Rmillhiser

The post YouTube partially demonetizes Benjamin Boyce appeared first on Hot Air.

Rising Tide Systems lights are perfect complement to TrolMaster Systems for growing, combining innovation with customization  GlobeNewswire

Nantucket, Mass., Feb. 05, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- What's better than a stellar grow light that saves cultivators more than 40 percent on electricity and ...

Netflix has invested a lot of energy into GLOW's second season, and now we have an inkling as to whether or not that trust is well-placed. The service has posted a trailer for the new GLOW that makes it clear the stakes are higher this time around. T...

Who’s the real monster in Stranger Things, anyway? A new video runs down the pretty compelling fan theory.

Read more...

The post Berkeley receives grant to “honor the legacy” of Marxist terrorist group appeared first on Hot Air.

Photo: abdallahh/Flickr

Should policymakers have stepped in to try and tame southern Ontario’s unruly housing market as they did with the recently announced Fair Housing Plan? After all, the government doesn’t intervene like that with gold prices or large-cap stock performances, one commentator notes.

“Imagine if the premier had said: ‘When young people can’t imagine buying gold, we know we have a problem,” quips Peter Armstrong, a CBC host, riffing off Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne’s comments about real estate.

Well, National Bank, the country’s sixth largest bank, is making the case for the Ontario government’s recent actions, which include sweeping rent control expansion, a tax on foreign speculation in the Greater Golden Horseshoe and laying the groundwork for a vacant-home tax in Toronto proper.

“Let’s be clear, standing by while housing prices shot to the moon in more than 70 [per cent] of its main urban centres was no longer a viable option for Ontario — the risks were simply too great,” write National Bank’s Warren Lovely and Stefane Marion, in a note.

To bolster their view, Lovely, National Bank’s public sector researcher, and Marion, the bank’s chief economist, chart the share of Ontario housing markets seeing home prices rise by at least 10 per cent annually.

Chart: National Bank

National Bank analyzes home prices in 15 regional Ontario markets (Guelph, London, Hamilton, Kingston, Kitchener, Oshawa, Windsor, Toronto, Thunder Bay, Sudbury, St. Catharines, Peterborough, Barrie, Brantford and Ottawa) and annual prices surged in the double digits in all but four last month.

Only Thunder Bay, Sudbury, Kingston and Ottawa recorded annual price increases of less than 10 per cent, according to the Teranet-National Bank House Price Index for March.

Even the index price in Windsor, a good four hours by car from Toronto, was up 13.3 per cent in March compared to the same month last year.

Too far away from Toronto’s labour market for a daily commute, could price exuberance in a place like Windsor be explained by retirees cashing out of Toronto real estate, buying cheap property elsewhere and pocketing the difference?

Marion hasn’t seen numbers to suggest retirees are leaving Toronto for faraway Ontario cities, although there has been some speculation this is a trend.

“If that was widespread you would see more supply on the market in the GTA, right? And we haven’t seen a big surge in supply, if anything the supply has been coming down, the homes available for resale — those have just been coming down,” he tells BuzzBuzzNews.

“I cannot explain why [home prices have] suddenly surged so much beyond the GTA,” he adds.

With home prices in several regional Ontario markets so detached from fundamentals that even a leading economist is baffled, National Bank prefers the province’s course of action to the alternative, also described in the note.

“You could do nothing, let a housing bubble inflate away, reap the economic and fiscal gains from a wholly unsustainable pattern of growth while you can, and then pick up the pieces of a broken economy when the bubble inevitably bursts,” Lovely and Marion comment.

The post One bank’s chart hints why Ontario intervened in the housing market appeared first on BuzzBuzzHome News.

In a Twitter message, the president said he would be “holding a BIG rally in Pennsylvania” on April 29, the night the press corps will gather for its annual black-tie event.

Eating and driving is almost never as clean or easy as you’d like; most of the common foods you’re likely to drive and eat are at best awkward and at worst a filthy disaster. So instead of beating ourselves up about it, why don’t we find a way to make it better? I gave it a shot, and now someone needs to make it happen.

Read more...

When Urban Outfitters and Aéropostale report earnings, investors will be looking for signs of a recovery in the struggling teen-retail sector. Store chains catering to teens have been hard hit in the past few years by declining mall traffic and changing tastes that eschew logo-laden clothes.

