We were in a large drugstore in Germany, when I noticed that all the shopping carts had a large magnifier lens attached to them, like this: The magnifiers were fitted in a sturdy and elegant holder, designed to allow the carts to be stacked in a row as usual. This was a new one for … Read more
I was visiting the Intrepid museum in NYC (an aircraft museum housed in a retired aircraft carrier – a real treat!) and they had, as a bonus, a fifites-era submarine, the USS Growler, moored alongside the carrier. So I had to see that too (of course). Submarines are always amazing from a design standpoint, given … Read more
We saw that Newark Liberty International airport has some serious problems keeping its electronic signs straight… here, and here. Well, here’s a third and (for now) last installment. This is the baggage claim area at the Continental domestic terminal where I landed coming in from San Francisco. See the nice colorful sign identifying this baggage … Read more
We saw how the electronic boards at Newark Liberty airport made the ridiculous omission of adjusting for the Daylight Savings move. Evidently this is not an exception: something is very wrong with that airport’s electronic signage. These guys have an “Airtrain”, an internal elevated light rail system for moving between terminals. The train has two … Read more
Just got a letter from the UK, and it had this colorful stamp on it. For an instant, I felt that special twinge of joy that an interesting stamp elicits; only after a moment did I remember that (a) I no longer collect stamps, not since I was a kid I don’t, and (b) none … Read more
One sign of the times is that movie halls are closing one by one around us, victims to the surge in electronic alternatives. We know this from direct observation – they really are closing – but I had an unexpected demonstration of this fact in a TV ad. The ad was by the Hot cable … Read more
Just posted a new article on my History of Computing site: Biorhythmic calculators. I have three of these wondrous devices, mechanical servants to a debunked theory. They use three different design approaches to achieve the same goal, and their mechanisms are therefore composed of the same functional components implemented in completely different ways. Go take … Read more
Last year I posted about FameLab, the science communication competition organized by the British Council in the Jerusalem Science Museum. Well, here it comes again, and today I’m a judge again. Like before, we get treated to a group of fine young students presenting diverse scientific subjects in only 3 (yes, three!) minutes each. Fascinating! … Read more
Business cards have been around for a long time – very long, if you count visiting cards – so we should not be surprised if they tend to have an innate inertia to them. Still, business has changed so much in recent years – isn’t it time that the cards paid attention? I was scanning … Read more
“Truth in advertising” sometimes seems an oxymoron, and the cosmetics industry is hardly where you’d expect to find much of it. So hats off to Neutrogena’s Norwegian Formula hand cream, whose statement on the tube that it “instantly relieves dry or chapped hands – just a dab needed” is absolutely correct. They claim it was … Read more
