The Little Golden Book of Words: A Rare Illustrated Gem from 1948

The Little Golden Book of Words: A Rare Illustrated Gem from 1948:
Places to go, things to do, people to meet, and other illustrated essentials of daily living.
The other day, I came upon typography czar Jonathan Hoefler’s brilliant remix of a mysterious vintage children’s chart and Milton Glaser’s iconic Bob Dylan poster. Naturally, I set out to find the origins of the vintage gem. Imagine my delight, as a hopeless lover of vintage children’s books, in discovering that it came from The Little Golden Book of Words (UK; public library) — a rare out-of-print gem by Selma Lola Chambers, originally published in 1948. The charming vintage illustrations by Gertrude Elliott, covering such favorite children’s book subjects as numbers, people, animals, and the seasons, pair each small picture with the specific word it depicts to help young children form the essential associations between words and their pictorial representations. Revealed in equal measures are the era’s distinctive aesthetic sensibility and its dated cultural biases regarding gender norms and social expectations.



















Sadly, like other gems from that era, this little treasure is long out of print — but you might be able to grab a used copy online or find it at your local library.
Thanks, Debbie

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Inside a Danish nonprofit's quest to build a DIY manned spacecraft

Inside a Danish nonprofit's quest to build a DIY manned spacecraft:








Even with a growing number of private spacefaring companies, leaving Earth remains the province of government-sponsored astronauts, wealthy tourists, or big-name entrepreneurs. Copenhagen Suborbital, a group of about 20 specialists based in Denmark, hopes to change that by building a cheap, donation-funded rocket and spacecraft that can carry passengers into suborbital (as the name implies) space. Motherboard's Xavier Aaronson has a great piece covering the project, which launched a generally successful — though not perfect — test rocket earlier this year.
Continue reading…

Prequel to the Doctor Who Christmas Special [Video]

Prequel to the Doctor Who Christmas Special [Video]:
Salivating for Doctor Who: The Snowmen, the Christmas special for 2012? Is the week passing too slowly to bear?
Well here’s a little prequel, “Vastra Investigates”. It’s a teaser of sorts for the episode to come:

Yup, I’m definitely still geared up for this!
[BBC]

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Facebook Really Wants To Be Hated, Will Launch Auto-Play Video Ads In 2013

Facebook Really Wants To Be Hated, Will Launch Auto-Play Video Ads In 2013:

(balmes)

You know how much fun it is when you’re browsing the Internet and you get to a page where a loud video starts playing while you frantically try to stop it or mute your computer? Several hundred million Facebook members should prepare themselves for this thrill when the site launches auto-play video ads next year.
According to Ad Age, by April 2013 Facebook will be offering video ads to marketers that allows them to push one of the most-hated forms of online advertising to both desktop and mobile users.
While the ads would likely be limited to 15 seconds, Ad Age’s sources say that the video spots would indeed play automatically. In a bit of a nod to the fact that we’ve never met or heard from a single person who thinks auto-play ads are a good thing (aside from the websites and marketing agencies that make money from them), it’s possible that Facebook will mute the ads by default.
And of course, what good is an auto-play ad if it doesn’t take up your screen and make it difficult to use the site without watching the video?
Writes Ad Age:

On the desktop version of Facebook, the video ads are expected to grab a user’s attention by expanding out of the news feed into webpage real estate in both the left and right columns — or rails — of the screen. Facebook is also working on a way to ensure that the video ads stand out on the mobile apps as well, though it is unclear how exactly the company will accomplish this.

Revenue-hungry websites love auto-play ads because they get credit for showing the ad regardless of whether or not the visitor wanted to watch the clip.
Given the high costs of video ads, it’s believed that these spots won’t be limited to brands that the user has liked. Instead, looks like these will be the traditional, invasive ads everyone knows and loves from other sites — and which Facebook spent years trying to distance itself from.
“The assumption is that these would be widespread campaigns,” one source tells Ad Age. “They are looking to grab big chunks of money … millions of dollars.”

