mars: the ride

Via the always interesting Kottke, we find ourselves transported to the desert hills of the Gobi where a company called C-Space has recently opened a simulated Martian base as an education and outreach facility and tourist destination, with a space-themed hotel and restaurant. Though perhaps more of an amusement park than practical training centre, vis-à-vis institutions like Space Camp and similar programmes especially, we ought not to underestimate the power to inspire. Browse an extensive gallery of the base and its features at the links above.

firebug

Whilst most denizens of the forest would run the other direction at the hint of an encroaching conflagration, Slashdot introduces us to a tiny beetle called Melanophila acuminata—commonly known as the black fire chaser, found in large swaths of Eurasia and Northern and Central America.
While the beetle brigade will charge headlong into danger, the insect able to detect the heat of a distant fire upwards of a hundred kilometers away through “eyes” highly sensitive to stochastic resonance—differentiating the gradient and threshold of ambient thermal noise, their heroism is for the preservation of their species, the larvæ eating only burnt wood. Not only have the fire chasers been known to swarm and bite human firefighters (one wonders if this super power could be harnessed as an early alarm), there are many documented cases of the beetles being attracted to other heat decoys. Poignantly, given the outbreak of wildfires in this environment, this species will probably thrive whilst others in its cadre go extinct.

well… they have to be paid. that’s all there is to that—they have to be paid

Two years to the day after the first impeachment attempt, prior to the break-in at the Watergate complex by a month, was referred to the Judiciary Committee but failed to progress, the House Judiciary Committee re-convened to open formal hearings against President Richard Nixon (previously here, here and here) on this day in 1974.
The first twenty minutes were televised before the committee retired to closed sessions until late July when gavel-to-gavel coverage resumed. Though unknown to the committee at the time whether or not Nixon had personally authorised payments to the Watergate burglars to cover up the administration’s involvement, it was ruled that paying blackmail constituted obstruction of justice. At the conclusion of the proceedings, the House of Representative passed three of five charges levied against Nixon—the second article of impeachment was abuse of power, malfeasance in office and thirdly contempt of Congress. Criminal charges against the president for expanding the Vietnam War into Cambodia without legislative approval and failure to pay taxes were blocked by Republican members.

project a1119

In response to the Sputnik crisis (previously here and here) and to boost American morale and reassert its dominance in the Space Race, the US Air Force developed a top-secret plan in May of 1958 to launch and detonate a nuclear bomb on the lunar surface.
This planned show of power was underwritten in part by geologists wanting to learn more about the satellite’s composition and formation and the team included a young Carl Sagan (*1934 - †1996). Ultimately better sense prevailed and the US (along with the Soviet Union who had a similar project in the works) called off the stunt for fear of public backlash and the uncertainty about the effects of fall-out for future colonists. The plan itself was not revealed to the public until forty-five years later in the mid-1990s, in part through Sagan’s 1999 autobiography, but did have more immediate impact with the Outer Space Treaty, accorded a decade later.

form and purpose

The always brilliant Present /&/ Correct (check out their sundries) shares an excellent design resource in this full and open archive of the East German design trade magazine form+zweck. In print from 1956 to 2008 originally under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture, featured articles focused on design and architectural developments domestically and abroad. Much more to explore at the links above—especially the dazzling covers which easily translate in any context.

something for nothing

In contrast to the way as Rube Goldberg machine came to be a metaphor for an overly elaborate means to achieving a simple goal in America during the interbellum years, in the UK during the Great War a “Heath Robinson Contraption” became synonymous with improvised ingenuity and came out of the “make do and mend” attitude of rationing and austerity.  Both cartoonists studied the rewarding eccentricities of over-complicating tasks but Robinson’s vision was rather genius even if that resided in the sort of engineered clockwork that demanded constant tinkering and adjustment to keep the show going. A particularly cantankerous deciphering machine at Bletchley Park used to decode Nazi Germany radio communications was called “Health Robinson” in his honour. Peruse a whole gallery of Robinson’s artifices at the link up top.

7x7

electronium: a classic electronic music sequencer from pioneer Raymond Scott is reinvented with an artificial intelligence software patch

sacred spaces: Thibaud Poirier photographs modern church interiors

the right to be forgotten: internet giant allows users to control if and for how long it retains one’s data

spoorzone: a self-sustaining bus station in Tilburg

b(7)b: a handy guide to the re-categorised information withholds of the latest version of the Mueller Report released to the public

h. p. loveshack: ph’nglui mglw’nafh Cthulhu R’lyeh wgah’nagl fhtagn

hic sunt dracones: an interactive map of legends from English Heritage—via Maps Mania  

talky tina

Having first encountered the strange and robust marketplace in haunted dolls through the excellent podcast Oh No Ross & Carrie, I enjoyed this follow-up and expansion on the topic—via Messy Nessy Chic.
One is course paying for the menacing narrative and the tragic backstory to account for these cursed, possessed artefacts and most auctions are conducted with a strict no return policy and sold “as is.” Though we yet mourn for weird, niche eBay, allowing the sale of such items signals a departure from the company’s restriction on the trafficking in souls and the sale of metaphysical services, such as casting spells. Learn more about this strange phenomena and antecedents at the links above.