Well, now I want to go to Finland!
That time-lapse is just one of 10 mesmerizing time-lapse videos collected by Wired.
I live about 200 km from the city of Winnipeg. But nobody says that. Everyone always says “two hours,” because that’s how long it takes to get there.
Time is how people think of travel. Distance is useful mainly as an approximation of time. So that’s why a map that throws out that slavish devotion to geography, and instead concentrates on travel times, would be so useful!
Which is exactly what TimeMaps does (sorry, it’s in Dutch). By mapping out the Netherlands and correlating it with train schedules, recent design grad Vincent Meertens has made a web-app that visualizes how the “distance” (travel time) grows and shrinks over the course of a day. That is, when the trains run less often, like at night, it takes a lot longer to get where you’re going. And the map gets bigger, to represent that.
Meertens tells Fast Company that he’s hoping to add cars, bikes and other forms of transportation. His next project will be New York City.
It’s up for an award — you can vote for it here.
Nov 152011
Copyranter thinks so. And, after watching it, I might have to agree.
Nov 142011
It says, “Learn to kern” — but it’s poorly kerned! Typographical pun! Huzzah!
It tickles that part of my brain where “nerd” and “funny” intersect.
It’s available for pre-order, just $25!
(thanks, PaJo!)
The project sounds stellar:
‘Santa vs Dracula’ is full color graphic novel about Count Dracula invading Santa Claus’s workshop with an army of monsters (Frankenstein’s Monster, Mr. Hyde, Invisible Man, the Wicked Witch of the West, etc) in order to gain Santa’s ability to enter people’s homes at will. Of course, Santa has his own allies and they aren’t about to give the big-guy up without a fight!
They’re about half-way funded on Kickstarter! Help them out!
Spock for your Christmas tree is some $40 at ThinkGeek and lights up when you plug it into a strand of lights.
Now awaiting the “Dammit Jim, I’m a doctor, not an ornament!” light-up McCoy.
Nov 142011
I used to feel that I had some prowess at stacking restaurant coffee creamers. I would regularly stack them, towering high, more than 20 at a time — often, I’d run out of the coffee creamers at my table and adjacent tables, before the towers toppled.
Sometimes, I’ve stacked other things. And who hasn’t stacked coins?
This guy? This guy humbles me.
Nov 132011
This is a “sunken” bridge, located in the Netherlands that gives the incredible perspective of walking through parted water. The bridge gives access to a 17th Century fort, which has long been protected by a shallow moat.
It was designed by RO & AD Architects and uses a type of modified wood called Accoya wood, which offers increased durability against something like water.
Apparently from afar, it appears as if there’s nothing in the water, and you only see it once up close. I love that you can reach over and touch the water. There must not be too many issues with the water level increasing, otherwise they might not have gone with this idea. Very cool!
(via)
Nov 122011
Falconry AND paragliding? Oh, why oh why aren’t I part of the idle rich 
Nov 112011
11/11/11 is the date that most resembles corduroy. Ever.
So says the Corduroy Appreciation Club:
Please note: the Two Item Rule is NOT in EFFECT! We are instituting a THREE ITEM RULE! That means, you must wear THREE (3) items of Corduroy. You can do it!
Sadly, I missed the 11 Days of Corduroy, which began on Nov. 1 (or 1/11/11 — “a date which closely resembles Corduroy”) — but now I am eagerly waiting for Nov. 11, 2111, which will do us one better.
Of course, the year 1111 doesn’t count, because corduroy wasn’t invented until about 1780. But can you imagine the celebration in the year 11,111? Heck yes!
Nov 112011
Here’s a thought-provoking essay: “The Truth About Violence.”
I won’t spoil it, but the three principles of self-defence are essentially to avoid confrontation, to not defend property, and to run away. As the author points out, any violent confrontation could end with your own death:
If you look out your kitchen window and see a group of youths destroying your car, you should remain inside and call the police. It doesn’t matter if you happen to be a Navy Seal who keeps a loaded shotgun by the front door. You don’t want to kill a teenager for vandalism, and you don’t want to get shot by one for hesitating to pull the trigger.
Nov 112011
That’s what I tweeted out this morning. And here is an interesting perspective on poppy as fashion accessory: Do Those Who Flaunt The Poppy On Their Lapels Know That They Mock The War Dead?
Nov 102011
From Kevin Engstrom: “Have you always wondered who’d win a tug of war between a dog and a chimp? Wonder no more.”
Nov 102011
(Photo: McDonalds McRib Sandwich, a Creative Commons Attribution (2.0) image from io_burn’s photostream)
Let me first say that I haven’t eaten a McDonald’s sandwich since high school — and not single fast-food burger of any kind for at least a decade. I’m not sure if that makes me more or less credible on the issue of the McRib, but don’t worry, I’m not going to offer any opinions of my own.
Rather, I’m just going to point you in the direction of a fascinating new conspiracy theory: that the McDonald’s McRib is a way for the restaurant chain to profit from times of low pork prices:
Looking … back into pork price history, we can see some interesting trends that corroborate with some McRib history. When McDonald’s first introduced the product, they kept it nationwide until 1985, citing poor sales numbers as the reason for removing it from the menu. Between 1982 and 1985 pork prices were significantly lower than prices in 1981 and 1986, when pork would reach highs of $17 per pound; during the product’s first run, pork prices were fluctuating between roughly $9 and $13 per pound—until they spiked around when McDonald’s got rid of it. Take a look at 30 years of pork prices here and see for yourself. Also note that sharp dip in 1994—McDonald’s reintroduced the sandwich that year, too. Though notably, they didn’t do so in 1998.
There’s even a chart of more recent pork prices, correlated with the introduction of the McRib (black lines):
Sure, correlation is not causation, and the conspiracy theory delves deeper in to the economics of price arbitrage than I’m really comfortable vetting, but the essential point is clear:
McDonald’s is so huge that it moves markets, and it would be wise to both realize that, and profit from it.
After all, the McRib was born when McDonald’s ran out of chickens for chicken nuggets.
(via Boing Boing)
Nov 102011
It’s a, um, pigeongram!
And it’s $10.
And for that, they will clip your message to a homing pigeon, send it through the wilds of Texas back to its home loft, and then, um, mail you your message using the postal service.
But still — genuine pigeongram!
(thanks, Colin!)