All posts by She Seeks Serene

My Journey of Reimagining Life, Love and Education

Aging: How Biomarkers Help Diagnose Dementia

Biomarkers are measurable indicators of what’s happening in your body. They can be found in blood, other body fluids, organs, and tissues, and can be used to track healthy processes, disease progression, or even responses to a medication. Biomarkers are an important part of dementia research.

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Design: Laneway Glass House In NSW Australia

Pointing towards the future of urban living, Laneway Glass House is an extended terrace house and a designer’s own inner-city home. Collaborating with Brad Swartz Architects, Henry Wilson reconfigures the spatial plan of an existing residence, establishing an exemplar contemporary space.

Video timeline: 00:00 – Introduction to Laneway Glass House 00:21 – The Architect and The Home Owner 00:47 – An Inner-City Location 01:25 – A Rear Lane Addition 01:43 – The Original Brief 02:21 – Flipping The Typical Terrace House 02:56 – The Creation of An Efficient Floor Plan 03:20 – The Spiral Staircase 03:56 – Utilising Materials In Unique Ways 04:20 – The Kitchen 05:01 – Taking Inspiration from Maison de Verre 06:00 – The Architect and The Home Owner’s Favourite Aspects

Settled onto a Darlinghurst laneway branching off Oxford Street, Laneway Glass House is a designer’s own inner-city home that aligns with its built context; a compact terrace house set among others of its kind. Organically brought together, Henry Wilson and Brad Swartz Architects quickly acknowledged the opportunity to build on the site, creating a rear lane addition that would serve as a prototype for similar developments in the future.

Materials are uniquely applied to the residence, suggesting the individual character of the project. In contrast to regular dwellings, this is a designer’s own inner-city home that sees materials used to articulate natural forms and subvert expectations for a compact space. In the kitchen, travertine is employed in a standard size without grout lines, enabling a broad, sophisticated and slab-like presentation. A designer’s own inner-city home, the contemporary kitchen is a room of cleans lines and volumes.

A commercial-like, monolithic space, the kitchen features stainless steel and presents as a formation of blocks slotted together to create a cohesive whole. Fisher & Paykel’s products are easily incorporated into the space – the Integrated Refrigerator seamlessly blends into the joinery and the Minimal Oven and Induction Hob complement the kitchen’s sleek aesthetic.

Paying homage to the Maison de Verre in Paris, glass blocks are employed to reflect and refract natural light whilst maintaining the private interior of a designer’s own inner-city home. Integrated into the façade, the blocks present Laneway Glass House as a shining jewel, sitting upon an otherwise mundane road.

Views: The Great Roman Games Of Nimes, France

In the southern French city of #Nîmes, the passion for #AncientRome is more alive than ever. For the past decade, the city has been holding the Great Roman Games show every spring. Legionaries, centurions and gladiators invade the city and bring its incredible Roman monuments back to life: in particular the arena, where the Great Games are organised. Thousands of people, young and old alike, turn out to be transported back to the Rome of #JuliusCaesar.

Nîmes, a city in the Occitanie region of southern France, was an important outpost of the Roman Empire. It’s known for well-preserved Roman monuments such as the Arena of Nîmes, a double-tiered circa-70 A.D. amphitheater still in use for concerts and bullfights. Both the Pont du Gard tri-level aqueduct and the Maison Carrée white limestone Roman temple are around 2,000 years old.

Travel Preview: Outside Magazine – Sep/Oct 2022

September October Outside magazine issue cover

The 12 Best National Forests to See Fall Foliage

National forests are the perfect place to leaf peep—often away from the crowds. These are our top viewing spots and adventures in forests across the country.

Sequoia National Park Has Never Felt So Precious

Now is the time to wander among the world’s largest trees. Wildfires in central California for the past few years have decimated their numbers, so seeing these thousand-year-old natural wonders up close is, today more than ever, a privilege.

