Monthly Archives: October 2008

Though totally insufficient to physically secure this bicycle against theft, this lock is an interesting deterrent. The fact that the bike is chained up with a Mossberg lock suggests that the bike owner also owns a gun, which is currently … Continue reading →

I’ve been experimenting with some handmade software slit cameras. Early results are promising. Presented here: Three views of the Challenger (OV-099) disaster.

An old woman touched my arm in the produce section. “Have you been watching the Olympics?”. “Sorry,” I said, “I don’t have television at home”. “Well, I gotta have a TV around, since I been alone.” And now hushed: “I … Continue reading →

A computer is like a violin. You can imagine a novice trying first a phonograph and then a violin. The latter, he says, sounds terrible. That is the argument we have heard from our humanists and most of our computer … Continue reading →

I recently acquired and disassembled an old bench photometer. On the light source, there is an interesting user control system — the toggle switch acts as an interlock preventing the filter holder from being removed when the light is on. … Continue reading →

Observe:

Hospitals are full of interesting things. Certification stickers stacked to show repeats: Hospital keyboard. Press F6 for “Spine”. Look top-left for system-wide password.

Department of Homeland Security Office, Bismarck, ND. Previously used to sell boats. At night, you can see Windows screen savers through the tinted glass.

For every “new” idea, someone who hasn’t done their research. Circa ’43.

Access control becomes increasingly difficult to distinguish from public utility. Think lights off in the park to prevent people from hanging there, but more deliberate.

At first blush, it may seem alien to use a saw or a hand grenade to create a door, but it’s really not so far from small personalizations with sharp objects. In fact, a key and a saw are almost … Continue reading →

There’s No Self Service in Oregon, which leads to interesting things like this concrete pedestal under the island. There sits something for the attendant, and something for the dogs. For every service, a way to use animal lovers’ proclivities to … Continue reading →

What is a door, anyway? A way in or a way out? For whom does it open, and how? In the Bismarck Airport, a door that only opens with a saw, echoes of Portal: And the results of such an … Continue reading →

A still-proud nation prepares for elevator stoppage and colon blockage.