Lighthouse to hobbit hole: 13 unusual and quirky places to holiday in Scotland – Clydebank Post

IF you are looking for a staycation that stokes the imagination, Scotland has no shortage of unusual and quirky gems.

With the nations tourism sector now reopened, weve put together a list of some of our favourite awe-inspiring holiday accommodation.

Places that bring together architectural wizardry and painstaking refurbishment to breathe new life and use into everything from a lighthouse to a modern-day broch and erstwhile modes of transportation, including buses, train carriages and even a helicopter.

Roulotte Retreat, near Melrose, Scottish Borders

There is something wonderfully romantic about this circle of seven colourful roulottes (Romany-style caravans) located in a pretty wildflower meadow below the Eildon Hills.

Each roulotte faces onto a lochan at the centre of the site. Facilities include sunset decks, wood-burning stoves, eco saunas and hot tubs. Its a perfect getaway for nature lovers with owls, deer, foxes, and badgers among the regular visitors.

Prices start from 115 per night. Call 07990 744044 or visit roulotteretreat.com

Helicopter Glamping, Mains Farm Wigwams, Thornhill, Stirling

Stay in a Sea King helicopter complete with mini kitchen, bathroom and a cockpit seating area offering stunning views over the Forth Valley. The helicopter part of Mains Farm Wigwams sleeps two adults or a family of five (two adults and three children). Theres a double bed, a single bed in the tail and seating which converts into a second double bed. The owners are currently renovating a 1959 Scottish Aviation Twin Pioneer plane set to open for overnight stays next year.

Prices start from 170 per night. Call 01786 850735 or visit mainsfarmwigwams.com

Sleeperzzz, Rogart, Sutherland

Choose between a vintage railway carriage, a freight wagon or the Waiting Room B&B.

Located beside a functioning train station at Rogart (on the line between Inverness to Thurso and Wick), Sleeperzzz offers budget accommodation for backpackers, families, walkers, cyclists or those who simply fancy spending the night somewhere a bit different such as a 12-ton goods van from the 1950s.

A great base for exploring Dunrobin Castle and the North Coast 500.

Prices from 22pp per night. Call 01408 641343 or visit sleeperzzz.com

Craighead Howfs, Dunblane, Perthshire

Be transported to The Shire which could be Perthshire or JRR Tolkiens fictional Middle-earth in The Lord of the Rings, depending on how you look at it with these magical Hobbit Howfs.

The Burrow and Bagend are built into the hillside with grassy roofs and round doors for an unforgettable glamping experience. Craighead Howfs also offers the chance to stay in a treehouse with panoramic views over the Ochils and a secluded summer house.

Prices start from 105 per night. Call 01786 880321 or visit craigheadhowf.co.uk

The Bus Stop, Gifford, East Lothian

If you have ever wanted to enjoy a Summer Holiday in the vein of the 1963 film, look no further. This fleet of buses in a field belonging to an arable farm in East Lothian have been transformed into holiday accommodation with armchairs, sofas, lanterns, hot flasks, log stoves and beds.

Each bus has a private wood-fired hot tub and barbecue/fire pit. Choose from rustic or luxury the latter have en suite bathrooms and swish mod cons. Oh, and theres gorgeous views of the Lammermuir Hills.

Prices from 180 for a two-night stay. Call 07508 421888 or visit thebusstop.scot

Brockloch Eco Retreat, Kirkpatrick Durham, Castle Douglas

Featured on George Clarkes Amazing Spaces, Brockloch Eco Retreat is small but perfectly formed. Located on a working farm, theres two units: a contemporary, off-grid, micro-timber bothy facing into an open field and an incredible treehouse hideaway within a bluebell wood where the closest neighbours are red squirrels.

The treehouse has a built-in double bed with a skylight to gaze at the treetops and stars as you drift off to sleep. This part of the world is a great place to see red kites.

Prices from 300 for a two-night stay. Call 01556 650249 or visit brockloch.co.uk

Black Isle Yurts, Eathie Hill, Rosemarkie

Set in private woodland, all of the yurts within this eco-sensitive, wild-glamping site are based on designs used by nomadic people in Central Asia for thousands of years.

In keeping with the Scottish climate, the traditional felt outer shell has been replaced with a waterproof canvas and theres a wood-burning stove to stay cosy on cooler nights. The site is a short drive from Chanonry Point which is fantastic for dolphin spotting.

Prices from 180 for a two-night stay. Call 01381 620634 or visit blackisleyurts.co.uk

Rua Reidh Lighthouse, near Gairloch, Wester Ross

Built in 1912 by David Alan Stevenson, a cousin of the writer Robert Louis Stevenson and one of the famous Lighthouse Stevensons, this beautiful, remote location offers B&B and self-catering, the latter in the charmingly named First Officers Quarters.

Endless views, a glorious stretch of coastline, abundant bird and sea life, tranquillity, solitude and the thrill of potentially catching a glimpse of the Aurora Borealis on dark, starry nights awaits.

Prices start from 115 per night. Call 01445 771263 or visit stayatalighthouse.co.uk

Calgary, Mull

Not to be confused with the skyscraper-filled city in Alberta, this little corner of Mull is a delight.

A byre, hayloft and dovecote are among the self-catering properties available at Calgary, each with its own distinctive character. Calgary also has an excellent cafe, art gallery and a woodland sculpture walk.

Theres a beach within strolling distance where Robins Boat sells Isle of Mull ice cream. Sea eagles, otters and basking sharks can all be seen nearby.

Prices start from 400 for a seven-night stay. Call 01688 400256 or visit calgary.co.uk

The Scriptorium Apartments at St Benedicts Abbey, Fort Augustus

The Scriptorium the once secret writing room of the monastery has two one-bedroom apartments with vaulted ceilings, gothic archways and stained-glass windows. Theres plenty to do in the grounds and gardens, be it tennis, badminton, croquet or giant chess. The former Monks Refectory has been converted into a Club Lounge and a chapel refurbished to incorporate a heated pool, sauna and steam room.

Prices start from 500 for a two-night stay. Call 07748 867825 or visit parrandier.com

The Brochs of Coigach, near Achiltibuie, Ullapool

Brochs are an ancient dwelling found only in Scotland, dating back to 500BC. Gille Buidhes Broch and Scals Broch are a bit younger than that (around a decade old) and beautifully enchanting structures.

If you love upcycling, they will impress, built using stones from old, crumbling walls on nearby land and timber recovered from a dilapidated Victorian pier. Oil paintings by John Bellany hang on the walls, alongside display cabinets filled with weird and wonderful objects.

Prices from 140 per night. Call 01854 622368 or visit thebrochs.co.uk

The Four Sisters Boatel, Edinburgh

Tucked away in the heart of the Scottish capital, this houseboat is permanently moored at the Lochrin Basin on the Union Canal the eastern terminus for the 32-mile stretch of water that comes all the way from Falkirk. Sleeping up to six adults and two children, it is an ideal base to explore Edinburgh, with Bruntsfield and the West End, as well as the Old and New Towns, all just a stones throw away.

Prices start from 120 per night. Call 07445 494331 or visit thefoursisters.co.uk

The Sawmill at Glen Dye, Banchory, Aberdeenshire

Talk about enjoying the great outdoors in style. Stay in a sleek, refurbished 1950s Airstream Safari caravan in a small pine wood beside the fast flowing lade of a sawmill.

A rustic, wooden seed store with roots back to the 1800s serves as the kitchen, dining and sitting room. There are games, books, a record player and a memorable barbecue spot. Glen Dye also offers a river cabin, a bothy and two steading cottages, as well as running residential courses in crafts and wild food.

Prices start from 490 for a two-night stay. Call 01330 850689 or visit glendyecabinsandcottages.com

More here:

Lighthouse to hobbit hole: 13 unusual and quirky places to holiday in Scotland - Clydebank Post

Lighthouse to hobbit hole: 13 unusual and quirky places to holiday in Scotland – Border Telegraph

IF you are looking for a staycation that stokes the imagination, Scotland has no shortage of unusual and quirky gems.

With the nations tourism sector now reopened, weve put together a list of some of our favourite awe-inspiring holiday accommodation.

Places that bring together architectural wizardry and painstaking refurbishment to breathe new life and use into everything from a lighthouse to a modern-day broch and erstwhile modes of transportation, including buses, train carriages and even a helicopter.

Roulotte Retreat, near Melrose, Scottish Borders

There is something wonderfully romantic about this circle of seven colourful roulottes (Romany-style caravans) located in a pretty wildflower meadow below the Eildon Hills.

Each roulotte faces onto a lochan at the centre of the site. Facilities include sunset decks, wood-burning stoves, eco saunas and hot tubs. Its a perfect getaway for nature lovers with owls, deer, foxes, and badgers among the regular visitors.

Prices start from 115 per night. Call 07990 744044 or visit roulotteretreat.com

Helicopter Glamping, Mains Farm Wigwams, Thornhill, Stirling

Stay in a Sea King helicopter complete with mini kitchen, bathroom and a cockpit seating area offering stunning views over the Forth Valley. The helicopter part of Mains Farm Wigwams sleeps two adults or a family of five (two adults and three children). Theres a double bed, a single bed in the tail and seating which converts into a second double bed. The owners are currently renovating a 1959 Scottish Aviation Twin Pioneer plane set to open for overnight stays next year.

Prices start from 170 per night. Call 01786 850735 or visit mainsfarmwigwams.com

Sleeperzzz, Rogart, Sutherland

Choose between a vintage railway carriage, a freight wagon or the Waiting Room B&B.

Located beside a functioning train station at Rogart (on the line between Inverness to Thurso and Wick), Sleeperzzz offers budget accommodation for backpackers, families, walkers, cyclists or those who simply fancy spending the night somewhere a bit different such as a 12-ton goods van from the 1950s.

A great base for exploring Dunrobin Castle and the North Coast 500.

Prices from 22pp per night. Call 01408 641343 or visit sleeperzzz.com

Craighead Howfs, Dunblane, Perthshire

Be transported to The Shire which could be Perthshire or JRR Tolkiens fictional Middle-earth in The Lord of the Rings, depending on how you look at it with these magical Hobbit Howfs.

The Burrow and Bagend are built into the hillside with grassy roofs and round doors for an unforgettable glamping experience. Craighead Howfs also offers the chance to stay in a treehouse with panoramic views over the Ochils and a secluded summer house.

Prices start from 105 per night. Call 01786 880321 or visit craigheadhowf.co.uk

The Bus Stop, Gifford, East Lothian

If you have ever wanted to enjoy a Summer Holiday in the vein of the 1963 film, look no further. This fleet of buses in a field belonging to an arable farm in East Lothian have been transformed into holiday accommodation with armchairs, sofas, lanterns, hot flasks, log stoves and beds.

Each bus has a private wood-fired hot tub and barbecue/fire pit. Choose from rustic or luxury the latter have en suite bathrooms and swish mod cons. Oh, and theres gorgeous views of the Lammermuir Hills.

Prices from 180 for a two-night stay. Call 07508 421888 or visit thebusstop.scot

Brockloch Eco Retreat, Kirkpatrick Durham, Castle Douglas

Featured on George Clarkes Amazing Spaces, Brockloch Eco Retreat is small but perfectly formed. Located on a working farm, theres two units: a contemporary, off-grid, micro-timber bothy facing into an open field and an incredible treehouse hideaway within a bluebell wood where the closest neighbours are red squirrels.

The treehouse has a built-in double bed with a skylight to gaze at the treetops and stars as you drift off to sleep. This part of the world is a great place to see red kites.

Prices from 300 for a two-night stay. Call 01556 650249 or visit brockloch.co.uk

Black Isle Yurts, Eathie Hill, Rosemarkie

Set in private woodland, all of the yurts within this eco-sensitive, wild-glamping site are based on designs used by nomadic people in Central Asia for thousands of years.

In keeping with the Scottish climate, the traditional felt outer shell has been replaced with a waterproof canvas and theres a wood-burning stove to stay cosy on cooler nights. The site is a short drive from Chanonry Point which is fantastic for dolphin spotting.

Prices from 180 for a two-night stay. Call 01381 620634 or visit blackisleyurts.co.uk

Rua Reidh Lighthouse, near Gairloch, Wester Ross

Built in 1912 by David Alan Stevenson, a cousin of the writer Robert Louis Stevenson and one of the famous Lighthouse Stevensons, this beautiful, remote location offers B&B and self-catering, the latter in the charmingly named First Officers Quarters.

Endless views, a glorious stretch of coastline, abundant bird and sea life, tranquillity, solitude and the thrill of potentially catching a glimpse of the Aurora Borealis on dark, starry nights awaits.

Prices start from 115 per night. Call 01445 771263 or visit stayatalighthouse.co.uk

Calgary, Mull

Not to be confused with the skyscraper-filled city in Alberta, this little corner of Mull is a delight.

A byre, hayloft and dovecote are among the self-catering properties available at Calgary, each with its own distinctive character. Calgary also has an excellent cafe, art gallery and a woodland sculpture walk.

Theres a beach within strolling distance where Robins Boat sells Isle of Mull ice cream. Sea eagles, otters and basking sharks can all be seen nearby.

Prices start from 400 for a seven-night stay. Call 01688 400256 or visit calgary.co.uk

The Scriptorium Apartments at St Benedicts Abbey, Fort Augustus

The Scriptorium the once secret writing room of the monastery has two one-bedroom apartments with vaulted ceilings, gothic archways and stained-glass windows. Theres plenty to do in the grounds and gardens, be it tennis, badminton, croquet or giant chess. The former Monks Refectory has been converted into a Club Lounge and a chapel refurbished to incorporate a heated pool, sauna and steam room.

Prices start from 500 for a two-night stay. Call 07748 867825 or visit parrandier.com

The Brochs of Coigach, near Achiltibuie, Ullapool

Brochs are an ancient dwelling found only in Scotland, dating back to 500BC. Gille Buidhes Broch and Scals Broch are a bit younger than that (around a decade old) and beautifully enchanting structures.

If you love upcycling, they will impress, built using stones from old, crumbling walls on nearby land and timber recovered from a dilapidated Victorian pier. Oil paintings by John Bellany hang on the walls, alongside display cabinets filled with weird and wonderful objects.

Prices from 140 per night. Call 01854 622368 or visit thebrochs.co.uk

The Four Sisters Boatel, Edinburgh

Tucked away in the heart of the Scottish capital, this houseboat is permanently moored at the Lochrin Basin on the Union Canal the eastern terminus for the 32-mile stretch of water that comes all the way from Falkirk. Sleeping up to six adults and two children, it is an ideal base to explore Edinburgh, with Bruntsfield and the West End, as well as the Old and New Towns, all just a stones throw away.

Prices start from 120 per night. Call 07445 494331 or visit thefoursisters.co.uk

The Sawmill at Glen Dye, Banchory, Aberdeenshire

Talk about enjoying the great outdoors in style. Stay in a sleek, refurbished 1950s Airstream Safari caravan in a small pine wood beside the fast flowing lade of a sawmill.

A rustic, wooden seed store with roots back to the 1800s serves as the kitchen, dining and sitting room. There are games, books, a record player and a memorable barbecue spot. Glen Dye also offers a river cabin, a bothy and two steading cottages, as well as running residential courses in crafts and wild food.

Prices start from 490 for a two-night stay. Call 01330 850689 or visit glendyecabinsandcottages.com

Continued here:

Lighthouse to hobbit hole: 13 unusual and quirky places to holiday in Scotland - Border Telegraph

Lighthouse to hobbit hole: 13 unusual and quirky places to holiday in Scotland – Ardrossan and Saltcoats Herald

IF you are looking for a staycation that stokes the imagination, Scotland has no shortage of unusual and quirky gems.

With the nations tourism sector now reopened, weve put together a list of some of our favourite awe-inspiring holiday accommodation.

Places that bring together architectural wizardry and painstaking refurbishment to breathe new life and use into everything from a lighthouse to a modern-day broch and erstwhile modes of transportation, including buses, train carriages and even a helicopter.

Roulotte Retreat, near Melrose, Scottish Borders

There is something wonderfully romantic about this circle of seven colourful roulottes (Romany-style caravans) located in a pretty wildflower meadow below the Eildon Hills.

Each roulotte faces onto a lochan at the centre of the site. Facilities include sunset decks, wood-burning stoves, eco saunas and hot tubs. Its a perfect getaway for nature lovers with owls, deer, foxes, and badgers among the regular visitors.

Prices start from 115 per night. Call 07990 744044 or visit roulotteretreat.com

Helicopter Glamping, Mains Farm Wigwams, Thornhill, Stirling

Stay in a Sea King helicopter complete with mini kitchen, bathroom and a cockpit seating area offering stunning views over the Forth Valley. The helicopter part of Mains Farm Wigwams sleeps two adults or a family of five (two adults and three children). Theres a double bed, a single bed in the tail and seating which converts into a second double bed. The owners are currently renovating a 1959 Scottish Aviation Twin Pioneer plane set to open for overnight stays next year.

