nzeldes
Many numbers, little clarity
I was riding an elevator in a public building, and on its wall I saw the amazing control panel shown here. It had a large number, presumably the floor we were on, and it had two arrays of numbers, one on a screen and one in a keypad. I’m still not sure what the idea … Read more
A neat innovative thermometer
Today medical thermometers are electronic contraptions that come in various forms and are easy to use and easy to break – as disposable as most everything seems to be of late. When I was a kid medical thermometers were glass tubes with a thin line of mercury running up on a scale inside it, terminating … Read more
Smart signage!
Was waiting to board a plane at Ben Gurion Airport. Boarding was by zones, which is a sensible idea but usually involves some confusion as to which zone is up… PA announcements can get drowned in the general hubbub. So this time, they had a young lady announce the zones at the top of her … Read more
The droll sarcophagi of Peki’in
Museum visits never lack for cool stuff! So here is a sighting from a recent visit to the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. These are anthropomorphic sarcophagi (ossuaries) from a chalcolithic burial cave found near Peki’in in the Galilee. Made of painted clay, they are dated to 5,500-6,500 years ago. Clearly functional as containers for bones, … Read more
Board games go way back!
We’ve all enjoyed playing board games – Timeless ones like Chess and Checkers, and more modern ones like Monopoly and Risk. So I was in the Israel Museum the other day and saw the game in the photo above. This is Senet, a two player game from ancient Egypt. This particular item is from 15th-13th … Read more
Crazy airport cartographers
Was trying to get to my plane at Dulles International airport in Washington, DC. There are a number of terminals, and a train connecting them. So we got on the train, expecting it to do the usual thing – run in a (topological) circle, or maybe back and forth along a line, between the terminals … Read more
The hidden downside of surge protectors
Lately the electrical system in my home got in the habit of shutting down unexpectedly. This did not happen by some faulty appliance tripping a fuse; we soon found that it was the Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter (GFCI, that anti-electrocution safety device) that was deciding to trip, but when we reset it the power stayed … Read more