Thursday, August 02, 2018

US Land Use

Bloomberg has an article with an animated map that shows how much land in the continental USA is used for various purposes.

Thursday, May 31, 2018

Alto 80

We make another appearance in the Alto 80 blog.  We first encountered Jim and Dale on our first outing with the trailer though we had been following Jim's blog since before we ordered our Alto.

Monday, March 26, 2018

Video: Selfish Altruism

Kottke.org has a post with a video explaining why it is better for you if everyone's living standard improves.  It makes an interesting comparison between the situations in pre-industrial times and today.

Wednesday, February 28, 2018

Sculpture in a notepad

A very cool post about some Japanese notepads that, as you remove the sheets, slowly reveal a laser-cut sculpture.

Saturday, February 03, 2018

Making a stack of Chinese bowls

British woodworker Robin Wood has a blog post with a very well made short video showing a Chinese craftsman making a stack of wooden bowls using a foot-powered lathe.  I've never seen a lathe quite like that one - most of the Western ones I've seen use some sort of spring to counter-rotate the lathe - nor have I seen anyone make a stack of bowls all at once.

Monday, January 22, 2018

Singaporeans worry as temperature drops to low twenties

I lived in Singapore in the late nineties and I still sometimes look at the Singaporean news.  The Straights Times has an article cautioning residents that the temperature has fallen into the low twenties Celsius.
According to NEA's website, the lowest temperature recorded in Singapore was 19.4 deg C on two days in 1934. Both days were in the month of January.

Monday, January 01, 2018

Millennials' Financial Problems

The Huffington Post has an article about why Millennials are in such a bad financial position.  (And no it's not because of avocado toast.)
What is different about us as individuals compared to previous generations is minor. What is different about the world around us is profound. Salaries have stagnated and entire sectors have cratered. At the same time, the cost of every prerequisite of a secure existence—education, housing and health care—has inflated into the stratosphere. From job security to the social safety net, all the structures that insulate us from ruin are eroding. And the opportunities leading to a middle-class life—the ones that boomers lucked into—are being lifted out of our reach. Add it all up and it’s no surprise that we’re the first generation in modern history to end up poorer than our parents.