Car Free by Tatsuro Kiuchi

Love this. Link

An elegant, small-space bedroom solution: The Murphy Bed!

From Youtube user patrickstar64.

Synergies

Marrying laser technology with wind turbines increases efficiencies 5% to 10% and reduces operational costs. Potential increase of 3.5 gigawatts capacity with existing infrastructure.

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2010/03/lidar-wind/

Real Flaming Lips House

Ethereal bedroom and bathroom space.

http://design-milk.com/the-real-flaming-lips-bathroom/

Green Home - Hong Kong

300 square feet of multi-use living.

http://planetgreen.discovery.com/videos/worlds-greenest-homes-hong-kong-space-saver.html

let me know when we hit bottom

Slate summarizes:

...unexpectedly grim unemployment numbers released yesterday. While the rate increased only slightly to a 26-year high of 9.5 percent, from 9.4 percent, the raw numbers led many to warn that economic recovery isn't on the horizon. The U.S. economy lost 467,000 jobs in June, marking the first time the monthly losses increased after they had been steadily shrinking from the January peak of 741,000.

...

In addition to the basic unemployment rate, everyone points to worrying signs from the so-called underemployment rate, which includes part-time workers who can't find full-time work and those who have given up looking, that has increased to 16.5 percent.

Let's not hold our breath for a market rally to the good ol' overinflated days, shall we?

solar cells tuned to their location

The new Quantasol gallium arsenide solar cells are more efficient than the common silicon solar cells but do so at specific light frequencies. The cells have been engineered to allow them to be tuned to the light conditions at their location. From the New Scientist article:

That may only be one-tenth of a percentage point higher than the previous world-record holder, but it's the first advance in 21 years. Commercial silicon solar cells are much cheaper than GaAs, but have an efficiency of just 10 to 12 per cent and are also bulkier. The Quantasol device can cope with much brighter light without becoming overloaded, making it possible to use a very small solar cell to absorb light collected by a system of cheap lenses and mirrors.

Gallium is a by-product of aluminum or zinc refinement, and arsenic from copper or gold refinement. I wish I knew more about the energy debt incurred in making a solar cell, and more about the pollution, etc. involved with making these versus silicon chips.