Japanese cover for Gibson’s Neuromancer.
My favorite science fiction novel.
Microblog
Every standard mass-market film poster design is subpar. We can do so much better.
The Deutsch Files III →
Part 3 of Naval’s recent discussion series with David Deutsch.
Cross-section of Hong Kong’s Kowloon Walled City.
The Magic City , by Russian artist Artur Skizhali-Veis.
**Japanese cover for Gibson’s Neuromancer. **
My favorite science fiction novel.
Põhja-Kõrvemaa Nature Reserve , Estonia..
Let’s return to conversation pits.
F-15 launching an ASM-135 anti-satellite missile.
Like a photo of a future space war. (via @kane)
The Siberian city ofYakutsk, in the Russian Far East, is unfathomably cold, yet home to over a quarter million people:
Yakutsk has an average annual temperature of 17.6 °F winter high temperatures consistently well below −4 °F, and a record low of −−83.9 °F. As a result, Yakutsk is the coldest major city in the world
The island of Hispaniola , from the ISS.
I just learned aboutbezoars andGoa stones (a man-made form of bezoar). It’s a chunk of aggregated minerals, seeds, piths, and other indigestible material that forms in the intestinal system of animals. People would shave off small bits and add to tea and beverages for medicinal purposes.
The way humans discover things without understanding why they work is endlessly fascinating.
Love this description:
The stones made their way to England as well and an early mention is made in 1686 by Gideon Harvey who was sceptical of the curative value noting that they were confected from a “ jumble of Indian Ingredients ” by “ knavish Makers and Traffickers.’ ”
The interior of Wrocław Cathedral , Poland. Built in 1272.
A periodic reminder of your pending competitive inadequacy - Marginal REVOLUTION →
Tyler Cowen:
**Bell Island, **part of the Franz Josef Land archipelago in Russia.
I couldn’t believe this:
The island was the first among the Franz Josef archipelago to be visited by Benjamin Leigh Smith in his 1880 expedition. In his second expedition to the islands in 1881, Smith built a wooden lodge on the north side of the island which he used to winter. The lodge stands to this day.
A small wooden shack, built on an island in the Arctic Ocean, stands for 150 years. Will think about that next time I’m building something.
The karsting limestone of Mount Api , Malaysia.
The collapse of the Arecibo Telescope in Puerto Rico.
The absolute most wild woodshop anyone’s ever built.
Chillon Castle , island fortress on Lake Geneva, Switzerland.
The building originally dates to the 11th century, but there’s evidence the Romans had forts on the small island a millennium earlier.
It’s functioned as fort, prison, and summer home to counts and dukes. Added to my one-day-Swiss-vacation list.
Dragon Bridge. Da Nang, Vietnam.