home of the brave? ;)

(Via Doc Searls.)

Temperley Fall 2006 RTW A bit late to post this...

Fri, 24 Mar 2006 12:01:00 EST

Temperley Fall 2006 RTW

A bit late to post this, but I thought the Temperley show was definitely fab. Look at that gorgeous shoulder strap that looks like its made out of leaves!

Solvitur Ambulando: It is Solved by Walking

Fri, 24 Mar 2006 11:54:49 EST

Appropriate words from St. Augustine, quoted by writer Graeme Gibson.The statement, which translated means it is solved by walking, captures Gibson’s firm belief that personal solutions to the climate change threat can be as simple, practical, and economical as choosing to walk rather than drive – and that everyone can help. Gibson and partner Booker Prize winning author Margaret Atwood are passionate environmentalists- read more in Jo Coombe's article in the ::Bullfrog Buzz.

Read Margaret Atwood on Green Roofs. from ReadingToronto.

A visit to "Well Fashioned Eco Style in the UK"

Fri, 24 Mar 2006 11:42:46 EST

From Bonnie in London- Off to “ Well Fashioned Eco Style in the UK” , an exhibition of new green fashions (see Petz's post here) to see if this clothing is wearable and how serious these designers really are. The answer to both questions: very. Obviously the exhibiting designers are small traders whose volume will make very little impact in contrast to the main stream, big designer companies. But they are making use of alternative fabrics like hemp, bamboo and wild silk and recycled materials in novel ways.

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