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Design Classics, the London Underground
Harry Beck ignored London’s actual geography and created a clear, logical transport diagram that emphasized station order and interchanges—an incredibly fascinating video.
I made it! Safe and sound in London, England.
I’m sitting at a computer cafe about a minute down the street from my hotel…check- in isn’t for another three hours, so I’ll probably go to the British Museum after I’m done here.
The flight was uneventful and uncomfortable—dinner was hilarious though, there’s tons of turbulence and the plane’s shaking side to side as I try to pour ranch dressing on my salad instead of all over my pants…I couldn’t stop laughing.
The transportation here was pretty straightfoward; all the signs were clear and although the entire network is laberinthine, the indicatons/colors pointed me to the right place. I only got a little lost in Victoria Station after the train from the airport, but after a little common sense I figured out I had only two choices, yellow/green line or blue line (I wanted blue line).
Emojii
Did you know the Japanese had a industry-wide standard for emoticons? Apparently they’re built into every modern handset. Apple included them in a new update–that’s how I found out about them.
Marketers and concession stands use psychological tactics to satisfy consumers.
Psychology junior year all over again. I love it!
From The Erotic Domain, An Aerobic Trend in China
Apparently pole dancing is now a viable form of exercise. Who knew?
Inside the Lego Factory
Fascinating video of the automated creation of a LEGO brick set, which an amazing shot of the 66ft tall “cathedral,” which houses the bricks.
Piagetian Conservation
We’re going over Piagetian Conversation in Psychology, so I thought would be of interest. Jean Piaget claimed that young children don’t understand that a transformation of a substance conserves it, and the video supports that claim.
"Until and unless you discover that money is the root of all good, you ask for your own destruction. When money ceases to become the means by which men deal with one another, then men become the tools of other men. Blood, whips and guns—or dollars. Take your choice—there is no other."
Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged
Amazon Kindle: Just a Good Start
It has DRM. Yes, the books cost too much. Yes, the device costs $400 - the reading of your first Kindle-book will run you up $410. How’s that for an expensive hardcover version of your favorite novel?
All these awful things about the Kindle, while important, don’t “put out the light” on the Kindle (pathetic, I know). The electronic paper screen and its compact size are invaluable assets, as is the lifetime, always on, Sprint EVDO connection.
Two hundred dollars - thats the electronic sweet spot, and how much Kindle should cost. Amazon needs to get real and stop trying to siphon cash off oblivious customers. Electronic paper is the next, well, paper - Amazon needs to jump on the bandwagon without charging an arm and a leg.