Lego has designed and created a limited run of special Lego-branded slippers as a holiday promotion. The slippers come with extra thick padding, which means that stepping on an errant Lego brick or two no longer has to be accompanied by hopping and around and cursing. That's pretty cool, but remember, kids: nothing is as cool as cleaning up your Lego bricks when you're done with them. (Shhhh. Nobody tell the kids how many things are cooler than that.)
· Lego's anti-Lego slippers have extra foot padding for protection [cnet]

This is Capital Pro article. You need a Pro subscription to access it. Learn more about Capital Pro.

All photos by Yen Chen via AD España

As apartments get tinier and tinier, it's not surprising to see the "room in a box" design trend gain traction. Paris and Madrid-based architects Aurélie Beriot and Miguel Bernardini, for example, have been working on a series of projects involving space-saving, multi-functional modules, usually made of wood for easy handling. Recently profiled in AD España, these designs find different ways to deploy the boxy "mini loft" concept in small homes ranging from 270 to 400 square feet.

↑ In a 400-square-foot space, Beriot and Bernardini came up with a multi-purpose structure made of 55mm-thick plywood. It provides support for a lofted space and serves as a kitchen counter on the ground level and a railing table on the mezzanine.

↑ The "mini loft" in this 320-square-foot home takes after the typical tiny home layouts, where a lofted bed and ladder contraption hover over an open kitchen.

↑ Taking advantage of the high ceilings in this 300-square-foot studio, the designers came up with a transforming "super-cabinet" of sorts, packing in a bed, bathroom, tiny kitchen, and plenty of storage.

↑ To optimize a 270-square-foot room, Beriot and Bernardini devised a duo of pine wood structures: one crams in a double bed, bunk bed, and table, while the other frames a cushioned living area by the window.

Click through to AD España to see more photos of all four setups.

· Everything fits in a box [AD España]
· This Little Metal 'TravelBox' Packs in a Roomful of Furniture [Curbed]

Netherlands-based development and investment group Brack Capital Real Estate yesterday closed on the $106 million acquisition of a 12-story commercial building in the West Village from investment firm Criterion Real Estate Capital, Commercial Observer has learned.

The building at 627 Greenwich Street between Leroy and Morton Streets is 106,400 square feet and is vacant.

“It is extremely rare to find a vacant building of this size in the West Village," said Issac Hera, chief executive officer of Brack Capital Real Estate USA, in a prepared statement. "We are extraordinarily particular about the properties we invest in, considering not only their location, but also their development potential. Fundamentally, this building has great attributes, which lends itself to limitless opportunities.”

While Crain's New York Business reported in August that the building will be demolished and replaced with pricey apartments, Brack's plans are currently up in the air, a spokeswoman said.

Criterion, an investment firm based in New York, bought the property in March for $75 million, property records indicate.

Criterion didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

Adam Spies, Doug Harmon and Daniel O'Brien, all of Eastdil Secured,were the lone brokers in the deal.

Here’s a followup to yesterday’s story concerning the closure of Rivington House, the nursing home for AIDS patients at 45 Rivington St. Crain’s (subscription required) reported that the 206-bed facility has been “nearly half-empty for at least two years, a testimony to the advances in medicine that have let those afflicted with AIDS live longer.”

Yesterday, we spoke with a representative of Rivington House’s owner, VillageCare, for more details. Rob Goldman, director of corporate communications, said there has been a very noticeable drop in the occupancy rate at Rivington House in the past three years. The non-profit organization has been weighing its options for some time. Goldman said the priority now is helping about 230 staff members find new jobs and moving around 100 remaining residents to other facilities.

“We are working with each resident individually, but ultimately where they go is their decision,” Goldman said. The plan is to close Rivington House by the end of November. He noted that more patients these days are choosing home-based care. In general, the state is transitioning away from large nursing facilities. Goldman added that New York state is looking at reducing nursing home beds by 5% in the next five years. For this reason, he indicated, it wasn’t feasible to convert Rivington House to a nursing facility for the general population.

Goldman said there’s concern for the facility’s ‘dedicated staff,” who have been briefed about the closure and mostly “understand the situation.”  There will be no reassignments but the organization is trying to help employees find other positions.  Some staff members have worked on Rivington street since the center opened in 1995.

As for the building, a former school built in 1898, no decisions have been made, Goldman said.

