New Scientist reports on a new type of polyester fabric which cannot get wet – it’s surface geometry and chemistry are sufficiently hydrophobic to ensure a permanent layer of air between the fabric and any surrounding water.  Might make for a nice roof or shading device.  Thus far it isn’t durable enough to wash though, so I’m not sure how long it would last in direct sunlight.

The current outlay by the US government in response the the financial *situation* has now surpassed the value of the Marshall Plan, Louisiana Purchase, Race to the Moon, Korean War, New Deal, Vietnam and Iraq Wars and more – COMBINED.  ADJUSTED FOR INFLATION.

These numbers are from Bianco Research, via Barry Ritholtz

Bloomberg calculates the total amount the taxpayer is on the hook for [currently] is $7.76 trillion, or $24,000 for every man woman and child in the country. (Data breakdown is here)

• Marshall Plan: Cost: $12.7 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $115.3 billion
• Louisiana Purchase: Cost: $15 million, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $217 billion
• Race to the Moon: Cost: $36.4 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $237 billion
• S&L Crisis: Cost: $153 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $256 billion
• Korean War: Cost: $54 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $454 billion
• The New Deal: Cost: $32 billion (Est), Inflation Adjusted Cost: $500 billion (Est)
• Invasion of Iraq: Cost: $551b, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $597 billion
• Vietnam War: Cost: $111 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $698 billion
• NASA: Cost: $416.7 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $851.2 billion

TOTAL: $3.92 trillion

As a caveat; I don’t think the full amount of the current outlay is necessarily comparable, as in some cases it has been used for stock buys and other things which could provide returns with interest at some point in the future.  But still, we bought half the continental US for an order of magnitude less than we’ve spent trying to save our banking system.

The interwebs are all aflutter about the release of Processing 1.0.  Processing is an environment and language for creating data-driven visualizations, and is the engine behind a couple  of the most interesting animations I’ve ever seen.

I mentioned the Big Picture Blog in an earlier post, and when I went to see what they had posted lately, found a wonderful set of photos of Dubai.  Dubai is such a surreal place, I just hope it doesn’t end up looking like this in 50 years.

Skyscrapers intersperced with the original urban fabric

According to an article just published by Drake Bennett over at Boston.com (home of the lovely big picture blog), the effects of a contemporary depression would be strikingly different from the effects of the most recent one.

We are separated from the 1930s by decades of profound economic, technological, and political change, and a modern landscape of scarcity would reflect that.

… In a deep and sustained downturn, home prices would likely sink further and not rise, dimming the appeal of homeownership, a large part of suburbia’s draw. Renting an apartment – perhaps in a city, where commuting costs are lower – might be more tempting. And although city crime might increase, the sense of safety that attracted city-dwellers to the suburbs might suffer, too, in a downturn. Many suburban areas have already seen upticks in crime in recent years, which would only get worse as tax-poor towns spent less money on policing and public services.

In other words, the radical urbanization of the American landscape that architecture and urban planners have spent countless year trying to synthesize could emerge as an unavoidable consequence of economic implosion.  But it’s not all good news.

The guy who came up with the Minority Report user interface has started a company and claims to be selling the interface.  Sweet!

(Via Slashdot)

This isn’t really a new idea, but it’s interesting to see a product doing this.  This machine condenses air into water, then filters and disinfects it with UV, creating a constant source of clean water.  They don’t say what the power usage is, instead claiming

It’s so efficient that producing one liter of water costs only three to four cents. Alternative bottled water systems typically cost ten cents per liter or more.

It seems like building these type systems into HVAC systems would be more efficient, as the cooling could be used for the building.

Via The Guardian

Bercy Chen Studio LP office featured on CNN Headline News along with the Austin Obama Store.

The Peninsula House is featured at the 26th Panamerican Architecture Bienal in Quito, Ecuador.

Roger Hiorns just filled an abandoned apartment with Copper Sulfate and over the course of a couple weeks grew blue crystals on all the exposed surfaces.  More photos here.

(via shape and colour)