Being without power sucks.

Well, technically we do have power, it’s just a question of how much. The technical term is a brownout, in this case we’re guessing we have around 50% of the normal amount of electricity flowing into the Crashaus. Of course while this reduced state of energy lets us run dim lights, it unfortunately is not providing the necessary voltage to start our furnace.

Thus, sweatshirts. Sweatshirts and blankets.

Of course of an even more serious nature is the intermittent lack of internet service. The icy grip of winter seeping in through the walls? That’s tolerable. Being unable to check gmail or get on Xbox Live?

Insufferable.

My good friend Amanda just sent me a series of videos showcasing Detroit visionaries talking about all the exciting projects that are underway in Detroit. From building restoration to art movements and even a planned ‘Tech Town’ right in the city, it seems that there’s a lot going on in the D!

Check out the shorts linked above and if you like what you see, you should subscribe to ModelDTV’s YouTube channel to stay up to date on all the latest developments.

I’m a huge quote fan. A quotehound, if I can throw out an unfamiliar term. What’s a quotehound you ask? In my mind, this is a term for someone that enjoys accruing and and maintaining a log of interesting quotes from the world around them. Now, understand I’m not one of those people that hosts a website that lists all the quotes from Ben Affleck’s abhorrent portfolio. No, my quotes are of the obscure and arcane, things said by a coworker at 3am the morning before a new websites launches, or by unknown historians recounting events on the history channel.

One of the biggest influences on my enjoyment of these mental snippets has been Crashpod: I never set out to be a writer, but whether you like it or not, this is something that blogging turns you into. So in an effort to make one’s own contributions more engaging, you will naturally turn to other sources for inspiration. Those that know my reading habits will be nodding their heads and pointing to Jerry Holkiens, aka “Tycho Brahae” of Penny-Arcade fame, who I think of as a professor of lexicon with a phd in mental imagery.

So, with these interests in mind, I hope you’ll understand that upon coming home from a late night at work and hearing this quote in a thick italian accent by one Luigi Colani, I was nearly knocked unconscious.

Hello. I am professor Luigi Colani. I am a three dimensional philosopher. Of the future.

Man I even love typing that! I did some research on the good professor, and it turns out he’s an extremely influential industrial designer that played a large roll in the move from boxy automobiles in the 80s to the curvy, wind tunnel inspired designs we see today. I just can’t get over the matter-of-fact way in which Colani unites two seemingly disparate ideas of philosophy and three dimensions, and then just sort of adds “of the future” in there at the end. Hilarious. Awesome. Worthy of note.

Here’s a quick overview of the Sony Mylo. This is the “not a mobile phone, not a UMPC” device that Sony is bringing to market. It actually surprised me with some of the services it does incorporate. It has wi-fi so you can use Skype for voice communication, as well as Google Talk and Yahoo! IM. You can stream mp3s off of other nearby Mylo users and the device also supports photos and videos. It ships with an Opera browser so you get a nice full featured way of browsing the web.

It’s going to be an interesting year for gadgets. I bet we see an increasing number of these hybrid devices coming out during 2007.