Luke.stirling

For more than three centuries, a plague of unshakable lethargy blanketed the American South.

It began with “ground itch,” a prickly tingling in the tender webs between the toes, which was soon followed by a dry cough. Weeks later, victims succumbed to an insatiable exhaustion and an impenetrable haziness of the mind that some called stupidity. Adults neglected their fields and children grew pale and listless. Victims developed grossly distended bellies and “angel wings”—emaciated shoulder blades accentuated by hunching. All gazed out dully from sunken sockets with a telltale “fish-eye” stare.

The culprit behind “the germ of laziness,” as the South’s affliction was sometimes called, was Necator americanus—the American murderer. Better known today as the hookworm, millions of those bloodsucking parasites lived, fed, multiplied, and died within the guts of up to 40% of populations stretching from southeastern Texas to West Virginia. Hookworms stymied development throughout the region and bred stereotypes about lazy, moronic Southerners...

“You had an entire class of Southern society—including whites, blacks, and Native Americans—that was looked upon as shiftless, lazy good-for-nothings who can’t do a day’s work,” my mom explained to me. “Hookworms tainted the nation’s picture of what a Southerner looked and acted like.”

The rest of the story, with a video, is at PBS.

Located "am Furkapass im Wallis, Schweiz auf 2'300 m.ü.M."   Visible in the background of the James Bond movie Goldfinger.

Truthfully, no one really knows for sure how and why it was built [in 1882]. What’s well established is that it was built right after the mountain pass was completed, probably as a lounge for people who wished to escape and enjoy the silence, or attend one of the many lavish parties held inside. So this might answer the question as to why it was built. Or maybe it was meant to be a resting place for the mountain workers, but, in no time, the charming location and what it offers in terms of isolation and excellence inspired the elite to climb the scenic road.

And then there is the Rhône glacier right next to it. Only 200 steps away, it offers a spectacular close-up view of an icy scenery like no other place on Earth. The Belvédère Hotel is raised on a rock, practically over the glacier, so the view is available right from the hotel’s balconies while guests are slurping their morning coffees. Not only that but from the 1890s onward, an ice chamber inside the glacier has been carved out, re-drilled and maintained as a walkable tunnel.   (much more info at the link)

Drone video here.

Webpage with some interesting photos (click the "Galleries" top photo on the right, then the arrows).  Satellite view and reverse view explain parking.

Global warming has caused the glacier to retreat, and a tunnel has bypassed this series of S-curves, so the hotel is closed until further notice.

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The good news is that, in fact, this is true for all stories about children with pets, including you!

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Oh, you love dinosaurs? Well, you'd better brush your teeth or T. Rex will TURN ON YOU.

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BAHFest is tomorrow! See you tonight, Boston. Most of our tickets are gone, but we still have some available. It's going to be a packed house, so if you want a really good seat, please arrive early! See you there!

From the International Building Code:

26.11.4 Special hardware: Doors opening into hazardous areas shall have door-opening hardware which is knurled or has a roughened surface to give tactile warning to persons with visual impairments. Hazardous areas shall include but not be limited to loading platforms, boiler rooms, and electrical equipment rooms.

Of course then I had to look up "knurl" -

knurl:

1. A contorted knot in wood.
2. A crossgrained protuberance; a nodule; a boss or projection.
3. A lined or crossgrained pattern of ridges or indentations rolled or pressed into a part for grip.

etymology:

knur +‎ -le (“diminutive”), from Middle English knar (“knot in wood”), earlier sense “a stone”, of Unknown origin.
gnarl is a later variant, from gnarled, via knurled.

Knurl related to "gnarly."  Cool.  You learn something every day.

Image cropped for size from the original at the Mildly Interesting subreddit.

Via the Mildly Interesting subreddit.

Via, where original credit is not listed.

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Who will litigate the litigators?

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The time draws nigh!

Whenever a new element is released by LEGO, it quickly starts to show up in custom LEGO creations. This wonderfully detailed microscale model of the SpaceX Falcon booster landing on a mobile platform by Curt Quarquesso is a great example. Curt used two new transparent orange flame-colored parts (aka power burst bolts) for the rocket thrust and its contact with the platform. These pieces have only appeared in two sets so far: 76097: Lex Luthor Mech Takedown, and 76108: Sanctum Sanctorum Showdown.

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Syke personer bør holde seg mest mulig inne.

This is a post that was drafted months ago but never published.   Seems appropriate now more than ever so we’re going to release it into the world.

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Something about this post title makes me think of some discount warehouse liquidator.  “We’ve eliminated the middle man and passed on the savings to you!”  But the truth is, that there are times when a middle man is nothing but destructive to a relationship and everybody gains by their removal.

Facebook is the ultimate middle man.

• They tax the creators to reach their followers.  Boost!
  
• They only show content that leads to stronger performance with their advertisers.
  

Instagram is the same now.  I know we all wish it wasn’t, but it is.

There are really only two parties that matter.  The writer and the reader.  A middle man always has dubious plans because they provide limited value.  Particularly on the open web.

