Classic Post: Odds And Ends 2009

TW: So the final "Best Of 2009" Odds And Ends this time. Buildings that are nice to see but for most part I would not want to have to see too often...

From Ms. Blogger circa October 2009:
There’s been a LOT of construction in the River North area since we moved into the White House – I guess after almost 10 years, that’s not so unusual. Most of the new building has been residential and most of that has been pretty basic.

Sometimes basic is good…interesting as the buildings below might be, I’m not sure I would want to see them every time I looked out the window.

Kansas City Public LibraryKansas City, MO (source: 3)

Dancing HousePrague, Czech Republic (source: 4)

Krzywy Dom - Crooked HouseSopot, Poland (source: 2)

Longaberger BasketLongeberger Basket Company headquarters - Newark, OH
(source: 4)

Forest SpiralHundertwasser Building - Darmstadt, Germany (source: 1)

Hang Nga GuesthouseVietnam (source: 1)

Sources:
1. ArtHistoryArchive.com - Bizarre Architecture
2. Quazen.com - Crazy and Bizarre Architecture
3. toptenz.net - Top 10 Bizarre Feats of Architecture
4. toptenz.net - Top 10 Eccentric Buildings

Classic Post: Chicago 2009

TW: Choosing a Chicago post is challenging as there is so much good about Chicago that limiting it to one is tough. So I headed in a bit of a different direction. This post is not as relevant as some to the general public, but I can attest Ms. Blogger was thrilled with the new water taxi service which initiated this year from a dock a block from our place. Hence in her honor we go with this classic post from August of last year...


I went in to the office on Wednesday. Although this is unusual in itself because I only work on a project basis and don't go in to the office all that often, the truly unusual aspect of this event is that I commuted by water taxi!

Yep, the Erie / Larrabee stop of the Shoreline Water Taxi commuter route opened this week. Aside from being a MONSTER bargain ($1 in the morning, $3 in the afternoon), it was also a delightful way to make my way in to the loop.

click to enlarge.

The route couldn’t be more perfect for my commuting needs – one dock is 2 blocks from my house, the other is 1 block from my office. Almost makes me wish I was working full time again…

Photos from my ride - taken with a pretty low tech cell phone so not all that high def

Classic Posts: Science 2009

TW: Continuing the best of 2009 with Sciences. Ms. Blogger put me onto Feynman, he was brilliant but more importantly able and willing to articulate complexity for us mere mortals, a true gift.

I mentioned the physicist Richard Feynman a couple weeks ago - his 1959 lecture at CalTech
"There's Plenty of Room at the Bottom" was the first to describe the possibility of molecular engineering, the science we now know as nanotechnology.

Feynman had an amazing career - at 25 he was recruited to work on the Manhattan Project in Los Alamos New Mexico, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics (with 2 others) for his contributions to the development of quantum electrodynamics in 1965, and he participated on the panel that investigated the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster in 1986.

The man was brilliant and held in very high regard in the scientific community.

"There are two kinds of geniuses: the 'ordinary' and the
'magicians'. An ordinary genius is a fellow whom you and I would be just as good as, if we were only many times better. There is no mystery as to how his mind works. Once we understand what they've done, we feel certain that we, too, could have done it. It is different with the magicians. Even after we understand what they have done it is completely dark. Richard Feynman is a magician of the highest calibre."
~ Mark Kac, Mathematician

But what Feynman was best known for, and most proud of, was his role as a teacher. He taught first at Cornell (1945 - 1950) and then at Cal Tech (from 1950 until his death in 1988) although he was offered a position at the Institue for Advanced Study at Princeton
- apparently, the opportunity to work in sunny California was of higher priority than working at an institution that counted Albert Einstein amongst its faculty.

He had a passion and a special skill for teaching - called "The Great Explainer", Feynman was able to communicate complex ideas in a way that made students compete to get into his classes.

In addition to teaching and doing physicist stuff (development of the Feynman diagrams used to conceptualize and predict interactions between particles, research into superconductivity, assisting in the development of the first massively parallel computer, that kind of stuff), Feynman also did some writing. I highly recommend Surely You Must be Joking, Mr. Feynman, a recounting of some of his efforts and exploits and The Pleasure of Finding Things Out, a posthumous publication of some of his best pieces. Both are very entertaining and you'll likely learn something too.

From March, 2009:
The audio clip below is a perfect example of his 'explaining' skills - see the sites below for more on the amazing Mr. Feynman.

The Universe in a Glass of Wine


http://www.eskimo.com/~billb/feynman.html
http://www.feynmanonline.com/

You can also type 'Richard Feynman' into YouTube and see plenty of video clips from interviews and presentations.

