An autonomous aircraft designed to operate in dangerous territory has successfully completed its maiden voyage. Read more
Autonomous rescue aircraft makes its first flight
Author: signordal
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Monument to Privacy: Is This Manhattan Skyscraper a NSA Listening Post?
Many have walked by and wondered what purpose this vast, windowless skyscraper in the heart of Manhattan serves. 33 Thomas Street, also known as the “Long Lines Building” (LLB), appears as an impenetrable monolithic fortress amid a canyon of glass and steel. Ostensibly an AT&T telecoms building, the New York Times have reported (based on investigative work by The Intercept) that this “blank face[d] monument to privacy” may in fact be a NSA (National Security Agency) listening post – and hidden in plain sight.
Designed by San Franciscan John Carl Warnecke—an architect who worked closely with the Kennedy administration, and even designing the late President’s mausoleum—the Brutalist tower was completed in 1974. Built to withstand a nuclear attack on New York or, at the very least, a devastating loss of power to the city, the 550 foot-tall (169 meters) structure is supported by systems that allow it to provide enough food, water and fuel to sustain 1,500 people for two weeks completely removed from public infrastructure. It has been said that during the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks it was the only operational building south of lower Manhattan.
Plan for the tower mechanical equipment floor at 33 Thomas Street. Image via The Intercept
The history of the LLB’s programme is not totally fabricated. While it continues to house AT&T’s long distance telephone switches and carrier exchanges (originally as the New York Telephone Company), it also now operates as a datacenter and “gateway switch”. The vision of the practice who designed it, according to The Intercept, was as “a communication nerve center like a ’20th century fortress, with spears and arrows replaced by protons and neutrons laying quiet siege to an army of machines within’.” They continue:
True to the designers’ original plans, there are no windows and the building is not illuminated. At night it becomes a giant shadow, blending into the darkness, its large square vents emitting a distinct, dull hum that is frequently drowned out by the sound of passing traffic and wailing sirens.
Story via New York Times. At this time no concrete evidence is available which connects the building to the NSA – for more information read The Intercept’s article in full.
33 Thomas Street, New York City. Image Courtesy of wikimedia user Marcin Wichary (CC BY 2.0)
8 Benefits of Jogging Everyday
When was the last time you had a good sweat? Exercising doesn’t mean joining an expensive gym, messing up your life schedule and buying hundreds of dollars worth of new fashion clothes. All you have to do is throw on your pyjamas and go for a fifteen minute run every now and then in the morning or night. It helps clear your mind, strengthens your bones and muscles, and has infinite long term health benefits. Check out all the great benefits just a short jog every now and then will give you.
1. Cures insomnia
Well, let’s admit it – jogging can be hard work! There’s a difference between jogging down the street in your neighbourhood and jogging through rain up a hill. The point is, there’s many forms of jogging, and at the end of the day, they are all relatively exhausting! If you are suffering from insomnia, there’s a good chance it is a way of your body telling you that you have not worked hard enough during the day. When we lay in bed at night, it is often because our days had been very slow and mundane – we have not exhausted enough energy for us to feel tired. If we develop a natural tiredness, we can fall asleep naturally and without any insomniatic aids. Try running.
2. Relieve stress
First thing that may happen when you start running is that you will be distracted – your mind will be too busy keeping you focused on the exercise. You will be in the zone. When you start sweating, something is happening to your body. It’s a great feeling to work hard and release the endorphins involved with exercise. People who regularly do fitness are much happier than those that do not. They have a regular release of toxins from their body, and the relief of stress that comes with it.
3. Slow down the effects of aging
Our bodies naturally deteriorate over time – this is no secret. Regular jogging will slow down the effects of aging by restoring bone structure and muscle growth. Your joints and tendons will be naturally re-connected to your muscles, which support the bones underneath them. We need to maintain our health as we get older to avoid the decay of our muscles. Otherwise we will be more prone to osteoporosis and arthritis.
4. Boosts confidence
Take pride when you tell your friends that you have been running! Encourage them to do the same. If you begin a jogging habit, your leg and feet muscles will feel stronger, you will have less stress and you will feel better that you are doing something good for your body – overall your confidence will increase and people will see the light in you.
5. Develop a new hobby
Jogging is a lifestyle. People who enjoy jogging read magazines, go to new stores, and will meet different people. You will start to develop to interests in jogging literature and music. You will listen to new music when you’re running and ultimately learn more about the way you think and the things you like. Every new hobby is a new step in life.
6. Balance your appetite
Perhaps you have a slow appetite and don’t eat much – or maybe you eat too much! It could all be a result of not having regular exercise. Jogging regularly will aim to balance your metabolism – you will feel hungry at essential times, and satisfied at others, instead of having an irregular diet that you may have now. You will know when and what you have to eat due to the breakdown of muscles and sweat, and you won’t have to think about when you need to eat next. It will all come naturally with balanced exercise.
