Living Home Furniture: Rabbit Trails

Showing posts with label Rabbit Trails. Show all posts

Robotic Flying Machines

Autonomous flying machines are getting more and more ingenious. <iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="290" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/nnR8fDW3Ilo" title="YouTube video player" width="480"></iframe> Here’s a very birdlike ornithopter. According to<a href="http://blogs.forbes.com/alexknapp/2011/03/30/festo-builds-a-robot-bird/"> Alex Knapp of the Forbes Blog</a>: <blockquote>This bionic technology-bearer, which is inspired by the herring gull, can start, fly and land autonomously – with no additional drive mechanism. Its wings not only beat up and down, but also twist at specific angles. This is made possible by an active articulated torsional drive unit, which in combination with a complex control system attains an unprecedented level of efficiency in flight operation. Festo has thus succeeded for the first time in creating an energy-efficient technical adaptation of this model from nature.</blockquote> <object height="290" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/3CR5y8qZf0Y&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&version=3"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/3CR5y8qZf0Y&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&version=3" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="480" height="290"></embed></object> These hovering platforms act as ping-pong paddles to juggle balls in mid-air. ---------- Previously on GJ: <a href="http://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com/2010/09/first-human-powered-ornithopter.html">Human powered ornithopter</a> <a href="http://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com/2009/08/insect-vehicles-part-1.html">Insect Vehicles </a> <a href="http://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com/2009/07/utopiales-poster-part-2.html">Utopiales Poster, Part 1</a>

Robotic Flying Machines

Autonomous flying machines are getting more and more ingenious. Here’s a very birdlike ornithopter. According to Alex Knapp of the Forbes B...

8:57 AM

Bold New Art in the White House

The <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/07/arts/design/07borrow.html">New York Times</a> and the <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/07/obamas-modern-art-photos_n_311958.html?slidenumber=2#slide_image">Huffington Post</a> reported recently that the Obamas have redecorated sections of the White House with prime examples of animation art from the Walt  Disney Company, based on a comprehensive licensing agreement that will also bring Disney art to Capitol Hill and the Pentagon. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikIEPvNz9f0hsSKm0HeUaTLtMEyNuEGq9v5i2U2FWuEd8jFnp9JX0JqAwMZCaELCKhW1FWW7VqOH1ENQAcKxm37SF-0LFFQk24ZncSBI3x8e9lr44K_b1nerUic5ECD6L1CHbqchgGDPk/s1600/redroom-whitehouse-interiors.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikIEPvNz9f0hsSKm0HeUaTLtMEyNuEGq9v5i2U2FWuEd8jFnp9JX0JqAwMZCaELCKhW1FWW7VqOH1ENQAcKxm37SF-0LFFQk24ZncSBI3x8e9lr44K_b1nerUic5ECD6L1CHbqchgGDPk/s400/redroom-whitehouse-interiors.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-mhjTEtkpPydMs3KwziEO0OExWWT4cJEpC3eXkMP97njscwnsvTEl656Ltiz5mJtFh9IDOO3f-LdLIpUwBdfM-ENf7pKwprGfo6uCKmkxl80QyXHNryN437nYrc7T4Hl3f3GhdNkuu8A/s1600/redroom-whitehouse-interiors.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> </a></div>Reporter Carl Vogel reports: <blockquote> The Obamas’ taste in art includes works from "Snow White," "Pinocchio," "Lady and the Tramp," and four other Disney classics. Works from those films were among some 45 pieces that the first couple borrowed from the Disney archives to decorate their private White House residence and the West and East Wings, the White House press office announced on Tuesday. </blockquote><blockquote><div class="inlineLeft" id="articleInline"><div id="inlineBox"><div class="story"><div class="summary"></div></div></div></div></blockquote><blockquote>It is a big, wide selection of mostly background painting with custom animation cels created to fit within the historic frames that are part of the White House's decor.</blockquote><blockquote>In the weeks before the inauguration Michael Smith, the Obamas’ decorator, paid a visit to Disney headquarters to talk about what art he could borrow. </blockquote><blockquote>“We have one rule: We want to lighten the nation's mood right now. We think animation art is a good way to do it, and it's a vital American art form." </blockquote><blockquote>Mr. Smith, working with Michelle Obama and the White House curator, William Allman, made choices for the first family’s living quarters and office areas after perusing the Web sites of several motion picture studios. </blockquote><blockquote> “Michael Smith came to us with a long list of artists and asked me what was available,” Kerry Borvin, chief curator at the Disney archives, said in a telephone interview. “There are some very interesting figures. It’s more interesting and shows a greater diversity of art than I’ve seen.” </blockquote>------- New York Times article: <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/07/arts/design/07borrow.html">"A Bold and Modern White House" </a> Huffington Post article: <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/07/obamas-modern-art-photos_n_311958.html?slidenumber=2#slide_image">"Obama's Modern Art" </a> Related Post from GurneyJourney (April 1, 2010) <a href="http://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com/2010/04/dinotopia-themed-caskets.html">"Dinotopia Themed Caskets"</a>

Bold New Art in the White House

The New York Times and the Huffington Post reported recently that the Obamas have redecorated sections of the White House with prime examp...

4:54 AM

Who U Gonna Call?

Who U Gonna Call?

Ghostbusters meets evangelism in this van parked along a road in Milford, Pennsylvania. I wonder what he keeps in there.

8:52 AM

Pretty Darn Long Time Stamps

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwPG9jJL9H67rwIDjN9-Pwt8KienhzVXms05g1P4jF3P-d-Jy422qtGHcnmvuzNg7JdgE1wVlKEbfTKPzBrZkdnYIDa6uztq7hz8wzcs5ZK6CZuuj8lkMDh6jbgXzXyyaAa8R9mlttCXc/s1600/LongTimeStamp.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwPG9jJL9H67rwIDjN9-Pwt8KienhzVXms05g1P4jF3P-d-Jy422qtGHcnmvuzNg7JdgE1wVlKEbfTKPzBrZkdnYIDa6uztq7hz8wzcs5ZK6CZuuj8lkMDh6jbgXzXyyaAa8R9mlttCXc/s320/LongTimeStamp.jpg" width="289" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwPG9jJL9H67rwIDjN9-Pwt8KienhzVXms05g1P4jF3P-d-Jy422qtGHcnmvuzNg7JdgE1wVlKEbfTKPzBrZkdnYIDa6uztq7hz8wzcs5ZK6CZuuj8lkMDh6jbgXzXyyaAa8R9mlttCXc/s1600/LongTimeStamp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a> The U.S. Postal Service announced recently that all stamps from now on will be Forever® Stamps. The idea of a forever stamp is that “it will be good for mailing one-ounce First-Class letters anytime in the future. It’s good forever.” But forever is a long time. The Earth won’t last forever. In about five billion years, the Sun will expand into its red giant phase. Its fiery perimeter will expand to about the orbit of Mercury, making life (and postal service) impossible. What about the Forever Stamps then? Will they still be good? I don’t think so. To be more accurate, why don’t we call them Pretty Darn Long Time® Stamps? ------- <a href="http://www.usps.com/communications/newsroom/2007/sr07_011.htm">USPS press release </a>

Pretty Darn Long Time Stamps

The U.S. Postal Service announced recently that all stamps from now on will be Forever® Stamps. The idea of a forever stamp is that “it will...

