Month: June 2012

Saturday Matinee – Cat Fail Sail, Mechanical Principles, & Tom Waits

[Tip ‘o the tarboosh to Mrmacs who found it here and insisted that we post it.]

“Mechanical Principles” – Simple gear actions from 1930 by Ralph Steiner, set to classical music. From the UToobage comments:

Some of the mechanisms featured:
0:16 Positive displacement pump
0:26 Four-stroke engine piston;
0:50 Simple steam engines or pumps;
2:00 Steam engine reversing gear as on ships;
3:10 Differential gear;
4:05 Worm gear;
4:10 Archimedes screw;
5:22 Geneva gear;
5:32 Pawl and ratchet;
5:55 Grasshopper escapement;
7:15 Scotch yokes;
8:07 Positive displacement pump (same as 0:16);
9:29 Wheel and disc integrator used in analog computers;
9:54 Possibly a turbine.

The only other soundtrack I can think of that might go along with that vid would be something by this guy:

Tom Waits’ Private Listening Party. I’m there if you need to get in touch with me. Have a great weekend, be back here tomorrow.

The .Gif Friday Post No.235 – 3 Polaroid LOLS & The First .GIF



16 June was the 25th Birthday of GIFs, according to Fast Company. We missed it, but we’re going to make up for the oversight.

“Choosy programmers choose GIF,” quipped Steve Wilhite of CompuServe, after he created the GIF image compression file format in 1987. It allowed for sequenced upload delays necessary for embedded animations. There’s a nice history of the now ubiquitous .gif on Daily Dot.

Animations above via Cari Vander Yacht. Tip o’ the tarboosh to OddMan for the GIF Birthday link, and here’s the Tacky Raccoons GIF Archive that includes Bunk’s Originals.

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UPDATE: In the interview with Daily Dot (linked above) Steve Wilhite said that he thought the first .GIF animation was of an airplane. This is one of the first that I ever captured, several computers ago:

Here it is, all blowed up, in 5 frames of pixellated glory:

Is this the first .gif animation Wilhite was referring to? I don’t know, but it’s a contender.

[Update 2: Fixed broken link to Daily Dot.]

Look. There.

FAMOUS CRYSTAL CAVE
Pennsylvania
Ice Cream Cone Formation

This great Natural Underground wonder, discovered 1871, is located a short distance off U.S. 222 bertween Allentown and Reading or via U.S. 22. Visited by thousands of persons annually. Trained Guides, Beautiful illuminations. Picnic Park.

Visited by thousands. [Found here.]

Undulatus Asperatus – Holy Crap Clouds

No new cloud type has been officially classified since 1951 but Gavin Pretor-Pinney who runs the Cloud Appreciation Society believes that there is a new cloud that deserves international recognition. He calls it asperatus, which means rough in Latin. [via]

Top:  Schiehallion, Scotland.
Middle:  Cedar Rapids, Iowa, US.
Bottom:  Hanmer Springs, South Island, New Zealand. [Previously posted here.]

Apparently the unusual cloud formation is benign, not related to precipitation, violent weather or mass extinctions.

Saturday Matinee – Sugar Pie DeSanto, Hubert Sumlin, Sunnyland Slim, Willie Dixon & Clifton James

Here’s Sugar Pie DeSanto‘s version of Jimmy Reed‘s 1955 hit “Baby What You Want Me To Do,” backed by  Hubert Sumlin/Guitar, Sunnyland Slim/Piano, Willie Dixon/Bass & Clifton James/Drums (1964).

Here’s some more: Hubert Sumlin, Sunnyland Slim and Willie Dixon, with “Come On Home Baby.” (1964)

The Chicago Blues Allstars (undated) featuring Willie Dixon/Bass, Lafeyete Leake/Piano, Lee Jackson/Guitar, Clifton James/Drums.

Got it? Good. Have a great weekend, folks.