|
|
|||
|
In a modest flat in central Kathmandu, a diminutive 86-year-old American journalist operates the Himalayan Database – the nearest thing to an official record of climbs made in the mountains of Nepal. If a mountaineer wants worldwide recognition that they have reached the summit of some of the most formidable mountains in the world, they will need to get the approval of Elizabeth Hawley. BBC News – Elizabeth Hawley, unrivalled Himalayan record keeper “Institutions will try to preserve the problem to which they are the solution.” — Clay Shirky I think this observation is brilliant. It reminds me of the clarity of the Peter Principle, which says that a person in an organization will be promoted to the level of their incompetence. At which point their past achievements will prevent them from being fired, but their incompetence at this new level will prevent them from being promoted again, so they stagnate in their incompetence. The Shirky Principle declares that complex solutions (like a company, or an industry) can become [ continue reading The Shirky Principle; ‘Institutions will try to preserve the problem to which they are the solution’. ] 31 August 2010
 |  | category: advice, prognosticators, the state we're in, thinkers, writing  | comment 
350 from Hans Hansen on Vimeo. What does the number 350 mean? 350 is the most important number in the world—it’s what scientists say is the safe upper limit for carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Two years ago, after leading climatologists observed rapid ice melt in the Arctic and other frightening signs of climate change, they issued a series of studies showing that the planet faced both human and natural disaster if atmospheric concentrations of CO2 remained above 350 parts per million. 350 graffiti art — so beautiful! | [ continue reading 350 graffiti art … so clever ] Breezy Stories. Bought in a Reutlingen supermarket bargain-bin on school-exchange in 1973 and just rediscovered digitally as vinyl copy is in a loft far, far away. Danny O’Keefe’s Breezy Stories is hard to define. Take a look at the musicians, Donny Hathaway, Bernie Purdue, Dr. John and Mac Rebennac (crazy, both names are listed), Airto Moreira, Hugh McCraken, Cissy Houston (you may have heard of her daughter) and David Bromberg to name a few; and produced by Arif Mardin, a master ♣. Been humming most songs from a clear remembering for years but then just yesterday thought, ‘give [ continue reading Danny O’Keefe, Breezy Stories … a platter re-spun ]
Rapid urbanization and widespread habitat destruction stemming from human activities are negatively impacting wildlife populations as never before. City-dwelling birds, which are an integral part of urban ecologies, are no exception. As this thought-provoking ‘mass bird-housing’ installation by eco-artist collective London Fieldworks shows (more photos after the jump), encouraging urban biodiversity — whether in urban planning or green building — is something that deserves more thought. (CLICK HERE FOR MORE »» ‘Spontaneous City’ of Birdhouses Springs Up in London : TreeHugger: [ continue reading ‘Spontaneous City’ of birdhouses springs up in London ] “The past three years have seen the rise of the uber-techno, super-flashy, full-carbon fibre, bobby-dazzler road bike. The market for these bikes has expanded faster than a 45-year-old’s waistline, partly thanks to the success of the British cycling stars at the Beijing Olympics. Marketing departments have produced smart advertising messages that encourage a bit of freedom, elite performance and memories of teenage derring-do. And the result can be seen on Saturday and Sunday mornings as middle-aged blokes polish the rear derailleur, lower the mirrored shades and pedal into the hills. Every couple of weeks, you’ll see a girth of [ continue reading Mid-life crisis? Enter the ‘MAMIL’ ] 17 August 2010
| | category: Gallery of the bleedin' obvious, clothes, cycling, hills | comments are closed Tony’s post on how to change your style reminded me of a great magazine article I found awhile back ago in a 1954 issue of True Magazine for Men that I bought at an estate sale in Vermont. Entitled ”Look What Happens When You Dress As Smart as You Are,” the article highlights the style transformation of Columbia University student, Don Wardlaw. (CLICK HERE FOR MORE »» The Art of Manliness Look What Happens When You Dress As Smart As You Are: Vintage Images From True Magazine: [ continue reading Look What Happens When You Dress As Smart As You Are ] Me my Shark and I from Chuck Patterson on Vimeo. Surfer Uses Underwater Camera to Capture Two Great Whites Sizing Him Up.