10:25 AM

Ice Towers

Day 4 of Video Week is about making towers of ice. When you put candles in them, they look like transparent lighthouses, and they keep shining even in a hefty windstorm. <iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="290" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/imB-SdWSaDg" title="YouTube video player" width="480"></iframe> A couple of points that I forgot to mention: 1. I don’t recommend using bare hands for handling wet ice in zero degree weather. Leather gloves don’t work either because they stick hard and you have to tear the surface layer off. Neoprene gloves seem to do the job. Also, be careful not to stick your tongue out if you make an ice helmet. 2. To make the cylinders of ice stack securely, put a ring of wet slush at the top of each section before adding the next. That will freeze and bond like cement. 3. If you have a hollow cylinder below the top one, you can chip a 5-inch hole in the side of it so that you can put a candle in there, too. --------- <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imB-SdWSaDg">Direct link to YouTube video: Ice Towers</a> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/gurneyjourney">GurneyJourney channel on YouTube </a> Previously on GJ: <a href="http://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com/2010/12/icy-blockhead.html">Icy Blockhead </a> <a href="http://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com/2009/01/sub-zero-bubbles.html">Sub-Freezing Soap Bubbles.</a> <a href="http://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com/2009/01/sub-zero-bubble-discussion.html">Sub-Zero Bubble Discussion</a> <a href="http://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com/2011/02/mud-trap.html">Mud Trap Video</a>

Ice Towers

Day 4 of Video Week is about making towers of ice. When you put candles in them, they look like transparent lighthouses, and they keep shini...

8:14 AM

Broadcast News

Broadcast News

Most of broadcast news consists of guessing what is going to happen or rehashing what happened a long time ago. Is that news?

12:42 PM

Plein Aero Space

Plein Aero Space

A painting by Mark Tansey: “Action Painting II”, oil on canvas, 193cm x 279.4 cm, 1984. -------- From Aphelis via Atompunk. Thanks, John, ...

4:00 AM

Hustled by Mickey

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif4vpEQHuK5anVgEqVuhCbFdAsU1agtaquYP-BVLgVHG9IFEsvmxH9wFOlP_fo3Ypf4Y6fcTZ4d4SepTYRd41rHNbQQOtPEYofw4n-Ptr8KTDuwP51H1zf2YVf_zScz3xGDLDaipb0MRs/s1600/Mickey_Mouse_Times_Square.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a>So there I was in Times Square last Thursday, dodging tourists, when my way was blocked by Mickey and Minnie Mouse. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif4vpEQHuK5anVgEqVuhCbFdAsU1agtaquYP-BVLgVHG9IFEsvmxH9wFOlP_fo3Ypf4Y6fcTZ4d4SepTYRd41rHNbQQOtPEYofw4n-Ptr8KTDuwP51H1zf2YVf_zScz3xGDLDaipb0MRs/s1600/Mickey_Mouse_Times_Square.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif4vpEQHuK5anVgEqVuhCbFdAsU1agtaquYP-BVLgVHG9IFEsvmxH9wFOlP_fo3Ypf4Y6fcTZ4d4SepTYRd41rHNbQQOtPEYofw4n-Ptr8KTDuwP51H1zf2YVf_zScz3xGDLDaipb0MRs/s400/Mickey_Mouse_Times_Square.jpg" width="300" /></a> I figured they were shills for the tour buses, so I stopped and said hello. They gestured for my wife to take my photo with them. Then I heard Minnie say, “Hay que pagar algo.” “No thanks,” I said. “I don’t need the tour. I live in New York.” They stood in front of me and held out long velvet bags. Were they handing out lollipops? I looked into the bag and saw a few wadded up dollar bills. “Dinero,” Mickey insisted in a low, gruff voice. “Necessitamos dinero.” All of a sudden, Spongebob and Goofy came out of nowhere and started closing in on me. What’s the deal? Mickey was dressed as Uncle Sam. Was he supposed to be a weird caricature of a taxman? Or were they all photo hustlers, like the water sellers of Marrakech? Or is this the new re-branding thing? You probably heard that Disney wants to get rid of the old “Mr. Nice Guy” Mickey. Maybe I had met Edgy Mickey or Extreme Mickey or Epic Mickey or Squeegeeman Mickey or whatever he’s called. Someone in corporate better look into this.

Hustled by Mickey

So there I was in Times Square last Thursday, dodging tourists, when my way was blocked by Mickey and Minnie Mouse. I figured they were shil...

7:37 AM

Burro Jim

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPck1cJlM3F26D4ESX9LHXvZ7jf7WOM7PvYRG2w61r-qMSR15Q561KZg6YHh89R88VCKWFwedRPUsZo8QYBDFSNJ0VPy1JPb47Pp5QWs8UUWP7-IPxc0Hs4a3tsgTmHa9RX-GMAq0rA2U/s1600/Burro_Jim.sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a>This motel sign appears along the highway west of Phoenix, Arizona. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPck1cJlM3F26D4ESX9LHXvZ7jf7WOM7PvYRG2w61r-qMSR15Q561KZg6YHh89R88VCKWFwedRPUsZo8QYBDFSNJ0VPy1JPb47Pp5QWs8UUWP7-IPxc0Hs4a3tsgTmHa9RX-GMAq0rA2U/s1600/Burro_Jim.sm.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="312" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPck1cJlM3F26D4ESX9LHXvZ7jf7WOM7PvYRG2w61r-qMSR15Q561KZg6YHh89R88VCKWFwedRPUsZo8QYBDFSNJ0VPy1JPb47Pp5QWs8UUWP7-IPxc0Hs4a3tsgTmHa9RX-GMAq0rA2U/s400/Burro_Jim.sm.jpg" width="400" /></a> Note the Old West plank lettering. Color TV and refrigeration were rare enough things in homes that it was worth advertising.

