It's strange to realize you're provincial, even though your province is New York City. Last week I was giving directions to a British tourist on the street and said "…that's about ten blocks away" when she startled me by saying "We don't do 'blocks'—what's a 'block?'"

Afterwards I recalled London's spaghetti-like cartography and realized that, of course, 'blocks' would make no sense there. I subsequently asked a Londoner friend how they relate distances for urban directions, and he said they either use landmarks, pubs (ha), terms like "three streets down" or meters.

I'm reminded of this by looking at the work of Geoff Boeing, a PhD candidate in Urban Planning at U.C. Berkeley. Boeing is a fan of Allan Jacob's 1993 "Great Streets," which asked the question "Which are the world's best streets, and what are the physical, designable characteristics that make them great?" to find out, Jacobs created one-square-mile maps of 50 different cities around the world, allowing the reader to easily see the visual differences:

For his dissertation, Boeing has expanded on Jacobs' work by coding up a Python-based package called OSMnx. It allows you to "download a street network from OpenStreetMap for anywhere in the world in just one line of code," making it easy to compare, at the same scale, different layouts. Some examples:

The top row depicts the late 19th century orthogonal grids of Portland, Oregon and San Francisco, California. Portland's famously compact walkable blocks are clearly visible but its grid is interrupted by the Interstate 405 which tore through the central city in the 1960s. In the bottom row, the business park in suburban Irvine, California demonstrates the coarse-grained, modernist, auto-centric urban form that characterized American urbanization in the latter half of the 20th century. In stark contrast, Rome has a fine-grained, complex, organic form evolved over millennia of self-organization and urban planning.

Above, we see New York, Paris, Tunis, and Atlanta. Manhattan's rectangular grid originates from the New York Commissioners' Plan of 1811. You can see Broadway weaving diagonally across it. At the center of the Paris square mile lies the Arc de Triomphe, from which Baron Haussmann's streets radiate outward, remnants of his massive demolition and renovation of 19th century Paris. At the center of the Tunis square mile lies its Medina, with a complex urban fabric that evolved over the middle ages. Finally, Atlanta is typical of many American downtowns: fairly coarse-grained, disconnected, and surrounded by freeways.

You can read more by Boeing and/or start using OSMnx here.

As much as we all dig Capri Sun (don't lie), pouches aren't a great way to enjoy your morning coffee. No heady aroma, not a lot of temperature control. Astronauts aboard low-gravity vessels have traditionally had to make do with the sub-par ergonomics of liquid sacks at tea time, but thanks to researchers at Portland State, space tea is now more relaxing while staying NASA-approved.

The Space Cup was designed by Mark Weislogel, Andrew Wollman, John Graf and Donald Pettit, based on a prototype first tinkered with by Pettit way back in 2008, while stationed as an astronaut on the International Space Station. In order to serve a beverage in the open air (and without risking runaway droplets) the cup uses a unique shape tailored to the properties of fluid dynamics in low-g, material interaction, capillary flow, and an understanding of molecular attraction in water. 

The result is a bonkers little device that looks like a cross between an orchid and an alien sex toy, but the upshot is hardly comical. What started as a fun application of university math has made room for reconsideration of how fluids are used in microgravity environments, and might even shift future space travel design. Pretty exciting stuff, if you're into that kind of thing. And if you really are, you can buy a Space Cup of your own and tell people your tea is out of this world.

Japan's NHK network has an educational children's television show called "Pythagora Switch." The program is meant to nurture the imaginations of children aged four through six by introducing them to "mysterious structures, interesting ideas and various phenomena," and to that end the segments are always bookended with short videos of Rube Goldberg machines.

YouTuber KeN KeN has compiled many of these interstitials on his channel. It's tough to describe what these machines are like without watching them, so we've pulled a bunch for you. They're paradoxically more simple and yet more complex than we're using to seeing with Western Rube Goldberg machines, and because they're so short—most are less than 30 seconds—they're addictively watchable:

If you've not guessed, the type/single character that each machine ends up spelling out is the show's title/first character.

There are tons more of these videos here.