Sleep-deprived astronauts turn to the red, white and blue

Sleep-deprived astronauts turn to the red, white and blue:

NASA is planning to test an $11.2 million lighting system to try to better regulate astronaut’s body clocks. The technology could help studies into sleeping problems back on earth.
The idea is to tackle the problem that natural light doesn’t follow usual patterns when you are in orbit. That means astronauts don’t sleep as much as normal: on average they sleep for only six hours despite being alloted an 8.5 hour break.
Not only can lack of sleep affect performance and concentration, but having the “wrong” light schedule can also cause problems. NASA says studies of hospital staff in Alaska show there are more mistakes made during times when daylight hours are shorter.
NASA has previously noted that around half of all astronauts need to use sleeping pills and that such pills make up around half of the total medication used in space. Even then, doses have to be kept low as an astronaut may need to be quickly alert when woken in an emergency.
At the moment, most artificial lighting in the International Space Station is made up of fluorescent panels that simply switch on or off. The test, scheduled for 2016, will replace some of these with LED light panels (pictured) that can cycle between “pure” white light and light with a blue or red tinge.
The theory is that the blue light will stimulate melanopsin, a light-sensitive pigment in the retina that helps translate an increase in light to the body knowing it is day time. It should also stimulate melatonin, a hormone related to alertness. In contrast, the red light should reverse the process and help the astronaut feel drowsier.
The logic comes partly from earth bound studies that suggest exposure to artificial light just before bedtime, particularly that from large screens, can disrupt sleep.
The lights can be programmed either by astronauts or remotely by ground crew. This could allow astronauts who’ve come from parts of the world with different seasons to come up with a day-night schedule closer to what they have recently experienced.
Smith Johnson, a NASA flight surgeon, warned that astronauts using the lighting will need to avoid looking out of windows when preparing for sleep as this could confuse the effects.

No related posts.

Sleep-deprived astronauts turn to the red, white and blue

Sleep-deprived astronauts turn to the red, white and blue:

NASA is planning to test an $11.2 million lighting system to try to better regulate astronaut’s body clocks. The technology could help studies into sleeping problems back on earth.
The idea is to tackle the problem that natural light doesn’t follow usual patterns when you are in orbit. That means astronauts don’t sleep as much as normal: on average they sleep for only six hours despite being alloted an 8.5 hour break.
Not only can lack of sleep affect performance and concentration, but having the “wrong” light schedule can also cause problems. NASA says studies of hospital staff in Alaska show there are more mistakes made during times when daylight hours are shorter.
NASA has previously noted that around half of all astronauts need to use sleeping pills and that such pills make up around half of the total medication used in space. Even then, doses have to be kept low as an astronaut may need to be quickly alert when woken in an emergency.
At the moment, most artificial lighting in the International Space Station is made up of fluorescent panels that simply switch on or off. The test, scheduled for 2016, will replace some of these with LED light panels (pictured) that can cycle between “pure” white light and light with a blue or red tinge.
The theory is that the blue light will stimulate melanopsin, a light-sensitive pigment in the retina that helps translate an increase in light to the body knowing it is day time. It should also stimulate melatonin, a hormone related to alertness. In contrast, the red light should reverse the process and help the astronaut feel drowsier.
The logic comes partly from earth bound studies that suggest exposure to artificial light just before bedtime, particularly that from large screens, can disrupt sleep.
The lights can be programmed either by astronauts or remotely by ground crew. This could allow astronauts who’ve come from parts of the world with different seasons to come up with a day-night schedule closer to what they have recently experienced.
Smith Johnson, a NASA flight surgeon, warned that astronauts using the lighting will need to avoid looking out of windows when preparing for sleep as this could confuse the effects.

No related posts.

My Brown Ribbon Campaign Never Got Much Traction

My Brown Ribbon Campaign Never Got Much Traction:
Doctor: "cervical cancer gets attention, but there are no runs for anal cancer."