Burro Jim

This motel sign appears along the highway west of Phoenix, Arizona. Note the Old West plank lettering. Color TV and refrigeration were rare...

4:42 AM

Cool Gift

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZqHrSeEkJddXXJHDbBlEtpyhts-G_pYe_OXqWwdfwuAm7i0hYiKUBEow5HY9GVskdzWELNjaGijX1m6d1frOaDlwa5fKwE7EOmlHbstIghgT8cciUPxS5BRHxc91Y7eqR2FpP5UXdYuI/s1600/GP.Logo.sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a>One of the coolest gifts from a GurneyJourney reader was a couple of zippered pouches with this embroidered logo of the “Golden Palm.” <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZqHrSeEkJddXXJHDbBlEtpyhts-G_pYe_OXqWwdfwuAm7i0hYiKUBEow5HY9GVskdzWELNjaGijX1m6d1frOaDlwa5fKwE7EOmlHbstIghgT8cciUPxS5BRHxc91Y7eqR2FpP5UXdYuI/s1600/GP.Logo.sm.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZqHrSeEkJddXXJHDbBlEtpyhts-G_pYe_OXqWwdfwuAm7i0hYiKUBEow5HY9GVskdzWELNjaGijX1m6d1frOaDlwa5fKwE7EOmlHbstIghgT8cciUPxS5BRHxc91Y7eqR2FpP5UXdYuI/s400/GP.Logo.sm.jpg" width="400" /></a> The GP, as it was affectionately known, was the seedy, stucco apartment in Highland Park, California, where I lived when I was a student at<a href="http://www.artcenter.edu/accd/index.jsp"> Art Center</a>. Thank you, <a href="http://www.lsa.umich.edu/umich/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=bf3402762227c110VgnVCM100000a3b1d38dRCRD&linkTypeBegin=contentlinkTypeEnd&assetNameBegin=Steve%20GilzowassetNameEnd">Steve!</a> And thanks to all you readers out there in Blogland for the fascinating links, comments, suggestions, and ideas that you’ve shared me over the last year. I’ve learned as much from you as vice versa. I’m grateful to all of you making GurneyJourney part of your internet routine. I’ve got a lot of fun things planned for the new year, so get ready for a fun ride, especially if you’re sitting above the boiler. ---------- Previously on GJ: <a href="http://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com/2010/02/gp-tape-network.html">G.P. Tape Network </a> <a href="http://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com/2009/05/gp-golden-palms.html">Golden Palm (GP)</a> <a href="http://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com/2007/11/old-haunts.html">Old Haunts</a>

Cool Gift

One of the coolest gifts from a GurneyJourney reader was a couple of zippered pouches with this embroidered logo of the “Golden Palm.” The G...

