Wired 12.12: Roads Gone Wild via Design Observer--the no-signs, no-stripes approach to traffic calming

Absenter: Opening battered and tough

Sandbag Shelter Prototypes, various locations, 2002-2004, corbeled sand bags reinforced by layers of barbed wire, Cal-Earth Institute, Nader Khalili, US, via Boing Boing

a door to paradise. designboom and cocif international on-line design competition. via BAYA email and Brian Canevari

Wood Foundations wow

Snap search: general structures, a rough search

Areguide.pdf (application/pdf Object), which includes the general structures division statement

GS, download the cheat sheet.

ENTER General Structures Forum - Multiple Choice Divisions - ARE Forum General Structures, where there is a great cheat sheet.

General Structures again from AIA Silicon Valley, the online test is here. Still only 5/10 for this student, not ready to pass.

Amstar Engineering, Inc. - Structures Video Seminar--this page gives instantly recognizable subject headings.

Learning From Accidents and a Terrorist Attack covers normal accidents like Three Mile Island and unusual accidents like 9/11.

The defense of U.S. airspace on 9/11 was not conducted in accord with preexisting training and protocols. It was improvised by civilians who had never handled a hijacked aircraft that attempted to disappear, and by a military unprepared for the transformation of commercial aircraft into weapons of mass destruction. [page 31]

The "first" first responders on 9/11, as in most catastrophes, were private-sector civilians. Because 85 percent of our nation's critical infrastructure is controlled not by government but by the private sector, private-sector civilians are likely to be the first responders in any future catastrophes. [page 317]

House like a studio apartment in a S P A C E B O X - General information via reBlog. Would it apply to the US? Not easily.

, good for ya' category

gravestmor via things for "an irreverent architecture weblog."

gravestmor ? do it yourself

Step One: Gather your entire village together in one spot.
Step Two: With your fellow villagers, go out and chop down some trees.
Step Three: Again with the villagers, lean the trees up against each other, forming a kind of tree tee-pee.
Step Four: Seal up all the gaps between the trees using other trees if necessary. This step is essential for later steps so make sure the tee-pee is water tight.
Step Five: Make a big timber box around the tree tee-pee. This will be used as form work for the next twenty four steps.
Step Six: Pour 50cm of concrete into the formwork and leave for a day.
Steps Seven to Twentynine: Each day pour another 50cm of concrete until you reach the top. If you have followed the instructions correctly you should have a big concrete box with lots of horizontal lines on it. Inside the box should be an intact tee-pee made from trees that you and your fellow villagers cut down with ancient farming tools.
Step Thirty: Go inside the tree tee-pee. Light the trees on fire.
Step Thirtyone: Run outside and let trees burn.
Step Thirtytwo: Once trees have burnt away go back inside and clear away the debris.
You should now have a big concrete box with a hole in the middle shaped like a tee-pee. If you don’t have something like this, go back through the steps to check where you got it wrong, otherwise post a comment below and one of our staff members will attempt to help you out.
Step Thirtythree: The final step is to pour floor liquid silver over the floor. This will make the floor nice and reflective.

Google Search: gutter size calc points to an imaginative PDF that looks at rainwater catchment systems in the San Juan Islands.

Google Search: gutter size calc points to a PDF that shows roof calcs in a memorable way.

Sizing Gutter Systems answers the question, one downspout every 10'? 20'?

Counting Bricks The Easy Way McGraw-Hill Construction | ENR - Utility Gets The Joints Too