Designer Emulation Kits

The Designer Emulation Kits (DEK's) by Mark McKenna are a sincere homage to some of the greatest modern designers.

A typical 9 volt cell will power a DEK for well over 160 hours. It is normal for the light to be quite bright when first plugged in, and get progressively dimmer as the battery weakens.

The DEK’s use an LED (Light Emitting Diode) to turn the battery’s energy into visible light. Under normal conditions, it will last about 50,000 hours, or over five and a half years of continuous operation. Naturally, you will go through quite a few batteries in that time.

Available through his website: www.mmckenna.com
or at the Contemporary Art Museum Houston

Matchstick Garden

Tear out a matcchstick, plant it and voila! You have a flower or herb garden growing. Seeds are mixed on tip of each matchstick. Two styles available- herbs or wild flower mix. Great party favor.

Available at the Houston Contemporary Arts Museum Store

Read more at Matchstickgarden.com

UH Green Roof Updates

"Here are some photos from up on the Keeland roof at the installation of
the Hydrotech Green roof system. A HUGE crane dropped TONS of engineered
soil in the 7 bays on the south lower roof. So very exciting. After the drainage system and soil were in place, the erosion mat of coconut fibers
was laid down, tucked in and staked with what appeared to be clear plastic stakes, but were made of corn starch that will disentegrate. We have about a 6 week window to plant!"

~Chula

2007 Air Quality Report

Two types of air pollution are especially dangerous to breathe—ozone (smog) and particle pollution (soot). The American Lung Association State of the Air 2007 report grades communities across the nation based on the number of days they have unhealthful levels of air pollution. The grades come from the color-coded alert system called the Air Quality Index, which may be familiar from newspaper, radio, television and on-line weather forecasts.

Read more about Harris County OR Pick another county and see which have the higher air quality scores. (Brewster and Webb counties seem to have the only "A's" in Texas.)

A little "Joule reminder"

The Home Joule is an energy data display device that tells you how the price of electricity is changing, hour by hour. Plug this neat little device into any outlet and it displays a constang flow of data that includes your power usage, its price and even current weather conditions. The Home Joule is available in NY now, contact them if you're in another city.

HOW IT WORKS:
ConsumerPowerline analyzes energy price and usage data to create signals that are meaningful to consumers, and then sends those signals to Ambient uses its patented technology to match up those signals with particular Home Joule devices and broadcasts the signals on a pager network. Just as messages to specific pagers go only to those users, so do the energy signals find their way to the right Joules.

Green - vegetarian cuisine & coffee

When in San Antonio this week for the AIA Convention 2007 , be sure to visit green vegetarian cuisine & coffee. Located on North Flores street...just a hop from downtown.

The 1896 building, that it occupies, is located in an area of town that is undergoing revitalization. It has an energy efficient thermal roof barrier, offers a recyling dumpster for cardboard, uses biodegradable packaging when possible and lots more. So whether you go for the great coffee/teas, many vegetarian plates or just to hang out...you're bound to love it. Enjoy!!!