6:19 AM

Goldsworthy Gurney’s Steam Carriages

One of my distant relatives was an Englishman named Sir Goldsworthy Gurney (1793-1875), who built steam-powered carriages more than 50 years before gasoline automobiles were invented. Unfortunately, he had rather bad luck along the way. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_NIgy7zOPc5aZyqltlJxRj9bHnoE1TXYgDo0js9xHHMygJGmXe5TX_yMFxIvDytPjwNYc5hmqXlOYS57FQsi-A5XrvbnFvTM3vhHEvvsUC3JkCZsVHki1SkWsNsxOJBqhjpDUgJdmzIk/s1600/steam_carriage.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_NIgy7zOPc5aZyqltlJxRj9bHnoE1TXYgDo0js9xHHMygJGmXe5TX_yMFxIvDytPjwNYc5hmqXlOYS57FQsi-A5XrvbnFvTM3vhHEvvsUC3JkCZsVHki1SkWsNsxOJBqhjpDUgJdmzIk/s400/steam_carriage.jpg" width="400" /></a> Gurney Steamers ran excursions to Edgeware, Barnet, and Stanmore, reaching top speeds of 20 miles per hour. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio4reeMzz3Z4JGmHoLEB9THfN2o2F8_k01Sh3v7D7EqMW4m1UPpSx7L67slMGy7cg402qJY3v2fm78EpnuGBlscbQwQUwz9PqML14fOZEgsps0yFMWjsY3OleKv7ZOzQTd6nvtKcpIkRI/s1600/Goldsworthy%252BGurney.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio4reeMzz3Z4JGmHoLEB9THfN2o2F8_k01Sh3v7D7EqMW4m1UPpSx7L67slMGy7cg402qJY3v2fm78EpnuGBlscbQwQUwz9PqML14fOZEgsps0yFMWjsY3OleKv7ZOzQTd6nvtKcpIkRI/s320/Goldsworthy%252BGurney.jpg" width="211" /></a> In May, 1828, a Gurney carriage climbed Highgate Old Hill, which doubters claimed couldn’t be done. On the way back down, the workmen, in their enthusiasm, forgot to lock the driveshaft to the rear wheels. Gurney, who was at the controls, couldn’t stop the vehicle from careening down the hill. It lost a wheel, though no one was hurt.   <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr40aB_6865G_KYR4rWfaKLlT8E5P11Qjom3InZJAlcMl5cdzFmxv8QRJQveppmsUaD50tAqQcHgAZcy1yp1wdFevEKBrIY6Gvnxzj3cnOxUMNbAzKqNfW2xouEW6QFk0kIfZRWg6klls/s1600/Goldsworthy-gurney-steam-carriage.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr40aB_6865G_KYR4rWfaKLlT8E5P11Qjom3InZJAlcMl5cdzFmxv8QRJQveppmsUaD50tAqQcHgAZcy1yp1wdFevEKBrIY6Gvnxzj3cnOxUMNbAzKqNfW2xouEW6QFk0kIfZRWg6klls/s400/Goldsworthy-gurney-steam-carriage.jpg" width="400" /></a> In 1829, the Gurney Steam Carriage Company served the route from London to Bath, averaging 14 miles per hour, including stops for water and fuel, nearly double the speed of a horse coach. On a trip to Longford in heavy fog, Gurney almost crashed head-on with a Bristol mail coach. He swerved onto a pile of bricks to avoid an accident, but broke a drive mechanism in the process. Nevertheless, with power to only one wheel, he managed to pass fifty horse-drawn carriages during the rest of the trip. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB8yrxCatbQGMwJz9s8l8NKRBPB2V28nO8EevOKAbGFFJRk73f869blCOFAv2UyWTCuj7Z4lIwyetotJkA7osnINYHZerDaSDCR7Xe_-2fNfVvaYP7Ppn_1MDVEQAwnwPjThR-N6tsF0s/s1600/Goldsworthy_Gurney_steam_carriage_sm.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="282" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB8yrxCatbQGMwJz9s8l8NKRBPB2V28nO8EevOKAbGFFJRk73f869blCOFAv2UyWTCuj7Z4lIwyetotJkA7osnINYHZerDaSDCR7Xe_-2fNfVvaYP7Ppn_1MDVEQAwnwPjThR-N6tsF0s/s400/Goldsworthy_Gurney_steam_carriage_sm.jpg" width="400" /></a> Gurney tried various innovations to increase the power of his carriages, including a blast jet, which had the unfortunate effect of blowing cinders out of every orifice of the engine. With the huge pressures involved in the steam engine, passengers became uncomfortable sitting directly atop the boiler (#10 in the illustration above). <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRpvbjrmDhrn_lx7mErZQ-ZlEHQAcX8hudgwvFmiNMLGtPjbzC11t7TR3Od0W7CDXmzwLSUIgEyolrGpTqZE3brTvLmUB-9qW6W6M-34EZGiZT9vkCMq4aBEY3fXBnOufgayxl09On1FI/s1600/Gurney_Carriage_Disaster.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRpvbjrmDhrn_lx7mErZQ-ZlEHQAcX8hudgwvFmiNMLGtPjbzC11t7TR3Od0W7CDXmzwLSUIgEyolrGpTqZE3brTvLmUB-9qW6W6M-34EZGiZT9vkCMq4aBEY3fXBnOufgayxl09On1FI/s320/Gurney_Carriage_Disaster.jpg" width="320" /></a> Although Gurney was careful to maintain safety standards, one of his coaches, operated without his supervision, blew a boiler, killing two people, and provoking the satirist Thomas Hood to write: <blockquote>Instead of journeys people now go upon a Gurney With steam to do the work by power of attorney But with a load it may explode And you may be undone And find you’re going up to heaven Instead of to London.</blockquote> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV1fNH1ttGF0e2S54Hsx6HW9VHu9vh5BSurmNXbGoeu5am4mlxSeq0e4Wu4I-flheMd7nN-kiSWCUqjjtRyRwB1vwi7FVkR-x7jXWaTmv72aBzoK_r8Dk7t_uJKyesxz3uXckkyvdRv-s/s1600/Gurney_steam_carriage.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV1fNH1ttGF0e2S54Hsx6HW9VHu9vh5BSurmNXbGoeu5am4mlxSeq0e4Wu4I-flheMd7nN-kiSWCUqjjtRyRwB1vwi7FVkR-x7jXWaTmv72aBzoK_r8Dk7t_uJKyesxz3uXckkyvdRv-s/s320/Gurney_steam_carriage.jpg" width="320" /></a> His solution: The "Gurney Drag," which towed passengers more safely behind the engine. In 1831, he built a small “one-horse” steam-powered carriage. It weighed about 500 pounds and was just big enough to carry two or three people or a load of parcels. It could run for seven mile stages, consuming seventy gallons of water and twenty-five bushels of coke at each stop.  But Gurney couldn’t spend much time on such curiosities. In addition to the technical challenges, he had to contend with human obstacles. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYIQvY2QUZjQ7oEtK5YnweSM5mKSXuorQx3M9OKCt1UfzhTbQuZ_zo1TgsAKeDOFNBbKSBg2ue9gIZ97psESiPILKKky0dK4yBgN6y8CViQ1YZvXij9X9g3WwXLipTzWGgUC-HmA7XiBQ/s1600/luddites.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYIQvY2QUZjQ7oEtK5YnweSM5mKSXuorQx3M9OKCt1UfzhTbQuZ_zo1TgsAKeDOFNBbKSBg2ue9gIZ97psESiPILKKky0dK4yBgN6y8CViQ1YZvXij9X9g3WwXLipTzWGgUC-HmA7XiBQ/s320/luddites.jpg" width="320" /></a> On the Bath run one of his carriages was attacked by Luddites. According to Gurney’s daughter Anna, unemployed millworkers from Melksham set upon the carriage, “burnt their fingers, threw stones, and wounded poor Martyn the stoker,” forcing the carriage to be escorted the rest of the way under guard. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhODgh-IoLUGF1d61E7dKvNx72A4ITq5vDxn26cK-HOeuFn5ylXVI1a6k2Dy5SK7smWqsulLjtp0rehlH8Q6voE8cGmUYGUkFK_mbKX-xZUx_9O9Cvzki3lrrYhmIvR1cZeb1QngnCVI90/s1600/steam_carriage_colour.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhODgh-IoLUGF1d61E7dKvNx72A4ITq5vDxn26cK-HOeuFn5ylXVI1a6k2Dy5SK7smWqsulLjtp0rehlH8Q6voE8cGmUYGUkFK_mbKX-xZUx_9O9Cvzki3lrrYhmIvR1cZeb1QngnCVI90/s400/steam_carriage_colour.jpg" width="400" /></a> Gurney deployed his carriages on paid routes between Gloucester and Cheltenham. In one four-month stretch of 1831, his vehicles carried nearly 3,000 passengers, “including many ladies,” over more than 4,000 miles. Running a horseless-carriage business didn’t endear Gurney to the horse grooms, horse-carriage builders, turnpike trustees, and railroad men. The magistrates of the Cheltenham district, wishing to block Gurney’s progress, covered a stretch of road with an eighteen-inch-deep layer of rough gravel, which his vehicles couldn’t get across. Gurney’s biggest rival was the railroad men. They lobbied authorities to hamper Gurney with prohibitive tolls levied on steam conveyances, while railroad developers were receiving government loans. During the time of his experimentation, railroads grew from a single line of track to a 1,500 mile network. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuba9V2r1CY_59WiA6yOUuI9E9XTY9WA5uz1uLwRqJBB46L3LRBl9NuPZ3dwl7XiLUP3QlYFv8AxnrQd_9a7SVZ-jYEwCaqVf1kLjQvjq8CjeHS7BisGiJKMDbnHtwJYUTBNchyphenhyphenL8b6hk/s1600/Goldsworthy_Gurney_-_PD-OLD.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuba9V2r1CY_59WiA6yOUuI9E9XTY9WA5uz1uLwRqJBB46L3LRBl9NuPZ3dwl7XiLUP3QlYFv8AxnrQd_9a7SVZ-jYEwCaqVf1kLjQvjq8CjeHS7BisGiJKMDbnHtwJYUTBNchyphenhyphenL8b6hk/s200/Goldsworthy_Gurney_-_PD-OLD.jpg" width="165" /></a> Eventually, stymied by the high tolls, Gurney’s steam carriage business fell apart and he turned his attention to lighthouses and mine ventilation. If only Sir Goldsworthy had outmaneuvered the Luddites and the railroad men, automobiles would have gotten their start in the 1830s, the Civil War would have been fought with tanks, and we would have been riding "Goldsworthys" instead of Greyhounds, and "Gurneys" instead of Fords. There’s a steampunk novel for you. --------- Note on the hospital use of the word “gurney.” Another Gurney, Theodore Gurney of Boston, patented a form of horse-drawn vehicle that became known as a “gurney.” According to historian Jean Rigler, unlike the hansom cab, “the gurney was a small scale hack” that could carry two people behind a single horse: “A two-horse hack cost 50 cents, but the gurney was only 25 cents.” In San Francisco, horse-drawn gurney wagons were used by the police for ambulance service, and the term was transferred to the wheeled vehicle used within the hospital. ---------- References: “Why the Gurney Lost Out,” by Jerry MacMullen, San Diego Union, 1969. “Gurney: A San Francisco Word Goes National,” by Peter Tamony, The Pacific Winter issue, 1966, p. 15-20 <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Gurney-family-Abner-Zuinglius-genealogical/dp/B0006EGOL4/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1293971791&sr=1-1-fkmr0">“The Gurney Family from Aaron to Zuinglius: A Genealogical Dictionary,” </a>by Jean Gurney Rigler, Honolulu, HI, 1964. -------------------- <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goldsworthy_Gurney">Wikipedia on Sir Goldsworthy Gurney</a> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Life-Times-Sir-Goldsworthy-Gurney/dp/0934223505/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1293971031&sr=1-1">The Life and Times of Sir Goldsworthy Gurney, Gentleman Scientist and Inventor,</a> by Dale H. Porter (Amazon) <a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=Ta3d0qWpPMsC&pg=PA230&lpg=PA230&dq=he+Life+and+Times+of+Sir+Goldsworthy+Gurney:+Gentleman+Scientist+and+Inventor+1793-1875&source=bl&ots=_pui8DpnRn&sig=xZ_z41ufZ_mx061ma0OqB3LVTog&hl=en&ei=iW4gTc3HKIT6lwfoj8WMDA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CB4Q6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q&f=false">Porter's book on Google Books</a> Previously on GJ: "<a href="http://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com/2008/05/spokewheeling.html">Spokewheeling,"</a> showing Dinotopia's Goldsworthy Marlinspike, who was named after Sir G.G.

