DONT COME HERE

Toyo Ito in 100 words.

2011-07-10T01:08:00.000-07:00

ToyoIto – On Vortexes

Toyo Ito in summary takes an ethereal almost nebulous approach to architecture.He states that formality is not a boon to architecture but the unstable andmore chaotic side of architecture is what truly creates unique spaces.
This chaos is not arbitrary but is the effects of controlled movements. Wavescaused by the ideas of the architect.
Toyo Ito also purports that there is no perfect response to a context becausethe site may change at any time .An architect can only seek to stir the watersof the city to create a vortex. A unique area in the water where forces meet.

On Fathy and Boulding

2011-07-10T01:06:00.001-07:00

Fathy//Boulding – Thesocial role of architecture

Here we can see a third approach to architecture and living.This approach is a social one where both Fathy and Boulding make notice of thesocial roles of the architect and even the world at large.

Social reform is something that both writers say needs to be done before anyreal improvements in the way we live canbe made. Additionally both writers realize that this is no easy task.

First we see Fathy looking at the role of the architect being wider than just thecreation of a single final product that must meet the requirements of buildingcodes and standards. He shows how the actions of the architect have a muchwider effect on the ethos of a country.
Consequently he charges architects not only as builders but agents of social change.If this challenge is not accepted Fathy predicts a death in the overallcultural spirit of his home country.

Boulding looks at the social problems of the world in a much greater scope. Heviews the entire earth as a space ship. As a result the amount of social reformthat would have to occur to realize this social model would be vastly differentfrom what people are used to. However it is this reform that Boulding says is requiredif the Earth and humankind are to be able to continue their existence.

This journey as Boulding puts it is the same wide-angle lens that Fathy uses toview his world

On Kahn and Ito - The metaphysics of Architecure

2011-07-10T01:04:00.001-07:00

Kahn//Ito – Themetaphysics of architecture

Kahn and Ito both have metaphysical approachto the issue of spaces and architecture. The overall idea they are presenting is that architecture is acomposition of almost chaotic beauty. The issue of creating space is not accordingto tenets passed down by history.

A space must be based on its context. This context is what informs Ito that thespace known as the ‘tent’ is formed because of its context, the cherry blossom tree.It is also this context that is seen when Kahn states that the nature of spacereflects what it, the creation, wants to be.

Both writers’ logics move in a step-by-step fashion. For Ito this is a seriesof events, one forming the other. Kahn has a explanation that more resembles anevolution of a single thing. However both writers are saying the same thing‘Space grows out of its context’

Toyo Ito's eastern upbringing gives him a different outlook on life from manywesterners as a result many of my colleagues had difficulty in trulyunderstanding what Ito had to say.

Both writers view architecture in a metaphorical sense. Perhaps intangibilityis possibly been the ‘beauty’ which builders of times gone by have soughtafter.

Introverts :10 myths

2011-05-18T23:15:00.000-07:00

Myth #1 – Introverts don’t like to talk.
This is not true. Introverts just don’t talk unless they have something to say. They hate small talk. Get an introvert talking about something they are interested in, and they won’t shut up for days.

Myth #2 – Introverts are shy.
Shyness has nothing to do with being an Introvert. Introverts are not necessarily afraid of people. What they need is a reason to interact. They don’t interact for the sake of interacting. If you want to talk to an Introvert, just start talking. Don’t worry about being polite.

Myth #3 – Introverts are rude.
Introverts often don’t see a reason for beating around the bush with social pleasantries. They want everyone to just be real and honest. Unfortunately, this is not acceptable in most settings, so Introverts can feel a lot of pressure to fit in, which they find exhausting.

Myth #4 – Introverts don’t like people.
On the contrary, Introverts intensely value the few friends they have. They can count their close friends on one hand. If you are lucky enough for an introvert to consider you a friend, you probably have a loyal ally for life. Once you have earned their respect as being a person of substance, you’re in.

Myth #5 – Introverts don’t like to go out in public.
Nonsense. Introverts just don’t like to go out in public FOR AS LONG. They also like to avoid the complications that are involved in public activities. They take in data and experiences very quickly, and as a result, don’t need to be there for long to “get it.” They’re ready to go home, recharge, and process it all. In fact, recharging is absolutely crucial for Introverts.

Myth #6 – Introverts always want to be alone.
Introverts are perfectly comfortable with their own thoughts. They think a lot. They daydream. They like to have problems to work on, puzzles to solve. But they can also get incredibly lonely if they don’t have anyone to share their discoveries with. They crave an authentic and sincere connection with ONE PERSON at a time.

Myth #7 – Introverts are weird.
Introverts are often individualists. They don’t follow the crowd. They’d prefer to be valued for their novel ways of living. They think for themselves and because of that, they often challenge the norm. They don’t make most decisions based on what is popular or trendy.

Myth #8 – Introverts are aloof nerds.
Introverts are people who primarily look inward, paying close attention to their thoughts and emotions. It’s not that they are incapable of paying attention to what is going on around them, it’s just that their inner world is much more stimulating and rewarding to them.

Myth #9 – Introverts don’t know how to relax and have fun.
Introverts typically relax at home or in nature, not in busy public places. Introverts are not thrill seekers and adrenaline junkies. If there is too much talking and noise going on, they shut down. Their brains are too sensitive to the neurotransmitter called Dopamine. Introverts and Extroverts have different dominant neuro-pathways. Just look it up.

Myth #10 – Introverts can fix themselves and become Extroverts.
Introverts cannot “fix themselves” and deserve respect for their natural temperament and contributions to the human race. In fact, one study (Silverman, 1986) showed that the percentage of Introverts increases with IQ.

Analysing Architecture

2010-11-11T12:32:00.000-08:00

Simon Unwin.

Its a bit wordy but its very information rich . Pay special attention to the case studies at the back
Enjoy you guys!

Get it here

Bits of Paris [05] - Versailles

2010-08-21T17:46:00.000-07:00

Fun albeit itchy informal seating

Grar~

Bits of Everywhere [04] - I love Graffiti

2010-08-19T14:34:00.000-07:00

French , Outside Centre Pompidou

Italian ,One of the beaches in Sorrento

Pisa , Nice stencil work

Florence , these seemed to be part of an exhibition

Bits of Paris [03] - The French Pantheon

2010-08-18T18:20:00.000-07:00

Mr A

2010-08-04T15:33:00.000-07:00

Goodbye Sir

Bits of Paris [02] - The Frescoes of Abbesses

2010-08-02T10:25:00.000-07:00

Abesses

Abbesses , One of the many stops of the Parisian metro. Line 12 that took me to the Sacré-Cœur Basilica at Montemarte

Abbesses is special because not only is it 36 metres underground its spiral stair case is decorated with hand painted frescoes the entire length up.

Of course there was an elevator but I refused to rob my self of the experience.

The Abbesses station exterior also showcases a architectural love of mine.Art Nouveau.

Quite sadly I also didnt get to photograph it .Sorry guys.

Bits of Paris [01] : Photogrpaphy

2010-08-01T15:39:00.000-07:00

Grand Palais Interior

Museum lighting is important for a number of reasons

Architecture Reading Material - A Kick Start

2010-07-08T21:22:00.000-07:00

Experiencing Architecure by Steen Eiler Rasmussen

This book is wonderful for both freshmen architecture students and even seasoned designers.It offers a wholistic introduction to the elements of architecture and the modifiers of the experience of an architectural space such as colour, vision , scale and other basic variables of any architectural composition.

Even to the seasoned deisgner.One may find new insights as you read this concise and well written book again.You never know what new perspectives may spring up in the wisened mind.

Why buildings stand up & Why buildings fall down

by Mario Salvadori

Two good books that offer a introduction in the complex yet ever neccesary facet of building known as structure.An architect must not only have an idea of aesthetics but must also design with some sense of rationality as to stave off likely mortal combat between the engineer and you the designer.

This should be a preparation for design structures classes as it lays out the core principles of structure in an easy format with all the necessary diagrams and real life examples.

A favourite of mine.

101 things I learned in Architecture School by Mathew Frederick

This book all architecture students and architects should read . Basic rules and insights to make your life as a student easier & rules of thumb to make your design and illustrations more appealing.

All in a short and easy to understand format. Good read, Highly Recommended.

Analysing Architecture by Simon Unwin

One of the heavier reads in this section but if you know how to read selectively or better yet have time to read it all your mind will not leave empty handed.I assure you.The case studies are particularly helpful.

DK . Ching

Everything really , all his works are entry level information for the aspiring arch student but if you said to me ' Pick one Alistair!' I'd say Form , Space and Order.

Dont forget to look at other books like A Pattern Language , Towards a New architecture by Le Corbusier. here are tons more but hey...this is just a kick start.

The 4th of July - Not what you expect.

2010-07-05T11:34:00.000-07:00

The 4th of July.
Rockets . Firecrackers [ clappers in Jamaica ] and all the fireworks you can think of in one day.
Pretty lights and Excitement?

Not for me or my family. American 'clappers' are a lot louder than the Jamaican ones and despite knowing that fireworks were going to be lit, Seeing the lights for half an hour and generally accepting that this would be going on all night...

Every time the fireworks went off it was hard not to jump.I especially disliked them geting lit behind me.
Senses pricked at each explosion .
Its a sad reality.How despite knowing one is in a safe environment reflex actions take precedent.This is the degree to which crime affects our citizens. I've never seen a gun in the hands of anyone other than law enforcers, I dont live in a unsafe area.I dont hear gunfire on a regular basis.Imagine a resident of the site of recent political unrest, Tivoli gardens. Or any other oppressed area for that matter?

I wonder what sounds, colours and smells that trigger negative feelings in people of other nationalities?

