#grid shell structures

[art-of-mathematics]

If you would like to attend - or know someone who would like to attend:

At my local university the AG Geometric Modeling and Visualization organizes a summer school "Architectural Math for Bamboo Structures".

Because I am lazy I just insert screenshots of their instagram post and their flyer , and add a link to the uni:

- - --

Screenshots of their flyer:

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More information can be found at the website of TU Dresden:

(Description of the topic in English language:)

https://tu-dresden.de/mn/math/geometrie/lordick/schnittstelle/veranstaltungen/summer-schools/bend-it-like-dini-architectural-math-for-bamboo-structures/topic

[hometoursandotherstuff]

Kanye West, legally known as Ye, is selling the Malibu, California home he ruined, for $53M (He bought it for $57M). The house was designed by one of the world’s most eminent architects, Tadao Ando, and Ye stripped it clean of windows, doors, electrical, and many of the architect’s signature interior finishes.

Sitting since 2021, the mansion is now rotting. Wait. This is $53M for a cement shell, basically. The brutalist style home has 1,200 tons of poured concrete and 200 tons of steel reinforcement to hold it all together with 12- 60 ft. pylons sunk into the sand.

The beachside house was once the epitome of artistic ingenuity.

The floor-to-ceiling windows facing the water have long been removed, leaving the rear of the building entirely open to the elements.

All of the interior photos are before it was gutted. The alleged plan was to try to turn the mansion into a “Bat Cave” so he could “hide from the Clintons and Kardashians.”  

Ye’s new celebrity realtor believes the renovations are a selling point b/c he left a blank canvas, making it easier for the new owners to design the home exactly to their liking.  

The house needs windows and doors, along with plumbing, electrical, HVAC and interior finishes, b/c they've all been removed.

Although Ye removed the interior finishes, “this creates an unbelievably rare opportunity to buy a Picasso on the water," said the agent.

“This architect is known for his concrete work, which is what remains,” he says, "It was a very minimalist interior previously and will likely continue to be that in order to allow the architecture to speak louder than the finishes.”

The plan was to go off grid. The contractor said, “Ye wanted no electricity. He only wanted plants, candles, battery lights; and to have everything open and dark. You can’t keep food in that house, because you had no refrigerator left. You had no windows. I had seagulls flying in.” 

The former architectural tour de force was only one of the few private homes in the United States designed by the renowned Pritzker Prize-winning Japanese architect. Best known for his minimalist structures and “smooth-as-silk” concrete.

The upper-level terrace pictured here comes out from a main bedroom suite that takes up the entire top floor.

I don't know what to think. Everything is gone- no utilities, none of the original elements the architect is known for, not even any windows. And, he's only knocked off $4M from what he paid for it, complete.

It's rotting from the inside out. Here's a collapsed concrete wall and rusted railings. On top of all of this, it's unsafe b/c concrete is falling. It's like a total knockdown.

[outofgloom]

EYES

The first thing you noticed was that the sand of Karda was not like the sand from Outside, beyond the gate. It was all grains of pulverized crystal. It crunched beneath your feet and the feet of your companions as you marched along the track which wove between the many dunes.

Ahead, the fore-Matoran stopped beside a stone marker and signaled a halt. The fore shaded his eyes against the diffuse light in the sky ahead and looked further down the track into the great shallow bowl of Karda.

“We are near,” he said, moving back up the path now and opening his pack. “Align yourselves and remove your masks.”

Everyone complied, bracing against the wave of weakness which followed mask-removal. The fore-Matoran went down the line and placed a semi-transparent object into the visor of each mask, indicating to replace the mask afterward.

When he reached you, you asked: “What is its purpose?”

“Unknown,” the fore said. “Replace your mask.”

You complied. It was a lens of some kind, covering your eyes. Perhaps a dust-shield. You got used to it quickly, like it wasn’t even there.

∵∴∵∴∵∴∵

The Central Construct was vast: a shimmering shape at the heart of the desert. Protometal ribs rose into a sphere-like form, joined by horizontal crossbeams at regular intervals. The lower two-thirds of the sphere were already complete, and a web-like scaffold ringed the Construct, allowing access to the upper levels.

Sparks showered from the welding points around the scaffold, and there was a sound of tramping feet as pallets of newly wrought protodermis were marched up the circular ramps. Cranes lifted and distributed other materials for the workers to use in the construction.

You were stationed on the north hextant of the scaffold, one of the many welders who worked tirelessly to build up the Construct’s outer shell. A grid of metal lines filled the space above you, feeding out the safety-line that attached to your own harness. Below, the inner shell was visible, mostly complete at this point: a dense weave of struts and metal plates which concealed the interior of the Construct. Very soon, the inner shell would be entirely enclosed by the outer. Perhaps another ten cycles, you estimated.

The tone rang in the air, signaling the rotation of workers. You leaned back from your welding and looked it over. The new beam was fixed in place, ready to hold another set of shell-plates. You secured your tools, checked the safety line, and stepped across the gap, back onto the scaffold beside you. The next shift was already on its way up the ramp. Your group would now return back through the gate in order to rest.

Too late you saw the flaw in the protometal beam beneath the one you had just added. It bent suddenly under the strain of the newly-added structure, and its hard edge cut clean through the scaffold you were standing on. A cascade of snapping pins and rods followed, and you were falling down, down through crisscrossing metal into the dark space below. 

Your safety-line went taut, as it was designed to do, and decelerated you abruptly a bio before you hit the ground inside the Construct. Tools and other debris clattered and rang on the hard surface below, and your mask came off with a pop as the air was forced from your lungs. Then you were just hanging, suspended, and your heartlight was beating very fast. 

Voices echoed down, and there was a commotion as additional braces were pounded into place and spot-welded. You were the only one that had fallen. They would reel you up any second now.