RSS had this right years ago.  I realize, technically speaking, RSS platforms like ours are in the middle.  The difference is that we’re replaceable.  It’s not a private network and people come to us from other platforms all the time and vice versa.  It’s healthy.

So why did we all leave to the private network and entrust the middle man?  It’s because services like Facebook always start out as free and easy.  They are just here to help connect you to your friends.  For free.  No ads even… isn’t this great?

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Given how easy it is to draw talking black blobs with eyes, I'm now regretting that this comic isn't always about ninjas.

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BAHFest is no 70% sold out! Buy soon or feel sorrow!

 

In the future when humans have colonized other planets, they still have to get their bacon somehow. Pangeran Panda builds a solution in his meat processing factory where livestock is directly processed into consumable goods.

The transparent walls let you see the motorized conveyor belts in action, but wait, something isn’t quite right. Take a look at the video and see if you get a laugh out of the builder’s sense of humor.

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I'm hoping this can interface well with my idea to sting sick people with bees until they decide they aren't sick.

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Don’t you find it unfair that it took the Rebels just a couple of movies to destroy everything the Empire had built across the whole galaxy during many, many years? A Star Wars fan and an extremely talented LEGO fan one case shows compassion to the Empire with a jaw-dropping replica of the iconic Executor class Star Dreadnought ship. This 52-in/132-cm ship consists of more than 7,300 pieces; this is even more pieces than in the biggest LEGO Star Wars 75192 UCS Millennium Falcon set!

Designing monochrome models is an extremely challenging task; it has more to do with sculpting skills rather than with building out of plastic bricks. The author pulls this off just perfectly. And not only does the upper surface of the ship look very authentic, but its bottom is also completed with 13 engines equipped with LED-lights. That ominous red glow gives me goosebumps!

Finally, the presentation of the build is what is especially remarkable in the case of a model like this one — pictures shared by the builder make some of the most impressive LEGO wallpapers we’ve seen in a long time!

The post 50-inch-long Executor-class Star Dreadnought is a monochrome monstrosity in search of Rebel forces appeared first on The Brothers Brick.

During my childhood years, I saw dozens of broken LEGO pieces; some were damaged by harsh play conditions, others were tortured by my cat. But the worst was to find a favourite minifigure with a broken leg or arm. Jean Macou presents a building I wish my little city had — a magnificent city hospital which seems to have just about any equipment to treat a minifigure no matter how bad the injuries are. The authentic exterior of this massive building can easily make one believe this creation has a real-life prototype, while its wide windows let us peek into the hospital and try to guess what is going on inside…

The hospital is fully modular, which means any floor can be removed providing access for a better view and more convenient play. Although the building isn’t very spacious, it has literally anything you can find in a real hospital.

My favourite part is the right wing of the hospital featuring the surgery room. Bonus points for a couple of surgeons right from Series 6 of the Collectible Minifigures.

The post When was the last time your minifigures have seen their doctor? appeared first on The Brothers Brick.

Fix your gaze on the center of this image (the black pixel) and stare at it for about 20 seconds.  The colors will disappear.

Troxler's fading has been attributed to the adaptation of neurons vital for perceiving stimuli in the visual system. It is part of the general principle in sensory systems that unvarying stimuli soon disappear from our awareness. For example, if a small piece of paper is dropped on the inside of one's forearm, it is felt for a short period of time. Soon, however, the sensation fades away.

An even more dramatic example is in the video at Digg.

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I really think this was ground zero for distrust of the media.

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Just two weeks until show time and we are already 50% sold out of BAHFest MIT tickets! Buy soon or feel shame!

I found my new favorite spring lunch salad while I was hiding from a pot of brisket, which is the kind of thing that happens three days after Passover. Day one (which is actually day two or three after you’ve cooked the brisket, because you know I’d never lead you astray, right?) is lovely: my goodness, why don’t we eat long-cooked, saucy slabs of beef more often? Day two isn’t so bad either, albeit a touch less enthusiastic: yay, brisket. Day three is: my god this isn’t natural, nobody should eat this much brisket, what am I going to do? I cannot waste food. It’s too long into the brisket’s lifespan to freeze it now. And my thoughts turned to the vibrant green asparagus stalks we’d had with it, and that brisket was instantly relegated to a side dish.

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This winter landscape sculpted by John Snyder is a glimpse of the raw beauty of nature. There are many details to reward a closer look from the frozen pond to the brick-built wildlife. I count 9 animals ranging from a blue jay to a hibernating bear, can you find them all?

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Just in case you thought The Brothers Brick has gone into selling electronics, you may want to take a second look, and a close one at that. It’s simply too easy to mistake this monitor for a real one than to believe it’s all made of bricks and bits at a quick glance. Timofey Tkachev is one builder that never ceases to enthrall me with his flexible skills as he builds in a variety of subjects and themes. In case you’re wondering what’s that screen on display, its the front page of the Russian Lego User Group that Timofey belongs to, phantoms.su – a loyal member indeed!

Looking at the reference material, it’s not exactly a 1:1 scale replica, but it looks like he got a size upgrade (albeit a static one).

The post Take a second look at this display screen — it’s actually LEGO appeared first on The Brothers Brick.

