July 2009
43 posts
“he paces around meaninglessly, gesturing like a rabid stork. He raises both...”
– A Critique of Ralph Bakshi’s Lord of the Rings
YAKKAY →
“brainwear for smart people” A helmet that’s also a hat.
The benefits of organic food in doubt?
BBC News: Organic ‘has no health benefits’
This news paints a narrow picture of an important and much wider subject. “Organic” is an abused and misused term that encompasses many ethical and philosophical approaches reaching far beyond an individual’s short-term health. Whilst the BBC went with a misleading headline the Telegraph got it right: “Organic food has...
The internets are alive with fishbots
ironedcoho: I want you to recite Britney Spears lyrics to me. Go!
Jacob: $optout
ironedcoho: OPERATOR: Are you sure you want to opt-out? If you do, you will *never* be contacted again on the account "x". There is *no way* to opt back in and undo this. If you are sure, type "$optout 6B61". Remember, this is permanent and irreversible!
Symarctic ExtGPS →
Use Google Earth’s real-time tracking or any other GPS capable app on your laptop with your [Nokia] phone’s GPS via Bluetooth. On OS X simply add a new serial port in Bluetooth preferences when your…
AirBnB →
Private vacation rentals, rooms, sublets by the night, worldwide.
“Who’d have guessed that racists would also be dangerously ill-informed?”
– Babes of the BNP | Viceland.com [via DollyMix]
Cat bashing
Some excerpts from the comment thread for ‘Hungry cats trick owners with baby cry mimicry’ on New Scientist:
“Cats, as cute as they are, are parasites on the human species.”
“we grow and kill other animals and transport these dead animals to the cat”
“I dont care if my companion doesn’t fetch my slippers.”
“You are welcome to believe that your cat loves you...
“Holloway Road [underground station] […] housed the world’s first spiral...”
– h2g2 - Abandoned London Tube Stations
2 tags
“the proportion of textile waste [rose] from 7 per cent to 30 per cent in the...”
– Throwaway fashion ‘must end’ as [Asda] launches 100 day returns policy - Telegraph
“Once at a facility in Angola, I was given a key and directions to the door it would unlock. When I got there, instead of a keyhole, I was presented with a combination pad. I was about to give up and return when the man who had given me the key came around the corner, apologized, and showed me how the keypad flipped open presenting a keyhole behind it.” —‘Nimby’
“Computer vision is sophisticated and cheap enough to make it possible to spot...”
– When advertising meets surveillance - New Scientist
The Binsar Retreat →
Rooms and tents in the Binsar Sanctuary at 7,500 feet with view onto the Himalayan peaks. No grid electricity but has solar lighting. From $95.
Abbott Mount Cottage →
“The historic hamlet of Abbott Mount is at 6500 ft in the eastern Kumaon Hills. It was founded by an English businessman who wanted to start a hill station at the turn of the 20th century. Unlike…
Innespace Seabreacher J →
A semi-submersible ‘powerboat’ that looks and behaves like a dolphin. $48,000.
Binsar Eco Camp →
Cottages and tents at 7,000 feet *without* a view onto the Himalayan peaks. No electricity. From $15.
goPostal →
“create, print and mail personalized photo postcards directly from your iPhone” [or web browser]. Currently US-only.
Cat Caller - iPhone app →
“Your cat will instant run to you with this iPhone app.”
The Cable Guy: How to network a continent →
A brilliant article from Wired UK on the massive investment in and growth of telecoms infrastructure that’s now hitting Africa.
When The Dragon Swallowed The Sun →
“Six years in the making […] an unprecedented inside perspective on the Tibetan community in exile, its young generation and their struggle to free their homeland.”
“It is absurd that we still operate fashion production in a way where a designer...”
– Otto von Busch interviewed by we make money not art
jQuery Visualize Plugin →
“Accessible Charts & Graphs from Table Elements using HTML 5 Canvas” (Generated from an HTML table.)
The Mysterious Geographical Explorations of Jasper... →
“a short feature made in a unique style of silhouette animation developed by director Anthony Lucas and inspired by the work of authors Edgar Alan Poe and Jules Verne” From Collection:
Q: "What's the difference between apathy and indifference?"
A: "I don't know and I don't care."
“monkeys are mostly seen around top government offices”
– BBC NEWS | Delhi court ban on errant monkeys [Old story, but there’s endless amusement in all the Delhi monkey stories, except when they turn into cold-blooded murderers.]
Aug 28, 2009: The Ladakh Confluence at Leh →
Prowl →
“a Growl client for the iPhone. Notifications from your Mac can be sent to your iPhone over push”
Storm King Art Center →
“a museum that celebrates the relationship between sculpture and nature. Five hundred acres of landscaped lawns, fields and woodlands provide the site for postwar sculptures by internationally…
“Luckily, these differences are fairly easy to explain to anybody who’s...”
– Building Respect for Usability Expertise (Jakob Nielsen’s Alertbox)
Video for Everybody →
A very simply chunk of HTML code that embeds a video into a website using the HTML5 <video> element, in other browsers that do not support <video>, it falls back to Adobe Flash.
“art galleries and museums […] They’re full of secretly bored people...”
– Charlie Brooker on hobbies and trying to develop an interest in history | The Guardian