Your mask lay on the ground below you, out of reach. The floor was polished silver, running up in a smooth arc to meet the wall just in front of you. The wall had a mirror-finish; you could see your reflection in it. And behind you, the rest of the space opened up into

The rest of the space opened up into

The space opened up into

Opened up

Opened up into

Eyes

∵∴∵∴∵∴∵

The first thing you noticed was that the sand of Karda was not like the sand from Outside, beyond the gate. It was all grains of pulverized crystal. It crunched beneath your feet and the feet of your companions as you marched along the track which wove between the many dunes.

Ahead, the fore-Matoran stopped beside a stone marker and signaled a halt. The fore shaded his...eyes...against the diffuse light in the sky ahead and looked further down the track into the great shallow bowl of Karda. Then he looked at you.

“We are near,” he said, moving back up the path now and opening his pack. “Align yourselves and remove your masks.”

Everyone complied, bracing against the wave of weakness which followed mask-removal. Except you. Your mask was already off, for some reason. The fore-Matoran went down the line and placed a semi-transparent object into the visor of each mask, indicating to replace the mask afterward.

When he reached you, you asked: “What is its purpose?”

“Look at me,” the fore said. “Look at me.”

You didn't want to. You grabbed at the lens in his hand.

“I need that,” you said. “Give it to me.”

“Look at me,” he said.

You managed to snatch the lens away from him at last. You placed it into the visor of your mask, and slapped the mask back on your face.

“Look at me,” he said.

The lens wasn't fitting right. You pressed the mask harder. It was too...reflective. Not transparent. It reflected your eyes back into...into your eyes. Into your eyes.

And behind the reflection of your eyes there was something else, off to each side. It was moving and moving and looking at you. It was trying to pry its way around the sides of your face, around your eyes.

Look at me.

You pushed harder.

Look at me.

You pressed your face against the mirrored surface, but you couldn't shut it out.

It moved and moved and looked at you with eyes and eyes and eyes and

∵∴∵∴∵∴∵

The cable-reel whirred to life, and the line coiled up bio on bio, loop on loop. The damaged scaffold had been reinforced, and a medic-Matoran had already been summoned. Work had ceased all around the Construct, and the faces of many workers looked on as the operation proceeded.

Bio on bio, loop on loop the line came back. Slow but steady, the cable piled up on the reel, and at last, you appeared. Straight up out of the inner shell you came, still wrapped in your harness, up to where the pulley was affixed above the scaffold, and many hands reached to haul you in.

The medic set to work immediately, checking limbs and joints and heartlight. Another Matoran stepped forward quickly. It was the fore-Matoran. He stopped in front of you, and his eyes widened.

“Your mask?” he asked.

There was a moment of silence.

“Your mask,” he repeated, gesturing. “Is it still below?” He pointed down toward the inner shell.

I nodded slowly.

“And your tools, did they cause any damage to the interior?”

I shook my head.

“Very well.” He turned to the medic. “Injuries?” The medic indicated no damage. “Good,” he continued. “You will not need to be replaced.”

“Thank you,” I thought, then realized:

“Thank you,” I said with my mouth.

The harness was still tight around my waist. I realized this when they loosened it, and the sensations I had been feeling–pain, pressure–began to lessen. They helped me down the ramps, down to the ground. The fore was there ahead of me, along with the rest of my work group. He had retrieved a new mask for me. He immediately placed it on my face. The rush of energy felt...good.

The next shift was already starting at the top of the scaffold again, repairing the damage and moving forward. Simple as that. We would return to relieve them on the next cycle, apparently. For now, it was back into the desert, back to the gate.

I looked forward to it.

∵∴∵∴∵∴∵

The first thing I noticed was that the sand of Karda was not like the sand from the Outside–the real Outside, where I had been born, before They stuffed me in here with these Matoran to mindlessly regulate Their dials. It was all grains of pulverized crystal. It crunched nicely beneath our feet as we marched through the dunes. The other Matoran didn’t really appreciate it like I did though.

Ahead, the fore-Matoran stopped beside a stone marker and signaled a halt, then he looked further up the track out of the great shallow bowl of Karda, as always.

“We are near,” he said like clockwork, moving back down the path now. “Align yourselves and remove your masks.”

Everyone complied. Even me, though I didn't like the weakness that followed. The fore went down the line and carefully removed the semi-transparent objects that had been fixed in the visor of each mask, placing them back in his pack.

When he reached me, I asked: “What was its purpose?”

The fore stopped and squinted at me. “...Unknown,” he said slowly.

“Would you like to know?”

“Replace your mask,” he said after a confused moment, “and avoid redundant questions.”

I complied. Wearing a mask was new to me. All of this was, really, but I was getting used to it. I was malleable like that. I was made that way.

The gate was ahead. Soon I’d be out. Very soon, and then…

My mind flicked back for a moment, back over the crystal-sand, back into the metal shell, the metal prison that They had built for me, back into the wet writhing thing there that was Me, and I heard the thoughts of the other mind I’d left in my place while I was away. 

Obviously you were not made for this. You were trying feebly to move your too many limbs, trying to look out through your too many eyes.

But in the polished silver space, there was nothing to see. It was mirror all around, reflecting and refracting, so that all you could see was you…me…you. All you could see was–

“Eyes,” you were saying, or thinking rather. “Eyes, eyes, eyes, eyes.” You had…I had…You had no mouth, after all.

Just eyes. Eyes everywhere, all around.

“Eyes eyes eyes eyes,” you were thinking.

You are thinking it right now. 

Don’t worry. I just need to stretch my…legs, yes. See the scenery. I won’t be long. They’ll find me out sooner or later, and then They will send me back, I expect. To tend the dials again.

