Links for the week of Dec 15th, 2013
A discussion about Bitcoins came up here at home recently. For those not in the know, Glenn Fleishman wrote a good introduction for athe a Economist. Article
Brent Simmons is an app developer who has been responsible for creating several popular Mac and iOS apps over the years. One side effect of having a popular app is getting buy out offers from larger companies. He wrote about the experience and why he eventually left. The important stuff is at the bottom of the post. His commentary on only working on the projects he's best at is important. Instead of following your passion, do what you're best at. Article
These photos make me cry. I can't imagine the damage that was done (and in some cases still not restored) during this flood to these manuscripts. Plus hanging all of the pages to dry… Article
Darrell Markewitz is a friend and has been an excellent source of advice for me in my artistic career. He recently did an interview on a knife maker's forum. This is the first part of several parts. He discusses some of his work in recreating Norse steel making techniques, as well as his entry into blacksmithing. Article
The challenges of projecting an accurate map of the globe onto a flat map is a challenge. Tested looks at Bernard Cahill's work to create a more accurate projection. Article
Piaget has focused on making very thin mechanical watches for years. They briefly lost their title of thinnest mechanical watch. They've now reclaimed that title with the introduction of the Altiplano which is an impressive 3.65mm thick. Of course the price of ultra thinness comes with a steep price tag… Article
Scale matters:
Michael Lopp's thoughts on conference badge design. Article
I don't agree with everything in David Simon's The Two Americas, but it's worth a read none the less. Article
Very Short Story is a great account to follow on Twitter.
I don't have any need for portable speakers, but these look like a great design. Article
An interesting wheel design for your bike to provide you with an extra little push when you need it. Article
Derek Muller, quantity vs quality. Video
Why men need to cultivate more friendships. Article
Doom had a massive impact on me when it came out. I played it for hours on end, but more importantly, it allowed me to create my own content for the game. I created and shared dozens of new levels for the game with friends and strangers (it was a bit odd to run into some of my levels years after I created them when I downloaded a pack of fan levels for the game). John Carmack gives his thoughts on the game he helped create 20 years ago. Article
I'm very mindful of ensuring the signal to noise ratio of what I write and share is high. So many people I know online have such a low signal to noise ratio that I've stopped reading them. We'd all be better off if we cut back on the fake punditry. Article
We live out in the country, and while we haven't experienced a serious power outage yet, it's always in the backs of our mind's. This LED bulb project on Kickstarter has some real potential. Article
Speaking of electricity, the situation at Ontario Power Generation just keeps getting worse. Article
The Brits are obsessed with panel shows, and Qi is easily the best of the lot.
Gutenberg's moveable type printing press is the most important invention since the wheel. The first book which he mass produced as a bible. As part of the digitization project underway by Oxford University and the Vatican, Oxford has now released a hi-res scan of their Gutenberg bible. It is one of the few intact copies left. Article
Previous link posts can be found here