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My own commentary
Posted by aolson | 08/12/08
I admit, maybe sometimes I take things too seriously and allow my emotions a little more control of my mouth than they ought to have.
That being said, I was shocked and quite embarrassed by Matt Lauer and Bob Costas' commentary throughout Friday's Parade of Nations during the 2008 Olympic opening ceremonies.
Ok, now I know three-plus hours of, literally, groups of athletes entering and circling an arena, waving flags and smiling, (and sometimes not), can quickly become repetitive and boring.
How wonderful it would have been to have learned during that time about the cultures of those athletes, and to have gained a little insight into some individuals and nations.
Instead, I was treated to Lauer and Costas' personal reaction to the Hungarian team's outfits...
CATEGORY: General Society
TAGS: Olympics, Costas, Lauer, Parade of Nations
Put that on your green roof... and live in it
Posted by aolson | 08/05/08
Photo lifted from Inhabitant.com
When we were younger and my sister and I would accompany our do-it-yourself parents to hardware stores, we would usually pass the time perusing kitchen appliances, gazing at the rows of light fixtures and selecting our future front doors. We were strange children.
After I met my fiancé and we became more serious, we would sometimes wind our way through department store aisles of stovetop ranges and refrigerators, oblivious to price tags as we chose a double oven then scampered off to browse window treatments. Alright, the drapes were all me. He took on the daunting task of choosing the right television.
A few years later, here we are, experienced renters who have since learned that your first fridge is not your fridge, and if you are paying $600 a month for rent, it isn't a stainless steel fridge, either.
Now, when I catch him in the right mood, we go online and look at houses for sale. Par for the course, we set our sights and standards high, and that is the mini-house movement reentered my consciousness.
I first stumbled upon the trendy, tiny homes a few years ago. I think a New York Times feature lead me to them, and I was fascinated by the idea of using literally every inch of space, and how the people living in these spaces were able to keep them so clean and uncluttered.
Now that saving the earth seems to be the underlying cause and effect of, well, everything living small seems even more relevant.
The idea behind micro-homes, is that they require little physical space, reducing the footprint of the inhabitants, and make incredibly good use of the space they have. Most of the tiny homes are also built primarily with eco-friendly materials.
They give new meaning to pre-fabricated homes. A cool, trendy, hero-of-the-planet meaning.
In light of a recent column I wrote regarding green roofs in urban areas, I thought I would highlight one of the most unique pre-fab micro-homes I have found: the loftcube.
Loftcube is a German-designed 20 by 20-foot mobile living space designed specifically for installation on urban rooftops. It is a super-sleek NYC style loft, wrapped in galvanized steel and glass, resting above the ground on four short legs.
The concept of Berlin-based designer Wener Aisslinger, the loftcube is meant to accompany a nomadic lifestyle, best suited for short-term stints of “dense urban life.”
What sparked my interest in the loftcube, among all the other micro-homes on the internet, was the price tag. In a 2007 Inhabitant article, the loftcube weighed in at just $55K.
Of course, a visit to the official website, loftcube.net, proved that not even moveable German pod homes are immune to inflation: a basic loftcube now goes for $136K.
Forgo the bathroom and kitchen, (I don't even know why that option is available), and have your very own loftcube installed via crane or freight helicopter for just $111K.
Did I mention the total square footage is in the 550 range?
Hey, nobody ever said living green was affordable.
CATEGORY: Environment
TAGS: micro home, loftcube, tiny home movement
Green roof envy
Posted by aolson | 07/22/08
Not long ago, the Time Warner Cable viewership was introduced to the Planet Green channel - probably one of the reasons I decided not to cancel cable and save $40 a month, whether that was a good decision or not remains to be seen.
I won't go so far as to say I'm a devoted follower of the channel, though I can sincerely say that every time I stumble onto the channel I find myself fascinated by whatever is being covered, usually a 'my home is greener than yours' special or a 30-minute showcase on new green technology.
It was Planet Green that introduced me to green roofs, and now I am hooked on the idea. Cities create thermal hot spots, where heat reflected and released by clusters of structures in cities are like bulls-eyes on an eco-unfriendly map.
That's where green roofing comes in. The basic premise is that all the wasted roof space in urban areas can be covered with low-maintenance vegetation, solving or at least sginificantly reducing the heat problem, the runoff problem, the air pollution problem and the aesthetically unappealing roof problem.
(Man, we have a lot of problems.)
In late June, New York State legislation established a tax break for building owners - individual homeowners included - who developed and maintained a green roof. A one-time reduction in property tax of up to 25 percent of the cost of the green roof, (the abatement tops out at $100K).