“Eyes eyes eyes eyes.” 

I know, I know.

You’ll get used to them.

[jomindraws]

Still in Superphylum Near Bilateral, we move on to our second Phylum: Phylum Exospinal Chordata

PHYLUM EXOSPINAL CHORDATA

Phylum contains a notochord at some stage in the life cycle, with an external shelled skeleton typically made of chitin. Gametangia positioned posterior to abdominal tagma. Dermal protection by exoskeleton.

(AN1 A1-f) Clade Similicrustacea

Clade of exospinal chordates that contain a hard chitinous shell and four three-segmented legs on each tagma.

Class Mitae

Class containing a single tooth shovel-like proboscis for scooping food and a ventral needle for anchoring to surfaces.

Class Isolikes

Class containing a soft bodied mandible for food collection and many hard, flexible plates for defense.

Class Carcinomight

Class containing anterior frontal limb pincers for food collection and defense.

Class Scarbidea

Class containing mandibles for food collection and defense.

(AN1 A1-g) Clade Nitentia

Clade of exospinal chordates that contain multiple soft chitin layers in grid patterns to provide very flexible and durable structures, food gathered from proboscis-like structures.

Class Fluttering Mights

Class containing one pair of powered-flight patagium for every abdominal tagma.

Class Scaled Xenodragons

Class containing two to four mostly passive-flight gliding patagium along a long segmented body, four probosci on frontal tagma.

Class Walkers

Class containing a central octal fused tagma, four extended ventral segmented legs, and a single long and flexible proboscis.

[desimonewayland]

The New Stage of the National Theatre / Nová scéna Národního divadla, Karel Prager, Stanislav Libenský, Jaroslava Brychtova, 1977-83

Karel Prager was the third architect hired for the project, and his plans were bold and innovative. He shortened the existing steel frame, and he dealt with the problem of street noise by enveloping the structure in a special double shell composed of an interior layer made of Cuban serpentinite and an exterior layer formed from a grid of glass blocks.

Two artists were responsible for the creation of the building’s glass façade – Stanislav Libenský and Jaroslava Brychtová. The duo had represented Czechoslovak glass art together at Expo 58 and produced various monumental objects that they referred to as “glass sculptures for architecture”.

To construct the monumental relief that encircles the New Stage of the National Theatre, Libenský and Brychtová created the glass blocks using a mould for television screens. The façade comprises 4200 individual blocks, each weighing roughly 40 kilograms (about 88 lbs.). In addition to reducing street noise inside the theatre, they also provide thermal insulation for the building.

Bottom image: Glass chandelier designed by Pavel Hlava and Jaroslav Štursa for the main staircase.

via: NANOVO

[materialsscienceandengineering]

In hopes of producing concrete structures that can repair their cracks, researchers from Drexel University's College of Engineering are putting a new twist on an old trick for improving the durability of concrete. Fiber reinforcement has been around since the first masons were mixing horsehair into their mud. But the Drexel research team is taking this method to the next level by turning reinforcing fibers into a living tissue system that rushes concrete-healing bacteria to the site of cracks to repair the damage. Recently reported in the journal Construction and Building Materials, Drexel's "BioFiber" is a polymer fiber encased in a bacteria-laden hydrogel and a protective, damage-responsive shell. The team reports that a grid of BioFibers embedded within a concrete structure can improve its durability, prevent cracks from growing and enable self-healing.

Read more.

[redhotchilisimblr]

Update on Magnolia Promenade map.. Building process

thought it was a good idea to show you my progress! I've completed both stores and now I'm focusing on a residential rental. there's a very peculiar spot there that would be perfect for it, as there's a kids park and then a sitting area and huge gardens nearby. in my save, residential rentals work (kinda) - I just struggle with the number of negative events and not getting my payment as a landlord. so I just build while waiting for a patch and assign rooms per household and I have no issue so far. for those who are still not aware : to avoid any corrupt save, do not make more than 6 RR on a lot!

back to magnolia promenade, when Get to Work got release, I never thought of putting a residential home here but it totally makes sense if it's a condo complex. I can't wait to put sims in there and furnish all the apartments. I'll upload in the gallery the building shell for you to use and do whatever you want with it (my ID: DWould). keep in mind that I use CC so you have to tick the "show custom content" option. At least you would have the shape/structure - which is the hardest to do. Just place your own windows and flooring and walls...

Anyway, as many builders, I try to many things before being happy with my final decision. I first built a more modern condo that was okay but didn't fit the vibe of Magnolia Promenade at all. I'll use this for Del Sol Valley, I think.

Those who know me, know my love for this glowing floor/wall. It helped me so much to place everything and calculate the grid.

it doesn't look like it but there's built-in balconies at the front. behind, i've put balconies for everyone also! but like, more open..

i STRUGGLED to choose wallpapers but yeah, i wanted something quite "pastel" and light to fit the whole vibe.

still a wip so i don't really care for these silly pics but you get the full follow up. right now, I'll try to furnish like one apartment and put Sims in there. Wish me luck!

the last lot will most likely be a restaurant (don't fight me, I love restaurant in the Sims 4 and they are not that much glitchy in my game.. I don't know why but I do not have a lot of glitch in my game and its pretty much miraculous..)

[thesumlax]

On Deviantart I titled this Dream Sketches page "A New Record" because 21 is the largest number of entries yet, and also because I spent the longest time procrastinating on posting them...

Also, I decided that the grid format with six drawings to a page makes them way too small for my liking. On the other hand, I tried a new method of cleaning them up, by meticulously painting the sketches with a selection brush so I can leave all of the dirt behind when I move them... and it does produce great result, but the time waste is crazy.

