Friday Surprise!
FRIDAY SURPRISE: You think you know someone...
Friday, August 15, 2008
If you're over 40, you know the woman in this picture. Not in the sense of personally knowing her, of course, but you know who she is.
Don't recognize her? I'll give you a hint: 1976.
Montreal.
Romanian.
Perfect 10's.
Famous theme named after her.
If you haven't already guessed, that's little Nadia Comaneci - now 46 years old, and married with children.
Her rise to dominate Olympic gymnastics was stunning. I remember watching the broadcast (back then it was on ABC) and being amazed that this little girl could seemingly come from nowhere and beat our own American athletes. With perfect scores, no less!
The whole event was darned near unbelievable. It seemed that her life was charmed; that she was on top of the world.
How little we knew. Romania in the late '70s was far from a paradise; Nicolas Ceaucescu ruled the country with an iron fist, and that included Nadia and her career. I won't give away the rest of the story, but it's a tale I knew nothing about until I read this article in London's Daily Mail.
(Thanks to Kim du Toit for the heads up.)
-=[ Grant ]=-
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FRIDAY SURPRISE: Up, up and away!
Thursday, August 07, 2008
I've previously mentioned my appreciation for the work that NASA has done over it's 50-year history. NASA grew up right along with me - or me with it - and NASA was always doing the exciting stuff boys of that era were smitten by: Astronauts. Fast planes. Rockets. The Moon.
(It wasn't just spectacle, though; NASA was the catalyst for technological progress that continues to be felt today. A surprising number of the things we now take for granted can be traced directly back to some NASA project.)
We learned about the exploits of the engineers, technicians and astronauts through NASA-supplied pictures in the magazines of the day. My early interest in science was kindled by those pictures, and some of them I still remember.
NASA documented everything, but not all of their photos were of general interest. A large percentage of their images were never seen by the general public because the media was understandably reluctant to publish anything of interest only to nerds. Through the magic of the internet, however, we now have ready access to some of those great pictures.
The agency has launched a new site just for NASA images. You can search or browse and download your selected pictures, drawings, and illustrations - some of them of quite high resolution. You'll find lots of astronomical images, of course, but you'll find all kinds of other things too.
Two of my favorites from the 1969 launch of Apollo 11, taking the first men to the moon:
Saturn V rocket FTW!
If you're a science buff like me, you can spend large amounts of time on their site. I recommend that you not try this a) at work, or b) when your significant other expects you to be paying attention to him/her/the kids/household chores/your dinner guests. You have been warned!
-=[ Grant ]=-
FRIDAY SURPRISE: The pitter-patter of little feet. LOTS of little feet.
Friday, August 01, 2008
Let's say you have a million dollars or so to spend, and want a home in an exclusive neighborhood. You'd expect a certain level of amenities in the house, with good restaurants and shopping close by.
Oh, and neighbors whose properties were as pristine and aseptic as yours.
Right?
Not in Pacific Palisades, California.
Yuck.
-=[ Grant ]=-
FRIDAY SURPRISE: Fighting fire with fire
Friday, July 25, 2008
You hate telemarketers. I hate telemarketers. Everyone hates telemarketers. (If you're a telemarketer, I'm sorry - I just can't work up any sympathy for you. Yes, I realize you need that job to buy diapers - but life's tough enough without getting your phone calls in the middle of my dinner!)
The hapless victims of telemarketers are finally starting to fight back. Take a look at this collection of tips about turning the tables on those who interrupt your life to sell you cheaper long distance. (Courtesy of Dark Roasted Blend.)
-=[ Grant ]=-
FRIDAY DOUBLE FEATURE: An interesting thought about hunting
Friday, July 18, 2008
I don't know why, but today's other feature about the vegan strip club seemed the perfect lead-in for this!
As I've mentioned, I'm not a "hunter" in the sense that most people use the term. Trophies do not interest me; I've never had my picture taken with a kill, and don't foresee the day when I would. For me, hunting is about eating. (I subscribe to the school of thought that claims "vegetarian" to be an old Native American word for "lousy hunter.")
At the same time, I'm also a bit of a health nut. I eat organic food whenever possible, not because I believe in any leftist/communist causes but because I care about my health. I'm uncertain about the long-term effects of the processed chemicals that we put in our bodies, and do whatever I can to reduce or eliminate them. Thus, the organic food - including delicious meat - in my diet.
(As an aside, it's always interesting when my wife and I go shopping in the local healthy food emporiums. Everyone in those havens of collectivism dresses in the trendy eco-friendly fashions of the minute. My wife and I, to put it delicately, do not. I'll admit that we do tend to stick out a bit amongst that crowd, but we would no matter what we wore.
Just by looking one could tell that we're not like the sheeple that populate those places, and it's as much about attitude as anything. One time she whispered in my ear "do you realize there are only two guns anywhere near this place, and we've got both of them?" I replied "I wonder how many of these people would faint if they found out!" We then chuckled softly yet maniacally as we went about our shopping.)
Forgive the digression.
As it happens, one of the most organic sources of protein available is wild game. Meat which has been harvested from animals in the wild not only tastes great, but is great for you. I won't bore you with the numerous studies which show various kinds of game having more good things and less bad things than factory-raised protein, but the facts are clear: wild meat is good for you.
It is odd, therefore, that some of the most vocal anti-hunting shills in the world wear their organic diets as badges of honor while denouncing some of the cleanest, purest foods available. It seems to me that if one is truly concerned about eating a healthy diet, one must of necessity either grow, or hunt, one's own meat. Hunting is the proactive approach to maintaining a healthy lifestyle when one does not have the real estate on which to raise their own.
(Of course, I don't want to get a trend started, else there wouldn't be any of that delicious and nutritious game left for me!)
-=[ Grant ]=-
A proud member of PETA: People Eating Tasty Animals
FRIDAY SURPRISE: Is that a parsnip in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?
Friday, July 18, 2008
As the New York Times observes, there are two things you can find in Portland: vegans and strip clubs. That's pretty accurate.
Out state constitution has a very broad protection of freedom of expression, which the courts have consistently held to cover "exotic dancing." The result is that Oregon in general tends to have more strip clubs than other parts of the country. Portland, being the biggest city, naturally has the largest single selection of such establishments.
So, one Johnny Diablo (Carpetbagger-CA) decided to combine his love of vegetarianism and his love of...uhhh....flesh to create the first vegan strip club.
This is not his first attempt at an off-the-wall establishment: he tried a pirate-themed vegan restaurant last year, which despite intense media attention failed miserably. His new venture, Casa Diablo Gentlemen’s Club, has gotten even more media attention, which I cannot recall a strip club ever receiving. When it seems that every other corner has such an establishment, one would have to do something very unusual to warrant any media notice. After all, how many other strip clubs have been profiled on the Earth First website?
Here's a local story on the joint.
Here's the NYT take on the place.
(Disclaimer: I'm not a vegetarian, nor a patron of strip clubs. My omnivorous wife is thankful for both.)
-=[ Grant ]=-
FRIDAY SURPRISE: "Ready for my close-up, Mr. DeMille!"
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Portland, Oregon has for years had one of the highest numbers of movie theater seats per capita. Oregonians, it would appear, can't get enough of the silver screen. (Save for this Oregonian, who sees one theater movie every five years or so whether he needs to or not.)
It seems to have always been this way. Portland had a large number of neighborhood movie theaters up through the '60s, and many of those buildings are still standing. The theaters were converted to other uses, and some of them actually retained some of their former features. Finding and exploring those old locations is a hobby for some, an obsession for others.
Back in the early '80s, when I was doing some moonlighting as a commercial photographer, I was retained by an older gentleman to photograph the abandoned Egyptian Theater in northeast Portland. The theater, originally built as a vaudeville venue, had been converted to the newfangled "moving pitchers" in the early '30s. It operated until 1962, when it was closed and used as overflow warehousing space for the chemical company which had purchased the location.
The gentleman who hired me was a serious movie buff, and was writing a book on old Oregon theaters. He wanted me to shoot pictures of the interior of the Egyptian. (I got the job because i was the only photographer he found who could light an entire large interior without benefit of electrical outlets or a generator. The power in the building had been shut off for years, the wiring having been declared a fire hazard. I'll leave you to guess how I pulled it off.)