7. Improve stamina
Of course the more you jog, the better you will get at it. But it will also improve your stamina in your day to day life. You will feel refreshed and more energized. You will rely on coffee less, and be more naturally stimulated to complete your day.
8. Support your cardiovascular health
Last but not least, jogging is just good for your health. It improves the function of your heart including blood circulation and lung capacity. Your organs will be healthier, and so will you as a whole. More oxygen will flow to your muscles to support your daily life, and you will be a healthier person at the end of the day. So why! It could be your favourite new hobby.
The post 8 Benefits of Jogging Everyday appeared first on Change your thoughts.
Konieczny’s Ark / KWK Promes
© Olo Studio
- Architects: KWK Promes
- Location: Kraków, Poland
- Architect In Charge: Robert Konieczny
- Area: 138.0 m2
- Project Year: 2015
- Photographs: Olo Studio , Jakub Certowicz , Courtesy of Robert Konieczny
- Authorial Collaboration: Łukasz Marciniak
- Collaboration: Marcin Harnasz, Aneta Świeżak
- Structural Engineering: Kornel Szyndler
© Olo Studio
From the architect. The highest value of the plot is a wonderful view stretching out. The idea was for the house to become its framework that crops it. The most appropriate building turned out to be a fully open on mountain landscape one-storey building, which gives the same view to all of the interiors.
Scheme
Because of the plot being located in an absolute wilderness a problem of security came out. The solution turned out to be “twisting” the building so as only its one corner touches the ground and the rest is hang over the edge of the hill. With this solution, part of the ground floor where the bedrooms were located was pulled up to the level of the first floor. Because of the fact that there are wide glass openings in the building, my wife asked me to effectivly close the entrance side of the house. A 10 meter wall and a drawbridge, which combines the function of stairs and a window shutter, appeared.
© Jakub Certowicz
© Jakub Certowicz
Location of the house on a steep slope, was followed by high risk of landslip, more and more frequent in polish mountains. As to limit the movement of the subsoil the house was treated as a bridge, under which rain water flows naturally.
© Jakub Certowicz
Floor Plan
© Jakub Certowicz
Realities of mountain landscape as well as the local law constrained a gable roof. House took the form of a typical barn standing on three thin walls
Courtesy of Robert Konieczny
Courtesy of Robert Konieczny
To give rigidity to the building the walls were tensed by the planes of the ”inverted” roof, slightly lifted over gound. Their incline increased the feeling of security. And so, we basically created a house with two roofs that protect it from water, it began to resamble an arc floating over the fields. After some time I realized, that in order not to disturb this impression, the best garden design would be lack of it, the best fence would be a temporary herding fence, the best approach – few rocks. In the same time the building was supposed to be cheap and easy to construct. That is why I deciced on insulating it from the inside, the concrete structure became an finnished elevation. This is how I got rid of complicated details and finish, they were replaced by poured concrete from a local producer. Sprayed closed-cell-structure foam turned out to be the optimal insulation. It is also a vapour barrier.
© Olo Studio
A Contemporary Apartment in Tel Aviv by Dori Interior Design
TLV Zechariah Apartment is a private residence designed by Dori Interior Design. It is located in Tel Aviv, Israel. Photos by: Adi Cohen Zedek
Spine Wall House / Drew Architects
© Tristan McLaren
- Architects: Drew Architects
- Location: Johannesburg, South Africa
- Architect In Charge: Andrew Payne
- Area: 520.0 m2
- Project Year: 2015
- Photographs: Tristan McLaren
© Tristan McLaren
The site is located overlooking a golf course fairway on a prominent Johannesburg golf estate. Orientation is due north-east and there are distant views beyond the golf course to the horizon.
© Tristan McLaren
Access is taken from the south-west and the site is positioned on a bend on one of the main arterial roads within the estate. The land is predominantly flat with no natural features other than two thorn trees on the golf course interface.
Ground Plan
The home was designed for a bachelor with limited mobility looking for a modern, single storey home characterized by a strong connection to nature and views from all rooms in the home. The client loves natural materials and the bushveld and was looking for a home which imbued a sense of being away in the bushveld: a place of comfort, a refuge from the world but reinterpreted in a more contemporary, urban context.
© Tristan McLaren
Given the clients requirement for a sense of seclusion and privacy and the location of the site on the bend of a main arterial roadway within the estate, the departure point for the design and defining gesture of the home is a large dry-packed natural stone wall which defines the line between public and private space. The intention to create a sense of protection and enclosure on the private side of the home but also to create an increased sense of interest and anticipation in the approaching visitor by the restrained use of line, form, pattern and materiality on the street. The bulk of the home hunkers down behind the spine wall, the only suggestion of what lies beyond being three chimney structures with an intentionally exaggerated vertical scale and a steel and timber roof terrace structure above the main terrace space. Given the position of the site the architects felt that providing an opportunity to access the incredible views and perspective from a first floor vantage point was too valuable an opportunity to miss. Accordingly, the architects planned a rooftop entertainment space taking full advantage of the panoramic views available looking north down the 13 th fairway and to the horizon beyond accessed from the ground floor entertainment space.
