Walking Men

Artist Maya Barkai assembled a collection of pedestrian traffic signals from around the world: it's called "Walking Men Worldwide."

Look both ways.

More?

Your wish is my demand.

email 4 TechnoDolts©®™

Since forever the email inboxes on my phones and laptops have differed: some emails arrive in one, others in the other, and still others show up in both.

For decades I've read about this problem about in my local Mac Users Group forum.

As a rule, knowledgeable people answer by providing step-by-step instructions to get things straightened out. 

I often laugh, especially when they write stuff like "You'll need to rebuild your mailboxes for each email address."

If I tried to do that I would destroy my perfectly functional (though funky) email reception and never get it back.

These tips and suggestions sometimes advise users to "Open the Terminal."

WHAT!?

All I remember from back in the day is that no TechnoDolt©®™ has any business messing around with the Terminal.

As we always said in the OR (and I guarantee it's still being said there): "Perfect is the enemy of good."

4-Color Pen Throwdown: BIC v ZEBRA

Watching the terrific series "The Shards" on Disney+, I noticed that uberbabe Susan Reynolds, superbly played by Kaia Gerber, was partial to a classic old-timey BIC four-color pen.

The series is set in LA in the early 80s and captures it perfectly: I saw so so many places I knew from my time there during those years.

But I digress.

Out of nostalgia for that BIC pen, which first appeared in 1970, I bought some (3 for $6.64).

In the video up top it's the pen with a blue barrel.

When it arrived I noticed a small hole at the top of the pen above the colored clickers: it's so you can put it around your neck to free your hands when you're not using it. 

I don't recall that feature from back in the day — I wonder whose idea it was and when it appeared.

Even with the assistance of Perplexity Pro I was unable to pin down a date for the change, though the AI did note that when the pen debuted there was a solid plastic ball atop the clickers.

Just for lulz I bought a Japanese iteration made by ZEBRA (grey barrel; $6.61 apiece).

The ZEBRA's all tricked out: in addition to the four colors there's a pencil that's activated by moving the pocket clip — and an eraser!

But wait — there's more!

The ZEBRA has an ergonomically shaped barrel with a soft rubber area where you put your fingers.

Both pens write nicely and have a satisfying feel when you click to a different color.

Bottom line: I prefer the more minimal look of the BIC as well as its lighter weight (10 grams v 15) and lighter price.

There Are Two Types Of People In The World — And I Know How To Tell Them Apart

One type, when dealing with a three-bulb, difficult-to-access ceiling light fixture containing two burned-out bulbs, replaces the two dead ones.

The second type replaces all three — not just the two dead ones but also the one that's working just fine.

Which type am I?

Which type are you?

Which type would you like to be?

I wonder if I should trademark the bookofjoe [Dim] Bulb Personality Test™ or just let anyone who wants it take it and claim they thought it up.

You know the answer to that one.

That's why I like you — you're so smart.

'The Day The Earth Stood Still'

This fantastic 1951 film blew me away when I watched it as a boy.

Fantastic cast starring Patricia Neal and Michael Rennie.

You can't imagine how excited I was when I stumbled across a 2008 remake starring Keanu Reaves and Jennifer Connolly.

I was so chuffed I got out my pretty much dormant Vision Pro so as to give it the best possible platform.

Alas, all the Apple king's pixels coudn't rescue it: it was dreadful.

Of course I watched the whole thing — I'm such an optimist I thought maybe somehow it would do a 180°, but no such luck.

On the brighter side, I'm preventing you from similarly wasting 90 minutes of your life.

Once Upon A Time On The Internet

Above, my download/upload speeds on Wednesday, March 7, 2007 —nearly 20 years ago — on my PowerBook G4 17" running OSX 10.3.9 on Comcast high-speed internet.

Back then I spent at least an hour a day waiting for sites to download and uploads to happen in the course of publishing boj, which in those halcyon days featured eight (8!) posts daily seven (7!) days/week.

Pips and Nubs

"The gang from Craighill explains the origins and uses of three seemingly small design details that show up everywhere: pips, nubs, and the very useful union of pips and nubs."

