The Word Spy - adultescent

The Word Spy - adultescent: "adultescent (ad.ul.TES.unt) n. A middle-aged person who continues to participate in and enjoy youth culture."

The Word Spy - bowling alone

The Word Spy - bowling alone: "bowling alone (BOH.ling uh.lohn) metaphor. Not participating in the social life of a community.
—bowling-alone adj.

"

The Word Spy - privatopia

The Word Spy - privatopia: "privatopia (pry.vuh.TOH.pee.uh) noun. A walled-in or gated community of private homes, especially one in which a homeowner association establishes and enforces rules related to property appearance and resident behavior."

The Word Spy - pin-drop syndrome

The Word Spy - pin-drop syndrome: "pin-drop syndrome n. Extreme quietness in an office, which leads to worker stress because the significance of even the smallest noises is magnified. Also: pin drop syndrome."

The Word Spy - acoustic terrorism

The Word Spy - acoustic terrorism: "acoustic terrorism (uh.KOO.stik TER.ur.iz.um) n. The disturbance of the peace caused by excessively loud noise.
—acoustic terrorist n."

Turningpoint

Turningpoint: "Getting Through Withdrawal: A guide for people trying to stop amphetamine use

Synopsis
This booklet is written as and aid for people who are thinking about, or trying to stop using amphetamines. The booklet provides practical information and advice about the process of amphetamine withdrawal. The reader is guided toward a clearer understanding about what to expect as well as to make confident decisions based on what they want and need from the experience.

Audience
People going through amphetamine withdrawal, family members, and support people. Community health centres, GPs, and drug and alcohol workers are purchasers of this product.

ISBN: 0 958 6979 1 4
ARP: $2.20 incl GST
36pp, A6 saddle stitched book
Fitzroy Vic: Turning Point Alcohol and Drug Centre Inc., 1996. Revised 1999"

Of Hostages & Relationships: Article by Suzanne Clothier FLYING DOG PRESS

Of Hostages & Relationships: Article by Suzanne Clothier FLYING DOG PRESS: "OF HOSTAGES & RELATIONSHIPS
by Suzanne Clothier

He said that he loved her. He said that his relationship with her mattered almost more than anything else in his life. He said that he enjoyed working with her, and sharing new ideas. To be sure, she never took her eyes off his face, paying no heed to the audience who waited breathlessly to hear his secrets for such adoration, such undivided attention.

'First', he said, 'I never let her talk to anyone but me. When I leave for work, I lock her in a room, which is pretty boring for her, but when I get home - oh, is she ever glad to see me! If she wants to do anything, except go to the bathroom, she has to do it with me. I control her food, her exercise and all her activities. Wherever we go, I insist that she always look at me, so I know for sure she's paying absolute attention. I don't let her have any friends, because they might distract her or use up the energy she needs for working. Being the only social contact she has, I am very important to her. Naturally, she'd rather be with me than anyone else.'

The audience didn't gasp. They didn't protest in any way. They didn't stand up and tell him that was archaic, outrageous treatment. They did not shout out that this was not, could not be, the secret of a healthy, happy relationship. Instead, they nodded, and took notes. They thought this made perfect sense.

Was this some sensationalistic talk show featuring, 'Taking A Hostage - Key to a Happy Relationship?' Unfortunately, it was not Geraldo or Sally. This was a dog training seminar, and 'he' was talking about 'her' - his dog. (And while I say 'he', this attitude is certainly not limited to male trainers but applies equally to female trainers.) If this had been a man talking about his wife, or a mother discussing how she raised her kids, the audience would have been, rightfully, appalled. But it was, after all, only a dog, and these were tech"

Shonen Knife - Wind Your Spring LYRICS

Shonen Knife - Wind Your Spring LYRICS: "It is time to wake up, now
Let's rush out of your room, now
If you have nothing to do, you must be bored
Getting dangerous again
Let's take out your weapon
If you do nothing at all, you'll be destroyed

Nothing's impossible
If you wind your spring
You can do anything

If you have nothing to do, you must be bored

It is time to wake up, now
The alarm clock's ringing, now
If you have nothing to do, you must be bored

There are rumors in this world
Let's get them out of this world
If you have nothing to do, you must feel tired

Nothing's impossible
If you wind your spring
You can do everything

Nothing's impossible
If you wind your spring
You can do everything "

The Dutch and their amphibious houses

we make money not art: Amphibious houses: "Amphibious houses
01:57 PM architecture

The Dutch are gearing up for climate change with amphibious houses. If rivers rise above their banks, the houses rise upwards as well.

houyel00.jpg
Drive-in from Waterstudio.

37 'swimming' houses are already strung along a branch of the Maas. At first glance, they seem quite unremarkable. The cellar, in this case, is not built into the earth, but on a platform. The hollow foundation of each house works in the same way as the hull of a ship, buoying the structure up above water. To prevent the houses from floating away, they slide up two steel posts - and as the water level sinks, so they sink back down again.

'The columns have been driven deep into solid ground,' explains Dick van Gooswilligen from the construction company. 'They are even strong enough to withstand currents you would find on the open seas. As global warming causes the sea level to rise, this is the solution.'

0,1020,522143,00.jpg

One of the leading architects in maritime architecture is Koen Olthuis. His office has designed houseboats with a parking deck for the car and lower deck storage for a motorboat. Now, his team is coming up with plans for office buildings a hundred meters in height that 'swim.' The key is a technique whereby the foundation of the construction can be transformed into a float. A foam core is encased in concrete, with steel cables securing it against the pull of potential currents. Individual pontoons can be joined to one another like Lego blocks.

'This construction model is built to last at least one hundred years,' Olthuis says. If anything should happen to the foundation, the whole thing can be taken to the dockyard.

The first town based on this model, numbering 12,000 houses, might conceivably be built close to Amsterdam's Schiphol airport.

Via Archinect < Der Spiegel."