Pizza Hut: The Video Projector Pizza Box

Now this is cool. A Video Projector Pizza Box! With a slightly new shape and size, the box transforms from holding your delicious pizza, by removing the middle rester (the thing that stops the pizza hitting the top of the box) which now holds a makeshift projector lense, that plugs into the front of the box, meanwhile you consume all the pizza, and insert your phone (and Pizza Hut gives you acccess to free movies), close the lid and play!

The Blockbuster Box is a killer promotional play from Pizza Hut and Ogilvy Hong Kong.

 

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Amsterdam's 3D-Printed Steel Bridge To Be 'Drawn' Mid-Air By Robots

 By Nitya Rajan 

Amsterdam is getting its own 3D-printed steel bridge that will be partly suspended in mid-air, once again proving that nothing is off limits in the world of 3D-printing.

Behind the bold attempt is MX3D, an R&D startup that aim to 'print' the complicated and 'intricate' structure over one of the city's canals using robots to 'draw' the bridge into being.

The attempt is particularly impressive as the steel spewing bots will print the bridge on location, which is yet to be disclosed.

If all goes to plan, the machines will begin printing on one side of the canal, creating rail supports to slide on and literally draw the mid-section of the bridge into being as it makes its way to the other side.

MX3D say the technology at the forefront of this project uses the ‘Printing Outside the box’ principle, essentially allowing curved shapes to be 'printed' in mid-air.

Collaborators including construction firm Heijmans and software company Autodesk, will use what are known as 6-axis industrial robots that will heat up the metal to 1,500 degrees Celsius and wield it into shape.

Joris Laarman a designer working on the bridge said:

“ This bridge will show how 3D printing finally enters the world of large-scale, functional objects and sustainable materials while allowing unprecedented freedom of form."

If successful, Amsterdam's engineering feat will remove the restrictions of shape and size that currently limit the applications of 3D-printing.

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These renovations add the most value to your home

By Krystal Yee, Toronto Star

When people consider a home renovation, one of the things they consider is the value the renovation will add to their home.

So, after years of watching interior design shows and more recently, photos and videos on Pinterest, I had wild ideas of how I was going to transform my home.

I did online research and called contractors and it didn’t take long to realize that the changes I had in mind wouldn’t necessarily add the value I had hoped. If I customize my home too much, it wouldn’t appeal to as many buyers when I wanted to sell.

The Appraisal Institute of Canada says renovations to the bathroom and kitchen offer the best value, with a recovery rate of 75 to 100 per cent of the amount spent.

The recovery rate is the likely increase a renovation will have to a home’s resale value. So, a $5,000 renovation that increases a home’s value by $3,500 has a recovery rate of 70 per cent.

The non-profit personal finance web site GetSmarterAboutMoney.ca offers five types of renovations that add value to a home:

• Investments in efficient use of energy (60 per cent recovery rate)
• New or improved kitchens and bathrooms (75-100 per cent recovery rate)
• Low-cost improvements – painting, wallpaper, etc. (50-100 per cent recovery rate)
• New windows or doors (50-100 per cent recovery rate)
• Basement renovation (50-75 per cent recovery rate)

While this might seem like common sense, after going through the process on my own home, I can see how easy it is to get carried away with home improvement projects, or turn a small renovation into something bigger and much more expensive than originally anticipated.

So instead of focusing on a better walk-in closet, a built-in shelving system for my kitchen and redoing my fireplace, I’ve decided to start small and spend $3,700 replacing the green shag carpet and chipped tiles with high-quality laminate flooring, ripping out a built-in desk, and giving the walls a fresh coat of paint.

My plan is to gradually work on the kitchen and bathroom – replacing tiles, counter tops, and refinishing the cabinets.

My hope is that these small improvements will increase the value of my home, without being a burden on my wallet.

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Which renovations should you pursue before winter comes

Reporter/Byline: Brendan Charters for the Toronto Star

As colder months approach, your family will be spending more time indoors. As a result, you may be planning on upgrading your home to suit your family’s changing needs. But with tight budgets, it’s not always easy to decide between installing heated floors or new countertops.

When weighing your renovation options, you must evaluate the value you place on each project to ensure you’re maximizing your resources.

There are many different types of value, all unique to the desires of the individual. A residential remodel intends to change the way the current home either functions or looks to suit the needs and wishes of its occupants. The challenge is first to determine what your priorities are. While this can seem like a simple wish list, you may often find that you initial desires are not necessarily what is best for you, or our home, and the journey can shift our focus to a new set of “values.”

Here are four value categories to help you assess which renovations are most important to you:

Resale value:

This is the most common issue raised and is always top of mind. The factor driving the weight of this is how long you plan to stay in your home. If it’s five years or less, it requires heavy weighting. If over 10 years, it becomes fairly lightweight as housing trends quickly change. Renovations can date themselves, too, so anything over 10 years will likely call for an update of at least some finishes from a new owner.

Enjoyment value:

How badly are the changes you are planning needed or desired? Do you have a fourth child on the way and living in a two-bedroom house? That addition is pretty critical. Likewise, while the third-floor urban greenhouse may not add millions to the future selling price, if it is part of your retirement dream and will bring years of enjoyment to you, so that value should not be discounted.

Health & comfort value:

With so many new products on the market today, it is worth it to research the health impacts of different products you may consider installing in your home. Whenever possible, stick to natural materials, which are always better in the long run. Every house works as a system, and any changes to the building envelope and the HVAC system will affect the comfort of the home and the long-term health of its occupants. Topics such as radon gas, moisture and air management, R-value and off-gassing need to be discussions, if not research topics for every good renovation.