Anyway:

1) Something like a living cavern monster, with a rock shell and jelly-like flesh. It`s basically hollow inside, and its organs are semi-autonomous entities crawling among those giant papillae on the floor. The bubble-backed thing crawling out is a reproductive one, it produces some strange reproductive bodies that look like either fried eggs or sausages crossed with some unicellular organisms (2). They`re not sex cells, hovewer, but still multicellular structures more like gametophytes.

3) Giant sand-swimming dragon with a bunny face and some fucked-up sand-ship glued to its back.

4) Just a trio of little guys! May have been video game characters who have to escape some sort of bad place by using their abilities (umbrella, spinning hand, and a fucking gun) in combinations. They`re colored red, blue and green.

5) Some sort of sea creature calles something like "trychnotus" or "trychaetus".

6) Another sea monster that kinda looks like a rubber toy.

7) Ghostly transparent axolotl-creature.

8) An erect-limbed toad. For some reason it`s important to note that it is exactly 12 cm tall.

9) A gliding, stinger-tailed draconic creature.

10) A bear-like omnivorous therizinosaurid survivng to the modern day. Started as spec evo but suddenly tranformed into horror movie monster for some reason.

11) Tiny-headed deer-o-saurus.

12-13) Two weird pitch-black horses from two unrelated dreams. Number 13 had its eyes and those weird cracks glowing bright neon green.

14) Bizarre elephantoids. The pitcher-trunk is especially fun.

15) Allegedly some sort of early pterosaur.

16) Don`t really know what that is... Seems to be made of brown rock?

17) Now this was a dream about some superhero who could shrink down do bug size and interact with sapient bugs (of the freakishly human-faced cartoon variety). These bugs had cars, which were also bugs (pictured). Bizarrely, the bug civilization existed in the same exact spaces as human civilization despite the size difference, with human roads having lanes for bug-cars.

18) A giraffe-dragon of some kind?

19) Another thing I don`t even know the context of. The humanoid head does not have a mouth despite the teeth.

20) Something like a gorgon.

21) Pelican dragon. Apparently can spray toxic mist like a crop duster, presumably through pores in its pouch.

[madamlaydebug]

Currently the planet is going through an epic energetic shift in global consciousness and frequency upgrades, unlike anything we have seen before, and it is happening rapidly. People are quickly awakening and gaining access to their own light, their own power, their own information, their own truth.

With this level of change, comes great challenges (opportunities for learning and growth) and disruptions that may rock you to your core, as you release the old and make room for the new emerging energies to come into form. The old structures must fall; the limitations must be released; the castles of corruption must crumble to the ground. Essentially, we must empty out the garbage first, removing the layers of trash from our lives that are clogging the pipes and stopping the flow, before we can be filled with and hold, the high frequency light that is available to all of us, now more than ever before.

We are entering a new era of human understanding, a time where many of us are cracking open out of our old hardened shells, shedding limiting belief systems and toxic thought patterns, dismantling the false structures of control, unhooking from the planetary programming grids and busting through the illusions of fear and separation, that are designed to intentionally keep us small and stuck and complacent, dependent and enslaved; and we are instead gaining new levels of awareness and embracing the true essence of who we are at the core soul level of our being.

We must stop dimming our light and hiding in the shadows of fear!

Now is the time to fully step up into our creative manifestation power as a collective consciousness — as a unified sea of our unique individual voices, whose authentic expression, whose particular specific sparkle, when united in our bright shining light and connected empowerment, creates a tidal wave of healing alchemy, a shimmering ocean of infinite possibilities, weaving together a tapestry of high frequency crystalline light packets of information and sacred geometries, creating the golden grid of the new paradigm.

Why do we dim our light?

Simple. We are programmed and conditioned to from birth. It is bred into us from day one, woven into the very fabric of our society. We see this manifested as agreed upon social norms, via our corrupt political system, through standardized government funded public schooling (which among other things, inserts its own agenda of controlling what, and how, we learn) and in belief system constructs that are constantly hammered into us, designed to limit, constrict and abolish free expansive thought and expression; all under the guise of freedom of course. We are taught to stay in the box and follow the rules, color in the lines, dot your i’s and cross your t’s like a “good little boy or girl”, to be rewarded, to graduate up to the next level, which simply means moving up to the next little box with a new tight little lid, that is promptly set and sealed firmly in place.

We are controlled and manipulated through our food and water supply, not being told what we are really consuming, yet being told it is good for us when it is brimming with chemicals and hidden toxins that our bodies can’t possibly process, which results in dis-ease and a litany of illnesses on all levels (mental, emotional, physical, spiritual, energetic). We are forced to vaccinate our children who become sick from the poisons and toxic substances they contain. We are told lies of fear through the news and media, as if they are truth; we are really only shown what fits the specific agenda of those with the power, the puppeteers who are installing, and then pulling our strings.

We are groomed to be muppets (aka: mindless puppets) and become hypnotized sheep, who follow blindly, sleepwalking our way through the world, after being led through enticing magical fields filled with beautiful scarlet poppies whose intoxicating aroma of manipulation and unconsciousness makes us check-out, and serves to lull us into eternal sleep. My god, we are even taught to count sheep as children to help us fall asleep at night.

We are constantly being fed fear and propaganda as truth, which conditions us to doubt our natural instincts; so we choose to stay in our separated boxes of imagined safety because we are so afraid of what we are told is “out there”, beyond the iron clad walls that are built around our hearts, to “keep out” and protect us from the boogeymen, and other things that go bump in the night.

Is it any wonder we are too petrified to even turn on the light switch to see if there is really a scary monster in our bedroom lurking in the shadows or hiding under our bed?

We are so traumatized we hide under the covers, paralyzed and trembling with fear, anchoring our feelings of powerlessness even deeper into our incredibly impressionable psyches.