Prices start from 170 per night. Call 01786 850735 or visit mainsfarmwigwams.com

Sleeperzzz, Rogart, Sutherland

Choose between a vintage railway carriage, a freight wagon or the Waiting Room B&B.

Located beside a functioning train station at Rogart (on the line between Inverness to Thurso and Wick), Sleeperzzz offers budget accommodation for backpackers, families, walkers, cyclists or those who simply fancy spending the night somewhere a bit different such as a 12-ton goods van from the 1950s.

A great base for exploring Dunrobin Castle and the North Coast 500.

Prices from 22pp per night. Call 01408 641343 or visit sleeperzzz.com

Craighead Howfs, Dunblane, Perthshire

Be transported to The Shire which could be Perthshire or JRR Tolkiens fictional Middle-earth in The Lord of the Rings, depending on how you look at it with these magical Hobbit Howfs.

The Burrow and Bagend are built into the hillside with grassy roofs and round doors for an unforgettable glamping experience. Craighead Howfs also offers the chance to stay in a treehouse with panoramic views over the Ochils and a secluded summer house.

Prices start from 105 per night. Call 01786 880321 or visit craigheadhowf.co.uk

The Bus Stop, Gifford, East Lothian

If you have ever wanted to enjoy a Summer Holiday in the vein of the 1963 film, look no further. This fleet of buses in a field belonging to an arable farm in East Lothian have been transformed into holiday accommodation with armchairs, sofas, lanterns, hot flasks, log stoves and beds.

Each bus has a private wood-fired hot tub and barbecue/fire pit. Choose from rustic or luxury the latter have en suite bathrooms and swish mod cons. Oh, and theres gorgeous views of the Lammermuir Hills.

Prices from 180 for a two-night stay. Call 07508 421888 or visit thebusstop.scot

Brockloch Eco Retreat, Kirkpatrick Durham, Castle Douglas

Featured on George Clarkes Amazing Spaces, Brockloch Eco Retreat is small but perfectly formed. Located on a working farm, theres two units: a contemporary, off-grid, micro-timber bothy facing into an open field and an incredible treehouse hideaway within a bluebell wood where the closest neighbours are red squirrels.

The treehouse has a built-in double bed with a skylight to gaze at the treetops and stars as you drift off to sleep. This part of the world is a great place to see red kites.

Prices from 300 for a two-night stay. Call 01556 650249 or visit brockloch.co.uk

Black Isle Yurts, Eathie Hill, Rosemarkie

Set in private woodland, all of the yurts within this eco-sensitive, wild-glamping site are based on designs used by nomadic people in Central Asia for thousands of years.

In keeping with the Scottish climate, the traditional felt outer shell has been replaced with a waterproof canvas and theres a wood-burning stove to stay cosy on cooler nights. The site is a short drive from Chanonry Point which is fantastic for dolphin spotting.

Prices from 180 for a two-night stay. Call 01381 620634 or visit blackisleyurts.co.uk

Rua Reidh Lighthouse, near Gairloch, Wester Ross

Built in 1912 by David Alan Stevenson, a cousin of the writer Robert Louis Stevenson and one of the famous Lighthouse Stevensons, this beautiful, remote location offers B&B and self-catering, the latter in the charmingly named First Officers Quarters.

Endless views, a glorious stretch of coastline, abundant bird and sea life, tranquillity, solitude and the thrill of potentially catching a glimpse of the Aurora Borealis on dark, starry nights awaits.

Prices start from 115 per night. Call 01445 771263 or visit stayatalighthouse.co.uk

Calgary, Mull

Not to be confused with the skyscraper-filled city in Alberta, this little corner of Mull is a delight.

A byre, hayloft and dovecote are among the self-catering properties available at Calgary, each with its own distinctive character. Calgary also has an excellent cafe, art gallery and a woodland sculpture walk.

Theres a beach within strolling distance where Robins Boat sells Isle of Mull ice cream. Sea eagles, otters and basking sharks can all be seen nearby.

Prices start from 400 for a seven-night stay. Call 01688 400256 or visit calgary.co.uk

The Scriptorium Apartments at St Benedicts Abbey, Fort Augustus

The Scriptorium the once secret writing room of the monastery has two one-bedroom apartments with vaulted ceilings, gothic archways and stained-glass windows. Theres plenty to do in the grounds and gardens, be it tennis, badminton, croquet or giant chess. The former Monks Refectory has been converted into a Club Lounge and a chapel refurbished to incorporate a heated pool, sauna and steam room.

Prices start from 500 for a two-night stay. Call 07748 867825 or visit parrandier.com

The Brochs of Coigach, near Achiltibuie, Ullapool

Brochs are an ancient dwelling found only in Scotland, dating back to 500BC. Gille Buidhes Broch and Scals Broch are a bit younger than that (around a decade old) and beautifully enchanting structures.

If you love upcycling, they will impress, built using stones from old, crumbling walls on nearby land and timber recovered from a dilapidated Victorian pier. Oil paintings by John Bellany hang on the walls, alongside display cabinets filled with weird and wonderful objects.

Prices from 140 per night. Call 01854 622368 or visit thebrochs.co.uk

The Four Sisters Boatel, Edinburgh

Tucked away in the heart of the Scottish capital, this houseboat is permanently moored at the Lochrin Basin on the Union Canal the eastern terminus for the 32-mile stretch of water that comes all the way from Falkirk. Sleeping up to six adults and two children, it is an ideal base to explore Edinburgh, with Bruntsfield and the West End, as well as the Old and New Towns, all just a stones throw away.

Prices start from 120 per night. Call 07445 494331 or visit thefoursisters.co.uk

The Sawmill at Glen Dye, Banchory, Aberdeenshire

Talk about enjoying the great outdoors in style. Stay in a sleek, refurbished 1950s Airstream Safari caravan in a small pine wood beside the fast flowing lade of a sawmill.

A rustic, wooden seed store with roots back to the 1800s serves as the kitchen, dining and sitting room. There are games, books, a record player and a memorable barbecue spot. Glen Dye also offers a river cabin, a bothy and two steading cottages, as well as running residential courses in crafts and wild food.

Prices start from 490 for a two-night stay. Call 01330 850689 or visit glendyecabinsandcottages.com

See the article here:

Lighthouse to hobbit hole: 13 unusual and quirky places to holiday in Scotland - Ardrossan and Saltcoats Herald

Lighthouse to hobbit hole: 13 unusual and quirky places to holiday in Scotland – TheGazette.co.uk

IF you are looking for a staycation that stokes the imagination, Scotland has no shortage of unusual and quirky gems.

With the nations tourism sector now reopened, weve put together a list of some of our favourite awe-inspiring holiday accommodation.

Places that bring together architectural wizardry and painstaking refurbishment to breathe new life and use into everything from a lighthouse to a modern-day broch and erstwhile modes of transportation, including buses, train carriages and even a helicopter.

Roulotte Retreat, near Melrose, Scottish Borders

There is something wonderfully romantic about this circle of seven colourful roulottes (Romany-style caravans) located in a pretty wildflower meadow below the Eildon Hills.

Each roulotte faces onto a lochan at the centre of the site. Facilities include sunset decks, wood-burning stoves, eco saunas and hot tubs. Its a perfect getaway for nature lovers with owls, deer, foxes, and badgers among the regular visitors.

Prices start from 115 per night. Call 07990 744044 or visit roulotteretreat.com

Helicopter Glamping, Mains Farm Wigwams, Thornhill, Stirling

Stay in a Sea King helicopter complete with mini kitchen, bathroom and a cockpit seating area offering stunning views over the Forth Valley. The helicopter part of Mains Farm Wigwams sleeps two adults or a family of five (two adults and three children). Theres a double bed, a single bed in the tail and seating which converts into a second double bed. The owners are currently renovating a 1959 Scottish Aviation Twin Pioneer plane set to open for overnight stays next year.

Prices start from 170 per night. Call 01786 850735 or visit mainsfarmwigwams.com

Sleeperzzz, Rogart, Sutherland

Choose between a vintage railway carriage, a freight wagon or the Waiting Room B&B.

Located beside a functioning train station at Rogart (on the line between Inverness to Thurso and Wick), Sleeperzzz offers budget accommodation for backpackers, families, walkers, cyclists or those who simply fancy spending the night somewhere a bit different such as a 12-ton goods van from the 1950s.

A great base for exploring Dunrobin Castle and the North Coast 500.

Prices from 22pp per night. Call 01408 641343 or visit sleeperzzz.com

Craighead Howfs, Dunblane, Perthshire

Be transported to The Shire which could be Perthshire or JRR Tolkiens fictional Middle-earth in The Lord of the Rings, depending on how you look at it with these magical Hobbit Howfs.

The Burrow and Bagend are built into the hillside with grassy roofs and round doors for an unforgettable glamping experience. Craighead Howfs also offers the chance to stay in a treehouse with panoramic views over the Ochils and a secluded summer house.

Prices start from 105 per night. Call 01786 880321 or visit craigheadhowf.co.uk

The Bus Stop, Gifford, East Lothian

If you have ever wanted to enjoy a Summer Holiday in the vein of the 1963 film, look no further. This fleet of buses in a field belonging to an arable farm in East Lothian have been transformed into holiday accommodation with armchairs, sofas, lanterns, hot flasks, log stoves and beds.

Each bus has a private wood-fired hot tub and barbecue/fire pit. Choose from rustic or luxury the latter have en suite bathrooms and swish mod cons. Oh, and theres gorgeous views of the Lammermuir Hills.

Prices from 180 for a two-night stay. Call 07508 421888 or visit thebusstop.scot

Brockloch Eco Retreat, Kirkpatrick Durham, Castle Douglas

Featured on George Clarkes Amazing Spaces, Brockloch Eco Retreat is small but perfectly formed. Located on a working farm, theres two units: a contemporary, off-grid, micro-timber bothy facing into an open field and an incredible treehouse hideaway within a bluebell wood where the closest neighbours are red squirrels.

The treehouse has a built-in double bed with a skylight to gaze at the treetops and stars as you drift off to sleep. This part of the world is a great place to see red kites.

Prices from 300 for a two-night stay. Call 01556 650249 or visit brockloch.co.uk

Black Isle Yurts, Eathie Hill, Rosemarkie

Set in private woodland, all of the yurts within this eco-sensitive, wild-glamping site are based on designs used by nomadic people in Central Asia for thousands of years.

In keeping with the Scottish climate, the traditional felt outer shell has been replaced with a waterproof canvas and theres a wood-burning stove to stay cosy on cooler nights. The site is a short drive from Chanonry Point which is fantastic for dolphin spotting.

Prices from 180 for a two-night stay. Call 01381 620634 or visit blackisleyurts.co.uk

Rua Reidh Lighthouse, near Gairloch, Wester Ross

Built in 1912 by David Alan Stevenson, a cousin of the writer Robert Louis Stevenson and one of the famous Lighthouse Stevensons, this beautiful, remote location offers B&B and self-catering, the latter in the charmingly named First Officers Quarters.

Endless views, a glorious stretch of coastline, abundant bird and sea life, tranquillity, solitude and the thrill of potentially catching a glimpse of the Aurora Borealis on dark, starry nights awaits.

Prices start from 115 per night. Call 01445 771263 or visit stayatalighthouse.co.uk

Calgary, Mull

Not to be confused with the skyscraper-filled city in Alberta, this little corner of Mull is a delight.

A byre, hayloft and dovecote are among the self-catering properties available at Calgary, each with its own distinctive character. Calgary also has an excellent cafe, art gallery and a woodland sculpture walk.

Theres a beach within strolling distance where Robins Boat sells Isle of Mull ice cream. Sea eagles, otters and basking sharks can all be seen nearby.

Prices start from 400 for a seven-night stay. Call 01688 400256 or visit calgary.co.uk

The Scriptorium Apartments at St Benedicts Abbey, Fort Augustus

The Scriptorium the once secret writing room of the monastery has two one-bedroom apartments with vaulted ceilings, gothic archways and stained-glass windows. Theres plenty to do in the grounds and gardens, be it tennis, badminton, croquet or giant chess. The former Monks Refectory has been converted into a Club Lounge and a chapel refurbished to incorporate a heated pool, sauna and steam room.

Prices start from 500 for a two-night stay. Call 07748 867825 or visit parrandier.com

The Brochs of Coigach, near Achiltibuie, Ullapool

Brochs are an ancient dwelling found only in Scotland, dating back to 500BC. Gille Buidhes Broch and Scals Broch are a bit younger than that (around a decade old) and beautifully enchanting structures.

If you love upcycling, they will impress, built using stones from old, crumbling walls on nearby land and timber recovered from a dilapidated Victorian pier. Oil paintings by John Bellany hang on the walls, alongside display cabinets filled with weird and wonderful objects.

Prices from 140 per night. Call 01854 622368 or visit thebrochs.co.uk

The Four Sisters Boatel, Edinburgh

Tucked away in the heart of the Scottish capital, this houseboat is permanently moored at the Lochrin Basin on the Union Canal the eastern terminus for the 32-mile stretch of water that comes all the way from Falkirk. Sleeping up to six adults and two children, it is an ideal base to explore Edinburgh, with Bruntsfield and the West End, as well as the Old and New Towns, all just a stones throw away.

Prices start from 120 per night. Call 07445 494331 or visit thefoursisters.co.uk

The Sawmill at Glen Dye, Banchory, Aberdeenshire

Talk about enjoying the great outdoors in style. Stay in a sleek, refurbished 1950s Airstream Safari caravan in a small pine wood beside the fast flowing lade of a sawmill.

A rustic, wooden seed store with roots back to the 1800s serves as the kitchen, dining and sitting room. There are games, books, a record player and a memorable barbecue spot. Glen Dye also offers a river cabin, a bothy and two steading cottages, as well as running residential courses in crafts and wild food.

Prices start from 490 for a two-night stay. Call 01330 850689 or visit glendyecabinsandcottages.com

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Lighthouse to hobbit hole: 13 unusual and quirky places to holiday in Scotland - TheGazette.co.uk

Staycation nation: 13 unusual and quirky places to holiday in Scotland – HeraldScotland

IF you are looking for a staycation that stokes the imagination, Scotland has no shortage of unusual and quirky gems.

With the nations tourism sector now reopened, weve put together a list of some of our favourite awe-inspiring holiday accommodation.

Places that bring together architectural wizardry and painstaking refurbishment to breathe new life and use into everything from a lighthouse to a modern-day broch and erstwhile modes of transportation, including buses, train carriages and even a helicopter.

Roulotte Retreat, near Melrose, Scottish Borders

There is something wonderfully romantic about this circle of seven colourful roulottes (Romany-style caravans) located in a pretty wildflower meadow below the Eildon Hills. Each roulotte faces onto a lochan at the centre of the site. Facilities include sunset decks, wood-burning stoves, eco saunas and hot tubs. Its a perfect getaway for nature lovers with owls, deer, foxes, and badgers among the regular visitors.

Prices start from 115 per night. Call 07990 744044 or visit roulotteretreat.com

Helicopter Glamping, Mains Farm Wigwams, Thornhill, Stirling

Stay in a Sea King helicopter complete with mini kitchen, bathroom and a cockpit seating area offering stunning views over the Forth Valley. The helicopter part of Mains Farm Wigwams sleeps two adults or a family of five (two adults and three children). Theres a double bed, a single bed in the tail and seating which converts into a second double bed. The owners are currently renovating a 1959 Scottish Aviation Twin Pioneer plane set to open for overnight stays next year.

Prices start from 170 per night. Call 01786 850735 or visit mainsfarmwigwams.com

READ MORE:Scotland reopens: Our favourite views, picnic spots, drives, walks, hills, lochs and beaches

Sleeperzzz, Rogart, Sutherland

Choose between a vintage railway carriage, a freight wagon or the Waiting Room B&B. Located beside a functioning train station at Rogart (on the line between Inverness to Thurso and Wick), Sleeperzzz offers budget accommodation for backpackers, families, walkers, cyclists or those who simply fancy spending the night somewhere a bit different such as a 12-ton goods van from the 1950s. A great base for exploring Dunrobin Castle and the North Coast 500.

Prices from 22pp per night. Call 01408 641343 or visit sleeperzzz.com

Craighead Howfs, Dunblane, Perthshire

Be transported to The Shire which could be Perthshire or JRR Tolkiens fictional Middle-earth in The Lord of the Rings, depending on how you look at it with these magical Hobbit Howfs. The Burrow and Bagend are built into the hillside with grassy roofs and round doors for an unforgettable glamping experience. Craighead Howfs also offers the chance to stay in a treehouse with panoramic views over the Ochils and a secluded summer house.

