mental_floss Blog » The Origins of 10 Nicknames 1. Why is Dick from Richard? The name Richard is very old and was popular during the Middle Ages. 2. There are many theories on why Bill became a nickname for William; the most obvious is that it was part of the Middle Ages trend of letter swapping. 3. The name Henry dates back to medieval England. 4. The name Jack dates back to about 1,200 and was originally used as a generic name for peasants. 5. "Dear Chuck" was an English term of endearment and Shakespeare, in Macbeth, used the phrase to refer to Lady Macbeth. 6. The name Margaret has a variety of different nicknames. 7. The name Ted is yet another result of the Old English tradition of letter swapping. 8. Since Medieval times, Harry has been a consistently popular nickname for boys named Henry in England. 9. There are no definitive theories on how Jim became the commonly used nickname for James, but the name dates back to at least the 1820s. 10. Sally was primarily used as a nickname for Sarah in England and France.
Melissa & Phil's Collections of Contrasting Cultures House Call | Apartment Therapy New York Previous image Next image Name: Melissa & PhilLocation: Brooklyn Heights — Brooklyn, New York Our apartment is a 1,000 square foot pre-war in Brooklyn Heights. We do not have a design background. Our Style: Our style is colorful and quirky, a mixture of street finds, travel souvenirs, and the bold art that my husband and I favor. Inspiration: Travel always refreshes our points of view. Favorite Element: Our favorite element is the turquoise green master bedroom. Biggest Challenge: The hallway to the bedrooms is a foot and a half wide, so we have to think twice before we get any furniture. What Friends Say: Visitors remark that the dining chairs don't match. Biggest Embarrassment: Neither of us has the heart to get rid of any books, though in New York, people leave them out on the sidewalk all the time. Proudest DIY: I reupholstered the old piano bench in the hall myself, after spotting it in a ratty state on a sidewalk for $20. Thanks Melissa & Phil!
Napping adventures As her maternity-leave hobby, new mom Adele photographs her baby daughter Mila napping. Oh, the adventures she has! (Thanks, Liz) Sno Wovel As a Montrealer who has shoveled more snow than you can shake a very big stick at, I was intrigued when I first came across a video of this wheeled shovel in action. I live in the suburbs south of Montreal, on a street where there’s a popular bus route; the snow plow can pass my house several times a day during heavy snow falls, repeatedly depositing a compacted mound of snow in my driveway entrance. I bought a Wovel, and what was once a dreaded exercise in futility has now become a looked forward to workout! I’ve been using mine to shovel my walk/driveway as well as my neighbor’s for more than a year, and I’ve been beating the crap out of the thing.
Magic Trackpad Best Answer: Well, for me personally, I never unpacked my Magic Mouse after working with my Magic Trackpad for a Well, for me personally, I never unpacked my Magic Mouse after working with my Magic Trackpad for a few hours. However, that's subjective and merely my own opinion. Battery life is also not that great with the Trackpad.
cool-playing-card-decks from brainpickings.org by Maria Popova Soviet Mayans, typographic treats, and what mathematical functions have to do with the sexism of the sixties. What’s not to love about playing cards? They are the perfect intersection of design, playtime and intellectual calculation. Today, we look at seven particularly creative, quirky and downright outlandish decks that inject extra aesthetic indulgence and fun into any card game. As we raved on Twitter a few months ago, MAD DECK by Özlem Ölçer may just be the most gorgeous deck of playing cards ever designed. Stunning custom illustrations grace the backs of the cards, like these gems found on the joker. Yes, we’re a little (“little”…) obsessed with Marshall McLuhan over here. As the story goes, these cards were the inspiration for Brian Eno’s Oblique Strategies deck of dilemmas. One Deck of Playing Cards by designer Tauba Auerbach comes as a dual series — one based on mathematical equations and one on geometric shapes. In short, absolutely brilliant. via via Share on Tumblr
Groups want to paste 21st century Post-it notes on Grand Rapids attractions G.F. Korreck | Thursday, June 24, 2010 To boost the profile of metro Grand Rapids as tech savvy, two local organizations are eyeing the possibility of placing QR-coded signs at the city's main attractions so tourists and visitors can use their smartphones to call up everything from a simple blurb to a multimedia show to learn more about what they are viewing. "Think of it as the 21st century version of the Post-it note," says Douglas Lang, a founding member of the Grand Rapids Technology Partnership, a grassroots organization that wants to foster the growth of technology in the metropolitan area. Lang and his partner Will Hartwell say it is possible to create a self-guided walking tour of the core city using QR code technology that would promote tourism and further the perception of Grand Rapids as a regional technology hub. Lang and Hartwell point out there is a significant amount of work involved in creating a QR code-based tour, but they are confident it can be done. G.F. Photos:
Homepage | New North A New Low for Laptop Pricing: $37 There are cheap computers and then there are cheap computers, but $37 might just take the proverbial cake. A persistent eBay listing has just that on offer, with the bargain basement price in question netting you a 7-inch netbook with Wi-Fi running Windows CE. Don't plan on editing your next HD blockbuster film or running Crysis on these babies' underpowered components, but for less than four Alexander Hamiltons you get an actually functional machine running on a 300 MHz ARM processor with 128MB RAM and 2GB storage. You also get a 7-inch screen displaying at 800 x 480 resolution, an ethernet port, two USB ports, an SD slot, Wi-Fi and a 9-volt AC adapter. The catch is that these laptops and internals are either factory seconds or items that failed quality control tests. Would you consider experimenting with a $37 laptop, and if so what would you use it for? [via Wired]