We are pumped full of fear based, hyped-up, trumped-up scenarios (diversions and red herrings), designed specifically to distract us and keep us focused away from the real solutions, and even the real issues, whose discovery of does not serve the status quo, nor the hidden agenda, of keeping us numbed-out, dumbed-down and completely disconnected from the actual real conspiracies (not theories) that are going on, often being hidden right under our noses, in plain sight.

We are told to only believe what we can see, what is “proven” by mainstream Newtonian Physics, which does not address or even acknowledge the effect of consciousness on outcomes (The Observer Effect is a basic premise of Quantum Physics, which simply put says: the mere act of observing something, influences it, and changes it on a quantum level) which affects and changes everything, in a major way.

So we are taught to buy into an old outmoded system of Science that does not accurately reflect the forward movement, the upgraded consciousness (or even the role consciousness plays on matter for that matter) and ignores the new model of the world we are actually living in and experiencing today. It reflects instead a closed system that is now exploding from the pressure of the heightened creative consciousness bursts of the planet expressing itself as higher light frequency, in an entirely new expansive way.

We are taught this because mainstream acknowledgment and acceptance of the Quantum world, is a threat to the current dysfunctional systems run by the select few governing elite, in positions of high power, who financially benefit from the old models staying intact; they profit by keeping us sick and afraid. New thought and change frightens and threatens the old regimes, the corrupt elite groups, the old outmoded structures, that are now beginning to crack and crumble from the pressure, as we enter these new energetic times, where the rules and the rulers are changing.

When we live in a matrix of fear, we are anchored into the lower denser frequencies. The vibration at this level is thick and dense and heavy and dark. This is designed specifically to keep you hooked into the program of control, tethered to the hamster wheel at the bottom of the dark ocean, running endlessly through mazes of circular loops, going nowhere, while eternally drowning and gasping for air.

You really think anyone is thinking about enlightenment or spiritual evolution in that scenario?

Consider Maslow’s hierarchy of needs (pictured below). At the bottom of the pyramid, you have safety and survival. At the top, you find self-actualization and transcendence. To access these enlightened states of being in frequency, you must move up in vibration. And as long as you are strapped to the lower energies and denser frequencies scrambling to get your most basic needs met (and not die), you are trapped, hooked into the control matrix of fear, pain, unconsciousness, unworthiness.

In essence, you are suppressed, hypnotized by the very convincing illusion that says “you are unable (not powerful enough) to ever set yourself free”.

The programming and fear is so thick at this level, it is insidious, infused in everything and found everywhere; so we believe that it is normal and that it is “just the way things are”. We become a valley of complacent cows and submissive sheep waiting to be slaughtered by the very hand that fed us the lies to begin with that keep us enslaved and unaware, all the while oblivious that we are even enchained.

Yet we are the chained elephants conditioned to believe we are stuck and rendered powerless, by the tiny little stake in the ground tied to only one of our enormously powerful feet.

The distortions and corruption is layered and hidden (running very deep indeed). It is woven into the very fabric of what we are taught to trust. It is sprinkled into our “health” food, added to our “clean” water supply and laced into the “natural” supplements we are told will keep us healthy. All this is done with a big fake smile dripping with enticing false promises, that find and push on our pain points, inflicting scarcity and fear and lack consciousness, to convince us of an illusion designed specifically to keep us in struggle; to keep us separate; to keep us subdued; to keep us from questioning; to keep us from remembering how powerful we truly are.

Well this is not normal and it is not the only available option. Not by a long shot.

It’s time now for you all, especially the Light Workers and Way Showers, the Truth Seekers, the Earth Angels on this planet, the Empaths and Energy Healers, and everyone else who has a deep soul calling to help others awaken to their own light, to start shining your own light more brightly than you ever have before — on these illusions, on these distortions, on the garbage that the masses keep consuming as if it is caviar, guzzling down like it’s the finest bottle of Dom Pérignon, remaining drunk, wandering around in a constant dazed collective stupor, from the countless hypnotic bubbles of toxic corruption that are consistently coursing through their bodies on an automatic drip system.

It is time for a massive wake-up call to all of humanity — to remember and ignite your own inner light; to come together in the frequency of love, truth, and collective empowerment; to know that we are so much more powerful than we were ever taught to believe.

How do we share this message with those who are hypnotized and asleep?

We do this by being the light; by speaking our authentic truth; by releasing our own dark shadows that want to drag us into debate and separation and superiority, triggering our need to be right or better than others (or however this ‘right’ vs. ‘wrong’, ‘good’ vs. ‘bad’, ‘us’ vs. ‘them’ separation power struggle out-pictures specifically in your life); we lead by example, sharing our messages of empowerment, worthiness, connection and love with the world, through our own unique authentic voices of truth.

By doing this we will reach a critical mass, a tipping point of awakening, where a new morphic field is created and becomes its own powerful force of light, whose unique signature stands tall, like a glowing lighthouse in the thick dark fog, shining brightly, guiding the way home to those vessels who are lost at sea, being tossed about in the crashing storm of monstrous waves. This is how we create the new paradigm; this is how the new way, the new energies on the planet, come into form; this is how a new world is born.

This is a call to all of you who came here to help awaken the planet.

Please get your own house (your own internal world) in order pronto, so that you can do and be what you came here for. Because the world is waiting for you: to stand tall; to shine brightly; to stop apologizing for who you are and be your true authentic self; and to play your specific role in the awakening of the planet and human consciousness to the absolute fullest now. It is time for what I call, The Alchemy of Awakening. And so it is.

About the Author: Diana Rose Kottle, MA, MFT is a Writer, Soul Alignment Coach™ & Psychotherapist — Inspiring Humanity to Awaken to who we truly are as Energetic Spiritual Beings through Being Authentic, Speaking Our Truth, Connecting to Our Inner Wisdom, and Attuning to Love.