Via The Awesomer

See Also:

Mind-Bending, Magnet-Integrating Rube Goldberg Machine

Discovery Communications (Nasdaq: DISCA, DISCB, DISCK) satisfies curiosity and engages superfans with a portfolio of premium nonfiction, sports and kids programming brands. Reaching 3 billion cumulative viewers across pay-TV and free-to-air platforms in more than 220 countries and territories, Discovery's portfolio includes the global brands Discovery Channel, TLC, Investigation Discovery,

Following a leak earlier this month, all we had was a grainy snippet of video; but now Boston Dynamics has released the full video of Handle, their wheeled, figure-skating, jumping robot. Here it is shown doing a lot more than in the leaked clip:

What's significant about this design is the wheels for feet. With Boston Dynamics' other robots, which walk on either two or four legs, there is a lot of engineering required; on the other hand Handle, which "uses many of the same dynamics, balance and mobile manipulation principles? found in the quadruped and biped robots we build," only requires "about 10 actuated joints, [making it] significantly less complex," the company writes.

"Wheels are efficient on flat surfaces while legs can go almost anywhere: by combining wheels and legs Handle can have the best of both worlds."

Some other stats of interest:

- The 'bot is 6.5 feet tall
- It has a 4-foot vertical leap(!)
- It tops out at 9 miles per hour
- It has a 15-mile range on a single battery charge

You'll note that in the video they showed it going down stairs, but not up; I wonder if it jumps to ascend staircases?

Like many neurotic aesthetes, I use different gear when I'm hosting and when I'm by myself, and and drinking is no exception. Despite the best efforts of talented and patient bartender friends, my tastes in drinking are decidedly utilitarian (read: lazy) and I'm not likely to break out a Tom Dixon-y cocktail shaker on my own when I can just muddle along in a glass. I'm not proud of my over-poured Old Fashioneds, but most well-designed barware feels like the haptic equivalent of clocks without numbers and the well-marked alternatives often feel crappy. Enter HOST, a design project I wish were real. 

Designed by Ryan Hume, the HOST shaker is a drinker's multi-tool that doesn't lose sight of the clean barware edge. It incorporates measurements in both cap and glass, and a reversible silicone citrus juicer and strainer built in. There's also a bottle opener in the base, which seems like it might potentially be tricky to clean, but I appreciate the gesture.

Most importantly, it seems like it would get me to make myself less boring or regrettable drinks without getting out the crystal.

The new NOLO VR Motion Tracking System is engineered to provide an affordable, yet immersive VR experience and turn any mobile headset into a room-scale VR system. Powered by Po-larTraq, LYRobotix's proprietary spatial positioning technology, NOLO not only enhances Google Cardboard games and other mobile-only VR experiences, but the tracking system opens up a whole new world of VR gaming by integrating with Steam VR, Valve's popular game distribution service, by working in conjunction with Riftcat's VRidge.

Every guy has seen this: You're in a public restroom, some dude finishes up at the urinal, does not wash his hands and simply exits—pulling the door open with his hand, of course.

In a movie theater or restaurant it's just gross, but in a medical environment, door handles are a worrisome source of germ transmission. Thus a host of companies sell foot-operated door-opening mechanisms, primarily for doors that don't have latch bolts. The StepNpull, alternately branded as the ToePull, resemble angle irons with an extra lip that's serrated:

The Clean Escape and the Footpull have you open the door by hooking underneath with your toes:

The Toe Opener lets you decide whether to go over or under:

As does the DoorWave, which is a bit designy-er:

All of the designs above are simple pulls. But this elaborate German-engineered design, which is connected internally to the latch bolt of a conventional door, is probably the sexiest:

Created by inventor Sascha Klein, it's called the Metiba foot-operated door opener. And yes, it can be used both ways:

This is the second piece of furniture I ever built. It's a duplicate of Gerrit Rietveld's Red & Blue Chair, designed in 1919. I built mine in the early '90s, before the internet, and I found a book in the library that had a drawing very similar to the one below:

From that I broke out an architect's scale and was able to reverse engineer the dimensions, then construct the chair. I was shocked at how comfortable it is, being made out of hard wood; the ergonomics are just perfect.

For the frame Rietveld used beech, which I couldn't get my hands on, so I milled some Poplar down. For the seat and backrest I used the same material he had, plywood (1/2" in my case). I painted mine blue and purple because I thought it looked better.