8 National Parks You Can See without a Car

Avoid traffic jams and see America’s best idea by foot, bus, or bike

Walking Tour: Maribor In Northeast Slovenia (4K)

Maribor is a Slovenian city set amid wine-region hills on the Drava River. On Glavni Trg, the old town’s main square, the Renaissance-style Town Hall (Mariborski rotovž) dates from 1515. On nearby Grajski Trg square, 15th-century Maribor Castle houses a frescoed Knights’ Hall and the Regional Museum of Maribor, with extensive displays of local artifacts. To the southwest, Mariborsko Pohorje is a prominent ski resort.

Opinion: Why Monarchy In Britain Matters, Putin War Failures, China Land Crisis

A selection of three essential articles read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist. This week, why the British monarchy matters, Vladimir Putin’s war is failing (10:31), and China’s property crisis hasn’t gone away (17:59). 

Front Page: The New York Times – September 20, 2022

Thousands Pay Tribute as Britain Says Final Farewell to Its Queen

More than 100 world leaders, including President Biden, attended the funeral for Queen Elizabeth II, and Britons lined the streets for a procession that took her to her final resting place at Windsor Castle.

Strike Near Another Ukrainian Nuclear Plant Escalates Fears of Disaster

A powerful Russian missile hit 300 yards from the plant far from the front lines, Ukraine said, a reminder that despite its recent retreat, Russia can still threaten nuclear sites.

Views: ‘Diamond G Ranch’ Jackson Hole, Wyoming

Arguably the finest mountain ranch retreat in the Rocky Mountain West. Diamond G doesn’t just claim to have it all. It, in fact, does! Privacy – It lies at the end of the road, virtually surrounded by state and federal lands. Access – It is accessible year-round and lies about 17 miles from Dubois and about one hour and 15 minutes from the Jackson Hole Airport.

Fishing – It has an estimated 5 miles of the Dunoir River on private land with immediate access to 2.5 more miles on public land that is rarely accessed by the public. The Dunoir is a world-class trout fishery with trout in the 20 plus inch category. Wildlife – Bear, elk, moose, antelope, mountain lion, coyote, wolverine, multiple bird species, and both bighorn sheep and mountain goats are often seen in the adjacent national forest. It is one of the richest, wildest places for wildlife we have ever seen.

Scenery – Absolutely breathtaking with a lush riparian corridor flanked by timbered and open mountains rising to over 11,000 feet topped by dramatic rock formations and three major peaks – Ramshorn, Coffin Butte and Pinnacles. Improvements – Comfortable lodge and guest quarters, operating facilities, and staff quarters all in an authentic western vernacular.

Containing over 5,000 deeded acres – This is not just a small inholding in the national forest. When you come up the private road and see the ranch laid out before you, it is the real deal. There is virtually nothing else that one would want to own.

Droughts: Fixing Water Waste On American Farms

The western U.S. is experience a megadrought so severe, it is the driest two decades in at least 1,200 years. And no sector has felt the impact more than agriculture, which takes up about 70% of the world’s freshwater. With water resources becoming more scarce, several companies are working to improve irrigation efficiency and help sustain food production in a future where extreme climate may be more common.

Chapters: Ch. 1: 2:08 The West’s drought Ch. 2 4:48 Water in agriculture Ch. 3 8:02 Smarter irrigation Ch. 4 11:08 Indoor farming Ch. 5 13:11 Future technologies

Wildlife Views: Filming Wolf Pups In Voyageurs National Park, Minnesota

In a race against time, the crew works to microchip a pack of wolf pups and return the pups to their den as quickly as possible—all while setting up their cameras in time to capture some truly heart-melting shots. Witness the wildlife of North America as you’ve never seen it before on #AmericaTheBeautifulSeries, narrated by Michael B. Jordan.

Filmed in Voyageurs National Park, Minnesota. Voyageurs National Park is in northern Minnesota, near the Canadian border. It covers a vast area and is known for its forests, waterways and huge, island-dotted Rainy, Kabetogama and Namakan lakes. The Ellsworth Rock Gardens, created by artist Jack Ellsworth, are a series of abstract sculptures on a terraced outcrop. The remote Kettle Falls area has a dam and a red-roofed hotel, both from the early 20th century.