From Jamaica to Miami - Day 1 and beyond

2010-07-04T18:39:00.001-07:00

Day 1 - Sketching in Public

I'm really impressed with what they have done with the Norman Manley International Airport in Jamaica.Its a heven of trusses, transparent panels and the controversial hinge joint. Now irregardless of if you hate hinge joints or not the NMIA has been redesigned and refurbished to a point that puts it in the realm of international standard airport and I've seen quite a few.Not only in design. The circulation is simple and well marked out.The seating is comfortable and spacious.

I only saw one thing wrong. Guess what. Guess.
A sign.One sign had some bad typography. Sorry its a bit of an obsession.

Now today I learnt that if you sketch in public , people will talk to you. Be prepared to answer questions and for people to ask you what your doing.

End of Day 1

Wallpaper - July

2010-07-02T06:11:00.000-07:00

Boredom...

Video ||| Cracks in seabed - Oil flowing out unchecked

2010-07-01T19:31:00.000-07:00

Yes. We could be heading toward a massive crumbling of the seabed releasing gallons upon gallons of Oil.

What to do.What to do....

and if the seabed crumbles what does this mean for Jamaica? Tourism,Our environment and Fishermen alike?

3 Great Twitter Analytics - For all types of users

2010-06-25T00:19:00.000-07:00

For commercial enterprises,casual twitter users and the curious people like me.These guys provide the data.

Klout - A favourite of mine.

Analyzes and provides data for metrics like followers, who you follow, Retweets,True Reach , Percentile rankings, Trending and how people react to your messages to form a 'profile of your account to form a personality type.
The reason Klout is slower than others is because they do it properly and they also reference and backcheck your twitter data against all their other users so it takes a while.But its correct.

Can be updated every 6 days

Twitalyzer - Speedy service with a Wide scope

Expansive and speedy.Another favourite. Lots of metrics, lots of data.It even allows for comparison between accounts, personality and other useful graphs and charts like Network mapping.

Can be updated every day or so

Tweet Stats - Good amount of stats and a good layout

Get a good amount of data in about 2 minutes. To get your data for your network you would have to wait a few hourse however.A good and fairly holistic site that offers a few features those above do not.

Worthy of mention
TweetEffect -Shows you what tweets made you lose or gain followers and when.
TweetLevel- Decent

Also twitteranalyzer.com CONTAINS MALWARE. -_-

POLL: Help! Which comment for should I keep?

2010-06-22T17:45:00.001-07:00

THIS POLL IS CLOSED VIA UNANIMOUS DECISION FOR OPTION a.

A. Intense Debate - Example

Pros
• Generating traffic not only for myself, the poster but you, the commenter.If you comment and provide website info.It creates a permanent link to it that updates as your website updates.Kinda cool

• Versatile .Can add additional plugins
• Improved Administrative features - IP BLOCK :D

Cons
• Slower load time
• Kinda big

B.Google Standard - Example

Pros
•Simple
•Loads quickly

Cons
•Cant IP Block
•Drop down menus...really?

15 Gifts for an Architecture Student

2010-06-20T23:14:00.000-07:00

In some haphazard order of importance.

15 Pens - Rapidographs , Koh-I-noor , Microns ,Calligraphy pens,Gel ink and even Ball points are great. Re-fill ink is another idea.

14 Pencils and Markers - Prismacolour markers,pencil crayons and Pastels.For pencils get a range of pencils 6B to 6H
13 Paints - Acrylic , Watercolour , Gouache ,Oil paints, Ink . Its good to ask what medium they prefer.

12 THE BORING STUFF - Sketch Pads, Erasers , Sharpeners, Set Squares, all the run of the mill things that sound like lame presents but ARCHITECTURE STUDENTS NEED THEM. (Moleskines :D )
11 Large format Portfolio - To hold all their art and materials [24x36"]

10 A Place to sleep other than the ground -Cots , Inflatable beds , Sleeping bags
9 Coffee. - Get them some JABLUM. Best in the world

8 Electronics - Headphones to get in the zone,Camera to take pictures of your work , Scanner , Laptop, Printers the list goes on...

7 Drafting Table - Now they can work at home...sometimes

6 Power Tools -Get things cut and get them cut fast., Hand-held , Nothing huge and clunky,
Rotozip Saws [Recommended] ,Mini Circular Saws , Jig Saws etc

5 A sweater - ♫ For those cold lonely nights ♪

4 Arch Mag Subscription - Reading material is always great
3 A graphics tablet - Cannot stress how useful these are. Wacom sells these
2 Architectural books - Please see #4

1 Sleep. Give em a break sometimes

Congrats your now Gay...

2010-06-20T00:09:00.000-07:00

By societies standards at least.

Stuff like this make me lol. Click to enlarge

Wallpaper :P here

Pass it along guys.

5 Architecture Blogs that are above the mundane

2010-06-18T19:23:00.000-07:00

A Lot of "Architecture Blogs" out there just, copy paste, pick the best picture then Link and call it a day.

This post is dedicated to the blogs and resources out there that make an effort to give their readers something new and unique.

A popular arch blog. Manaugh writes on a variety of Architectural subjects something there is sure to interest you

The BLDG Blog

Art and Design blog that really brings some fresh stuff to the table.

ABITARE

This is pretty heavy reading.That might turn off lots of people but dont knock it till you try it.

m.ammoth

Sketch everyday has a wonderful concept which im sure you've guessed already.A daily dose of architectural drawings.Its a good practice too for architects and students alike.

Sketch everyday is part of the InFILL group of sites check them out Here.

Sketch everyday

This is one of my favourites .Eikongraphia brings you some exotic articles that are so completely fresh, deep and insightful.So this was firmly planted in my number one spot but hey be your own judge.

Eikongraphia

Other Unique sites are

Coffee with an Architect

http://www.coffeewithanarchitect.com/

ArchMaiik - An Architectural Comic

http://www.archmaaik.com/

Oh and feel free to drop a comment saying "But what bout this blog?!"

Its always good to explore more stuff.

A Tribute -A wallpaper for the Console gamer

2010-06-17T22:04:00.001-07:00

Maybe ill make more. Didnt really turn out how i wanted but hey...

To the Architect - A series

2010-06-05T22:27:00.001-07:00

Painting in the Background is The Professors Dream

Empty Version 1024x720 Here

Hopefully this will grow... :P

Bait Up # 2 - DarCHComic

2010-06-03T20:02:00.000-07:00

I coloured this you can see it here.Personally I prefer the mostly monochrome one

Im a HOERS!

Seriously though these are things I'm going to remember and bring up even at a reunion or some dinner party somewhere.The lulz shall be summoned.

Bait Up 01 - DarCHComic

2010-06-02T22:20:00.000-07:00

Those who know...will know. LOL #Thatisall also #Twitter

This was actually pretty easy to do...Being Monochrome and all.

Also a part of my fasting from Photoshop.I have #2 almost done should drop tomm.

Also those who dont know...this may seem like a very odd comic lol

The perfect fonts for Anything...

2010-06-02T15:55:00.000-07:00

The League of movable Type

A site dedicated to collecting the best of the best typography for use by anyone.These are open source fonts.Commercial and Personal use is allowed so long as you give credit to the author.

So far the selection is quite professional.After remastering my font collection I wanted fonts that were a bit more business like that I could use in projects and publications.I found what I was looking for.

With that said check out their site, submit some of your work and hopefully we'll see the collection expand.
Site

These guys made this composition possible . Raleway thin + Chunk

Messing around with illustrator again

Idleness in Illustrator - The first couple of minutes

2010-06-01T23:27:00.000-07:00

So I was testing out illustrator...this was the first couple of minutes before I started doing the previous post

Kahlil Gibran , The Prophet

2010-06-01T08:01:00.000-07:00

Celebrating 4 years of relationship and 200+ blog posts

My favourote book on Philosophy,

The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran

Then a mason came forth and said, Speak to us of Houses

Your house is your larger body.

It grows in the sun and sleeps in the stillness of the night

Then a scholar said, Speak to us of Talking,

You talk when you cease to be at peace with your thoughts;

And when you can no longer dwell in the solitude of your heart you live in your lips,and sound is a diversion and a past time.

And in much of your talking,thinking is half murdered.

Then Almitra spoke and said , what of Love,

When love beckons to you , follow him,

Though his ways are hard and steep.
For even as love crowns you
so shall he crucify you.
Even as he is for your growth
so is he for your pruning

But if in your fear you would seek only love's peace and love's pleaseure.

It is better for you to pass out of loves threshing floor,

Into a season less world where you shall laugh,

but not all of your laughter,and weep,

but not all of your tears.

Love possesses not nor would it be possessed.

Then Almitra spoke again and said,What of Marriage

Love one another, but make not a bond of love:

Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls

Fill each others cup but drink not from one cup.

Give one another of your bread but eat not from the same loaf.

Even as the strings of a lute are alone they quiver with the same music.

Give your hearts, but not into each other's keeping.

For only the Hand of Life can contain your hearts.

And stand together yet not too near together

For the pillars of the temple stand apart,

And the oak and cypress grow not in each other's shadow.

Then a woman came forth and said, Speak to us of Sorrow

The self same well from which your laughter rises

was oftentimes filled with your tears.

And how else can it be?
The deeper that sorrow carves into your being,
the more joy you can contain.

Is not the lute that soothes your spirit

the very wood that was hollowed with knives?

When you are sorrowful, look into your heart
and you shall see that in truth you are weeping
for that which has been your delight.

The Prophet .pdf - Free complete ebook

Ebook Online

The Architecture Student's bed - DarCHComic

2010-05-30T21:31:00.000-07:00

If Stuff still getting cut off so click to view full size.

This was kinda hard.

JUST installed illustrator, just started testing it out so i'm mostly walking blindly in the dark .I like the program though. Vectors are powerful.

Sketch up + Illustrator.Voila

Childhood

2010-05-29T21:24:00.000-07:00

Born in Jamaica, my parents went to England to study when I was young and thats where this post begins...