When I was building it, one thing I couldn't tell by looking at the diagram was how the seat and backrest were connected to the frame. I ended up drilling directly through them and into the crossmembers, then gluing in dowels. It was a real hack job; not only ugly, but they broke when a heavyset friend of mine sat in the chair and I had to reglue them.

I recently did some online searches to find out how they were originally joined, and could find nothing. In every photo I see, the seat/back joinery is obscured.

But the other day I passed the Cassina showroom in SoHo. They've licensed the chair and have one on the floor. I went inside and the staff ignored me while I got down on my hands and knees to peer under it and see how both were connected. I was dying to know what wondrous, magical joinery technique Rietveld had employed.

I was surprised to find it was nothing more than L-brackets, the kind you get for a few cents at your local hardware store, that were slightly bent to suit the angle. Here's what I mean:

Anyways, I couldn't find this information online, so now I'm posting it in the hopes that the next person who searches for it will find this. I cannot legally recommend that you knock the chair off, but if you want to build one for your own edification it's fun and you will be surprised at how comfy the chair is to sit in, even for long stretches.

We are seeking an experienced footwear designer to design footwear that meets trends and leverages brand DNA of Style, Performance and Green for the Sport Leisure category. This Senior Designer must bring the seasonal creative direction to life into the product briefs including functional, cost and aesthetic objectives.

One of the sillier devices from the 1960s Batman TV show was the Batshield. This was a folding, bulletproof Lexan shield that somehow fit into Batman's belt:

Interestingly, a group of mechanical engineers at Brigham Young University have actually created a working bulletproof shield that folds. Using patterns from origami and 12 layers of Kevlar, here's what they came up with--and it's good enough to stop 9mm rounds as well as .44 and .357 slugs:

The unnamed shield is currently in the prototype stage, with the developers working with law enforcement to continue testing. Should it reach production, it's not difficult to imagine this being purchased, somewhat depressingly, by schools across America.

Can you make furniture for elder care spaces vibrant enough to fit in a hip flat? The new Button Sofa for Swedese proves it might be possible. Given the goal to create ergonomic, user-friendly and lively furniture for public spaces (think hospitals), Front Design took the idea and ran. 

The modular sofa system incorporates large wooden buttons to allow different accessory attachments, and to facilitate cleaning. Customizable additions of padding, sheepskin, storage and tables allow for personal and space specific tailoring. The curved wood frame references Swedese's furniture history, while the narrow seat and wide arms meet the needs of older sitters. 

The sofa launched at this month's Stockholm Furniture Fair, and it shows that sitting around with an older generation certainly doesn't have to be boring. 

Retro designs have been successful with cars from the VW Bug to the Ford Mustang; but will the nostalgic approach work with a cell phone? HMD Global Oy, the Finnish manufacturer that's licensed the Nokia brand, thinks so. This week they've relaunched Nokia's iconic 3310, which was first designed way back in 2000.

The original 3310

It's a bizarre move to be sure. Though the design has been tweaked, the overall form factor woudn't have looked out of place 17 years ago. The screen is just 2.4", the camera just 2MP, and though there's an MP3 player, the storage is just 16MB (admittedly expandable to 32GB with a MicroSD card). And it only works on 2G networks; in America, AT&T shut theirs down earlier this year, whereas Verizon and T-Mobile still support the aging standard.

The new 3310

In the plus column, the phone is cheap at €49 (USD $52). It has an FM radio, for the emergency-minded and "preppers" crowd. And the battery life is damn near absurd: 22 hours of talk time on a single charge, and will survive on standby for "up to a month."

Then there are features (and a lack of features) that a minority of folks might consider a plus: Physical buttons, which I admit I miss, and the complete inability to check Facebook or Twitter.

You may remember that Punkt did something similar last year, releasing their Jasper-Morrison-designed MP 01 phone, which can only call and text. The MP 01 runs $295 and managed to sell out all of their pre-orders. Do you think the new 3310 will do as well? Would any of you consider getting one, and if so, why?

