Taking turns driving, two men have broken the speed record for driving from NYC to LA, the so-called Cannonball Run. As Road & Track reports, Arne Toman and Doug Tabbutt made the 2,825-mile trip in a blistering 27 hours, 25 minutes. (Previous record: 28 hours and 50 minutes, set by Ed Bolian and Dave Black in 2013.) Their average speed was 103 MPH. Their top speed was 193 MPH. And yes, all of it was highly illegal.

I had some questions, all of which were answered by the R&T article and a video I came across, which I’ll embed below. My first was:

What the heck kind of car did they drive? What kind of vehicle has LeMans-like endurance at that speed, and is unflashy enough not to draw police attention?

The answer: Toman’s silver 2015 Mercedes E63 AMG with upgraded turbos and intercoolers. To help disguise it, he removed the emblems; painted the red brake calipers grey; and most cleverly, used dowdy silver vinyl to cover the carbon-fiber trim and disguise the shape of the taillights, making the car’s rear end resemble an older Honda Accord. He also added kill switches to the brake lights and taillights.

Left: Honda Accord. Right: Toman’s AMG sleeper.

At speeds of up to 193 hours in the middle of hunting season, how did they not hit a deer?

In the video, the team reports that during the drive they saw “probably 50 deer, dead on the highway.” One reason why it wasn’t 51: In the back seat of the car was a third person, spotter Berkeley Chadwick, operating a roof-mounted thermal scope on a gimbal. This was “great for seeing deer” at night; during the day they removed the scope because it was too conspicuous. (You can see it in the photo below.)

How did they avoid cops?

A combination of technological and human help.

For starters, two radar detectors, a laser jammer and a police scanner. And Chadwick, in the back seat, used gyro-stabilized binoculars to scan for cops ahead.

As for the additional human help, the team managed to recruit some 18 spotters all across the country, who scouted out their route ahead of them to warn of police. During the last leg of their trip, they were led by a spotter on a BMW motorcycle kitted out with super powerful headlights: This driver flew ahead of them, flashing motorists out of the fast lane to clear the way.

For those of you with more questions, the mini-doc below tells the whole tale.

Argentinian artist Leandro Erlich has created sand-covered sculptures of 66 cars and trucks, which he has arranged to resemble a traffic jam on Miami Beach in a bid to raise awareness of the climate-change crisis.

Erlich created the temporary installation, titled the Order of Importance, on the oceanfront at Lincoln Road for this year’s Miami art week.

It comprises two rows of vehicles split by a traffic divider. The vehicles appear to be made from compacted sand, although Erlich will not disclose exactly what he used to make the work.

Most of the vehicles are partially buried in the sand, which is intended to give the effect that they are submerged underwater – a reference to rising sea levels caused by global warming.

“Climate change and its consequences are no longer a matter of perspective or opinion,” said Erlich. “The climate crisis has become an objective problem that requires immediate solutions.”

“As an artist, I am in a constant struggle to make people aware of this reality,” he added. “In particular, the idea that we cannot shrink away from our responsibilities to protect the planet.”

Miami is among a number of coastal cities threatened by rising sea levels caused by the climate crisis and is already prone to flooding.

Architects and developers working in the Florida city have responded to the risk by making buildings resilient to rising waters. For example, French architect Jean Nouvel has designed Miami Beach residences to be elevated 11 feet above sea level to address the risk.

“Apart from its surreal beauty and poetry, Order of Importance, like an image from a contemporary Pompeii, or a future relic, also alludes to our fragile position in the large universal canvas,” said Ximena Caminos, the curator behind the project. “It interacts with the climate crisis facing the world, particularly the rising sea level.”

The installation, which took three months to make, is Erlich’s largest project ever. His other works include an optical illusion in a Parisian store and a house suspended above a construction site in Germany.

In 2013, he created Dalston House, which comprised a reconstructed house facade lying face-up and a mirror positioned over it at a 45-degree angle. When people walked over the surface of the house, the reflected mirror image created the illusion that they were walking up the walls.

“Erlich has an uncanny ability to encourage us to take pause and reflect upon how we view the world around us,” said Caminos. “By defying our perceptions, his work makes us question reality.”

Order of Importance was commissioned by the City of Miami Beach for this year’s Miami art week, which runs from 2 to 8 December. The project will be on show up until 15 December, and the sand will be allowed to disintegrate during this time.