Goldsworthy Gurney’s Steam Carriages

One of my distant relatives was an Englishman named Sir Goldsworthy Gurney (1793-1875), who built steam-powered carriages more than 50 years...

4:36 AM

Painting a Plane

If you thought painting a canvas or a mural was a big job, how about painting a jet? This time-lapse video shows all the prepping, spraying and frisketing involved. <object height="290" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ojpTzn8Vd04&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&version=3"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ojpTzn8Vd04&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&version=3" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="480" height="290"></embed></object> It takes more than 50 gallons of paint to cover a commercial jet, and that layer adds about 400 pounds to the weight. Some airlines have chosen a brushed aluminum finish to save on the weight and increase efficiency.  ------ <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojpTzn8Vd04&feature=player_embedded">Direct link to the Virgin Atlantic video. </a> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqZKpCJEqNE&feature=player_embedded">A different time lapse video, painting a Delta jet using cherry pickers instead of scaffolding.</a> <a href="http://bestofyoutube.com/index.php">Via Best of YouTube</a>

Painting a Plane

If you thought painting a canvas or a mural was a big job, how about painting a jet? This time-lapse video shows all the prepping, spraying ...

10:00 AM

Icy Blockhead

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-lDUKJ1-ks719pYj2M5s3Pf67JevZqfVB6Rr1bPyAfL1K7eD5M6Xkt5pC-kXpvolK754ji_NQHLi7PYL1bYDmyDCbyU4ITCkrsMoN90OnNfB34xG6EOpd-5jldTUwRatGkobVK_SoBtAb/s1600/Icy_Blockhead.sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a>Sometimes when I think too much about art, my head overheats. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-lDUKJ1-ks719pYj2M5s3Pf67JevZqfVB6Rr1bPyAfL1K7eD5M6Xkt5pC-kXpvolK754ji_NQHLi7PYL1bYDmyDCbyU4ITCkrsMoN90OnNfB34xG6EOpd-5jldTUwRatGkobVK_SoBtAb/s1600/Icy_Blockhead.sm.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-lDUKJ1-ks719pYj2M5s3Pf67JevZqfVB6Rr1bPyAfL1K7eD5M6Xkt5pC-kXpvolK754ji_NQHLi7PYL1bYDmyDCbyU4ITCkrsMoN90OnNfB34xG6EOpd-5jldTUwRatGkobVK_SoBtAb/s400/Icy_Blockhead.sm.jpg" width="400" /></a> When that happens I just freeze it in a block of ice to cool off.

Icy Blockhead

Sometimes when I think too much about art, my head overheats. When that happens I just freeze it in a block of ice to cool off.

