A puzzle from More Problematic Recreations, published by Litton Industries in the early 1960s:
A truck, when fully loaded, can carry enough fuel to take it half-way across a barren desert. If the truck can return to its starting point as often as is necessary, what is the minimum amount of fuel required to take it all the way across?
The post Desert crossing puzzle: the minimum fuel problem appeared first on Boing Boing.
AtmosphericBeats makes real-world Minecraft maps based on geographical data and their latest creation is a 1:20 scale map of Mississippi.
This work is a representation of the State of Mississippi, USA, on a 1:20 scale with biomes, vegetation and other natural features derived from OpenStreetMap and high resolution land cover datasets
These are much better than the simple heightmap-conversion types of "real world" Minecraft map that were always a thing. — Read the rest
The post 1:20 scale map of Mississippi in Minecraft appeared first on Boing Boing.
If you want to give something this Christmas that your recipient can use all year round, rather than socks and fragrances… give them membership to a museum or gallery they love.
Most museums have some form of membership scheme and usually offer a range of goodies, such as free entry for museums that charge an entrance fee, newsletters, and the bigger venues tend to have private members’ events in the evenings or priority booking for public exhibitions.
As a present, it’s lovely to offer, as people who love a museum now find they are getting invites to private events and tours and can go into paid exhibitions for free as often as they like.
It’s a whole year of joy.
I’ve trawled around looking at the venues I am aware of and seeing which have a membership scheme with benefits for the member and listed them below. The costs listed below are generally for payments by credit card for buying as a present, although most offer discounted rates if you want to pay by recurring direct debit.
If buying for a partner, most offer duel-memberships at a favourable rate, so you can share the fun together.
A museum membership isn’t just for Christmas; it’s for.. well, a whole year at least.
| Venue | Cost | Key Benefits |
|---|---|---|
| Barbican | £59 | Free entry to exhibitions, discounts on events and cinema, priority booking, along with options for private views of galleries. |
| Benjamin Franklin House | £25 | Free entry to the house, 2 guest tickets and discounts on events. |
| British Film Institute | £39 | Priority ticket bookings, no booking fees, discounts in their shops, special events and previews. |
| British Museum | £79 | Free entry to exhibitions and private members events, the members room in the museum and discounts in the shops/cafe. |
| Bow Street Police Museum | £50 | Free entry to the museum, discounts in the shop and priority booking for events. |
| Brooklands Museum | £54 | Free entry to the motoring museum, and special events. |
| Brunel Museum | £25 | Free entry to the museum and invites to private events |
| Carshalton Water Tower | £7 | Free entry to the tower, private views of exhibitions and friends only social events. |
| Cartoon Museum | £35 | Free entry to the museum, exhibition previews and discounts on events. |
| Charles Dickens Museum | £40 | Free entry for you and a guest and discounts in the shop and events. |
| Chelsea Physic Garden | £56 | Free entry with a guest, free entry to partner gardens, and invites to special events. |
| Design Museum | £75 | Free entry to paid exhibitions, priority booking and invitations to members previews. |
| Dulwich Picture Gallery | £45 | Free entry to exhibitions, and invites to private viewings, plus discounts on events. |
| Foundling Museum | £40 | Free admission to the museum. A wide range of activities each year, including private views, concerts and talks led by Museum experts. |
| Freemasons Museum | £30 | Invites to private exhibition views and events. |
| Freud Museum | £55 | Free entry to the museum, discounts on events and invites to private views. |
| Garden Museum | £45 | Free entry to the museum, private views of exhibitions and priority booking for events. |
| Georgian Group | £50 | Sizable regular magazine and access to exclusive activities that include visits to private houses not open to the public. |
| Grant Museum | £30 | Priority booking for public events, and invites to members-only events. |
| Guildhall Art Gallery | £30 | Free entry to paid exhibitions, plus free entry to Tower Bridge, Monument and Keats House, private tours and talks. |
| Heath Robinson Museum | £40 | Free entry to the museum, members events and priority booking. |
| Honeywood Museum | £10 | Priority booking and discounts for events. |
| Horniman Museum | £45 | Free entry to Aquarium and exhibitions, 10% discount at the shop, a quarterly e-newsletter and invitations to exclusive members’ events and offers. |
| Imperial War Museum | £60 | Free entry to all IWM museums, private views and members events. |
