Here.
I still don’t know what the domestic 3D printing killer app is going to be, and nor does anyone else. But, this feels like it brings it closer.
Eight
Today being the BMdotcom day for cats, and now also for other creatures, here is another creature, in this case a chicken, in an advert:
And here, photoed by me recently, outside the Old Vic theatre, is one of these excellent machines referred to in the advert, in action:
You can surely see what I did there, and I assure you that it was no fluke. I waited for it to say 8. I also have 9 and 7, because I wanted to make quite sure. I have been photoing these excellent machines for quite a while now.
The 8build website. They’re doing some work on the Old Vic.
On the left in the distance, nearing completion, One Blackfriars. I find liking this Thing a bit of an effort, but I’ll get there. I always do with such Things. According to that (Wikipedia), One Blackfriars is nicknamed “The Vase”. I smell, although I have no evidence for this, an attempt at preemptive nicknaming, by the people who built this Thing. “We’ll call it The Vase, to stop London calling it something worse.” That’s what happened with The Shard, after all. And that name stuck.
I tried to make the title of this “8”, but apparently a number with no letters is not allowed.
Originally posted at Brian Micklethwait’s Old Blog
The Wheel reflections and The Wheel juxtapositions (and a The Wheel postcard)
About a week ago or less, I found myself in the vicinity of The Wheel. The light was very good, with lots of sunshine and lots of lurid looking clouds. So, I took photos.
Below are a clutch of The Wheel related photos. My opinion of how to photo The Wheel is that you should combine The Wheel with other things. Like graphic designs featuring The Wheel which are in the vicinity of The Wheel. It’s the old modified cliché routine.
In this photo clutch, however, I do include one very old school photo of The Wheel. It’s the photo I took of a postcard (1.2), which features The Wheel. And look what the postcard calls The Wheel. It calls it The Wheel: “The Wheel”. None of this “London Eye” nonsense. Do large numbers of people in other parts of the world call The Wheel The Wheel? I do hope so. And I hope that this habit conquers London.
The next four photos, after the postcard (1.3, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3) are all of The Wheel reflected in a tourist crap shop. And then 3.1 is of The Wheel reflected in a place, next door, that sells sandwiches.
I like how I totally lined up the circular blue logo with The Wheel reflection, in 2.3. Could I also have done something similar with the circular things in 2.1 and 2.2, in the latter case an actual picture of The Wheel. I rather think that I tried, but couldn’t do that. But, memo to self, return to this enticing spot, on a nice day, and see what I can do.
This is what I like about taking photos in London, rather than in some foreign spot that I am only going to be in once. If, upon reflection back home, I suspect that I might have been able to do some of the photos better, I can, in London, go back to try to do this.
Originally posted at Brian Micklethwait’s Old Blog
Malaysia crushes some real Myanmarians
If you think this game was a mismatch, try this game. Myanmar 45 all out off 22 overs in what was supposed to be a 50 overs each way game. Malaysia 46-0 in 4 overs. Ouch.
But what interests me is the names of the Myanmar side: KK Lin Thu, Lwin Maw, Zarni Thein (c), Min Wai, Paing Danu, Y Naing Tun †, H Lin Aung, Thuya Aung, YK Ko Aung, Y Naing Kyaw, S Htet Wai.
These guys are not just a bunch of expat Pakistanis who do construction work during the week and play cricket at the weekend, not that there’s anything wrong with that. These are real Myanmarians. Humiliating though this must have been for these guys, the scorecard alone tells us that the game seems to be spreading.
I hope they manage to learn, from this drubbing, that cricket is tough, rather than that it’s a waste of their time.
Originally posted at Brian Micklethwait’s Old Blog
Aug ’17 OSB10: Kevin Kelly on the myth of superhuman AI
Yes, another link that’s been cluttering up my RAM, but which I absolutely don’t want to forget about.
I’m reading this, but I’m a really slow reader, and am also reading other things, like: books. But, like I say, don’t want to forget about this.
Here.
This feels like one of those seminal ideas, to rank alongside the seminal idea that it contests the truth of.
I am hoping (he hasn’t confirmed it by email but we have spoken about it) that Rob Waller will be giving a talk chez moi, last Friday of November (24th), along the lines of: Will The Robots Take Our Jobs? He doesn’t reckon so either.
Originally posted at Brian Micklethwait’s Old Blog
Surrey Docks Farm
At the end of that walk along the river with GodDaughter 2, the one when I took this photo, and these photos, I also took these photos:
This was Surrey Docks Farm. As you can see in a couple of the above photos (most clearly in 4.3), Surrey Docks Farm has (of course (this is the twenty first century)) its own website.
We were on the path beside the river, getting a bit bored with the sameness of it all, getting a bit tired, knowing that we would soon be done, and then suddenly we found ourselves wandering around in a farm. There were no humans to be seen, just farm animals. The sheep in particular seemed really glad to see us, and stayed to have their heads scratched even after it had become clear that we had brought no food with us.
