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Longitude Punk'd trip
It really happened! My Celatone is now on display at Greenwich Observatory, in the same case normally used to house the H4 chronometer, in the same room as a working Harrison regulator. Just amazing.
The museum put a very generous label on it in the case.
Wednesday and Thursday were dedicated to installing the piece, attending the opening ceremony of the exhibit (which runs for the rest of this year, if you're in the area!) and hanging out with the other artists. So, yeah, I am now officially an international Fish of art.
After that, I had until Sunday evening from to see as much of London as possible. Unfortunately I came down with a bad cold on Saturday, but I still managed to get quite a bit in. (All the following images are available in a large size, but I'm not bothering to link them seperately. Just remove the -pv from the file name.)
Henry Maudslay's original screw-cutting lathe, from about 1800. This is the ancestor of every machine tool on the planet -- and it looks so modern!
James Watt's micrometer. Possibly the first micrometer in the world.
George III's microscope. It's... somewhat decorative.
That is half of Babbage's brain. One of the minor themes of the trip was finding weird artifacts in museums. Wasn't quite sure how to react to this one. "You, uh, used to implement some really amazing thoughts, preserved lump of flesh."
Stacks of original punch cards made for the (never completed) Analytical Engine. The world's first computer program.
This is the lecture hall at the Royal Society, at which I attended a public lecture. They've been doing that for about 350 years, so I was pretty excited to get a chance to take part in one.
I finally saw the Sutton Hoo artifacts at the British Museum, after running out of time last trip. As might be infered from the fact that I've translated some of Beowulf, I'm moderately obsessed with the Anglo Saxons.
Speaking of, I later got to see the original Beowulf at the British Library! (No photos allowed.) I could actually read the first few lines! I didn't even know it was there, so it was a wonderful surprise to come across.
This is the original, hand-drawn Beck map of the London Underground. I know transit system cartography is a rarified interest, but I was *exceedingly* happy to see it in person. Such a revolutionary concept in graphic design!
This is the Grant Museum of Zoology and Comparitive Anatomy. It's a combination of several 19th century specimen collections, started by Darwin's mentor. It's awesome... and kind of weird. Lots of things in jars you don't normally see in jars.
Such as a jar of moles.
Or a dissected monkey head.
Or platypus reproductive organs.
Or a kangaroo joey still attached to a teat.
Or a baby manatee.
So, yeah, very cool place.
On the way back, I had a 17 hour lay-over in Reykjavik. This is the Hallgrimskirkja cathedral, complete with statue of Leif Ericcson out front. Iceland definitely seemed pretty neat, I'll absolutely have to go back some day. Would be great to rent a car and drive around the entire island.
The museum put a very generous label on it in the case.
Wednesday and Thursday were dedicated to installing the piece, attending the opening ceremony of the exhibit (which runs for the rest of this year, if you're in the area!) and hanging out with the other artists. So, yeah, I am now officially an international Fish of art.
After that, I had until Sunday evening from to see as much of London as possible. Unfortunately I came down with a bad cold on Saturday, but I still managed to get quite a bit in. (All the following images are available in a large size, but I'm not bothering to link them seperately. Just remove the -pv from the file name.)
Henry Maudslay's original screw-cutting lathe, from about 1800. This is the ancestor of every machine tool on the planet -- and it looks so modern!
James Watt's micrometer. Possibly the first micrometer in the world.
George III's microscope. It's... somewhat decorative.
That is half of Babbage's brain. One of the minor themes of the trip was finding weird artifacts in museums. Wasn't quite sure how to react to this one. "You, uh, used to implement some really amazing thoughts, preserved lump of flesh."
Stacks of original punch cards made for the (never completed) Analytical Engine. The world's first computer program.
This is the lecture hall at the Royal Society, at which I attended a public lecture. They've been doing that for about 350 years, so I was pretty excited to get a chance to take part in one.
I finally saw the Sutton Hoo artifacts at the British Museum, after running out of time last trip. As might be infered from the fact that I've translated some of Beowulf, I'm moderately obsessed with the Anglo Saxons.
Speaking of, I later got to see the original Beowulf at the British Library! (No photos allowed.) I could actually read the first few lines! I didn't even know it was there, so it was a wonderful surprise to come across.
This is the original, hand-drawn Beck map of the London Underground. I know transit system cartography is a rarified interest, but I was *exceedingly* happy to see it in person. Such a revolutionary concept in graphic design!
This is the Grant Museum of Zoology and Comparitive Anatomy. It's a combination of several 19th century specimen collections, started by Darwin's mentor. It's awesome... and kind of weird. Lots of things in jars you don't normally see in jars.
Such as a jar of moles.
Or a dissected monkey head.
Or platypus reproductive organs.
Or a kangaroo joey still attached to a teat.
Or a baby manatee.
So, yeah, very cool place.
On the way back, I had a 17 hour lay-over in Reykjavik. This is the Hallgrimskirkja cathedral, complete with statue of Leif Ericcson out front. Iceland definitely seemed pretty neat, I'll absolutely have to go back some day. Would be great to rent a car and drive around the entire island.
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Relics of the saints, of various sorts.
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What with not being on the more modern social networks, I hadn't realized any of this was going on.
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i still need to visit Greenwich Observatory at some point.
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You never told me you made curators weep. :)
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