The prospect that it could be sold to a private developer for condos or a hotel will obviously be a source of anxiety for some local residents. The beautiful Romanesque Revival-style building sits alongside Sara D. Roosevelt Park and would be a hot commodity on the open real estate market. K Webster, a member of Community Board 3 and a leader of the Sara D. Roosevelt Park Coalition is one of those expressing concern. Speaking only for herself, she noted that activists have spent the last three decades wresting the park from the grip of crime and drugs for the benefit of the community, not so that it could become an amenity for “real estate profiteers.” Webster added, “this building ‘belongs’ to the low-income vulnerable populations of this community. It is unconscionable to consider losing this valuable human resource of Rivington House when housing is so desperately needed for vulnerable elders and others (including the current tenants). ”

Local City Council member Margaret Chin said conversations have been initiated with VillageCare. A spokesperson said Chin is opposed to any luxury redevelopment plan for Rivington House. Next month, VillageCare officials have agreed to brief Community Board 3′s human services committee regarding their decision. That meeting takes place September 9.

According to public records, the former school building was purchased from the city in 1993 for $1,550,000. The original agreement stated that the building’s use would be “limited in perpetuity to a not-for-profit ‘residential health care facility.’ ” In 1993, the New York Times reported that “the renovation and expansion of the six-floor building (cost) $72 million, financed by a state bond project.”

In our conversation yesterday, Goldman said he did not know whether any restrictions are still in place regarding the sale of the building.

NASA has released a wonderful—and rare, they say—view of an earthrise in the Moon taken by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, with the Earth appearing over the Rozhdestvenskiy crater. There's a GIF of this event in motion.

Read more...

Happy New Year!

---

Over the last few days, we looked back on 2013′s top 50 posts by page views, but that just tells us what was popular, intriguing, controversial, and/or outrageous at the moment. What was the most important story of 2013? Over the last two days, readers offered their suggestions, whittled them down to five finalists, and […]

Read this post »

While the pronunciation of ‘GIF’ may be disputed, there’s no denying the animated images have a certain absorbing appeal. From moving murals to changing facades, we’ve compiled the best building-related GIFs out there.

Lightning strikes Chicago

Taken during a 2012 storm, this GIF captures near simulationous lightning strikes on three of Chicago’s four tallest towers: the Willis Tower, Trump Tower and John Hancock Center. Via: imgur

New York City skyline

These images of New York were taken by photographer Alejandro Perez and his mother 31 years apart, in 1982 and 2013. Via: Alejandro Perez

Trippy mural in Newcastle, England

To create this GIF, UK artist INSA painted the mural once, took a photograph, and repainted the canvas for every subsequent frame. The laborious art form is appropriately called “GIF-itti.” Via: INSAland

Super art promotes local supergroup in Los Angeles, California

Commissioned for the launch of Atoms For Peace’s debut album, this GIF-itti in Los Angeles was also created by INSA in collaboration with artist Stanley Donwood. Via: INSAland

Kiefer Technic Showroom in Bad Gleichenberg, Austria

The facade of Austria’s Kiefer Technic Showroom changes hourly, making it the perfect GIF subject. Via: imgur

Circling the CN Tower in Toronto

How does one capture the CN Tower from the exact same distance from so many angles? The production company behind the animation explains in this YouTube video. Via: Hypnosf

Circling the Transamerica Pyramid in San Francisco

Candy Glass Production also has an entire spinning series on San Francisco’s iconic landmarks. Via: Hypnosf

Animated tower

To celebrate the 10th anniversary of the University of Health Sciences in Switzerland, artist Guillaume Reymond and more than 100 students, staff and volunteers turned this campus building into an architetural performance piece. Via: NotSoNoisy

Eiffel Tower construction

If you enjoy seeing iconic buildings like the Eiffel Tower under construction, check out this photo series. Via: imgur

Russian construction fail

We don’t need an animation to remind BuzzBuzzHome readers about the dangers of a crane collapse. Via: imgur

Burj Khalifa

No building GIF roundup would be complete without a nod to the world’s tallest tower.Via: imgur

Banksy animated

Serbian artist ABVH reinterpreted 12 of Banksy’s most famous works in GIF-form. Our favorite is his take on the “Rat Mural” in New York City. Via: ABVH

Smiling-buildings-surprised-to-be-demolished

Pretty self explantory. Four structures minding their own business when BOOM! Controlled demolision. Cute, but also kind of sad. Via: imgur

The post 17 of the most mesmerizing building GIFs appeared first on BuzzBuzzHome News.