Wrote Kathryn Schulz in her very entertaining book, “Being Wrong: Adventures in The Margin of Error“: •••••••••••••••••••••••• This is one of my favorite optical illusions, not because it is particularly dazzling but because it is particularly maddening…. If you think of this image as a checkerboard, then all the “white” squares that fall within the shadow of the cylinder (like B) are the same color as all the “black” squares that fall outside the shadow (like A). (CLICK HERE FOR MORE »» bookofjoe The squares marked A and B are the same shade of gray: [ continue reading The squares marked A and B are the same shade of gray ] Google has reached a pivotal moment in its history. What can it do to expand beyond its incredible core business, which is now reaching a more mature phase? For insight on how it can develop, let’s look to Pixar. Pixar is as close to a constant learning organization as there is, with a proven ability to reinvent and a genuine cultural humility. Google’s founders could learn from Pixar’s founder and president Ed Catmull’s prolonged [ continue reading What Google Could Learn From Pixar ] Nice Graphic but they forgot to write an article worthy of it! FT.com / Magazine – The Information: Cycling to work. My car broke down on a trip through New Jersey last week. The local mechanic has this taped on the wall. I asked him if this sign was good for business or bad for business. He just smiled and shrugged. (CLICK HERE FOR MORE »» household name : : : blog Quote O’ The Week : Ideas: [ continue reading Quote O’ The Week : Ideas ]
It all began with this question: “If the bicycle is the standard bearer for sustainable transportation, shouldn’t the object itself communicate the same message?” via Robillard victor.
Bloq (Paul Johnson) is just one of more than 220 highly talented designer/Makers have been chosen to exhibit at Origin: The London Craft Fair, which will take place September 23-29th during this year’s London Design Festival. Paul says of his work, “The furniture that I design and make uses clean lines and solid shapes to produce precisely detailed, minimalist and elegant forms that have a host of uses from functional to social.” (CLICK HERE FOR MORE »» Design Milk Bloq: [ continue reading Bloq – The London Craft Fair ]
Abraham Maslow is famous for creating the “Hierarchy of Needs” — a graduating set of general requirements for human motivation. Like this: The idea behind this pyramid is that you need to fulfill the needs in the lowest (Physiological) level of the pyramid before you start thinking about the needs in the second-lowest (Safety) level. Then you can move on to the Love / belonging needs, and so forth. Then, hopefully, once you have satisfied the needs in the first four levels, you can start working on self-actualization, at which point you are a fully-realized human. Which would [ continue reading Fatty’s Hierarchy of Needs ] So Google Fonts is out ♥ and a WordPress plugin exists ♠ to rapidly apply them – delight! I have shown remarkable control in changing everything but only with one font, for a while. The new Safari extensions allow a Google Fonts preview extension to try them out ♣ and the list is growing fast. Installing is a cinch and the settings are simple. First impressions of the display after installing the WordPress plugin are that it increases the loading-time but seems to play safe with most browsers on the mac and the PC however the implementation and display [ continue reading early adopter or flim-flam addict? Google Fonts in the wild ] Angela Brady has been elected the next President of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), the UK body for architecture and the architectural profession. Angela will become President Elect on September 1, 2010 and will take over the two-year elected presidency from Ruth Reed on September 1, 2011. Angela will be the 74th RIBA President, a position previously held by Sir G. Gilbert Scott and Sir Basil Spence among others; she will be the second woman President. LINK It was the murphia what done [ continue reading Angela Brady has been elected the next President of the RIBA ] … old Scottish saying. fairynormal has added a photo to the pool: (CLICK HERE FOR MORE »» Sheffield Pool fairynormal has added a photo to the pool: : .)
John Cooper Clarke showed up as (usually unannounced) support at practically all the gigs I attended… you know… back then. Or at least that’s how I remember it. Everything about his ‘angry coathanger’ on-stage persona led me to believe that he’d be a pretty prickly guest on Jarvis Cocker’s Sunday show a couple of weeks ago but when it came to it he was happy and open-minded, full of praise for younger artists and obviously still learning, still working. Really inspiring. Here’s the interview: John Cooper Clarke talks to Jarvis Cocker And here’s the haiku [ continue reading John Cooper Clarke ]
Surfer, climber, clothes manufacturer. Meet Yvon Chouinard, the 72 year old adrenaline junkie and founder of Patagonia clothing. Let’s go surfing Yvon Chouinard. Heard of him? He’s one of the good guys. A 72 year old surfer and climber. A die hard environmentalist. A former blacksmith turned climbing gear manufacturer who went on to found one of the most successful outdoor clothing companies in the world. Patagonia. Mockingly called Pradagonia by some – mostly those who baulk at paying the prices his products command – Patagonia manufactures first rate, functional, environmentally friendly products that stand up to [ continue reading Yvon Chouinard | Sabotage Times ] TO find out how long a piece of string is, pull it straight and measure the distance between the ends
The cost of building our local leisure centre had ballooned to more than £30 million when it was opened in 2000, eye-wateringly expensive to our London borough, one of the poorest in the UK. Four years later the centre had closed because of serious building defects. A law suit, several years, and another £13 million later, it reopened. It’s big and bright, but has left a nasty taste in the mouth of the locals. There is time to ruminate on this, in our age of austerity, as I wait for the kids to emerge from the Kafkaesque changing [ continue reading Leisure Centre, London ] |
 
|
|
|
Copyright © 2010 flakes of nuisance - All Rights Reserved ----------------
If I have inadvertently infringed what you feel are your various rights, hard-earned property or considered peace-of-mind then let me know so I can try to fix it.
|
|||
