Monthly archives: June 2014

Build yourself a house with mini-bots

This entry was posted in 3d printing Robot on by

There have been other robots designed to 3D print buildings, but they’ve all had to be bigger than the final structure. These mini-bots- and their mobile supply trolley- aren’t restricted in the same way. They’re more likely to be building sturdier temporary structures at first. I could see rescue teams turning up at the site of a large disaster and using these sorts of robots to put a hospital up within a few days, for instance.

These Cute Little Drones Could 3-D Print a House | Design | WIRED.

The end of those stupid ‘Cyclists Stay Back’ stickers?

This entry was posted in Bikes road safety on by

After lobbying by several cycling and road safety groups, TfL have agreed to phase out the yellow ‘Cyclists Stay Back’ stickers which were on their vehicles and those of their contractors. They’re going to work on something with better wording. And, hopefully, reminding their drivers how they should be behaving on the road.

Road safety organisations have for several months been pressuring TfL to act on the stickers, described as “offensive” by London Cycling Campaign (LCC). Evidence has mounted that drivers of stickered vehicles have acted as though the stickers gave them the right to harass and endanger cyclists.

If you are, or know, a driver who’d like to convey a more positive message, the road.cc website have some ‘Cyclists, Stay Awesome’ stickers.

via Transport for London agrees to scrap 'Stay Back' stickers | road.cc.

All materials of value have been removed

This entry was posted in Architecture flickr Salford on by

I found the sad little row of houses, in the shadow of the being-demolished Pear Tree Court, on the way back from the pool yesterday, but didn’t have a camera with me. So I went back today to get a few photos.

There’s something about the phrase “All materials of value have been removed” that just screams book title to me. Something angry about privatisation, the erosion of British values by the sort of people who call for children to be taught them, a disaffected population and, probably, a riot. It’s a story I’ve been trying to find my way into since 2011, but I just can’t work out how to do it. If/when I do, I have the cover for it right here.

After taking a load of pictures of the houses and the tower block, I went off for a ride and found a few more interesting places to photograph. Use the arrows on the embed to navigate through the set.

If you want to own Palace Bingo, formerly the Victoria Theatre, then it could be yours for a mere £175,000. I suspect you’ll need a lot more than that to get it into a fit state to use it for anything again, though.

Salford Star

This entry was posted in flickr on by



Salford Star, originally uploaded by spinneyhead.

I’m sure there used to be a pub here, but it was pulled down before I moved to Salford, so I don’t remember its name.

Update With a bit of help from Ian, and some sleuthing on Google Maps, I’ve found that the building was previously a solicitors– and before that, probably a bank- rather than a pub.

How Solar Will Destroy The Power Companies – Business Insider

This entry was posted in Solar Power on by

Barclays recently downgraded the entire U.S. electric utilities sector to "underweight" on the threat posed by widespread adoption of solar-storage. These systems allow homeowners to use rooftop solar panels and a battery to cut all but the figurative emergency backup cord to their local electric grid, putting a severe strain on an industry that has been a defacto monopoly.

via How Solar Will Destroy The Power Companies – Business Insider.