School

- I did kindergarten and nursery school in England.

Ms Eirwen :D

- I went to whittington Primary, I was the only remotely black kid in the entire school.My best friends were two siblings named Molly blonde and the dusty haired Rackster [yes, his name was Rackster]. they lived on a farm...way out in way out there. A few years back I went back to whittington and met up with them briefly twas cool meng.

- I remember the first time seeing hail and trying to taste them.Come on , it was ice and snow tasted alright and it reminded me of skittles.[In my defense: I was young] . I remember my teacher draggin me out of the imminent hailstorm, she must have been wondering 'Where this mad head boy come from?" . She's dead i heard :[

Yes, this was the uniform

- I remember white children confusing me greatly by asking me weird questions while rubbing my skin asking 'If it can come off?' and 'How I got my hair so curly?"

- I remember these two rascist kids that would have nothing to do with me.Dont worry I just played with the rest of the class.

Travels and Anti-Lulz

- I remember attempting to eat a poisonous plant in Italy....I dont know WHAT possessed me :S
- I remember trying quite earnestly to save my father from a bee sting by stupidly hitting the bee with my bare hand . Not Fun >_<
- I remember chicken pox and I remember hallucinating that my mother had horns and smiley faces were coming out of the pillow [Allergic Reaction]
- I remember going on one of those pendulum theme park rides and the safety bar locked over but I was too skinny so I literally had to brace myself or I would have fallen out and most certainly died.Damn fat americans their bellies just folded over the railing. >_<

Life

more like a snowmound
*ba dum tiss*

- I remember when daffodils came up in spring and when I made my first sorry excuse for a snowman in winter time
- I remember the suit of armor that was at the landing of the apartment and how I hated walking past it -_-
- I remember watching Sesame Street and Electric Company.
- I remember ad free english television and stuff like Star Trek and Zena Warrior Princess

- I remember having porridge for breakfast, and Potatoes or Mac n Cheese for dinner EVERY DAY [I exaggerate not] I STILL hate potatoes.
I remember my goddamn cousins Vacuuming my head. Idle bastards :P

I remember many things many incidents , countries and people in my life...too many for this post

well not really lol

Trinispeak - DarCHCOMIC

2010-05-28T03:19:00.000-07:00

A little bit got cut off.so you can click to enlarge if you want.

Starring: T-Roy and Chin.

this was actually fun to do...took me awhile though.A couple of days work after you get the background down and the first page it really isnt that hard.

Also Ideas anyone? Drop them anywhere. In the ask me anything section, my fb page, twitter where ever.

Trini asks you something and you didnt understand? just say 'Doubles Jed Hoss' :D

Whats in a name?

2010-05-26T19:47:00.000-07:00

The history and rationale behind my many monikers.

In Chronological order.

anonimi - I had just discovered 4chan and internet culture and somehow the name was just always available.
I find it absolutely annoying when you type in a bag of names and you keep getting 'Im sorry this username is taken' Problem solved.

The Cynic - *yuck* angsty teen years. That's what I was, wasn't fun.

LEON- I have no clue.

Mr. Leon Turpentine - The name I've settled down on. One day I said 'I need a last name'. I was actually considering Constantine for a surname but I thought that was too pretentious and chose something a bit more eccentric. I have no clue how Turpentine ended up in my head but that it did and Mr. Leon Turpentine was born.

Alistair Blackwater - Current appellation closest to my real name.Alistair is my middle name which I actually like.I honestly don't like my first name simply because if anyone calls it out its near inevitable that 4 people are going to look around.Blackwater is the English translation of the Gaelic Dubh Glais and that is the family I belong to.A fairly old Scottish family with a long history. The motto is 'Never Behind' :P

What's next? I don't know. I've taken quite a liking to my current nicknames.

What does your name mean?

Does your surname have a history?

Check it out you might be surprised.

Customizing Rainmeter Tutorial: Changing fonts,colours and more

2010-05-24T01:00:00.000-07:00

Image via Wikipedia

So you've customized your desktop with all these cool widgets but you want more , right? Getting into the editor is nothing hard. Really.

Inside every rainmeter widget is a .ini file.This is the control panel for each widget.What you want is to open it with Wordpad/Notepad and begin editing.Once again I assure you its nothin hard, most rainmeter developers label everything as to make it easy on normal people like you and me.

First things first, Extract your pack by putting the pack folder in the ...Rainmeter/Skins folder.
Locate the widget you want to customize. (e.g the notes widget).Open the .ini file with notepad.

Fonts and formatting
Font type
Now to change the font is simple.All you need to do is replace the current font name with the EXACT name of the font you want to change it to.
FontName=Segoe UI
FontName= Reservoir Grunge

Font colour
Now you should see a code in either 2 formats on is
Hexadecimal codes such as this colour is #38761d
RGB values is a mixture of the three this colour is 56,118,29
Worried how your going to make these codes? Go here at this free online colour picker
Select and substitute!

You can usually change the font height ,and formatting such as italics etc

Changing colours
Changing background colours etc is exactly same as above just selct and substitute.
BoxBG=255,255,255 <--White
BoxBG=191,144,0

Functional areas
Changing which Drive a widget redirects to?
Just substitute the desired drive to the new one you wish to monitor.

Changing drive names and other text
Other static text can usually be changed simply by changing is

Changing where your notes are stored.
First thing is to make sure you even have a file in the first place.If there is no /txt file to read from the notes widget will just be blank.So go ahead and create your .txt file in the desired location.
Now the default may be something like
C:\Path_to_rainmeter\Roomico\notes.txt
And you want it in your downloads folder just find out the path of your downloads folder.
Copy and Substitute! C:\Users\Owner\Downloads

DON'T FORGET TO SAVE!

General tip.
Be bold. Mess around with stuff. ASK QUESTIONS.
Dont be afraid to break the widget.After all you can just re download and it'll be good as new again :3

Happy tweaking.
Ask me anything pertaining to rainmeter.

Intro to Rainmeter

Top rainmeter Apps

All in one Rainmeter pack - Moxx

Indie Gaming for PC : Top indie games

2010-05-22T23:17:00.000-07:00

Whats an Indie game?
Indie stands for independent. The little guys, not under a big game house like EA or Activision. Usually a group of friends or sometimes a single person that slaves over something to produce what is known as the indie game.

Indie games are usually small. 100 MB max. How much can one man do?
but don't let this turn you off. Size doesnt matter. Gameplay is everything and thats why theyve gained iconic status.

Puzzle

Machinarium

Completely hand drawn and rendered. Charming visuals and interestingly enough not a word is spoken.Not Free lol

A picture is worth a thousand words in this charming point-and-click adventure.8/10 at Gamespot So you cant say it hasnt caught the big-players attention

The World of Goo

A physics based puzzle type.It's gained huge success worldwide.Use your brain.Got quite popular in my class as soon as people sat down to try it.

Innovative, addictive, and delightfully weird, World of Goo is a superb puzzle game.GameSpot 9/10

Action [pew pew boom pow bang!]

Doukutsu Monotogari AKA Cave Story :3

A game of iconic status, a One man show, 8 bit run-and-gun of epic proportions.If you put Metroid, Super Mario , The Legend of Zelda and a lot of bullets together you get Cave Story.
May look old school but it is not easy, and it is not short either OH AND ITS FREE [legally]

User score of 9.5/10 from 233 votes
Game site and Free Download

Spelunky

Spelunky

Weird name I know.You are a spelunker[cave explorer] and your heading off in search of gold, fame and adventure, armed with your whip you enter the cave Indiana Jones style except your not the star of the show and you can die AND YOU WILL DIE.All the levels are randomly generated.This another of those one man shows thats taken iconic status,Is now being refreshed for a port to XBLA

A 9/10 game.It will keep you occupied. My current stats are 500+ deaths Zero Wins but im still playing

Gamesite and Free Download

Shooters

[your little ship against thousands There can only be one.]

The Touhou Project - All 12 games

This is a old school shootmup except it falls in a special category known as bullet hell shmups. How can I say this...just look at the picture. You are that little red girl at the the bottom left.Dodge all the bullets coming at you, while shooting the boss.Yes there is a boss.Look closely lol

All free.All insanely hard, All fun
Game Site and Downloads Full Set (TPB)

Sub CategoryMusic [yes music]

Beat Hazard

Beat Hazard

This game takes YOUR music, analyses it and generates a level based off it. Heavy visuals.If you have epilepsy, I dont suggest you play this game.Seriously. Its pretty and fast paced and its interesting to see how your songs play out

Main Site

Geometry Wars Audiosurf

Have fun.Support the little guys.
Indie game-sites and Indie databases
http://www.destructoid.com/
http://db.tigsource.com/
http://www.tigsource.com/

Where all my stuff runs off to - DarCH Comic

2010-05-21T23:08:00.000-07:00

CLICK THE PICTURE TO VIEW HI-RESOLUTION

Where all my s~~tolen~~ lost runs off to overnight. Right guys?
How I like to think of it
An Exodus of sorts

Starring Pedro ,Guardian Tribal KEn
Bob Senior the Knife , Blacks the mouse , PoNahl the Vanilla Flavoured glue and others

My hopes for 3rd year studio

2010-05-20T17:30:00.000-07:00

Another year of studio another year of seeing all your studio mates again.

Dont wait till February to turn over a new leaf, there are things to fix.

Group Work.

1. Dont be a dick.Come and help.
2. This is for the stubborn people, you know yourselves.
Everyone cannot be head honcho at the same time.There are those that lead and those that follow.The ones who follow want to see a PLAN. All of you cant have your way at the same time.Relax your ego.

And to those who follow, Even if the leaders dont quite have it right.Come.Pitch in.Dont use the lack of a plan as an excuse to cop out of work.

And please dont walk in and criticize if you didnt help.Really.

