opinion polling

First spotted on Boing Boing where one can find other vexillographic specimens which do seem to be uniquely designed according to ones answers but I am unsure how true to heraldic principles the elements are, Politiscales presents users with a battery of one hundred and seventeen questions (rather long for a survey but it is comprehensive and you get a sense of commitment to plough through) and at the end, analyses one’s political leanings, rating one’s outlooks on globalism versus nativism, revolution versus reformism, etc. I could not tell if afterwards whether or not one could tweak their scores and have a slightly different flag and national motto assigned to them. You should give it a whirl and share your results. I don’t know if I’m satisfied with mine—it does not seem particularly woke nor the banner of a vaguely Jesus-y bon vivant that I might be described as. I think I’ll give it another go and attend more closely to the questions and think about how views-expressed can be reified as a standard-bearer.

5x5

volley: ping pong champion lobs back balls with a variety of items, producing different noises

scorched earth campaign: perhaps the Silicon Valley mind-set is the bigger threat to civilisation than machine super intelligence, via Waxy

locavore: shipping container farming approaches cost parity with traditional methods

eec: not heeding warnings from central bankers, Estonia is launching a crypto-currency, hoping to further solidify its reputation as a digital nation

that’s no moon: mesmerising time-lapse showing the stages of construction for a Death Star

the bitter end

The New Bedford Whaling Museum of Bristol County Massachusetts is hosting a special exhibit celebrating the authoritative guide to knots and knot-tying, written and extensively illustrated by native son Clifford Warren Ashley. The sailor and knot-expert proctored with many crews and crafts people (from butchers and bakers to electricians and veteran knitters) to document knotting skills that were often very idiosyncratic and did not exist outside of their trade and are systematically classified—by later scholarship—according to their Ashley numbers along with histories and contributions to general terminology. As opposed to the standing end that is the free part of a cable, the bitter end is in ropeworker’s speech the part of the rigging tied down to the mooring (the bitt) and has taken on a figurative sense as well. Be sure to visit Hyperallergic at the link up top to learn more and perhaps to practise one’s own dexterity.

going up

In an age where all career-futures and succession-planning are subject to the whim of progress, it could be forgiven that we’ve made certain apparent redundancies the poster-children of this precarity as a way of inserting our own hopes and insecurities into the discussion.  We discover, however via Messy Nessy Chic, that we’d be somewhat premature to count elevator-operators among the casualties. These profiles of a by-gone era preserved, though an exceedingly rare treat to discover, in New York City’s skyline are really engrossing and speaks to the importance of tradition and the investment in what’s classy—though I could see manual robotic attendants being installed to operate this antique machinery or replaced by volunteer enthusiasts yearning for human-contact as well.  I hope, nevertheless, that such touches are preserved and appreciated.