Branding our war planes

We might call it branding today, but a lot of aircraft companies had a “signature style” to differentiate themselves from one another, even in the earliest days of aviation. No doubt, a big reason for this signature look was because most, if not all of an aircraft company’s designs were penned by the chief designer, who would certainly have stylistic preferences. There were also practical reasons, though. Not looking like the airplane your enemy flew went a long way in keeping you from being shot down by your wingman.

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No more feeds please

How abundant information is making us fat.

Lately I’ve been unusually cranky: It may be the frustrations of a difficult marketplace where economic adversity forces one to tolerate the otherwise intolerable. It may be the extra hours of summer sunlight here in the Pacific Northwest, which brings about an initial euphoria that can descend into mania. But with a gnawing conviction, I’ve come to believe that this crankiness is the physiological manifestation of an uneasy realization: there is too much opinion in the world and precious little fact. For the past two months I’ve found my idle thoughts converging on three disjointed but persistent topics: food, information and society. With time these three topics have paired themselves off into a set of relatively stable couplings: Food and Information, Information and Production, and Production and Society.

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Rooftop lawn

As my husband and I begin the design of our latest remodel we are searching for fun green ideas. One inspiration is the growing trend of roof gardens and lawns. The concept of a rooftop garden is old but recently it has become an integral part of architecture and green design. Multiple cities in the US and Europe are passing legislation or incentives to encourage green roofs. Benefits of a planted roof include improved insulation and air quality but for me the excitement of a roof lawn go beyond the green benefits. Living on a small city lot, I imagine an outdoor space to plant herbs and vegetables that is protected from my dog, a safe area for kid’s overnight campouts, and a patch of grass with a view of the mountains.