3. Girls. You and I know you all have that one girl that you...would rather not be around...to put it lightly. What I ask you is when it is time for work both you and your enemy cut the crap and work. In fact I ask you for an even greater feat. Cut the crap all together.

4.Lastly.Its group work.Work in studio.As a group. That is all.

Desks

Now that we all ACTUALLY have a desk to ourselves are we really going to fight over which desk has been claimed by whoever...
Either way when the squabbling is done.Ill just find a desk.

Study Tour

1.Please dont go over there and make a fool of yourselves.You are C.S.A students and representatives of your Country(and we dont exactly have the best image to begin with)
Dont get piss drunk.Alcoholics know yourselves.Thats for kids.

Just dont do anything stupid eh?

2.Those who walk in the hot sun drawing and taking photos.Your work is considerable and you are given credit for it. Those who stay inside and compile the pages upon pages of documentation do not forget that their work is considerable also give them the credit they deserve.Its basically group work, no squabbling allowed.

Pavilion
Pavilion...That is all.

Footnotes: For those who are sayin in their minds "but ah who him how him fi ah seh bout and him nuh XYZ nani nani boo boo" I am in no part perfect but if something needs to be said I will say it.Im not attacking anybody.As you noticed no names were posted.I just want people to read it and know themselves.

Frank Gehry thinks Green building is bogus -My response

2010-05-20T14:50:00.000-07:00

Green building practices are apparently not a concern to Frank Gehry, the architect who designed such famous buildings as the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles and the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain. At the opening of the Pritzker Pavilion from the Art Institute of Chicago last week, he was quite candid when asked about the role of green architecture in global warming. “I think the issue is finally a political one,” he replied. Gehry explained that the rating systems used by LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) contain a lot of superficial requirements — like bike racks — stating bluntly that “a lot of LEED is given for bogus stuff.”

Gehry went on to explain that the cost of meeting LEED green building standards are “enormous” and that “they don’t pay back in your lifetime.”

Even though architects such as Lord Norman Foster have designed impressive structures like the Swiss Re London headquarters that have passive heating and cooling features, Gehry made it clear that such criteria are not considerations in the architectural plans that he creates on a computer program used to design airplanes. So basically, Frank Gehry believes green building is bogus. Do you think many traditional architects would agree with him? Original Article

The DarCH Response

I most certainly don't agree.i know LEED is strict but there are steps that one must take to reduce our effect on the the world around us. I think Mr. Gehry some what feels a bit at a loss after making his interesting yet heat intensifying Titanium plated masses.Fun Fact:These had to be sand blasted to decrease their effect on buildings around them.

Actually buildings need not pay back in your life time.There are other things to think about other than just profit and loss.I am most definitely disappointed by Mr. Gehry.

I am currently reading the LEED and USGBC guidelines so expect this post to expand.

In Short : Stop Drinking Haterade Frank Gehry. The LEED protocol has its weaknesses but Eco-Friendliness and Sustainability are the only step forward for the planet. LEED, although it is not perfect, its core aspirations are the movement of the times. Get with it or get overtaken.

From Constructivism to Modernism

2010-05-18T23:59:00.000-07:00

Abstract

This article stands as a defense of the statement ‘Modernism nearly exclusively defined architecture of the 20th Century ‘It shows how modern architecture was the major shift in the architectural world which carried on for the years to come. A history of how modernism culminated to become what it it today has been is outlined. The forefather of modernism which is explored is the Russian constructivists. They played a considerable role in modernism and its ideals. After finally coming together with other avant-garde artist movements namely Bauhaus and De Stijl a new style was born.

Keywords: Russian Constructivism, Modernism, 20th Century Architecture

From Constructivism to Modernsim

A developement of Modern Architecture

Modernism is the expression of forward thought that draws on many different sources for the inspiration of what is to be.
Modernism in architecture is generally accepted to be a simplification of the buildings form and creating ornament not through flourishes and acanthus but from the simplified form. Other characteristics includes the mantra of form following function and emphasis of horizontal and vertical lines.

Modernism is not culture specific, it has been developing and spreading across countries and continents and it has many fathers. Some will say the Bauhaus, Some say the Russians, some will say De Stijl .I say all of them but the movement being explored here is the Russian Constructivists.

History of Constructivism.

Constructivist architecture began from the movement of constructivist art. This art movement had several factions. The purists on one spectrum such as Naum Gabo and those who followed his realist manifesto and the more socialist oriented artists who wanted the art to be integrated in production and industrialism-The productivists led by Vladimir Tatlin .Additionaly there were those moved by Naum Gabo’s Realistic Manifesto.

The main ideas of Naums Manifesto are that it should define space by using space and kinetic rhythm. The art style was a rejection of naturalism which is the school of art interested in depicting real objects in a real setting Hence we can see why constructivist art was its antipode. It depicted unreal objects or sometimes experiences or even the absence of object in an abstract manner. Major artists of the genre are Naum Gabo,Kasmir Malech, Vladimir Tatlin and Antoine Pevsner.

However not everyone agreed with the purer aesthetics of Gabo and they were accused of ‘formalism’ , being ‘elitist’ and creating art that had no relation to socialist.Submitting would have forced the anti-naturalists to turn their backs on their ideals. At this point there was schism, Tatlin and Malech remained, conforming to Marxist ‘guidelines’ while Pevsner and Gabo left Russia as outlaw artists after their license was revoked.

Eventually constructivism was ousted completely in favour of the more socialist art, and the constructivists were forced to emigrate to various parts of Europe and the U.S where some joined with prominent De Stijl artists and Bauhaus artists worldwide. They were not shunned as an idea even if their style died out.

The shift

Constructivist architectureIt makes common use of angular lines, .Oorthogonal planes and kinetic trails in the articulation of elements. A geometric shape in relation to certain colours was also a common practice hinting at some relation to cubism. It was spawned from the belief that the machine could reform the lives of the people and how the machine could push mother Russia to new heights. Art and architecture wedas to be for the people .The machine aesthetic is the most identifiable characteristic of this constructivist movement as stated by H. Read “We cannot continue making inventing machines, constructing machines , using machines without in some degree being mentally affected by machines” and it is this effect seen in constructivism

Some of the tangible works of constructivism are the Schukov Tower - a hyperboloid broadcasting tower, Tatlin’s Tower – Scaled Replica (Above) and The Zuyev Workers Club

The medium in constructivism was to be steel and any other material that was the current technological development similar to modernism.

This architectural style began ended in the mid 1930’s but lingered on as a composite style known as post-constructivism.

Reading list

Colquhoun, A. (2002). Modern Architecture. Oxford Press.
Habermas, J. (1987). Critical Theory and Public Life : Modern and Postmodern Architecture. MIT Press.
Read, H. (1945). Five European Sculptors. New York: Arno Press.
Overy, P. (1991). De Stijl , Thames and Read
Gold, J. R. (1997) The experience of modernism , E & FN SPON Press
Ray S.(2005) The Wright Architecture
Read H. (2002) Skyscrapers
Steele, J. (2001) Architecture Today , Phaidon Press
Ccurtis, W. (2002) , Architecture since 1900 , Phaidon Press

Naum Gabo Presentation

www.quazen.com - Suprematism vs Constructivism

The paths to design.

2010-05-17T22:12:00.000-07:00

How do we design and what generates our architecture?

Questions to get your mind working.

First off...

WHAT are you designing? Don't forget.

Context

What does the site look like? The design in your head nearly never fits exactly to your sites specifications.
How will your design relate to buildings and places around it? Is it Centrifugal, Centripetal
Context means a lot in design. Environmental factors, Neighbours, Noises, Crime , All the multiplicity of things that can and will affect daily like come into play.

Character

Most of the time there is a faint idea buzzing in your head.Vague and newborn .
You ask how will it look? What is it's scale? Will it be intimate, Neutral or Grand in sizing? Does it have a precedent?
Some start with plans.Some start with sections. Sorting out how spaces relate to each other is another important phase in the building where you, the architect begin to rationalize the building in an attempt to create a unique whole.

WHAT are you designing? Don't forget.

Organization

Really begin getting into how the spaces relate to each other? Circulation is always a big issue, Horizontal and Vertical Circulation Which spaces are more important than others? How does Inside relate to outside? Is the building accepting or rejecting its outer environment? Remember to work to scale.

Technologies

Materials? Those mundane yet oh-so necessary services that a building mus t accommodate.

HOW.DOES.IT.STAND.UP.

Tensile or Static? Is the structure expressed or suppressed?

The Roof. The fenestration.The Facades and envelope. All need to be given careful consideration.

WHAT are you designing? Don't forget.

Sustainability

Will it be green?(I dearly hope so) How can you reduce energy usage? What passive strategies can you apply to absorb energy costs? What is the carbon footprint of the materials you are using? Research alternatives and new ways of being responsible designers.

Now this is no where close to the full list of questions an architect could ask his or herself when designing.If I were to write them all the list would continue ad infinitum.All I hope is to get your mind whirring.

Loosely adapted from the Architecture Design Notebook by A. Peter Fawcett
All pictures are S. Alistair Douglas' own work.Do not use without permission

If Starcraft was made in the 80's

2010-05-17T12:43:00.000-07:00

This is awesome...lol

Rainmeter picture viewers -

2010-05-16T23:59:00.000-07:00

Rainmeter picture viewers so you can look at your wallpapers or girlfriend or edward cullen or something.

'Yet another' Picture viewer for Rainmeter by moshi
Comes in three sizes. Changes every five minutes
Download

Klottz picture viewer - by moshi
Simple frame.
Also a part of the klotz pack

Download

Enigma FramePicture viewer by chrislangle

Customizable to display static images or loop/cycle through a number of directories.
White picture viewer and Black skins available
Download

Flickr Slide show - by jxns66
Simple App to display pictures through flickrs feed
Download

Also Check out the HUD vision picture viewer Here

Intro to Rainmeter

Top rainmeter Apps

All in one Rainmeter pack - Moxx

Architecture Student Resources - Tips and Websites

2010-05-16T07:22:00.000-07:00

architecture

The Cool Hunter
Architecture pictures

Archdaily
Architecture floor plans and sections everyday all year round

Plataforma Arquitectura
Arkinetia
Spanish architecture sites...Well theres always google translate.Or just look at the pretty pictures :P

Architonic
Everything architecture.Highly Recommended.