Miami Art Week forms part of a host of activities taking place in the Floridan city this week, including Art Basel and Design Miami. Other exhibition and installations highlights include an inflatable bubble gallery and a lush garden installation by designer Marc Ange.

The video is by Kabinett Inc and Honeylab. All the images are still frames taken from the video.

The post Artist Leandro Erlich creates sand-covered traffic jam on Miami beach appeared first on Dezeen.

In anticipation of “A Conversation with Women in 3D Printing” a talk series led by Women in 3D Printing at A/D/O in Brooklyn on Thursday, December 12th, we spoke with the evening’s keynote presenter Diana Verdugo, Partnerships Lead at Formlabs. In our conversation, Verdugo gives us insight on the topics of 3D printing trends and ways to engage and build within communities where you are most invested. 

Can you tell me more about what you do at Formlabs?

I lead partnerships and community at Formlabs and I’ve been there for a little over three years—we created this position together called Partnerships. The goal of that was to work on special projects with ecosystem players that weren’t related directly to our product.

What initially got you into the world of fabrication?

My background starts to make a little bit more sense when I share the background. I’m from Detroit, so, manufacturing city born and raised—and then I studied Industrial and Operations Engineering. From there I started working on factory floors for a bit, and I really loved the parts of it related to the tangibility of what was happening and the continuous process improvement in manufacturing that didn’t relate to the old school “This is how we’ve done it for 40 years” type of thing.

I was thinking I’d become a manager or along the Operations path, but I had an opportunity pop up where I was doing that side hustle with the jewelry company, with my twin sister. That’s when I got into making stuff and bringing things to market. We were looking for new processes that were not really part of the jewelry industry yet, and one was 3D printing.

Earrings from Verdugo’s jewelry line, Gemela, designed using CAD and 3D printing

My sister actually gave me a Makerbot 3D printer one year for my birthday. Little by little I started inching my way into using the printer and then ultimately we were putting it into this part of our business. We were customizing our signage or doing jewelry design with it, we were even doing pop-up shops in New York and putting the printer in front. I remember going to meet up groups [on 3D printing] and tapping in. I thought surely in New York city I could find people who would be able to teach me or share their tips and tricks about 3D printing. But I just didn’t find that. I bought my own printer and all my knowledge just didn’t add up to where it should be—I thought, “I need to know more. How can we make this more accessible to people?” And so at that time my sister and I were like, we love jewelry but we love telling process stories more than anything else. If we’re going to put this to sleep again, it’s going to be for going towards the values, the pillars of our business, technology and sustainability.

And then that’s when I opened up conversations to all the 3D printer companies that I knew that I admired. Formlabs was the one that was a standout. I thought they were really hitting a need in the market and filling this gap at a time where the quality before them was quite low. And if this could bring value to a company like mine, I can only imagine where it can bring value to somewhere like GE or Apple or Tesla. So from there, that’s when I started this position of partnerships, which was this ecosystem enabler.

What are some future-forward 3D printing trends going on you’re most excited about exploring and sharing within the 3D printing community right now?

I’m excited to see progress in inclusivity, both from a technical and human perspective.

Technically, we’re seeing a race for companies to make digital workflows more accessible. Traditional professional tech tools that used to have the price point of a car are becoming closer to that of a laptop. Design software like Fusion 360, Onshape and generative design tools and desktop printing like Formlabs’ Form 3 3D Printer are getting more accessible and easier to use.

A piece made on Formlabs’ Form 3 3D Printer

On the human side, as 3D printing adoption expands, we’re seeing increased participation and incredible impact created from those who used to be outliers in ethnicity, gender, age, educational background and geographies. Like the father who helped his son walk by creating custom orthosis for his son with cerebral palsy with his home Formlabs printer in Slovenia. Or the female-founded company Dame in NYC, bringing vibrators to a market that has sizable barriers to entry due to informal regulations and undefined user needs. They’re transforming the industry through rapid prototyping and user testing, only possible with affordable desktop 3D printing. I’m proud to work for a company that prioritizes accessibility to digital fabrication so that anyone can make anything. Keep an eye out to see even more of this from us in the coming year. The industry has its work cut out for itself, but we’re blazing a path forward printer by printer, user by user.

