Newly on the market in the Brentwood area of L.A.: this 9,000-square-foot house, owned by screenwriter Tom Schulman. Schulman purchased the 1.35-acre property in 1989, the year the Dead Poets Society was released, and commissioned California architect Steven Ehrlrich—who trademarked the expression “multicultural modernism” to describe his firm’s philosophy—for this modernist five-bedroom, made of concrete, glass, steel, and wood. The result, according to the brokerbabble, is an “adept interpretation of California modernist style” and “a comprehensive blending of the sensibilities of Schindler and Neutra, with delicate Japanese influences.” Standouts here include a driveway lined with bamboo, an entry bridge (“the balance of striking geometric angles with the soft landing of a water”), shoji screen-inspired interior woodwork, and a double-height living room. Below, a look:
Daily Archives: September 18, 2013
Build a Self-Watering Container | Bedford Hills Real Estate
The following is an excerpt from The Urban Homestead by Kelly Coyne and Erik Knutzen (Process Media, 2010). Homesteading from their bungalow two blocks off of Sunset Blvd. in Los Angeles, Coyne and Knutzen offer up scores of tips and step-by-step projects for sustainable, self-reliant living in a bustling metropolis. With more and more urbanites looking to become farmers and gardeners, Coyne and Knutzen’s fantastic guidebook couldn’t be timelier, and the duo’s lighthearted, thrifty approach to self-sufficiency shows there is greater power and happiness in creating than in spending. This excerpt is from Chapter 2, “Essential Projects.”
These containers make it easy to grow vegetables in pots. They are ideal for apartment gardening, but are so useful that everyone should consider using them to maximize their growing space.
The problem with growing food in pots is that pots dry out quickly and it’s all too easy to forget to water. Irregular watering causes all sorts of problems for sensitive fruits and vegetables. Container gardening is also water-intensive. During a heat wave it may mean visiting the plants with the watering can two or even three times every day — obviously not a practical scheme for someone who works away from home, or someone with any kind of life at all.
An elegant solution exists in the form of self-watering containers. Rather than having a hole in the bottom of the pot, a self-watering container (SWC) has a reservoir of water at the bottom, and water leaches upward into the soil by various mechanisms, keeping it constantly moist. The top of the pot is covered with a layer of plastic that discourages evaporation. Depending on how deep the water reservoir is, it’s possible to go about a week between fill-ups. This arrangement, combined with the plastic layer, prevents both over-watering and under-watering that can occur with conventional pots. In other words, it takes the guesswork and anxiety out of watering.
Kelly says: I’m going to tell you right now that you can buy yourself a self-watering container at earthbox.com. It’s great to make SWCs with found materials and all, but if these instructions make your eyes cross, or if you just don’t have time, there is no shame in trotting off with your credit card and ordering a couple of these ready-made. They start at about $40.
Erik says: Au contraire, ma petite amie! All it takes is two 5-gallon buckets, a few other easily scavenged items and about an hour’s worth of time. Those Earthboxes are damned expensive and my time is cheap.
A few years back, an Internet hero named Josh Mandel figured out several different techniques for building DIY self-watering containers out of old buckets, soda bottles, storage tubs, etc. His plans are widely disseminated online, and you’ll find links to his instructional PDF files on our website.
Inspired by Mandel’s methods, we started making our own self-watering containers. Each SWC is a little different, because each one, being made of found materials, is an improvisation. We’re going to show you how to make a simple SWC out of two 5-gallon buckets. (See several of these 5-gallon self-watering containers in use on a Chicago rooftop garden.) After you have the basic principles down, improvising future containers on your own out of whatever you have on hand should be easy.
The 5-gallon size described is good for one big plant. Try a basil plant in it, especially if you like pesto. Basil thrives with the steady moisture, as does Italian parsley, so both herbs grow huge in SWCs. Or plant a tomato, but be sure it is a small tomato. Look for types designated “patio” or “basket” tomatoes. These are bred to perform well in tight conditions. A 5-gallon container may seem big, but tomatoes have some of the deepest roots of all vegetables. If you plant an ordinary tomato in a SWC, its roots may find their way into the reservoir, and then it would become waterlogged.
For your next project, we recommend that you visit Josh Mandel’s PDFs for instructions on how to construct a larger, slightly more complex container out of 8- to 10-gallon storage tubs. That size SWC is good for growing a little salad garden, a stand of greens, a patch of strawberries or even a blueberry bush.
5-Gallon Self-Watering Container Instructions
It all starts with providing a water reservoir at the bottom of your container. You can do this either by nesting two containers together (the top one holds soil, the bottom one water), or by making some kind of divider that sits toward the bottom of a single container and holds the soil above the reservoir. However you construct it, the barrier between the soil and water should be full of small holes for ventilation.
The water is pulled up from the reservoir and into the soil by means of something called a wicking chamber. This can be a perforated tube, a basket, a cup or anything full of holes that links the soil to the water. The soil in the chamber(s) becomes saturated, and it feeds moisture to the rest of the soil.
The reservoir is refilled by means of a pipe that passes through the soil compartment down to the very bottom of the container.
The last essential element is a hole drilled into the side of the container at the highest point of the reservoir. This is an overflow hole that prevents you from oversaturating your plants.
