Category Archives: Uncategorized

ffmpeg, if you haven’t heard of it, is a free, open source video multitool. I use it for many different things, but just infrequently enough to forget the commands. Thought I’d write a few of them here. Here’s how to … Continue reading →

I use a bicycle wrench to tighten the collet on my CNC router. It has 32mm and 30mm box-end openings – 30mm fits the nut on my collet. About half the time, I put the wrong side on the collet … Continue reading →

Pierre Vanni dialed up the foldout scanner an order of magnitude. The gorgeous monster is part of Pierre’s exhibit Google Raconte at Les Arts Décoratifs in Paris. Thanks to him (right) and his accomplices JS (left) and Valerian.

Whether you mean to or not. Los Angeles, California, 2011.

I keep hearing “It will happen” or “It’s gonna happen”, referring to inevitability in a social context.  These predictions are likely to be correct, if only because things are set up badly – in a negligent way, even – and … Continue reading →

USPS, Glendale, CA. With proliferation, the increasing confusion around this important property – robots becoming more human in their capabilities. Normals become more aware of robots. The point on the graph where those two curves meet, embodied in this homely … Continue reading →

Outdoor lumber yard, Eugene, OR. The net was installed to inhibit pigeon infestation- but made a home for spiders and a beacon for insects. The unintended tendency of “free” power and services to enable and ensconce predators. The statistical distribution … Continue reading →

At Jerry’s in Eugene, OR: ceiling mounted lumber racks,  to hold lumber for POS scanning. Interesting compromise between material length and human height. Also some implicit assumptions about cart usage. Also, note the “lane free” arrangement.

Clever re-use of a spring clamp in Eugene, OR. Lever action compensates for uneven cement. Rubber ends provide grip.

Elevator phones will be among the last legitimate uses for landlines.

The forces that form conduit. The locks that keep the curious out. The drops – free and clear, save for high amperage Hubbel plugs you’re unlikely to carry. No charging mobiles here, you can’t plug in your hair dryer – … Continue reading →

I have the biggest phone. It takes the smallest SIM. I bought a pair of flush cutters, trimmed the excess, and gave the tools to Scann.

I’d eat the damned thing. Buenos Aires, Argentina

Spotted in Buenos Aires – a breed of light truck long absent in the US. Like a Brat or an El Camino.

Welcoming a new machine into my life.

MREs for dinner. Gather ’round for SPAGHETTI W/  MEAT SAUCE 901234-08:

The old Metro polymer bus benches are being removed. They had three molded concave “seats”, and also three convenient corresponding concavities on the back side of the back rest. While the process of bench replacement is mostly about money, it … Continue reading →