Web Typography

An excellent introduction to various principles of typography and how they relate to web design.   Richard Rutter adapts Robert Bringhurst's The Elements of Typographic Style to a web context.    If you do any CSS work at all, you have got to check this out.



Link:  webtypography.net ...

Just fix it.

Clive Thompson on the benefits of learning to fix things:

"There’s also a sort of puzzle-solving pleasure in fixing, a sense of grappling with complexity. You encounter a lot of mystery that you’ll never solve and just have to live with, which is what makes repair a philosophically powerful activity."

Full article (make sure to watch the "Kickstopper" video)...

ht:BoingBoing

Hexaflexagon!

More interesting than an octagon and more intimidating that a five-sided fistagon:  the HeXaFLeXaGon!   Surrender your mysteries to me, O many-sided device...

We've advanced to squares.

Julie Rehmeyer @ Science News:

"The Harvard graduate student in physics was fascinated by the beautiful and intricate geometric "girih" patterns on the 800-year-old buildings there, and he wanted to know how ancient artisans had created them. He discovered more than just a clever construction method. He also found an entirely unexpected level of mathematical sophistication in the designs, pointing at mathematical ideas that weren't formally developed until hundreds of years later."

I'm not sure how 800 years ago counts as "ancient", but interesting nonetheless.

Full article...

Tom Waits in Traffic

A Radiolab segment takes on the idea of making deals with yourself when engaged in creative work.   They stray into the subject of Muses, etc.    Have a listen.   I have to say that I can't count the times I've had some thought or other, and intended to come back to it, only to have it appear somewhere else in the culture soon thereafter.   The idea of ideas circling the globe looking for somewhere to land has some power.

Segment audio...

Talking with people who are suffering

Bruce Feiler tells, from his experience, what a sick person wants to hear, and what they don't:

[...] here are Six Things You Should Never Say to a Friend (or Relative or Colleague) Who’s Sick. And Four Things You Can Always Say.  First, the Nevers.

1. WHAT CAN I DO TO HELP? Most patients I know grow to hate this ubiquitous, if heartfelt question because it puts the burden back on them. [...]

Full article...

ht: Mockingbird

WP: IMEI

"The International Mobile Equipment Identity or IMEI is a number, usually unique, to identify GSM, WCDMA, and iDEN mobile phones, as well as some satellite phones. It is usually found printed inside the battery compartment of the phone. It can also be displayed on the screen of the phone by entering *#06# into the keypad on most phones."

How to Replace a Wheel Stud

A very helpful guide to replacing Chevrolet wheel studs.   I followed the advice in this article while installing new studs on the rear of my 1994 Chevy Astro.    If your car is old and rusty like mine, and your brake drum is stuck, then here's a hint:  you're going to need a bigger hammer...

Link...

WIZMO

Steve Gibson's Windows Gizmo: WIZMO.    A handy little program that allows you to access a number of power management functions in Windows, plus many other utility-type actions.   I use it occasionally to make my monitors go to sleep without having to wait on a timer to shut them down.

Regex Dictionary

Search the American Heritage Dictionary directly using regular expressions.  

Garage as Front Porch

Steve McCoy:

Start right after work. Wave at folks in as they drive home from work. Ask them over. Wave them over. Yell as they get out of their car, "Come on over!" Give them an special invite, if that's helpful. Offer them something to drink and ask about their day. Play a game.

Full post...

Make a Bow Tie from a Neck Tie

Apparently, a neck tie can be tied into something resembling a bow tie.  Here are instructions for how to do such a thing.

WP: Cinchona

"Cinchona or Quina is a genus of about 38 species in the family Rubiaceae, native to tropical South America. They are large shrubs or small trees growing 5-15 metres in height with evergreen foliage. [...] The bark of the tree is medicinally active containing a variety of alkaloids, including the anti-malarial compound quinine [...]"