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Sure, I'd be happy to make Bat-Individual posters. Just get DC to promise not to sue me, cross their hearts and hope to die.

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Also it didn't want to destroy the city because it mostly feeds off of aquatic insects.

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LEGO has officially unveiled the final design for the next LEGO Ideas set, 21314 TRON: Legacy. Designed by Tom and Drew (aka the BrickBros UK), the set includes 230 pieces which make up two Light Cycles and three minifigures. The set will retail for $34.99 USD beginning March 31, 2018.

We’ll have the complete, hands-on review of this new set for you tomorrow, but in the meantime enjoy the new product details and photos.

The set has received a significant upgrade since it was announced as the next LEGO Ideas set in November of last year. In addition to including two more minifigures and an additional Light Cycle in orange, it appears that the entirety of the original Light Cycle has been redesigned to be more sleek.

The redesign, headed by LEGO designer Suzuki Junya, features several new elements and printed parts, but stays true to the concept and feel of the original submission. According to the BrickBros UK, they “went through several models before settling on a design we both liked,” focusing on achieving the correct scale between Light Cycle and minifigure as well as the right color scheme to “reflect the TRON feel.”

Three minifigures are included representing Sam Flynn, Quorra and Rinzler. The back of the box shows new Identity Disc prints with backpack, the two Light Cycles with display base, as well as the three minifigures.

Similar to the original design, the base retains the Light Cycle Grid appearance, using translucent tiles to achieve the computer-like lines and jumpers to attach the two Light Cycles. According to the press release, the base can also be divided into two parts that can be used to either recreate the Light Cycle duel or the disc battle scene.

Sam Flynn’s blue Light Cycle and Rinzler’s orange Light Cycle appear to be identical except for the accent colors, including a clear panel representing power stream effects clipped to the back of each cycle (a much closer representation to the film than the original submission).

Sam Flynn’s minifigure includes a blue Identity Disc, helmet, backpack and detailing closely resembling the Light Suits worn in the film with illuminated blue strips contrasting starkly against the dark body suit.

Quorra’s minifigure includes a similar Light Suit with different printing, backpack, a sword and a second blue Identity Disc.

Rinzler, the primary antagonist in TRON: Legacy during the disc battle and Light Cycle duel portion of the film, gets a Light Suit with orange highlights, a newly printed helmet and two orange-printed Identity Discs (since he was the only program to utilize two at the same time). His backpack appears to be a pin in order to accommodate both discs.

The price of $34.99 USD seems to be slightly high for a 230-piece set, though LEGO has clearly spared no expense producing exceptional minifigures to recreate the look and feel of TRON: Legacy. We expect this set to be quite popular, and will bring you our hands-on review soon.

Full press release and image gallery below.

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21314 LEGO® Ideas TRON: Legacy
230 pieces | Available March 31, 2018
US $34.99 – CA $44.99 – DE 34.99€ – FR 34.99€ – UK £29.99 – DK 300DKK

Reimagine Disney’s TRON: Legacy movie scenes with LEGO® bricks!

Build Disney’s TRON: Legacy with this LEGO® Ideas set, featuring 2 Light Cycles, 3 minifigures and a TRON grid/display base to recreate the movie chase scene and Identity Disc battle.

Build, play and display with this futuristic LEGO® Ideas 21314 TRON: Legacy set from Disney, featuring 2 Light Cycles, each with minifigure seats and translucent-colored light-style elements, plus a divisible TRON grid with attachment points for the vehicles. Use the grid as a display base for the Light Cycles or split it in 2 to recreate the chase scene from Disney’s TRON: Legacy movie. Alternatively, stage an Identity Disc battle between the 3 included LEGO minifigures—Sam Flynn, Quorra and Rinzler—on the grid. This construction toy includes a booklet with information about its fan creator and LEGO designers, plus the lowdown on Disney’s TRON: Legacy movie and its main characters.

• Includes 3 LEGO® minifigures: Sam Flynn, Quorra and Rinzler.
• Features 2 buildable Light Cycles for Sam Flynn and Rinzler, and a TRON grid/display base.
• Sam Flynn’s Light Cycle features a minifigure seat, authentic features and assorted translucent-blue light-style elements, including power stream effects.
• Rinzler’s Light Cycle features a minifigure seat, authentic features and assorted translucent-orange light-style elements, including power stream effects.
• TRON grid/display base features 2 detachable parts, attachment points for the 2 Light Cycles and translucent-blue elements.
• Divide the grid to recreate the Light Cycle chase scene from Disney’s TRON: Legacy movie, or use it to role-play the disc battle scene with the minifigures.
• Includes Quorra’s sword.
• Accessory elements include Sam Flynn and Quorra’s blue Identity Discs, and Rinzler’s 2 orange Identity Discs. Attached to the back of each minifigure.
• This construction toy includes a booklet with building instructions, information about the set’s fan creator and LEGO designers, and the lowdown on Disney’s TRON: Legacy movie and its main characters.
• Each Light Cycle measures over 1″ (5cm) high, 6” (17cm) long and 1” (4cm) wide.
• TRON grid/display base measures over 8” (22cm) wide and 3” (9cm) deep.

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