Thoughts on paper: the potted history of the Post-it note (via Kottke), dovetails neatly into the artwork of Paul Davis, fashion magazine favourite and master of the simple sketched observation (be warned - his (beautifully-designed) website features a riot of pop-up windows). From Post-it notes to bank notes: here are two on-line galleries of currency imagery (1, 2). posted by things at 10:12

Food for thought (or fodder for obsessive collectors):


posted by things at 14:57

Big, powerful computers always look the same: the very epitome of modernist chic. The current fastest computer in the world, a Japanese supercomputer designed for weather modelling, is no exception. Step back in time, however, and a similar aesthetic prevails. posted by things at 09:08

things 16 is shaping up with several pieces on collecting - physical, digital or even imaginary, so here's a useful (and absolutely fascinating) article on the history of the hard disk in American Scientist:


The cost of storing a megabyte of data has fallen from $10,000/megabyte to a tenth of a penny - 'well below the cost of paper'. You can visit the Magnetic Disk Heritage Center for more information, or ask yourself the question, How Much Information is There In the World?. posted by things at 10:02

Feeling listless? For an inspirational kick, try this. Only joking. The Museum of Conceptual Art has a more depressing spin on things. Things Other People Accomplished When They Were Your Age will surely make your Monday morning just that little bit bleaker (via the morning news). posted by things at 11:10

The thumbnail is a wonderful thing. Aaargh!
posted by things at 08:58

‘Ego-surfing’ – entering your name into a popular search engine - is a good way of checking up on burgeoning global fame. ‘things magazine’ throws up 2,540 references to yours truly: but how many of these were really about us? Even more galling is the plethora of sites with 'things' in the title - some 11,362 of them. Biting our tongues, we decided to look at some of these URLs in more detail - the other things magazines.

To start at the beginning. First Things is a journal of Religion and Public Life. At the other end of the scale is Ugly Things, an on-line zine specialising in the 60s garage rock scene. 'things' seems to be quite a punk word - 10 Things (subtitled '10 Things Jesus wants you to know') claims to be one of the oldest zines in the world, started in 1976 at punk's conception and still going strong. Then the publishing life of 'things' takes a stranger turn. Dead Things magazine is a UK-based 'horror humour' magazine. 'It looks like Cindy Flowers won't be cheerin' for the Rosemont Park Rams come fall.' Read what happens next...

Back to religion. Stranger Things magazine is now on its farewell issue. Billing itself as 'the love child of pop culture and ultimate reality', Stranger Things appears to be an attempt to eke higher meaning from films and pieces on contemporary christianity. The strapline of Higher Things magazine is 'Dare to be Lutheran'. Staying with the straight and narrow, Greater Things magazine is slightly less conventional. The article title 'Prince Charles - Anti-Christ or Davidic Servant?' should give you an idea of where it's at.

At last, some welcome sanity. The now defunct Thoughts about Things magazine is a sort of online People's Friend - all crossword puzzles and short, aimless articles. And we'll wager you didn't know that Good Things magazine is the publication of the United States Air Force Academy (with its spectacular, SOM-designed desert campus). April '02 is the Month of the Military Child. Finally, Crafts'n'Things will presumably help you make things from sticky-backed plastic. Which is a very good place to end. posted by things at 11:21

The Morning News is back. Thank heavens.

And here is a timely Wired article on found objects. posted by things at 16:09