Recently updated blogs

Back in November, before the whole advent calendar series started, I was looking at Mattel's new Dream Besties. These dolls have an accompanying YouTube show featuring six friends: Malibu, Teresa, Renee, Brooklyn, Daisy, and Ken. However, dolls representing two of the characters (Daisy and Ken) were not released with the very first wave of products, so I didn't have them on hand for

American Cover After working on Sonic Advance 3, Akinori Nishiyama (the director for all three Advance titles) wanted the next handheld Sonic game to contrast from how complicated the series had gotten by the mid 2000s. This involved going back to a simpler style of gameplay focused purely on speedy action, picking up where Sonic Advance 2 had left off and refining it. The end result would be Sonic Rush, …

The temperature crept above zero and the ESNG members came out in force! 10 members, two visiting friends from the West Sussex mob, and a smallish offspring. Our treasurer recovered enough from his cold to attend and collect all that lovely money. I turned up a few minutes late to see everyone already putting up a very large 4×0 layout. Obviously, I’m the lazy one who wants a small circuit! …

Darkside “S.N.C” The first minute and a half of “S.N.C” is about what you’d expect to hear from Darkside – moody, muted palette, sensual but not overtly sexual – and it’s gorgeous. They could have stayed in that mode through the whole song and I’d love it. But then it gets much more interesting – a Stevie Wonder-ish clavinet riff struts into the mix, the funkiness gets dialed up by …

When we have the ball, it’s a game and when we don’t, it’s a fight. — Manuel Ugarte Love this quote and why this player is quickly becoming a cult hero.

In the middle of trying to be all digitally and all of that I ended up getting a pack of Index Cards while getting some other stuff at a book store. Just because. I have kind of been doing my own ugmonk-ish thing for a few weeks, as I have in the past. It works surprisingly well to just write down what are the most important 5 things on a …

In 1925 a restaurant industry publication presented advice on crafting a slogan that would draw customers. The article advised against simply saying “Where to Dine” because that really didn’t signify anything special to the public. The author then gave better examples of slogans that were “clever and appropriate.” As a negative example, the article might have pointed to Teck’s Quick Lunch in Kansas City [shown above]. This card showing “A …

In Part 2, I showed the raw magnitude response results of three pairs of headphones measured on three different systems, each done 5 times. However, when you plot magnitude responses on a scale with 80 dB like I did there, it’s difficult to see what’s going on. Differences in measurements relative to average One way to get around this issue is to ignore the raw measurement and look at the …

According to the posting date, it’s been about 10 days since I last reported in on progress on Assist. I’ve had a couple of mis-alignments due to low lighting and inattention. Some I’ve picked out, others I saved as cautionary lessons. And I’ve taken a slight departure from my usual working cadence. Here’s the latest in-hoop view. Obviously I’m working voiding on the row of snaky, vaguely draconic S-shaped flowers. …

All of Richard Feynman’s books, is Feynman himself. This introduction sets the stage for a deep exploration of how his works have reshaped the way we approach and appreciate the art of understanding physics.

Designer and educator Angie Wang deciphers a collection of over 500 sleeves recently donated to the Archive. From Rarified to Commonplace: A Brief History of Hashibukuro The chopstick sleeve originated in the Imperial Court of Japan sometime during the Heian period (8th–12th century). Ladies-in-waiting are thought to have wrapped chopsticks in scraps of silk or other fine fabrics as it was considered impolite to pass unwrapped objects from one hand …

Box’s route to its IPO, ten years ago this month, was a difficult one: the company first released an S-1 in March 2014, and potential investors were aghast at the company’s mounting losses; the company took a down round and, eight months later, released an updated S-1 that created the template for money-losing SaaS businesses to explain themselves going forward: Our business model focuses on maximizing the lifetime value of …

I’ve lost track of how many people have asked for a soft wool hood. I finally have one for you! This pattern is drafted by hand with the original child’s size and 2 adult sizes drafted up with some reshaping for fit. It can be trimmed with self-fabric ruche or other period appropriate trims. This […]

Thurrock is a unitary authority area with borough status within the ceremonial county of Essex, with a population of around 176,000 people. The word 'Thurrock' is either from the Saxon or Middle English word Thurrok (þurruc) and means 'the hold of a ship'. It can also mean a 'dung heap' which is of course a large pile of dung (or the solid waste from animals such as horses or cows). …