| London Museum of Water & Steam | £40 | Unlimited free visits, a quarterly newsletter, members-only events, free entry to the nearby Musical Museum. |
| Kew Gardens | £87 | Free entry for you and a guest to Kew Gardens and Wakehurst, priority booking to events, and a range of member events. |
| London Transport Museum | £30 | Unlimited free entry to Museum at Covent Garden during all normal opening hours, plus one free entry to Acton Depot Open Weekend each year. Friends’ visits to transport and other venues. |
| London Zoo | £106 | Unlimited entry to the two zoos, discounts in the shops, queue jump at the entry barriers, plus members events. |
| Museum of Brands | £17 | Free entry to the museum for yourself for a year. |
| National Archives | £30 | Friends only events and tours, and discounts in the bookshop and at paid events. |
| National Army Museum | £45 | Free entry to paid exhibitions, curator tours and members-only events.(note, they’re not offering gift memberships at the moment) |
| National Gallery | £75 | Free entry to paid exhibitions, and invites to members events. |
| National Portrait Gallery | £66 | Free entry to paid exhibitions, private viewings and discounts in the shops. |
| Natural History Museum | £73 | Free entry to paid exhibitions, priority entry to the museum, private events, private members’ room. |
| Old Operating Theatre | £30 | Free entry to the museum and two tickets to the annual reception. |
| Petrie Museum | £35 | Special events and tours, plus seminars and regular news. |
| Pitzhanger | £35 | Free entry to the gallery, exclusive events and discounts in the shop. |
| Postal Museum | £45 | Free entry to the museum, 3 rides on the mail rail per year, invitations to private events and priority booking to public events. |
| Royal Greenwich Museums | £60 | Free entry to the three Greenwich museums, private views of galleries, and fast-track entry. |
| Royal Institution of Great Britain | £80 | Free tickets to lectures. Entry to members-only events, along with quarterly newsletters and discounts on purchases. |
| Saatchi Gallery | £50 | Free entry to Saatchi arranged exhibitions, and discounts on visiting exhibitions. |
| Sadlers Wells | £75 | Priority booking and 20% off tickets. |
| St Paul’s Cathedral | £50 | Free entry to the Cathedral, private events and exhibition previews, plus priority booking for events. |
| Sir John Soane’s Museum | £40 | Discounts in the shop, plus invites to special events. |
| Southbank Centre | £79 | Priority information and booking for key events throughout the year plus no booking fees. Free entry to exhibitions at The Hayward Gallery, plus access to the private Members Bar for you and up to 5 guests. |
| Strawberry Hill House | £45 | Free entry to Strawberry Hill, invites to the summer party, discounts in the shop and events. |
| Tate | £72 | Free entry to all paid exhibitions, private viewings, and members rooms |
| The Royal Academy of Arts | £150 | Free entry to exhibitions for you and a family member. Visit each exhibition before it’s open to the public. A private members room, and quarterly newsletter. |
| V&A Museum | £87 | Free entry to exhibitions and previews, special members events and private members room. |
| Wallace Collection | £45 | Free entry to paid exhibitions, exclusive member events, discounts in the shop and the restaurant. |
| Westminster Abbey | £55 | Queue jump and free entry to the Abbey, private evening entry to the Abbey and exclusive lectures. |
| Whitechapel Gallery | £50 | Private views of exhibitions, priority booking to events and discounts in the shop. |
|
|
||
| The National Groups | ||
| National Art Pass | £75 | Discounted entry to art galleries and museums across the UK. |
| Historic Royal Palaces | £65 | Unlimited access to the six palaces throughout the year, a range of member events and discounts in the shops. |
| National Trust | £84 | Free entry and parking at more than 300 historic houses and gardens. |
| English Heritage | £69 | Free entry and parking at more than 400 historic houses and gardens. |
| Landmark Trust | £55 | Priority booking to buildings and invites to events. |
| Historic Houses Association | £65 | Free entry to hundreds of privately-owned houses, castles and gardens |
This article was published on ianVisits
SUPPORT THIS WEBSITE
This website has been running now for just over a decade, and while advertising revenue contributes to funding the website, but doesn't cover the costs. That is why I have set up a facility with DonorBox where you can contribute to the costs of the website and time invested in writing and research for the news articles.
It's very similar to the way The Guardian and many smaller websites are now seeking to generate an income in the face of rising costs and declining advertising.
Whether its a one-off donation or a regular giver, every additional support goes a long way to covering the running costs of this website, and keeping you regularly topped up doses of Londony news and facts.
If you like what your read on here, then please support the website here.
Thank you
Sometime last week, the season turned. The heat broke with a dramatic rainstorm, and although it returned to 80 degree days after, it was clear summer was at its end. The air just smelled different, and I could see the local squirrels’ behavior changing into prep mode.
As I’ve mentioned previously, my family takes stockings very seriously. A good stocking is all about balance. Some candy here, a clementine there, some cute beauty products to round it all out—you want to create a varied collection of tokens and trinkets to keep the stocking from being one-note.
A painting of the Polish astronomer, Nicolaus Copernicus is currently on display in the UK for the first time ever.
The painting, Astronomer Copernicus, on display in the National Gallery is also by one of Poland’s most famous painters, Jan Matejko’s (1838–1893), and while much-lauded at home, he is rather less well known outside his home country.
The painting, a huge canvas, was painted in 1873 to mark created to celebrate that year’s 400th anniversary of Copernicus’ birth, although the painting was not included in the program of the official celebration. Matejko had to arrange to have the painting put on display during the anniversary on his own, and donated ticket fees to charity.
It was later bought by Kraków’s Jagiellonian University following a public fundraising.
The dramatic composition shows Copernicus kneeling while reaching up to the night sky. He was reputed to be as good looking as he is shown here, with long flowing hair, although the model who stood in for the painter was a friend of the artist, the local doctor, Henryk Levittoux, who was evidently equally gifted in the luxurious locks department.
If you look carefully you might see that he is wearing a black skullcap as a sign of the clergy, for while Copernicus challenged orthodox ideas, he never broke from the church, and argued that there was no contradiction between science and religion.
Copernicus is shown surrounded by the tools of the trade of early astronomy, although they are not literal representations, as two of the objects in the painting were invented after Copernicus died. Nickpickers also complain that Copernicus seems overly brightly lit for a man at night seemingly with just one small lantern to observe the stars.
However, it’s a romantic vision of a lifetime’s work, not a literal representation of a specific moment in time.
The dark room that houses the painting has been decorated with stars, and not just randomly — they represent the sky as it would have been seen in the early hours of the morning Copernicus died on 24th May 1543. Apart from the painting itself, there’s an early sketch which shows some differences from the final work, and also a copy of De revolutionibus orbium coelestium showing his most famous observation, that the earth is not at the centre of the solar system.
The painting is on loan from the Jagiellonian University, where Copernicus also studied, and the painting hangs in the Senate Chamber, where it rarely leaves, and even rarer leaves to go outside Poland.
This is a rare chance to see not just a great painting, but also one that reflects one of the major moments in European science.
The exhibition, Conversations with God – Jan Matejko’s Copernicus is open at the National Gallery until 22nd August 2021.
Entry is free, but tickets need to be booked in advance. There are three one-way routes around the gallery at the moment, but this exhibition is next to the gallery exit, so you can’t miss it regardless of the route you take. On busy days there can be a small queue outside the exhibition room as there is a limit on the number of people allowed in at the same time.
As a nice touch, the signs in the exhibition are in both English and Polish.
This article was published on ianVisits
SUPPORT THIS WEBSITE
This website has been running now for just over a decade, and while advertising revenue contributes to funding the website, but doesn't cover the costs. That is why I have set up a facility with DonorBox where you can contribute to the costs of the website and time invested in writing and research for the news articles.
It's very similar to the way The Guardian and many smaller websites are now seeking to generate an income in the face of rising costs and declining advertising.
Whether its a one-off donation or a regular giver, every additional support goes a long way to covering the running costs of this website, and keeping you regularly topped up doses of Londony news and facts.
If you like what your read on here, then please support the website here.
Thank you
An annual tradition is being continued this Christmas, with an uplifting rendition of Handel’s Messiah in St Paul’s Cathedral.
I attended a few years ago, and stirring song and music in the stunning surroundings of the mighty Cathedral is an overwhelming evening.
The performance takes place on Thur 6th December at 6:30pm (doors open at 5:30pm)
The event is free, although a collection tray will be passed around during the (short) toilet-break in the concert with a suggested donation of £10.
To book tickets, go here.
The Messiah is part of the Cathedral’s Christmas celebrations — full details of which are here.