Read more: http://www.motherearthnews.com/print.aspx?id={4FC5844B-9152-4A0F-864E-CAAD12330AD3}#ixzz2fFeJzSLw
Las Vegas bomb shelter estate for sale at $1.7M | Bedford NY Real Estate
In 1978, a Las Vegas businessman built a bomb shelter for him and his wife to live in in case of Soviet attack.
Now, the estate, made up of two underground houses and an above-ground house with a garage and an acre of land, is listed for sale at $1.7 million. Amenities include a putting green, 360-degree mural, and an underground yard surrounding the place on all sides.
Source: Fast Company
– See more at: http://www.inman.com/wire/las-vegas-bomb-shelter-estate-for-sale-at-1-7m/#sthash.rFDXbJte.dpuf
Archbishop Stepinac Goes All-Digital With Textbooks | Armonk Real Estate
Archbishop Stepinac High School introduced a new concept to its academic program on Tuesday as it rolls out a complete digital textbook library for its students.
This program will eliminate the need for the traditionally heavy and expensive books that students use for their academic courses.
In partnership with Pearson, a provider of educational materials, technologies, assessments and related services, Stepinac implemented the new digital library for its 675 students on their first day of the new school year. Stepinac has worked with Pearson for the past two years to offer select digital books to its students, but this is the first time all of its textbooks will be online.
“In keeping with Stepinac’s commitment to remain at the forefront of educational technology, we have moved to this digital library,” said the Rev. Thomas Collins, president of Stepinac. “We are thankful to Pearson, the world’s leading learning company, for working with us on this national pilot program that will set the trend for schools across the United States for years to come. The digital library will help keep our tuition affordable as well as prepare our students for their college careers.”
After a student is charged a one-time annual fee of $150, he can visit the 40-textbook digital library through a website or application for various Androids and iPads to gain access to its College Prep Digital Library and the Honors/AP Digital Library. Typically, students purchase seven hard copy textbooks for the school year, costing $500 to $600 on average.
http://whiteplains.dailyvoice.com/schools/archbishop-stepinac-goes-all-digital-textbooks
7 Ways to Increase Traffic to Your Blog | Pound Ridge Realtor
Blogs have become one of the most fascinating and popular platforms upon which individuals may sell their wares, offer advice or simply journal about their daily lives.
But what is the point of having a blog if no one is going to read it?
There are many reasons why you’d would want to increase the traffic to your blog . It could be for monetary reasons, to gain more public exposure or to show off your skills. Bloggers want to see their sites develop, evolve and grow.
So, how can you get more visitors to your blog?
Here are 7 easy ways to increase traffic to your blog.
1. Optimize Your Content
The initial structuring of a blog should evolve around designing it to attract maximum traffic. Pages on your blog can be optimized to attract readers and potential consumers. This can be done by organizing content by putting it into categories that will enable readers to find what they are looking for quickly and easily.
This includes sub-titles, bullet points and lists.
Search engines pick up on themes of related content, so include keywords and keyword phrases. If you work a little on your blog’s SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) in this kind of way, you’re likely to get more search engine traffic.
2. Define Your Audience
The most important question a blogger can themselves is, Who is going to read my blog? Focus your content on what your blog is based on. Then carefully consider your target audience and address that audience directly. If you write what they want to read it’s quite likely that they’ll recommend your content to their peers.
You might already have a good idea of who reads your blog through a quick look at your followers on Twitter, for example. But to get a better insight you could sign up to Alexa.com or Quantcast.com to see in depth information such as the gender or browsing location of your blog’s visitors.
3. Ensure The Blog Works Properly
Regardless of how many readers hit on a blog, if the blog is not working, as it should, visitors will not stay, and in most cases, will not return. It can be frustrating and off putting for readers to visit your site and discover that the page refuses to load.
One way to find a reliable web host is via a free service offered by WhoIsHostingThis.com. Find a high performance web host that load your web pages fast and you’ll be on your way to impressing visitors by having a consistently visible site.
It’s worth keeping in mind that Google will penalize your website or blog in its search rankings or blog if it takes longer than two seconds to load.
4. Advertise! Advertise! Advertise!
It always helps to get the word out about your blog, and the best way to do that is to advertise. There are two main types of advertising; paid and free.
Free Advertising
There are ways to advertise your blog without paying to do so. For instance, word of mouth through social media. Obviously there are monetary benefits to doing this. If you don’t already have one, get a profile set up on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Google+ – these are all free.
Getting involved in various groups that specialize in the topic that is being addressed on your blog is a great way to get free advertising. If you share other people’s posts through a few quick clicks on Twitter your own content may well be shared in turn.
Read more…
http://www.jeffbullas.com/2013/09/18/7-ways-to-increase-traffic-to-your-blog/#86LVCo3l2JRMmvhP.99
California home sales fall | Chappaqua Real Estate
August home sales in California slipped 1.9% from July, while still improving 3.1% from a year earlier, according to data from research firm DataQuick.
The Mortgage Bankers Association elaborated on the report Tuesday:
DataQuick said 42,546 new and resale houses and condos sold in California in August, down from a revised 43,381 in July but up from 41,280 sales a year ago. The sales count was the highest for any August since 51,054 homes sold in August 2006. August sales have varied from a low of 29,764 in 1992 to a high of 73,285 in 2005. Last month’s sales were 11.1 percent below the average of 47,849 sales for all the months of August since 1988, when DataQuick’s statistics begin.
http://www.housingwire.com/articles/26873-california-home-sales-fall