Once in the building we found many of the seats still in place; the entire balcony was intact, as were the Egyptian-motif decorations and appointments throughout. There were torn ticket stubs littering the floor and even remnants of coming attraction posters in the lobby.
When theater closed, the awning (shown in this 1933 photo) was removed, and the front of the building simply covered with a false wall. The ticket booth and original doors were still there!
It was a surreal experience, as if the building was simply waiting for the janitors to arrive to clean up for that evening's business.
The building was torn down in 1989; sadly, the book never materialized. I had a good time, though.
What brought this to mind was this article at WebUrbanist about abandoned movie theaters across the U.S. (Somewhere in storage I have my shots of the Egyptian, but exactly where is a mystery. Until I can find them, you'll have to make do with WebUrbanist's article!)
-=[ Grant ]=-
FRIDAY SURPRISE: Rodents aren't just for felines any more
Friday, June 27, 2008
If you're under 40, the name Douglas Engelbart probably means nothing to you. It should, though, because a huge amount of the machine on which you're reading this sprang from his fertile mind.
Engelbart (yet another product of Oregon, having been born in Portland) worked at Stanford Research Institute (SRI) before the dawn of the personal computer revolution. Many of the things we now use without a second thought were developed by him, or made possible by his work: bitmapped screens, the graphical user interface (GUI), hypertext, and networking. The very birth of the internet occurred when his lab at SRI and it's counterpart at UCLA networked their computers to become the first two nodes of ARPANET.
His greatest moment would have to be his "Mother of All Demos" in 1968. In that presentation, he introduced to a stunned world the early working implementations of video conferencing, teleconferencing, interactive text, email and the aforementioned hypertext. It is, perhaps, the single most important event in the history of modern computing.
One of his inventions revealed for the first time at the Demo was a new invention: the computer mouse. It would take over a decade before his now-common pointing device finally reached the market (attached to the ill-fated Xerox 8010 Star Information System), and several years after that before it came to the notice of the general public (as an integral part of the original Macintosh.)
(John C. Dvorak, computer pundit, wrote in 1984 of the new Mac and Engelbart's invention : "The Macintosh uses an experimental pointing device called a 'mouse'. There is no evidence that people want to use these things." Dvorak is not known for his prescience, which surprisingly fails to deter his continued employment.)
YouTube has the entire Demo available.
-=[ Grant ]=-
FRIDAY SURPRISE: "I want to win, but I don't want to see the b***tards go down, either"
Friday, June 20, 2008
That's a quote from one of my favorite photographers, Life magazine's fantastically great Ralph Morse, about his rivals at Newsweek. Ralph, it was said, was of the "old school" - a term once used to describe a code of behavior, before the "hip hop" generation co-opted it to describe MTV's previous seasons.
It's ironic that Ralph's words came on the eve of his coverage of the first Space Shuttle launch in 1981, because it was this article on Soviet cosmonaut deaths which brought them back to me. The combination caused me to think not only about the attitude of the gracious winner, but of the trials and tribulations of the losers in all high-stakes games.
While I'm proud of U.S. achievements in space (I am a child of the Sputnik Era, after all), I'm simultaneously saddened at the loss of life experienced by our (former) enemies. I'm not talking about the maudlin, paralyzing, "new age sensitive man who cries at the drop of a hat" kind of sadness, but rather a genuine empathy for those who attempt something great and leave the world poorer by their absence.
Like our astronauts, the cosmonauts were proud of their homeland. They were willing to put their lives on the line to advance not only their nationalistic pride, but something more. There was an altruistic component to their flights, which they seemed to know were advancing science and technology to benefit all those who were firmly anchored to terra firma. Even as we celebrate our own successes we need to be reminded that we are as much in their debt as they are in ours.
We see where we are today only because we stand on the shoulders of all those who came before us.
(Thanks to Tam, who found the article.)
-=[ Grant ]=-
FRIDAY SURPRISE: No fun and games
Friday, June 13, 2008
I suspect, in this Age of Wii, that board games are solidly out of fashion. When I was a kid that was most assuredly not the case!
Growing up on the farm, there was no such thing as cable (or satellite) television; music was on vinyl records, not iPods; and personal computers, let alone the internet, weren't even on the horizon. Board games were therefore a significant portion of our recreational activities, and we looked forward to getting together with friends and playing our favorites.
The king of games, of course, was the all-time best seller: Monopoly - "by Parker Brothers", as the TV commercials reminded us. Kids liked it, adults liked it. Everyone, it seems, enjoyed passing the time by passing "GO" - and collecting $200.
It turns out that for some people, Monopoly wasn't a pastime - it was deadly serious.
-=[ Grant ]=-
FRIDAY SURPRISE: Sand in my eyes!
Friday, June 06, 2008
When I was growing up we spent a lot of time at the beach. My older sister, during her off-time from college, worked and lived at the Oregon coast. Since gas was cheap back then, we often made the trip over the mountains from our valley farm to visit her. As a result, I spent a whole lot of time playing in the sand.
My efforts at sand castle building were poor at best. I didn't have a bucket and a miniature shovel, and my imagination was limited, so I contented myself instead with making driftwood fortifications and defending them from imaginary invading hordes. It never occurred to me that one needn't be limited to building just castles from sand!
Flash forward, and today sand sculpture is a hot activity. There are several competitions on the Oregon coast every year, as well as around the world. Dark Roasted Blend has a great bunch of pictures from competitions all over the globe - including right here in Oregon.
My favorite:
(Allow me to get a bit political and suggest that it is a parable for what happens when one believes that government programs are the solution to everything.)
-=[ Grant ]=-
FRIDAY SURPRISE: Boy, that sure would make a good movie!
Friday, May 30, 2008
I just came up with a hot idea for a film script. We take an archeaologist who is obsessed with the Holy Grail, and we set him out on a search for it...and we'll throw in some evil Nazis who are just waiting to get it for themselves! Wouldn't that make a great movie??
Drat. Turns out that not only is my idea not my own, it's also been done already.
Day late and a dollar short...
-=[ Grant ]=-
FRIDAY SURPRISE: Do you have the drive?
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Last Friday I linked to an article that described what I don't like about my home state of Oregon. Today, I'm linking to a terrific Dark Roasted Blend article on something I truly treasure about Oregon: our great scenic drives.
I must say that this article is a surprise. We're so used to reading about "great" drives along the California coast, when we know that our coastline is both more beautiful and more accessible. It's great to finally get some well deserved press, not to mention being ranked among the world's most beautiful roads!
(Did you know that the Oregon coast is open to everyone? That's right - the entire coastline is public property, and there are very few spots that are not easily accessed. Take that, California!)
Terrific article, great pictures. Thanks for the plug, Avi!
-=[ Grant ]=-
FRIDAY SURPRISE: It's not my fault!
Friday, May 16, 2008
I'd planned to introduce today's topic with a short essay on the state of Oregon, about its natural wonders and its recent societal changes. No matter how I approached the topic, I couldn't help sounding like a malcontent.
You see, I'm an Oregonian - a proud member of SNOB (Society of Native Oregon Born.) I was born here, lived my entire life here, and hope to die here (not right away, you understand.) I love this state, but even my love has its limits.
I will add only this: Portland is not like the rest of the state. More precisely, the rest of the state is not like Portland, for which I am eternally grateful!
-=[ Grant ]=-
FRIDAY SURPRISE: Drat - what luck!
Friday, May 09, 2008
So, imagine you're a geologist searching for diamonds in Namibia. You haven't found any. You're disappointed; perhaps, you think, you should reconsider your chosen profession.
Then you trip over a shipwreck filled with gold, silver, and artifacts.
Think you'd feel better? I sure would!
-=[ Grant ]=-
FRIDAY SURPRISE: The Big Five-Oh
Friday, May 02, 2008
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) recently turned 50. What's DARPA, you ask? Well, it is the agency that invented the network upon which you are reading this missive.
DARPA was founded to do fundamental, high-risk research into science and technology that could be used for military purposes. Today that sounds ominous and vaguely sinister, but in the 1950s it was exciting and patriotic.
