Friday 29 June 2012
meta-clockwork or synchronized worlds
The grey eminences of weights and measures in Paris who keep the Meter and the Gram, like the warp and weave of the Fates, are gifting the world with an extra second (Schaltsekunde) to compensate for the drift of the winding down rotation of the Earth in comparison to the their household atomics that keep Universal Coordinated Time, the reference point for most of the planet’s civilian timekeepers. With ever more exacting calipers, it seems that the Earth has drifted a whole second off the mark, since it was last adjusted on the last day of the year in 2008.
catagories: ๐ญ, antiques, philosophy
Thursday 28 June 2012
teufels kreis
catagories: economic policy, Europe
Wednesday 27 June 2012
dossier or when hacks attack
Having the ability to wield death-dealing thunderbolts from above under the technology of drones of course supposes that the same capabilities for all are not that far behind. Spying via satellite was a bit more of a challenge until all but the sharpest telemetry was disseminated to everyone; such advances lower the common denominator.
catagories: ๐ฅธ, foreign policy, technology and innovation
Monday 25 June 2012
big in japan
catagories: ๐ฏ๐ต, ๐️, ๐, food and drink, transportation, travel
motรถr skills or kontrapunkt
With renewed respect and interest for Alan Turing and the long time status of rock legends that Albert Einstein, Werner von Braun and Werner Herzog have enjoyed, I thought it was a terrible omission to have just learned of another scientist and physicist whom ought to enjoy a similar following and be an industry icon: Moshรฉ Pinchas Feldenkrais, a trained physicist, martial artist and Eastern philosopher besides his adventures and experience prompted him to develop the eponymous method to promote health and well-being by heightening the individual’s awareness through motion and movement, a discipline like yoga except that Feldenkrais’ exercises had no specific target and mostly dealt with repetitive, everyday movement, like one’s posture and gait, since laziness and bad habits compounded with inefficiency could led to chronic mental and physiological states. Such occupational therapy is being taken up by many medical professionals as an effective and viable supplement to traditional methods, and in Sweden is considered a treatment (both mentally and physically) of first-resort.
pilgrims' progress
catagories: ๐ฉ๐ช, ✝️, networking and blogging, travel
Saturday 23 June 2012
endonymy or we call it maize
Thursday 21 June 2012
high-fidelity or bring me a pineapple that doesn’t sting, a bird that swims, a fish that sings
I suspected and it’s been confirmed several times over that this money-manager is gambling with people’s life-savings and that they benefited from their quasi-public status—however I didn’t suspect that they were actively hatching evil schemes for one’s money, apart from the expected trading in legitimized weapons companies, polluters and assassins. Their latest pursuit, I discovered through their advertisements (though little reporting and fact-finding is to be found supporting or otherwise questioning this image and vision) is something called synthetic biology, which is only a re-branding of terms that are waxing scary like cloning, genetic engineering and genetically modified organisms. Their promotion and prospectus implies that such research and development, which will one day triumph over Nature’s numbers and diversity, can produce bacteria to clean up industrial spills and halt disease by disabling its agents. This is a Brave New World with many goodly creatures but I can also easily imagine a genetic dystopia that failed to respect the dependencies and relations of ecology. Business has already been over-eager with introducing new crops that are untested and unsuited and have been less than forthcoming (with mounting resistance) and spent more resources on protecting patents and discrediting critics than on actual scientific research. It is one thing to make mosquitoes that don’t bite or self-cleaning beaches, but I would imagine that Nature would rebel and be less than compliant, mirroring the phenomena of drug-resistant germs created by keeping too clean. I don’t think it’s a good idea to mortgage one’s pension on such a future.
catagories: environment, food and drink, health and medicine, labour, technology and innovation
Wednesday 20 June 2012
road trip or avsenkmorthu
Tuesday 19 June 2012
ch.elvetica
catagories: ๐จ๐ญ, ๐, transportation
RIF-raff or circumlocution office
catagories: ๐ฉ๐ช, ๐บ๐ธ, foreign policy
stem cells
Monday 18 June 2012
injunction
catagories: ๐ฌ๐ท, economic policy, labour
de re coquinaria
catagories: ๐ฉ๐ช, antiques, food and drink, lifestyle
Friday 15 June 2012
happy fathers' day
Here is a candid gathering of famous and infamous dads. Don't forget to tell yours how special he is and Happy Fathers' Day!
catagories: ๐ฌ, ๐, holidays and observances, Star Wars
panhandlers and paupers
The euro is not in danger because of debate or controls more stringent and exacting than were originally agreed to (though perhaps not abided by) but is rather reinforced by vocal and public investigation and scrutiny. Trying to force American-style solutions of throwing money at problems, hollowing out social support programs and allowing the banks and markets to dictate to government and the real economy is obliviously a threat, even though the crisis stems from a uniquely American export, greatly exacerbated by American-style over-exuberance and over-exposure. Budgets and expenditures, though crises can be enlightening for systemic problems, could have continued at a parallel pace if it was not for one costly mistake, and with attention and care can be realigned and made stronger. The peep-show comes in the form of rallies, strikes and street protests and threats to monuments, artefacts and infrastructure rather than the abject desolation, that many like to ogle over but that’s apparently all talked-out.