7:49 AM

Underbelly Project

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyptXIFaCOrLknauOjC44f3RTj7lRXrDXVKwb4ty5n60wrOFtunEXk3FPFM9aW7K-Mp7IXHTZRnAhUZ2qW4kGknJ8uLA83HuWzagEX_CfTOP0JXKmb68RpzRDAlqEEaKvXGO2HLS2l59Eg/s1600/revokcease_thumb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a>Is it still art if no one can see it? That’s one of the philosophical questions posed by the Underbelly Project, where graffiti artists collaborated to decorate an inaccessible subway platform hidden beneath New York City. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKy_z0X8155GCLOaalR1ax8TXfnGOdDqzQmprUzSmTunszrc6glbM94Kho9SNCihhChpOIwd8kOW1eUFdDBumLJUxKV57XdzUYnM5_E_zS80vosFuNcOYmPJaaPCCSv4y8zQk-2pi2utrR/s1600/UnderbellyProject.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="277" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKy_z0X8155GCLOaalR1ax8TXfnGOdDqzQmprUzSmTunszrc6glbM94Kho9SNCihhChpOIwd8kOW1eUFdDBumLJUxKV57XdzUYnM5_E_zS80vosFuNcOYmPJaaPCCSv4y8zQk-2pi2utrR/s400/UnderbellyProject.jpg" width="400" /></a> Getting there involved crossing over hot third rails and risking arrest. The organizers have kept the location a secret. After the artists finished their work, they closed it off again, and at the moment no one from the general public can get back down there. Luckily the artists took some photos, so we can see the art from the comfort of our computers. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyptXIFaCOrLknauOjC44f3RTj7lRXrDXVKwb4ty5n60wrOFtunEXk3FPFM9aW7K-Mp7IXHTZRnAhUZ2qW4kGknJ8uLA83HuWzagEX_CfTOP0JXKmb68RpzRDAlqEEaKvXGO2HLS2l59Eg/s1600/revokcease_thumb.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyptXIFaCOrLknauOjC44f3RTj7lRXrDXVKwb4ty5n60wrOFtunEXk3FPFM9aW7K-Mp7IXHTZRnAhUZ2qW4kGknJ8uLA83HuWzagEX_CfTOP0JXKmb68RpzRDAlqEEaKvXGO2HLS2l59Eg/s400/revokcease_thumb.jpg" width="400" /></a> The notion of inaccessible art isn’t new. Many of the painted caves of Lascaux and Altamira were never easy to get to. Some of the Taino carvings I’ve seen in caves in Puerto Rico involve an underground traverse over a mile and swimming across underground lakes. And many ancient cultures with a belief in the eyes of spirits have created elaborate painted tombs, sealed off to the living. --------- Previously: <a href="http://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com/2010/02/cave-exploration.html">Camuy Cave Exploration. </a> Read and see more about the Underbelly Project at the following links: <a href="http://secondavenuesagas.com/2010/11/01/a-subway-art-project-in-the-abandoned-underbelly/">Second Avenue Sagas</a> <a href="http://rwkstreetspot.blogspot.com/2010/10/underbelly-project-beneath-nyc-streets.html">Street Spot Blog</a> <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/01/arts/design/01underbelly.html?_r=1">New York Times</a> Thanks, Frank.

Underbelly Project

Is it still art if no one can see it? That’s one of the philosophical questions posed by the Underbelly Project, where graffiti artists coll...

7:59 AM

Abandoned Icons

Abandoned Icons

These forlorn icons are from the abandoned Six Flags theme park attraction in New Orleans. -------- From Web Urbanist

11:25 AM

Darwinian Theory of Beauty

Philosopher Denis Dutton shares his theory of beauty in this 15 minute TED lecture, illustrated with the white-board animation of Andrew Park. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikXJNscwS_vVXDX6hijasCGqCl1RRrg9WbUkh8by3jZunKMyQxK_susKQWAnHmJqkDuCtBziKrnW-559Dq3Hph93-Pjr6HLP9_X_qbkIRbhTk41cOsZ3t_u6VRXeNO799YXYVrZhD4AaIf/s1600/Durand_Landscape.sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> </a></div><object height="285" width="450"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/PktUzdnBqWI?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/PktUzdnBqWI?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="285"></embed></object> Dutton dismisses the notion that beauty is in the eye of the beholder or is somehow connected to ideal form. Instead he takes a Darwinian approach, arguing that our response to beauty is wired into our human existence and our need to find mates. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikXJNscwS_vVXDX6hijasCGqCl1RRrg9WbUkh8by3jZunKMyQxK_susKQWAnHmJqkDuCtBziKrnW-559Dq3Hph93-Pjr6HLP9_X_qbkIRbhTk41cOsZ3t_u6VRXeNO799YXYVrZhD4AaIf/s1600/Durand_Landscape.sm.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="257" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikXJNscwS_vVXDX6hijasCGqCl1RRrg9WbUkh8by3jZunKMyQxK_susKQWAnHmJqkDuCtBziKrnW-559Dq3Hph93-Pjr6HLP9_X_qbkIRbhTk41cOsZ3t_u6VRXeNO799YXYVrZhD4AaIf/s400/Durand_Landscape.sm.jpg" width="400" /></a> He describes the ideal pictorial landscape as containing an open vista, with an element of water, a forked tree, and a sampling of wildlife, and a path or a road leading into the distance. Above: Asher Durand. This landscape, Dutton argues, is universally appealing across cultures because it appealed to our Pleistocene hunter-gatherer ancestors, presumably scanning for game to feed their mates. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiJYnC9EBjKGEMAvD1hV5pv3nhtxyyOq_wBQONWiZqTCxOSxgjOqDLoRNxdXO-T0pOoCKF_xn4emeYNuOrk2HWA2g2Km661hD4zJskEbNXL5rOel8JlRHUt0QjS3Ju36249W4H844EKnO0/s1600/Friedrich_Wanderer.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiJYnC9EBjKGEMAvD1hV5pv3nhtxyyOq_wBQONWiZqTCxOSxgjOqDLoRNxdXO-T0pOoCKF_xn4emeYNuOrk2HWA2g2Km661hD4zJskEbNXL5rOel8JlRHUt0QjS3Ju36249W4H844EKnO0/s320/Friedrich_Wanderer.jpg" width="250" /></a>Although I was impressed with Park’s animation, I didn’t find Dutton’s aesthetic theory particularly convincing, nor useful from an artist’s perspective. Part of the problem is semantic. As he says, we are impressed by skilled action, and we call it beautiful. It attracts the girls. Or vice versa. But what skilled actions are we talking about? Do we include backing a trailer or skateboarding or card-shuffling? What about soccer? These things might be described as “beautiful” only in the loosest sense of the term. Most people wouldn’t include all of them in a definition of art. And art does not include only skilled action. Many people regard as art certain objects that consciously exhibit a lack of skill: fauve, neo-primitive, and such. Dutton doesn’t dig very deeply into the nature and the range of the core aesthetic responses, and why those responses might be evolutionarily adaptive. He makes rather unsupportable claims about how he thinks Homo Erectus responded to hand axes. How does he know the axes were art objects? Maybe they were used as money, not art. And how does he know Homo Erectus didn’t have language?   Dutton’s theory also proposes that natural selection provides for a repulsion reaction to such dangerous things as standing at the edge a cliff. How, then, would Dutton’s theory account for the experience of the sublime, as formulated by aesthetic philosophers such as Edmund Burke? According to Burke, we’re attracted, rather than repulsed, by unsettling and disquieting experiences. (Example above: Wanderer by Caspar David Friedrich.) Far more convincing—and useful— is Tolstoy’s notion that art is the deliberate transmission of emotion. It applies to dance, theater, painting, music, and all other forms. And it is immensely practical to the working artist, because it provides a clear test for the aesthetic value of a particular work. Tolstoy’s theory is a rich topic, perhaps fodder for a future post.  ----- <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PktUzdnBqWI">Dutton’s TED lecture on YouTube</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sublime_%28philosophy%29">Burke’s theory of the sublime</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/What_Is_Art%3F">Tolstoy’s essay: “What is Art?”</a> Related GurneyJourney post: <a href="http://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com/2008/07/neuroesthetics.html">Neuroaesthetics </a>

Darwinian Theory of Beauty

Philosopher Denis Dutton shares his theory of beauty in this 15 minute TED lecture, illustrated with the white-board animation of Andrew Par...