Daily Tonic

Archtizer

Furniture & Design

Furniture Store Blog

Design Spotter Good stuff

Kids modern Design

Photography

http://www.outdoor-photos.com/

Architecture Layouts

www.arquitectum.com - Look at the competition winners and learn.

Student Tips

Find a senior student to be your mentor. Us old timers, have been around the block a time or two

Get to know your School of Architecture and the people in it. You will be spending a lot of time here and you may just need someone's help one night when no one else is around.

"Work smart, not hard."

Work in studio (not at home): your classmates are great for advice, crits, inspiration, and supplies.

Your best friends are those who can be brutally honest about your work.

Take plenty of breaks; how much time can you lose in 15 minutes anyway?

Remember, asking for help is a strength, not a weakness.

Put your name on all your supplies--they tend to walk away.

When it comes to technology (computers, printers, scanners), if it can go wrong it will, so expect the unexpected.

Your assignment may seem irrelevant now, but stick with them because eventually you will realize that it is from these early projects that you learn the most.

What's DCH about?

2010-05-15T23:18:00.000-07:00

The DCH Blog

Hey I said Dont Come Here! lol im just kidding.

Glad your here.

Whats this blog about?
Well its an architecture blog but I write on a number of topics so it may veer off even into random.Not randomly useless but a jack of all trades kind of blog. However I especially like to get and share resources for architecture students and provide info for classmates.

Who are you?Im S. Alistair Blackwater left :D Im an architecture student at the University of Technology, Jamaica .Im a eclectic jester - a strange but fairly accurate way to describe me.

Do you post your own work?

Well i dont plagiarize, I only post my own work after I can be sure no ones going to plagiarize me :P So expect a time delay after projects

Dizining - The Site to showcase your digital portfolio

2010-05-15T17:37:00.001-07:00

Architecture Student Resource.A site that shows a lot of promise.Dizining is a place where you can showcase your portfolio.It is geared towards students ,so dont be afraid to show off your sketchbook scribbles failed proejcts and the like

I think greater intra user interaction would be a plus.Letting people comment, like , share project information on social platforms would definately put the site out there on the net.
So far I love it, a great tool for students freshmen to graduates to showcase their work.

In fact I may just write an article at my blog :P [guess what I did]

Also this is my first Sidewiki article

"Creating opporttunites and Erasing boundaries"
- Dizining - Creating Opportunities and Erasing Boundaries (view on Google Sidewiki)

Expository Introspection

2010-05-14T06:00:00.000-07:00

I enjoy simple. I enjoy the unadorned. Never overtly expressing.Just hints.
Subtle hints.

Thats it.

Subtlety. I enjoy it. In everything. The parts of life you have to relax your mind for a while. Slow down, Still your heart beat and look closely to appreciate it.Thats what I like.

Simple pleasures keep me happy.

My senses have not been so dulled that I require a grand stimuli before I am aware of changes in that which I observe.
Those, They must have something to engorge their mind at the cost of drowning out their own thoughts.

Less really is more.
Use your imagination.I assure you, however rusty it is it is better than the world you live in.

DCHDigest - Holograms The Printer that prints sculptures, Holograms and more

2010-05-10T10:23:00.000-07:00

DCHBlog - DCH Digest

Biofuel sweating organisms

Little bacteria that just sit on their solar lounge chairs and sweat out diesel.Awesome right?This isn't wholly new but is a major improvement over the old way of doing things where the poor bacteria had to be squashed to get out the precious fuel.Now we can skip all that.

Full article

The Printer that prints sculptures.

What architecture students dream about.The D-Shape prototype printer.This printer could print your model in a considerably shorter time than you sit slaving over it with an X-acto knife.Super shortcut sadly is gonna cost super cash >_&lt: It works by starting with a layer of sand after which the model is built up layer by layer.Technology :3 Full article

Reverse Graffiti?

Graffiti :3 This is graffiti that isn't illegal and actually is doing something good for the city.These guys walk around looking for grungy walls.Armed with soap and other dirt combatants they scrub off the grime to create murals at scales worthy of praise. Full article

Heavy Reading: The concrete Desk/Bookcase-in-1

I love bookcases, especially when they're full of books.Now why not have a cool table with just as amny books in it to go with it?
I really love this desk.It would be hell to move though :P Full Article

Reversed Volumes. Plates and Bowls

Ceramics cast out of fruits and vegetables.
I for one would NOT eat out of that. Period.
Worse when it gets dirty!...how in the world do you clean that?

Full Article

The microwave for Geeks
This sleek device scans the end of the fork with each of these Brainwave compatible meals and automatically adjusts the temperature.And when your done you can turn it upwards and use it as a notice board.I hope for further advances in this for semi-chefs like myself.Soon it will scan everything! like poptarts and Chef Boyardee

Full Article

DCH Blog
Alistair Blackwater

what i learnt: The Shelter

2010-05-09T13:06:00.000-07:00

[the shelter]
Design Problem: To design a sustainable dwelling for one person to sleep and study.Should incorporate photovoltaics

Details
Site: Riverbed/Riverband - Hope River Jamaica
Materials:Timber-Virgin and Recycled
Floor space (m2): 5.5m2
Height: Max. 3m - Min. 2 6 m

Solar paneling: Building Iintegrated Photo Voltaics [BIPV] A Semi Transparent solar paneling
Furniture: Compressed Cork Desk - Compressed Wool Stool - Bamboo Bookcase - Hammock Bed - - Reclaimed denim rug
Other features. Trap Door and Floor entrance via rope ladder.

The challenge to design a small space for study and sleep while keeping it eco-friendly and disposable was a interesting twist.I started with a mast and roping system which kept the roof up in a variety of shapes ranging from 8 to 4 sides.It would be accessed via a small 'trap' door and a tree house like rope ladder underneath.

After visiting the site there were a number of good areas for building which could take me on a number of different architectural paths.Some chose in the silt others chose flat areas up river.I chose to build on the rocks.

Architectural Generators

Context and Environmental Factors
Why did I chose the rocky river side? It had a significant height difference in relation to the riverbed and allowed one to observe both up and down the river.If a light/moderate rain fell the structure would be well out of the way of the rivers flow.Those who chose to build in the silt, what would they do?The rocks are easily accessed by both the path to the other villages and is the easier of two routes further up river.
Experience
In terms of the experience of the space.I wanted the services provided to be humble and simple.I provided a small pull down table and a hammock type bed.The privacy of the sleeping area was ensured by the book case which wrapped around most of the bed.

Ample light is always a major consideration for me.I provided a ribbon around the facade facing the river.I also had raised paneling to provide ventilation and diffused light in the sleeping area.Additionally since the bed was near floor level i made a low opening covered with rice paper to diffuse the morning light

Construction and Sustainability
.The solar paneling on the roof was Semi Transparent with tinting to allow some light inside without excessive heat gain.

Construction was simple.Panels were carried and slotted into their places on the permanent base.

I honestly would have loved staying the night

Top Rainmeter Skins - Itunes,HDD monitors and more

2010-05-08T22:01:00.000-07:00

New to Rainmeter and destop apps? Intro to Rainmeter

Clocks

Mono Alarm - by Kenz0

A minimalist clock that also come in ten different colours and has a easy setting to alarm to keep you on track with your schedule

>>Mono Alarm Download Page

Linear Clock - by Kenz0

A very interesting clock that has a unique design which tells time not only by number but the length of the bar as well.
Additionally it changes colour according to different times of day

>>Linear Clock download Page

Packs

Nebulous Pack - by delusionaldroid

A Text-based rainmeter pack that includes
-Date + Time
-HDD Montor
-Weather widget by Espiox

Versatile because it does't have a explicit style.
>>Nebulous Pack Download Page

Straight by DiffEQ

Another simple skin. A lot more crisp and a little less heavy on the eyes.

It includes

-Date and Time
-Itunes remote
-Network & CPU Usage
-Ram and HDD Monitors

>>Straight Pack Download Page

Miscellaneous

Element by RedBlack

A simple HDD monitor that gives you a shortcut to the drive and comes in black and white

>>Element HDDdownload page
>>Element RAM download page

Pokemon - Bills PC by Serrio

This ones really cool.Shows your system info[RAM, HDD, CPU etc] just like the original Gameboy Pokemon format.

>>Bills PC download page

Rainmeter Windows 7? All Rainmeter Packs are Windows 7 compatible

Related Posts: Rainmeter Moxx Pack - DCHBLog
Introduction to Rainmeter and Docks - DCHBlog

The true measure of a man

2010-05-06T21:31:00.000-07:00

believe

that the greatest measure of someone is not their magnanimity,

It is not their peacefulness, amicability,mental fortitude,selflessness, intelligence,bravery,trustworthyness and reasoning...

When life is good

and everything is in order.

It is when all these qualities and more are present when he is

hot , tired , stressed, hungry, hurt,pressured, depressed, aching

and everything

going

wrong

The one who can surpass his current station and still find it within himself to still be a person of stature.

That.

is a man worthy of my respect

That.

is my philosophy.

Is Google chrome the fastest web browser? Thats what the statistics say.

2010-05-05T23:18:00.000-07:00

Always knew chrome was the boss.

Google Chrome Blog: Pedal to the Chrome metal: Our fastest beta to date for Windows, Mac and Linux

Today’s new beta release incorporates one of Chrome’s most significant speed and performance increases to date, with 30% and 35% improvement on the V8 andSunSpiderbenchmarks over the previous beta channel release. In fact, looking back in time, Chrome’s performance has improved by as much as 213% and 305% on these two benchmarks since our very first beta.

