Interesting piece came out this week about Masdar City, that still-imaginary suburb of Abu Dhabi that is being built as a zero-carbon, 100-percent- renewable-energy-powered oasis in the desert. We already talked about the amazing “personal rapid transport pods” that are straight out of the Jetsons. But what else do developers have on tap? And, more importantly, how well-thought-out and responsible are their plans?Right now the city is basically a couple of tractors and construction materials, but if you ask Masdar’s head developer, as Danny Fortson at the London Times did, he’ll tell you he’s got his sights set on making it the most technologically advanced, environmentally friendly city in the world.How? For starters, they’re going to build it on stilts. Indeed, the entire (tiny) 2.5-square-mile city, designed by British architect Lord Foster, will live in the sky on three tiered levels. (What comes to my mind when I hear that is a multilevel parking garage in Los Angeles, but I imagine they have something nicer in mind, especially since the place will be car-free. See diorama at left.)Sounds good so far, right? Actually, it’s rather problematic. As it stands, the maverick developer is pouring money into a city that doesn’t exist yet, basically to prove that we’re thinking about cities all wrong (he’s got that part half-right). And so Masdar City will be a very expensive model to prove just how wrong we are. It will be an example the world can point to; an inspiration; maybe even a tourist destination. Which is exactly the problem. Or part of it.Off the top of my head I can think of a few cities that are already doing a better job, in some way or other, to prove that we can and should rethink the way we live in, and get around, cities. We wrote about one just last week.The catch, of course, is that “leading by example” only gets you so far, especially if it’s an example no one else can or will follow. The model here is, hire a fancy architect and collect tens of billions of dollars to fund an experiment that isn’t scalable, and can’t really be replicated. The second problem with “leading by example” is that it runs the risk of being something of a gimmick. An extreme example that feels novel for a little while (but can’t point the way for existing cities on how to course-correct).Still, the most pressing issue is that the city’s going to cost $22 billion to build, and only 50,000 people will live there. Not a whole lot of bang for your buck, especially in a part of the world that’s rapidly populating. Fortson proposes (and I agree) that there are far better uses for that kind of money, especially these days. For starters, we could invest in infrastructure overhauls and renewable-energy investment in places where people already live. We could also invest in better building practices and public transportation, and make use of space in more innovative ways.So while I’m hesitant to shit on what seems like a superb idea in theory-especially because it’s all too easy to do that from behind my desk, on the other side of the world-I’m kind of going to anyway. Because this strikes me as a misguided and possibly very irresponsible use of resources. Worst of all, it feels like the commodification of things we should all be taking pretty seriously.What do you think?
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Man’s dog suddenly becomes protective of his wife, Internet clocks the reason right away
The online community came through in a big way.
Reddit user Girlfriendhatesmefor’s three-year-old pitbull, Otis, had recently become overprotective of his wife. So he asked the online community if they knew what might be wrong with the dog.
“A week or two ago, my wife got some sort of stomach bug,” the Reddit user wrote under the subreddit /r/dogs. “She was really nauseous and ill for about a week. Otis is very in tune with her emotions (we once got in a fight and she was upset, I swear he was staring daggers at me lol) and during this time didn’t even want to leave her to go on walks. We thought it was adorable!”
His wife soon felt better, butthe dog’s behavior didn’t change.
Otis knew before they did. Canva Girlfriendhatesmefor began to fear that Otis’ behavior may be an early sign of an aggression issue or an indication that the dog was hurt or sick.
So he threw a question out to fellow Reddit users: “Has anyone else’s dog suddenly developed attachment/aggression issues? Any and all advice appreciated, even if it’s that we’re being paranoid!”
The most popular response to his thread was by ZZBC.
Any chance your wife is pregnant?
ZZBC | Reddit
The potential news hit Girlfriendhatesmefor like a ton of bricks. A few days later, Girlfriendhatesmefor posted an update and ZZBC was right!
“The wifey is pregnant!” the father-to-be wrote. “Otis is still being overprotective but it all makes sense now! Thanks for all the advice and kind words! Sorry for the delayed reply, I didn’t check back until just now!”
Redditors responded with similar experiences.
Anecdotal I know but I swear my dog knew I was pregnant before I was. He was super clingy (more than normal) and was always resting his head on my belly.
realityisworse | Reddit
So why do dogs get overprotective when someone is pregnant?
Jeff Werber, PhD, president and chief veterinarian of the Century Veterinary Group in Los Angeles, told Health.com that “dogs can also smell the hormonal changes going on in a woman’s body at that time.” He added the dog may “not understand that this new scent of your skin and breath is caused by a developing baby, but they will know that something is different with you—which might cause them to be more curious or attentive.”
The big lesson here is to listen to your pets and to ask questions when their behavior abruptly changes. They may be trying to tell you something, and the news may be life-changing.
This article originally appeared last year.
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Throughout history, women have stood up and fought to break down barriers imposed on them from stereotypes and societal expectations. The trailblazers in these photos made history and redefined what a woman could be. In doing so, they paved the way for future generations to stand up and continue to fight for equality.
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Mass shootings and conspiracy theories have a long history.
While conspiracy theories are not limited to any topic, there is one type of event that seems particularly likely to spark them: mass shootings, typically defined as attacks in which a shooter kills at least four other people.
When one person kills many others in a single incident, particularly when it seems random, people naturally seek out answers for why the tragedy happened. After all, if a mass shooting is random, anyone can be a target.
Pointing to some nefarious plan by a powerful group – such as the government – can be more comforting than the idea that the attack was the result of a disturbed or mentally ill individual who obtained a firearm legally.
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