Category Archives: Tech

KLM Cares

Posted on February 2, 2018 by Brian D. Butler

Last year I posted a story about KLM’s trial run for the airline’s Care Tag audio-equipped GPS tourist guide device. Now, the Royal Dutch Airlines has rolled-out the tiny tech travel guide for flyers who act fast. When you book a flight … Continue reading →

Posted in Air Travel, Europe, Public Transport, Tech, Tourism | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

You can’t get there from here

Posted on January 19, 2018 by Brian D. Butler

Helsinki-based geographer Topi Tjukanov is a wizard at using spatial data from new perspectives. If you’ve ever done any roadtripping in the US, this map of optimal routes by car from the geographic center of the country to all counties … Continue reading →

Posted in Maps, Tech, USA | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Tales From Black Mirror

Posted on January 14, 2018 by Brian D. Butler

If you are not a fan of Black Mirror, these wonderfully retro illustrations won’t mean much to you. But if you can’t get enough of the show, Brazilian artist and illustrator Butcher Billy’s project Tales of the Unexpected Black Mirrors is just … Continue reading →

Posted in Animation, Art, South America, Tech | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Light Up The New Year

Posted on January 2, 2018 by Brian D. Butler

Amsterdam’s annual Festival of Lights is welcoming the New Year and banishing winter blahs with 36 illuminated installations around the city. This year’s theme “Existential” was interpreted by artists from a dozen countries, including the beloved human rights activist artist … Continue reading →

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Escape Velocities

Posted on December 11, 2017 by Brian D. Butler

This week Arizona State University’s Center for Science and Imagination published Visions, Ventures, Escape Velocities: A Collection of Space Futures, a free digital book collection of fiction and nonfiction about space exploration. The free book, which was funded by NASA grants, is … Continue reading →

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Rationalizing Airport Security

Posted on December 10, 2017 by Brian D. Butler

During the last two weeks Amsterdam’s Schiphol International Airport has been testing a novel approach to airport security screening. The Personal Security Pass pilot project aims to demonstrate that it’s possible to reduce wait times and make passenger security screenings … Continue reading →

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Winter Fountains

Posted on December 4, 2017 by Brian D. Butler

What happens to public fountains during the winter? In many cities they are simply turned off until spring. But this year Philadelphia has come up with an imaginative way of using the fountains to brighten-up the dark months. Running from … Continue reading →

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NYC Layered

Posted on November 19, 2017 by Brian D. Butler

I have never seen anything quite like this very trippy, multi-layered time-lapse video below. Here’s what the filmmaker Julian Tryba had to say about the process: Traditional time-lapses are constrained by the idea that there is a single universal clock. … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Photography, Tech, USA | Tagged , | 1 Comment

What The Font

Posted on November 6, 2017 by Brian D. Butler

Monotype’s MyFonts font service has created a neat new app for both iOS and Android smartphones which use AI tech to allow users to identify random fonts. The app, which is called WhatTheFont, matches typefaces to an enormous database. There’s also a … Continue reading →

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Get Smart

Posted on September 29, 2017 by Brian D. Butler

Smartify is a very clever free app that allows users to scan artworks to identify them and then get meaningful background information. This Shazam for art is already available for more than thirty major international art venues and more are being added monthly. … Continue reading →

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