Today, more than ever, design is vital for sustainability objectives. Working with Coca-Cola we created a best-in-class, global super-lightweight water bottle. With 30% reduced plastic and 100% recyclable, the bottle requires less energy to make and transport than previous bottle designs. Combined with an innovative “arrow” design, the bottle encourages consumers to twist and compact the bottle; reducing environmental impact.

Three years ago we started prototyping a new kind of incubation as a service. Not a building filled to the brim with young guys and their high tech, high growth app-building ventures, but instead, a kind of service that comes to you—and gets plugged into centers, workspaces, labs, makerspaces and bars. One of our first programs was in a bar called Crate in Hackney Wick, East London. 

The service is called Upstarter, and we help creative producers, designers, theater makers, social innovators, and other folks with new ideas to develop great entrepreneurial muscles rapidly, while building an audience base and effectively prototyping their business. Typically these sort of people and ideas are not being supported by existing incubators who tend to focus more on scalable technology applications and services. In just six evenings, we got people off the starting blocks and in front of potential customers. 

The tools we make to work with our entrepreneurs.

We've worked in many different spaces and places, and that's what we love to bring— 'incubation for the rest of us'—delivered in places where we are. And it's a non-profit organization, not a typical Silicon Valley style VC. This all started out at the UK Design Council with emerging technology startups. We then kicked the idea around at Carnegie Mellon University's Schools of Design & Architecture with the aim being to bring a little entrepreneurial opportunity to their students.

Now Upstarter runs a range of short and longer-term programs. We initiate events and do lots and lots of face-to-face mentoring. Our mentoring continues with some amazing startups such as Technikio, Museum in a Box, Circumstance, Mayfly.... and we have been lucky to work at Fab Lab Barcelona, Machines Room in London, Pervasive Media Studio in Bristol and many other partners. 

We work with people exploring whole new technologies, new forms of books for example and new forms of business.

We are starting to extend our work with others, and a trip to NYC in February gave Upstarter the chance to reconnect with like-minded folk in the US, including Made In the Lower East Side (MiLES), Brooklyn Fashion and Design Accelerator and Civic Hall. We hope to return soon and bring some of our design-led, entrepreneurial support to micro business owners that are trying out new things, often combining their creative talents with solid intentions around positive social impact.

Photo credit Margaux Carron www.lacabinedemargaux.com

We know that our future economy is not only going to come from Silicon Valley but needs to be home grown around the world. Upstarter isn't doing this any of this alone. Instead we're just one part of a network of DIY enthusiasts, makers, designers and social innovators—a global community, a movement even, that could help transform economies. We're excited to help support people to make that happen.

Learn more at Upstarterincubator.com and follow along on twitter at @upstarting

Lead image photo credit Max McClure  - www.maxmcclure.com

This is not about the current debate on manufacturing. This is about people learning to make things with their hands.

This image is of the tool department of the E. L. Wilson Hardware Company, Beaumont, TX. and comes from the book "The Modern Hardware Store" edited by Carl W. Dipman 1929.

Years ago the Times ran an article called "A Nation That's Losing Its Toolbox." If you haven't read it, you should. More recently, Doug Stowe's constantly updated Wisdom of the Hands blog is all about how we are falling short of teaching our kids craft. Reading both of these gives you a sense of the loss of craft skills, the effects on the economy and what happens to our general national psyche and self-identity when those kids who never had shop class grow up.

Some of the points raised by Times writer Michael Falco weren't very persuasive to me. He mentioned that cooking shows and DIY shows are very popular, but he didn't seem to know what to do with that fact. He described it as wistful nostalgia. To me, it's striking that although these shows are ostensibly about craft, they're less about doing it yourself and more about consuming craft. He also doesn't mention some of the root causes of the decline in craft skills, like the increase in the work week and the disappearance of leisure time. As a nation we want to be craftsmen, but many people don't have the time and have lost the inclination to get their hands dirty. Falco also doesn't mention that a lot of the things people used to build or repair have become too inexpensive and too hard to repair to justify the time.

The article notes that many tool customers are immigrants, and suggest this is further evidence of the loss of skill in the mainstream. But, at least in the largest cities, crafts were always dominated by immigrants. Even as far back as Duncan Phyfe, who was born in Scotland, immigrant craft labor was pretty common. Still, the article does raise important points, like how can we revive a manufacturing base when as a nation we get further and further away from the notion that we can make stuff.

