Posts
On Skye, Nursing Home Deaths Expose a Covid-19 Scandal
— On a Scottish Isle, Nursing Home Deaths Expose a Covid-19 Scandal, Benjamin Mueller in The New York Times
Looking at Stoke Newington
We’re getting ready to leave the house. The idea of moving out of this place and into one of our own, already a firm intention before lockdown began, has become a serious one again. Subtly depersonalised pictures of the room we’ve spent so much time in have been taken, and posted online. We are responsible for reviewing applications for our replacements. Young professional, woman, 27, media. Smiley headshot, second photo featuring Aperol Spritz. In the meantime I’m sitting in the armchair. I’m watching the kitten bound around with a mouse toy in her mouth, jumping over Emma who’s dozing in...
My Ten Games of the Decade
Moments of intense concentration, placing things just right, are interspersed with blissful periods of sitting back and just watching the city work. Immensely satisfying, gratifyingly creative and endlessly mesmerising, Cities has spent half the decade as one of my most successful tools for relaxation. — My Ten Games of the Decade, Dom Ford
The Coronavirus Quieted City Noise
— The Coronavirus Quieted City Noise, Quoctrung Bui and Emily Badger in The New York Times
Coronavirus is not fuel for urbanist fantasies
— Coronavirus and cities: What urban designers don't get about COVID-19, Alissa Walker in Curbed
How La Haine lit a fire under French society
— How La Haine lit a fire under French society, Phil Hoad in The Guardian
The COVID-19 Recession May Change The Way Americans Spend Forever
— The COVID-19 Recession May Change The Way Americans Spend Forever, Anne Helen Peterson in BuzzFeed News
Why the Cessna Is Such a Badass Plane
— Why the Cessna Is Such a Badass Plane, Alex Hollings in Popular Mechanics
Inside King Arthur Flour
— Inside King Arthur Flour, the Company Supplying America's Sudden Baking Obsession, David H. Freedman in Marker
Who Eats On TV
— Netflix's Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat Changes the Rules for Who Eats on TV, Jenny G. Zhang in Eater
Is Ronan Farrow Too Good to Be True?
— Is Ronan Farrow Too Good to Be True?, Ben Smith in The New York Times
Espionage or Journalism? After the Snowden NSA Leaks
— Espionage or Journalism? After the Snowden NSA Leaks - The Atlantic, Barton Gellman in The Atlantic
Inside Trump's coronavirus meltdown
— Inside Trump's coronavirus meltdown, Edward Luce in The Financial Times
Wild horses
The restrictions on movement were lifted a bit. We’re allowed to sit down in the parks rather than hurry through them on the purpose of exercise. Almost immediately, tiny groups in sunglasses and with beers in hand have appeared. We are also allowed to drive a little way for our recreation. Emma drove us down to the cliffs in Sussex. We packed food and water into a rucksack, and rued that we couldn’t stop in for a preparation pint in the last town before the walk. We passed a dozen idyllic pubs in the glorious countryside. On the walker’s trail...
If I could bring one thing back to the internet it would be blogs
— If I could bring one thing back to the internet it would be blogs, TTTThis
Cities Are Meant to Stop Traffic
— Cities Are Meant to Stop Traffic, Jason Kottke quoting Kirkpatrick Sale's 1980 book Human Scale
Large areas of London to be made car-free as lockdown eased
— Large areas of London to be made car-free as lockdown eased, Matthew Taylor in The Guardian
Getting off of Netlify
I wanted to quickly follow up to my recent post about personal infrastructure with some updates I made this week. I got a warning last week that I was almost at the limit for my allocation of "build minutes" on Netlify. Upon investigation, I found that my personal website had been building too often and for too long on Netlify, and that soon they would start charging me for the overages. Looking at the logs and running the build locally I saw that the vast majority of the build time was down to preprocessing the many images in the "Photo"...
Names, Legal Names, and Fractally Deferred Responsibility
— Names, Legal Names, and Fractally Deferred Responsibility, Nora Codes
When Manhattan Was Mannahatta: A Stroll Through the Centuries
— When Manhattan Was Mannahatta: A Stroll Through the Centuries, Michael Kimmelman in The New York Times
How Five Friends Saved a Tulip Farm From Covid-19
— Mother's Day Bouquets: How Five Friends Saved a Tulip Farm From Covid-19, Kirk Johnson in The New York Times
Wait and see
In some other countries they’ve been re-opening society, slowly. Here things are fraying; many are talking about making decisions for their own mental wellbeing all government advice besides. On Sunday we said, “We’ll see what the Prime Minister says tomorrow.” “…If we don’t do it by those dates, and if the alert level won’t allow it, we will simply wait and go on until we have got it right.” “We will come back from this devilish illness.” Today is Monday. We still can’t go and see our families or touch our friends. It’s sunny outside, with a strong breeze. I...