What advice would you give to people who deliberately want to start building a community from the ground up?

1. Start small. One on one conversations and small group gatherings are the best way to start defining community values and shared goals. Test often to see what resonates most with them and build off of their feedback.

2. Identify your biggest heroes. At Formlabs we call them ‘Super Users’, they’re power users and industry experts. Actively listen to them and celebrate them. They are your core resource and an extension of your team. Don’t make assumptions, let them tell you what their dreams, ideas and pain points are and start creating solutions together that support those. They will be the ones catalyzing your community growth to eventually bringing on more people with your shared interests and values.

3. Meet them where they’re at. Digitally or IRL, engage with your community where they already are and resist easier options that require them to create new habits. Are they on forums, using slack, or prefer a bar meetup? Create a place that gives them a voice, like a forum, and not just one to many communication, like a newsletter.

4. Lead with your passion in everything you do and make sure the world knows about it. Your passion is your compass and fuel for whenever you veer off track or face a setback and the more people who know about your mission the more support you will receive.

Do you have any go-to resources for learning more about how to build relationships and communities?

Books:

Get Together: How to Build a Community With Your People People & Company This was actually recommended by Christina Perla. Its practical and inspiring case studies quickly turned this into my community bible. It prompted me to start a book club with my Partnerships + Community team, starting with this one!

The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why It Matters. Priya Parker Bold, thoughtful and helpful for navigating any form of human gatherings from office meetings, dinner parties, to conferences.

“Get Together: How to Build a Community with Your People”

IRL meetups found online: Comb through digital event platforms for local gatherings that resonate with your mission or ask an industry friend what groups they’re already part of and join them at the next event. No matter the country I’m in, my go-tos are the usual eventbrite, meetup, where I’ve discovered gems like creative mornings, women in 3D printing, local tech and design meetups.

Learn from brands, organizations + leaders you admire. For me, it’s Women in 3D Printing, for doing an incredible job empowering their ambassadors to lead monthly local community meetups across the globe, Autodesk for actually building physical spaces around the world for their users to use the latest and greatest in digital design tools and Glossier for turning to their digital community to name, review and co-create products.

What are a few things you’re hoping to discuss during your keynote at the Women in 3D printing event?

I’m looking forward to discussing how to get the most out of both buckets of community participation – as ‘the builder’ and ‘the member’. From active to passive, no matter if you’re along for the ride or forging the path for others, there are things big and small to do to make the most out of your participation. I’m also excited to learn from our incredible speakers – Kat Ermant, Jocelyn Desisto, Schweta Thapa, and Victoria Ball on their own highs and lows of why and how they’ve built their own communities.

What people don’t always realize is that community builders are simply enthusiastic community members. We are all members of some type of community group – formally or informally – and all have the power to be community builders no matter the resources at hand. You don’t need a lot to do a lot.

Get your ticket for “A Conversation with Women in 3D Printing“, featuring keynote Diana Verdugo, at A/D/O on Thursday, December 12th from 6-9 PM.

As someone who has not occupied a single apartment for more than 2 years in the last decade, I lament to say that I’ve never had a meaningful relationship with a piece of furniture. This may be an indictment of my own capriciousness, but it is likely not a unique condition for the university student, young professional, nomadic millennial, etc. Mobility appears to be the condition of many professionals today, which can lead to unsavory furnishing practices, namely the impulsive purchasing and disposing of products that are of low build and materials quality (had I dollar for every IKEA floor lamp I’ve seen amid New York trash heaps…). In consideration of ecological crisis, and an ill-devised recycling infrastructure, the relationship between an individual and the material of their living space is in desperate need of reexamination.

Loose Parts wants users to both consider the needs of their space, and to play with the material that fills their home. Loose Parts is a modular assemblage system that offers people furniture for the home that lives, grows, and changes, as they do. The product comes as both fully constructed furniture, as well as deconstructed parts of a self-assembly kit. The Loose Parts system avoids unnecessary material complexity by using only wood, recyclable aluminum. Yet its modular design invites the addition of found parts and objects. What is perhaps most compelling about the Loose Parts design is that it expects its users to be unique individuals. It doesn’t seek to impose itself upon one’s living space, but empowers the user to assemble it to fit their needs.

