Too Much Sony to Keep Up With
The story that just won't stop. Over at Boing-Boing, they've posted a timeline of just this week's developments—and it's only Thursday.
Tool Envy
Pay attention, class. This little rope-climbing device looks pretty slick. As the article says, the real trick isn't ascending the rope, but ascending the rope without damaging it. The rule of thumb we used when I did technical caving was to retire any rope we had "shocked" with an impact or weight-bearing kink.
Tools Galore!
I've been remodeling my downstairs into a dedicated office, small listening room, and home theater and, as a result, I've been constantly scratching my head and muttering how do you do that? Well, the answer to most of those questions has been in the Lee Valley Tools catalog and website.
Top 100 April Fool Hoaxes
Number one is memorable.
Top 30 Travel Books
I think we've established that I like lists by now. It's not that I'm convinced they're always right, but rather that they make starting places for discovery and discussion. In other words, they're a jumping-off point rather than a destination.
Top of the Pops: RIP
The Beeb is canceling Top of the Pops. Not that I ever watched it, but it's one of those things like the Grand Canyon that always seemed like it was eternal.
Top Secret
Focal allowed me to visit the Be facility in which it manufactures its beryllium tweeters in a HazMat room. They would not, however, allow me to take photographs within it—saying that some of the machines were secret. So they gave me this factory authorized image of their technician examining a completed tweeter.
Totally Awesome Yo-Yo Demo
I'm speechless—this thing just keeps going and going.
Touchstone
It's a good thing for us that Jeremy Denk got restless at a concert recently. One thought led to another, he rushed home to check out a CD he thought linked to his thoughts, and the next thing we know, he's deep into an analysis of the chorale in Beethoven's "Spring" sonata (No. 5 in F, Op. 24).
Tour de France
A beginner's guide.