Where RockMelt outdoes the standard Chrome is the full immersion of Facebook and other social media.  By no means do I consider myself a heavy social network user.  (I don’t care that you just ate a burrito, watched Glee, or are sitting at Starbucks.) But…having RockMelt has made me want to share more than usual because it’s so easy.  My ideal social network experience involves sharing photos, cool websites, new music, etc.  I like to know what my friends like so I can go try it out and see if I like it.  RockMelt makes it easy to share a website or share your status because it’s built into the browser.  In fact, you can see any feed in handy little buttons on your sidebar.  The buttons even show how many tweets or Facebook messages you have unseen. Admittedly, this can be a distraction while working.

The search box built into the browser also functions differently than what most users are used to.  Instead of jumping right to a new tab or page within the browser, RockMelt displays a window that shows all of your results which you can then click to view the link.  There is a button to simply just open up the search results in a standard fashion.  Very handy.

Check out this video to see RockMelt for yourself.

Today’s post introduces Google Voice.

Google’s soon-to-be competitor to Skype, has some great features that any small business owner may want to get.  Being able to get a free phone number that you can “route” to any existing phone number is terrific.  What happens if you’re starting a business and want all your calls to get routed to your mobile phone? With Voice, you can do that…for free…for now.

Having voicemail sent to your inbox is pretty sweet, too.  But, there are a few downfalls to the service. For now, you can’t call out using your Voice number.

Check out the video below and let me know your thoughts!

photo credit: lars hammar

According to the website CruchBase “Thousands of brands large and small have created apps using AppMakr, including PBS, Accenture, Harvard Business Review, Maclife, Macworld UK, US Congress, PGA TOUR, Seth Godin, Guy Kawasaki, along with churches, music bands, and smaller publications like Racer X.” At least some of the users are a little mo

They list several apps on their website that were created using their services so I downloaded about six.  As I figured, they all function exactly the same.  It’s interesting to see the range in quality of the design that goes into the loading screen, home screen icon, and content found on the app.  It truly is free and you can tell with most of the apps.  None of them featured images that could be viewed clearly on the high retina display.  This also cheapens the look and feel of the app.  I did go through the setup process through their website and did notice that you can now upload images suitable for the high retina screen.  I guess either no one does it or I just wasn’t looking at the right apps.

I had been working on some info graphics for a client and stumbled across a similar idea where a company illustrated the need for a new logo. I took the website route.

The event was part of 10:10:10 the Global Work Party organized by 350.0rg. In this case it was an event that was created by Elaine Sanders as she said “If you can’t find anything near you, organize it and tell 350 about it”, so she did. Elaine is in her 80′s and needs oxygen – but she was able to find Bob Barnes with WDOT, a landscape architect who has been in the process of replanting a steep cut along Rt. 101. Bob had been able to get a lot of the clearing done, and was able to get 180 trees of local varieties to plant. Together they were able to recruit 30 volunteers ranging in age from their 20′s to their 60′s to get the job done.

This is an example of the power of the internet to allow groups to inspire and work together to achieve an aim. I would say about a third of the volunteers found the event solely through on-line means and didn’t personally know Elaine or Bob. Around the world 350 was able to help coordinate over 7300 events around the world including Afghanistan, Iran, and Iraq – places one would think are considered isolated. However with the dawning awareness that isolation is a construct of politics and culture – everyone can pull together toward stopping climate change.

So in your business what excites your customers? Is there a “meet up” campaign you can devise to bring your best customers together – maybe even in a volunteer fashion to do some local good. What is your passion, is it something your customer’s share? Find that commonality of passion and form an event around it.  Forging that connection and common experience is what makes community.

This global event is the brainchild of 350.org and 10:10 – two organizations that are insisting that CO2 levels must be globally lowered, each has two similar but different goals. 350.org (not to be confused with the grass roots local economy movement 3/50), basic goal is to lower total CO2 levels at 350 parts per million (ppm). Right now the global CO2 level is 385ppm, and rising. Their goal is to act now to lower it 35ppm, which is an achievable goal. Bill Mckibben, who wrote a book called “Eaarth” exploring how much Earth will be changed by run-away CO2 levels, so much so that we might as well rename the planet. Additionally he recently attempted to get the Obama administration to accept the original Jimmy Carter solar panels as an artifact and make a commitment to put solar on the White House (he was brushed off by some EPA political appointees).

The organization is 10:10, [Author's Note: This morning (10/05/10) the US website and Face Book page are down - embarrassing right? No known cause yet, other than my luck.]a British based organization that recently expanded in the US here in Seattle. 10:10′s program is more hands on. It is a voluntary pledge to reduce personal CO2 emissions 10% every year for the next 10 years. (So for me, my emissions are 13.40 tons/ year. So I need to reduce my emissions by 1.34 tons this year).  Individuals, families and businesses can join and take the pledge to reduce CO2 emissions. This is direct emission reductions, not a pledge to buy offsets, offsets may fund forest planting and renewable energy expansion, but it is not a direct reduction. Other ways to reduce your carbon foot print is buying local food and from local businesses in addition to home and personal transport energy reductions.