One of their projects was called ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects Agency Network), intended as a way for DARPA staffers and researchers to disseminate information and share computing resources. It introduced email, file transfers, and even voice protocols into common use, all made possible through the magic of packet switching - another DARPA innovation. This groundbreaking computer network would, with their guidance, evolve into what we now call the internet.
(Funny, isn't it - the internet upon which you can read anti-military and anti-American rants until your eyes launch themselves from their sockets is the product of an American military project. Euro-weenies will no doubt point out that the World Wide Web was the invention of an Englishman working at a Swiss lab, but his contribution - important as it is - was simply a way of easing access to information on the already vast internet. His work would not even have been necessary had it not been for DARPA.)
The computer network wasn't DARPA's only development, of course - the magnificent Saturn V rocket and the computer mouse both came from the think tanks at the agency. How's that for a wide ranging legacy?
Happy Birthday, DARPA - keep up the good work!
-=[ Grant ]=-
FRIDAY SURPRISE: To boldly go...
Friday, April 18, 2008
When I was a wee lad, America was at the forefront of space exploration. By the time I was old enough to know what was going on, we'd recovered from the shock of the Soviets beating us into space, and had responded in a big way with Gemini and Apollo programs.
In those days, our grade school classes would literally come to a halt as we gathered around a television set to watch a liftoff or a splashdown. The mighty Saturn V rockets - spewing a fireball that remains unequalled for sheer excitement - would take our astronauts into space for yet another thrilling mission. Landing men on the moon was our crowning achievement, watched by just about everyone in the country.
Space flights were national events on a scale that I haven't seen since - and probably never will again. The SuperBowl and American Idol Finals may draw larger audiences, but in terms of captivating our collective conscious, of instilling pride in our country and what we were capable of doing, they will ever equal the NASA of the mid 20th century.
NASA has put together a little retrospective of their first 50 years, using photos that have rarely been seen publicly. If you are a child of the '50s or '60s, this will bring back stirring memories of what we briefly referred to as Cape Kennedy.
-=[ Grant ]=-
FRIDAY SURPRISE: How I build a Friday blog post
Friday, April 11, 2008
Let's take inventory: secret government projects - check. Eerie underground facilities - check. Mad-scientist-movie electrical equipment - check. Iron Curtain intrigue - check.
Yep, I have everything I need for another great entry: Russian Nuclear Research Facilities.
-=[ Grant ]=-
FRIDAY SURPRISE: More vintage logos
Friday, April 04, 2008
It pains me to think that the '70s - the decade of my young adulthood - are now considered "vintage"!
However, that is the case, and a look through this Flickr photo set of a logo book from that era brings back many memories. It's surprising how many of these logos I still recognize, even though some of the companies are no more. Others have had major makeovers since that time; some of them have been for the better, as bad design existed back then, as well.
Take a look, courtesy of 43 Folders.
-=[ Grant ]=-
FRIDAY SURPRISE: "Somewhere, WIllard Whyte is playing Monopoly with real buildings."
Friday, March 28, 2008
When I was a teenager, I took a trip to British Columbia, Canada. Aside from the fact that they couldn't pronouce the "ou" combination correctly ("Grouse Mountain", one of our stops, was pronounced "Groose Moontain"), what struck me about the country was the currency. Where our was the time-honored and respectable green and black combination, theirs was colorful - garish, to my young eyes.
I gave my good-natured hosts no end of ribbing about their "play money", and by the end of my trip I was happy to be back in the U.S., with our familiar greenbacks. This happened well before the adoption of their famous bird-themed coin, but to this American kid Canadian money has always been "loonie."
Today, of course, even the staid U.S. dollar is becoming more colorful in an attempt to thwart counterfeiting. Most of the other countries in the world have long since adopted colorful bills, and some of them are gorgeous.
Check out The Color of Money from Around the World.
-=[ Grant ]=-
FRIDAY SURPRISE: eCommerce Kudos
Friday, March 21, 2008
Today I thought I'd give you some feedback from my Adventures in Online Shopping.
When I factor in my diminishing free time, the price of gas, and the distance between everything in my locale, it becomes faster, easier and often cheaper to shop online. From clothes to chainsaw parts, before I do anything else I check the net - and very often, I choose the BBToJ* over my Suzuki.
Most of the time my virtual transactions occur without a hitch, but on occasion there are problems. Of course, at the other end of the bell curve are those companies that go out of their way to make the faceless exchange a surprisingly pleasant experience.
Size and reputation have no bearing on the shopping outcome, even online. I've had some of my worst purchases from some of the biggest web stores, and some of my best from little mom-and-pop sites. It's tempting to think, on encountering a small, amateurish site, that it is not a place you want to spend your money. Like those great yet undiscovered restaurants, what you see on the outside may not be a good indication of what ends up on your plate!
Take my favorite knife seller, Ragnar's Ragweed Forge. This has got to be the ultimate example of a minimalist site, put together on the cheap and devoid of the e-commerce niceties we've come to expect. No shopping cart here - just a (secure) online form you fill out by copying and pasting the catalog number of the items you want! (Back in the '70s, there was a local chain, a precursor to the Costcos of the world, called Prairie Market. Its claim to fame - remember, this is pre-UPC code times - was that you had to write the shelf price on every item with a grease pencil, so the checker could ring you up.) What you get for your work at Ragnar's is a superb selection of hard-to-get knives, terrific prices, reasonable shipping charges, and fast delivery. Ragweed Forge is almost a legend on the knife forums, and for good reason.
One little place I've come to like is Sage Creek Outfitters. Located in Idaho, it's a small outdoor and hunting supply company with a nice website that belies the personal service they deliver. Their prices are generally good, they actually have the items in stock, and they are FAST! I've never had such fast shipping from an online vendor; part of that is their proximity on our eastern border, but it's still surprising when their packages show up long before I expect them. Great folks, and their customer service is as good as anyone's.
I recently discovered Have A Life Outdoors, a small retailer that handles primarily Gransfors Bruks and associated products. (Gransfors needs their own blog post, but in the meantime - if you want the best axes and hatchets in the world, Gransfors Bruks is the choice.) Again, they're working hard to make a success of their little niche, with a good stock and rapid order turnaround.
We heat our house with a woodstove, and with 11 acres of woodlot I'm always buying some sort of logging equipment or chainsaw part. My two favorite stores are Bailey's and Amick's. I've never had a problem with either, they always ship promptly, and their pricing is better than I can get locally - if I can even find the item. (That's the reason I started doing business with them in the first place - my local outlets rarely have what I need in stock. I hate to hear the term "I can order that for you" - my response is "so can I!") Bailey's stock is aimed primarily at arborists and loggers, while Amick's is more of a general outdoor power equipment source. Both are great places to do business.
Then again, all of the companies I've mentioned have been terrific. Kudos to all!
-=[ Grant ]=-
* Big Brown Truck of Joy, aka UPS. A generic term for any delivery service.
FRIDAY SURPRISE: Cloak and dagger, circa 1860
Friday, March 14, 2008
There are very few things that can start a raging debate like politics, religion - or the Civil War. Get a few people together, perhaps with some adult beverages, ask them what started the war, and wait for the fireworks.
(Personally, this Yankee reserves his invective for President Lincoln. Regardless of the actual cause of the conflict, the fact remains that he was the first President to invalidate whole sections of the Constitution to further his schemes. That modern day leftists rail against President Bush's encroachments on civil liberties, but give the far more Machiavellian Lincoln a free pass, never fails to astonish me. But I digress...)
Anyhow, the actual conduct of the war itself is fascinating. In just a few short years, we leapt from smoothbore muzzleloaders to self-contained metallic cartridge rifles. (There were times when both would serve on the same field of battle, a clash of technologies that would be roughly analogous to having Sopwith Camels and F-15s serving in the same theater of operations.)
Espionage, sabotage, psychological warfare, and manipulation of public opinion as tools of war saw similar advancements. Not all of the operations would work out too well, though, and the story of Captain Thomas Henry Hines is a great example.