Prices start from 105 per night. Call 01786 880321 or visit craigheadhowf.co.uk

The Bus Stop, Gifford, East Lothian

If you have ever wanted to enjoy a Summer Holiday in the vein of the 1963 film, look no further. This fleet of buses in a field belonging to an arable farm in East Lothian have been transformed into holiday accommodation with armchairs, sofas, lanterns, hot flasks, log stoves and beds. Each bus has a private wood-fired hot tub and barbecue/fire pit. Choose from rustic or luxury the latter have en suite bathrooms and swish mod cons. Oh, and theres gorgeous views of the Lammermuir Hills.

Prices from 180 for a two-night stay. Call 07508 421888 or visit thebusstop.scot

READ MORE:Secrets of a crumbling castle and the heroines who defended it

Brockloch Eco Retreat, Kirkpatrick Durham, Castle Douglas

Featured on George Clarkes Amazing Spaces, Brockloch Eco Retreat is small but perfectly formed. Located on a working farm, theres two units: a contemporary, off-grid, micro-timber bothy facing into an open field and an incredible treehouse hideaway within a bluebell wood where the closest neighbours are red squirrels. The treehouse has a built-in double bed with a skylight to gaze at the treetops and stars as you drift off to sleep. This part of the world is a great place to see red kites.

Prices from 300 for a two-night stay. Call 01556 650249 or visit brockloch.co.uk

Black Isle Yurts, Eathie Hill, Rosemarkie

Set in private woodland, all of the yurts within this eco-sensitive, wild-glamping site are based on designs used by nomadic people in Central Asia for thousands of years. In keeping with the Scottish climate, the traditional felt outer shell has been replaced with a waterproof canvas and theres a wood-burning stove to stay cosy on cooler nights. The site is a short drive from Chanonry Point which is fantastic for dolphin spotting.

Prices from 180 for a two-night stay. Call 01381 620634 or visit blackisleyurts.co.uk

Rua Reidh Lighthouse, near Gairloch, Wester Ross

Built in 1912 by David Alan Stevenson, a cousin of the writer Robert Louis Stevenson and one of the famous Lighthouse Stevensons, this beautiful, remote location offers B&B and self-catering, the latter in the charmingly named First Officers Quarters. Endless views, a glorious stretch of coastline, abundant bird and sea life, tranquillity, solitude and the thrill of potentially catching a glimpse of the Aurora Borealis on dark, starry nights awaits.

Prices start from 115 per night. Call 01445 771263 or visit stayatalighthouse.co.uk

READ MORE:Summer Reads 2020: The 30 best beach and holiday books

Calgary, Mull

Not to be confused with the skyscraper-filled city in Alberta, this little corner of Mull is a delight. A byre, hayloft and dovecote are among the self-catering properties available at Calgary, each with its own distinctive character. Calgary also has an excellent cafe, art gallery and a woodland sculpture walk. Theres a beach within strolling distance where Robins Boat sells Isle of Mull ice cream. Sea eagles, otters and basking sharks can all be seen nearby.

Prices start from 400 for a seven-night stay. Call 01688 400256 or visit calgary.co.uk

The Scriptorium Apartments at St Benedicts Abbey, Fort Augustus

The Scriptorium the once secret writing room of the monastery has two one-bedroom apartments with vaulted ceilings, gothic archways and stained-glass windows. Theres plenty to do in the grounds and gardens, be it tennis, badminton, croquet or giant chess. The former Monks Refectory has been converted into a Club Lounge and a chapel refurbished to incorporate a heated pool, sauna and steam room.

Prices start from 500 for a two-night stay. Call 07748 867825 or visit parrandier.com

The Brochs of Coigach, near Achiltibuie, Ullapool

Brochs are an ancient dwelling found only in Scotland, dating back to 500BC. Gille Buidhes Broch and Scals Broch are a bit younger than that (around a decade old) and beautifully enchanting structures. If you love upcycling, they will impress, built using stones from old, crumbling walls on nearby land and timber recovered from a dilapidated Victorian pier. Oil paintings by John Bellany hang on the walls, alongside display cabinets filled with weird and wonderful objects.

Prices from 140 per night. Call 01854 622368 or visit thebrochs.co.uk

READ MORE:The remarkable secrets of Edinburgh landmark Arthur's Seat

The Four Sisters Boatel, Edinburgh

Tucked away in the heart of the Scottish capital, this houseboat is permanently moored at the Lochrin Basin on the Union Canal the eastern terminus for the 32-mile stretch of water that comes all the way from Falkirk. Sleeping up to six adults and two children, it is an ideal base to explore Edinburgh, with Bruntsfield and the West End, as well as the Old and New Towns, all just a stones throw away.

Prices start from 120 per night. Call 07445 494331 or visit thefoursisters.co.uk

The Sawmill at Glen Dye, Banchory, Aberdeenshire

Talk about enjoying the great outdoors in style. Stay in a sleek, refurbished 1950s Airstream Safari caravan in a small pine wood beside the fast flowing lade of a sawmill. A rustic, wooden seed store with roots back to the 1800s serves as the kitchen, dining and sitting room. There are games, books, a record player and a memorable barbecue spot. Glen Dye also offers a river cabin, a bothy and two steading cottages, as well as running residential courses in crafts and wild food.

Prices start from 490 for a two-night stay. Call 01330 850689 or visit glendyecabinsandcottages.com

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Staycation nation: 13 unusual and quirky places to holiday in Scotland - HeraldScotland

Floating Cities: The UN’s Solution to Land Scarcity or Science Fiction Dream? – Propmodo

Imagine a fully-functional city, bobbing in the ocean waters, floating like a rubber duck in the tub. The city and all of its occupants gradually follow natures ebb and flow, coasting along the earths currents. Does this sound like science fiction? Thats because it is. But the plans for floating city developments, along with the technology enabling them to work, already exist. In fact, two seasteading proponents successfully lived on the first ever floating modular seastead prototype, created by Ocean Builders. The couple, made up of retired Bitcoin investor Chad Elwartowski and Thai native Nadia Summergirl, are touted as the first seasteaders, according to the Seasteading Institute, whose goal is to build politically-autonomous cities on the sea. But the first seasteaders stay was cut short when the Thai navy confiscated the prototype after just a few weeks because they claimed it threatened the nations sovereignty and interfered with international shipping routesa large feat for such a tiny vessel and a crime that can be punishable by death in Thailand.

Ocean Builders has since begun a new venture in Panama to test their Seapod concept. They are currently accepting applications for seasteaders that want to join their Panama Incubator, that boasts one of the worlds largest 3D printers, which they intend to use for printing smart homes as well as a coral reef. Not so long ago, the idea of printing a coral reef would have also been written off as science fiction, so perhaps there is a possible future where floating cities exist. Elwartowski, who is in Panama working on the project, released a video in March describing plans to continue full-steam ahead. In regards to the COVID-19 outbreak, Elwartowski said, Weve been working hard, trying to get everything still going. We are not going to stop through the virus. Later in the video, which tests an underwater drone, he continued, No matter if youre scared of the virus or the reaction to the virus, living out on the ocean will be helpful for both of those situations.

Elwartowski doesnt go into detail on how he envisions floating cities being useful for situations like COVID-19. But I spoke with Brydon T. Wang, a technology and construction lawyer and a researcher at the Queensland University of Technology. Wang, who studied architecture and public policy in addition to law, explained that floating cities could provide flexibility in terms of use, allowing buildings to be mobile and reprogrammable to different parts of the city and beyond. In terms of COVID-19, he said, floating emergency housing facilities could be repurposed and attached to cities and used for quarantine facilities. Converting buildings into temporary hospitals during the pandemic has been a huge challenge for everyone involved, requiring people to work around the clock to get these treatment centers open for use. Floating cities could help alleviate this stress. Wang said, These floating structures could come with state-of-the-art medical facilities that can be towed to areas [or] cities of need, depending on how each site is impacted by new waves of COVID-19 infections (or any other pandemic).

Wang also gave the example of how the widespread bushfires in Australia caused a need for emergency evacuation, stranding thousands of people on a beach in Mallacoota. When navy vessels were sent to evacuate them, families with infants and toddlers could not evacuate as they needed to climb ropes to get onto the vessels, Wang explained. In emergency situations, accessibility can be the difference between life or death for societys most vulnerable members who lack the mobility to escape without assistance. Floating emergency structures can be designed to have easier accessibility, closer to the waters surface, as well as on site emergency housing and all of the facilities needed to sustain displaced communities for extended periods of timeperhaps even full time.

Last year, as a part of its Human Settlements Programme, UN-Habitat, the United Nations announced an initiative to research floating city developments as a sustainable solution to the growing problem of urban density, land scarcity, and climate change. During a high-level roundtable on the topic, UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed explained that the way weve built cities in the past, citing New York and Nairobi as examples, is not sustainable for the future because of their impact on climate change and susceptibility to rising sea levels. She explained how floating cities can help communities in places like Bangkok, where the risk of flooding threatens to destroy them. Mohammed cited other examples including Lagos, where the urban poor have responded to the lack of land and a growing population by living in floating villages on the outskirts of town. She also mentioned Singapore, where scarcity of land has led to massive reclamation, expanding the citys size by almost a quarter (and undoubtedly destroying marine habitats in the process).

Land reclamation can have detrimental environmental impacts, and according to Wang, its also a slow processthe ground needs to settle after you create it. However, you could manufacture multiple modules of floating structures at different sites and assemble these on-location comparatively quicker than land reclamation. Floating developments are far more eco-friendly than land reclamation, but they are also more resilient to the effects of climate change. Floating cities are a means of ensuring climate resilience, as buildings can rise along with the sea, Mohammed said. Land reclamation developments, on the other hand, are still susceptible to rising sea levels and flooding. Wang reiterated these sentiments and added, Floating structures are also earthquake resistant unlike reclaimed land.

Mohammed provided examples where successful floating development precedents exist: Cities such as Seattle, Jakarta and Mexico City have made way for houseboats and floating markets for some time, expanding the places where people can live and work onto the sea. A few summers ago, I visited Victoria, British Columbia, which boasts one of these floating markets called Fishermans Wharf. Shops, restaurants, boats, and colorful float homes are all connected by a grid of docks along the harbor. I remember thinking that the unique location probably garnered a premium for float home rentalswhat tourist wouldnt want to wake up to a harbor seal splashing outside their window? It turns out that these particular float homes were not for rent, but the added tourism benefit could help cities broaden their economic activity.

Existing floating developments, like those in Victoria, often run on the same power sources as the mainland and require the same access to utilities as land developments. However, the newer, more futuristic floating city models run autonomously on green energy with net zero emissions and actually support marine environments rather than disturb them. When entire floating communities are designed from scratch, they can be designed as climateneutral from the onset. Why not use the abundant wind and water to cover all of their electricity needs? said Mohammed.

Elwartowskis confiscated prototype ran on solar provided by rooftop panels. Many of these floating city concepts include things like hydroponic grow walls to farm food and ways to convert algae into energy or rain into usable water. More advanced concepts like Oceanix, designed by BIG architecture firm, or Aequorea, a futuristic oceanscraper by Vincent Callebaut, also boast fully developed underwater marine habitats that thrive just below the waters surfacea Utopian Atlantis that looks as though it could house mermaids as well as people. Some of these concepts can feel a bit foreign or hard to imagine in real life. They end up lumped in with flying cars and actual hoverboards (not those wheel-based imitations that caught fire and ruined Christmas a few years back). But what if, instead of dumping money into land reclamation and the creation of artificial islands, we focused on actual, sustainable floating city concepts?

Elwartowski may have been onto something when he said that COVID-19 could act as a catalyst in helping people realize the value of living on the sea. Indeed, densely-populated places like New York City have seen a recent exodus of people moving to the suburbs. Whether the result of the work from home movement, a desire to avoid crowds, or because so many businesses (and livelihoods) were shut down, the flocks of people leaving the city for more rural areas means that urban density could be less of an issue in the future. But Wang sees this shift in urban density happening only to a certain degree: In many places, there are limits to how much the suburban surrounds can absorb increased population growth.

COVID-19 also seemed to be a catalyst in lessening the impacts of climate change. Many cities reported reduced smog and clearer skies as people across the world were forced to stay home, meaning less cars on the road and less energy consumption. While these COVID-19 side effects may only be temporary, they also teach us important lessons about the futures possibilities. We have a legitimate conundrum: continue excavating land from the sea to bulk up our coasts, protect us from rising sea levels, and provide more land to build upon, or explore different directions.

While seasteaders like Elwartowski might be after autonomy to self govern, the concept could also be used to create more of these live-work-play floating markets like Fishermans Wharf in Victoria, but on a grander scale. Floating cities dont necessarily need to drift through international waters. They could instead be used as a portable extension of land. Mohammed welcomes both humble houseboats and oceanscrapers alike in the discussion about sustainable floating cities. She also approaches it in a practical way, much like any other commercial development with partnerships that allow stakeholders in various roles to contribute expertise.

Innovators, researchers and private sector leaders can develop the technologies that allow floating cities and buildings to be constructed in a manner that is sustainable, resilient, and liveable. Governments can create [] incentives for innovation to thrive. And local authorities can facilitate the construction of pilot projects, Mohammed said. Much like the planning of any city, floating cities will rely on technology to establish an infrastructure that supports the needs of the population. Floating cities dont need to be libertarian utopias of the future. They can be more sustainable extensions of the cities that already exista green alternative to destructive land reclamation or deforestation, a solution to land scarcity that doesnt require actual land.

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Floating Cities: The UN's Solution to Land Scarcity or Science Fiction Dream? - Propmodo

Seasteading a vanity project for the rich or the future of humanity? – The Guardian

A white steel pole rises out of the sea off the Caribbean coast of Panama, poking above the waves like the funnel of a sunken steamship. Launched into the water last month, this is no shipwreck, but the base of what will soon become a floating home and, in the eyes of its makers, the first step towards building a brave new post-Covid-19 society, out on the open ocean.

Coronavirus is an opportunity to show the world that what were building is actually going to be very useful in the future, says Chad Elwartowski, in a recent video post from his beachside base in Panama. The Michigan-born software engineer turned bitcoin trader is a leading figure in the seasteading movement, a libertarian group dedicated to building independent floating cities on the high seas. Along with the bunker builders and survivalist preppers, their long-held ambitions have been bolstered by the current global pandemic. No matter if youre scared of the virus or the reaction to the virus, he adds, living out on the ocean will be helpful for these situations.

It is not the first time Elwartowski has attempted to realise his dream of a floating future. In April last year, he and his Thai partner Supranee Thepdet (aka Nadia Summergirl), were forced to flee their first floating home off the coast of Thailand, just moments before it was raided by the Thai navy. They had constructed what they declared to be the first seastead 12 nautical miles from Phuket, but the authorities decided that the six metre-wide fibreglass cabin, perched on top of a floating pole, posed a threat to Thailands sovereignty. It was an offence punishable by life imprisonment or even the death penalty. The couple announced on social media declaring their autonomy beyond the jurisdiction of any courts or law of any countries, including Thailand, said Rear Admiral Vithanarat Kochaseni, adding that they had invited others to join them. We see such action as deteriorating Thailands independence.

After a few weeks on the run, dodging Thai patrol boats and eventually making their way to Singapore, the couple moved to Panama to relaunch their company, Ocean Builders with the financial backer of the project, Rdiger Koch, a retired German aerospace engineer. This event has doubled down our efforts, the group said in a statement, following the Thai ordeal. We can all clearly see that seasteading needs to happen now as tyranny creeps ever more deeply into our governments to the point that they are willing to hunt down a couple of residents residing in a floating house in middle of nowhere.

The coronavirus pandemic has given fringe libertarian groups around the world renewed vigour to pursue their dreams of building autonomous new societies. Government-enforced lockdowns and increased digital surveillance have added fuel to their suspicions of state control, while the suspension of day-to-day norms and the spectre of an economic meltdown have amplified their calls to rethink society. When youre not sure which virus is more contagious, says the slogan of a recent meme made by Americans for Liberty, shared on Elwartowskis Facebook page. Covid-19, or those fine with complete government control.

The sentiment lies at the core of the seasteading community, a disparate group that has grown since 2008, when the Seasteading Institute was founded in San Francisco by Patri Friedman. The self-styled anarcho-capitalist (and grandson of Nobel prize-winning economist Milton Friedman) was working as a Google software engineer when he managed to attract funding from PayPal billionaire Peter Thiel to set up the institute. In a founding statement, they described its goal as being to establish permanent, autonomous ocean communities to enable experimentation and innovation with diverse social, political, and legal systems. Thiel was nothing if not confident: The nature of government is about to change at a very fundamental level, he proclaimed.