_______________________

This "Tools & Craft" section is provided courtesy of Joel Moskowitz, founder of Tools for Working Wood, the Brooklyn-based catalog retailer of everything from hand tools to Festool; check out their online shop here. Joel also founded Gramercy Tools, the award-winning boutique manufacturer of hand tools made the old-fashioned way: Built to work and built to last.

This article originally appeared on Redshift, an Autodesk publication dedicated to designers, engineers, builders, and makers that explores the future of making things, shares inspiring stories of innovation, and offers practical advice to help businesses succeed.

When people ask Orange County Choppers Lead Designer Jason Pohl what he does for a living, he says: "Well, I draw pictures of motorcycles, and then I color them in. So, in a way, I get paid to color." Pohl, if you couldn't tell, isn't afraid to have a little fun at his own expense.

What Pohl does is actually much more elaborate, involving research and development, conceptual sketching, 3D modeling, and photorealistic rendering of design ideas. And once client-approved designs are ready for fabrication, Pohl moves on to the CNC programming and machining of the unique, complex components that comprise a one-of-a-kind bike from Orange County Choppers (OCC).

Even if your motorcycle knowledge isn't all that vast, OCC is likely on your radar. The motorcycle manufacturer and lifestyle brand's custom-built bikes have been featured on the reality show American Chopper and the eponymous CMT show Orange County Choppers. OCC's designs, as Pohl will tell you, get pretty "out there." One of the company's most famous bikes, designed for the opening of its Beijing showroom, is wrapped in a 10-foot-long golden dragon with 3D-printed parts.

A rendering of one of Jason Pohl's projects. Courtesy OC Choppers.

Jason Pohl drawing on a Wacom tablet. Courtesy OC Choppers.

For Pohl, an art-school graduate who began his career as a video game animator, the transition to custom bikes presented itself as an opportunity to make lasting art. "I wanted to make something that I could pull out of a garage 30 years from now; rip off the cover; and be like, 'It's still cool,'" he says. "And that's one thing that choppers are: They're timeless. They're long, they're chrome, they're bold, and they're unique."

Here, he speaks about motorcycles, art, giant elk skulls, and the exhilaration of making things.

How would you describe your general approach to design?
Complete chaos, mayhem, not really organized, not really methodical.

Do you sketch, or do you start everything in the computer?
I sketch. I'm a fine artist. My background is in painting and drawing, so I start every project with a No. 2 pencil, the cheaper the better; maybe a stick of charcoal if I'm feeling frisky; and paper. It's really just quick conceptual sketches, and I just blast out, like, 10 in a row. Sometimes, it's half a bike; sometimes, it's just a headlight or a frame. Then, when I get something that I like, I zero in on it and take a picture of that one. Then I'll go into Photoshop or SketchBook Pro, and I'll start drawing it and adding to it—add color to it real quick.

Jason Pohl on the dragon bike sent to clients in Beijing. Courtesy OC Choppers.

What's your favorite part of the design and manufacturing process?
My favorite part is definitely the beginning—the initial talk, the initial handshake. You kind of get nervous, like, "I don't know if I can pull this off." And it reminds me of Little League when I was kid, and everyone is watching. You get in the batter's box, and the pitcher is in the windup, and here comes the ball, and you have the feeling kind of like butterflies; your nerves get going, and you're like, "Okay, let's do this." Then, you just shut your eyes and swing.

What's your least favorite part of the process?
Saying goodbye to the project when it's done. I understand it's a business—trust me, I get it. I have a mortgage to pay, and we've got to make money, and, no, I don't want all these bikes hanging out and then be broke. But when they're gone, it's so final. Some of these bikes get sent to Beijing, China. I don't know if I'm going to make it to Beijing to see that dragon bike ever again. I don't want to sound frail, but it's kind of sad when they're gone, because you pour your heart and soul into them.

What's the craziest thing a customer has ever requested on a bike?
A couple of my hunting buddies were sitting around a campfire in Colorado, and they had a crazy idea to make this giant elk skull on the front of a bike for their crossbow company. It's pretty exotic, and it's kind of hard to picture, but on this huge 10-foot chopper, there is this 6-foot European elk-skull mount. It's 13 pieces of aluminum machined and then welded together and blended out. It's all polished, and it looks really good.