8:42 AM

The New Mac iBox

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfs6aJLc4QL-XnwmsEqHTkeNV4pyQZHBR4Bz1Zj99o1tH6zYyFHHuMf69uP0ZKyfaKcxZ5KRidbOC-ZQJH3_-NOAehlWjRN3odk_erLXhfK90Fsx3FHRFPQ3Bg7ehFwH0_-xp8EaqJY5Ep/s1600/Mac_iBox.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIfirSV7lQm4ZxDzzoedyVhKIRpgdBXAKv8eI8EIPXp7xS6ENoUnqO9yLGMeivfHoEzzmCH9esKiGxloW_W1h_m5DL6-z8Jz9AqRQcdbfRw5fnE6Kb3Kcn6IxiyoBmzCD-ce1AgbiLXDxK/s1600/New_Mac_iBox_Product.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="390" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIfirSV7lQm4ZxDzzoedyVhKIRpgdBXAKv8eI8EIPXp7xS6ENoUnqO9yLGMeivfHoEzzmCH9esKiGxloW_W1h_m5DL6-z8Jz9AqRQcdbfRw5fnE6Kb3Kcn6IxiyoBmzCD-ce1AgbiLXDxK/s400/New_Mac_iBox_Product.JPG" width="400" /></a></div> Look what someone accidentally left in a laundromat in Italy—a working prototype of Apple’s much-rumored new iBox, ahead of the official launch. It’s a lot smaller than the MacBook Pro, and even a bit narrower than the iPad. The design of the outside is very simple, with no connection ports at all. It keeps to the same simple brushed aluminum look with rounded corners. It’s a bold step into the wireless, portable, creative suite market. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfs6aJLc4QL-XnwmsEqHTkeNV4pyQZHBR4Bz1Zj99o1tH6zYyFHHuMf69uP0ZKyfaKcxZ5KRidbOC-ZQJH3_-NOAehlWjRN3odk_erLXhfK90Fsx3FHRFPQ3Bg7ehFwH0_-xp8EaqJY5Ep/s1600/Mac_iBox.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfs6aJLc4QL-XnwmsEqHTkeNV4pyQZHBR4Bz1Zj99o1tH6zYyFHHuMf69uP0ZKyfaKcxZ5KRidbOC-ZQJH3_-NOAehlWjRN3odk_erLXhfK90Fsx3FHRFPQ3Bg7ehFwH0_-xp8EaqJY5Ep/s400/Mac_iBox.JPG" width="400" /></a></div> When you open up the hinged upper lid, the iBox interior is filled with 29 different graphic art tools, each of which responds to a variety of hand movements. The interfaces are fairly intuitive, with a variety of mark-making potential. Problems: The hue range is limited. The receptive surfaces will be sold separately by third party vendors. And the the gray undo tool isn’t compatible with all the rendering devices.

The New Mac iBox

Look what someone accidentally left in a laundromat in Italy—a working prototype of Apple’s much-rumored new iBox, ahead of the official lau...

10:47 AM

Ionic Jeep

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSu2pGFTxkHARlef4YEVCWBWeZLokSZQbsuhdafUhsJRT6_3BKtDnS6jPBeJBZB2-8pSkhqiPdTc5dlFX1KAAXrLEbGQB6BDbG8ECDYAHUZnADVSo7nKWWHHfGAdyc0Jy9vQ6sAYRglpZI/s1600/Ionic_Jeep.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5523794366406957026" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSu2pGFTxkHARlef4YEVCWBWeZLokSZQbsuhdafUhsJRT6_3BKtDnS6jPBeJBZB2-8pSkhqiPdTc5dlFX1KAAXrLEbGQB6BDbG8ECDYAHUZnADVSo7nKWWHHfGAdyc0Jy9vQ6sAYRglpZI/s400/Ionic_Jeep.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 198px;" /></a>I think it’s really cool that the Jeep car company chose a Greek Ionic capital as the symbol printed on their spare tire cover. It lends an air of dignity and refinement to the brand. I can’t help but think of Plato and Aristotle bouncing along in an off-road chariot. Previously: “<a href="http://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com/2008/02/stormtrooper-doughboy.html">Stormtrooper Doughboy</a>”

Ionic Jeep

I think it’s really cool that the Jeep car company chose a Greek Ionic capital as the symbol printed on their spare tire cover. It lends an ...

5:21 AM

L-ptop Dis-ste-

OK, I admit it, I was pretty stupid. I shouldn’t have been sipping tea near my MacBook laptop. It was even more foolish to spill half a cup of Irish Breakfast into the keyboard. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggVqlyEziFeMqqt0pe8GQ910SzDd6OXZ481YPlZNN8-niHL2AXuYKgW0y7xfnUgY6wAKK-fW2RiUxejkAoW52_8p0JNA8C-d1EWwaZgbtHoA9QQym0XjuYdXLg-Pnx0M8ASWNhJR_hwdF2/s1600/Hair_Dryer_Computer.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5522341193112683538" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggVqlyEziFeMqqt0pe8GQ910SzDd6OXZ481YPlZNN8-niHL2AXuYKgW0y7xfnUgY6wAKK-fW2RiUxejkAoW52_8p0JNA8C-d1EWwaZgbtHoA9QQym0XjuYdXLg-Pnx0M8ASWNhJR_hwdF2/s320/Hair_Dryer_Computer.JPG" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" /></a>The tea sank down into the cracks. I turned it upside down and let some of it drip out. Then I tried drying it out with a hair dryer. I shot hot air through a FedEx envelope to force hot air into the vents. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqkLSFdS37dD7b2fKLwYS_QNEXEoq0lUBocpFt-ImpSWFZ3Leh1PZuKoGvgwZF5hzBtKCTaNI05_H4B4EDJk1PWnetVrw8d5YEfF99HDjY9CDvjRuLAOAZSUi5O4ExIdTrKM4MsPzl9jQH/s1600/Drying_Out_Computer.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5522341193351469538" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqkLSFdS37dD7b2fKLwYS_QNEXEoq0lUBocpFt-ImpSWFZ3Leh1PZuKoGvgwZF5hzBtKCTaNI05_H4B4EDJk1PWnetVrw8d5YEfF99HDjY9CDvjRuLAOAZSUi5O4ExIdTrKM4MsPzl9jQH/s320/Drying_Out_Computer.JPG" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 254px;" /></a>Then I stood it up in front of the fireplace—never mind that it was 80 degrees outside. After a day of drying it out, I powered it up. The screen flickered a few times and then lit up. The good news is that the moisture apparently didn’t get into the logic circuits. No files have been lost. The bad news is that the “A,” “R,” and “F” keys don’t work anymore. It’s h--d to come up with blog post without using those lette-s. They show up in -lmost -nything you t-y to wite. Dogs c-n s-y “bow-wow” -nd “woo-” but not “---.” Whe-e does Sh-ek live? The L-nd o- ---, ---, -w-y!” I’ve ordered a new MacBook Pro. My makeshift solution with the old one is to put an old G3 keyboard right over the laptop keyboard, and I’m more or less back in business. I still drink tea, but I park it farther away.