"You’ve seen pips on dice and dominos; nubs are used for Braille text; and the pips/nubs combo is used for locks or stops that can be released under pressure."

[via Kottke]

My All-Time Top 10 Posts

This list tallies posts that have appeared since boj's reincarnation here on Blogger on October 1, 2025 after Typepad went belly-up.

I don't see any pattern: 2 of the 10 are personal essays, the rest are a potpourri.

Photosynthesis

This new iPhone camera app combines two lenses at once to produce one hi-res photo, giving real optical detail with no generative AI.

Don't take my word for it: visit the website and try it yourself using the cool slider.

At the App Store.

'I Was Certain, But I Was Wrong' — Jennifer Thompson

Her powerful New York Times Op-Ed page essay of June 18, 2000 has become a classic.

Since then Thompson has written an acclaimed book about her shattering experience.

I've featured her Times piece every two or three years since boj's 2004 inception.

It's time.

I Was Certain, but I Was Wrong

In 1984 I was a 22-year-old college student with a grade point average of 4.0, and I really wanted to do something with my life. One night someone broke into my apartment, put a knife to my throat and raped me.

During my ordeal, some of my determination took an urgent new direction. I studied every single detail on the rapist's face. I looked at his hairline; I looked for scars, for tattoos, for anything that would help me identify him. When and if I survived the attack, I was going to make sure that he was put in prison and he was going to rot.

When I went to the police department later that day, I worked on a composite sketch to the very best of my ability. I looked through hundreds of noses and eyes and eyebrows and hairlines and nostrils and lips. Several days later, looking at a series of police photos, I identified my attacker. I knew this was the man. I was completely confident. I was sure.

I picked the same man in a lineup. Again, I was sure. I knew it. I had picked the right guy, and he was going to go to jail. If there was the possibility of a death sentence, I wanted him to die. I wanted to flip the switch.

When the case went to trial in 1986, I stood up on the stand, put my hand on the Bible and swore to tell the truth. Based on my testimony, Ronald Junior Cotton was sentenced to prison for life. It was the happiest day of my life because I could begin to put it all behind me.

In 1987, the case was retried because an appellate court had overturned Ronald Cotton's conviction. During a pretrial hearing, I learned that another man had supposedly claimed to be my attacker and was bragging about it in the same prison wing where Ronald Cotton was being held. This man, Bobby Poole, was brought into court, and I was asked, ''Ms. Thompson, have you ever seen this man?''

I answered: ''I have never seen him in my life. I have no idea who he is.''

Ronald Cotton was sentenced again to two life sentences. Ronald Cotton was never going to see light; he was never going to get out; he was never going to hurt another woman; he was never going to rape another woman.

In 1995, 11 years after I had first identified Ronald Cotton, I was asked to provide a blood sample so that DNA tests could be run on evidence from the rape. I agreed because I knew that Ronald Cotton had raped me and DNA was only going to confirm that. The test would allow me to move on once and for all.

I will never forget the day I learned about the DNA results. I was standing in my kitchen when the detective and the district attorney visited. They were good and decent people who were trying to do their jobs — as I had done mine, as anyone would try to do the right thing. They told me: ''Ronald Cotton didn't rape you. It was Bobby Poole.''

The man I was so sure I had never seen in my life was the man who was inches from my throat, who raped me, who hurt me, who took my spirit away, who robbed me of my soul. And the man I had identified so emphatically on so many occasions was absolutely innocent.

Ronald Cotton was released from prison after serving 11 years. Bobby Poole pleaded guilty to raping me.

Ronald Cotton and I are the same age, so I knew what he had missed during those 11 years. My life had gone on. I had gotten married. I had graduated from college. I worked. I was a parent. Ronald Cotton hadn't gotten to do any of that.

Mr. Cotton and I have now crossed the boundaries of both the terrible way we came together and our racial difference (he is black and I am white) and have become friends. Although he is now moving on with his own life, I live with constant anguish that my profound mistake cost him so dearly. I cannot begin to imagine what would have happened had my mistaken identification occurred in a capital case.