You don’t always have to pay out the nose for household items, everyday accessories, or memorable gifts. If you’re searching for something unexpected that can be had for less than two sawbucks, take a look at the following goods:
20oz Insulated Water Bottle ($18.99)
This stainless steel water bottle is double-walled with vacuum-sealed insulation to keep drinks cold for 24 hours, or hot for 8. It has a durable powder coat that’s available in 17 vibrant colors, and it fits in most car cupholders. The interior is completely free of BPA plastics and is totally rust-proof, so any liquid you put in it will taste delicious. Pick one up for just $18.99.
The XXL Shower Speaker is totally waterproof, and has a sturdy suction cup for mounting anywhere in the bathroom. It puts out 3 watts of high-quality sound for up to 6 hours straight, so you rarely have to charge it. Playback controls are front and center with raised texture for easy operation, even when you have soap in your eyes. Get it from our store for $19.99.
UltraBright Military Flashlight: 2-Pack ($17.99)
It never hurts to have a dedicated flashlight around the house for when the power goes out unexpectedly. To keep you prepared for emergencies, this kit comes with two 500-lumen hand torches made from aircraft-grade aluminum and a durable carry case. Grab these tactical flashlights for $17.99.
MicroUSB Cables: 6-pack ($8.99)
Whether you’re a dedicated Android user or just have a plethora of portable electronics, you can‘t have enough microUSB cables. This package comes with six 3-foot cables so you’ll never have to dig around for a spare cord again. These support USB 2.0 data transfer speeds and feature a low-profile connector that works with almost any case. Get three here for only $8.99.
If you are potty-training your kids, or often find yourself feeling around for the bathroom light switch in the dark, the IllumiBowl 2.0 is the perfect night light. It’s battery-powered, easy to clean, and just $12.99 from the Boing Boing Store.
Car Plug-In Air Purifier ($19.99)
Driving home after an intense workout or eating drive-thru meals in your car can fill it with some gnarly smells. Make it safe for passengers again with this air purifier. It plugs into any standard car outlet to kill odors, allergens, and cigarette smoke with its built-in atomizer in minutes. You can get one for $19.99.
Donald Trump Toilet Paper: 3-Set ($12.99)
Feeling hopelessly unrepresented by the highest office in the land? Take out your simmering rage in the grossest way possible with some Donald Trump Toilet Paper. Each roll is 2-ply with 240 sheets, so you perform your civil disobedience comfortably. This gag gift comes with three rolls for $12.99.
Disconnect: 1-Yr Premium Subscription ($19.99)
Disconnect is one of the best browser plugins out there for stopping advertising trackers from collecting your personal information, and their premium service adds a powerful cross-platform VPN. This self-contained privacy power tool is available for all major mobile and desktop operating systems to keep your data safe and significantly reduce bandwidth usage. A 1-year subscription is just $19.99.
Fred Slow Brew Sloth Tea Infuser ($9.72)
For the most relaxing cup of tea imaginable, try brewing with one of these Sloth-shaped infusers. It hangs off the lip of your mug, and is made from heat-resistant, BPA-free silicone to give you a delicious hot drink. It’s available for only $9.72, and works best with a caffeine-free herbal blend.
Fred Voodoo Doll Cookie Cutter ($12)
Anyone who has a long list of enemies, obnoxious coworkers, or a morbid sense of humor can take out their frustrations on a warm, gooey pastry with this Voodoo Doll Cookie Cutter. It’s molded from ABS plastic that’s perfectly safe for food, and comes packaged in a Day of the Dead-inspired shell. Get it here for $12.
There are few things as good as a fresh, hot loaf of real sourdough bread but, due to its finicky nature, it can be a hard thing to nail at home. Luckily, Epicurious has a cheat for us, and it involves fresh yeast.
http://lifehacker.com/309730/bake-yo…
The method, which comes from baker Adam Leonti of Brooklyn Bread Lab, and it is one of the easiest, most elegant ways to get tangy, chewy bread that is pretty close to the real thing, without having to deal with wild yeasts or strict temperature management. All you have to do is swap out instant or dry active yeast for fresh cake yeast. This type of yeast—which comes in a solid, compressed block and has a fresh, sour smell—can be purchased in the refrigerated section of most grocery stores. Once you’ve acquired it, throw it into a no-knead bread recipe and bake it like you would any other simple, rustic loaf. The result won’t be true sourdough, but it will be fairly close, and whole lot easier.
The Secret Ingredient That Will Make Your Bread Taste Like Sourdough | Epicurious
Photo by Fredrik Rubensson.