The roof "must sustain two inches of growing media and cover at least 50 percent of available rooftop space," according to greenroofs.org. That sounds easy enough.
Of course, the catch is that the tax break is only available in cities with a population over 1 million.
Do you know how many cities in New York State boast a population of more than 1 million people?
One city.
New York City.
I shouldn't have been surprised, and I guess I wasn't - just severely disappointed.
The combined population of the largest upstate cities in the state, (Albany, Buffalo, Cheektowaga, Rochester, Schenectady, Syracuse, and Utica), does not even break the one million mark.
So, what's up NY? Why can't I get a break on my green roof?
No, I don't have a green roof. But I would if I could get paid for it!
Ok, no, I probably wouldn't. Gravity dictates that it would be tough to install four inches of sustainable vegetation on a 45-degree pitch, and I'm not a property owner, so I would not get the tax break anyway.
That is clearly beside the point.
Since I moved back to New York with my fiance in February, I have heard the same question being raised continuously: why can't we get people to stay here?
"Here" can be anywhere, but in this case, "here" is Syracuse. People don't want to stay here.
Does anyone else see the disconnect here?
If every resident of the aforementioned upstate cities owned property, (which they don't), and installed a green roof on said properties, the state would spend less than one-eighth of the amount they stand to spend if the same situation were to occur in New York City, (and it won't).
So, why aren't our efforts as worthy of financial abatement as those of NYC property owners?
Is it because NYC's pollution problems are that much worse than ours? Ok, New York, give us a little time and keep those tax incentives just out of reach, and we'll get there, too - and then you can spend twice as much to fix the problem you could have paid us pennies to prevent.
CATEGORY: Environment
TAGS: green roof, NYS tax incentive, syracuse
Radio Gaga, or, My love letter to Pandora.com
Posted by aolson | 07/17/08
They call it the Music Genome Project, which seems anything but modest. But in truth, Pandora Radio is striving towards an encyclopedic database of music to stand as the musical equivalent to the mapping of human DNA.
I rediscovered Pandora today, and decided it was too good not to share, though it's nothing new.
The process is simple - go to pandora.com, enter a song or artist you adore, and sit back and wait for an automated search of the seemingly infinite musical resources to present you with songs the radio thinks you will enjoy, based on similar influences and style of your entry.
Your entry becomes a 'station', and the radio will continue to play music based on your initial entry and the ratings you give - thumbs up or down - to the songs it chooses for you. With each rating, the radio shifts the playlist to your tastes.
For example, I entered Langhorne Slim, an artist I stumbled upon a few weeks ago but have not had the opportunity to fully explore on my own. Pandora played a song of his I hadn't heard yet, and followed up with "Don't Ride That Horse," by Old Crow Medicine Show. And, they gave this explanation:
"this track features folk roots, a subtle use of vocal harmony, acoustic sonority, minor key tonality and a vocal-centric aesthetic."
HOW DID THEY DO THAT? (I don't really want to know how, I prefer to believe that little elves are living inside the website, catering to my musical whims and thriving on my enjoyment of hand-picked selections.)
Go there now, enter the name of an artist you're secretly obsessed with or a song that keeps bouncing around your head, and let Pandora introduce you a world of music you probably don't have the time, energy or inclination to discover on your own.
As I said, I rediscovered the site today. It used to be my go-to whenever I had an internet connection but no music of my own, or just needed to hear something new. Then, for whatever reason, I stopped visiting the site, and finding it again was like running into an old friend on the street you never meant to lose touch with. The only good thing about the temporary absence of Pandora in my life - it's actually saddening to think of the music I missed out on during that dark time - is that the interface has really been amped up, offering many new features I have yet to familiarize myself with.
The beauty - well, one of the beautiful aspects of Pandora - is that when you create a free account, your 'stations' are saved - every artist or song you enter is saved as it's own station, or you can add more to an existing station to filter search results.
To summarize:
What: Pandora Radio and Music Genome Project
Where: Pandora.com
The good: I've never entered an artist or song the engine didn't recognize, listeners can create new stations for each song or artist the radio plays by simply clicking on the menu of the song icon, and it's free. FREE.
The bad: No, you can't download songs from the site - when you close your browser, you kill the music. And listener's cannot enter a song and expect the radio to play it - they're working around copyright issues, here, so be patient, your song will probably play eventually. And, it is highly addictive.
Bottom line: Tailor-made playlists, minimal effort on your part. Free. If you are looking to hear a specific song, just buy it from ITunes already.