OKC

Overheard by: freudian flip

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Posted 2012-12-17

McDonald’s Asks Franchisees To Celebrate Christmas By Staying Open On Dec. 25

McDonald’s Asks Franchisees To Celebrate Christmas By Staying Open On Dec. 25:

(333 (only half evil))

In an attempt to continue bouncing back from an almost unheard-of dip in sales during October, the folks at McDonald’s have asked franchisees to not close down during the holidays this year.
According to Ad Age, which obtained some leaked internal memos from Golden Arches HQ, the push to stay open regardless of what the calendar says began almost immediately after the company announced a 2.2% decline in sales for October.
“Starting with Thanksgiving, ensure your restaurants are open throughout the holidays,” reads a memo sent on Nov. 8 by McDonald’s USA Chief Operating Officer to franchisees. “Our largest holiday opportunity as a system is Christmas Day. Last year, [company-operated] restaurants that opened on Christmas averaged $5,500 in sales.”
A follow-up memo from Dec. 12 claimed that company-owned restaurants (around 10% of stores in the U.S.) each took in “more than $6,000″ by staying open on Thanksgiving.
While no one knows how much the franchised restaurants earned during Thanksgiving, Ad Age sources claim that the push convinced an additional 6,000 restaurants to remain open this year. The Thanksgiving openings were partly responsible for the 2.5% sales bump experienced during November.
“Thanks to proper planning and your great execution, we capitalized on the opportunity to be open while our customers were on the road,” reads the Dec. 12 memo, “and those customers rewarded us.”
One former franchisee says the push to stay open during the holidays is something that would not even have been mentioned not that long ago.
“Thanksgiving was never open. Then 15 to 16 years ago, some started staying open,” he tells Ad Age, adding that even when franchises began staying open on Thanksgiving around five years ago, “you would never even talk about being open on Christmas… For the franchisees, this is a big cultural shift.”
As for those who have to make customers’ Christmas McMuffins, McDonald’s says that those who work in company-owned stores do not receive any extra pay for working during the holiday.

A sleight of hand

A sleight of hand:

By magician Yann Frisch at the 2012 Beijing International Magic Convention. Cool..(Read...)

Lobster Mobile Phone Case

Lobster Mobile Phone Case:

Lobster Mobile Phone Case by Noddy Boffin...(Read...)

Here Comes The Organic Milk Shrink Ray: One Gallon Is 96 Ounces

Here Comes The Organic Milk Shrink Ray: One Gallon Is 96 Ounces:

Not a gallon.

Have you bought a gallon of orange juice lately? Yeah, me either. Thanks to the Grocery Shrink Ray, the gallon-like containers of not-from-concentrate OJ first got zapped down to 96 ounces from an actual gallon of 128 ounces, then zapped seven ounces further just to make it more insulting. Now the same process has begun with milk. Organic Valley brand milk, to be precise.
Heather over at Queen Bee Coupons noticed the discrepancy while shopping at Albertson’s. This seems ideal for her family: they don’t always finish a full gallon, but use more than a half gallon of milk between shopping trips. Except for how the real price point is kind of high, and it’s kind of sneaky. She writes:

On one hand, I’m intrigued because as a family we have a hard time going through a full gallon before it expires and the 1/2 gallon seems a bit too small. So this size milk would be great for our family, but I don’t really like how it’s priced (like paying $6.65/gallon on sale, or $7.98/gallon not on sale!) and I have a problem with how it looks so similar to the gallon jug. It seems tricky to me!

RELATED:

Grocery Shrink Ray: New Tropicana Pseudo Half Gallon Jugs Spotted In The Wild

Japanese toilet answers nature's call via Android

Japanese toilet answers nature's call via Android:








Japanese bathrooms are about to become a little more interactive, thanks to a new smartphone-controlled toilet known as the Satis. Manufactured by Tokyo-based Lixil, this Bluetooth-enabled commode can be controlled with an Android app called "My Satis," allowing users to flush, raise the toilet seat, and activate a bidet jet stream with the touch of a button. The app also lets you stream music through the toilet's speakers and will automatically monitor "usage history," giving you a better idea of how much electricity and water you're consuming with each visit.
The app could offer health benefits, as well, as its calendar feature lets users keep a running journal of their daily habits. Perhaps best of all is the fact that the toilet...
Continue reading…