stuart78

I don't really remember the software, but it probably was.

Love watching that print.

A nice memory from my childhood (early 1980's) was doing a school trip to some sort of design shop where they were CAD and getting to take home a crisply plotted rendering of the US Space Shuttle. In my memory, it was pencil not pen, but I'm not sure if that holds up.

The 'perfection' of the drawing blew my mind and, as the author points out, does have a unique character. Definitely one of the early memories that got me excited about what computers can help us do.

Was coming here to post the same thing. The vans in my area are unbranded, the employees unprofessional and the delivery is sloppy. "Soft" expenses such as uniforms and paint make a difference on perception, as would better supervision and training.

I also wonder, in the drivers' defense, if the delivery schedule is unrealistic. I can better understand lobbing a box on the lawn if you're 10 deliveries behind.

I'm not sure that total deregulation of the prison phone market is a good idea, but at least in the United States, the current solution is pretty outrageous [0]. There is a a reasonable censoring role to be played by the prison (same as it is for mail), but like much else about prison system, seems served by rent-seekers [1].

[0] https://theintercept.com/2017/06/16/fcc-prison-phone-call-ra...

[1] https://www.indystar.com/story/news/crime/2017/11/20/indiana...

Also on this topic, remembered this post from a year ago collecting cutaway illustrations of the London Underground: http://londonist.com/london/transport/london-cutaways

This whole blog is interesting, glad to have been introduced to it. As an American, I love being reminded how young everything about us is. See, for example, the entry about the Duchy of Cornwall [0]:

"The Duchy was created in 1337 by Edward III, as a personal endowment for his son, the Black Prince. Ever since, its lands and revenues have belonged to the male heir to the throne – in recent times, Charles, Prince of Wales."

I acknowledge (and sympathize with) the author's interest in greater transparency, but I also have an appreciation for institutions that survive in this way, anachronistic and antiquated though it may be.

https://whoownsengland.org/2017/03/15/what-land-does-the-duc...

I agree that clubs are a great solution for this kind of thing. I'd encourage kids to explore whatever interests them (business, dinosaurs, Model UN) as early as they're interested. But canonizing 'business' as a core educational pillar feels deeply misguided.

Further down the page you "meet" more of the team. I think the idea is to emphasize that this is a phone made by real people, not an faceless corporation.

I don't really disagree with your response, but I do think there is something nice about humanizing the design and production of technology.

With Bezos it seems both. Providing a stable foundation for long-term sustainability, but also an interest in the business being self-sustaining. Productizing their CMS as Arc Publishing, being the best example of the latter.

I agree in principle, but I would personally never return to a doctor who had one of these things on their face (like the one in the article photo). I see all the use cases for field operators, but it remains (to me) as creepy in any interpersonal setting as it did with the consumer launch.

Am I the only one who read that as "UK virtual reality firm improbably raises $500m"?

LOL, I forgot about that. Staggering genius is rarely understood in its own time.

I had not heard of this, but it is a good description of my brother who is dyslexic and a talented sculptor.

That is the first thing I thought of as well. Giant 'mis-match!' dialog is the best.

Totally agree with the audit trail. From time to time I look at which accounts are connected and nuke most, but making this a better informed decision through access history would be great.

I had alway wondered how they did topical inserts, glad to know its how everything else last minute comes together: lots of hectic running around...

I haven't watched regularly in quite a few years, but there is something very nice about the constancy of it being around, always there should we need it.

I'm the proud owner of one of these, and he really makes the entire purchase process a special experience. From the personal email on order to the notes included (and fast shipping). Every house should have one. Or several.

It is an April Fools joke. Like Google Home, but gnome-shaped and for 'automating your yard'.

Same experience for me on a recent car purchase. Dealer didn't particularly want a down payment, which made me suspect that they are being comped on loan volume when financed through manufacturer, a choice I opted for because the % was 2 points lower than my bank.

Also, can you explain your last comment further?

'Comics' is a wide enough form to accommodate many different methods and timelines of production. If you look to the world of Print comics the intentions are often quite different from web and the production is as well. Everything from Chris Ware's super intricate spreads to XKCD's deceptive simplicity to Qwantz' focus on text (which I imagine is harder than one might think) has a place under the umbrella.

Those eyes are crazy. I'm jealous of all of the animals that have a greater range of color perception than us. If I could trade for any trait, it'd be that.

Yeah, it is definitely a weird time we're moving into.

I understand what you mean, but for me, she has developed something of a personality. It is kind of a bumbling but well intentioned friend. Similar to my Roomba which is not the best at what he does, but keeps on trying (i.e. bumping futilely into the same walls).

While mine has never 'accidentally' ordered anything or yelled about internet disconnect, I do agree with the conclusion that it ends up being a very specific device. For me, that is a connected speaker with good sound that I can gently manage from across the room. Good enough for me.

On another note, my 2 year old son has always had a complicated relationship with 'her'. At one point, she red-ringed and would issue inscrutable messages after long periods of spinning white. This really sent him into a tailspin and it has taken several months for him to trust her again.

Totally agree. Plant handles many complexities quite nicely, despite the poor tools available to render the visualization.

I think Washington Post did the best job of any major national newspaper this year (at least in the second half) in terms of investigative Trump-related journalism.

Puff-ish piece about his coverage (so you know its true):

https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/magazine/david-fahr...

I love it, and wish I could keep myself from making a lame Philip Glass emulator joke. Does this count?

I think that is in part because they are highly moderated, both by their internal team and user votes. Such moderation is costly, but I tend to think it is worth it for the good of the community.

http://www.nytimes.com/content/help/site/usercontent/usercon...