Google Chrome Blog: Pedal to the Chrome metal: Our fastest beta to date for Windows, Mac and Linux

A must watch- The world we live in

2010-05-04T00:05:00.001-07:00

We are living in exponential times

DCH blog

Leon Turpentine

How to set up an RSS feed.

2010-05-03T13:39:00.000-07:00

1.Locate a Blogs RSS feed icon.

Click it although here ive supplied it for you

My RSS feed - Dont click it.Paste it into your reader
http://dontcomehereomg.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

3. Find a RSS reader.
Most people have google accounts already so you can use google reader.

However here are some cool and easier to use alternatives
4.USE FEEDLY! Much much more user friendly and you dont have to download anything

Sign up or use your google account to log into feedly.
Any RSS feeds you already have will auto import.
Any new feeds just copy past the URL above into add sources and click add.

Architecture student RSS feed starter pack[in order of preference]
http://dornob.com/
http://inhabitat.com/
http://www.dezeen.com/
http://bldgblog.blogspot.com/
http://www.archdaily.com/
http://architechnophilia.blogspot.com/

Not Rss Compatible- But worth mention
http://www.eikongraphia.com/ -
http://www.arquitectum.com/index.php - Great for architecture sheet layouts

History Essay Handout

2010-05-03T10:03:00.000-07:00

Cuthberts essay. I have no clue why its sideways.deal with it.

DCH Blog
Alistair Douglas

what i learnt : The house

2010-05-03T09:56:00.000-07:00

The house.

A house is an extension of the architects personality.

One of the more interesting projects for me.Also one of my most succesful.I allowed myself to be myself to fullest and explore styles of rendering that I had previously stifled and suppressed.

I learnt about myself as a designer.

I would say I am Loving of Symmetry, Openness and a good view.

I design in a subtractive manner.Clipping away redundancies and excess. Shying away from the biological growths that many others design. I like to formalize.

I learnt about how I draw and why I draw the way I do.

I like to draw rough.Sketchy lines.Lots of Lines. Unchecked use of colour and rendering.

I owe it to my art teachers.Comics, Manga, and the like.It has its disadvantages but I have been learning other rendering styles to patch its weaknesses.Seeing that i've been drawing since 8th grade.I guess you can say im a late bloomer.

The house really brings all the considerations of architecture together.Aesthetics , function, Comfort , Sustainability, the list goes on. How one regulates how much and how little of all the considerations are expressed shows how the architect thinks and what is most important to him in a house.

Sustainability was also something I gained knowledge of over the course of this last project.Rainwater collection and Solar water heating and energy collection were fairly straight forward sustainable practices that i chose to employ.

Last but not least.
Using combinations of analog and digital media to create presentations.I find it infiniteley easier to draw, scan, print and then render.Rather than slaving in front of a computer for hours on end.Its practice i have been employing since the bath house project and it has been serving me well.

Of course there are times when I will design asymmetrically, additive and biomorphic.

I learnt alot this last project.Maybe too much for one blog post but ill cut it off here.

Also learnt that the half-courtyard is a characteristic of the Mediterranean housing typology.

DCH Blog
Alistair Douglas

Building Services Past Papers

2010-05-03T08:06:00.000-07:00

08 Past Paper

09 Past Paper

still open book, but study nevertheless

[This just in]
Its also in the class email >_<. so much for uploading it

DCH Blog
Alistair Douglas

The Precedent: Spaghetti house

2010-05-02T15:10:00.000-07:00

The precendent study.For this project we were charged with analysing a house and also in the creation of a model that resempbled it.

The spaghetti house by L.A based David Baker was named afterits long footprint.It is comprised of two sections, the larger one for the owner and the smaller section to be rented.The house features Solar Paneling on both the southern wall and the central roof.The roofs tilted at Los Angeles' Latitude 35'

The house is one bedroom for each unit, both having a small kitchen and living area.The owners unit features a work area on the second floor and a small bridge to get to the decking where the solar powered Hot tub is located.

The architect himself lived there for a time.The road which touched the edge of the western facade has now been removed and replaced by grass area.Getting information about Spaghetti house was not easy.I had to personally email the architect to attain addresses and street level views to provide information such as vegetation and parking.

The house is organized simply yet effectively.With contractions and expansions to hint at and create privacy in certain spaces.The privacy of rooms in crease as one moves further away from the main entrance.

It is clad in timber from local artisans as part of a City wide movement to support woodwork in Los Angeles.
A straight forward project.

Spaghetti House Address
Location:
3035 Colby Street , Berkely , Califrornia
Aslo a big thanks to Mr Baker himself for supplyin the information that made this project happen

DAVID BAKER's Official Website

Spaghetti House page

Internal Views

DCH Blog
Alistair Douglas

i haz a banner nao!

2010-04-29T14:46:00.000-07:00

W.I.P

Still needs fixing but this will do for now.

DCH Blog
Alistair Douglas

Autocad and Structural Design Past Papers

2010-04-28T15:43:00.000-07:00

Structures 2009

Autocad Practical

More Autocad

Autocad Short Answer

Thanks to Kirk for the email

DCH Blog

Alistair Douglas

AutoCAD for Dummies 08-09

2010-04-28T15:12:00.000-07:00

AutoCAD for dummies 08

Autocad 2009
This book is kinda jumbled.I advise 2008.
Its really not that outdated

Also READ THE HANDOUTS.

DCH Blog
Alistair Douglas

Portfolio Handout

2010-04-27T17:48:00.000-07:00

Click to enlarge

Much thanks to baddery for the pics.

DCH Blog
Alistair Douglas

Kern Spencer Graffiti

2010-04-23T14:46:00.000-07:00

Save. Print.Cut out a stencil.
Spray.

DCH Blog
Alistair Douglas

To Do list

2010-04-23T14:29:00.000-07:00

Comics to Draw
C.S.A students time schedule
Site Induced Depression Syndrome
Suzy and I

Articles to complete
what i learnt:The Pavilion
what i learnt:The Shelter
what i learnt:The House

Other posts to make

Autocad 2010 For Dummies Ebook
Kern Spencer Grafitti - Done

Haiku

You must learn from all,

If you choose otherwise

You choose to move not

DCH Blog
Alistair Douglas

what i know: Typography in Architecture Layouts - Some Guidelines

2010-04-23T13:55:00.000-07:00

Now seeing the last project there was some good work, nice models and some terrible typography.

Do's and Donts

DONTS

1. ALGERIAN

2. Dark text on a Dark Background

3.ALL CAPS FOR PARAGRAPHS OF TEXT

4.Cool Unreadable fonts

1. Keep font types to a 2-3 font maximum

2. Make your fonts make sense with the rest of your design.

3. General[but breakable rule] Serifs have the litte feet for body San Serifs dont have feet for Titles

4. There are levels of information use them to your advantage.

Size Size Size

Colour Colour Colour

Other Characteristics To make it stand out or recede

5. USE THE CHARACTER WINDOW IN Photoshop

Press Window > Character.

DCH Blog
Alistair Douglas

Choices

2010-04-23T00:02:00.000-07:00

Its like a large star.A Febrile [what a beautiful word] swirling mass of heat and fury.
You aspire to put it out for its own good.This task however requires you to force your way into the inferno.To the very centre.
Flesh crackling, skin tearing away from your fingers as you reach out.
Razing your muscles,eating at your body till you finally cup the core and put an end to that Raging Helios.

But.

Sometimes you think, why not just leave it perfectly alone.
And it can burn for
all
eternity.

Hmm?

what i learnt : The Caribbean School of Architecture Strucutural Analysis

2010-04-12T15:48:00.000-07:00

Caribbean School of Architecture building

C.S.A

Built by Lascelles Dixon (whom I had the pleasure of meeting)

40 Shortwood Rd. Suite 11

4 Storey buillding

Basement - Lecture theatre and Presentation room

1st Floor - Smart room and First/Second Year Design Studio

2nd Floor - Staff room and Architecture Library

3rd Floor - Upper Staff area and Third year studio

4th Floor - Masters studio and Critique rooms 1 & 2

Souther stairwell was designed to act as a pavilion for students to watch activites on the field.

Foundation Type: Pad Footing with Ties between individual pads

Building Type : Frame Building, 3m spaced column and 9 m span beam set up.

Soil Type : Sandy Loamy Soil, Compacted over time. - Good soil

Grid Diagramming shows that the main section of the building is supported by columns D2 through to N2 and D5 to N5 on the easter face.

The walls of the building can be knocked out and moved without damage to the building superstructure

Pad Footing - L Dixon

The Northern and southern walls are called shear walls which prevents the building from failing in the manner shown below.

Shear walls are without openings as these openings such as fenestration and doorways reduce the strength of the wall as a whole.

Another factor that add to the buildings stiffness is that the floors are all homogeneous.

The Triangular forms on the Western edge is design to keep out bright sun while allowing ventilation and diffused light into the studios.Similar tactics are employed on the roof where north light is ushered into the Critique rooms

See Previous post for additional images CSA UTECH Models and Pictures

DCH Blog
Alistair Douglas

Caribbean School of Architecture : Models and Pictures

2010-04-08T12:25:00.000-07:00

I happened to be analysing CSA for Structures and blundered into these images of some models.

Carribean School of Architecture 3d Elevation Model

Taken from
http://www.prezentmodels.com/CaribbeanSchoolofArchitecture.html

Eary Phases

Its REALLY sad that after typing Csa UTECH in google images the 8th picture is my BLOGGER Profile Picture

DCH Blog
Alistair Douglas

How to use more of your brain?

2010-04-07T21:49:00.000-07:00

You --really_want_to-- know?

It's not easy.

Okay, that scared off all the lazies.