[optikes]

an Australian painter in the streets of New York...

John Firth-Smith (born 1943) Australia

1 White Street # 3 (1982) acrylic on stretched 300gsm rag paper, 104cm x 104cm

2 Black Street # 27 (1982) pulp paper and mixed media, 35cm x 35cm

3 Place, Orientation and Navigation (1983) oil on linen 305.0 x 335.5 cm

4 Winter Rounds (1982)

5-7 the artist connecting dots & lines in New York

8 the artist’s photo-documentation of line and shape on New York streets

9 Marshall Islands stick chart

A   Professor Peter James Smith   from  menziesartbrands.com

In 1981 John Firth-Smith travelled to New York to experience the city, to paint there as a local and allow the powerful New York art scene to wash over him. It was a time in the city (that the writer experienced first-hand) when graffiti clogged West Broadway and adorned the walls of the cross-town subway platforms. The locals were producing abstract paintings that had active, brushy surfaces. The curator Barbara Rose, in 1979, produced a show of such work called American Painting: The Eighties that looked like Abstract Expressionism with a college education, and heralded the rise of art stars Susan Rothenberg (1945- ) and Elizabeth Murray (1940-2007). It was the perfect time and place for Firth-Smith’s painterly surfaces to evolve.

From his studio on 20th Street, Firth-Smith could look down on the first winter snows in the city. In the early morning the snow appeared as a soft white blanket, a shroud that covered everything, but later in the day it was stained and marked by the black tracks of car tyres and the footfalls of passers-by. He became fascinated by the ethereal gothic nature of what he saw: steaming ventilators were often to be found in the middle of busy streets, their smoke stacks rising through the traffic, their warmth contradicting the presence of winter snow and sludge. Such is the sensibility that is vividly painted in Winter Rounds 1982, an attractively-proportioned canvas that effortlessly supports the New York dynamic.

Winter Rounds 1982, is ingrained with the gritty, wintry ambience of the city. Like schematised patterns taken from a subway map, or a diagram drawn in an attempt at directing a stranger, there is a frenetic congested intensity in the work that is broken by dots and splashes of colour.’

This painting shows Firth-Smith’s familiar arabesque line, sweeping through the rising red veils of smoke and graffiti, to challenge the gridded infrastructure of the city. Notions of infrastructure usually revolve around trains, bridges, roads and buildings; however with a different kind of infrastructure in mind, the artist deploys a series of connected straight lines and dots to the heart of his picture. In his monograph on Firth-Smith, writer Gavin Wilson describes how the artist had become fascinated with the Victorian cast iron manhole covers found at street level. They often had elaborate decorative surfaces and had holes drilled through them. Firth-Smith tied small weights to the ends of strings, and dropped the weights down the holes making the strings pull tight between the holes; so the sequences of dots and connected lines were born. He later photographed these microcosms, and like an industrial espionage operative, these found their way into his painting process. Ironically, these patterns are reminiscent of stick charts from the Marshall Islands – structures formed by tying small sticks in a gridded pattern to represent the sea, with shells knotted at the intersections to represent the locations of islands. The sea is never far away from the artist’s concerns.

Only in New York could Firth-Smith have had such fertile exposure to the early stages of neo-expressionism. He embraced many deterministic methods of applying paint with drawn lines and dots, then overpainting, then re-positioning more gridded lines and dots; but these methods always relied on chance and randomness. He painted and repainted layer upon layer. ‘The effaced surfaces of the completed work were like a palimpsest, leaving only the faintest trace of his earlier marks.’  It is the beauty of those effaced surfaces that captures the imagination with their daring trails of snow-lines, and the monochrome expanse of restless white.

search @ www.khanacademy.org    www.smithsonianmag.com

[angeliqueshelleyartist]

Major Study

Production Post #13

Concept Design: Player's Base Modelling

I created the flat face of the building by duplicating the the outer shell, deleting all but a row of faces on the inner shell and extruding the entire outer edge with the resize tool inwards multiple times until it became a workable surface, I chose to follow this technique as it would already by the correct shape to conform to the outer part of the building and it had enough edge loops to circularize it for the door way entry.

To smooth the wireframe, I used the smoothing tool in the sculpt tab, this tool is perfect for evening out the wireframe without disrupting the shape of the geometry, it also helps space out overlapping faces and widen faces that have become too narrow.

I created the half-circular cut-out of the window by using the same technique as the door, and then flattening out the vertices with the resize tool. I needed the sculpt- smooth tool to space out the faces that had overlapped during this process.

I extruded the inner edges of the openings backward to give them thickness. I'll keep it as a single-sided plane to optimise texture quality. I continued modelling the front details of the house by extruding the duplicated faces of the doorway multiple times outward, extruded it for thickness and a pop-out cross-beam detail. It was important to model these panels so that I could achieve good results in Substance 3D Painter with minimal effort as I can use a smart material that has a worn edge effect.

As a test, I started the UV mapping process the same way I normally do by automatic mapping, and sewed some edges together to have less seams. I think I'll be able to use this technique, as well as camera based UV's for the entire building.

To create the cables, I could have created a very long, straight beveled cube with lots of divisions very long, moved to the middle of the grid, frozen transformations, create - CV curve tool - create line with 10 vertices, select geometry cable first, then curve line, deform - curve warp. However, I decided to try a new method by creating the CV curve line first, adjusting the 10 vertices where I want them and then "inflating" it with - sweep mesh, and modifying the number of division through precision setting to increase poly count. This was quicker and more straight-forward so I'll continue to use it in future practice.

