Placetique

The Anti-TED Talk

Jon Reades — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 16:31:43 +0000

After a few months back on the conference speaking/attendance circuit, I’ve had something of a refresher course in the joys of academic meetings and decided it was time to write up the range of feelings — from irritation to rage — that have been stirred up as a result. I’m not going to name names …

Understanding the Financial Crisis

Jon Reades — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 13:52:16 +0000

Although this is definitely a case of ‘over-egging the pudding’, it’s nonetheless a very nice, extended riff on how contemporary financial markets are effectively operating without any kind of buffers or controls and why this is leading to huge problems in such a complex system. vimeo.com/31210471

Place, Memory & Myth: Some Reflections on September 11th

Jon Reades — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 14:23:45 +0000

Unless you resolutely avoid reading the news then it can hardly . have . escaped . your . attention that we’re coming up on the 10th anniversary of the September 11th attacks. Since I was living in New York at the time of the attacks and watched the towers collapse from my roof in Brooklyn Heights, this …

Wild Food from the Green/Brown-Belt

Jon Reades — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 11:33:11 +0000

One of the things that I love about London is the easy access to relatively ‘wild’ (i.e. un-managed) areas from parts of the city that are wholly urban. We owe this, of course, to the existence of the green belt which, even as it allows me to scavenge for fresh, free food (see recipes below), …

Microsoft’s Table-Top Computing: Shades of Mobile 5

Jon Reades — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 13:19:53 +0000

I know why I keep expecting Microsoft to produce something useful: they periodically manage to pull themselves together and release an Operating System that is a measurable improvement over its predecessors (e.g. the Windows 98 to XP to 7 trajectory). However, for the most part they have a real knack for developing (or buying) a …

Clan of the Cave Bear: Herzog goes 3D

Jon Reades — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 09:53:59 +0000

The last sentence I ever expected to hear was “Let’s go see the 3D Werner Herzog film…” [Vanity Fair] Like everyone who hasn’t managed to steer clear of a theatre entirely for the past couple of years, I’ve seen a few 3D films — Coraline, Up and, I must confess, Avatar — but Werner …

Robot Wars: Android Off-line Mapping Face-Off

Jon Reades — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 10:29:09 +0000

I’ve got a few trips coming up to places where either: a) I don’t want to use data because it will be expensive (i.e. America), or b) I won’t be able to use data because I will have no reception (i.e. Skye). However, in both cases I would like to be able to use my …

Problems of Scale

Jon Reades — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 11:51:52 +0000

So on Friday I went to hear my supervisor, Peter Hall, on a panel discussion with Hank Ditmar (of the Prince’s Foundation) and Will Alsop (famous architect/urban designer). The title for the discussion was “The Object, the City & the Region“, which didn’t seem to have a whole lot to do with the actual discussion …

Twins terrorise New York

Jon Reades — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 10:57:20 +0000

I have to admit loving this one — what a way to mess with people’s heads. The background is here. And for a higher-quality version than the one on YouTube, watch this.

Slow-Motion Mortgage Wreck

Jon Reades — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 18:00:31 +0000

Over at Naked Capitalism, Yves is talking about the risk of default in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. As someone without a mortgage or a home part of me is kind of enjoying the whole debacle since I rather foolishly half-believe that I can sit on the sidelines and watch this slow-motion wreck wind its …