Hasta La Ideas

Ordinarily, we wouldn’t tell you to head out to suburban Kankakee for your next sight-seeing visit to Chicago. Not that it isn’t a perfectly nice place, there’s just plenty to see closer to both our major airports here. However, that all changes come July 16th. Frank Lloyd Wright‘s B. Harley Bradley House, which was built between 1900 and 1901 and has been said to be the first in the famous architect’s Prairie Style, was recently purchased by preservationists who will be giving tours of the house as early as the weekend after next (the 16th is what’s listed, though the Tribune says they’ll begin on the 17th). Prices start at $15 for a one hour tour, $40 for two hours, and $85 for something called the “Architect’s Tour.” So if you’re a local, or headed this way soon, and want to be first to visit, here’s your chance.

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pAt first I thought “Motorized shoes? That just sounds dumb.” Then I took a closer look at the A HREF=”http://www.jamesdysonaward.org/Projects/Project.aspx?ID=1283RegionId=0Winindex=0″ Treadway Wearable Mobility project/A, an entry in the James Dyson Award competition, and realized how badly I wanted a pair of these:/p

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pDesigned by RISD and Art Center grad A HREF=”http://treadwaymobility.com/” Peter Treadway/A (nom de guerre?), the namesake shoes are meant to be a fun way to encourage people to travel on foot to a public transportation center. And while I think that’s a bit of a stretch–I don’t have much faith that that’s what people would use these for–I greatly enjoyed seeing Treadway’s tinkering process shots, and I could totally see these catching on. This project’s got legs. Er, wheels./p

pimg alt=”0treadways.jpg” src=”http://s3files.core77.com/blog/images/0treadways.jpg” width=”468″ height=”728″ class=”mt-image-none” style=”” //p

pHit the jump to read Treadway’s project description in full./p

pvia A HREF=”http://gizmodo.com/5579812/motorized-shoes-could-win-dyson-vacuums-big-award-and-our-hearts” gizmodo/A/pa href=”http://www.core77.com/blog/object_culture/peter_treadways_motorized_footwear_16893.asp”(more…)/a
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pimg alt=”0technocraftshow.jpg” src=”http://s3files.core77.com/blog/images/0technocraftshow.jpg” width=”468″ height=”441″ class=”mt-image-none” style=”” //p

pCalifornia’s Yerba Buena Center for the Arts–you’ll recognize the name from it being Apple’s unofficial product launching pad–is opening ITechnoCRAFT/I, its first-ever design exhibition, this Saturday. Organized by YBCA exec director Kenneth Foster and curated by Yves Behar, it’s no regular design exhibit:/p

blockquote”We weren’t interested in objects on pedestals,” Béhar says. “I was more interested in opening up a discussion about user participation, about how people are intervening more and more in what they consume.” That interactivity is evident in the categories of customization used to create the 200-plus objects in the show: crowdsourcing, platforms, blueprints, hacks and incompletes./blockquote

pFrom Ikeahacks to re-purposed Eames classics to a chair by Droog that you bang into shape (literally, see photo above) yourself, ITechnoCRAFT/I aims to back up a typically bold statement by Behar: “We are really moving from an era of mass consumption to one of mass individualism.”/p

pCheck out IMetropolis Mag’s/I Yves Behar QA on the event A HREF=”http://www.metropolismag.com/pov/20100706/qhar-on-diy-design-crowdsourcing-and-the-future-of-craft” here./A/p

pvia A HREF=”http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/07/06/DDGE1E715H.DTL” sf gate/A/pa href=”http://www.core77.com/blog/object_culture/san_franciscos_upcoming_technocraft_show_aims_to_blur_the_line_between_designer_and_consumer_16892.asp”(more…)/a
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pimg alt=”0ipadples2.jpg” src=”http://s3files.core77.com/blog/images/0ipadples2.jpg” width=”468″ height=”466″ class=”mt-image-none” style=”” //p

pTo me, the concept of a paperless office is like the concept of a soulmate–I think you have to be slightly out of touch with reality to believe these things can exist./p

pThat doesn’t stop many of us from trying, of course. I bought my own iPad in an effort to cut down on the physical magazines littering my apartment, and it’s helped, a little. I’ve also read a half-dozen books on it that I didn’t have to make shelf space for. But when it comes to editing copious amounts of text, as with the freelance book and magazine projects I occasionally pick up, I still can’t get it to replace the mountains of highlighter-ink soaked paper these projects accumulate./p

pIt seems the iPad is best at replacing paper in situations where whatever’s printed on the paper doesn’t have to be edited much. Early on we heard about newsrooms using iPads to replace the news scripts their desk anchors read from, and the annual projected cost savings was in the tens of thousands. A HREF=”http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/jul2010/tc2010076_434355.htm” A IBusinessweek/I article/A reports on other instances where this works well, like in warehouses where inventory-seekers need to walk aisles and reconcile stacks of boxes with printed lists. /p

pTwo questionable instances are also mentioned–a hotel using iPads to replace menus, and a hair salon using it to replace magazines–as well as a furniture business that will reportedly save six figures by integrating iPads into its physical delivery systems. Give it a read A HREF=”http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/jul2010/tc2010076_434355.htm” here/A.br /
/pa href=”http://www.core77.com/blog/object_culture/ipad_paperless_office_not_yet_paperless_warehouse_delivery_truck_news_desk_restaurant_hair_salon_check_16891.asp”(more…)/a
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In our home, there are responsibilities that have to be completed multiple times each week — and some, each day — to keep clutter from spinning out of control. Laundry and dishes are two of these responsibilities that apply to most homes. We also have to sweep under my son’s high chair, feed pets, prepare meals, clear out the car, water plants, recycle the newspaper, a general pickup around the house, scrub the toilet, and numerous other activities just to maintain our base level of order.

These recurring responsibilities are best handled by setting up routines, and I recommend creating and following a chart of when to complete these responsibilities until these activities become habit. To create a chart:

1. Make a list of every chore you need to complete and how often. For example: Launder bathroom towels–1x/week. Feed cats–2x/day. Launder bedroom sheets–1x/week. Make lunch–1x/day.
2. Group any activities together that would be more efficiently done at the same time. For example: Laundering bathroom towels and sheets in the same load. Filling the car with gas and grocery shopping on the same errand run.
3. On your chart, start by filling in those activities that are time sensitive. For example: Loading the dishwasher or washing dishes will need to be done after dinner.
4. Once the time-sensitive activities are on the chart, fill in the other activities based on when you have the most time and energy. If you’re exhausted after dinner and just want to relax, you might benefit from putting some of your responsibilities on your chart before you leave for work in the mornings, when you’re more likely to finish the chore.
5. Keep in mind your social calendar when creating your routine chart. If you tend to spend Friday nights out with friends, don’t schedule activities for Friday nights.
6. Be realistic. You are not superhuman. Only put on your chart those responsibilities that must be completed to keep your home running smoothly. After a few months of working on and mastering your current list, you then might consider adding more lofty routines to your chart.
7. Create an incentive structure to reward yourself for following the chart. Have fun and use stickers to track your progress. After 10 days of following the chart, have a nice dinner or take yourself to the movies. Identify the reward on your chart so that you have a reminder of your prize.

If more than one person lives in your house, be sure to assign specific actions to each person. Divide the responsibilities equally. Good luck creating your responsibility chart and getting work done around the house!

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