Asking how we assemble objects to fulfill our needs, is how Jennifer June, designer of Loose Parts, began to develop the system. In June’s studies at Parsons School of Design in New York, the city itself invited her to consider ad hoc moments of design. “From the street vendor to the subway busker ordinary acts of re-purpose, appropriation and re-imagining call into question assumptions about how objects and space should be used.” says June. Loose Parts provides a creative space between the user and the designed object, one that is rarely found in furniture design for the home. This fluidity of Loose Parts constructions can ease the process of seeking affordable yet well-designed furniture for the home.

This past week, Loose Parts hosted a workshop at their pop-up store in Manhattan, where people could come and build their one furniture using the Loose Parts and found objects.

This process can have a wide-reaching impact when one considers the material we cycle through to arrive at the perfect furnishings. The system’s “Parts” are deliberately fashioned for flexibility in the living space. The wood rails are FSC-certified, are sourced from regional suppliers and come in 5 different lengths: 72, 30, 24, 18, and 12 inches. The lengths were determined by June’s research of “historical furniture design, ergonomics and architectural norms,” so that the user can get the most out of the material given to them, “better materials mean a longer life both of the product and natural resources of the environment.” says June. It is with these durable and lasting materials that the parts can be constantly rearranged and reused.

With years of reflector-science experience under their belt, the guys at FLECTR are back with yet another accessory that promises to keep people safe at night. Manifesting its form in the avatar of a clip-on device, the FLECTR CLIP brings reflective technology to a nifty wearable that can either attach to your bag, body, or to the rear of your bicycle.

Built with FLECTR’s award-winning micro prismatic reflective film, the FLECTR CLIP comes in three body-varieties that let it hang from the back of your bike’s saddle, slide onto the strap of your messenger/sling bag, or magnetically snap anywhere on your clothes or backpack. The saddle-unit features two cuts that sit on the rear of your bike, while the strap-mount slides onto virtually any webbing up to 52 mm (2″) in width. The magnetic mount offers even more versatility, with a counter-magnet that allows you to snap the clip anywhere on your clothes, ensuring low-light visibility.

Bringing enhanced visibility to your bike and your person, the FLECTR CLIP makes stepping out at night or early in the morning measurably safer. The clips work off ambient/stray light and don’t require any internal energy or power input of their own, allowing them to stay illuminated for as long as you use them. Available in three colors, the clips are even designed to be flexible yet indestructible, allowing you to use and reuse them for years… because safety is something you should practice every day.

Designers: Jorg Neugebauer & Kai Wiehagen

Click Here to Buy Now: 3pcs for $33 $51 (35% off). Hurry, for a limited time only!

FLECTR CLIP – Your Ultimate Protector in the Darkness

The FLECTR CLIP comes in three different designs and it lets you be seen instantly. Just clip it to your bike, bag or clothing.

For joggers, bikers or pedestrians, the FLECTR CLIP keeps you safe in the darkness and catches any car driver’s attention before it’s too late.

Three Designs, Endless Possibilities

FLECTR CLIP is a family of 3 universal safety parts. Three designs, endless possibilities.

All FLECTR CLIPs are flexible and virtually indestructible. Manufactured in Europe both sides are reflective.

The Strap Mount version fits any webbing up to 52 mm (2″) width. Front color: fluorescent lime green, the back is silver.

FLECTR CLIP for Saddle Mount is the ideal rear reflector for almost any bike. The team have chosen a special color – neon red-orange – for this reflector. It reflects almost twice the amount of light as classic red. Its backside reflects silver, like all other CLIPs.

The magnetic CLIP is a little workhorse. With its strong built-in magnet, it can be worn on any clothing, (a counter-magnet is supplied), or attached to bike bags and steel surfaces. Front color: fluorescent lime green or orange, back: silver.

Are Reflectors Better Than Electric Lighting?

Reflectors do not require maintenance and are still there for you even if your lighting fails. Cheap clip-on reflectors are often paired with tiny LEDs. In fact, inferior materials are almost always used here.

Ultimately, when the battery is empty, you realize a change is hardly worthwhile. Regarding cycling: Reflectors and bicycle lighting both form a system and should always be used together – you decide how much safety you need to feel comfortable cycling. Both increase your visibility for car drivers when riding at night.

Click Here to Buy Now: 3pcs for $33 $51 (35% off). Hurry, for a limited time only!