It's not complex.

Alright, that angered the self-reflexive tortured artists.

It's not popular.

Good, that alienated the mediocre.

It's not normal.

Yes, there go the cowards.

10 Simple Steps
to Using More of
Your Brain...

All you have to do is \stretch/ your brain.

All one need do is /focus\ the mind.

Law of Brain Expansion

Unused areas of the brain

are activated by perceiving, thinking and doing new things.

Your instructors will be:

the New
the Different
the Bizarre
the Difficult
the Uncomfortable
the Scary
and the Unknown.

Your classroom will be
The Universe and All It Contains,
including mysterious laws and
regions of your own psyche.

1. Think more.

Reduce passive, brain dead soaking up of entertainment, gamesplaying, gossip, mindless trash culture, Hollywood shenanigans, who-dunnit murder mysteries.

Avoid dumbed down entertainment, sponsored sports, broadcast news, popular culture, established traditions, mainstream trends, peer-pressured opinions.

Seek the innovative, controversial, ground-breaking, emergent, radical.

Ask yourself questions. Conduct a silent self-interview. Auto-encapsulate yourself.

Wonder about things you've never stopped to consider.

Why is the universe so vast?

Why is there something rather than nothing?

Is nothingness possible, perhaps 589 trillions years into the future, once the human race learns how to wipe out the entire cosmos?

What are your goals? Priorities? Spiritual beliefs? Favorite films?

2. Read difficult books.

Derrida, Blanchot, Lacan, Levi-Strauss, Mallarme, Rilke, Proust, Hegel, Bible, Koran, Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, Galileo, Hawking, Einstein.

3. Have stranger adventures.

Go to a restaurant in a part of town you've never been in, in a different economic class or ethnic mix.

Stop doing the same things in the same places with the same people.

Deliberately take a new route, visit a new blog, try writing a poem, take homemade chocolate chip cookies to a neighbor you don't know yet.

4. Learn a new skill.

Tackle RSS, HTML, ASP, PHP, XML.

Buy a graphics program (PhotoShop, Poser, Paint Shop Pro) and start creating photo manipulations or digital art.

Start a blog. Upload photos or art to your blog. Take swimming or diving lessons. Plant a garden. Join a bird-watcher group. Discover how to deconstruct a text. Become an email message writing expert.

5. Look at art.

Something happens in the brain chemically and electronically when viewing art.

Find the best, wildest, most exciting art on the web or in galleries, books, or magazines (Art Forum, Art in America, Flash)...and stare at it.

Try to figure out how it was done. Note your emotional response. Try to do something similar or as a reaction against it.

6. Discuss deep subjects.

Ask your friends, family, neighbors what their opinions are on infinity, eternity, heaven, hell, karma, angels, dreams, animal intelligence, nuclear power, herbal remedies, meditation for stress relief, human evolution, cloning, terrorism, nationalism, mind control cults, unethical business practices.

7. Respect other opinions.

Encourage others to think for themselves, form their own judgments, and speak their minds.

Ask your friends questions you've never asked them, about subjects you have no idea what their opinions could be.

Listen. Notice if opposing viewpoints have any redeeming qualities. Are you sure your opinions have no serious challengers?

Most people change certain aspects of, or entire, belief systems multiple times during their lives. No adult believes all they believed when they were a child or a teenager.

8. Make friends with aliens.

Are all your friends in your racial, economic, religious, political, vocational, gender, or professional class?

That's horrible then. You have no new stimulation intellectually, except random distortions via media.

Become close friends with aliens from other cultures, age groups, physical disabilities, mental handicaps, industries, spiritual orientations, nationalities, politics, philosophies.

9. Understand what you hate.

Take something that bothers you, angers you, or you have zero interest in. Try to discover first: why you don't like it. Then: what good qualities reside in it. Also: what you can gain from it or contribute to it.

Everybody hates something. That's what business is built on. You hate work, so you buy labor saving devices. You hate boredom, so you purchase home entertainment systems, or read blogs.

Force yourself to be controversial to your own self: investigate your "opposing party" or "antagonist", your polar opposite.

Not horrid evil, perversions, criminal acts, or sinister cults. Just a lifestyle or skill or belief you dislike or are bored by.

Enthusiasm, or at least more intelligent understanding, will result.

10. Ponder opposites & possibilities.

Interrogate items. What if this were much bigger? Super small? Round instead of square (like a web site or computer monitor). Why aren't books triangular? What if water wasn't wet? What if the universe is illusory, and all that exists is thought?

What would an ice phone be like? Good for spys? What could be made of ice but isn't? Can you mold steam into transitory art forms? Could I be the first steam artist?

What if I were black (white, Asian, Eskimo, Native American, Canadian)? How would I be different?

Is there a fire that can stop a fire? Can water be wetter? Can reading replace speaking? What if we all lived forever in indestructible bodies or as spirits?

What could I do to my blog that is totally different from what I'm now doing?

Could I try posting a ridiculously weird or super personal or oddly scholarly essay?

Post an image with no text?

Follow this path to increased brain power.

These simple tasks

E-X-P-A-N-D the brain.

Final project requirements

2010-04-07T09:22:00.000-07:00

anne_hodges

Presentation Requirements

Handin for Project 03 is Thursday April 15 @ 4pm

You are required to submit 3 sheets of 18”x24” drawings with the following information:

• A site plan/layout defining the relationship of the home to landscape features, site circulation, and off-street access.
• A scaled plan reflecting the ordering of spaces and circulation in accordance with the stated concept of home.
• Building elevation/s as required to show envelop materials, proportions, and general character.
• A full or partial building section drawn at an appropriate scale. Section and details are to include correct graphic symbols and text.
• Information about the sustainable strategies integrated in the home
• Written statement about home and the concepts embedded in it.
• A monochrome mass model to fit on the class site model (1:200).
• A larger model that indicates the 3D ordering of the spaces

Any questions regarding presentation requirements? Make a comment in the comments section of this post.

DCH Blog
Alistair Douglas

Preserving Modern Architecture

2010-03-29T11:53:00.000-07:00

PRESERVING MODERN ARCHITECTURE � AND THE FUTURE OF PRESERVATION
David N. Fixler, AIA
Principal, Einhorn Yaffee Prescott, Architecture & Engineering
President, DOCOMOMO-US/New England

The modern movement in architecture produced a body of work of a scale and impact

unprecedented in the history of humankind. Modern architecture was the physical manifestation
of a broad social and philosophical movement that forever changed the course of human history.
At its best, the modern movement captured a spirit of progress, openness and an uplifting of the
human condition, offering to convert lofty civic ideals into physical reality. These ideas not only
reflected the sweeping social and cultural aspirations of the day, but were also a manifestation of
a response to the enlightenment promise of progress that continues to resonate around the world.
It is therefore imperative that we continue to take into account the context and essence of this
generative philosophy as we formulate preservation strategies, so that they may yield
interventions that both reveal and clarify the meaning of the heritage of the modern movement.

As a force that has shaped our environment on an unprecedented scale, there are many sound
economic and cultural reasons for the preservation of modern architecture. In the first place,
there is simply too much of it - hundreds of millions of square feet in many thousands of
buildings � for anyone to suggest that most of it should simply be destroyed and rebuilt; this
solution is neither pragmatic nor ecologically sustainable. But we need to ask two key questions

� How should the work of the modern movement be evaluated and engaged, and what kind of
theoretical framework should guide the preservation of this work? In order to fully address these
questions, we must look not only to the future of modern architecture, but to the future of
preservation itself, as it seeks to grapple with this legacy, and to affirm its own relevance within
contemporary design culture.
The History Gap � Modernism and Contemporary Design
We live in a post modern age, but we have emerged from the era of architectural postmodernism
as it was defined between about 1970 and 1985. The distinction is relevant in that it
acknowledges that the modern movement was finite, but that, as its echoes continue to resound in
contemporary culture, it also continues to challenge �traditional� historicism as an approach to
design. This becomes critically important as we contemplate both a reason for -- and an approach
to -- the very complex task of conserving and enhancing modern buildings.

We must acknowledge history, and that modernism is a part of history. History in this case
should be seen as a post modern synthesis that combines the Hegelian engine of relentless change
with the more contemporary notion that history is not fixed, but that every era subjects history to
constant re-interpretation. The theoreticians of the modern movement embraced the notion of a
perpetually forward looking, linear history of constant progress, whereas today progress is viewed
as being relative rather than absolute, and history, rather than being seen as that which is left
behind, is instead constantly revisited for the refreshment of ideas.

Contemporary design references history in its continued embrace of the aesthetics and technology
of modern architecture, but without the polemic that was inherent in modernism in its relationship
to the entire past history of western architecture. As DOCOMOMO founder Hubert-Jan Henket
points out, this polemic is both technical and aesthetic, but at its essence it is social, driven by a
collective desire to create habitats designed with the instruments of modernity to improve human
life. This suggests, as we set out to infuse contemporary design into modern buildings, that it is
appropriate to acknowledge the continued meaning of this polemic by considering the social or
moral component inherent in any intervention strategy.

Preservation�s Place: A Postmodern Perspective
Carroll Westfall, in his article �What are the Preservationists Preserving?� in Traditional Building
Forum, correctly notes that preservation, as we understand it today, is a modernist enterprise. He
is also correct in his assessment that preservation and traditional building � too often conflated in
the minds of those that prefer the traditional to the modern � are fundamentally different things
that are, in his words, only united in their enmity toward modernism. However, this attitude that
preservation evolved as an antidote to modernism, and specifically to a modern movement that
ruptured the timeless continuum of traditional building, is both misleading in its
oversimplification, and corrosive in its tendency to deny the necessity of coming to grips with
how to address, through conservation and judicious intervention, the considerable and often
wonderful heritage of modern architecture.

