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The Secret Powers of Time
[youtube www.youtube.com/watch
This is a really fascinating look into the psychology of time and the rough grouping people fall into.
There's a whole load of cultural and communication issues bound up in this stuff...
Superhero Sexy-Time
Given that superhero comics tend to be about beautiful people in skin-tight outfits engaging in rigorous physical activity, it's only natural that there's often a strong sexual undercurrent to their adventures, and every now and then, it bubbles up to the surface.
I'm guessing that the majority of people who read this blog aren't comics readers. The link above will confirm your every prejudice.
Enjoy!
Why Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
Caucasian blondes are usually slightly higher in oestrogen than brunettes and are likely to exhibit other infantile sexually selected traits (indicating low levels of testosterone) that are considered desirable by males, for example finer facial features, smaller nose, smaller jaw, pointed chin, narrow shoulders, smooth skin and less body hair, and infantile behaviour such as higher energy levels and playfulness
Science doesn't do political correctness very well. ;-)
That said, I married a redhead...
The Very Last of the Summer Wine
Long-running BBC comedy Last of the Summer Wine is to be axed after 37 years, the BBC has announced.
via news.bbc.co.uk
I've 'fessed up to my deeply unfashionable love of Last of the Summer Wine before.
This news makes me sad - but I can't help but think that 37 years is a pretty good innings for a TV show...
London's Hidden Theatre Treasure
The building itself is tucked behind high security fencing around the back of Olympia and looks like it was once a rambling Victorian mental hospital.Access is through full-height turn-styles which are electronically operated once your name has been verified on the intercom. I kid you not. They must have some valuable stuff in there somewhere.
Reception is access by fire-escape-style external metal steps and once you've signed in and been given a security pass you are escorted to the reading room through a card activated turn style, and two card activated doors down a long, silent corridor. Once at the equally quiet reading room you have to deposit your bag in a locker and only pencils are allowed.
Rev Stan passes through the endless security of the V&A's little-known theatrical archive.
How many people outside academia even know that this exists?
London's Photographic Density (a nerdy ramble)
via londonist.com
The picture above represents the most photographed areas of London, based on the geotagging data found on images in Flickr and Picasa. (More here.)
Now, we have to introduce some caveats here. This image is shaped by the combination of people who have cameras that automatically geotag photos, and those who can be bothered to do it later. But, given the density and distribution, I think it's pretty accurate.
And this is something the archiving nerd in me finds interesting. Here, a whole agglomeration of data (or photos, if you like) has been used to create something else simply through analysis of the metadata associated with them.
We geeks get excited about tagging the things we create - but my experience suggests that explicit tagging (where people choose to apply the metadata) is a minority support at best. Automated tagging, where metadata is applied at the moment of creation (like geotagging) or as the image passes through software (face recognition)opens up far more opportunity for us to analyse and understand the world, through our join creative endeavours.
Isn't that cool? :)
Kids and social networking – at what age is it acceptable to let kids get online with friends? And what are your rules for keeping tabs on it?
Never. Darn kids should stay off my virtual lawn.
When I was a kid we had to network using a 28.8k baud modem… (etc, etc, etc)
<blockquote>
Never. Darn kids should stay off my virtual lawn.<br />
When I was a kid we had to network using a 28.8k baud modem... (etc, etc, etc)
The Value of Tribes
I've found the idea of tribalism to be increasingly useful in understanding political behaviour. Faced with the need to make a decision based on incomplete information, people may often attempt to understand how others like them are behaving and behave in that fashion. This isn't really a new insight; politicians have been playing to group identities forever.
Perhaps this is one of the reasons I've always been so uncomfortable with tribalism, particularly in politics. It's so open to manipulation and abuse by the unscrupulous.
Donate them to a good cause, recycle them... What do you do with your old computers and phones?
My old computers have mainly cascaded down the family, before eventually leaving the family via a gift, or breaking and heading to the recycling centre. So, my last laptop is now with my mother-in-law, the iMac before last is at my brother's place in France. And my brother-in-law is using my very first iBook still.