A new kind of government arises, born in Earths last free places, fated to advance the human frontier

Seasteading represents the ultimate Silicon Valley approach to governance, conceiving society as a technology that can be hacked and innovated upon as simply as an operating system. It is predicated on the idea that government regulation stifles innovation, and therefore the route to a better world can only be found by unleashing a new generation of start-up societies that are forced to compete for citizens in a free market of ideologies. Dont like the rules of your current micro-nation? Simply move to another one. We will give people the freedom to choose the government they want, said Friedman, instead of being stuck with the government they get. Its boosters see it as the route to salvation; its critics say it would lead to an apartheid of the worst kind.

Progress has been bumpy. Thiels donations soon dried up, and Friedmans plans never got much further than launching Ephemerisle a waterborne version of the Burning Man festival, staged in the Sacramento River delta near San Francisco, where rival floating pontoons compete for the attention of soggy partygoers. He has since moved his focus away from the water, recently launching a company to develop experimental cities on dry land instead. But the Seasteading Institute continues without him, headed by author and self-appointed seavangelist, Joe Quirk.

Nearly half of the worlds surface is unclaimed, says Quirk, who published a book on seasteading in 2017, with the ambitious subtitle: How floating nations will restore the environment, enrich the poor, cure the sick, and liberate humanity from politicians. In an introductory video, he describes the planets oceans as a sort of research and development zone where we could discover better means of governance, and says that seasteading could provide the technology for thousands of people to start their own nano-nation on the high seas, giving people opportunities to peacefully test new ideas about living together. The most successful seasteads, he says, will become thriving new societies, inspiring change around the world.

So far, his own attempts dont bode particularly well for the future of floating utopias. In January 2017, after years of technical feasibility studies and political negotiations, the Seasteading Institute signed a memorandum of understanding with the government of French Polynesia to build the first seasteads in its territorial waters. The designs, developed by Dutch architects Blue21, looked like a high-end resort in the Maldives, depicting a series of villas linked by an undulating green landscape. It was all to be magicked from the waters by an initial coin offering, a form of crowdfunding through selling tokens of a new cryptocurrency, all the rage among the tech community in 2017. Were going to draw a new map of the world with French Polynesia at the centre of the aquatic age, Quirk declared.

The choice of location was strategic. Comprised of almost 120 dispersed low-lying islands and atolls, French Polynesia is at severe risk of suffering devastating consequences from even the slightest rise in sea level. It also happens to boast the worlds largest exclusive economic zone, an area of sea that can stretch for 200 nautical miles from a territorys coastline, over which it can claim exclusive economic rights. At five million square kilometres, French Polynesian waters span an area as large as the landmass of the entire European Union, making it an ideal place to experiment with novel forms of aquatic jurisdiction. In theory.

We explained to the Polynesians how having a quasi-autonomous area nearby was a good thing, says Tom W Bell, professor of law at Chapman University in Orange County, California, who drew up the legal agreement for the project. Look at Monaco, or Hong Kong or Singapore special jurisdictions create a lot of growth outside their borders. In his book, Your Next Government? From the Nation State to Stateless Nations, Bell traces the projected evolution of a seastead. It would begin like a coral polyp, he writes, protected by a countrys territorial waters, where it would start to generate economic activity, enriching its environment and attracting still more life, before breaking free to start a new autonomous life on the open ocean. Ultimately, he imagines seasteads nurtured by different host nations congregating in mid-ocean gyres, sheltered within floating breakwaters. A new kind of government arises, he writes, born in Earths last free places, fated to advance the human frontier.

The reality didnt quite pan out that way in the South Pacific. There wasnt a perfect alignment of interests, says Marc Collins Chen, former minister of tourism of French Polynesia, who co-founded the company Blue Frontiers with Quirk to realise the project. The government was looking for something to address sea level rise and environmental degradation, whereas the Seasteading Institute was more about autonomy. He says that the prospect of a tax-free enclave held little appeal for the locals, given that Polynesians dont pay income tax anyway. One Tahitian TV host compared the situation to the evil Galactic Empire in Star Wars imposing on the innocent Ewoks, while secretly building the Death Star. The libertarian position didnt help either. As Collins Chen puts it: Its very difficult to ask for government support when your narrative is that you want to get rid of politicians. In retrospect, Bell agrees: They already had a beautiful paradise in French Polynesia. The local community wasnt very enthusiastic about the project, and I get it. They didnt need strangers coming in and ruining their view.

Over the next 40 years, the world is expected to build 230bn square metres in new construction. This could be a way to accommodate that growth

Collins Chen has since moved to New York, where he has established a new company to develop further plans for floating cities, this time stripped of any libertarian tax-dodging ideology. I realised that the real future for these sorts of projects has to be closer to cities, he says. They have to be an extension of an existing citys infrastructure, they need to be run by the mayor, and they have to pay their taxes as opposed to being enclaves for the wealthy.

His plan, titled Oceanix City, has been designed in slick Ted Talk style by Bjarke Ingels, the Danish architect beloved of Silicon Valley tech companies. His twinkling animations depict a floating world of interlocking hexagonal islands, where power is harvested from waves and the sun, where residents live on a diet of seaweed and fish, and where marine life is regenerated by artificial reefs. If this floating city flourishes, said Ingels in a presentation, it can then grow like a culture in a petri dish. On a screen behind him, the floating hexagons multiplied until they took up an area more than three times the size of Manhattan, a vision of low-density suburbia sprawling virulently across the sea.

Over the next 40 years, the world is expected to build 230bn square metres in new construction, says Collins Chen, the equivalent of adding one New York City every month. This could be a way to accommodate that growth, without the devastating effects of land reclamation or deforestation. He says part of the appeal is the ability to reconfigure the urban form according to changing needs, in a process of drag-and-drop city building. You could literally float one a city block away and put a different one in its place, when the need for a new school, hospital or university arose.

Remarkably, their sci-fi scheme has won the support of the United Nations sustainable development arm, UN-Habitat, which hosted a round table discussion for the project in April 2019. As global heating accelerates, sea levels rise and more people crowd into urban slums, floating cities is one of the possible solutions, said UN-Habitats executive director, Maimunah Mohd Sharif.

Back in Panama, the notion that floating habitats could be an inclusive solution to global housing need seems a long way off, to put it mildly. Despite the countrys coronavirus lockdown, the Ocean Builders team has been at work throughout, laying the foundations for a factory that will soon house the largest 3D printer in Central America, ready to produce what their website touts as the worlds first 3D-printed, smart floating home with an underwater room wrapped in an eco restorative 3D-printed coral reef yours for between $200,000 to $800,000 (160,000 to 640,000).

In light of the global pandemic, were really focusing on making the homes feel like a kind of lifeboat, says the companys CEO, Grant Romundt, who worked on the Freedom Ship project in Florida in the 1990s, an aborted plan to build a mile-long cruise ship for 40,000 people, topped with a runway. They should be a safe place to escape to and be totally energy independent, with solar panels on the roof, water desalination on board, waste collection by drone, and aeroponic systems to grow your own food.

Designed by Koen Olthuis of Dutch architecture practice Waterstudio, the plans for the luxury SeaPods look like a row of gigantic motorbike helmets on poles, sticking up out of the sea in pearlescent shades of blue, green and grey. We wanted to have something that was very futuristic looking, very clean and flowing, says Romundt. I didnt want to have a 90-degree corner anywhere in the house. I think thats bad feng shui. The interiors recall supersized sanitaryware, envisaged as white, wipe-clean worlds of free-flowing surfaces, echoing retro-futuristic visions of streamlined space capsules. The similarity is no accident: for company founder, Rdiger Koch, seasteading is merely a stepping stone for trialling exploits in space. He has long harboured plans to build a cable launch loop to propel payloads into space without rockets, and he sees the ocean as the perfect launchpad. There are almost only large open spaces at sea, he told German regional newspaper, Rhein-Neckar-Zeitung, and you need them to make sure that nothing goes wrong and nobody is hit by possible flying parts.

Romundt insists that the company is merely building floating holiday homes, which will be registered as boats under the Panama flag for legal purposes, and likely operate on a timeshare basis. That would give you the slow adjustment period, he says, then more of an economy would start to build as more people come requiring more services, and it would start to self-perpetuate and grow.

For Bell, the ultimate goal is to see such floating communities raise their own flags in the open ocean. Right now, a self-flagged seastead would have effectively no status at all in international law, he says. The coast guard would show up, assume you were either a pirate or a floating meth lab, and tow you right back in to shore. But if seasteaders can say they have enough people and a big enough territory, and start flagging themselves, thats when things will start to get interesting.

And if they fail? Thats the marvellous thing about seasteads, says Quirk. If a government fails, theres nothing much the people who live there can do about it, but if seasteads fail, they simply disassemble and go away seeing all those bitcoin dollars sink into the sea just as quickly as they were conjured.

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Seasteading a vanity project for the rich or the future of humanity? - The Guardian

Billionaire ‘Seasteading’ Obsessives Believe The Time Is Now [Video] – 2oceansvibe News

[imagesource: OCEANIX]

The concept of seasteading isnt new, but it has been gaining traction over the past two years or so.

Seasteading is a term used to describe man-made islands, or rather cities, built in the ocean.

These arent your reclaimed plastic, hippy islands, though.

Theyre high tech superstructures aimed at sustainable living not dissimilar to the ones that youll find in Dubai, or that floating hotel in Sweden, only bigger and aimed at housing entire communities.

Theyre billed as a solution to climate change and rising seas levels, but The Guardian isnt convinced.

The COVID-19 pandemic has inspired fringe libertarian groups to double down on their dreams of building new, autonomous societies.

Lockdowns, increased surveillance, and complete governmental control have added fuel to their already entrenched suspicions of state control.

The sentiment lies at the core of the seasteading community, a disparate group that has grown since 2008, when the Seasteading Institute was founded in San Francisco by Patri Friedman. The self-styled anarcho-capitalist (and grandson of Nobel prize-winning economist Milton Friedman) was working as a Google software engineer when he managed to attract funding from PayPal billionaire Peter Thiel to set up the institute.

In a founding statement, they described its goal as being to establish permanent, autonomous ocean communities to enable experimentation and innovation with diverse social, political, and legal systems.

Thiel was nothing if not confident: The nature of government is about to change at a very fundamental level, he proclaimed.

Seasteading is the ultimate Silicon Valley approach to governance. It imagines society as a type of technology that can be tinkered with and innovated, and indeed saved by a series of start-up societies.

Think of it as the social media of brick and mortar living spaces with unique ideologies independent of the rule of law.

Dont like Facebook? Move to Instagram. Only this time its man-made islands, not social media platforms.

Seasteading company OCEANIXsees what theyre doing as a solution to rapid population growth and climate change.

The ocean is under threat from land reclamation. As coastal cities struggle to cope with rapid population growth, many simply pour sand into the ocean to create new land.

Unfettered coastal urbanization is destroying millions of hectares of the ocean and marine life; close to 50 percent of people in the world live in coastal areas. The rising sea and climate change are compounding the problem. Oceanix is taking bold steps towards a more resilient future.

Oceanix designs and builds floating cities for people to live sustainably on the ocean. We believe humanity can live in harmony with life below water. It is not a question of one versus the other. The technology exists for us to live on water, while nature continues to thrive under.

Oceanix is trailblazing a new industry with blue technologies that meet humanitys shelter, energy, water and food needs without killing marine ecosystems.

OCEANIX CITY, their pilot project, is supposed to house 10 000 residents, with modular neighbourhoods housing up to 300 residents apiece.

This video from last year, shows the concept behind OCEANIXs seasteading project:

These super seasteads arent the only projects in the works.

Back to The Guardian for a classic example of the pursuit of seasteading freedom found in the tale of Chad Elwartowsk, who recently tried his hand at his own seastead for the second time.

Heres what happened the first time:

They had constructed what they declared to be the first seastead 12 nautical miles from Phuket, but the authorities decided that the six metre-wide fibreglass cabin, perched on top of a floating pole, posed a threat to Thailands sovereignty.

It was an offence punishable by life imprisonment or even the death penalty. The couple announced on social media declaring their autonomy beyond the jurisdiction of any courts or law of any countries, including Thailand, said Rear Admiral Vithanarat Kochaseni, adding that they had invited others to join them. We see such action as deteriorating Thailands independence.

And here it is being towed away by the Royal Thai Navy:

While seasteading might seem like a utopian and sustainable plan for the future, the reality is that the growing interest from billionaires like Peter Thiel paints a different picture.

The likelihood that your average Joe is going to be able to afford a place on the OCEANIX seastead and others like it is highly improbable.

The drive to create communities outside of the rule of law also poses obvious problems.

Weve all readThe Lord of the Flies although what would really happen if a bunch of young boys were stranded on a remote island may differ wildly from the outcome imagined by Willam Golding.

Read the Guardians superb article on the real Lord of the Flies story, when six boys were shipwrecked for 15 months, here.

[source:guardian&oceanix]

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Billionaire 'Seasteading' Obsessives Believe The Time Is Now [Video] - 2oceansvibe News

This libertarian Bitcoin trader wants to build a city on the sea – Decrypt

Chad Elwartowski, an American software engineer turned Bitcoin trader, is one of the leading lights of the "seasteading" movementa libertarian drive to build independent floating cities on the high seas. Right now, he's constructing a prototype for the worlds first 3D-printed, smart, floating home, off the Caribbean coast of Panama. A prior effort, in Thailand, was towed off by the Thai navy in 2019.

Interest in seasteading is enjoying a renaissance among libertarian, tech millionaires, keen to escape the threat of increasing government surveillance. The movement has come a long way since entrepreneurs Peter Thiel and Patri Friedman (grandson of eminent economist Milton) launched the Seasteading Institute in 2008.

Coronavirus is an opportunity to show the world that what were building is actually going to be very useful in the future, said Elwartowski, in a recent video update on his project.

But Elwartowskis vision has changed since his first attempt at seasteading in Thailand, when he and his Thai partner Supranee Thepdet were forced to flee, dodging Thai patrol boats. He was tipped off that the authorities had determined that the fiberglass cabin, on top of a floating pole, posed a threat to the country's sovereigntypunishable by death.

Now, theyve settled in Panama and joined a local business called Ocean Builders, which is creating 30 "seapods," and selling them on the open market for between $200,000 to $800,000 each. The pods will be registered as boats under the Panama flag for legal purposes.

Its somewhat ironic that staunch libertarians are now asking for government permission to complete their utopian dreams. But the fact is that attempts, over the years, to set up floating societies have flounderedeven those sanctioned by national governments.

In 2017, the French Polynesian government approved the Seasteading Institutes plans for an autonomous community near the French Polynesian coast, using a cryptocurrency called Varyon. However, the authorities rescinded its approval a year later, in response to objections of tech colonialism by the residents of Tahiti, the nearest well-populated island in the archipelago.

Friedman is now involved in the Marshall Islands scheme to introduce a sovereign digital currency. He said recently that, in the past month, he is seeing a lot of inquiries from peers who want to know wheres best to move.

He and Thiel have moved on to self-governed "charter cities" in developing countries, allowing international firms to set up shop in the semi-autonomous zones. The project takes the form of a venture fund, bolstered by $9 million in funding from Thiel, as well as investors and Bitcoin heavyweights Marc Andreessen, Roger Ver, and Balaji Srinivasan.

Seasteaders have found out it is probably better to make an agreement with the government, said Titus Gebel, CEO of Tipolis, another startup developing semi-autonomous cities run by private companies.

It may not be the original libertarian dream but it'll do for now.

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This libertarian Bitcoin trader wants to build a city on the sea - Decrypt

A Day That I Will Never Forget Part Three – Fiji Sun Online

Rear Admiral Viliame Naupoto is the Commander Republic of the Fiji Military Forces. The events he recounts here occurred when he was the Commanding Officer of the RFNS KULA. This

RFNS Kula on its way to the aid of a distressed yacht early last year just outside of Suva Harbour. The vessel was decommissioned on December 21, 2019. The vessel served the Republic of Fiji Military Forces Naval Division for 25 years. Photo: RFMF Naval Division

Ireproduce below a search and rescue story that I penned many years back that did not make it to the dailies then. I retell this story in the hope that someone will know the two girls and let me know how they are, better still perhaps a chance to meet them again. I reproduce it exactly the way I wrote it then. Here is Part Three

Our first attempt was to launch upwind, meaning that the ship was to be moving forward, heading into the wind (and waves) at around six to eight knots while the seaboat is launched.

This is an evolution that we set a record in whilst we were doing our work up in Australia before we sailed KULA to Fiji. The way this is tested is usually through a man overboard exercise.