If we accept Westfall�s premise that preservation, as it has been defined in documents ranging
from the Athens Charter to the United States Secretary of the Interior�s Standards, is itself a part
of the modernist project, then we should also recognize that preservation must now be adapted to
the post modern present.

Preservation can and should be an activist force for change. It should acknowledge and plan for a
future that can reflect only a selective, and therefore subjective, view of the past. Preservation
strives to elucidate the past through the historical facts embodied in a place, but in fact the
process of intervention will inevitably bring new perception and hence new meaning to the work
through the modification of both the work and its context. To this end, a preserved building�s
future should be designed with the same intellectual rigor and aesthetic sensitivity that inform any
successful, contemporary architectural project.

This suggests that the conventional assumption that preservation and design are diametrically
opposed is rapidly dissolving. Preservation, as it applies to buildings and urban design, is
increasingly recognized as being fully integrated within the practice of architecture, operating out
of a theoretical framework that recognizes the inevitability of change. The goal of preservation
will increasingly become to create dialogues that heighten the perception of the original, while
acknowledging and acting upon this inevitability.

This revisionist approach is well-articulated by scholars like Jorge Otero-Pailos, the editor of
Future Anterior, who views contemporary preservation as an instrument that produces rather than
finds history, through the regeneration of context through intervention, rather than a detached
reaction to a fixed, stable context. While Otero-Pailos advances a theory of critical
historiography that clearly moves beyond modernism, Vittorio Gregotti describes in Inside
Architecture a concept of intervention that reconciles a modernist theoretical position with the
principle of belonging. This concept embodies �interest in the materials of memory, not
nostalgically, but in terms of juxtaposition�forming new orders and groupings by shifting the
context of those materials that belong to memory�s heritage.�

Both authors acknowledge the highly precise but fragmentary nature of contemporary design,
particularly as it relates to modifications, and relative to the aspiration toward �total design� that
characterized much of the modern movement. They recognize the increasing tendency of
successful interventions to be presented as a series of �mini-narratives� that -- at their best � can
sharpen one�s perception of both the original and the intervention, create new, fundamental
meanings for the whole, and also leave open the potential for future modifications. In the world
of heritage conservation, the legitimacy of this approach was acknowledged in a May 2005
memorandum by UNESCO, �World Heritage and Contemporary Architecture � Managing the

Historic Urban Landscape,� that focused on how best to manage growth and change in historic
precincts through precise and sensitive, but contemporary, methods of intervention.

Formulating a Sound Approach to Preserving Modernism in the Postmodern World
Let�s return to our original problem of what to do with modern architecture. On one level, the
legacy of modernism should be documented, classified and treated in the same manner as the
architecture of any historic period. Significant works should be treated with many of the same
disciplinary tools that are utilized in the preservation of traditional architecture, though with
perhaps more focus on the idea of the building, where this idea was important in giving meaning
to the original work. However, we need to acknowledge that the scale, diversity, and material
nature of many of the works of the modern movement -- especially those sometimes labeled
Ordinary Everyday Modernism (OEM) -- offer unconventional challenges to traditional
preservation practice. These challenges can best be met by the kind of rethinking of preservation
itself that is outlined above.

We acknowledge that there is a necessary human dimension found in traditional urban form and
place-making that is lacking in a lot of OEM. This situation should be viewed as an opportunity
to mine the artifacts for latent meaning through a process of critical discovery meant to transform
and �re-humanize� the original. This resembles the strategy that has been adopted by the GSA in
the �First Impressions� part of their Design Excellence program that is creating sensitive
contemporary interventions within the large body of OEM owned by the Federal Government. In
this case, the quality of the original architecture may be augmented through using the existing
buildings as structural armatures upon which to build new experiences, introducing elements of
scale and texture that will reinvigorate and make contemporary (one can�t really say
�modernize�) works that might otherwise seem to have exhausted their useful lives. This strategy
runs counter to the notion of �total design� and recognizes that design is often most successful
focusing on solving small problems and local issues. Compensation for these shortcomings are
made with contemporary elements in line with UNESCO statement that:
��preservation�[should avoid] all forms of pseudo-historical design, as [it] constitutes a denial
of both the historical and the contemporary alike�history must remain readable, while continuity
of culture through quality interventions is the ultimate goal.�

Applying Contemporary Design Principles to Modernist Preservation

The application of contemporary principles to the preservation of modern buildings has
interesting consequences. Engaging the modern movement often means dealing with structures
designed with finite life-spans, and with materials that were not designed to age well, which
means that conservation often has to yield to replacement or substitution as a solution for material
degradation. Because of this, and because of the notion that much of the significant architecture
of the modern movement was driven by the expression of an idea, there has been a tendency to
foreground intent over materials conservation as criteria for authenticity. This is important to
acknowledge in those significant cases where the interpreted work should still evidence the
original architect�s intent, but it should not - as any preservationist will agree � detract from the
necessity of engaging the material artifact. The difference now is that more stress will be placed
upon the creation of a critical dialogue with the essence of the original � both the idea and the
material � rather than treating it as a fixed object awaiting the overlay of the intervention.

The argument is sometimes made that the aesthetic and technical distinctions between the works
of modernism and much of the significant output of contemporary architecture is sufficiently
blurred that we may ourselves still be defined as late modernists. As such, on one level, we can
treat modifications to high modernism as works that can still build upon the form and spirit of the
original, but we must nonetheless acknowledge that modernism�s own history was finite, that we
are now in a different place philosophically, and that the temporal gap between the original and
the intervention � however much the latter may seem to extend the former � should be
acknowledged. As preservationists, our response to the original, modernist idea can be through
extension or through the emphasis of difference; the important thing is that the act of intervention
is clearly acknowledged as a starting point for an architectural dialogue. The process then
becomes one of weaving the modifications into the original in such a way that a continuum is
created that both reveals the past and leaves open possibilities for the future.

The urgency of meeting the challenge to preserve the heritage of the modern movement, and the
emerging activist, critical approach to preservation are inextricably linked. We suggest that this
new synthesis � with its notion of a continuum evolving around a set of values about building,
and accommodating the inevitability of change � actually parallels some of the rhetoric and
practice of the traditional building movement, as noted by Dr. Westfall. His notion that there is a
continuum of building that has been interrupted by the anomaly of modernism has now in a sense
been turned inside out, as we are now dealing with a parallel continuum building upon the
modern tradition that has moved into the post modern era. These efforts should all have the

ultimate goal of encouraging contemporary intervention in a humanist spirit. As we engage the
works of the modern movement as preservationists, so we also advance the transcendent goal of
humanizing our environment, thus preserving and sustaining not just buildings, but a significant
part of our collective cultural legacy.

The CSA AWARDS! Coming to a Studio Near you!

2010-03-14T23:29:00.000-07:00

So I brilliant idea was voiced to me that we should have titles and awards for our classmates

This is the template

AWARDS

Sleep King & Queen

Most Distracted

Most Distracting

Mr & Ms Profiler

Chimney

Gunshot Magnet [ Crit ]

Best Bullshitter

worst Bullshitter

Studiophobe

Worrywart

Most Accident Prone

Gimme more ideas.

Also nice stuff like

Most Focused

Best Models etc etc

Lol i have no clue how voting is gonna go lol

DCH Blog
Alistair Douglas

Male Shopping Survival Tips

2010-03-06T01:19:00.000-08:00

1. Dont Go in the first place

2.Get in, Get out(This rule is not universal, guys)

3.In the dire event that she is trying on everything in the store

DO NOT PACE!

You will tire yourself into the 6th Netherworld. Find the nearest chair ,railing , ladder etc lest your life forces be drained

"Official Shopping Outlet Clause"

All stores authorized for sale and distribution of female clothes, shoes and other apparel

shall adhere completely and without fail to the following laws:

Law I

Have adequate seating for a male counterpart for every prosective female customer

Law II

A TV with Sports, A movie and News showing shall be on at all times in a convenient location

Law III

A bar with assorted beverage shall be installled

DCH Blog
Alistair Douglas

Hope River Site Analysis brief

2010-03-01T16:30:00.001-08:00

CLICK ON THE PICS TO ENLARGE

This way ill never lose the damn handout.
Had to do this because some beneovlent studio mate absconded with mine.

Any ways here.Pics courtesy of eingoluq

DCH Blog

Alistair Douglas

The hero of the world!

2010-01-28T22:16:00.001-08:00

VIEW IN FULLSCREEN

PRESS VIEW ORGINAL POST IF VIDEO AINT WORKING

DCH Blog

Alistair Douglas

TOP 10 things you will NEVER hear an architect say.

2010-01-16T00:27:00.000-08:00

Serious business.

DCH Blog

Alistair Douglas

The new place to get wallpapers : Wallbase.net

2010-01-14T22:24:00.000-08:00

Wallbase.net

The new place to get walls

> > WALLBASE < <

With a whopping 354000+ wallpapers and counting you wont be short of variety

.Everything from Scenery to cars to anime whatever you like its probably there.It works by scraping [gathering up good data] from 4chan a site as useful as it is controversial.After scraping it brings all these walls to you so you dont have to do any searching.Dandy? Isn't it?

Usage : /hr/ is the High resolution board.Don;t try loading this with Dial up

/w/ is the wallpapers board for ANIME

/wg/ is my favourite board for EVERYTHING ELSE

NSFW stands for Not safe for work = Porn

SFW is safe.Obviously.

You can also search by colour.

Backstory Blah-de blah

I was looking through my blog and saw an old post on where i used to get wallpapers.

Now they're both dead.

~~4scrape and 4walled~~.God rest their soul.So I wrote this.

Enjoy

Fr :Turpentine

2010-01-13T17:58:00.001-08:00

His form

Her mind

His practicality
Her sensitivity

His immovabilty

Her selflessness

His solutions

Her language

His flexibilty

Her sadness

His fatigue

Her depression

Their patience

Their fusion

My problems...