Recycling Old Vinyl into New Designs

The other day, I was walking the dog, and I came upon a box of "free stuff", sitting on the sidewalk. Naturally, I stopped, and marvelled at a collection of old vinyl records. Despite not owning a record player, I felt compelled to tuck the collection under my arm, and continue on home. They've been sitting in my living room for a few days now, and I'm wondering what to do with them. Scanning the internet for inspiration, I found these cuffs, on "Cut Out + Keep - a step by step crafty community" (a punk or retro precursor to Etsy.com?). I was thinking of making a mobile, however.

Any other suggestions? If anyone has any thoughts, I'll take them, and promise to photograph and post what I end up creating.

Revolutionizing Pixel: Reading the Fine Print

The fight against fleas, ticks, heartworm and other parasites is something that all dog-owners should be concerned about. For this reason, I have been using Revolution (by Pfizer) for my dog, Pixel. He's been on it since he's been a young pup. I liked it, because it was the most all-encompassing parasite treatment I knew of, and with only one application monthly, it was all taken care of. It was not until recently, however, that I noticed my dog's reaction to the drug, and so I read the drug label's fine print (see picture above). Nobody ever mentioned that he could actually die from it. In fact, besides the death part, my dog was experiencing all of the side effects listed in the "Adverse Reactions" section, in teeny, tiny print.
I thought it was worth sharing this information, because after reading the "Warnings" section, I didn't see anything too bad (their sections include "Caution", "Warnings", "Precautions", "Adverse Reactions", and "Safety", among others, and I had inadvertantly skipped over that piece of info... see the PDF on the Pfizer web site). In short, be sure to really read about any chemicals you are giving your furry friend, especially if they start acting strangely. I gave Pixel a bath at 1:00 AM, and he almost immediately went back to his normal behaviour.

A Dinosaur of a Story

Meet "Leonardo", a 77-million-year-old hadrosaur fossil, uncovered in Malta, Montana. Scientists say that he must have died at about 3-4 years old, and was naturally mummified in the sand that surrounded him, since then. What makes this guy particularly intriguing, is the fact that he is so perfectly preserved... so much so, that you can even see the last meal he ate, in his digestive tract.

The Houston Museum of Natural Science will be the first city to host our dino friend, in an exhibit that starts next week. Paleontologist, Dr. Bob Bakker delivers interesting insight, here.

Gorgeous Golden Migration

If you've ever witnessed a natural phenomenon, you know that it's quite awe-inspiring. Amateur photographer, Sandra Critelli, found herself in the midst of just such an experience: thousands of Golden Rays, migrating off the coast of Mexico, creating a fantastic mosaic of silent, gliding, fluid bodies. Here's the story.

Cool Car Design Befriends the Environment

Imagine driving your car for an entire week, and only spending a few dollars to fill up ... with clean, breathable, compressed air. No carbon emissions, no mess. The only emission, is air.

Moteur Developpment International (MDI) is designing and building the prototype for this new invention, a city car which boasts 110 km/hour, with 200 km to get out of tank in back before refilling at compressed air service station. There's talk of a fuel hybrid, which would allow you to get from Los Angeles to New York, on just one tank--a welcome relief from today's high price of gasoline. The French engineer who designed the car used to design Formula 1 cars.

Paperless Home

The Uhlik family has gone paperless. According to this New York Times article, Chris Uhlik (a Google engineer and founder of the Internet Archive) is well on his way to environmental bliss and harmony in his home, as are many other homes. He says that private homes are going paperless faster than offices, due in part to the cost of ink, printers, and so forth. That said, more electricity is consumed, as people turn to computers for their master copies... increasing the demand for that resource instead.

Marketing Campaign: More Garbage, Delivered Straight to Your Front Door!

The other day, I arrived home to discover that a package had been left at my door. More accurately, it was a plastic bag hanging off my front door knob. Upon closer inspection, I discovered that it wasn't really a package in the true sense of the meaning (something you look forward to unwrapping, perhaps a pleasant surprise from someone who is thinking about you). No, this was marketing collateral.

