rinse cycle

A group of clever engineering students in China have come up with a concept for a stationary bicycle with a workout routine that doubles as laundry duties. The design is still in its earliest phases and there are some obvious hurdles to its manufacture, like plumbing but hopefully in short order, rows of exercise bikes might start appearing in wash-salons and in laundry rooms. The drudgery of both chores is sure to be compounded by being tethered to dirty clothes for the entire duration but it might equally provoke thought on each task, making the environmental impact a little less through peddle-power.  Be sure to check out the link for more bright ideas whose time has come.

shoutbox

Via the inestimable Boing Boing, here is a parody on the Guardian’s Comment is Free section. I admit I don’t really understand that forum, which seems like a solicitous den of baiting and columnists finding a place for spare thoughts that were well formulated but didn’t really fit with their assignments but I suppose most of the internet is fashioned that way—just with guiding rivulets hewn deeper to direct the flow. I suppose ours is not to reason why. Each of the entries seems like an absolute jewel and we will be checking this blog, Comment is Weird, regularly.

pour moi?

For four decades of trail-blazing work towards greater equality, a museum in New York is awarding Miss Piggy an honourary achievement prize, cementing her place among the most powerful female luminaries.  The Elizabeth A. Sackler Centre for Feminist Art will present this award later on in the summer, to be followed by a panel discussion with author and activist Gloria Steinem. 

five-by-five

zeroth law: looking at the ethics of thinking machines through the classic Trolley Problem

off the grid: the floating, self-sustaining compound Freedom Cove

wasei-eigo: twelve Japanese takes on terms with English roots

travelogue: an illustrated 1821 journal by a teenager on holiday

if only you knew the power of the dark side: sometimes indulging arrogance or invoking privilege can inspire creativity and turn out altruistic