-=[ Grant ]=-
FRIDAY SURPRISE: All in all, I'd rather be in...
Friday, March 07, 2008
As a child of the West, I'm generally not one to get excited about the upper-right quadrant of our country. I've visited the northeast, and in general am not all that attracted to the region. However, one thing the inhabitants of the region have that I'm quite jealous of are layers of old infrastructure, just waiting to be explored.
In the distant past my job occasionally required me to travel to upstate New York. Even the things that residents of the area consider commonplace - say, the remnants of the Erie Canal - just fascinated me, because of the long and storied past of that engineering marvel. Thus I spent a large portion of my "off" time visiting local museums and historical attractions.
On one visit to the Rochester area, I took the time to follow the Canal's path from there to Tonawanda. Since I was in the "neighborhood" - literally just a few miles - I made the short hop up to see the fabled Niagara Falls. (It must be said that even I, somewhat jaded by close encounters with much higher waterfalls, was amazed at Niagara Falls. It's worth the trip.)
At the time I wasn't aware of the history of power generation at Niagara, let alone the extent of the abandoned facilities that were literally right under my feet. I am now, and boy would I like to go back and see some of it!
Courtesy of www.vanishingpoint.ca
Check them out at
vanishingpoint.ca, which
is a great site for urban explorers.
-=[
Grant ]=-
FRIDAY SURPRISE: Whoosh!
Friday, February 29, 2008
One of my favorite
abandoned/unknonwn/old technology subjects is the fabled Beach
Pneumatic Transit System in Manhattan. Nothing exists of it today -
neither facilities nor artifacts - but this article
at Damn Interesting gives the best overview I've
seen of the ill-fated project.
-=[ Grant ]=-
-=[ Grant ]=-
FRIDAY SURPRISE: Changing times, changing tastes
Friday, February 22, 2008
As you may have guessed from
previous entries, history fascinates me. Not in the sense of
ancient history, or even battle locations and dates; the history
I'm interested in is the history of technology. I'm interested in
the history that was displayed in what used to be known as "science
and industry" museums, before those institutions got caught up in
showcasing meaningless "interactive" exhibits carefully crafted so
as not to "offend" anyone (while managing to avoid any real
education in the process.)
Anyhow, part of the history of technology is how products were represented to the buying public. The product logo, aside from showing the pride of the people who made it, served as a point of reference (and sometimes of reverence) for those who might decide to own the thing.
Vehicle logos are perhaps the perfect example of how logo design changes not only with fashion trends, but with regard to customer's expectations and aspirations. Check out this collection of auto logo evolution, courtesy of Neatorama.
-=[ Grant ]=-
Anyhow, part of the history of technology is how products were represented to the buying public. The product logo, aside from showing the pride of the people who made it, served as a point of reference (and sometimes of reverence) for those who might decide to own the thing.
Vehicle logos are perhaps the perfect example of how logo design changes not only with fashion trends, but with regard to customer's expectations and aspirations. Check out this collection of auto logo evolution, courtesy of Neatorama.
-=[ Grant ]=-
FRIDAY SURPRISE: A more serious time
Friday, February 15, 2008
Students of espionage and
surveillance (which every security-conscious person should be)
understand how intelligence is actually gathered, and it isn't the
way it happens in Hollywood.
Those who watch too much TV think that security breaches come fully formed - that damaging information is gleaned nearly whole, needing only a few minor details filled in to make it valuable. While that may occasionally be true for satellite imaging, when putting together information gathered "on the ground" it is more like doing a jigsaw puzzle.
In reality, it is the small bits of information, gleaned from many sources, that form the picture one's opponent seeks. Even seemingly innocuous minutiae, in the hands of a skilled intelligence analyst, can help to flesh out a growing body of actionable information. Such little things - usually gathered informally and from the unwitting - are amazing valuable to the right person.
Back in World War II, the military needed to impress this concept on the U.S. population. "Mass media" back then meant radio, newspapers, and - most graphically - posters. Lots and lots of posters. Eye catching, colorful posters - works of art in their own right.
Check out some of the urgent messages they conveyed.
Here's a bunch more.
-=[ Grant ]=-
Those who watch too much TV think that security breaches come fully formed - that damaging information is gleaned nearly whole, needing only a few minor details filled in to make it valuable. While that may occasionally be true for satellite imaging, when putting together information gathered "on the ground" it is more like doing a jigsaw puzzle.
In reality, it is the small bits of information, gleaned from many sources, that form the picture one's opponent seeks. Even seemingly innocuous minutiae, in the hands of a skilled intelligence analyst, can help to flesh out a growing body of actionable information. Such little things - usually gathered informally and from the unwitting - are amazing valuable to the right person.
Back in World War II, the military needed to impress this concept on the U.S. population. "Mass media" back then meant radio, newspapers, and - most graphically - posters. Lots and lots of posters. Eye catching, colorful posters - works of art in their own right.
Check out some of the urgent messages they conveyed.
Here's a bunch more.
-=[ Grant ]=-
FRIDAY SURPRISE: Feeling a little blue?
Friday, February 01, 2008
I'm not a huge fan of modern
children's cartoons. I grew up watching Bugs Bunny, who was the
quintessential American cartoon character: brash, self-assured,
didn't take guff from anyone, and always won. He lost some of his
edge with the ascension of producer Chuck Jones, but compared to
what kids see today he was still a pugnacious little furball.
When I first saw the Smurfs, my reaction was something like "what kind of namby-pamby, touchy-feely, feel-good crap are they teaching kids these days? Heck, Bugs would've just dropped a rock on his antagonist and been halfway into his hole by now!" Of course, their Communist lifestyle sets my libertarian hair on end, and I've always wondered where the baby Smurfs came from, given the virtually all male Smurf demographic.
(It goes without saying that I have no children to explain these things to me, and I'm not sure I'd want to have them explained. Where oh where is my Acme Deluxe Bazooka Kit when I need it??)
Anyhow, this is a long-winded way of bringing you an interesting "news" item: Croatian Smurfs left blue-faced as world record attempt falls sadly short.
Anyhow, this is a long-winded way of bringing you an sadly interesting "news" item: Croatian Smurfs left blue-faced as world record attempt falls sadly short.
(Frankly, I would have thought this to be more of a Belgian thing, given where their creator hails from. Apparently, though, the Croatians are catching up in the emasculation race.)
-=[ Grant ]=-
When I first saw the Smurfs, my reaction was something like "what kind of namby-pamby, touchy-feely, feel-good crap are they teaching kids these days? Heck, Bugs would've just dropped a rock on his antagonist and been halfway into his hole by now!" Of course, their Communist lifestyle sets my libertarian hair on end, and I've always wondered where the baby Smurfs came from, given the virtually all male Smurf demographic.
(It goes without saying that I have no children to explain these things to me, and I'm not sure I'd want to have them explained. Where oh where is my Acme Deluxe Bazooka Kit when I need it??)
Anyhow, this is a long-winded way of bringing you an interesting "news" item: Croatian Smurfs left blue-faced as world record attempt falls sadly short.
Anyhow, this is a long-winded way of bringing you an sadly interesting "news" item: Croatian Smurfs left blue-faced as world record attempt falls sadly short.
(Frankly, I would have thought this to be more of a Belgian thing, given where their creator hails from. Apparently, though, the Croatians are catching up in the emasculation race.)
-=[ Grant ]=-
FRIDAY SURPRISE: It's the little things that make life pleasant
Friday, January 25, 2008
One of the reasons I hate
the very concept of reading books online is because of the
typefaces involved. (In fact, that's one of the saddest parts of
the entire online experience.) There are only a handful that will
reproduce distinctively on a website, and if you're using a Windows
PC (as opposed to a Mac) that number is cut in half (due to the way
Microsoft renders type.) Even such niceties as italics and boldface
are substandard - or non-existent - when getting words through the
'net.
(A typeface, BTW, is a family of type; a "font" is a specific style within that typeface. For instance, Arial is a typeface consisting of the fonts Arial Regular, Arial Bold, Arial Italic, etc.)
