the nonist

Nonist RSS feed address change.

Hi. Just a note to those of you subscribed to The Nonist’s RSS feed: The new site is up and the feed’s address has changed, this will be the last burst of text coming through this channel so please switch to one of the following.

New RSS 2.0- feed://thenonist.com/index.php/thenonist/rss_2.0/

New Atom- feed://thenonist.com/index.php/thenonist/rss_atom/

I have removed the RSS 1.0 feed. If this is a problem for anyone please contact me and I’ll set one up.

update

there is an aspect of this redesign period which i’ve begun to find amusing. i titled the last post “redesign is nigh” without really thinking. what is the most common modern usage of the word “nigh?” why the street-corner prophet and hobo doom-sayer with the sandwich board which reads, “the end is nigh!” of course. but, well, the end which is so very near never seems to arrive does it? that title must be seeming more and more prescient to you fine readers. ha.

well, i am here today to let you know that the completion of the redesign and the nonist’s return is indeed really and truly nigh. i’ve got a couple more pages to retool, some cross-browser bugs to iron out, and that’s it. so barring any unforeseen calamities i’m guessing a weekend more and i should be ready to return.

i may have a scraggly beard but a scraggly beard does not a hobo kook-prophet make! when i say nigh, i mean it! nigh nigh nigh. see you all soon.

redesign is nigh

well folks, i’ve been gone for a little over a week, just as i’d suspected. it’s amazing how quickly one can mentally unplug from the internet stream and its current b.t.w…. anyhow there is good news and bad, and, as is often the case, they are one and the same. the good/bad news is this: the site will remain dormant for an indeterminate period. it’s bad news because those of you who read the site religiously, cultishly, drawing all your mental and emotional sustenance from our content, refreshing your browser window again and again like a shivering addict will have to find something else to distract you from reality. (weirdoes.) it’s good news because while the dust-bunnies start forming in the space between these old sentences, and the tumbleweeds roll through the margins, i will be busily redesigning and reshaping the nonist.

likely many of you will gasp, or at very least sigh, and say “but it aint broke!” to which i can only respond, “aint is not a word, you lazy, lazy person.” the truth is i looked at the site one day recently and thought “my god i’m tired of looking at this.” and that’s all it took really. i’m a restless type and i intend to shake things up for my own selfish amusement and throw away years of hard work, for no particular reason, whenever i damn well please! in all honesty this site is in need of some streamlining, some back-end clean-up, some re-focussing, and a good juicy jolt from the design defibrillator. (clear!)

so folks, in short, please be patient while i tear down a perfectly good web site, break all your links, and continue the endless, impossible search for visual and functional perfection. i will return as soon as this task is complete, though i can’t say when exactly that will be, not more than a few weeks with any luck, after which the nonist will hopefully rise majestically from the off-white and orange ashes. wish me luck, and i wish you luck too.

short hiatus

i’d like to apologize for the sporadic posting of late. it’s due in equal parts to the flu and a hectic period at work. it couldn’t be helped, and still can’t. in as much, rather than posting whenever i can fit it in, i’ve decided to take a short hiatus. a week, give or take. i’m mulling over making some changes to the site as well, possibly some major changes, but i’m reluctant to open that can of worms just yet. we shall see. in any case hope everyone is well, and i’ll be back as soon as i can manage.

saturday morning science

space station science officer don pettit looks at thin liquid films. neat.

rags to duds

list of celebrities and other prominent individuals who have experienced being homeless.

superhydrophobic plastic

with new super-repellent plastic self-washing buildings, cheap diagnostic chips, and free-flowing honey jars are now possible.

skyscraper escape pods

skyscraper escape pods have been panned by the n.y.c. office of emergency management.

destructive interaction in the “many worlds” hypothosis

chatter about the quantum measurement problem. wondering whether our universe will be assimilated by a larger "parallel" universe.

protest in a better world

a couple of days ago, while watching the olympics, i had an odd flash. a women’s figure skater had just wrapped up a decidedly underwhelming routine and was standing at center ice, arms akimbo, in one of those panting, mock-triumphant poses. in the distance, and at the edges of the frame, small objects began flopping onto the ice. knowing diddly-squat about skating i misinterpreted this barrage and in doing so i inadvertently conjured a vision of an exquisite alternate world of civilized protest and absurdist displeasure.

counterfactual computation

using a quantum computer for counterfactual computation: inferring information about an answer without actually running the computer (?)

sacco & spiegelman

a few words from joe sacco & art spiegelman on the danish cartoon beef.

slaves of christo

with the hideousness now only a memory a few of christo's slaves speak up.

homemade hoverboard

ever had the urge to build your own hoverboard? here's a how-to.

the seekers

v.voice piece on the birth and life of the 9-11 truth movement (via)

the end of the beginning, middle and end

essay: search engines, wiki's, and blogs are changing some time-honored assumptions about written communication. (via)

the ice worm

ice worms aren't just legend or local color. they're real and with the glaciers melting possibly in danger. poor ice worms.

master watchmakers

enjoy the gorgeous images and otherwise interesting watchmakery stuff in ron decorte's notebook. (via)

charms of the flourish

in the introduction to the book masters of calligraphy, originally published in 1923 in german under the title meister der schreibkunst aus drei jahrhunderten, there is the following: “today the charms of a thriving calligraphy, expression and beauty, are in danger of perishing. handwriting in everyday life is disappearing or becoming superficial or coarse. with it yet another branch of honorable human artistic endeavor is dying out.” that was initially written in 23 and with each successive printing, in 36 and again in 81, the sentiment became more true. by now i think it’s safe to say the art of handwriting, as it was once understood, is no longer dying but really and truly dead.

japanese spiderman

episode of whacky 70's, live-action, japanese spiderman show.vid here.