How does that affect the engineering on the bike?
Good point. We knew we couldn't just put the giant skull and antlers on top of the bike because it would affect the steering and it would be too heavy on the handlebars. What we ended up doing was welding a stem off of the neck, so the antlers actually don't twist when you turn the handlebars; they're fixed on the frame. So all the weight goes down to the frame, and it was just a smart way of doing it. Could you ride that bike to Sturgis [Motorcycle Rally in South Dakota] and back? Yeah, absolutely, but you might catch a few birds or snag some other wildlife on the way.

Initial drawing of the Autodesk bike, using Fusion 360 software. Courtesy OC Choppers.

Rendering of the Autodesk bike. Courtesy OC Choppers.

Photo of the finished bike. Courtesy OC Choppers.

Has any other bike presented a unique challenge in design or manufacturing?
We just finished the Autodesk bike, and the scariest part about it is, I tried Fusion 360 to create it. Making that jump was nerve-racking. It's a whole new level of craziness, and I love it—we live in complete mayhem at Orange County Choppers, so it's cool. This new software just allows me to be that much more creative and work that much faster and get to the end result quicker. So I'm glad I jumped in the deep end of the pool and tried something new.

How has design changed at OCC in the 13 years you've been there?
It used to be like, "Hey, give me that torch," and you literally just cut stuff with your hands, which is cool. I still love experimenting with stuff, but we developed more structure; we evolved, and better products came from it. We've grown a lot. It was a wild ride, and being on television in 164 countries, we certainly get access to some cool machinery and some cool stuff.

What does the future hold for you in designing and manufacturing bikes?
[OCC founder Paul Teutul Sr.] and I and our team have started a parts line. We're going to do bolt-on Harley Davidson parts that anyone can buy. That's in production now, but we've never thought in that mode of manufacturing—we've only made one of everything. It's fun because it's the start of a project, and we're learning how to outsource the powder coat, the chrome. We're going to do the packaging in-house and produce the parts in-house. We're learning to survive, and that's what we have to do.

Inspired by artists Peter Brown and Lee Jaehyo, this month Jimmy undertakes an experiment with wood, resin and a new lathe. There are some setbacks along the way but he perseveres, improvising fixes, analyzing the problems and adjusting his techniques on the fly:

Here at Merrick Towle Communications, we’re looking for “the guy”. And by “guy” we mean anyone (girl or boy) who can help take a little baby idea, just sprouting out of the rich soil of creative endeavor, and help our creative teams make that idea into some really good

We can thank grain for the development of civilization, and you can buy Hostess bread around the planet, so it's fair to say grain grinding is a pretty well explored field. But like all things "traditional" or "whole grain," that doesn't disqualify a tasteful redesign. 

Designer Meng Jie Chen began work on the Millithic Stone Mill as a student back in 2013. The project was intended to address the loss of nutritional value in mass scale grinding, and bring healthier carbs back into play in the personal kitchen. For commercial grinding the wheat berry is stripped of the germ in the interest of shelf stability (it contains a bit of oil and can go rancid). Unfortunately for us, that tosses out a ton of the nutritional material that makes wheat an actually healthy grain and most of the fiber goes with it. Meng also cites the high speeds and high heat of industrial grinding as factors that can detract from the nutritional value, starch quality and overall flavor of flour.

The Millithic Stone Mill places its two stone wheels horizontally, adds a top mounted grinder handle, and stows the ground flour internally in the weighted cast iron pan base. Manual operation keeps the process accessible without electricity, reduces parts failure, and cuts down on noise. 

Many regions around the world still use variations on stone pestles, and heavy counter-mounting grinders are common enough in homesteads and disaster-minded prepper households, but I'd never seen a clean contemporary take on the manual stone mill. (Honorable mention to the KoMo Magic, which is beautiful but isn't manual.)

Given the cultural firestorm about gluten, there's been increasing discussion about the healthy use of DIY whole grain flours, but it's certainly not widely practiced in everyday food culture. The Millithic Mill is still just a concept project, but I wonder if we won't see more like it in coming days.