CATEGORY: Music
TAGS: pandora, playlist, music genome project
Snakes and lizards and turtles, oh my
Posted by aolson | 06/25/08
Last week I had the opportunity to meet with Diana Sleiertin, who operates Maxman Reptile Rescue in Jordan, currently home to 35 different reptiles in need of care.
The rescue was thrown into the limelight last week when four outdoor enclosures housing various reptiles were vandalized and two animals escaped.
One of those escapees, Dante, is a 14-foot, 80 pound Burmese Python.
Dante was found two days later, lying in the swampy bank of the Erie Canal only 50 yards from his cage, and quickly retrieved by Sleiertin.
On Sunday I went out to the rescue to meet Sleiertin, Dante, and a host of other reptiles and to get Dante's side of the story.
After the interview, I was lucky enough to hold Dante, while Sleiertin snapped a photo...
CATEGORY: Curiosities & Oddities
TAGS: Dante, python, Maxman Reptile Rescue
Why don't I bike to work?
Posted by aolson | 06/24/08
Because, eventually, I'll have to bike back home.
I don't live very far, geographically, from the Eagle office, a convenience that is sometimes lost on me as the nature of my work has me spending so many of my working hours on the other side of Syracuse.
So while it has always been tempting, it never seemed practical for me to ride my bike to work - what if news broke midday in Elbridge, and here I sit on Firestone Drive, helmet in hand and my vehicle so far away?
Then late last night I realized I was going to have to come into the office earlier than on past Tuesdays. This would have been less of an issue if my fiance and I did not share a car, work in different ends of town and have conflicting schedules - but we do.
And there was really only one thing I could do about it. The bus was not an option, the weather was good and I don't usually work out of the office much on Tuesdays.
It was time to take the bike.
And it was great - there is hardly any traffic at 4:30 a.m., and the adrenaline kept me alert enough that I didn't miss my usual two cups of coffee.
I used to ride a bike around Boston. Alright, I lied - I rode a bike around Boston once. Have you seen the way people drive in that city?
Anyway. Here I am, still alive. I made it to work in ten minutes - fifteen if you include the following five I spent gasping at my desk, hoping I would be able to breathe again sometime soon.
And all the extra work I had put off until today, causing the whole early-morning bike adventure, I finished without incident and it was a relatively successful production day. Now, I'm getting hungry and ready for a nap, (yes, I nap), and I've put in my eight hours here today, so...
I'd love to leave. But it occurred to me about two hours ago that the next time the roads will be as empty as they were when I came into work, will be 4 a.m.
The sun is shining, but it seems to be awfully windy out there - are those rain clouds?
I sent my fiance an e-mail around 11 a.m., filled with subtle hints that he should swing by and pick me up on his break and drive me home - not that I'm avoiding peddling the return trip, or anything.
He called a half hour later, laughing. He didn't offer, and I am too stubborn to ask.
It's just about 1 p.m. I think a press operator just heard my stomach growl. The weather forecast - which I've been checking in ten minute intervals for an hour now - shows no storms in Syracuse skies, for now. I need to leave, while I still can. Ok. Here I go.
Are these shakes from nerves or hunger? Either one can't be good.
CATEGORY: Vehicles
The equation of a great day
Posted by aolson | 06/20/08
Today is the happiest day of the year, says British psychiatrist and sellout Cliff Arnall.
Arnall's scientifically formulated today, June 20, to be the one day out of the year that produces the best mood across the board. Of course, he conducted the study for an ice cream company - hence the sellout designation.
His formula, O + (N xS) + Cpm/T + He, weighs a person's exposure to the outdoors (O), nature (N), and social situations (S), their positive childhood memories (Cpm), the temperature (T), and anticipation of summer vacations (He).
I thought about his calculation this morning as I stood in the rain at the Camillus Farmer's Market, chatting to the single vendor about the rising prices of fuel, supplies and oxygen. It was also in the back of my mind as I crawled along 690 East, one in a long line of cars with somewhere better to be, and again when I finally sat down at my desk to conquer three days' worth of postponed tasks in three hours.
Oh, how happy I am.
How happy, to know that the next 364 days are all downhill from here, and if I don't have an exceptional day today, the odds for every remaining day of the year are that much worse.
Thanks, Cliff.
Arnall specializes in seasonal disorders at a Welsh University, and he also determined the most depressing day of the year - but I won't divulge that information, lest I be held personally responsible for your inevitably bad third Monday of January.
Oops.
CATEGORY: General Society
TAGS: ridiculous 'scientific' findings
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AimlessCurrently the new kid on the block at Eagle, and editor of The Advocate and Solvay-Geddes Express.
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