The testing officer will throw Oscar into the sea whilst the ship is steaming at some speed, after which he will run into the bridge with a fake panic look on his face and blurts out man overboard starboard side! or port side depending on which side of the ship Oscar was thrown into the sea.

The officer who is on watch will immediately turn the ship to whatever side Oscar was in and do a few other standard turns and at the same time, someone in the bridge will sound the relevant alarms and announce via the PA System Man overboard, man overboard, man overboard, man overboard starboard/port side, standby to recover by sea boat.

This is when the stopwatch starts and will stop when the seaboat takes off. We would do this evolution in just two minutes and in no time Oscar is back safely on board. If you are getting worked up reading this bit, you should relax, Oscar is a dummy, not a real person!

Launching the seaboat has a few moves. First, the seaboat is winched up from its cradle and then swung out to the side of the ship, and then lowered to the sea and then the boat crew will get in and drive the seaboat away. It is an easy evolution when done in calm seas, but extremely dangerous when the sea is rough.

We were going to attempt this in conditions way beyond the safe working condition. We had no other better choice. The one thing that kept me going was my complete confidence in the ability of my crew. They were a seasoned bunch and very close buddies and at times like this, we were even closer, our hearts beating almost as one.

All hands attended to the launching of the seaboat except for Petty Officer Vasukiwai (our Radio Operator) who stayed with me on the bridge. I manoeuvred the ship upwind at eight knots and gave the okay to commence, but as soon as the seaboat was off the cradle it was sitting on, it became a fast-moving projectile as it began swinging back and forth uncontrollably at a fast pace even with the extra weight that the crew had exerted on it trying to keep it steady.

The ship was pitching at too sharp an angle because of the high waves, that it created a pendulum effect on the seaboat that was difficult to control and there was a great risk of it crashing into one of the crew or smashing someone overboard.

My attention was divided between three situations. I would watch the wave in front then quickly look back to the crew with the seaboat and then across to where the two girls were, just to confirm that the punt had not capsized. We exchanged signals with Sub-Lieutenant Kean and cancelled the evolution.

The seaboat was now back on the cradle safely and I turned the ship around. Now we had to try again but launching downwind in five to seven-metre swells. All this was done in full view of the young girl who was kneeling and it must have been demoralising for her to see us not being able to launch.

I steadied the ship, now downwind and we started the evolution again. This time the ships movement was not as bad, so the crew managed to hoist the seaboat off the cradle and swung the seaboat to the side of the ship ready to lower. Now the trick was all in the timing of lowering the seaboat to the crest of a wave and quickly disengaging the winch hook from the seaboat and let the seaboat drop with the wavetime it wrongly and the seaboat will free fall when the wave disappears from beneath it and the cable could snap causing injury to those in close range and a high chance that the boat will land awkwardly, the outboard engine could be damaged or even fall off or worse still, the seaboat could capsize.

To fully understand this part of the story, let me first explain a few rigging around the seaboat.

Whenever KULA puts to sea, a rope about the size of your thump is always made ready on the Port side of the ship. One end is secured to a bollard from the bow and the rope is then run along the ship side towards the back and the other end is then secured on the railing near the position where the seaboat is lowered. On this end of the rope is a quick disengaging hook. On this hook is a small lever that when you pull, the hook is disengaged.

This rope is called the boat rope. Fixed onto the front end of the seaboat is the partner clip of this hook. When the seaboat is lowered, it will be swung outboard to the shipside, the boat rope is clipped on to the partner clip on the front end of the seaboat and then the seaboat is lowered to the sea. Fixed to the back of the seaboat is another small rope that is used to secure the stern and is used as a steading line when the seaboat is being lowered or hoisted. Once the boat crew are in they will start the engine, let go the stern rope, drive the seaboat forward and away from the ship, disengage the boat rope and attend to the task at hand. Remember this all done whilst the ship is steaming at around 8 to 10 knots.

Our boat rope is rigged differently, thanks to the ingenuity of Petty Officer Vodo. It is rigged in such a way that the boat rope is disengaged by pulling on a small rope that is tied to the lever and the rope is long enough for someone standing on the deck to disengage it. This pieces of seaboat equipment feature prominently in this next part.

Now my attention was on four situations; watching that bow of the ship and the aspect of the wave in front, looking back to the situation with the launching crew, look across to where the two girls were, and now I had to pay attention also to the huge swells coming from behind the ship.

Credit to the launching team, the seaboat was safely lowered and now all that was left was for the boat crew to climb down the side of the ship via the Jacobs Ladder (those rope ladders with wooden planks) into the seaboat and drive it away from the ships side.

Now all this is done while the ship is moving forward at some speed because, in addition to the engines, the ship is also being pushed forward by the huge swells from the back.

Yes, success, a wonderful feeling indeed given the unsuccessful attempt to launch upwind. Next second it was gonedisaster struck!

The seaboat was on the water and the two boat crew were scrambling to climb down the Jacobs Ladder, but before they could even start, I felt from the flying bridge that the aspect of the bow to the surface was too steep which meant that the back end was higher than the front and as I looked back, a huge swell had caught up with us from the back, lifted the stern of KULA and the seaboat (that is hooked up to the boat rope and the steadying rope at the stern ) and pushed us forward at some speed.

To be continued

Feedback: rosi.doviverata@fijisun.com.fj

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A Day That I Will Never Forget Part Three - Fiji Sun Online

Couple in Hiding After ‘Seasteading’ Attempt Goes Wrong | Time

The Royal Thai Navy plans to remove a house built on a platform 12 miles off the coast of Phuket according to the Bangkok Post.

American Chad Elwartowski and his Thai partner Supranee Thepdet, also known as Nadia Summergirl, were reportedly living in the house, built by Ocean Builders, to promote the concept of seasteading.

Seasteading is the concept of creating permanent dwellings at sea, called seasteads, outside the territory claimed by any government, says the company on its website.

In a promotional video posted to YouTube in March, Elwartowski toasts his partner with champagne on the roof of their ocean dwelling. He says 20 more floating homes are planned so others can join them in a libertarian-style community that they believe will be beyond legal jurisdictions.

Governments have a monopoly on land but they dont have a monopoly at sea, Elwartowski says in the video. Were looking forward to freedom-loving people to come join us out on the open ocean.

In an earlier video, he says international waters are where there are no laws other than the law of the sea.

But Thai authorities have a different view. They have filed a compliant, accusing the couple of breaching a section of the countrys criminal code that relates to threatening the sovereignty of a state, and erosion of a states independence, according to the Post. The charges carry the death penalty.

We have already prepared a vessel, equipment and manpower to move the structure. We will try to move it within a week a Thai vice-admiral told the newspaper.

Elwartowski says the couple are now in hiding. This is ridiculous. We lived on a floating house boat for a few weeks and now Thailand wants us killed, he said on his Facebook page.

He told TIME by email that he and his partner have no claim to the home. It was never ours, we just lived there and promoted it.

For your security, we've sent a confirmation email to the address you entered. Click the link to confirm your subscription and begin receiving our newsletters. If you don't get the confirmation within 10 minutes, please check your spam folder.

Write to Amy Gunia at amy.gunia@time.com.

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Couple in Hiding After 'Seasteading' Attempt Goes Wrong | Time

Seasteading | FSA Wiki | Fandom

Sea-steading is a lifestyle of making the oceans, or at least water-borne craft, one's home. Most sea-steads historically have been sailing craft, whether perhaps demonstrated by the the Chinese Junk, modified canoes of Oceania, or even the famous Pirates of Libertaria. In modern times in the west the cruising sailboat has begun to be used in the same manner. The term sea-steading is of uncertain origin, used at least as early as the turn of the century by Uffa Fox, and others; many feel that catamaran designer and historian James Wharram and his designs represent ideal Sea-Steads. More recently, American sailor and ecological philosopher Jerome FitzGerald has been a leading and effective proponent of Sea-steading, mostly teaching the concept through the environmental/sailing organization "The Oar Club". The Seasteader's Institute in Hilo, Hawaii offers classes, boat-building opportunities, education in forage foods, diving, and other aspects of a Seasteading lifestyle.

Some theoretical seasteads are floating platforms which could be used to create sovereign micronations, or otherwise serve the ends of ocean colonization. The concept is introduced in a paper by Wayne Gramlich, and later in a book by Gramlich, Patri Friedman and Andy House, which is available for free online. Their research aims at a more practical approach to developing micronations, based on currently available technology and a pragmatic approach to financial aspects.

The authors argue that seasteading has the potential to drastically lower the barrier to entry to the governing industry. This allows for more experimentation and innovation with varying social, political, and economic systems. Potential business opportunities include data havens, offshore aquaculture, and casinos, as well as the gamut of typical business endeavors.

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Seasteading | FSA Wiki | Fandom

Farm style – but not as you would know it – Daily Record

Never at this time of year have there been so few properties on the market.

An unprecedented time of difficulty for people wanting to sell and buy. And a revenue disaster for estate agents. But out of this spell we will surely come.

This week we feature a terrific property put on the market just before the shutdown.

And the five-bedroomed Helenton View is ready to move into without a thing needing done.

It lies amidst lush pasture about a mile from Symington, spread out in old farm steading style over 3,444 square feet.

This is no old farm property inside, instead an executive take on modern country living for the family.

Plenty of glass gives you views across the fertile Pow Valley.

The Pow Burn trickles past nearby, the same water that goes under Prestwick Airports main runway, through Prestwick Golf Course and into the sea between Prestwick and Troon. Corum in Troon has it for sale at offers over 495,000.

The design includes some rooms which span to the apex of the roof, giving a true feeling of space. Many old farm properties with their small windows and low ceilings can feel claustrophobic.

Corum say: The level of fixtures and fittings is luxurious, including sanitary ware by Porcelanosa, a custom kitchen with integrated appliances and extensive use of solid oak, including the doors, surrounds and a large part of the downstairs flooring.

The family room with mezzanine sitting area stretches to more than thirty six feet. Upstairs there is a big theatre room to take in movies with the family.

Back at ground level, there is a custom kitchen/ dining room with the spaces defined by an island with hob.

A lovely feature is the fireplace which can be seen from the lounge and the dining area. Four of the five bedrooms are downstairs, with three having en-suites, the master having extra wardrobes and a full height ceiling.

Other features include underfloor heating, electric blinds, and media system. Outside electric gates lead to a sweeping drive. Call Corum on Troon 310010, offers over 495,000.

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Farm style - but not as you would know it - Daily Record

From Elon Musk to Jeff Bezos, these 30 personalities defined the 2010s – CNET

This story is part of The 2010s: A Decade in Review, a series on the memes, people, products, movies and so much more that have influenced the 2010s.

The first decade of the 21st century introduced us to sweeping mobile and social revolutions largely driven by names like Jobs, Zuckerberg and Bezos. In the second decade that's now closing, things got a little more complicated. During those years, a new collection of faces have joined the earlier tech titans to continue moving us into the future. Here's CNET's list of the top technology innovators and all-around unavoidable personalities of the 2010s.

A person wears a Guy Fawkes mask, which today is a trademark and symbol for the online hacktivist group Anonymous. From 2012.

More a decentralized collective than a personality, Anonymous was the name claimed by the loose affiliation of hackers who brought "hacktivism" into the mainstream. During the first half of the decade, Anonymous launched attacks against targets like ISIS, the governments of the US and Tunisia, and corporations such as Sony and PayPal. The group's tactics included distributed denial-of-service attacks that overwhelm a target's website and knock it offline and compromising private databases to access and later leak confidential information, such as the personal details of members of the Ku Klux Klan.

In 2019, the group's prominence has faded somewhat -- last year it said it would debunk the QAnon conspiracy theory -- but concerns about hacking remain in the forefront, in part because one large collective of unknown activists put it there.

Julian Assange of WikiLeaks during a livestreamed press conference in 2017.

The founder of online portal WikiLeaks, Assange had a mission to reveal the secrets of the powerful. It made him an instant hero to many and a wanted man to others (in May the US government charged him with violating the Espionage Act). WikiLeaks started the decade by publishing documents obtained by whistleblower Chelsea Manning between 2010 and 2011, and it supported NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden after he sought refuge in Russia in 2013. To avoid extradition to Sweden on charges of rape -- the charges were dropped in 2017, but the case has since been reopened -- Assange took refuge in the Ecuadorian embassy in London, where he remained for seven years.

Despite its founder being stuck in the same building for much of the decade, WikiLeaks still managed to play a role in the 2016 US presidential election by publishing leaked emails that were detrimental to Hillary Clinton and the next year releasing thousands of documents showing how the CIA can hack into phones. The Assange saga is far from over, though. In 2019 he was booted from the embassy by the Ecuadorian government and arrested by London police. He remains in British custody and could be extradited to the US.

Now playing: Watch this: Step inside Julian Assange's office

3:25

GM CEO Mary Barra says the self-driving technology can help relieve driver stress.

The General Motors CEO became the first woman to lead a major carmaker when she took over in 2014 and has been consistently ranked among the world's most powerful women over the past decade by Forbes and Fortune.

Her tenure has been marked by GM's push to keep up and even eclipse Tesla's efforts to bring electric and driverless cars into the mainstream. The Chevy Volt EV actually brought a sub-$40,000 EV to market ahead of Tesla's Model 3, and GM has also invested in ride-sharing technology to help ensure it stays relevant in the future.

Under Barra, GM is also one of just two global businesses to completely do away with its gender pay gap, according to a study by Equileap.

Bezos speaking at an Amazon press event in 2018.

Even after losing a quarter of his Amazon shares in his divorce settlementin April, Bezos remains the world's richest person, worth more than $107 billion as of this month, according to Forbes. Throughout the decade, he spread his money around,buying the Washington Post in 2013 and growing his company phenomenally. Amazon is now a vast empire that's not only become the world's warehouse, but that also encompasses the Amazon Web Services cloud computing platform, game streaming platform Twitch, a fleet of freight aircraft, music streaming,branded convenience stores, the Kindle e-reader, the Whole Foods Market grocery chain and a space startup meant to give Elon Musk and SpaceX some competition. Its Prime subscription service delivers goods in hours, and serves up a huge gallery of movies, TV programs and audiobooks.

Amazon also makes plenty of products of its own, including its Alexa-powered home assistants and Ring security system, both of which have forced the company torespond to privacy concerns over its increasing expansion into homes. And the company continues to face criticism over working conditions and pay for its employees.

Now playing: Watch this: Jeff Bezos reveals plans for the moon and beyond

3:33

danah boyd

She may not be a household name, but danah boyd (who prefers to spell her name with lowercase) has become a leading thinker and researcher on the effects of technology on society and our children. In her 2014 book It's Complicated, she argued that social media provides an important space for youth to express themselves and to engage with each other and with society.

She's also a principal researcher for Microsoft and has broadened her research to focus on the relationship between social inequality and technology through her research institute Data and Society. In awarding her its 2019 Pioneer award, the Electronic Frontier Foundation called boyd a "trailblazing technology scholar."

Richard Branson at a Virgin Mobile event.

The billionaire magnate is willing to try just about anything, it seems. Branson's Virgin brand has dabbled in everything from media to hotels to health care, and in the last decade it has also made some far-out bets. In recent years, Branson has invested in Elon Musk's futuristic hyperloop transport technology and is working on Virgin Orbit, which could launch satellites using a combination of rockets and a high-altitude launcher plane. In the coming months, Virgin Galactic mayfinally begin launching tourists (including Branson himself) into orbit using a similar approach from the New Mexico desert.

By 2040, there will be 1 million more young women of color with coding skills if Kimberly Bryant meets her ambitious goal. The electrical engineer and Vanderbilt grad founded Black Girls Code in 2011 with the goal of reaching 1 million girls by midcentury. That could transform places like Silicon Valley, where only 2% of women working in tech are people of color, according to a 2018 report from the Kapor Center. Bryant's work has been widely recognized -- by the White House, the Smithsonian and others -- helping to bring in funding for the mission and increasing the chances that the next Steve Jobs is a woman of color.

Mark Cuban at CNET's Next Big Thing panel at CES 2013

During the 2010s, Cuban became much more than just one of the billionaires from the original dot-com boom of the late 1990s. He completed his crossover to become a major figure in the worlds of sports, entertainment and even politics.

Cuban's riches can be traced to successful exits from old, old-school internet properties like Broadcast.com, but he's since leveraged those early moves into a career as an NBA franchise owner, a TV personality (most notably on Shark Tank) and an investor in dozens of companies including Dropbox, Magnolia Pictures and Alyssa's Cookies. He was even floated as a potential presidential candidate in 2016 and 2020, but says he won't run without his family's permission.

Tim Cook at WWDC 2019.

