Weblog entries for February 2005
The Observer blog 
It doesn't officially launch until next Sunday, but you can have a look anyway. Very nicely done.
Heard said
A weblog of “facts” that could be wrong or could be right. For example, “all polar bears are left-handed.”
A Scanner Darkly
Another of Philip K. Dick's novels is coming to a cinema near you. This trailer looks excellent.
The invisibility game
It's like one of those “how steady is your cursor” games where you weave your mouse through tough obstacles. Except here, you can't see the mouse.
2005 Independent Food Festival Awards
The category names are superb: “Best Surreptitious Use of Turkey Meat”, “The Reason I Can't Be A Vegetarian” and “Baking Sugar with the Most Personality” are genius. The food looks pretty amazing, too.
BowGo
These students decided to make a better pogo stick. Instead of a coiled spring, it stores energy in a fibre composite bow.
Plants in motion
Time-lapse films of plants growing, opening up and moving around. If they moved this fast in real life they'd have taken over the world by now.
GPS drawing
Drawings made using a GPS receiver to record journeys over land, over water and even in the air.
McDonald's bathroom attendant
The Times Square McDonald's is outfitted with an attendant.
Pi to one million decimal places
It's maths, it's informative, there's a picture of Dr Evil. You can't really ask for more than that in a web site.
3M security glass ad
Putting its money where its mouth is.
Copyright Criminals
Fantastic five-minute trailer for a documentary about sampling culture and copyright madness.
How to destroy the Earth
Destroying the Earth is harder than you may have been led to believe.
21
A weekend in Wells
We spent this weekend in Somerset, in the city of Wells. It's more different to Hampshire than I had thought.
Brain study points to 'sixth sense'
“A new theory suggests that the anterior cingulate cortex, described by some scientists as part of the brain's "oops" center, may actually function as an early warning system — one that works at a subconscious level to help us recognize and avoid high-risk situations.”
The top 100 gadgets of all time
They're all here: Rubik's cube, Dustbuster, Leatherman, Etch-A-Sketch, Apple Newton, Nintendo Game Boy, Biro, Sony Walkman… and Tickle-Me Elmo.
Hubble wallpaper
Enjoy these fantastic images as a reminder of the telescope that NASA have decided not to fix. :-(
Typographica's favourite fonts of 2004
These are some lovely fonts. I really like Bickham Script Pro.
MountMaps
3-dimensional topographical ski maps, printed on waterproof, recyclable plastic. Origami plus a bit of maths. And is that the Stephen Brittain from Deepend, I wonder?
Music fonts
Want to make your wedding announcements in the AC/DC font? Or create nametags with the official Beatles font? Here are all the rock fonts you'll ever need, all for free.
Now Then
How did professional comic book artists draw when they were kids? This gallery has the answers.
M-city
Murals and billboard ads made with collages of stencilled isometric cityscapes, as far as I can gather without being able to read Polish. You can make your own collages on the site, or download posters to print.
Who can name the bigger number?
Archimedes, the Ackermann sequence, Turing machines and Busy Beaver numbers. Quite a read.
A genius explains
Daniel Tammet is an autistic savant. He can perform mind-boggling mathematical calculations at breakneck speeds. But unlike other savants, who can perform similar feats, Tammet can describe how he does it.
Letter from Sri Lanka
Arthur C. Clarke on the tsunami's aftermath and the roles of science fiction and technology in predicting future disasters.
The Gates
For 16 days, this art project has been installed in Central Park. There are 7,500 separate gates, each with the same orange fabric hanging from them.
2001 election map of the UK
This is similar to the maps made after last year's US election, using shades of colour to represent the balance of voting more accurately.
World Press Photo of the Year 2004
Some gruesome, some beautiful, some disturbing, some awe-inspiring. All excellent.
Black and white photography
A photo weblog with some really nice photos of London and New York, most taken with a pinhole camera.
Google Maps
Looks like it's just for the US so far, although it's really nicely done.
PodBrix
A customised Lego minifig inspired by Apple's silhouette iPod ad campaign. Limited edition of 300, only $16.99 apiece.
The economics of sharing
The Economist on the open source movement.
Everything you need to know about writing successfully: in ten minutes
Stephen King tells you “everything you need to pursue a successful and financially rewarding career writing fiction, and I really am going to do it in ten minutes, which is exactly how long it took me to learn.”
Tipping Firefox across the chasm
A detailed look at the current state and the possible future of the web browser market. Will Firefox supplant IE as the dominant browser, just as IE replaced the once dominant Netscape?
Tricks of the Trade
Professional secrets from those in the know.
Bear and cat
Line up strings of coloured rolling spheres, using Bear's squirty submarine gun thing. Far too cute and addictive for my liking.
Vintage vandals
Each artist was asked to find a framed piece of artwork at their local thrift store and manipulate it into a piece of their own.
How to cut
Specific methods for cutting various fruits and vegetables, with illustrated guides for left- and right-handed chefs.
Alphabet 26
Bradbury Thompson's radical proposal for the redesign of the alphabet.
Ice storm
Beautiful and amazing photos of an ice storm in Geneva.
One bag
How to travel pretty much anywhere, for an indefinite length of time, with a single carry-on-sized bag.
Battersea powers up
Battersea Power Station is getting a £1.1 billion redevelopment. Among many other things, the world's most exclusive restaurant: a single table at the top of one of the 300ft towers.
Squashed Philosophers
The books that have defined the way the West thinks now, in their author's own words, but condensed and abridged into something readable.
foofbag
Soft furnishings for your Apple laptop. See also foofpod, the equivalent for your iPod.
Rising slowly
A fascinating weblog about UK and global weather.