Typestyles are tremendously important in their ability to bring emotion to print. One gets a profoundly different feeling reading a paragraph in, say, Caslon versus that same text in Optima. Subtle variances in typefaces can bring huge changes to how the words are perceived by the reader, and the skilled designer recognizes and exploits that.
Look, for instance, at my masthead at the top of the page. The typeface, which is part of the image, reproduces as it should on your machine because it's not webpage text; it was inserted into the image, then output as part of the JPEG of the gun. I did it that way because I wanted the design elements of that particular type, and there was no way to get it as simple text on the page. The masthead would not look the same, nor convey the same feeling, if it were anything else.
Contrast that with the rest of the text on the page, all of which is generated by your computer's HTML rendering engine. It is sterile, and lacks the subtleties of the image at top. (If you're using a PC, the difference is even more profound.) In short, it just doesn't look as nice!
The beauty of one specific typeface is the subject of a neat feature-length independent film called, simply, "Helvetica." Filmmaker Gary Hustwit looks at this ubiquitous type, where it came from and why it's important in the wider world of graphic design. I know, it sounds dry - but I found it to be engaging as it persuaded me to take a closer look at something that is, quite literally, everywhere. If you're a fan of good design, you should check it out.
It's currently available for online viewing at Google video.
-=[ Grant ]=-
(A typeface, BTW, is a family of type; a "font" is a specific style within that typeface. For instance, Arial is a typeface consisting of the fonts Arial Regular, Arial Bold, Arial Italic, etc.)
Typestyles are tremendously important in their ability to bring emotion to print. One gets a profoundly different feeling reading a paragraph in, say, Caslon versus that same text in Optima. Subtle variances in typefaces can bring huge changes to how the words are perceived by the reader, and the skilled designer recognizes and exploits that.
Look, for instance, at my masthead at the top of the page. The typeface, which is part of the image, reproduces as it should on your machine because it's not webpage text; it was inserted into the image, then output as part of the JPEG of the gun. I did it that way because I wanted the design elements of that particular type, and there was no way to get it as simple text on the page. The masthead would not look the same, nor convey the same feeling, if it were anything else.
Contrast that with the rest of the text on the page, all of which is generated by your computer's HTML rendering engine. It is sterile, and lacks the subtleties of the image at top. (If you're using a PC, the difference is even more profound.) In short, it just doesn't look as nice!
The beauty of one specific typeface is the subject of a neat feature-length independent film called, simply, "Helvetica." Filmmaker Gary Hustwit looks at this ubiquitous type, where it came from and why it's important in the wider world of graphic design. I know, it sounds dry - but I found it to be engaging as it persuaded me to take a closer look at something that is, quite literally, everywhere. If you're a fan of good design, you should check it out.
It's currently available for online viewing at Google video.
-=[ Grant ]=-
FRIDAY SURPRISE: How far we've come in just a few short years
Friday, January 18, 2008
For those that actually
remember the dawn of the computer age (my first computer experience
was on a time-shared GE 600-series mainframe), looking over old
computer advertisements brings a flood of reactions: amusement,
embarrassment, and the occasional "I wish I'd bought their stock
when it was first offered." (Of course, there is also the "I'm glad
I didn't buy any of their stock!")
Take a look at these vintage ads. I particularly like the one explaining what email is - not just for the content, but for the company promoting the concept. (Honeywell, once a player in mainframe computers, is perhaps best known these days for making thermostats - which is what they made before they bought their way into the computer business.)
-=[ Grant ]=-
Take a look at these vintage ads. I particularly like the one explaining what email is - not just for the content, but for the company promoting the concept. (Honeywell, once a player in mainframe computers, is perhaps best known these days for making thermostats - which is what they made before they bought their way into the computer business.)
-=[ Grant ]=-
FRIDAY SURPRISE: An important, and serious, topic
Friday, January 11, 2008
When I was in college, I had
a keen interest in economics. This is a subject that most approach
with trepidation; it is seen as a "difficult" subject to grasp, let
alone master. Let me assure you: economics, in terms of
understanding the mechanisms involved, is pretty simple. Then
again, so is football. Predicting with any certainty the long range
outcome of economic activity, though, is far from simple. Gee,
again - a lot like football!
From my first freshman level course to my very last, the whole subject fascinated me. I had one prof who was an unrepentant Keynesian, while I - also unrepentantly - was a monetarist from the University of Chicago mold. ("Milton Friedman was right!") We had a mutual respect of each other's opinion, but our class time virtually always devolved to a debate between just the two of us, other students looking on with expressions of incomprehension.
(Most of the students in econ classes, at least at the lower levels, were business school students who were there because an MBA required a certain number of econ credits. I'll spare you the then-common jokes about how MBA students were people who couldn't hack the PhysEd curriculum, but they do tend to explain why B-school folks had no clue what we were talking about.)
For them, as well as a majority of Americans, economics has come to signify some sort of black art that few understand. Fortunately, today we have something other than dry textbooks to show you just how easy and approachable the subject really is.
One first needs a good understanding of what money is and how it is created - and believe me, it isn't done in the way you probably think it is! A few years ago, a Canadian graphic artist by the name of Paul Grignon made an absolutely masterful animated short that deftly explains money, both from a historical and a modern perspective, and will leave any viewer with a solid and comprehensive understanding of just what "money" is.
So important is this film that I recommend everyone see it, share it with friends and family, and talk about it at work. If you do nothing else in terms of economic education, watch this film!
The original is 47 minutes long, but to make it a little less daunting several people have posted it to YouYube in sections.
Money as Debt - Part One
Money as Debt - Part Two
Money as Debt - Part Three
Money as Debt - Part Four
Money as Debt - Part Five
(One caveat: Part Five contains Grignon's prescriptions for a solution to the problems inherent with our current monetary system. Being Canadian, he's obviously cut from a very socialist cloth and his solutions involve ever greater government intervention. I think he's completely mistaken in those conclusions, but they don't detract from what is otherwise a superb explanation of money for the average person.)
-=[ Grant ]=-
From my first freshman level course to my very last, the whole subject fascinated me. I had one prof who was an unrepentant Keynesian, while I - also unrepentantly - was a monetarist from the University of Chicago mold. ("Milton Friedman was right!") We had a mutual respect of each other's opinion, but our class time virtually always devolved to a debate between just the two of us, other students looking on with expressions of incomprehension.
(Most of the students in econ classes, at least at the lower levels, were business school students who were there because an MBA required a certain number of econ credits. I'll spare you the then-common jokes about how MBA students were people who couldn't hack the PhysEd curriculum, but they do tend to explain why B-school folks had no clue what we were talking about.)
For them, as well as a majority of Americans, economics has come to signify some sort of black art that few understand. Fortunately, today we have something other than dry textbooks to show you just how easy and approachable the subject really is.
One first needs a good understanding of what money is and how it is created - and believe me, it isn't done in the way you probably think it is! A few years ago, a Canadian graphic artist by the name of Paul Grignon made an absolutely masterful animated short that deftly explains money, both from a historical and a modern perspective, and will leave any viewer with a solid and comprehensive understanding of just what "money" is.
So important is this film that I recommend everyone see it, share it with friends and family, and talk about it at work. If you do nothing else in terms of economic education, watch this film!
The original is 47 minutes long, but to make it a little less daunting several people have posted it to YouYube in sections.
Money as Debt - Part One
Money as Debt - Part Two
Money as Debt - Part Three
Money as Debt - Part Four
Money as Debt - Part Five
(One caveat: Part Five contains Grignon's prescriptions for a solution to the problems inherent with our current monetary system. Being Canadian, he's obviously cut from a very socialist cloth and his solutions involve ever greater government intervention. I think he's completely mistaken in those conclusions, but they don't detract from what is otherwise a superb explanation of money for the average person.)
-=[ Grant ]=-
FRIDAY SURPRISE: Many Blasts From The Past
Friday, January 04, 2008
Many people, it seems, do
not know about archive.org. It is an online digital
library of old (public domain) photos, music, movies, books, and
much more. It is an absolute goldmine for anyone who likes to
peruse life from another era.
Let's say, for example, that you want to see Thomas Edison's 1910 film adaptation of Mary Shelley's novel "Frankenstein." Not a problem - archive.org has it.