It caught my attention, alright... when I opened up the plastic bag, I saw a large plastic Yoplait Yoptimal yogurt tub inside. Odd, I thought, because it felt so lightweight. I opened up the tub, and sure enough, inside the otherwise empty plastic tub, was a glossy paper pamphlet.

One thought immediately crossed my mind: what a waste of plastic. Some cities don't even recycle these kinds of plastics. What about people who don't recycle at all? Their plastic bins will likely end up in some landfill for the next hundred years. What about all the other plastic tubs in my neighbourhood? and the tubs in the neighbouring neighbourhoods? ... and beyond? I felt cheated, and worse, I felt like they'd duped me, somehow, into thinking this was going to be something good, but in fact, it was just more stuff to throw away.

It made me mad that a big company could be so irresponsible, in the name of trying to capture consumers' attention (and hence, their money) in this ever-changing world of competing markets. A regular yogurt eater, I do not want to buy this brand, because of their lack of foresight.

According to OttawaKiosk.com, the Ottawa-Gatineau population reached a staggering 1,150,000 in 2005. It's probably more now. Assuming that the campaign was city-wide, and each household received the same package that I did, that's a lot of new garbage that will have to be disposed of... without ever serving any purpose beyond feeding maws the giant yogurt company. Large, successful companies have responsibilities to their communities, and should be strategizing on how to help communities, not hinder them. Shame on Yoplait.

All That Snow: Design Your Own Wall

If you run out of place to put all the snow you've been shoveling lately, why not stack it upwards? This winter has been especially snowy in the east (where I live), and many of us just don't know what to do with the next snowfall... but apparently this Ottawa resident (a carpenter) figured it out: build a "fence"! Read the chilling details here.

Green Frog Gone Black

I feel sorry for this little guy. I mean, he was going about his business, catching flies, sunbathing, going for swims, etc, when an oil pipeline blew, and the next thing you know, he's covered in thick, black, sticky oil. What are his chances of survival now? Will be able to move quickly, in order to hunt his food (and not starve to death)? Or will the oil infiltrate his skin, and kill him first?

Poor thing. Here's the link.

Lunar Eclipse... Missed it Again...

I've only once witnessed an eclipse, that I can recall. It was when I was a kid, in elementary school. I remember the fuss surrounding it, and the strict instructions not to look *directly* at the sun. Well, guess who looked directly at the sun. Oh yeah--I did. I'm not blind yet.

I don't mean to advocate looking at the sun when there's an eclipse, because quite possibly, one could go blind doing so. As I recally, it was really a sneak peak, in the truest sense of the expression... I held my hand over the place where the sun was, and then oh-so slowly, moved my hand away to reveal where the eclipse was reportedly taking place. I didn't see anything unusual. But then it happened, and the light went out of the sky.

Recently, there was another lunar eclipse. My brother called me from the West coast, to ask me if I could see it. This time, it was taking place in the night, and it wouldn't damage my eyes to gaze at it.

I peered out my window, but could see nothing from below the eaves of my house. I noticed the neighbour's young daughter out, all bundled up in a -25 degree weather snow suit. That was enough for me to decide that I would wait until the next eclipse to come my way.

Exotic Species Imitate Art

Fan of glass blowing? Well check out these eclectic samples of fine workmanship... brought to you, courtesy of Mother Nature.

The transparent, tuberous stems boast exotic-looking "fauna", among which, sea creatures such as starfish and anenomes frollick. These are the chilly Antarctic waters, just off of Tasmania. Photos were taken at a depth not previously explored, leading voyage leader, Martin Riddle, to think that new species may even have been discovered. How exciting!

Art or Science?

Welcome to the universe's own art gallery, which boasts endeavours that have been in the works for billions of years, and will likely continue, well after our species is extinct. NASA documents these natural phenomena with Astronomy Picture of the Day.

This particular image is a nebula... a mass of dust and gas, and a couple of stars. It looks to me, like a contemporary art canvas, or perhaps the close-up of a glassy monster eye.

The surreal glowiness of the bottom image (with the black tree silhouettes) reminds me of those black velvet Elvis-styled tapestries of the 70s.