Client: The text is not black enough.
Me: It is set as ‘Black’ in the style sheet….
Client: Ok, but can you make it blacker than that black?
Me: Hold on, I’ll try something. Give me an hour.
I went to lunch.
Me: Okay, can you refresh your browser now?
Client: Yes, thats better, thanks.
“ We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time. ”
The Four Quartets, T.S. Eliot
Harry Houdini, 1923 | Source
Letterhead used by Houdini in the 1920s when sending a lettergram (a fast means of written communication similar in many ways to a telegram), complete with pre-printed disclaimer for the accompanying message’s informal, brief nature; for the modern equivalent, see “Sent from my iPhone.”
Count Basie & His Orchestra - Blues In Hoss’ Flat
get some o that into your wednesday morning
Mutatoproject, by Uli Westphal
Focuses on the suppression of mutation and polymorphism in our industrial food system.
“ A master in the art of living draws no sharp distinction between his work and his play; his labor and his leisure; his mind and his body; his education and his recreation. He hardly knows which is which. He simply pursues his vision of excellence through whatever he is doing, and leaves others to determine whether he is working or playing. To himself, he always appears to be doing both. ”
Lawrence Pearsall Jacks
Liquid soap wastes money in transporting what is predominantly water and space, and packaging in plastic what could be block soap in concentrated squares and wrapped in paper.
Soap bars are usually communal, slippery and icky, but these two dispensers by Nathalie Stämpfli turn block soap into beautiful little flakes that easily dissolve in water. The first version is wall mounted for use near sinks. The second is a more versatile stand alone grater.
I once heard of an experiment that was done with a group of chimpanzees. These chimps were placed in an enclosure that had a pole in the center. On top of the pole was a platform that had a treat on it (bananas or something). Whenever one of the chimps would try to climb the pole to get at the treat, the researchers would hit the group of chimps on the ground with water from a hose. Eventually, if one would try to climb the pole, the others would grab it, to prevent the group from getting sprayed.
After a while, the researchers quit spraying the chimps. The chimps behavior, however, continued. They still kept anyone from climbing the pole. After a while, none of the chimps tried to climb the pole anymore.
Later, the researchers introduced a new chimp into the group, and removed one of the originals. The new chimp tried to climb the pole, and was instantly pulled back down by the group. After awhile, it quit trying to climb the pole, too. New chimps were introduced one by one, and original chimps were removed. Eventually, all of the original chimps were gone. None of the chimps currently in the enclosure had ever been sprayed with water. Yet none of them ever tried to climb the pole, because each time they did, the group would pull them back down.
Think about that. None of the chimps even knew why they weren’t supposed to climb the pole, yet they all enforced it just out of habit. Because that’s the way it’s always been.
People behave in the same way. If we try to do something extraordinary with our lives, and we tell people about it, we’re worried we’ll be ridiculed for it. Mocked and shamed into conformity. People tell us it can’t be done, simply because they’ve never seen anyone do it before. Well, I think it’s time that it stopped. Thumb your nose at the rest of the chimps and climb the pole. Do what you want to do, and don’t worry about what other people think.