catagories: ๐ฉ๐ช, ๐ช๐บ, ๐ซ๐ท, ๐ฌ๐ท, ๐ฎ๐น, ๐บ๐ธ, ๐ง , economic policy, philosophy
Thursday 14 June 2012
as seen on tv
catagories: America, graphic design, health and medicine, lifestyle
Wednesday 13 June 2012
magic carpet ride
catagories: ๐ฉ๐ช, ๐, ๐, foreign policy
Tuesday 12 June 2012
achterbahn
Lending tacit support to the infusion of credit to Spanish banks by way of a demurring and quiet concession towards the pooling of debt, Germany bore some chinks in its armour of resistance to the notion of sharing responsibility for broader financial stability. Signaling (again so lightly as to miss this cue) that the machinery of the European Union might be willing to admit a bit of the chaos of democracy (wherein people might not be obliged to choose wisely), Germany advocated a stronger political union for governance of monetary issues, ceding control of budgetary competence to the EU board.
agee, agog or proprioception, exteroception, interoception
catagories: ๐, ๐ถ, ๐ก, philosophy
Monday 11 June 2012
spargel-spargel
- 500 grams of green asparagus—about 16 spears
- One medium onion, finely chopped
- 250 grams of cherry tomatoes
- Freshly grated Parmesan cheese for topping
- About 300 grams of egg noodles
- Olive oil, muscat, salt to taste, dried or finely chopped basil and thyme
catagories: ๐ฉ๐ช, ๐ฑ, ๐, food and drink
xenobiosis
catagories: ๐ฉ๐ช, ๐, ๐ช️, environment
Sunday 10 June 2012
onomatopoeia
Although I fear not enough serious preservation work is being done to stop the erosion of cultural treasures, languages supplanted, traditions encroached upon and withering, worthy songs only existing as a resampled thread, one individual is working to prevent endangered and dated sounds from electronics and gadgets from slipping likewise into obscurity.
catagories: antiques, technology and innovation
Friday 8 June 2012
bas relief or input/output
catagories: language, technology and innovation
florian-geyer-steuer
catagories: ๐ฉ๐ช, ๐ช๐บ, ๐ซ๐ท, ๐ฌ๐ง, ๐ง , economic policy, labour, philosophy
Thursday 7 June 2012
persona
There was a medley of developments in Germany today—again touching on individual sovereignty under fiscal solidarity, although at the end of the day, I suppose anyone should want to be part of a like-minded empire rather than in thrall to business and banking interests, and the reinvigourated failure of moving forward on a financial transaction tariff, however, deftly, I think it was the decoy story that let the others pass, virtually unnoticed:
catagories: ๐ฉ๐ช, ๐ฌ๐ง, ๐บ๐ธ, ๐ฅธ, ๐ง , economic policy, networking and blogging
overseas telegram
Here’s a bit of typically nannying that strikes me like those Friday afternoon conscientious bureaucrat emergencies that necessarily wait until just before quitting-time and the weekend because to be unburdened and shared freely because it took the problem-holder all week to perfect it:
catagories: ๐ฏ, America, psychology
Wednesday 6 June 2012
picture-postcard
catagories: ๐ฉ๐ช, ๐ฅธ, networking and blogging
pokal and fly-wheel
Some time ago, H found this beautiful and stern, smooth and geometric, loving cup or trophy (Pokal). There is no engraving or dedication, only a small plaque in the form of a winged wheel. I suspected that this logo was covering up something else but I’d never risk taking a peek, and is a little mysterious, like an unawarded prize and it is not clear what the symbol refers to: it could be the sign of a watch-making guild in Mรผnchen at the turn of the century or it could be a sign for the old Imperial Railroad (Reichsbahn) that preceded the Deutsche Bahn. Taking a walk around lunch time, I noticed for the first time this ornamental cornice piece of a cherub mounted above that same logo (although there’s a bit of variation with the spokes) cradling a steam engine. H found this treasure at a massive antique flea market (Flohmarkt), rather than in one of the sadly endangered emporia of hordes and cast-offs. It is has gotten increasingly harder to find a traditional antique or junk store, like this one occupying an old brewery building.
As this space and hobby gave the owners a mission to completely fill every available inch with stuff, one used to find a lot of store-fronts hanging on as vanities, something to showcase on the side that never sees much traffic or revenue, like photography or second-hand shops, proprietors got to have relaxed fun. Certainly the weekend markets are wonderful to explore and have traditions and trappings of their own as well, and though there’s a regularity to their season—with frequent and planned routes and tours and always a good excuse to discover some place new, I think towns and villages need this sort of kooky, lazy, sleepy enterprises (rather than ubiquitous telecommunication shops and fast food joints) as potential and permanent repositories of treasures.