© Tristan McLaren
The spine wall also defines the primary movement route within the home and, whether experienced from inside or outside the home, provides powerful visual legibility.
A naturally filtered koi pond runs the length of the wall on both sides which not only provides life and movement at the wall but also the illusion, through reflection, that the wall continues into the ground.
© Tristan McLaren
Natural materials such as dry-packed stone, solid hardwood, solid granite tiles and copper create contrasted against more clean, contemporary materials such glass and off-shutter concrete.
© Tristan McLaren
Product Description. Our client has a physical disability and was looking for a single storey home. To create the most modest silhouette in the landscape and ‘hide’ the home behind the large 4m stone feature spine wall we opted for a flat in-situ concrete roof slab. For complete peace of mind and in order to simplify the construction of the roof slab and waterproofing thereof we chose Penetron Admix which is added to the concrete mix at the batch plant at the time of batching and renders the concrete completely waterproof without the need for cement screeds to fall and a waterproofing bituminous membrane of any sort. Penetron was pivotal to the success of this building.
© Tristan McLaren
The 5 Signs You Are Suffering From a Stress Related Illness
You’re reading The 5 Signs You Are Suffering From a Stress Related Illness, originally posted on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement. If you’re enjoying this, please visit our site for more inspirational articles.
Friends:
Stress as a cause of illness has been accepted by the most prestigious of institutions. Both Harvard Health and the Mayo Clinic are now on the record that an overactive stress response can increase risk for everything from heart disease to GI issues to insomnia to cognitive decline.
The stress response is the modern version of the “fight or flight” response we developed as cave-people roaming the earth long, long ago — it’s the brain-body process that keeps us on “high alert” for threats that could harm us, and mobilizes our bodies to fight the threat, or flee the threat, to preserve the species.
The problem is that our modern brains can’t tell the difference between real “tigers” and “emotional tigers” — the same kinds of physiological responses occur in our bodies … and if we don’t learn to self-regulate our stress-response, we can develop chronic pain.
So what are the 5 signs you may be suffering from a stress related illness?
1) They Can’t Find Anything WRONG! This is actually the title of a book by my friend Dr. David Clarke that I highly recommend. Dr. Clarke is a well-respected physician and educator who, over the course of his career, successfully treated 7,000 patients with stress-related illnesses. One of the common themes with his patients is test after diagnostic test turns up “negative” — because these tests don’t measure stress and its effects on the body.
2) Your Pain Moves Around: In my personal experience with persistent back pain, I found that the pain would move around to different locations in my back. Sometimes it was my low back, sometimes the sides of my back, sometimes my mid or upper back. I recall one episode when I was up at the crack of dawn to leave for a business trip and the whole right side of my back seized up leaving me writhing in pain on my bathroom floor. Does your pain “move around”?
3) You Experience Tension Elsewhere in the Body: Those of us blessed with the “perfect-storm” of Type A personalities, lots of emotion, and lots of stressors in life (on the flip-side it’s what makes us driven to achieve and succeed), tend to experience tension in several places. Examples would be headaches, stomach issues (“nervous stomach”), tightness in the chest, and many more. These are all signs that you may be suffering from stress.
4) You’re Not the Best Sleeper: When your mind is on overdrive, and your body is on high-alert facing down the “emotional tigers” of your day-to-day life — Sleep doesn’t come easily. According to NPR, 60 million Americans will be afflicted with a sleep disorder this year(!). If you find it hard to quiet down from your day and fall asleep easily, it’s a sign your parasympathetic nervous system (otherwise known as the “rest & digest” response) needs some attention.
5) You Have Trouble Concentrating: You have to try extra hard to really focus on the task at hand, or what your beautiful little child is trying to tell you when you come home from work, or the point your colleague at work is trying to make during the meeting … you get the picture. What may be going on? When your brain and body are in the stress response, you are focused on “survival” not the subtleties of what may be happening in any given moment.
If these signs resonate with you it’s actually good news. Why? You can take action to boost your parasympathetic nervous system through a range of techniques from meditation to deep breathing to negative writing.
Jon Slavet is an executive and advisor to high growth consumer companies. He is also the GM of We Work.
You’ve read The 5 Signs You Are Suffering From a Stress Related Illness, originally posted on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement. If you’ve enjoyed this, please visit our site for more inspirational articles.
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American studio Salmela Architect has created a rural Wisconsin home that features a steep roof, square windows and natural cedar cladding meant to age over time. Read more
