My Favorite New IKEA Hack

Find out how to make your own here.

Old-school Notebook from Dead Motherboard

If you've ever disassembled a PC, you know how sharp and dangerous board components can be. Volunteering at Free Geek in Portland, I once had quite a bloody incident while pulling apart an old tower.

So, when I saw this notebook made from old motherboards, the first thing my mind's eye saw was that huge cut on my hand. I like the idea, though. Why not try one with all the components facing inward (the undersides are cool looking too)? In any case, there's something very appealing about the potential for dead technologies (say, a notebook PC) being transformed back into the old-school form factors that originally inspired them (paper binders in this case).

Mapping North American Environmental Issues

I love data visualization, especially when made accessible and actionable. The Commission for Environmental Cooperation has pulled together some interesting interactive data here.

Above is the North American Sustainable Commerce map. From the site:

Description
This map shows the total installed renewable energy capacity for the states, provinces, and territories of North America as of 2003. The renewable energy sources included in the data are biomass, geothermal, hydropower, solar, and wind.

Back from Hiatus

After some time spent transitioning to a new position at IDEO, I'll be adding to the Verde Vista collection. Stay tuned.