If it's old or obscure, I always look for it first at archive.org; it should come with a disclaimer, though: "Warning! This is a site that can literally eat up hours of otherwise productive time!"
Check it out.
-=[ Grant ]=-
Let's say, for example, that you want to see Thomas Edison's 1910 film adaptation of Mary Shelley's novel "Frankenstein." Not a problem - archive.org has it.
If it's old or obscure, I always look for it first at archive.org; it should come with a disclaimer, though: "Warning! This is a site that can literally eat up hours of otherwise productive time!"
Check it out.
-=[ Grant ]=-
FRIDAY SURPRISE: With gleeful abandon
Friday, December 21, 2007
If you've been reading this
screed for any length of time, you know my fascination with old and
abandoned places. WebUrbanist, a site that deals with various
cultural scenes and artifacts from all over the world, has
sometimes fed this addiction of mine.
This time, they have a collection of great abandoned sites right here in the good ol' US of A.
Now, just to prove to you that I'm not "all hat and no cattle", here's a shot of an abandoned mine I ran across in southern Oregon:
Yes, it's full of water. You're looking at the roof supports, which are about six feet above the floor. No kidding.
(There was an old sign on the entrance that read "extreme danger - do not enter." Ya think??)
-=[ Grant ]=-
This time, they have a collection of great abandoned sites right here in the good ol' US of A.
Now, just to prove to you that I'm not "all hat and no cattle", here's a shot of an abandoned mine I ran across in southern Oregon:
Yes, it's full of water. You're looking at the roof supports, which are about six feet above the floor. No kidding.
(There was an old sign on the entrance that read "extreme danger - do not enter." Ya think??)
-=[ Grant ]=-
FRIDAY SURPRISE: Perpetual music
Friday, December 07, 2007
I'll admit that today's
Friday Surprise is a bit "out there" - but it's also awfully
neat.
On the Croatian shore is a very unusual musical instrument: an organ powered and played by the sea. The engineers installed a rank (the organ term for a group or line) of pipes beneath some concrete stairs. As the waves lick the shoreline, the water pushes air out of individual pipes, and the size and duration of those waves controls the volume and sustain of each note.
Here's an MP3 clip of the organ playing. Yes, it's a bit abstract but also hauntingly compelling. While not directly comparable, the spare, open sound of the wave organ reminds me a bit of the wide sound that Aaron Copland was able to coax from the orchestra - particularly in his Symphony #3. I find myself waiting in rapt attention for the next note.
Should I ever find myself in Croatia, you can bet I'll visit!
Courtesy of the Oddmusic homepage. Be sure to check out some of their other unusual entries!
-=[ Grant ]=-
On the Croatian shore is a very unusual musical instrument: an organ powered and played by the sea. The engineers installed a rank (the organ term for a group or line) of pipes beneath some concrete stairs. As the waves lick the shoreline, the water pushes air out of individual pipes, and the size and duration of those waves controls the volume and sustain of each note.
Here's an MP3 clip of the organ playing. Yes, it's a bit abstract but also hauntingly compelling. While not directly comparable, the spare, open sound of the wave organ reminds me a bit of the wide sound that Aaron Copland was able to coax from the orchestra - particularly in his Symphony #3. I find myself waiting in rapt attention for the next note.
Should I ever find myself in Croatia, you can bet I'll visit!
Courtesy of the Oddmusic homepage. Be sure to check out some of their other unusual entries!
-=[ Grant ]=-
FRIDAY SURPRISE: Drop in the bucket
Friday, November 30, 2007
Holy cow, it's Friday
already! I've been so busy, it didn't dawn on me until mid-morning
that I had a blog post due today!
Here's one that I really like - stop-action photography of water. Take a look - it's not what you think!
(I was going to write a clever introduction to the work of Harold Edgerton, but you'll just have to research him yourself.)
-=[ Grant ]=-
Here's one that I really like - stop-action photography of water. Take a look - it's not what you think!
(I was going to write a clever introduction to the work of Harold Edgerton, but you'll just have to research him yourself.)
-=[ Grant ]=-
FRIDAY SURPRISE: When men were men, and computers filled a room
Friday, November 23, 2007
At least, some of them
did!
Here's a great little collection of pictures from the last few decades of computer technology. Ranging from mainframes to the first microcomputers, it's a neat glimpse of just how far things have come.
-=[ Grant ]=-
Here's a great little collection of pictures from the last few decades of computer technology. Ranging from mainframes to the first microcomputers, it's a neat glimpse of just how far things have come.
-=[ Grant ]=-
FRIDAY SURPRISE: It's metaphysics time!
Friday, November 16, 2007
When I was in college, it
was fashionable amongst a certain segment of the student population
to walk around carrying a copy of the New York Review Of Books. The
aim, of course, was to appear worldly and sophisticated to people
who recognized the title, but didn't themselves read it.
The great secret was that very few of the people carrying the NYROB around, treating it as an icon of sophistication, ever actually read the thing either!
Many people buy copies of Musashi and Sun-Tzu which they never read, but which certainly look good on their bookshelves and serve to create a certain image. It helps, of course, when people quote common passages from Art of War or Book of Five RIngs without ever having read them in their actual context.
So it is with Meditations on Hunting by Jose Ortega y Gasset. It has been called "the most quoted work in sporting literature", but it appears that no one has ever actually read the thing!
Allow me to digress for a moment. My own hunting experiences are relatively few compared to many who read this blog. Though my father hunted, and I accompanied him at times, it was always a subsistence kind of affair: he hunted because we needed the meat. He would go out, get his deer (or elk), and that would be the end of it. He never took pictures of his kills nor kept trophies; hunting was a means to an end (to eat) rather than an end in itself.
As an adult, I wrestle with this. I don't need to hunt, meat being readily available otherwise, and so have chosen not to (save for necessary agricultural activities, such as pest and predator control, which aren't really hunting.) Despite this self-defined comfort, there has always been a gnawing at the back of my mind: what am I missing? Did my father derive anything other than protein from his hunts; was there something more profound at work? (That my father always hunted solo, eschewing the elk camp and its beer-fueled antics, left me suspecting that there might be.)
I wanted clarity on the subject, and thought that Ortega might be able to provide it. Color me surprised when I could find no one, even seasoned and experienced hunters of my acquaintance, who owned a copy. Our library system, which spans the largest city in Oregon to the most backwood hamlet, did not list it in their holdings. How odd! Such an important work, well known and oft-mentioned, yet no one seemed to have actually encountered it.
So, when the Second Edition of the Wescott translation of Meditations recently came out, I availed myself of free shipping on Amazon and ordered it. Finally I would get to see what all the fuss was about!
The book springs from Ortega's contention that life comes to us (or we to it) essentially empty, and it derives whatever meaning it has from the choices that we make relative to each situation in which we find ourselves. To Ortega, life really exists at the boundary of man and his surroundings, those surroundings to include our own thoughts and feelings. Hunting is such an interaction, and creates meaning by virtue of what it requires of the hunter.
The chase, the stalk, and yes the kill, all have great importance to the experience; missing any one negates the hunt's meaning. Ortega contends that the tension created by the sequence is an essential part of the experience, and without the unease created by the death of the animal that sequence becomes a farce, devoid of any meaning. This is the genesis of his most famous quote: "one does not hunt in order to kill; on the contrary, one kills in order to have hunted." Do not, though, assume that quote to be a substitute for the book - there is far more contained in that simple statement than is readily apparent, for it only hints at Ortega's complete philosophy.
(Like the poseurs I mentioned at the top, walking around with the NYROB poking out of their pocket, the passage is often intoned by those who have never read it in context. Having now digested his whole treatment of the subject, the statement by itself seems a caricature.)
It's important to understand that Meditations isn't about hunting as much as it is about man's relationship to the hunt. Remember that Ortega was a philosopher by training and occupation, holding a doctorate in the subject and chairing departments at Spanish universities. Thus, he's not a hunter who waxes a bit philosophic, but a serious philosopher who looks at the act of the hunt and reconciles it with his overall point of view.