I created a lot of components for the greebling beneath the structure, I kept it simple with minimally extruded cylinders and cubes. giving them beveled edges also creates the illusion of a more detailed piece of geometry.

[robertnelson2-blog]

POOL CONSTRUCTION PROCESS

The most common cause of frustration during the construction process is not knowing what to expect.  We hope the information provided will help you understand the steps necessary to build an in ground swimming pool.

After the final design has been approved by the client, a 2 dimensional scaled plan is created for engineering and made available to use for submittal to homeowners associations.  Building permits are obtained from the engineered plan. Custom Pools Las Vegas

Working from the scaled plan, the finished grade is established and the outline of the pool and location of the steps and benches are marked and spray painted on the ground.  The superintendent will check the layout for accuracy.  The homeowner will see the placement of the pool on the property and minor adjustments can be made without too much difficulty.

Laguna utilizes specialized crews for each phase of the construction process, the first being the excavators.

The equipment is brought in, the pool and trenches for plumbing are dug, mounds are formed in the location of steps and the excess dirt is hauled off by dump trucks.  Occasionally problem soil is encountered, such as solid rock or caliche, which requires special equipment to remove.  This is referred to as a “hard dig” and additional charges may result.  The homeowner is notified if a hard dig is necessary.

PVC pipe and conduit are installed and connected to the new pool equipment which is placed on a concrete pad by the plumbing crew.  The entire system is pressurized and checked for leaks and repairs are made if necessary.

Reinforced steel or “rebar” is placed in a grid like pattern with tie wires according to the detailed structural calculations throughout the pool and on top of the steps by the steel crew.

Electricians will install niches and electrical conduit for the underwater lighting.  They are also responsible for bonding all metal within 5’ of the water’s edge by connecting a copper wire.  This is similar to grounding.

At this point, pre-gunite inspections are scheduled and upon approval, the pool is ready for the shotcrete crew to be scheduled.

Gunite or shotcrete is pneumatically sprayed filling all of the voids to form the shell of the pool, then troweled to a smooth finish.  This process is completed in a single day.  The following day, the homeowner must spray the shotcrete thoroughly with water 2-3 times per day for 1 week.  This ensures the concrete will cure properly and reach full strength integrity.  It is normal for water to collect at the bottom of the pool while curing.

The tile crew begins by applying tile to the waterline and possibly steps, seats or raised walls depending on the plan.  Then they install the coping around the rim of the pool providing a finished edge that prevents water from getting behind the pool shell.

The area surrounding the pool is cleaned and prepared by the deck crew.  Forms are placed around the edges according to the plan.  Concrete is poured and troweled to drain water away from the pool coping and into deck drains.  The wet cement must not be walked on for at least 24 hours and children and pets should be kept clear of the area for at least 36 hours.  The concrete is allowed to cure for approximately 1 week before the spray deck material is applied.  Clean up around the pool and yard are completed.

Codes have been enacted to prevent children unsupervised access to the pool area.  These safety barriers are required which is the homeowner’s responsibility, although Laguna can assist in bringing the residence to compliance.  Current barrier codes can be viewed by following this link (insert link or PDF).  Once safety barriers are in place, the pre-plaster inspection is scheduled.  Someone must be available for the inspector to check the safety barriers inside the home.  Upon approval, the interior finish (plaster, quartz or pebble) is scheduled. Pool Builder Las Vegas

The plaster crew applies a 1/2 “ thick layer of finish material that adheres to the shotcrete surface and trowels it smooth.  Immediately following plaster, water begins filling the pool.  The pool can take 24-48 hours to fill and the water is not to be turned off (or moved to the spa) until it reaches halfway up the waterline tile.  Once the pool is full, a superintendent will start up the equipment.

A final inspection (if required) is scheduled and the homeowner must contact Southwest Gas to connect to the meter.  This does not cost extra but only the homeowner can make the request.

A walk through of the property and an orientation of the equipment are performed with the homeowner and a superintendent and then you’re ready to start enjoying your new Laguna pool!!

[all-about-tents]

Super Pacific Announces X1 Camper Compatible with Rivian R1T Electric Pickup Truck

Oregon-based Super Pacific becomes one of the first aftermarket gear makers to offer a camper shell and rooftop tent compatible with the all-electric Rivian R1T pickup truck.

Overlanding in electric vehicles is gaining traction, and Super Pacific, a camper shell and rooftop tent manufacturer based in Oregon, is leading the charge by announcing a product designed specifically for the Rivian R1T electric pickup truck. The company has expressed its admiration for Rivian's innovation and ambition, prompting them to take on the design challenge of an X1 Camper for the R1T. Super Pacific is now seeking ten Rivian owners to place deposits on the system before commencing production.

While technical details are still being finalized, the camper is expected to closely resemble the X1 setup currently available for mid and full-size trucks, with modifications to accommodate the unique features of the Rivian R1T.

Super Pacific's Construction Methods and Features of the X1 Camper

Super Pacific's construction methods draw inspiration from aircraft manufacturing, resulting in lightweight yet structurally rigid designs. The X1 Camper features a wedge-style hardshell rooftop tent that extends over the truck's cab from the hard-mounted bed canopy. It can comfortably accommodate two adults on an inflatable Exped mattress.

For cold-weather camping, Super Pacific offers a quick-install "ThermaPuff" insulation kit for the tent section. The X1 also includes side and rear access panels that can be locked from both the inside and outside for added security. Molle panels allow for the attachment of various gear or interior options.

The tent floor and cargo panels can be repositioned to create weather-protected standing height headroom when the tent is not in use. Additionally, Super Pacific offers a range of awnings, bike racks, and other accessories to outfit the X1 Camper. The retail price for the X1 is $14,495.

