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Photo Hope for the Week
Go, Blue Jays!
Quote of the Week
In the 18th century, the Industrial Revolution was one of several revolutions that overturned society. Mechanical creatures intruded into farms and homes, but still this invasion had no name. Finally, in 1802, Johann Beckmann, an economics professor at Gottingen University gave this ascending force its name [technology] . . . He hoped his outline [a textbook titled Guide to Technology] would become the first course in the subject. It did that and more. It also gave a name to what we do. Once named, we could now see it. Having seen it, we wondered how anyone could not have seen it.
Source: Kevin Kelly, What Technology Wants
Posted: 2025 Oct 18Or check out this TEDxSF by Kelly.
Music of the Week
Category Archives: Through Space
Goodwith That
One of a miscellany of short observations from a trip to Scotland. Continue reading
If You Can’t Stand the Answer
One of a miscellany of short observations from a trip to Scotland. That’s a great tit. I try not to startle: the young man beside me is not looking at me (Go figure!), he’s staring at the bird feeder that … Continue reading
Keep Your Distance
One of a miscellany of short observations from a trip to Scotland. Psst! Does ‘mean’ mean ‘cheap’? Listing to his left, the psst-ing American to my right is being thoughtful, not rude. Our host, the umpteenth baronet of something-or-other, is … Continue reading
A Persistence of Beavers
One of a miscellany of short observations from a trip to Scotland. Look! Wood chips! Speaking in hushed, not to say reverential, tones, our guide points out this indisputable evidence of, poetically enough it seems, Castor fiber, the European/Eurasian beaver. … Continue reading
The Other Kate
Exploring the perspective on history enjoyed by those who actually have some. Well, by ‘recent’ I mean ‘not medieval’. The speaker this time is neither a precocious three-year-old nor a witty 70-something — it is a young woman who … Continue reading
A Wink and a Nudge
One of a miscellany of short observations from a trip to Scotland. Because it keeps the witches away. The interrupter is three, or so said his grandfather in introducing him to our tour group. As a second son (the three-year-old, … Continue reading
An Embarrassment of Marmalades
One of a miscellany of short observations from a trip to Scotland. It’s Elizabeth Barrett Browning meets Count von Count from Sesame Street: How do I love thee, Scotland? Let me count the ways. One, two, three: three kinds of … Continue reading
Edumacation and Unedification
One of a miscellany of short observations from a trip to Scotland. It is our first full day in Scotland, and full is the operative word. We sleep late, figure out how to use the tricky switched electrical sockets, resist … Continue reading
Are You Serious?
One of a miscellany of short observations from a trip to Scotland. Haggis. An inevitability of Scotland according to everyone we know who’s been here before us. And everyone has advice on how to relax and enjoy the inevitable. It’s … Continue reading