As philosophers go, Ortega is surprisingly readable. Make no mistake, though - if you hated studying philosophy in school, Meditations may not be your cup of tea. It isn't about shooting deer, but about allowing the mind to learn more about itself. It requires introspection, an ability to deal in concepts rather than kinesthetics, and thus may turn off some people. However, his work is illuminating enough - even for the average person - to make it worth the effort.
I highly recommend that you pick up a copy of Meditations on Hunting and take whatever length of time you need to digest what Ortega wrote. I think that you'll come away with a better understanding of yourself, and a clearer picture of why you choose - or not, as the case may be - to hunt.
-=[ Grant ]=-
The great secret was that very few of the people carrying the NYROB around, treating it as an icon of sophistication, ever actually read the thing either!
Many people buy copies of Musashi and Sun-Tzu which they never read, but which certainly look good on their bookshelves and serve to create a certain image. It helps, of course, when people quote common passages from Art of War or Book of Five RIngs without ever having read them in their actual context.
So it is with Meditations on Hunting by Jose Ortega y Gasset. It has been called "the most quoted work in sporting literature", but it appears that no one has ever actually read the thing!
Allow me to digress for a moment. My own hunting experiences are relatively few compared to many who read this blog. Though my father hunted, and I accompanied him at times, it was always a subsistence kind of affair: he hunted because we needed the meat. He would go out, get his deer (or elk), and that would be the end of it. He never took pictures of his kills nor kept trophies; hunting was a means to an end (to eat) rather than an end in itself.
As an adult, I wrestle with this. I don't need to hunt, meat being readily available otherwise, and so have chosen not to (save for necessary agricultural activities, such as pest and predator control, which aren't really hunting.) Despite this self-defined comfort, there has always been a gnawing at the back of my mind: what am I missing? Did my father derive anything other than protein from his hunts; was there something more profound at work? (That my father always hunted solo, eschewing the elk camp and its beer-fueled antics, left me suspecting that there might be.)
I wanted clarity on the subject, and thought that Ortega might be able to provide it. Color me surprised when I could find no one, even seasoned and experienced hunters of my acquaintance, who owned a copy. Our library system, which spans the largest city in Oregon to the most backwood hamlet, did not list it in their holdings. How odd! Such an important work, well known and oft-mentioned, yet no one seemed to have actually encountered it.
So, when the Second Edition of the Wescott translation of Meditations recently came out, I availed myself of free shipping on Amazon and ordered it. Finally I would get to see what all the fuss was about!
The book springs from Ortega's contention that life comes to us (or we to it) essentially empty, and it derives whatever meaning it has from the choices that we make relative to each situation in which we find ourselves. To Ortega, life really exists at the boundary of man and his surroundings, those surroundings to include our own thoughts and feelings. Hunting is such an interaction, and creates meaning by virtue of what it requires of the hunter.
The chase, the stalk, and yes the kill, all have great importance to the experience; missing any one negates the hunt's meaning. Ortega contends that the tension created by the sequence is an essential part of the experience, and without the unease created by the death of the animal that sequence becomes a farce, devoid of any meaning. This is the genesis of his most famous quote: "one does not hunt in order to kill; on the contrary, one kills in order to have hunted." Do not, though, assume that quote to be a substitute for the book - there is far more contained in that simple statement than is readily apparent, for it only hints at Ortega's complete philosophy.
(Like the poseurs I mentioned at the top, walking around with the NYROB poking out of their pocket, the passage is often intoned by those who have never read it in context. Having now digested his whole treatment of the subject, the statement by itself seems a caricature.)
It's important to understand that Meditations isn't about hunting as much as it is about man's relationship to the hunt. Remember that Ortega was a philosopher by training and occupation, holding a doctorate in the subject and chairing departments at Spanish universities. Thus, he's not a hunter who waxes a bit philosophic, but a serious philosopher who looks at the act of the hunt and reconciles it with his overall point of view.
As philosophers go, Ortega is surprisingly readable. Make no mistake, though - if you hated studying philosophy in school, Meditations may not be your cup of tea. It isn't about shooting deer, but about allowing the mind to learn more about itself. It requires introspection, an ability to deal in concepts rather than kinesthetics, and thus may turn off some people. However, his work is illuminating enough - even for the average person - to make it worth the effort.
I highly recommend that you pick up a copy of Meditations on Hunting and take whatever length of time you need to digest what Ortega wrote. I think that you'll come away with a better understanding of yourself, and a clearer picture of why you choose - or not, as the case may be - to hunt.
-=[ Grant ]=-
FRIDAY SURPRISE: The Big Bang
Friday, November 09, 2007
But not the one you may have
thought!
You may recall that back during World War II, we developed the first operational nuclear bomb. It was a massive effort, with the epicenter in Alamogordo, New Mexico. So, why was it called the "Manhattan Project"?
Many believe that it was a name picked to draw attention away from the desert southwest, to confuse the enemy by calling it by something completely unrelated to the project. A little security sleight-of-hand, as it were.
You might be surprised just how close to the mark the name actually was.
-=[ Grant ]=-
You may recall that back during World War II, we developed the first operational nuclear bomb. It was a massive effort, with the epicenter in Alamogordo, New Mexico. So, why was it called the "Manhattan Project"?
Many believe that it was a name picked to draw attention away from the desert southwest, to confuse the enemy by calling it by something completely unrelated to the project. A little security sleight-of-hand, as it were.
You might be surprised just how close to the mark the name actually was.
-=[ Grant ]=-
FRIDAY SURPRISE: My life and welcome to it!
Friday, November 02, 2007
Remember my
declaration of
geekiness? Well, a fellow I've been
known to hang around with (also a ham radio enthusiast - go figure)
sent me this:
Yes, that's me in a nutshell. Except I'm not an engineer - but I'd play one on TV if someone paid me.
-=[ Grant ]=-
Yes, that's me in a nutshell. Except I'm not an engineer - but I'd play one on TV if someone paid me.
-=[ Grant ]=-
FRIDAY SURPRISE: The Russians Aren't Coming! The Russians Aren't Coming!
Friday, October 26, 2007
Well, definitely
not in
these!
Owing to my unnatural fascination with old and abandoned things, I find the concept of an aircraft boneyard to be absolutely irresistible. The most famous of them is no doubt the Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Center outside of Tucson, but there are others.
The Russians have such things, too, and they can be a fascinating glimpse into the "other side" of the Cold War.
-=[ Grant ]=-
Owing to my unnatural fascination with old and abandoned things, I find the concept of an aircraft boneyard to be absolutely irresistible. The most famous of them is no doubt the Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Center outside of Tucson, but there are others.
The Russians have such things, too, and they can be a fascinating glimpse into the "other side" of the Cold War.
-=[ Grant ]=-
FRIDAY SURPRISE: You'll get a charge out of this
Friday, October 19, 2007
When we think of a battery,
we invariably think of the lead, acid, or alkaline components that
have become synonymous with the concept. But chemical repositories
are not the only ways to store energy; it can also be stored in its
kinetic form.
That's the idea behind the mechanical battery. Read all about it, courtesy of Damn Interesting.
-=[ Grant ]=-
That's the idea behind the mechanical battery. Read all about it, courtesy of Damn Interesting.
-=[ Grant ]=-
FRIDAY SURPRISE: Something in the air
Friday, October 12, 2007
It's confession time: I'm a
geek. A card carrying,
spent-all-my-high-school-time-in-the-library,
know-how-to-use-a-sliderule geek. I love computers,
think physics should be taught in kindergarden, and generally find
technology of all kinds (modern to ancient) fascinating.
Seems I'm not the only gun blogger to claim that moniker: the infamous Tam purports to be a geek, too - but is she? Is she really? Oh, yeah, she makes a big deal about her old computers - but did she ever have a DEC PDP-11/70 (running RSTS, no less) in her garage like I once did? I think not!
I, on the other hand, can prove my exalted status beyond a shadow of doubt, as I possess the ultimate geek credential: an amateur radio license. No, not your simple no-code-Tech paper, but a real I-passed-the-Morse-code-test-and-have-HF-privileges-to-show-for-it General class ticket. In the world of the terminally socially inept, the ham radio license is Da Bomb. Let's see you beat THAT, Tam! Hah! Hah-hah-hah!
