Author Archive for Merriweather

UK mag: How it Works

Published by
Merriweather
at Aug 20, 2010 in The Library. 0 Comments

On my return trip from the GamesCom game convention in Cologne, I picked up some chocolate treats and magazines for the Derringdos. In Germany I found the new Kinder Joy egg. It has a white chocolate cream filling that you scoop out with a plastic tab (picture here). During my brief layover at Heathrow, I found my new favorite (or should that be favourite) magazine, How it Works. It covers almost 1000 individual science and technology subjects, in a concise and straightforward style. This issue’s short articles included Super Earths, laser power, massive mining machines and the IKAROS solar sail. Directions on how to mod a Nerf Maverick increasing its range by 60% sold me on a subscription. They have a special offer for US subscribers at the moment. Check it out here.

In Cologne for GamesCom

Published by
Merriweather
at Aug 19, 2010 in The Map Room. 0 Comments

This week I traveled to Cologne, Germany for GamesCom, the world’s biggest video game convention. Business meetings kept me from exploring much of the city, but I did manage to visit the massive 13th century cathedral and meet up with my old friend R2. Famous for its beer, Cologne is also home to Europe’s largest underground garage. Popular Mechanics used my picture of the  Rheinauhafen Parking Tunnel to help illustrate ”The World’s 18 Strangest Garages” Read their story here and check out number 11.

Travel Books vs. Travel Apps

Published by
Merriweather
at Aug 10, 2010 in London and The Library. 2 Comments

Saturday’s Financial Times had a feature on the downturn in the guidebook publishing and the rise of travel applications. The FT likes “augmented reality” tools that let you scan the horizon with your phone’s camera and see hotels pointed out over the screen or take a snapshot of a museum’s painting to get its history. I’ve played with some of these apps and found them slow and finicky. And the the information provided isn’t usually what I’m looking for. My iPhone’s GPS map and web browser are the only apps I regularly use for travel help. Even with those, we still carry a traditional map and usually a walking tour book or two. On our summer trip to London we used Andrew Duncan‘s Favourite London Walks (we have been using his books for years) and an old copy of Walks in London, written in the late 19th century by Augustus Hare.

Lego Games Summer Tour

Published by
Merriweather
at Jul 24, 2010 in St. Louis and The Toy Box. 0 Comments

Lego has a new line of boardgames that they’ve taken on the road for a Summer demo tour. We caught up with them in St. Louis during our hometown visit. Visitors can try out large scale versions of the games. All of the games have some appeal, especially Creationary, a Pictionary clone where you use building bricks instead of pencil and paper. With all of the Lego bricks we have, we’ll probably take the game concepts and build our own versions of the games. It’s worth a visit if you love Legos and boardgames like we do. Tour dates are here.

London’s hidden Egyptology museum

Published by
Merriweather
at Jul 21, 2010 in London. 0 Comments

A few blocks away from the British Museum’s famous mummies lies a wonderful little archaeology museum on the University College, London campus. When Indian Jones says “that belongs in a museum” to Beloq, the Petrie is the museum you imagine he is referring to. With its mishmash collection of Egyptian jewelry, pottery and artifacts in old display cases, wandering the aisles was like exploring an ancient tomb. We were surprised to find ancient dolls, hedgehog statues and the Tarkhan Dress (photo here, description here), the oldest garment in the world.

Mudlarking on the Thames

Published by
Merriweather
at Jul 19, 2010 in London. 0 Comments

In Victorian London, a Mudlark was a child who dug in the muddy Thames shore for valuables. With raw sewage being dumped into the river, it was a nasty occupation. Today, the Thames is one of the cleanest metropolitan rivers in Europe. On our trip to London, Nettie and I walked the bank at low tide and found stems from 17th century disposable clay pipes. No digging necessary! There are several access points on the South Bank between Waterloo and Blackfriars bridges. If you’re interested in the history of the Thames visit the Thames Discovery Programme site. They offer guided tours of the shore and hands on archaeology events.

A week in London

Published by
Merriweather
at Jul 16, 2010 in London. 0 Comments

We’re back from our adventure in London! It was a week of walking tours, mudlarking, Roman ruins, Egyptian artifacts, owl training, sword fights, sandwiches and Legos (the photo above is from Legoland Windsor). We’ll be posting some highlights from our trip over the next few days.

Ice hands

Published by
Merriweather
at Jun 23, 2010 in The Laboratory. 0 Comments

Peabody’s first summer project: ice hands! He filled surgical gloves with water, tied them off and left them in the freezer. Once frozen, he tore off the gloves. They’ll make a funky centerpiece to a family cocktail party. Next up, Jello hands!

Peabody’s Movie Theatre

Published by
Merriweather
at Jun 18, 2010 in The Classroom and The Workshop. 0 Comments

During the last week of school, Nettie and Peabody brought home a year’s worth of school projects. Here Peabody is holding his movie theatre featuring the diaster film “The Xsplozin.” The theatre is a shoe box with scenes drawn on a scroll. His summary of the scene here: “Some dudes are playing four-square and suddenly the ball is going so fast that it’s flaming. It shoots into the air and hits a plane. The plane crashes and then there is lightening, a tornado, rain and a tree on fire. Did I mention the tidal wave?”

A History of the World in 100 Objects

Published by
Merriweather
at Jun 7, 2010 in The Map Room. 0 Comments

I’m listening to the BBC Radio 4 podcast, A History of the World in 100 Objects. Each of the 100 15-minute episodes, tells the story of one item from the British Museum’s collection. The program, written and narrated by Museum Director Neil MacGregor, covers two million years of human history. I like how he has grouped famous and less known objects into weekly themes. This week’s theme, the movement of goods and ideas from 400 – 700AD, includes not only the Sutton Hoo Helmet but also a roof tile from Korea. I learn something new from each episode like where Ramesses II (seen above in a photo I took a few years ago) got that hole in his chest. It was not, as I suspected, the result of a French bullet. The podcast is available on iTunes. Check out the official website here for more information.

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