Social value:

How does the home consume energy, if at all? How does the renovation take environmental impacts into consideration when it comes to waste creation, salvage and new resource management? How does it fit within the surrounding area? These are all important questions to ask.

You may want to consider calling a professional to start to ensure your project is off on the right foot.

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France Declares All New Rooftops Must Be Topped With Plants Or Solar Panels

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  new law recently passed in France mandates that all new buildings that are built in commercial zones in France must be partially covered in either plants or solar panels.

Green roofs, as they are called, have an isolating effect which helps to reduce the amount of energy needed to heat a building during the winter or cool it in the summer. They are capable of retaining rainwater and reducing problems with runoff, and also offer birds a place to call home in the urban jungle.

French environmental activists originally wanted to pass a law that would make the green roofs cover the entire surface of all new roofs. However, partially covered roofs make for a great start, and are still a huge step in the right direction.

Some say the law that was passed is actually better, as it gives the business owners a chance to install solar panelsto help provide the buildings with renewable energy, thereby leaving even less of a footprint.

Green roofs are already very popular in Germany and Australia, as well as Canada’s city of Toronto! This  by-law was adopted in 2009, by the city of Toronto which mandated green roofs on all new industrial and residential buildings.

 

Benefits of Green Roofs

There are so many benefits to green roofs. Here are just a few:

• Adding natural beauty and major aesthetic improvement to buildings, which in turn increases the investment opportunity.
• Helping contribute to landfill diversion by prolonging the life of waterproofing membranes, using recycled materials, and prolonging the service of heating, ventilation, and HVAC systems through decreased use.
• Green roofs assist with storm water management because water is stored by the substrate, then taken up by plants, and thus returned to the atmosphere through transpiration and evaporation. They also retain rainwaterand moderate the temperature of the water and act as natural filters for the water that does run off. They delay the time at which runoff occurs, which results in decreased stress on sewer systems during peak periods.
• The plants on green roofs do a great job of capturing airborne pollutants and other atmospheric deposition. They can also filter noxious gasses.
• They open up new areas for community gardens, commercial and recreational space in busy cities where this space is generally quite limited.

France is definitely on the right track, but it should be a mandate that all new buildings being built in North America, and even worldwide, adopt this amazing idea to reap all of the potential benefits.

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Is it the right time to sell your house? Look at the historical data

ROBERT CHAMPION

The Globe and Mail

Robert Champion is vice-president of client services for Toronto-based Sprung Investment Management.

 

A recent Globe and Mail series explored the risks associated with rising household debt in Canada. One risk associated with our addiction to cheap money is its effect on home prices.

Low interest rates have encouraged home buyers to take on larger mortgages. That has led to a dramatic rise in home prices over the past 20 years. The wealth effect caused by rising home prices has also encouraged homeowners to take on additional debt through home-equity lines of credit.

There has been much debate as to whether house prices in Canada, particularly in Toronto and Vancouver, are overvalued – and if so, by how much. Many wonder whether this purported bubble is likely to burst in the near future. The reality is that there is no way to know whether a bubble in house prices, or the prices of any asset class, exists until it actually bursts.

Given that uncertainty, what do we know about house prices? Looking at Toronto house prices from 1970 to 2014, it’s easy to see (from the grey line in the chart) that the long-term trend for house prices has indeed been up.

A second observation we can make is that for extended periods of time, house prices rise significantly above the long-term trend. These periods of above-trend prices are followed by extended periods of below-trend prices.

Why does this happen? Anyone who has a memory of current events will likely recall that during the mid-1970s, the oil crisis wreaked economic havoc, while the selloff at the end of the 1980s was caused by the U.S. Federal Reserve Board ratcheting up interest rates to slay inflation.

But there is a more general reason that the prices of houses and other assets tend rise and fall over time. It’s called reversion to the mean (often mistakenly called “regression” to the mean).

Reversion to the mean says that extreme values are more likely to be followed by less extreme values. Think of it this way: Performance that is well above average usually doesn’t stay there forever; it typically comes back to earth. Performance that is well below average often gets better. If you’re a golfer, you have likely experienced this phenomenon.

How can we use this information to guide decisions about housing?

Most people who are considering buying a house look at the rising prices, and assume that they will continue to rise. They believe that they must buy now before they rise even higher. In reality, periods of rapid house price appreciation are eventually followed by extended periods of declining prices (see the red line in the chart).

Prospective buyers may be better off to rent now and wait for lower prices. The Economist recently reported that Canadian house prices are 89 per cent overvalued compared with rents. That means it is significantly cheaper to rent than own. Potential home buyers should likely consider the option of continuing to rent and save a larger portion of their income.

For many older Canadians, their home is their single largest asset. As we age, many of us sell our homes and use the proceeds to help fund our retirement. Knowing that we will need to sell our homes at some future date, we look at the rising house prices and assume that they will continue to rise. We believe that we will benefit from deferring the decision to sell. That could be a huge mistake: If you choose not to sell your house in the near term and prices decline, a health or financial crisis could force you to sell at a much lower price.

For older homeowners, here is the key takeaway: The historical data show that when house prices decline, it takes 10 years or more for them to recover. Younger homeowners have time on their side; they can afford to wait for prices to recover. Older homeowners may not have that luxury.

Buying and selling a home are the biggest financial decisions most of us are likely to make in our lifetimes. Our behavioural biases mean that we tend to make decisions based on recent data that fit our view of events, rather than incorporating long-term historical data. We base our decisions on the fact that house prices have risen significantly in recent years and ignore that fact that they declined by 30 per cent in the 1990s. It’s different this time, right?

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