Today there is a man in Texas named Gary Graham who is about to be executed because one witness is confident that Mr. Graham is the killer she saw from 30 to 40 feet away. This woman saw the murderer for only a fraction of the time that I saw the man who raped me. Several other witnesses contradict her, but the jury that convicted Mr. Graham never heard any of the conflicting testimony.

If anything good can come out of what Ronald Cotton suffered because of my limitations as a human being, let it be an awareness of the fact that eyewitnesses can and do make mistakes. I have now had occasion to study this subject a bit, and I have come to realize that eyewitness error has been recognized as the leading cause of wrongful convictions. One witness is not enough, especially when her story is contradicted by other good people.

Last week, I traveled to Houston to beg Gov. George W. Bush and his parole board not to execute Gary Graham based on this kind of evidence. I have never before spoken out on behalf of any inmate. I stood with a group of 11 men and women who had been convicted based on mistaken eyewitness testimony, only to be exonerated later by DNA or other evidence.

With them, I urged the Texas officials to grant Gary Graham a new trial, so that the eyewitnesses who are so sure that he is innocent can at long last be heard.

I know that there is an eyewitness who is absolutely positive she saw Gary Graham commit murder. But she cannot possibly be any more positive than I was about Ronald Cotton. What if she is dead wrong?

Just say 'bookofjoe'

Easy peasy.

Fast.

What's not to like?

You can too!

'What makes it possible for weeds to grow through a two-inch-thick asphalt sidewalk?'

Hercules in the Garden

Q. What makes it possible for weeds to grow through a two-inch-thick asphalt sidewalk? 

A. The amazing strength of plants, from the mighty oak to the slenderest shoot or root, involves their inexorable growth and expansion by cell division. But it also depends on access to a water supply and on two interacting processes for handling water: osmosis and imbibition.

Water enters a plant's roots and moves through its cells by way of osmosis, diffusing through cell membranes from regions of weak concentrations of dissolved materials to regions of higher concentrations.

Imbibition is the swelling of plant tissues to several times their original volume. It comes about as the electrical charges on materials in suspension within the cells of the tissue make these substances interact with the polarized water molecules, which perform like tiny magnets. The suspended materials include minerals, cellulose, and starches.

Imbibition is responsible for the germination of seeds in the first place, and can continue within a plant's growth cells, leading to a tremendous internal pressure. Over short periods and long — sometimes over many year, in the case of tree growth — the result can be enough power to break sidewalks or even boulders.

[via C. Claiborne Ray writing in the New York Times]

Normal Tools for Normal Tasks

"Open a tool, do the thing, leave. No account, no download, nothing between you and the answer. Private by default: most tools stay in your browser and nothing you enter is saved."

"Currently showing 193 of 193 tools."

Free, the way we like it.

Vacuum Cleaner Throwdown: Dyson v Dustbuster

Long story short: Dustbuster wins.

I've been using a Dustbuster (actually, a number of them since I keep several around, in different rooms so as to minimize my activation energy requirement to use one) for as long as I can remember.

All that time I read about how wondrous Dyson vacuums are but was deterred by their high cost.

Finally I got tired of wondering just how good they are and bought one.

I've had it for a couple years and used it often but have permanently retired it to a closet.

• My Dustbuster (left, above) costs $49.99; my Dyson (right, above; discontinued) cost $399.99.

• The Dustbuster has two speeds, as does the Dyson, but the Dyson has a major ergonomic FAIL: you have to keep strong pressure on the power switch while you're using it. The Dustbuster has a standard power switch, which locks in place where you set it and doesn't require constant pressure. 

I find it incomprehensible that Dyson's design parameters are such as they are. I've read numerous discussions by Dyson about how their switch management ensures power preservation but that's just silly. Who in the  world leaves a portable vacuum on while they go outside to check their mail etc.?

Turns out there are enough people like me bothered by this FAIL that a number of companies have created kludges — power switch add-ons that let you not have to keep pressing the switch (which also forces you into a single hand position that rapidly tires your grip) but instead keep the button in the On position.

I bought two of these add-ons:  both are FAILs. They're difficult to position correctly and easily dislodged while using the vacuum.

• They both do a decent job of vacuuming.

• The Dustbuster's ready to go right now; the Dyson requires me to gather the components from another room where I keep them and carry them into my main workspace and assemble them

• The biggest difference (besides cost) is ease of use: the Dustbuster is light and easy to position precisely, whereas the Dyson is clunky and much heavier and has trouble getting into tight spaces like under my couch and along walls where there's lot of stuff.

• Dustbuster battery life on High is significantly better than the Dyson's MAX setting duration.

• Noise produced by the two machines is about the same.

• Physical effort required by the Dustbuster is more than that needed to use the Dyson since to vacuum the floor with the Dustbuster you have to bend over: I'm fine with that, I can always use a little exercise.

However, the clunkiness of the Dyson's business end and the significant weight of the battery integrated up top with the hand grip require constant repositioning and banging around, which along with the need to hold the power switch down gets old fast.

Replacement theory works as a prophylactic, too

On July 24, 2026, a post titled "Where Things Are and Where They Go — Part 2: Replacement Theory" appeared in this space.

In it, my Crack Colorado Correspondent©®™weighed in on the previous week's post titled "Where Things Are and Where They Go."

On August 19, 2026, he emailed me the wonderful piece up top, entitled "Replacement theory works as a prophylactic, too."

Oh, I'm in heaven: this reminds me of the good old days, when I had so many readers sending me so much great stuff all I had to do was pick and choose for material for my then 8 (eight) posts daily.

Largest Known Roman Mosaic Opens To The Public

The First-Century Mosaic and Accompanying Fresco Located Beneath the Baths of Trajan in Rome Welcomed Its First Visitors This Past Weekend 

 

A vast mosaic uncovered in Rome, the largest ever discovered in the Roman world, has opened to the public for the first time.

The mosaic and an accompanying fresco were discovered during excavations in the 1990s in an underground gallery beneath the Baths of Trajan, an expansive imperial leisure complex comprising libraries and bathing pools.

The works, known as the "Painted City" fresco and the "Muse and the Philosopher" mosaic, are now open to the public during weekends, initially for groups of 15. 

The first visitors saw the site last weekend (12 and 13 September); from October 2, viewings will run from Friday to Sunday.

The opening times were confirmed by the mayor of Rome, Roberto Gualtieri.

Archaeologist Francesco Pacetti said at the unveiling of the site earlier this month: "We estimate that it is the biggest wall mosaic ever found in the Roman World and we are still digging to find out where it stops."

The fresco and mosaic are thought to date from the first century.

The fresco features images of a walled port city, with defensive walls and towers, viewed from above.

Archaeologists are unsure about whether the fresco depicts a real or imagined city.

The mosaic, which is ten meters high and stretches along 16 meters of a wall beneath the Oppian Hill near the Colosseum, features figures and architectural structures over four different levels.

"It's an extraordinary fresco, a city seen from above, with its walls, towers and buildings depicted in perspective," Gualtieri wrote on Instagram. "It's even more incredible to think that it was done almost two thousand years ago, in the Neronian [54-68 AD] or Flavian era [69-96 AD], even before the Baths of Trajan [inaugurated 109 AD]."

Gualtieri added: "There is another masterpiece: the mosaic of the 'Muse and the Philosopher,' that formed part of the decoration of a large hall overlooking the nymphaeum. On the walls, the mosaics depict a grand theatrical scene, featuring statues and real-life figures… Rome continues to surprise us. Every dig adds a piece to our city's extraordinary history."

An on-site museum focused on the Baths of Trajan opened earlier this month; the restoration of the new museum complex was carried out as part of the PNRR-Caput Mundi program, a €500m project funded by the European Union.

[via The Art Newspaper]

Helpful Hints from joeeze: What's the correct order in which to load your [top loading] washing machine?

1) Start with water — the amount you've selected for your load size — and wait till it's all in

2) Add detergent, fabric softener, and whatever else you like to put in (OxiClean, Febreze, etc.)

3) Last, put in the clothes

See how easy?

I only learned this long after I became a regular patron of those banks of washing and drying machines that required a roll of quarters.

