Magpie and a Mirror

Some animals recognize themselves in a mirror. Even some birds do. But how do we test this ability? It's really quite simple.


Thanks NewScientist Magazine
Categories:Science

Absinthe Makes the Heart Grow Fonder

Absinthe was banned in the US for over 90 years because of its alleged psychoactive properties. But studies of century-old absinthe samples show that absinthe drinkers were just very very drunk.

"The long-cherished idea that absinthe, an anise-flavored alcoholic beverage with a history of use by artists like Van Gogh and Picasso, is or ever was hallucinogenic might have met its death by data today.

"German scientists put old bottles of the substance to the test and found that the liquid is 70 percent alcohol (140 proof) and 0 percent hallucination." -Wired Blog

Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?

Once I built a railroad, I made it run, made it race against time.
Once I built a railroad; now it's done. Brother, can you spare a dime?



Full credit here to Chrysler for actually showing autoworkers in this advert. Most car makers would prefer you to think your car was made by robots and untouched by a human hand.

Ballpoint Pen Flat-Pack

Ruler, pen, pen holder.

The "assembly kit" comes with a flat piece of iron that you fold into a 3-dimensional pen holder. The assembly kit includes a key to help you bend the metal, a ruler and instructions. Handmade in Italy. -UnCommonGoods $39

Thanks Dvice
Categories:Gadgets

ASCII Image Meets Dice Video

Just like one of of those old ASCII images, but this time a video using dice.

I like the black and white dice. They create the right mood for the music. But the coloured dice are flashy, distracting and unnecessary.

This animation technique would be suitable for dark, disturbing, melancholic music such as "Bukowski" by Modest Mouse.

Thanks DesignBoom
Categories:Movies

High Tide Flooding in Sausalito

Houseboats at Waldo Point and an Auto body shop on Gate Five Road. These areas are normally dry. The very high tides are not a problem for the houseboats, and most of the businesses are on tall foundations. The body shop is not so lucky. I've been inside, and the floors are very clean...


Next to the flooded body shop on Gate 5 Road is a property that never floods. Strangely, this property has two 6 inch pipes running from the rear to the street. Those pipes were carrying tidal water that was flooding the street and a property across the street. I wonder why?

CB2 Store Open in San Francisco

Crate and Barrel has a great store at O'Farrell and Stockton. I find my way there every December to buy gifts or to buy dinning room essentials for us. I like to look down from the upper floors at shoppers across the street crowding the window displays at Macy's. Very Norman Rockwell. Even on the 24th of December this store is a civilized place to shop, and the Customer Service is superb. So how could Crate and Barrel be better? It could be less expensive. And so it is...

CB2, which up until now has only had an online presence, has opened a 8,000 square foot showroom on Ellis near Stockton in San Francisco.

SF Curbed doesn't care for CB2. Their headline was "Poor Design Whores Await CB2". I won't argue with them that much of CB2's stock is rubbish, but I think SF Curbed is holding CB2 to a high standard. Instead of comparing CB2 to DWR or Room And Board, they should compare it to IKEA. It's a place where you have to wade through the dregs to find the well designed and well made bargains. You have to be discerning to separate the wheat from the chaff at CB2 or IKEA. If you are not discerning, then you will be a "poor design whore".

Categories:Design

Large Diameter Car Wheels

I fail to understand the advantage of the large diameter car wheels that are the current fashion.

The wheels require very low-profile tyres that give the car a poor ride quality and poor handling (unless the car has race car suspension geometry). Their excessive weight and rotational inertia have a negative effect on acceleration, braking, and steering. The large wheels also make the stock brakes look puny, suggesting the owner can't afford the matching large diameter brake rotors.

Even when it's done correctly it looks tacky.

Categories:Cars

UC Hall to be Demolished?

The UCSF Parnassus campus is a hodgepodge of building styles squeezed on to the side of Mount Sutro. Its compactness is perhaps its only virtue. There is no open space. Most of the buildings are institutional multi-storey boxes.

The oldest remaining building on the UCSF Parnassus campus is the 1917 Beaux Arts Hall, now usually referred to as UC Hall. It was designed by Lewis P. Hobart who also designed Grace Cathedral on Nob Hill. The building is being considered for demolition in 2009.

To find out more, go to this site.

Categories:San Francisco Architecture

Who is Leading in the Olympic Medal Count?

There appear to be two ways to compile an Olympic medal count: Either total medals per country, or total gold medals per country.

According to the International Olympic Committee there is no official ranking of countries, and the Olympics are between athletes, not nations. But on the I.O.C. website they do list countries according to gold medal count. And rightly so. After all, a bronze is not equal to a gold.

So, according to the method used by US media, the US is ahead in the medal count. But according to the method used by the I.O.C., China is ahead.

From NBC and other American news media:


From the Official Website of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games: