Steampunk Cities

Trautrimas-the-measurement-district

By David Trautrimas via WebUrbanist.

Competing with Computers

dead reckoning

Magnetic deviation, lightning calculators, nomograms and more “lost arts in the mathematical sciences” at Dead Reckonings. Related: Satellite navigation in the 18th century.

 

Optical telegraph in the Netherlands

optical telegraph in the netherlands

The communications device was located on the beach of Scheveningen in the 1700s. More on the optical telegraph: Email in the 18th century. Source: geschiedenis van de techniek in Nederland.

Why Paper Is Eternal

“There are modes of learning and thinking that at the moment are only available from actual books. There is a kind of deep-dive, meditative reading that’s almost impossible to do on a screen. Without books, students are more likely to do the grazing or quick reading that screens enable, rather than be by themselves with the author’s ideas.” Read: Welcome to the library. Say goodbye to the books (via). See (and print…) also this 75-page essay: “Hamlet’s Blackberry: why paper is eternal“.

Can Cars

Can car 3

More pictures and plans at Sandy’s Can Cars (via Ikkaro). Related: 26 paper models of vintage cars.

Cycle Chics

Cycle chic 4

Fast cars are considered sexy, but we disagree – try to show off your legs when you are driving a sports car or an SUV. More pictures of biking boys and (especially) girls at Copenhagen Cycle Chic. Their motto: “Style over speed”.

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