Originally posted at Brian Micklethwait’s Old Blog
Aug ’17 OSB6: Camden Highline
The titles of these things were getting to be too long-winded.
So yes, the Camden Highline.
Bid to turn disused railway between Camden Town and King’s Cross into elevated ‘Highline’ park
Sadiq Khan throws weight behind Camden highline project
The official website.
Where they hope it will be, just north of the Regent’s Canal:
Click on that to get it twice as big, and consequently (if your eyesight is anything like mine) legible.
Those little green circles are cameras. Presumably this means good places for photography. If and when they contrive this, I will definitely be checking it out.
Long moderately high platforms, even ones that are not very high, often supply great views, because you can walk along them until the great views appear.
Originally posted at Brian Micklethwait’s Old Blog
Dr Salter’s imaginary cat statue
Indeed:
I took all these statue photos yesterday, in a walk with GodDaughter 2 that I have already referred to, which started at the Shard (see below), Tower Bridge, and nearby places, and ended … well, quite a way downstream.
As often happens, my favourite photo of this subject was the first one I took. But I also liked this next one, which neglects what seems to be the usual Big Things of The City background and adds only wall and water:
The explanation of the rather odd title of this posting is that what we have here is not so much a group of statues as a drama acted out by a group of statues. Dr Salter (see below) is looking on at his small daughter, and at her cat. But it is all taking place in his imagination, because the small daughter died tragically young. It is all very well explained, with more pictures, here. Follow that link, and you’ll even find a map of exactly where this all is.
The drama gets an extra layer of drama, because the original statue of Dr Salter was stolen, for its value as scrap metal. I think I preferred the stolen one, but here is the replacement, with the addition of a young man with tattoos:
The tattoos on the front of that guy were remarkable, and I regret now not asking him to let me photo them. I know, I know, creepy. But if he had said yes, I would have been delighted, and if he had said no that’s creepy, I’d have got over it.
Mrs (Ada) Salter also looks on, and these two headshots of her came out quite well too:
While taking these photos, or maybe it was a bit later, I found myself musing aloud to GD2 (with her agreeing) that people seem greatly to prefer statues that are very clearly statues, made out of some sort of monochrome material such as stone or metal, rather than something more realistically coloured, a fact which has, from time to time, puzzled me. Were the latter procedure to be followed, people wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between statues and actual people, and this would freak them out.
A “realistic” painting or photo of a person is actually not realistic at all. People are complicated in shape. Paintings and photos are flat. So, if you encounter a photo or a painting of a person, even if it’s life size, there is no possibility that you will be duped into introducing yourself to it or asking it for directions. But if you encounter a genuinely realistic 3D statue of a person, only its deeply unnatural stillness would eventually tell you that this is not a real person. And this would be awkward to be dealing with on a regular basis.
A giant statue of someone, realistically coloured, might be okay. After all, miniature statues (go into any toy shop or gift shop to see what I mean) already are okay. Just as with a tiny but realistically coloured person statue, you could tell at once that a giant realistically coloured person statue was only a statue rather than a real person.
A giant cat statue, on the other hand, probably wouldn’t be a good idea. People might think: Woooaaarrrrgggghhh!!! A giant cat!!! Get me out of here now!
Originally posted at Brian Micklethwait’s Old Blog
Multiple reflections of the Shard
This afternoon, I was wandering about in the vicinity of the Shard, in the company of GodDaughter 2. At a moment when I could not see the Shard, I nevertheless could see this reflected version of it: Or maybe that should be versions. It looks vagule like Barcelona Cathedral, with its multiple spires.
Unhelpful reflections have been on my mind lately, having tried to take photos from inside the Shard, with its very reflective windows. This is a reminder that reflections can be fun.
Later GD2 and I walked along the river downstream, on the south side. And walked, and walked, and walked. By the time I was home I was exhausted and yet again I am in quota photo mode.
The weather forecast for tomorrow is good, so something similar may happen tomorrow, but I will try to do better.
Originally posted at Brian Micklethwait’s Old Blog
Tom Burroughes
Earlier this evening I went to the Two Chairmen to hear my friend Tom Burroughes speak, to Libertarian Home, about the idea of a Universal Basic Income.
I took this photo of Tom in action:
It troubles me how much Photoshop(clone)ping I had to do to make this photo look good, taken as it was with my new camera. But I think it now does look okay. I particularly like how I used a nearby beer glass to smudge out most of the head of the man in the foreground.
At Samizdata, Tom goes by the name of Johnathan Pearce. Here is a recent piece he did there, about the very subject he was speaking about this evening. And Tom will give this subject another airing at my home, on September 29th. It’s an important subject, I think.