Like many (most?) people, I threw in the clothes, added the detergent and turned on the machine, then walked away.

A good mnemonic I made up just for me and you: W.C. as in water closet.

Then think "alphabetical order."

Water, Detergent, Clothes — the D's gotta go in-between, see?

Canvas Browser — 'Infinite Board of Live Websites'

Type a domain, pick a country, and the page opens as a tile on an infinite board — each one a real browser running remotely in that country, so you can watch four news front pages (above) or three Amazon storefronts at once and see how the same site looks elsewhere.

Even the board's layout lives in the URL so you can share the arrangement with anyone.

Free, the way we like it.

[via Dense Discovery]

'Stickworks' — Patrick Dougherty

For over four decades, U.S. artist Patrick Dougherty has been weaving truckloads of willow saplings into more than 300 site-specific "Stickworks" — walk-through towers, arches, and urn-like forms that look grown in place.

[via  Dense Discovery]

MUBI TOP 1,000

Staggering.

This list arrived in the form of an email this morning: I started going through it and added 8 films to my MUBI Watchlist after only viewing the first few screens on the site.

Industry Standard Tools

I scrolled through all 471 tools pending review with the same delight I experienced reading the original Whole Earth Catalog cover to cover — all 448 pages of very small print, every word — when it came out back in 1968.

Of the 471 under review I own 10: 

• Stanley FatMax Tape Measure

• Wiss Snips

• 3M Super 33+ Vinyl Electrical Tape

• Pro Bar Halligan Tool

• Gardena Hose Connectors

• Haws Watering Can

• Welch Allyn Otoscope/Ophthalmoscope

• 3M Tegaderm Transparent Dressing

• Dansko Professional Clog

• RIDGID Heavy-Duty Straight Pipe Wrench

Soon it will be 11: I immediately ordered Pro Gaff Gaffer Tape when it showed up in this list so as to up my gaffer tape game.

So far 3 tools have passed review and become recognized standards.

I love stuff like this!

The 101 Plays Itself

The five lanes of Highway 101 in Los Angeles are turned into a musical instrument: Each car on the live Caltrans camera is a note.

Previously this year: "Crime 101," featured July 10 and September 4.

[via Kottke]

When's the last time you broke a shoelace?

How about "I can't remember" — does that sound about right?

Yesterday, while I was lacing up my running shoes to go out for a run, it occurred to me that my laces looked perfect — no signs of wear or tear — even though I've had the shoes for a fairly long time.

Then I got to thinking about how as a kid it seemed a frequent occurrence, breaking a lace and having to create a makeshift repair or relace through fewer eyelets to make what remained functional.

What's changed in shoelaces?

Why don't they seem to break anymore? 

Inquiring mind wants to know.

Infinite Slop

Kevin Kelly's review:

...............................

Wow, a whole new genre is emerging: real-time AI video generation. Exhibit A is Infinite Slop. Thousands of commentators vote up prompts in response to what is playing, and new video is generated instantly, soliciting more prompts, ad infinitum, in a cycle.

The result is a 24-hour stream of absurd, surreal, bizarre, silly, astounding, meme-maxing video slop from the hive mind that is also weirdly mesmerizing, and even satisfying. Hard to look away. Some bits are genius.

The new ability to generate video as fast as you can watch it will be used in other ways, such as in games, but this infinite slop is the first crude step as performance art. It is two weeks old and already has millions of fans and ads.

...............................

Fair warning: there goes the rest of your life.

I follow 3 dead people on X

And why wouldn't I?

I took a few minutes earlier today to look at the list of 82 people I currently follow on X.

I piped almost all of them aboard before Twitter became X on July 23, 2023.

Before that, just one dead person appeared on that list.

Another died later in 2023 and another in 2024.

When I saw the name of the first dead person back in 2018 — the year he died — I thought to myself, "I really liked that guy," and it occurred to me that if I kept him on my "Following" list, whenever I glanced through the list I'd see his name and smile and recall how great and nice a person he was.

If I deleted him, I'd forget about him and prolly never ever remember him again.

So my "Following" list serves not only to keep track of those whose lives and doings I find interesting, but also as a virtual cemetery.