The only computer I've "used to death" was my iMac G4, which finally died after 6 years of use. I'm typing this on its replacement.
My old phones have traditionally gone to recycling, but my last iPhone went to a member of my extended family.
<blockquote>
My old computers have mainly cascaded down the family, before eventually leaving the family via a gift, or breaking and heading to the recycling centre. So, my last laptop is now with my mother-in-law, the iMac before last is at my brother's place in France. And my brother-in-law is using my very first iBook still.<br />
The only computer I've "used to death" was my iMac G4, which finally died after 6 years of use. I'm typing this on its replacement.
My old phones have traditionally gone to recycling, but my last iPhone went to a member of my extended family.
Telegraph reviews the new Photoshop
CS5 has four major improvements that – on paper – jumped out at me. The most exciting is content-aware fill – and when I first used it on one of my photos, my jaw dropped.
I had taken a picture of a French manor house, which was perfect, except that a gardener was standing in front of it. Using the lasso tool, I drew very roughly around the man and pressed Delete. The Fill dialogue box appeared. Into that, I chose content-aware fill. Photoshop, almost magically, replaced the gardener with the brickwork and the climbing plant that he was standing in front of. It was as though he had never been there
I've just bagged my upgrade, and will be playing with it tonight - I'm really quite excited now.
Do you want a 3D TV? Why or why not? And will you ever get one?
No. No. No.
Also, no.
I'm at my limit with TV repurchasing. First it was Dolby Digital Stereo, and then widescreen, and then surround sound, and then flat panel TV of various sort and now HD. And those all actually improved the viewing experience. 3D? Not so much. I'm quite happy to head along to a cinema for a couple of hours, pop on the X-ray specs and enjoy the 3D experience in the dark. At home, watching a movie with my wife? No.
I'm far more interested in the shift towards downloadable and streaming traditional content than yet another "innovation" in home movie watching. This feels like another gimmick to try and sell us another round of TVs - and I'm not playing.
<blockquote>
No. No. No.<br />
Also, no.
I'm at my limit with TV repurchasing. First it was Dolby Digital Stereo, and then widescreen, and then surround sound, and then flat panel TV of various sort and now HD. And those all actually improved the viewing experience. 3D? Not so much. I'm quite happy to head along to a cinema for a couple of hours, pop on the X-ray specs and enjoy the 3D experience in the dark. At home, watching a movie with my wife? No.
I'm far more interested in the shift towards downloadable and streaming traditional content than yet another "innovation" in home movie watching. This feels like another gimmick to try and sell us another round of TVs - and I'm not playing.
Liking Me, Liking You (Ah-ha)
I've just added the new Facebook Like button to this blog - you can see it to the right, under the search box.
If you chose to Like it, you'll get updates in your Facebook news feed on those rare occasions when I post here…
Embodied Energy & Greener Houses
http://video.ted.com/assets/player/swf/EmbedPlayer.swf
via andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com
Thought-provoking (but probably not much use, given how hard land for private development is to find in the UK right now).
QotD: The Hardest Thing I've Ever Done...
What's the hardest thing you've ever done?
Telling my dying mother that it was OK for her to go.
QotD: Sweet Treat
If you could only indulge in one dessert for the rest of your life, which sweet treat would you choose?
Profiteroles.
Hello, New Tardis
I thought they'd save this for a big reveal on Saturday, but no, here it is.
Thoughts?
Photoshop 5's magical fill tool
[youtube www.youtube.com/watch
via kottke.org
This looks insanely awesome. I have a whole bunch of scanning and cleaning up of old family photos to do - some going back to my great-grandparents' era. The time savings from these tools would be huge.
Is Le Wei Xiang, Lewisham any good?
We flicked through the menu and I was fair jumping up and down at seeing such gems as "Blood Curd, Pig Bowel, Ox Tripe, Ham & Veg boiled with Dried Chilli and Chinese Spice", "Shredded Beef Stomach with Preserved Chilli" and "Stewed Pigs Trotters in Soy Sauce".
via www.meemalee.com
Just up the road from where I live. Sounds well worth a visit.