L-ptop Dis-ste-

OK, I admit it, I was pretty stupid. I shouldn’t have been sipping tea near my MacBook laptop. It was even more foolish to spill half a cup ...

7:21 AM

Maker Faire: New York 2010

At the New York Science Center yesterday we visited the first annual MakerFaire, a celebration of the Do-It-Yourself movement. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDgI1nao3hadlTFV4_cgFu7G1SAy-BdqQpe6Re7XJBch_FD0YIPV0xvALjkgcyKxyyHIFRO8dv0X3oi_jXLR6eg3mr5RHLqWI3qtx3Djdh4FrKomm8PYQJ-kpPc0zm0TGvvitoR06zIvMC/s1600/Gurney.Maker+Faire1.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5521293695212932770" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDgI1nao3hadlTFV4_cgFu7G1SAy-BdqQpe6Re7XJBch_FD0YIPV0xvALjkgcyKxyyHIFRO8dv0X3oi_jXLR6eg3mr5RHLqWI3qtx3Djdh4FrKomm8PYQJ-kpPc0zm0TGvvitoR06zIvMC/s400/Gurney.Maker+Faire1.JPG" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 315px;" /></a>At the Smooth-On sculpture products booth, I checked out a character made from “Dragon-Skin” silicon by Lone Wolf Effects. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfJuMzN4lSCdUzXiDzI2L7o9e4wxfTtadR1gkktetag7i1037hB73oXrsByzbCMlEsYdd8Zvpe7TayO-wigOgbI2IjaRbB2Ci4tXtBZ6YOfhiDjRpJMXifDZTX7wFPWV4UPGiFT7rsUIc8/s1600/Gurney.Maker+Faire3.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5521293704377562018" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfJuMzN4lSCdUzXiDzI2L7o9e4wxfTtadR1gkktetag7i1037hB73oXrsByzbCMlEsYdd8Zvpe7TayO-wigOgbI2IjaRbB2Ci4tXtBZ6YOfhiDjRpJMXifDZTX7wFPWV4UPGiFT7rsUIc8/s400/Gurney.Maker+Faire3.JPG" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 235px;" /></a>If you sign the legal waiver, you can strap in and ride the Jet Ponies or Thundersteeds, a pulse-jet powered carousel. There was also a big-wheeled chariot and a motorcycle using the deafening fire-spitting jet technology. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmIHmKGrg1WrLWHe5me94NwsnCLFiiS4HjZvJOT6zaKgPJN1VP1fFNvXQe3SL_Pw6VYRt4-W2Rojq4kh3CTAFbxWa_ybfZOn7RygLMg9Lqjry_LqPMDNKMWegjyK7BfVodfFXtbCDu2fb8/s1600/Gurney.Maker+Faire2.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5521293695651655586" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmIHmKGrg1WrLWHe5me94NwsnCLFiiS4HjZvJOT6zaKgPJN1VP1fFNvXQe3SL_Pw6VYRt4-W2Rojq4kh3CTAFbxWa_ybfZOn7RygLMg9Lqjry_LqPMDNKMWegjyK7BfVodfFXtbCDu2fb8/s400/Gurney.Maker+Faire2.JPG" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 295px;" /></a>There were bicycles dressed up as fish, as well as innovative recumbents and tricycles. One maker constructed giant beetle-like creatures using old inner tubes and used truck parts. For the computer geeks, there were radio control robots, 3D printers, and tutorials on soldering simple circuits. A range of traditional hand skills and child crafts were well represented. People of all ages were invited to learn knitting and crocheting with expert help. We saw a full size car covered in green fuzzy knitting. The coalition of the handmade world embraces a wide range of people, from steampunk guys with hand-wound pocket watches, to goth princesses in gold spandex bikinis, to families led along by their awestruck grade schoolers. A few large corporate players had a presence, such as Ford Motors, showing off its brand new 25 mpg Taurus Assault Vehicle. Martha Stewart’s organization had a slick living room set decorated with fake bones that you could make out of paper maché for Halloween. At the close of the day, Make magazine editor and BoingBoing founder Mark Frauenfelder gave an illustrated talk on his personal odyssey to raise chickens and vegetables, carve wooden spoons, and build guitars out of cigar boxes, an experience he chronicles in his book “Made By Hand.” It’s a striking irony that the faire takes place at the epicenter of both the 1939 and the 1964 World’s Fairs. You can look up from the tents and booths to the tawdry hulks of yesterday’s fading vision of the future, a vision that included a prosperous industrial America with gleaming flying cars and moving sidewalks. If Maker Faire is a glimpse of the future, it will be more like a computerized medieval marketplace. The faire continues through today at the New York Hall of Science, ------ <a href="http://makerfaire.com/newyork/2010/">Maker Faire New York website </a> <a href="http://makezine.com/">Make magazine</a> <a href="http://www.nysci.org/">New York Hall of Science</a> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Made-Hand-Searching-Meaning-Throwaway/dp/1591843324">Mark F’s book “Made by Hand: Searching for Meaning in a Throwaway World.”</a> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31qTXlSb5ow&feature=related">YouTube video of Jet Ponies or Thundersteeds</a> <a href="http://www.smooth-on.com/index.php?cPath=1239">Smooth-on sculpting products</a>

Maker Faire: New York 2010

At the New York Science Center yesterday we visited the first annual MakerFaire, a celebration of the Do-It-Yourself movement. At the Smooth...

11:35 AM