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I can't prove this, but I have a working hypothesis that
fluorescent lights , of the variety typically deployed in offices, are more than
simply depressing -- they can actually suck the life-force right out of you. I did some work for Quantico
back in the 1970s, and for security reasons was assigned to an office
approximately 17 doors away from the closest natural sunlight. The overhead
fluorescent lights gave everyone a delightful corpse-like glow, and began my
lifelong hatred of argon plasma.
So I'm delighted with the latest news from my
old friend, industrial designer Ross Lovegrove. (You might remember his work on
a little gadget called the Sony Walkman .) Well, Ross has unveiled some details
on a little project called System X -- a modular lighting system composed of
flexible fluorescent X-shaped tubes that, when linked together, can be used to
create virtual "sculptures" of light. The modules are designed to be
mobile and can be anchored to a wall, ceiling, or assembled into freestanding
circles.
Location, shape and the optional dimming switches create a
system in which a room can have various zones of light, with variable intensity
and temperature. Lovegrove may yet rescue fluorescent lamp technology, although
I'm still partial to the variable-contour transom/partition solution known as
the window.
One other item today. A recent poll out of the UK suggests
that young people there would rather give up sex than their mobile phones.
According to a survey by the Carphone Warehouse and the London School of
Economics, one in three people would refuse to trade their mobile phone for one
million pounds. What's more, the
majority of respondents aged between 16 and 24 would rather give up alcohol,
chocolate, sex, tea, or coffee than live without their mobile phone for a
month.
Just thought you might like to know.
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