Classic Post: Books 2009

TW: The Best of 2009 "Books" from April, 2009

From Laura:
Book stores are special places. No matter where I might be traveling, I can walk into a bookstore and immediately be at home. And while I'm not above ordering from Amazon every now and then, there is something about wandering up and down the aisles of a bookstore -seeing old friends, finding something new from an author you've read before or discovering a completely new voice, that you just don't get from the on-line experience.

Anyone who reads a lot likely has a favorite bookstore, maybe even more than one. The three below often show up on current lists of best bookstores and for good reason. Although the big chains like Borders and Barnes & Noble will have bigger inventories of current titles, I have never walked out of one of these three without having found something of interest that I am pretty sure would be hard to find at one of the chains. If you ever have the opportunity, I highly recommend stopping in to browse.

City Lights in San Francisco

I first walked into City Lights in 1986 when I was in San Francisco for work. Probably not the best place for mainstream fiction (it's the smallest of the 3) but definitely the place if you're looking for anything unusual, thought provoking, alternative, progressive...

Almost more interesting than what you'll find in the store is the store's history. Check out their website to learn more about this historical place founded in 1953 by poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti and Peter D. Martin. http://www.citylights.com/

The Strand in NYCThe Strand is a used bookstore. Let me re-phrase, the Strand is a used bookstore of unequaled size and selection.

Inside the Strand - 18 miles of books...It's easy to get lost in this place, I've only made it up to the top floor once in the many times I've been here. There's just too much on the ground floor and in the basement (where they keep the review copies of new titles) to explore. And although I am not a big fan of the makeover they did a couple years ago - I much preferred the books packed in so tight that you could hardly walk down the aisles - they still have the feel of an old school hardware store, one where you're not sure what treasure is waiting for you in the next bin. Their website is just as fun - check it out to see what they've got in stock now as well as for info on some of their special services like 'Books by the Foot' for decorating and design needs. http://www.strandbooks.com/

Kramer Books in D.C.

Kramer Books is probably my favorite of the three. I found this perfect bookstore in 1989 when I lived in D.C. for 9 months. In addition to a great place for brunch or lunch as well as live music on weekend evenings, Kramer Books has the best selection of fiction and non-fiction I have ever run across. While not as large as the chains, their selection of popular science, history and political titles is so well put together that all but the most esoteric interests are covered. On the fiction side of the house, they have all the expected authors and titles plus options that you don't find in the chains, at least not until they hit the best seller list. A great place for finding something new and interesting plus you can take your purchase to the cafe and get started reading immediately!
http://www.kramers.com/

So what's missing from my list? I don't have a favorite bookstore in Chicago. I used to love Aspidistra, the used bookstore on north Clark that closed years ago but I haven't found anything to take its place. Powell's Books has been recommended and I'll check out the Wabash location next time I'm downtown but I don't see myself taking the train down to Hyde Park for the original location. And given the current economy, new independent bookstores are not likely any time soon. I have a feeling that I'm going to need another trip to DC soon.

Classic Posts: Food 2009

TW: For Ms. Blogger's best "Food" of 2009 we go back to a February, 2009 post:

From This is why you're fat a site where people submit photos of 'food'. It doesn't say whether or not anyone has actually eaten any of these items but given that the US has the highest obesity rate of any nation in the world, I wouldn't be suprised.

The Double Bacon Hamburger Fatty Melt

Three bacon-stuffed grilled cheese sandwichs for buns, cheese, bacon and two four-ounce beef patties.

Now that I take another look, the sloppy joe on a krispy kreme here looks kind of tasty...

Classic Posts: Art 2009

TW: Continuing with favorite posts from 2009, today "Art"

Ms. Blogger from June, 2009
Storm Drain Art from Brazil - the 6emeia project by Anderson Augusto and Leonardo Delafuente was created to brighten up the streets of São Paulo, Brazil. Over the years, their painted storm drains have turned into popular tourist attractions.




see more at Toxel

Oscar Rogers Knows What Needs to be Done

This week, I'll be posting my favorites from 2009 as posted by Mr. Blogger.

My all time favorite post follows - nobody tells it better than Oscar




ok - this post was from October 2008 but it's still my favorite...

Classic Posts: Humor 2009

TW: Ms. Blogger and Mr. Blogger are picking our favorites from each other's posts over the coming week. I will pick a post from each of Ms. Blogger's daily themes. Today is "Humor". Ms. Blogger posted many humorous photos over the year, I have selected several of my favorites.