August 2010
8 posts
In July 2002, Appled filed a patent for a “Breathing Status LED Indicator” (No. US 6,658,577 B2). They described it as a “blinking effect of the sleep-mode indicator in accordance with the present invention mimics the rhythm of breathing which is psychologically appealing.”
The average…
This NYT article “Your Brain on Computers” came out on my last day of beach vacation, echoing everything I noticed about how my mind changed over two weeks with minimum internet…
- My attention span grew back, from about 10 seconds to several hours. I could read half a novel at a time, without…
From the makers of the Oxford English Dictionary, an invitation to learn, adopt, and spread endangered words in the English language. Pretty brilliant, though I wish they had a Twitter feed instead of an email service.
My favorites of the moment include “drollic” (pertaining to puppet shows) and “abligurition” (a prodigal spending on meat and drink).
I have memories of riding the NYC subway as a kid and waiting for the moment when the R train (or was it still the RR train then?) would leave the DeKalb Avenue subway in Brooklyn, heading into Manhattan. Painted on the walls inside the tunnel was an abstract art piece that worked like a zoetrope, animating and unfolding in bold colors and geometric shapes as the train zoomed past it.
I only just recently read about the story behind this. The piece is called Masstransiscope and was created and installed by Bill Brand in 1980. Apparently it was recently restored in 2008, which is wonderful to hear. I hardly ever ride that line anymore, so the last time I saw it, the work was nearly completely covered with graffiti. I think it may be time for a ride on the B/Q trains someday soon.
Watch videos on the debut and restoration of Masstransiscope at the Masstransiscope blog.