It was a difficult job to take the mantle after Steve Jobs died in 2011, but Cook has maintained Apple's dominance over the past several years. Cook may not be the showman of his predecessor, but the brand is as far-reaching as ever. The iPhone still rules the mobile roost alongside Android, and under his guidance the company has launched forays into areas like the Apple Watch, content production, Apple Arcade and even finance with the Apple Card.

While it might be a stretch to call Cook a gay icon (he came out in a 2014 essay), he's certainly one of the most powerful LGBTQ people in the world, and his worldview has informed his drive to make Apple more ethical, diverse and values-driven, according to author Leander Kahney.

A pre-beard Dorsey.

Assuming the role of Twitter's CEO in 2015, Dorsey's been the face of one of the most highly trafficked and often toxic online platforms. Over the past decade, Twitter helped give rise to revolution in the Middle East, including the ouster of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, and also gave us the platform that @RealDonaldTrump has used more effectively than any other American politician to rally support and spin news events. Twitter has also enabled floods of hate speech, fake news and misinformation. Though the company has tried to combat them with new rules and technology, it's only subject to more criticism when the regulations are unevenly enforced.

As he tries to guide Twitter's central role in reshaping global media, Dorsey's also CEO of payments company Square, giving him an outsized influence in how information and money move around the world now and in the coming years.

Jennifer Doudna

One of the key innovations of the 2010s goes by the unwieldy name CRISPR/Cas9, and Doudna is a pioneer in its use to edit DNA. This new tool holds the potential to revolutionize biology, medicine, agriculture and other fields.

Doudna's lab at the University of California, Berkeley has also spun off a for-profit venture to commercialize CRISPR applications, and Doudna has become a leader in the ongoing ethical discussions around the future of genetic engineering.

Susan Fowler at the Women Transforming Technology conference

The #MeToo movement swept through the tech world and other industries beginning in 2017, thanks in large part to Fowler's personal blog chronicling sexual harassment and abuse within Uber, where she worked as a software engineer. The fallout resulted in a shakeup of Uber's power structure and the demotion of founder and CEO Travis Kalanick. Fowler's memoir, Whisteblower, is due out in 2020, and she has a new role writing for the New York Times opinion section.

This power couple has taken the money that Bill made producing the software suites we all love to complain about and turned it into a philanthropic empire. The $50 billion Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has poured millions into global health and development efforts, as well as education in the US. Bill says the foundation played a major role in a drastic reduction of the child mortality rate, saving over 100 million lives. Bill has also stayed relevant through the reading lists he releases regularly, and Melinda debuted as an author herself with a book about empowering women around the world.

Elizabeth Holmes in a still from The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley.

Like Pixelon's Michael Fenne (real name: David Kim Stanley) almost two decades earlier, Holmes serves as a cautionary tale for what can go wrong when the hype becomes unmoored from reality in tech.

In the span of a few years, Holmes took Theranos and a never-quite-ready-for-primetime blood-testing technology from a subject of interest to one of investment, investigation and now, potentially Holmes' own incarceration as she faces charges of criminal fraud.

The decade began with Jobs' introduction of the iPad in January 2010, nearly two years before he died in October 2011. Apple, whose iPhone helped change the way we live, has continued to be one of the most iconic and valuable brands in the history of capitalism. His legacy has been a topic of near constant discussion since his passing, including treatments in multiple Hollywood movies and major books from the likes of Walter Isaacson and Jobs' daughter Lisa Nicole Brennan-Jobs.

John Legere

T-Mobile's CEO could be the most interesting person in the wireless industry. Over the past decade, he's masterfully played the role of underdog fighting against telecom giants like AT&T and Verizon. Nearly everything the exec does seems calculated to turn heads, whether it's lacing a press conference with profanity, launching barbs at the competition on social media or dressing in the company's trademark magenta. But Legere also produced results, greatly increasing T-Mobile's customer base over the years, revamping the carrier's customer service and bucking industry trends by keeping unlimited data plans. Despite it all, Legere's future going into 2020 is uncertain, with talk he might be replaced should a pending merger with rival Sprint finally go through.

Travis Kalanick exits federal court after taking the stand during the Waymo v. Uber trial over allegedly stolen driverless car trade secrets.

The Uber founder embodies the success-at-all-costs mentality that has driven many other Silicon Valley success stories. He led a ride-sharing revolution that quickly spread around the world and made Uber the prototypical startup "unicorn." But allegations of sexual harassment (brought by whistleblower and engineer Susan Fowler) and Kalanick's own abrasive leadership style would soon see him pushed out as the company's leader in June 2017, although he still retains a seat on the board.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk

Musk wants to save the planet with electric cars and solar panels, take us to Mars, connect our brains to computers and shoot us around the world in pressurized tubes at near the speed of sound with his hyperloop-creating Boring Company. Most of this visionary's big visions are still in progress, but his credibility comes from simultaneously disrupting both the automotive and commercial space industries over the past decade with the success of Tesla and SpaceX. The world tends to watch his every move, which he often gleefully shares on social media. Musk's tweets have brought him trouble, especially when they move Tesla's stock price and invite lawsuits and the ire of the SEC or appear to smear a diver trying to rescue a Thai soccer team trapped in a cave.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella speaks at a company event.

This Indian immigrant with a degree in electrical engineering turned out to be the right man for the job of making Microsoft cool again. Or at least making it cooler. Since becoming CEO in 2014, Nadella has helped increase Microsoft's bottom line and make it a trillion-dollar company. He's overseen a transformation that has done away with the company's cutthroat reputation, both toward competitors and internally, though in 2014 he apologized after making controversial comments about women's pay in an interview. Nadella has also advanced forward-looking acquisitions in artificial intelligence, gaming and brand names like Github, LinkedIn and Mojang, creator of Minecraft.

Very few people seem to know who Nakamoto really is. The presumed pseudonym is attached to the person or persons responsible for the development of bitcoin, which launched a cryptocurrency revolution that started slowly in 2009 but picked up steam over the decade that followed.

A once-worthless digital currency, bitcoin has been valued at up to $20,000 per coin. It inspired the development of countless other cryptos and an entirely new industry around its underlying technology, blockchain. Although some have claimed to be the real Nakamoto and others have been falsely outed as the actual Satoshi, his true identity remains unclear.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai

Google has gone from "Don't be evil" to increasingly having to convince consumers and regulators that it isn't. When the company transformed into Alphabet in 2015 and the Google name was attached to its internet-focused subsidiary (including Android, YouTube and search), Pichai became the new face of Google as CEO. During his first four years, the Googleplex has continued to dominate everything from search to mobile operating systems to online cat videos, while making big moves with new hardware like Google Home and a fleet of Pixel devices. It hasn't been all sunshine, though. Pichai has also had to navigate the proliferation of hate speech and disinformation on YouTube, deal with walkouts over sexual harassment allegations directed at Google executives and confront criticism over a possible censored search service in China. That's to say nothing of the James Damore saga over the company's diversity policies. Still, Pichai and Google seem likely to remain on top for the foreseeable future.

Zoe Quinn.

Years before #MeToo, Gamergate gave us all a preview of the widespread bad behavior and abuse by people in positions of power that would soon be exposed across a number of industries. Quinn, along with fellow game developer Brianna Wu and culture critic Anita Sarkeesian, was among the first to be harassed and threatened by mobs of online trolls that would eventually coalesce around the #gamergate hashtag. It was an early warning sign of how bad things would become online.

Quinn, who uses they/them pronouns, turned their experience and insights into the 2017 book Crash Override: How Gamergate (Nearly) Destroyed My Life, and How We Can Win the Fight Against Online Hate. They have continued to be vocal about instances of abuse within the gaming industry while also churning out new comics (for both Marvel and DC) and collaborating on indie games.

IBM CEO Gini Rometty

CEO of IBM is another job title that doesn't seem as cool as it was 50 years ago. But since taking over in 2012, Rometty has moved the company from dinosaur status to focusing on the future. IBM today is invested deeply in nascent technologies like artificial intelligence, blockchain and quantum computing.

Sheryl Sandberg in 2015.

Sandberg was the fresh face Facebook often needed when Mark Zuckerberg spent too much time in the spotlight. While she deserves some credit for building Facebook up to the global force it is today, her 2013 business and leadership memoir Lean In made her a household name. Facebook and Sandberg have since received a healthy dose of criticism for the platform's myriad scandals, ranging from privacy concerns to the spread of misinformation, but they continue to stand their ground.

Former Instagram executive Adam Mosseri, flanked by Mike Krieger on the left and Kevin Systrom on the right.

As social media scandals increasingly give platforms like Facebook and Twitter a bad rep, Instagram seems to remain an almost-pristine place for all our best moments, no matter if they're earnest or fake AF, a la Fyre Festival. The disastrous music festival was promoted using Instagram and harnessed the power of its many "influencers" and the FOMO it engenders perhaps better than any other platform. Systrom and Krieger co-founded the photo-sharing site in 2010 and the service was snapped up by Facebook in 2012 for $1 billion. Systrom stayed on as CEO through 2018, growing the service to almost a billion registered users. While the platform has faced criticism over censorship in several countries and other practices like "shadowbanning" (in which posts are hidden from the view of others without it being apparent to the user), Instagram has remained relatively scandal-free compared to its parent company in recent years.

Peter Thiel in 2014.

Like Musk, Thiel made his first big pile of money from the sale of PayPal, which he co-founded, to eBay in 2002. The hits continued when he became Facebook's first outside investor in 2004 and went on to make early investments in Airbnb, LinkedIn, Yelp, Spotify and SpaceX, just to name a few.

Over the past decade, though, he's become better known for his political and social stances, particularly his growing disdain for Silicon Valley and his fervent support of President Trump. He also backed a lawsuit filed in 2012 over wrestler Hulk Hogan's sex tape that ultimately bankrupted gossip site Gawker, allegedly over a grudge he held against the site for a 2007 article outing him as gay. Thiel's Libertarian views have also inspired projects like the Seasteading Institute, which aims to create a society at sea, beyond the reach of any government.

Desktops are still alive and kicking, according to HP CEO Meg Whitman.

The former CEO behind the early growth of eBay is always doing something interesting. After losing a bid for governor of California in 2010, Whitman spent the first half of the decade leading and splitting up Hewlett-Packard into two businesses. After leaving HP in 2017, she turned her energies to new efforts focused on younger consumers than the typical HP customer. She's now CEO of upcoming short-form video service Quibi and an investor and board member at Los Angeles esports startup Immortals.

Mark Zuckerberg discusses Oculus at an event last month.

The decade opened with Jesse Eisenberg playing Zuck in the 2010 film The Social Network, and in recent years the Facebook founder probably would have been happy to have an actor continue to play him as CEO. As we've debated the power of Facebook and how much it knows about us, Zuckerberg has confronted multiple scandals and sat for hours of grilling by Congress over the proliferation of fake news on his platform. Through it all, Facebook has arguably been at the center of everything during the past 10 years, whether it's influencing the Brexit vote and the 2016 presidential election or the revelations that data research firm Cambridge Analytica had harvested the data of millions of Facebook users without their consent. Now presidential candidates talk of breaking up the social networking behemoth even as Zuckerberg hopes to move forward into the brave new world of VR with the help of companies like Oculus that it has swallowed over the past decade.

Originally published Oct. 10, 5 a.m. PT.

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From Elon Musk to Jeff Bezos, these 30 personalities defined the 2010s - CNET

Floating plastic island in San Francisco Bay could calm waves – Business Insider

A tiny fiberglass island is bobbing up and down in the San Francisco Bay right now.

From far away, it looks like a beluga whale poking through the water. Up close, it looks like a misshapen raft. In reality, it's a buoyant structure known as the "Float Lab," which is designed to foster a floating ecosystem.

The prototype was deployed in August by a team of designers at the California College of the Arts (CCA)'s Architectural Ecologies Lab. Their goal is to see if animals will attach to the island, thus expanding its size and creating a buffer against ocean currents. An entire network of islands, they predict, could help calm the bay's choppy waters and prevent future floods from ravaging the coast.

If the structure holds up, it could even provide a model for floating cities a design concept that's supported by the United Nations as a way to address rising sea levels.

Take a look at how prototype is faring in the water.

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Floating plastic island in San Francisco Bay could calm waves - Business Insider

Envisioning and Designing the Floating Future – Undark Magazine

On an August day that is brutally hot by San Franciscos foggy standards, Margaret Ikeda and Evan Jones, architecture faculty at the California College of the Arts (CCA), are on one of the campus back lots to present a vision of the future though at first glance, the object theyre showing off doesnt look like much. Its white, roughly heart-shaped, and about the size of a sedan.

As a prototype for what the underside of a floating building or possibly a whole floating community might look like, however, it represents years of imagination, research, design, and testing. It also represents the hopeful vision of Ikeda, Jones, and their CCA colleague Adam Marcus, who together developed the concept with an eye toward a future of flooding amid steadily rising seas particularly for the 10 percent of the worlds population that lives in low-lying coastal areas.

Officially, its called the Buoyant Ecologies Float Lab, and just a few weeks later, after a lengthy design and permitting process, the team moved the prototype to its new home in San Francisco Bays chilly waters. The goal is to have it remain there, a few hundred feet offshore of Middle Harbor Shoreline Park in Oakland, for three years, by which time the team hopes to have proven its viability as a potential substrate for the futuristic and some critics of floating city models say misguided effort to move at least some communities displaced by climate change out onto the water.

They also suggest that linking together floating structures like their prototype could help to make marine ecosystems healthier. It could also protect coastlines from further erosion in the near term, which will be crucial to places like the San Francisco Bay Area where large tracts of densely-populated land are expected to start sinking into the sea in the coming decades.

Whether or not theyre right, of course, remains to be seen, but Ikeda, Jones, and Marcus are eager to test their concept. We want to show how floating artificial structures can coexist with living ecosystems, says Marcus.

And although they acknowledge the path from their current prototype to the design and construction of habitable buildings on the water may be long, they also say that if humanity isnt going to stop burning fossil fuels and heating up the planet, the time to start preparing workable adaptations that benefit both people and the natural environment is now.

The Float Lab grew out of a series of design studios taught by Ikeda, Jones, and Marcus. In them, students explored a question that is at once straightforward and visionary: In anticipation of rising seas eating away at the land, would it be possible to design floating buildings that provide habitat for humans while protecting and perhaps even enhancing marine ecosystems?

Climate change, after all, is already affecting all of the worlds oceans, which absorb up to 95 percent of the excess heat that human industry is causing. The result: habitat loss for marine species, ocean acidification, widespread coral bleaching, and even changes in ocean currents. And as the team learned from early conversations with scientists, giant floating cities like anything that floats, from boats to docks to barges would be likely to attract barnacles and other invertebrates. Known as fouling communities, theyre often homogenous and seen as nuisances that can push out native species over time. Indeed, theres evidence to suggest that as oceans warm, invasive species will begin to dominate these fouling communities.

Design plans for the Float Lab, a prototype for a potential future of floating structures.

Visual: Adam Marcus

After studying the problem, however, the team hypothesized that if an underwater surface had more peaks and valleys, it might act like an upside-down coral reef, both expanding the habitat and encouraging a greater diversity of species to settle.

Between 2014 and 2018, students in CCAs Architectural Ecologies Lab worked with scientists from the Benthic Lab at the California State University Systems Moss Landing Marine Laboratories to design various prototypes, which were made at scale from fiberglass at Kreysler & Associates, a Bay Area composite fabrication company. Tests of these prototypes in Monterey Bay and San Francisco Bay showed that, indeed, a greater variety of species settled on the ones with more surface variation.

The design worked because the peaks and valleys [are] going to create water dynamics that will enhance fouling communities, said Brian Tissot, a professor and researcher at Humboldt State University who studies benthic ecology the animals, plants, and microbes that live at the bottom of a body of water and is not associated with the project. The greater variety of seaweeds, barnacles, and other filter feeders will, in turn, attract larger creatures, like crabs and fish, creating a vibrant ecosystem.

These early prototypes informed the design of the Float Lab, today a 14-foot long, 9-foot wide structure with top and bottom sides that look something like topographic maps: Each side has two mountains, one slightly shorter than the other, with a valley in between, and each of the mountains is made up of smaller peaks and valleys. On the underside, these variations in elevation create diverse spaces for invertebrates as well as fish apartments, where smaller fish can hide from predators. The top side, which will float just above the surface of the water, is equipped with a solar-powered pump that brings seawater up to the peaks and lets it filter down into the valleys, mirroring a tidepool habitat.

After testing the prototypes, the team behind the Float Lab felt confident that it could create diverse and healthy underwater ecosystems. But Marcus says the team also realized that with a few careful design tweaks, these structures could potentially counteract the effects of climate change in a more direct way.