So on October 10th There are over 5000 events world wide, in over 170 countries. The events range from educational demonstrations to tree planting, to other activities (and after work parties – network, network, network!).  So if you’re feeling like the world is standing still on this issue and you want to get involved find something near you!

The architect in most normal contracts is responsible for the design of the building. This entails the part of the design most people imagine, the layout, the elevations, the material selections and basic systems. However design also involves the integration of the local and national codes, laws and ordinances that must guide the design. From the first drafts plans of the building these codes must be part and parcel of the design. The number of exits, the width of corridors, the ramps between levels, the size of bathrooms to comply with the ADA, the fire separations between uses, the overall size of the building, and many other factors. This is part of the design.

When the design is approved by the jurisdiction with authority (a city, county, etc.), it is issued a permit that basically states this design is approved as shown in the plans, and inspections will compare the construction to the approved plans. Making the construction conform to the plans is the role of the Contractor.

The architect during the construction phase may be contracted by the owner to observe the construction, to make sure it conforms to design intent. There is a major difference between observing construction and inspecting it. Inspection is the certification that every step in process has yielded an assembly that meets the minimum standards specified in the code. Observation is keeping a record of progress, and notifying the client and general contractor that there are items that do not conform to the design intent.

For example, on one hotel project we had a corridor wall that was to rated 1-hour, and to have an STC of 55. (Sound Tansferance Coefficient) The wall was the product of off site construction, built in a factory. The contractor installed it backwards. I noted this and contacted the structural engineer for his opinion. His opinion was that it didn’t matter structurally. The wall had what is know as a sound clip, it separates the drywall from the studs to cut the transfer of noise through the wall. Instead of running continuous along the corridor it was running on the room side, interrupted at each unit demising wall. I had to inform the client and the contractor that the walls did not meet design intent, (the location of the channel that should deliver the STC 55 required by the hotel franchise) but would probably pass inspection. (still maintained the 1-hour rating and performed structurally).

This left the client to decide what to do next; have the contractor disassemble the wall sheeting and rebuild it – wasting time, but meeting his franchise requirements, or let it slide and hope it made negligible difference in the long run. As it turned out this mistake did pass inspection, because it met the minimum requirements of the code. As far as the STC rating, unless expensive and controlled experiments are performed by an acoustical engineer it would be hard to determine objectively how the wall performs. But it leaves the client room to sue the contractor if subjectively noise is an issue that effects his business – the evidence is the record of the construction that did not meet design intent.

That’s the role of the architect in this process, to record observations about the conduct and product the contractor is providing to the client. The architect documents for the benefit of the client what is being done with out making claims as to the prospect of the certification of the product. We can further serve the client by giving our opinions and professional advice to remedies to meet the design intent of the documents.

There are two rules.

1. The check can’t be more than $1000
2. You can only deposit a maximum of $3000 per week

The app is extremely simple to use.  All you do is take a picture of the check (both sides) with your phone. The camera is built into the app and is proportioned for the rectangular shape of checks.  On the next day, the money is magically deposited in your account without ever leaving home. It doesn’t get any better than that.

Here are a few screen grabs I found online of the app in action.

I wonder if ignorance is truly bliss? Can we have too much information processing in our brain? Sometimes, maybe it’s better to just concentrate on what you know and not be brought down with the day to day lessons?

Not sure I know the answer. Any ideas?

photo credit: timailius

I was a temp at an A/ID office that was moving from Wicker Park to Downtown and we filled two dumpsters. A lot of it was samples. We all love getting things for free, concrete simulated stone, granite counter tops, glass blocks, binders full of paint chips and Formica planks. But home much space do they take up? How often are they used? I spent hours of man power throwing all of these things out. I could have built a house from the debris.

Every architecture office seems to collect tons (literally!) of this material, and has to provide space for it. Granted during the shop drawing review stage we may need to select colors, finishes, but then what? For the needs of documentation we’ll need it to prove we selected “bone white” not “Autumn white” for the trim at the 9th floor. But do we need to keep the actual sample?

There is a hidden cost in accumulating all of this stuff – it takes up space – either in square-footage we pay rent on, or in garbage costs when we end up filling a dumpster with it, or when we pay to have it moved to our new office. Then we find out a few years later they have discontinued that color or texture of that material entirely.

Has anyone found a solution to this? Is the internet and your used monitor trust-worthy enough to forgo a sample entirely? Will clients put up with making all of the color selections themselves? Is it considered cheap to send samples as Christmas gifts to in-laws? Let’s discuss what we can do before I have to fill another box full of brick samples.