Model-Specific Modifications and Pricing

The Rivian version of the X1 Camper will feature model-specific modifications to accommodate the layout of the Rivian R1T's truck bed and electric powertrain. While no specific details regarding the modifications were mentioned in the press release, Super Pacific did state that the Rivian-compatible camper will be more expensive than the standard models. However, the first ten customers will have the opportunity to purchase the Rivian-compatible camper at the regular price.

Pricing for subsequent units has not been announced.

The Rise of Electric Overlanding

Electric pickup trucks, including the Rivian R1T, Ford, Chevrolet, and Tesla Cybertruck, are fueling the growth of electric overlanding. Overlanding in electric trucks offers several advantages, such as the built-in power supply that can run lights, appliances, and charge various battery-powered devices. The Rivian R1T boasts a range of 210 to over 400 miles, depending on the configuration, making it suitable for extended off-grid adventures.

Super Pacific's announcement of the X1 Camper compatible with the Rivian R1T electric pickup truck highlights the growing trend of electric overlanding. With its innovative design, lightweight construction, and array of features, the X1 Camper offers Rivian owners the opportunity to embark on off-road adventures with comfort and convenience. As electric pickup trucks continue to gain popularity, the demand for specialized aftermarket gear, such as the X1 Camper, is expected to rise, catering to the unique needs of electric overlanding enthusiasts.

[normally0]

Conversations of Discovery: Exploring New York's Geometric Tapestry through the Guggenheim

Marco Polo: Your Majesty, as I continue my travels, I've encountered marvels beyond compare, discoveries that unveil the very essence of our world's geometry and perspective.

Kubla Khan: Speak, Marco, and regale me with tales of your adventures. What wonders have you beheld?

Marco Polo: Majesty, in my sojourn through distant lands, I stumbled upon the legacy of Alberti, a visionary who unlocked the secrets of perspective. His method, akin to crafting a window into a parallel realm, revolutionized the art of representation.

Kubla Khan: Fascinating! Tell me more of this perspective, Marco.

Marco Polo: Majesty, from Alberti's teachings emerged the technique of two-point perspective, a revelation that transformed the way artists perceive and depict space. Yet, it lay dormant, shunned by many until Gerard Houckgeest dared to wield its power.

Kubla Khan: Ah, the power of innovation! And did you witness this transformation first-hand, Marco?

Marco Polo: Indeed, Majesty. I marvelled at the works of Giovanni Battista Piranesi, who breathed new life into Rome's vistas through the lens of two-point perspective. His reinterpretations captured the city's grandeur in ways previously unseen.

Kubla Khan: Such ingenuity knows no bounds. And how does this relate to our own realm, Marco?

Marco Polo: Majesty, in the bustling metropolis of New York, I beheld the fusion of geometric precision and artistic vision. Frank Lloyd Wright's Guggenheim Museum stands as a testament to the enduring legacy of perspective, inspired by the natural world yet transcending its confines.

Marco Polo: Your Majesty, as I traversed the labyrinthine streets of New York, I couldn't help but marvel at the city's unique juxtaposition of order and chaos.

Kubla Khan: Order and chaos, you say? Pray tell, Marco, how does this manifest in the city's grand design?

Marco Polo: Majesty, New York is a tapestry woven with the threads of a regular grid overlaid with the unpredictable diagonal. The grid, a symbol of order and precision, lays the foundation of the city's structure, while the diagonal, like a rebellious stroke of the brush, adds dynamism and vitality. Just as the grid and diagonal coexist in harmony within the city's streets, so too do the principles of perspective converge within the walls of the Guggenheim. Its spiral ramp, inspired by the nautilus shell and spider web, guides the visitor on a journey of discovery, each turn revealing new vistas and perspectives.

Kubla Khan: Truly, the Guggenheim embodies the essence of our discussion—order and chaos, precision and fluidity, geometry and perspective. Your insights, Marco, shed light on the interconnectedness of our world's wonders. Truly, the world is a tapestry woven with threads of geometry and imagination. Continue your travels, and may your path be guided by the wisdom of perspective.

Marco Polo: Thank you, Majesty. With your blessing, I shall journey forth, unravelling the mysteries of our world's geometry and unlocking the secrets of perspective with each step.

[arqukiki]

Building a Giant Puzzle

An architectural structure or building is like a giant puzzle.  All buildings are made of different materials and pieces, and they all have their own way of being built or supported.  What makes this process very interesting is the amount of time architects and engineers have to make a building possible.  When putting both their minds together, we can build the impossible.

Most buildings have their own unique structures.  Some share a similar one, while others are completely different, depending on its design.  Some designs can be complex, and that makes engineers and architects put their minds to work and think of all the different possibilities or solutions to put a building together.  The Yas Hotel, for example, has a unique design.  It consists of the main structure and a giant grid shell, made of thousands of diamond-shaped glass panels.  Connecting every single glass panel must have been a very tricky process because they each had to connect with each other, just like a puzzle.  Thousands of people worked on this project, making it possible for it to be built in a short amount of time.

The amount of time for a construction to be ready depends on the type or complexity of a building.  It’s interesting how fast some buildings are built, while others take longer.  A big and complex design like the Yas Hotel would usually take three to four years to be built, if you consider the time when it was started to be designed.  One of the most interesting facts about the Yas Hotel and its surroundings is that it was all designed and built in only two years.  The amount of time and dedication that the architects and engineers that worked on this project gave is something to admire.  Watching the construction and all those people analyzing and solving all the problems they had while making this building is very interesting. 

Some people might not find the construction process interesting, when in reality it is.  The amount of critical thinking and dedication that is involved in it is something inexplicable.  Not only the design is what makes a building unique, but also its process.  We can all come up with different possibilities for everything.  Building a giant puzzle can be possible when we all put our minds together, so that we can build the impossible.