For years now, as climate warnings have grown increasingly dire, governments worldwide have been scrambling to figure out how to address sea level rise. But a study published in Nature Communications earlier this year warned of another global warming hazard coastal communities will have to face: increasingly forceful waves. The study found that climate change has been making waves more powerful by 0.4 percent annually from 1948 to 2008.

Waves are the primary force behind coastal erosion, and as they get stronger, they will eat away at fragile shorelines more quickly, threatening not only human infrastructure, but also crucial nearshore habitats. Bluffs and shorelines can be protected with seawalls and rock barriers, but these defensive solutions do nothing to actually dampen wave energy.

For that, scientists are turning to nature for inspiration. Even before the results of this study were published, people were experimenting with solutions like rebuilding or creating artificial oyster reefs, which are known to help prevent erosion. One such example that has garnered significant attention is the Living Breakwaters project designed by the New York- and New Orleans-based landscape architecture firm SCAPE. It proposes coupling artificial breakwaters with oyster habitat restoration to protect Staten Islands battered coastline, and in 2014 was one of six winners of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Developments Rebuild by Design challenge.

Footage of the Float Lab prototype bobbing in San Francisco Bay.

The Float Lab, its advocates argue, has a unique advantage over that project and other artificial reefs: It is mobile. Thats key because this could offer a more agile and more flexible, more customizable and scalable alternative to the kind of huge defensive barriers that many cities are thinking about, or even many cities are building, right now, Marcus said.

As currently designed, there isnt much inherent to the Float Labs structure that would blunt a wave. But to help with that, the team plans to attach long tubes to the bottom of the structure, making it look like a windchime or perhaps a giant jellyfish. It adds a new dimension of utility so that when you place the columns or the tubes close to each other, like lets say six to eight to ten inches apart, the invertebrates attach on all sides, Marcus says, explaining, they just kind of create this giant sponge of animals. Scientists from Moss Landings Benthic Lab plan to dive below the Float Lab every month for the next three years to assess whether these columns actually soak up wave energy.

Tissot sees clear ecological benefits to the columns. He says, adding more structure thats vertical would definitely increase the likelihood that youre going to get a lot of fishes that will come in there. They love that kind of habitat. But hes unsure how far they will go towards absorbing wave power, saying my guess is thats pretty small to actually have much of an effect.

Marcus acknowledges that how well they will work is still unknown, explaining that in order for it to develop significant wave attenuation capacity you would need many of them kind of arrayed in a necklace or a network parallel to the shore. The full Float Lab team plans to plug the data they gather into computer simulations to project the impact a whole fleet of Float Labs might have. Renderings imagine them clustered together in threes, blooming over a body of water like a field of clover.

Despite the modest near-term ambitions behind it, the Float Lab prototype bobs along in the wake of a long and controversial history of schemes to create utopias out on the water. Many have centered around the concept of seasteading, the idea of establishing new floating societies that exist outside the jurisdiction of national and international law. In fact, the most notable and best-funded of these groups, the Seasteading Institute, is also based in the San Francisco Bay area. Founded in 2008 by libertarian activists Peter Thiel, the billionaire co-founder of PayPal, and Patri Friedman, a grandson of Nobel-prize winning economist Milton Friedman, the non-profits vision of freedom on the high seas is as much about building a new society based on the free-market ideals of fewer regulations and lower taxes as it is about grappling with the impacts of climate change.

We do distance our work from that, says Marcus. There is a big difference in agenda. One is about tax havens and cryptocurrencies. Ours is about multi-benefit solutions for both humans and animals.

Regardless of political motivations, all floating city proposals face the problem of scaling up quickly enough to represent a meaningful solution for the nearly 187 million people around the world now projected to be displaced by rising sea levels in the coming decades. For now, the Float Lab team is focused on demonstrating the viability of just a single link, but their system is designed to be modular, and imagining a future in which coastlines, harbors, marshes, and other sensitive areas are protected by chains of Float Labs is made more plausible by the way they are designed and manufactured.

Because it is made up of just two pieces plus some finishing touches, like cleats for its anchors it would be relatively easy to churn out Float Labs by the hundreds or thousands. And theyre designed to last. Fiberglass has been used in boatmaking since the 1940s and is one of the most durable materials in marine construction; it doesnt corrode or rot. The first fiberglass boat ever made is probably still floating around somewhere, says Bill Kreysler, the founder of Kreysler & Associates, the firm that helped fabricate all the prototypes and the Float Lab.

With the Float Lab launched and officially unveiled in late September, the team from CCA is already thinking about a more ambitious extension of this work. In late July, Jones and Ikeda visited the Maldives, where they and their students have been working with local partners since 2017 to imagine what a floating community could look like a much-needed adaptation in a country that sits just about 5 feet on average above the current sea level.

The work is all still theoretical, but the vision like that behind the Float Lab is expansive. Renderings show pods of interconnected floating structures, pulsing with life both on the inside and below the surface. Sun streams down through skylights, flooding the buildings and artificial light attracts plankton in the ocean below. Seaweed and algae cling to the underside, while fish seek shelter behind the stalactite-like underwater mountains. Shorebirds nest on the roof next to solar panels and a rainwater catchment system.

This vision for the Maldives, the team suggests, will evolve over the coming years as lessons pour out of the Float Lab. This is really studying how modular structures could link together to create communal systems, says Marcus.

Lindsey J. Smith is a science and environmental journalist based in San Francisco. Her work has appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle, The Verge, and Pacific Standard, among other outlets.

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Envisioning and Designing the Floating Future - Undark Magazine

What are Nootropics? – Neurohacker Collective

Nootropics. You might have heard of them. The limitless pill that keeps Billionaires rich. The smart drugs that students are taking to help boost their hyperfocus. The cognitive enhancers that give corporate executives an advantage. All very exciting. But as always, the media are way behind the curve. Yes, for the past few decades, cognitive enhancers were largely sketchy substances that people used to grasp at a short term edge at the expense of their health and well being. But the days of taking prescription pills to pull an all-nighter are so 2010. The better, safer path isnt with these stimulants but with nootropics. Nootropics consist of dietary supplements and substances which enhance your cognition, in particular when it comes to motivation, creativity, memory, and other executive functions. They play an important role in supporting memory and promoting optimal brain function.

These days, nootropics are beginning to take their rightful place as a particularly powerful tool in the Neurohackers toolbox. After all, biochemistry is deeply foundational to neural function. Whether you are trying to fix the damage that is done to your nervous system by a stressful and toxic environment or support and enhance your neural functioning, getting the chemistry right is table-stakes. And we are starting to get good at getting it right. Whats changed?

A big part is that we are finally starting to apply complex systems science to psycho-neuro-pharmacology and a nootropic approach. The neural system is awesomely complex and old-fashioned reductionist science has a really hard time with complexity. Big companies spends hundreds of millions of dollars trying to separate the effects of just a single molecule from placebo and nootropics invariably show up as stacks of many different ingredients (ours, Qualia , currently has 42 separate synergistic nootropics ingredients from alpha GPC to bacopa monnieri and L-theanine). That kind of complex, multi pathway input requires a different methodology to understand well that goes beyond simply whats put in capsules.

But, thanks to the efforts of a number of remarkable scientists, researchers and plain-old neurohackers, we are beginning to put together a whole systems model of how all the different parts of the human brain work together and how they mesh with the complex regulatory structures of the body. Its going to take a lot more data and collaboration to dial this model in, but already we are empowered to design stacks that can meaningfully deliver on the promise of nootropics to enhance the quality of subjective experience and promote cognitive health, while having extremely low toxicity and possessing very few side effects. Its a type of brain hacking that is intended to produce noticeable cognitive benefits.

Before taking any supplement or chemical, people want to know if there will be long term effects or consequences, When Dr. Corneliu Giurgea first authored the term nootropics in 1972, he also outlined the characteristics that define nootropics. Besides the ability to benefit memory and support the cognitive processes, Dr. Giurgea believed that nootropics should be safe and non-toxic.

While some people focus on finding a short-term boost, nootropics emphasize long-term effects with noticeable cognitive support over a more extended period. Even though nootropics are intended to be safe, there are a few issues users want addressed before taking these supplements.

Many nootropics promote cognitive functioning as well as cognitive performance. Dr. Giurega also saw improved memory and reduced stress in many patients as well.

The first concern users have is with developing a tolerance to the nootropic. Developing a tolerance means the more you have of a substance, the less effective it gets over time.

Second, users are concerned with the possibility of withdrawal if they stop taking the nootropics. They worry that if they stop taking nootropics they wont be as smart as when they were taking nootropics, and will need to continue taking them to function. Some users report feeling a slight brain fog when discontinuing nootropics, but that isnt a sign of regression.

One of the most common strategies to beat this is cycling. Users who cycle their nootropics take them for a predetermined period, (usually around five days) before taking a two-day break from using them. Once the two days are up, they resume the cycle. By taking a break, nootropic users reduce the tolerance for nootropics and lessen the risk of regression and tolerance symptoms.

With so many different ones to choose from, choosing the best nootropics for you can be overwhelming at times. As usual, a decision this important will require research. Study up on the top nootropics which catch your eye the most. The nootropics you take will depend on what you want the enhancement for. The ingredients within each nootropic determine its specific function. For example, some nootropics contain ginkgo biloba, which can help memory, thinking speed, and increase attention span. Check the nootropic ingredients as you determine what end results you want to see. Some nootropics supplements can increase brain chemicals such as dopamine and serotonin. An increase in dopamine levels can be very useful for memory, alertness, reward and more. Many healthy adults, as well as college students take nootropics. This really supports the central nervous system and the brain.

Another factor to consider is whether the nootropic is natural or synthetic. Natural nootropics generally have effects which are a bit more subtle, while synthetic nootropics can have more pronounced effects. Its also important to note that there are natural and synthetic nootropics. Some natural nootropics include Ginkgo biloba and ginseng. One benefit to using natural nootropics is they boost brain function and support brain health. They do this by increasing blood flow and oxygen delivery to the arteries and veins in the brain. Moreover, some nootropics contain Rhodiola rosea, panxax ginseng, and more.

Some nootropics are more commonly used than others. These include nutrients like Alpha GPC, huperzine A, L-Theanine, bacopa monnieri, and vinpocetine. Other types of nootropics ware still gaining traction. With all that in mind, to claim there is a best nootropic for everyone would be the wrong approach since every person is unique and looking for different benefits.

Even the best of todays nootropics only just barely scratch the surface. You might say that we are in the Nokia 1100 phase of taking nootropics, and as better tools and more data come along, the leading thinkers in the space see a powerful future. For example, they are already beginning to look past biochemistry to the epigenome. Not only is the epigenome the code that runs much of your native biochemistry, we now know that experiences in life can be recorded in your epigenome and then passed onto future generations. There is every reason to believe that you are currently running epigenetic code that you inherited from your great-grandmothers life experiences. And there is every reason to believe that the epigenome can be hacked that the nootropics of the future can not only support and enhance our biochemistry, but can permanently change the epigenetic code that drives that biochemistry and that we pass onto our children. This is why many healthy individuals use nootropics. They have great benefits and can promote brain function and reduce oxidative stress. They can also improve sleep quality.

Well dive into the cognition - enhancing possibilities in future posts such as brain plasticity and more, but for now, here are just a few resources to get you started in exploring this domain of neurohacking:

Steven Fowkes - quora - facebook - google+ - youtube - linkedin

* Organic chemist who co-wrote the foundational book on Smart Drugs

* Founded the Cognitive Enhancement Research Institute

* Founded Project Wellbeing

* Related interests: Nutrition, Neurohacking/ Biohacking, Human Performance, Nano-tech

David Pearce - @webmasterdave - facebook* Wrote the online bible of nootropics at nootropics.com* Founder of The Hedonistic Imperative, a project outlining how bioengineering and nanotechnology will abolish suffering in all sentient life* The Hedonistic Imperative Facebook public group* The Abolitionist Project* Related Interests: Philosophy of mind, Ethics, Transhumanism, AI

Joe Cohen - @Selfhacked* Authors the blog SelfHacked* Embodies much of the neurohacker ethos; taking responsibility for his health & wellbeing and upgrading his experience through research and self-experimentation

Longecity: Brain Health - @imminst - facebook

* Forum for discussing nootropic stacks and mental health

Reddit Forum Groups - Forum for discussing nootropics and cognitive enhancers

* r/Nootropics/ - @CognitvEnhancer , @Smart_Drugs, @Nootropix

* r/CognitiveEnhancement/

* r/DrugNerds - @DrugNerds

Bluelight

* Forum for discussing brain nootropics and psychedelics

Examine.com

* An independent encyclopedia on supplementation and nutrition.

PubMed

* Citations for biomedical literature

ConsumerLab.com

* Independent testing of health and nutrition products

Educational Blogs & WebsitesNootriment* Research-backed content & reviews of effectiveness of supplementsSmarter Nootropics

Self Tracking Apps & Brain Training ProgramsCambridge Brain SciencesTrackMyStackStackDB.netNootDBDual N-BackQuantified Mind

Vendors / SuppliersCeretropic

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Excerpt from:

What are Nootropics? - Neurohacker Collective

Nootroo 5.0 The Gold Standard in Nootropics

Nootroo 5.0 - The Gold Standard in Nootropics - Nootroo

Nootropics have been shown to enhance the learning ability of healthy adults.

The brain is more able to process and recall verbalized words if nootropics were administered prior.

Increase Memory Formation

Memory formation is facilitated by the presence of nootropics in the brain.

Greater Interconnectivity

The amount of information passing between hemispheres of the brain is significantly increased by nootropics

Enhance Learning & Memory

Improve learning acquistion and enhance resistance to learning impairments from casues such as lack of oxygen (hypoxia), electroconvulsive shock (ECS), and chemicals that tend to prevent memory formation (scopolamine).

Facilitate Interhemispheric Transfer & Synchronization

Facilitate the transfer of information from one hemisphere to the other, across the corpus callosum which increases synchronization between the hemispheres.

Non-Stimulant & Non-Sedative

Work by increasing the integration of higher-level (telencephalic) activity. On over 30 classical pharmacological tests, the original nootropic shows no activity, including as neither a central nervous stimulant nor a sedative.

Enhance Cerebral Resistance

Increase the brain's ability to resist aggressions and increase recovery time after loss of oxygen, physical trauma, and many chemical intoxications.

StrengthenControl of SubcorticalProcesses

While not acting on directly the central nervous system, nootropics are still able to modulate cortical tonic control, as seen in central nystagmus and spinal fixiation.

Non-Toxic & Low-to-No Side Effects

Must work in harmony with the brain, being virtually free of side-effects and non-toxic even in high doses. Nootropics must not be habit-forming or cause withdrawal.

The nootropic concept had to be developed because a molecule was discovered that had properties unilke anything before it. This molecule, now known as Piracetam, was able to enhance learning and memory while being protective of the brain, and had little to no side effects.

Piracetam was the prototype for the nootropic concept and forms the greatest body of evidence on the efficacy of nootropics. The Nootroo Gold and Silver Formulas are based off of this research and include next-generation, more advanced versions of piracetam each stacked synergystically with citicoline (Cognizin).

The term nootropics is derived from the Greek words for mind and towards and means towards the mind. Nootropics are molecules that have a selective activity upon the higher-integrative mechanisms of the brain. They act directly on the parts of the brain where information is brought together on the highest level and as such are able to positively enhance the processes related to learning, speech, and memory acquisition, consolidation, and recall. To be considered a nootropic, these properties of enhanced activity must occur while also being protective of the brain and while having little to no side-effects.

In 1964, scientists in Belgium were working to develop a sleep-aid. The scientists modified the naturally occurring neurotransmitter GABA, but what resulted instead of a sleep-aid, was something much more profound, a molecule that would come to be known as piracetam. As they probed the properties of the molecule, it became increasingly clear that it was so unqiue, that an entirely new category would be required to describe it, and so in 1972, Cornlieu Giurgea proposed the nootropic concept.

Nootroo Gold & Silver is our premium nootropic stack based on the continued research into nootropics over the last 50 years. The Gold and Silver Formulas each have a different main, next-generation nootropic paired with the precursor for the memory neurotransmitter. The Gold Formula contains Noopept and Citicoline (Cognizin) and the Silver Formula contains Phenylpiracetam and Citicoline (Cognizin). Each bottle contains 30 total pills, with 15 of the Gold Formula and 15 of the Silver Formula and can be distinguished by their non-artifically colored capsules. We are now shipping our 5.0 version of Nootroo Gold & Silver Formulas.