(I think I've been reading far too much Mogambo Guru. But I digress...)
This nerd calling-out is just a pathetically unimaginative way of introducing today's topic: an abandoned Ionospheric Research Station hidden deep in the Ukrainian wilderness. You see, such installations are all about antennas, and any ham radio operator worthy of the title is really into antennas. I sure am; I have books about antennas, have pictures of antenna installations, and generally love looking at anything to do with antennas - the more esoteric, the better!
They don't come much grander than this one, courtesy - once again - of that web site for all geeks, Dark Roasted Blend. (If after viewing the site you have an irresistible urge to buy a pocket protector, I cannot be held responsible!)
-=[ Grant ]=-
Seems I'm not the only gun blogger to claim that moniker: the infamous Tam purports to be a geek, too - but is she? Is she really? Oh, yeah, she makes a big deal about her old computers - but did she ever have a DEC PDP-11/70 (running RSTS, no less) in her garage like I once did? I think not!
I, on the other hand, can prove my exalted status beyond a shadow of doubt, as I possess the ultimate geek credential: an amateur radio license. No, not your simple no-code-Tech paper, but a real I-passed-the-Morse-code-test-and-have-HF-privileges-to-show-for-it General class ticket. In the world of the terminally socially inept, the ham radio license is Da Bomb. Let's see you beat THAT, Tam! Hah! Hah-hah-hah!
(I think I've been reading far too much Mogambo Guru. But I digress...)
This nerd calling-out is just a pathetically unimaginative way of introducing today's topic: an abandoned Ionospheric Research Station hidden deep in the Ukrainian wilderness. You see, such installations are all about antennas, and any ham radio operator worthy of the title is really into antennas. I sure am; I have books about antennas, have pictures of antenna installations, and generally love looking at anything to do with antennas - the more esoteric, the better!
They don't come much grander than this one, courtesy - once again - of that web site for all geeks, Dark Roasted Blend. (If after viewing the site you have an irresistible urge to buy a pocket protector, I cannot be held responsible!)
-=[ Grant ]=-
FRIDAY SURPRISE: All the king's horses and all the king's men...
Friday, October 05, 2007
So, let's say you've got
some precision tools, a dozen eggs, and some time on your hands.
What would you do?
How about carving up those eggshells?
-=[ Grant ]=-
How about carving up those eggshells?
-=[ Grant ]=-
FRIDAY SURPRISE: What happens when you crash a plane in Alaska?
Friday, September 28, 2007
Well, chances are it will sit right where you left it!
Check out Abandoned Plane Wrecks of the North.
-=[ Grant ]=-
FRIDAY SURPRISE: Busy as a bee
Friday, September 21, 2007
I like honeybees. Compared
to their shiftless relatives, the combative yellowjacket, honeybees
are a happy and productive insect. Of course, the reason I like
them so much is because they make one of nature's most perfect
foods: honey.
The inside of their hive, where they produce that golden nectar, has always held a fascination for me. I remember as a kid occasionally getting a large honeycomb and chewing on the honey-filled wax, wondering just how the little creatures managed their magic.
Well, one person thought of a way to watch. I present you with the Bell Jar Beehive:
Click here to see the rest of the amazing pictures!
-=[ Grant ]=-
The inside of their hive, where they produce that golden nectar, has always held a fascination for me. I remember as a kid occasionally getting a large honeycomb and chewing on the honey-filled wax, wondering just how the little creatures managed their magic.
Well, one person thought of a way to watch. I present you with the Bell Jar Beehive:
Click here to see the rest of the amazing pictures!
-=[ Grant ]=-
FRIDAY SURPRISE: It's the little things that make me happy
Friday, September 14, 2007
I'm always in need of small
containers of various types to hold oils, cleaners, parts, screws,
and other miscellany. They can be hard to find locally, but
specialtybottle.com carries a huge
selection.
I've used small clear top tins like this for many years; they are invaluable for many types of small parts. I bought my supply of them a long time ago, and recently started running low. I despaired about being able to find them again, but luckily they're in stock!
-=[ Grant ]=-
I've used small clear top tins like this for many years; they are invaluable for many types of small parts. I bought my supply of them a long time ago, and recently started running low. I despaired about being able to find them again, but luckily they're in stock!
-=[ Grant ]=-
FRIDAY SURPRISE: "It seemed like a good idea at the time."
Friday, September 07, 2007
The other day I was in the
parking lot of the local Home Depot, whose coffers as of late have
been swelling from the various remodeling projects around our
house.
As I was loading up another pile of material for yet another round of work on the house, I watched in amazement as a couple contemplated how to carry their newly-purchased front entry door in (or on) their - wait for it - Mazda Miata. I wish I were kidding.
My wife chuckled all the way home.
My thoughts immediately turned to an episode of Rowan Atkinson's terrific "Mr. Bean" television show, wherein the namesake character carries the equivalent of a La-Z-Boy on top of his tiny little car (an original Leyland Mini):
But these two episodes of mirth pale in comparison to some real pictures of crazy portages, brought to us once again by Dark Roasted Blend. Enjoy!
-=[ Grant ]=-
As I was loading up another pile of material for yet another round of work on the house, I watched in amazement as a couple contemplated how to carry their newly-purchased front entry door in (or on) their - wait for it - Mazda Miata. I wish I were kidding.
My wife chuckled all the way home.
My thoughts immediately turned to an episode of Rowan Atkinson's terrific "Mr. Bean" television show, wherein the namesake character carries the equivalent of a La-Z-Boy on top of his tiny little car (an original Leyland Mini):
But these two episodes of mirth pale in comparison to some real pictures of crazy portages, brought to us once again by Dark Roasted Blend. Enjoy!
-=[ Grant ]=-
FRIDAY SURPRISE: No granola eaters here!
Friday, August 31, 2007
We all know the baggage
carried by the brand "Volvo": "Vegetarian." "Boring." "Safe."
"Comfortable shoes." "Risk-averse." Volvo as a company seems to do
little to dispel the image they have, as it's certainly been
successful for them.
There is another side to Volvo, though - the take-no-prisoners, rough-and-tumble side, represented by their superb line of all-terrain military trucks. The best known of these models is the C303, better known as the "Laplander."
The Laplander is a very boxy 4x4 vehicle, similar in design to the Steyr-Puch Pinzgauer but a bit larger. Powered by the superb Volvo B30 inline six and possessing front and rear locking differentials, it it has proven itself more than a match for the toughest terrain. Look at the ground clearance under the rear axle!
The C303 has developed a worldwide following of passionate enthusiasts, though (sadly) there aren't a lot of them here in the U.S. Now I'm not usually one to lust after a mere vehicle, but I've wanted a Laplander for years. I don't know whether it's the need to possess something no one else does, a psychological deficiency that compels me to seek attention, or just a desire to annoy my ever-so-yuppie neighbors, but I want one. Yes, it's probably impractical as a day-to-day driver; yes, the fuel economy is nothing to write home about; yet I still want one!
Check out some of the Laplander's many fan sites:
http://www.volvoadventures.com/Laplander_C303spec.html
There is another side to Volvo, though - the take-no-prisoners, rough-and-tumble side, represented by their superb line of all-terrain military trucks. The best known of these models is the C303, better known as the "Laplander."
The Laplander is a very boxy 4x4 vehicle, similar in design to the Steyr-Puch Pinzgauer but a bit larger. Powered by the superb Volvo B30 inline six and possessing front and rear locking differentials, it it has proven itself more than a match for the toughest terrain. Look at the ground clearance under the rear axle!
The C303 has developed a worldwide following of passionate enthusiasts, though (sadly) there aren't a lot of them here in the U.S. Now I'm not usually one to lust after a mere vehicle, but I've wanted a Laplander for years. I don't know whether it's the need to possess something no one else does, a psychological deficiency that compels me to seek attention, or just a desire to annoy my ever-so-yuppie neighbors, but I want one. Yes, it's probably impractical as a day-to-day driver; yes, the fuel economy is nothing to write home about; yet I still want one!
Check out some of the Laplander's many fan sites:
http://www.volvoadventures.com/Laplander_C303spec.html