The combination of the ingredients in both the Gold & Silver Formulas are considered to besynergistic stacks. Research shows that the underlying mechanism of the combination has a profound effect on memory enhancement. Citicoline administration alone in healthy adults alone increases the levels of the main neurotransmitter responsible for memory formation, acetylcholine in the outside areas of the brain. When combined with piracetam-like nootropics, the increased acetylcholine is brought into the hippocampus where it is more fully utilized by the brain. The combined effects of nootropics+choline are greater than either alone.

Founded in 2014, Nootroo is dedicated to creating the highest quality nootropic stacks available. Our tagline is The Gold Standard in Nootropics because of our commitment to using only the highest possible quality ingredients. In fact, that tagline (and our gold branding) comes from the fact that we used to use actual 23.5k gold flakes in our Gold Formula and 100% pure silver flakes in our Silver Formula to distinguish betwen them, before we manufactured our custom, non-artifically colored capsules. Our commitment to quality goes beyond aesthethics though, as we are commited to making sure everything else in the capsules is pure as possible. We carry out 3rd-party lab testing on all of our ingredients with a spec of 99% purity and A+ ratings, and we license the purest form of citicoline, a patented bioidentical form from Japan called Cognizin. Our capsules also contain no binding agents, fillers, excipients or anything besides the high-purity ingredients listed. With Nootroo you can be confident knowing that we never cut corners and that you always have the best nootropics available.

Understanding the Original Nootropic: Piracetam

Piracetam was shown to significantly increase the memory of healthy college students in less than 14 days of daily use on a word recall test. Nootropic effects generally increase over time and this study concluded that nootropics are "capable of extending the intellectual functions of man."

Healthy adults had a 15% increase in the number of words recalled on a test of verbal recall. Words heard by the left ear had to cross the corpus callosum in order to reach the verbal processing region on the other side of the brain in order to be verbalized.

Piracetam is not a stimulant and does not work by directly affecting the central nervous system as caffeine or an amphetamine does. Piracetam shows no activity on over 30 different tests and has demonstrated little to no side-effects, including no toxicity, even in extremely high doses.

Next-Generation Nootropics

While piracetam is an amazing molecule, its accidental discovery meant that it wasn't invented with a directed focus on cognitive enhancement or neuroprotection. Fortunately, in the intervening decades since piracetam's discovery, research labs around the world set out to make improved versions with additional benefits and they succeeded beyond their expectations. Two of the best versions created were noopept and phenylpiracetam.

Noopept is a di-peptide version of piracetam that has very high bioavailability and demonstrated anxiolytic properties. Phenylpiracetam was created by adding a "phenyl" group to piracetam which gives it increased bioavailability and some psychomotor activity.

The circles below show where the piracetam structure is within these new molecules. Taking these advanced forms of piracetam and adding a bio-identical form of the body's preferred choline source is how you get the Nootroo Gold & Silver Formulas.

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Noopept is a di-peptide version of piracetam specifically developed to be more powerful and absorbable from oral administration. The researchers from the lab that created it, specialized in creating peptide versions of other molecules, and created hundreds of modified versions of piracetam before selecting Noopept because it is was highly absorbed and "demonstrated a wide spectrum of cognition improving effects." This molecule has been demonstrated to have both positive short-term and long-term effects at enhancing memory and mental processing, especially in older populations.

In adults with (a) cognitive decline and (b) post-concussional syndrome, Noopept was shown to have an even more powerful and consistent effect compared to piracetam.

Noopept significantly increased the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in the brain. BDNF levels control the quantity of new neurons created by the brain.

Noopept has been shown to increase the firing rate of pyramidal neurons in the hippocampus. These neurons are implicated in memory formation and recall.

CDP-Choline, as will be discussed more in depth down below, is the bodys preferred precursor for the memory neurotransmitter acetylcholine. Supplementation of acetylcholine alone will increase acetylcholine production in the brain. Nootropics alone will increase the bodys use of acetylcholinein the process of forming memory. So when combined, the power of this increased supply to meet the brains increased neurochemical demands, has been shown to have profound effects compared to either alone.

Phenylpiracetam is a version of piracetam with an added phenyl group designed to increase processing speed and provide mental endurance. This added group increases piracetam's affinity for the receptors that control psychomotor activity (where movement and thinking are combined), while not not being a central nervous stimulant. Phenylpiraceatam has been shown to significantly speed up processing and endurance, even in single doses. It was utilized by the Russian space program for use by cosmonauts on extended missions.

Phenylpiracetam was shown to increase the amount of distance covered in exploratory trials. This correlates to an increase in mental activation and endurance.

Phenylpiracetam was shown in this study to regulate the brain waves against aggression in an epilepsy model. Autonomic normalization is a property that helps ensure consistent brain activity against things that would tend to disrupt it.

Phenylpiracetam has also been shown to prevent a memory blocking agent, scopolamine, from blocking memory formation. This is a powerful indicator of the effect of phenylpiracetam on memory formation.

One way phenylpiracetam works,is by activating and enhancing the activity of the cholinergicsystem in the brain. The cholinergic system modulates memory and learning and in order for it to operate optimally, it needs the molecule acetylcholine to be at certain levels in synapses. CDP-Choline is the precursor for acetylcholine, and by adding it to the body, the brain will increase its choline levels. By increasing the amount of choline available, the brain will then utilize more of it and in doing so, will enhance the firing mechanisms of this system. This allows phenylpiracetam to have an optimized cholinergic system to interact with.

CiticolineIn Gold & Silver Formulas:

CDP-Choline, also known as citicoline, is a precursor for the memory neurotransmitter acetylcholine. Supplementation has been shown to increase acetylcholine production in the brain. Citicoline administration has also been shown to increase brain bioenergetics by increasing energy reserves and utilization of energy.. Studies in healthy adult women show that taking Cognizin citicoline significantly improved their verbal memory after just 28 days. Studies suggest that citicoline also can help increase dopamine receptor densities , which is the neurotransmitter associated with motivation. We license Cognizin, a patented form of Citicoline, that is the only pure, free-base form of citicoline that is bioidentical to the form found in nature.

Healthy adult women taking CDP-Choline have been shown to have an improvement in memory and focus after 28 days.

The levels of the energy carrier molecule (ATP) were increased by 13.6% by CDP Choline and cell membrane turnover was increased by more than 25%.

CDP-Choline alone in adolescent males for 28 days was shown to significantly increase psychomotor speed and improve attention compared to placebo.

CDP-Choline is an essential nutrient that is crucial in the brains processes of memory formation, attention and learning, yet most people are deficient in it. CDP-Choline is typically obtained by the body from food and supplies choline for the brain to make the neurotransmitter acetylcholine as well as neuronal cell membranes. That is why simply adding it to the body results in a >25% increase in cell membrane formation as well as >10% increase in cellular energy (ATP) levels. The recommendations for adults is between 450-550 mg per day, both Nootroo Gold & Silver have approximately 500 mg of the purest form of CDP-Choline available, Cognizin branded CDP-Choline. It is made in an enzymatic process in a bioreactor that takes 6 months and is imported from Japan. This patented-form of CDP-Choline is the only form that is bioidentical to the form found in nature, in a free-base and not a salt.

Meditation is a key element to enhancing your brains ability to focus and stay on task. Mindfulness meditation can change your brain in as little at 8 weeks. We will provide resources to help you learn and sustain a meditation practice.

Exercise is crucial for optimizing brain health, metabolism and neuroplasticity. The Nootroo Protocol will teach you the most effective and efficient exercises for the brain from both the physical and mental realms.

Nootroo Gold & Silver have you covered in this category, but we will also share with you additional tips, tricks, nutrients, and supplements that can help you get the most out of your nootropics (and brain).

Sleep is crucial to memory formation, consolidation, and general brain health. We will teach you techniques to help you sleep better, increase neurotransmitter synthesis, wake up feeling more refreshed and even how to fall asleep more easily.

Diet is a key regulator of energy and how you feel. We will teach you dietary tricks to optimize your bodys metabolism so that your brain can receive more energy and utilize that energy more effectively.

The Nootroo Protocol has been designed to bring together all of the most important aspects for optimal performance and health. As a subscriber, you will receive continued access to our knowledge-base as well as a step-by-step tips and information to aid you in achieving optimal performance.

Its not like every tech worker in Silicon Valley is taking nootropics to get ahead, Burke acknowledges. Its the few who are getting ahead who are using supplements to do that... These days, he buys his stack from Nootroo, a San Francisco company.

"Tweaking brains with smart drugs to get ahead in Silicon Valley"

Nootropics are a broad category of cognitive-enhancing supplements that include a range of compounds to improve memory, focus and mood...Matzner said he wants to get these things out to as many smart people as possible so people could get smarter and make the world better.

'Nootropics gain momentum as 'smart pills

Were talking about...a new type of biology where were taking these things into our own hands but also to try and proactively go from baseline to above, said Matzner.

A real-life 'Limitless' pill? Silicon Valley entrepreneurs pursue brain hacking with nootropics, or 'smart drugs'

Nootropics are trending right now in Silicon Valley. A crop of new companies are selling these so-called productivity pills to "biohackers" looking to get an edge in work and life...A company based in San Francisco called Nootroo sells two pills -- one gold, one silver...

Nootropics, Biohacking and Silicon Valley's Pursuit of Productivity

"Eric takes nootropics...a mix of compounds...that claim to improve cognitive function, increase alertness and strengthen memory and recall."

Billion Dollar Deals and How They Changed Your World | Health

[Nootroos] pills come in gold and silver formulas, which are to be taken on alternating days. Over time, theyre intended to enhance focus, memory, and cognitive function.

Nightline News dropped by to see what all the hype over nootropics is about. They interviewed a Nootroo customer to find the secret to her work hard play hard lifestyle.

The BBC came to check out what is going on in Silicon Valley with those choosing to enhance their biology and push forward science, to see if they just might end up pushing forward the world.

NPR wanted some tips on how biohacker and Nootroo founder, Eric Matzner, starts his day, so he showed them a basic adaption of the Nootroo Protocol.

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Humanity will not wait millions of years until Mother Nature will hand it a functionally better brain...[Humankind] will directly, openly and consciously take part in evolution.

In the early 1960s, scientists were working to develop a form of the neurotransmitter GABA, that would be able to cross the blood-brain barrier and potentially work as a sleep aid..

While they succeeded in developing a molecule with the ability to enter the brain, they failed at creating a sleep aid. What they discovered instead, however, was a molecule that would later prove to be much more profound.

Like a sculptor removing parts of the stone to reveal the beauty within, Corneliu Giurgea, the lead scientist at the lab, and his team would work diligently to chip away at the unknowns of piracetam, to reveal the properties within it.

After 9 years of research, Giurgea had determined that this molecule (piracetam) acted in such a unique way on the higher-level, integrative activities of the brain, that in order to classify it, the creation of an entirely new classification was required: " the nootropic approach to integrative activity of the mind."

On over 30 pharmacological tests, Piracetam was found to have no activity, including being neither a sedative nor a stimulant. It also had no toxicity and few side effects, even when given in extremely high doses, such as grams per kilogram of body weight, to mice, rats, cats, dogs, and monkeys with single or multiple doses, even over long-term administration.

In fact, because of those properties, piracetam seemed to be inactive. Had it not been for a test on nystagmus (involuntary eye movements), where they found it immediately active, piracetam likely would have been passed over. This discovery was especially intriguing to the researchers because all of the then-known agents active against nystagmus were either antihistamines or anticholinergics.

It was clear that piracetam did not fit into either of those classes, so the researchers set out to understand which class it did fit into. As they would eventually discover, no existing class embodied the properties of this "unusual" molecule.

The first human trials began in 1965 and showed that piracetam was able to significantly inhibit nystagmus. Because there was extremely low toxicity and seemingly few side-effects, they began to test piracetam in other populations. Further data reported internally then claimed "fairly good efficacy against motion sickness and vertigo" in humans. These findings lead them to search for a "more comprehensive picture of piracetam from the neurophysiological point of view."

As they were carrying out these follow up studies over 1966-1967, a series of surprising results were reported. First, results came in from a study done at a hospital in Finland on post-concussion patients. The scientists running the study wrote to Giurgea to let him know that the "patients memory seemed somehow improved, that they declared to 'think' better.".

Then came word from a trial in Brusseles on epileptic children administered piracetam. The parents of the children in the study "claimed a kind of improvement in the overall mental efficiency." And then another researcher reported to him that his Parkinsonian patients under Piracetam were "somehow more aware of their sickness."

Since Giurgea and his team had previously demonstrated piracetam selectively enhanced interhemispheric communication (see associated image), he had suspected that the compound might facilitate other cortically integrated mental functions, but at that time, he had no idea the extent.

This new information changed the course of their clinical work and they began to focus on "studies related to a potential beneficial effect of Piracetam on mental activity."

Nootropic Properties Revealed

As experimental data on the neurochemical mechanisms of piracetam continued to expand, Giurgea and his team began to zero in on some overarching properties of the molecule that would come to define the nootropic class.

In normal subjects, piracetam appeared to "activate efficiency of higher nervous function" and in the case of injury, piracetam appeared to "protect and/or facilitate restoration of normal brain activity."

From these observations and others, Giurgea surmised that piracetam, and potentially other molecules like it, "appeared to have a selective activity upon the higher-integrative mechanisms of the brain."

Enhancement of Learning & Memory

Rats learned how to exit a water maze much more quickly when on piracetam.

Facilitation of Interhemispheric Transfer

Notice the change in the amplitude of the evoked potential of the corpus callosum, without a change in morphology. Demonstrating telencephalic selectivity.

Protection Against Loss of Oxygen

Memory is protected from disruption during a loss of oxygen (hypoxia) if the rats are given Piracetam prior.

Protection From Electroconvulsive Shock

After having their brains electroconvulsively shocked, after 24-hours, rats given piracetam prior remembered 100%, while rats on placebo remembered less than 20% of the time.

Increased Control of SubcorticalProcesses

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Nootroo 5.0 The Gold Standard in Nootropics

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Nootropic stacks can maximise your learning capacity, memory, focus, concentration and prevent high levels of stress. The best nootropic stack for beginners is caffeine and L-theanine. If you are an intermediate user you should try either Pramiracetam and Alpha GPC or Phenylpiracetam and Choline. Four popular nootropics: Aniracetam, Alpha GPC, Huperzina A and Vinpocetine are used by those who consider themselves as advanced users. Learning accelerator is the latest category of nootropics. iQuzil is the best cognitive enhancer for expert users. Although nootropic stacks are best known for their ability to enhance mental capacity, concentration, focus and memory, they can also be very effective at preventing the high levels of anxiety, including social anxiety. Students are likely to experience enough challenges and pressures without having to think about dealing with high levels of anxiety. The best nootropic stack to reduce anxiety and help with studying is Choline Bitatrate, Phenibut and Picamilon. The above nootropic stacks will help students to maximise their potential and reach goals by improving their brain power, working memory and focus.

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Nootropics | HVMN Biohacker Guide

Nootropics are a broad classification of cognition-enhancing compounds that produce minimal side effects and are suitable for long-term use. These compounds include those occurring in nature or already produced by the human body (such as neurotransmitters), and their synthetic analogs. We already regularly consume some of these chemicals: B vitamins, caffeine, and L-theanine, in our daily diets.

A fundamental aspect of human evolution has been the drive to augment our capabilities. The neocortex is the neural seat of abstract and higher order cognitive processes. As it grew, so did our ability to create. The invention of tools and weapons, writing, the steam engine, and the computer have exponentially increased our capacity to influence and understand the world around us. These advances are being driven by improved higher-order cognitive processing.1Fascinatingly, the practice of modulating our biology through naturally occurring flora predated all of the above discoveries. Indeed, Sumerian clay slabs as old as 5000 BC detail medicinal recipes which include over 250 plants2. The enhancement of human cognition through natural compounds followed, as people discovered plants containing caffeine, theanine, and other cognition-enhancing, or nootropic, agents.

There is an ancient precedent to humans using natural compounds to elevate cognitive performance. Incan warriors in the 15th century would ingest coca leaves (the basis for cocaine) before battle. Ethiopian hunters in the 10th century developed coffee bean paste to improve hunting stamina. Modern athletes ubiquitously consume protein powders and hormones to enhance their training, recovery, and performance. The most widely consumed psychoactive compound today is caffeine. Millions of people use coffee and tea to be more alert and focused.

The term nootropic is simply a descriptor, and this descriptor spans across all legal classifications of compounds. Broadly speaking, there are four main classifications:

Nootrobox stacks are strictly derived from the first category - compounds that are GRAS and approved for human consumption as dietary supplements.

The mechanisms by which nootropic compounds influence our cognition and neurophysiology are as diverse as those of prescription drugs. We present below our in-progress work, detailing the mechanisms, effects, and history of various nootropic compounds. Check in for updates and additions.

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Nootropics | HVMN Biohacker Guide