Register at Malmaison to get a special voucher for a two course meal from the Homegrown and Local menu, a bottle of our sommelier’s Bin End Choice wine, and an after dinner coffee for two people for just £29!
We did this on my birthday and combined with a couple of excellent cocktails from the swanky upstairs bar … so nice that it is not even included on their website. Jill had a balsamic and strawberry concoction which is now her favorite mixed drink, while I had a maple syrup old fashioned which was very enjoyable and I would recommend it to any bourbon fan.
In case you have not seen the Oxford Malmaison, it is a truly unique building. Once a Victorian prison, it is now a very stylish boutique hotel with a plush upstairs bar and a cool downstairs bar/brasserie. Read more »
Spiral staircase with ultra thin carbon treads, stainless steel pole & handrail, and glass balustrade.
Saw an example of these at the Science Museum in their F1 special exhibition last week and thought that they were interesting. The example on loan to the Museum from Ee Stairs was not as elegant as the image above, but they were a very interesting combination of carbon fiber, stainless steel, and glass. The various designs make what could be very chunky designs, like the spiral above, nearly invisible and the perfect addition in a minimalistic home or office. Read more »
Bob Hope tipping his Pith Helmet
Pith helmets traditionally denote white Europeans chopping and slashing their way through the tropics and as a sign of imperial power starting in the late 19th century. Using a technology developed by the French towards the end of the 19th century in Vietnam (then known as French Indochina), real pith helmets are made from the white pith of an Indian swamp plant, the sola. Through a process of lamination, layers of the pith are glued together to make a lightweight, durable, and very strong hat.
Furthermore, because of its absorbant nature, it can be fully immersed in water to keep the wearer cool as it dries. Since pith is also very strong, the helmets do not lose their shape or solidity as they dry, still providing very good protection.
The first helmets appeared as early as the 1840s and the traditional form developed during the 1870s. It was used around the world and even made an appearance in the US Southwest during the 1880s. 
True pith helmets were used extensively during World War One in tropical areas but by the Second World War, while still a popular style, many of the helmets were no longer made of traditional pith materials. These sun helmets (many made of plastic or straw) are still in use today throughout the world by a range of people, including USPS postal workers during the summer and the Thai Royal Guards.
For the real article, you can get pith helmets online.
Top Gear Car of the Year 2008 - Caterham Superlight R500
If the Aero SuperSport was too much, then look at the Caterham Seven. Originally designed as the Lotus 7 by Colin Chapman over 50 years ago, Caterhams have made a name for themselves as cars for drivers! Whether on the track or on the road, they are purely and simply, driving machines! For an example of that, a R500, like the one pictured above, made it around the Top Gear track in 1:17.9 (currently, sixth all-time) and beat the £1 million Bugati Veryon! Read more »
On the weekend before my birthday, we grilled out for the first time this year … made some lovely kebabs on a little disposable grill.
Also took some photos of our little flowers … they brighten up our patio nicely!
Read more »
Beagle Journal Portrait (1889)
In this year of Darwin, there is a new resource from the Lloyd Library and Museum, called Darwin by Post. According to its press release and about page, it was designed to be a fake Facebook page for Darwin and his friends. But, in this special year, doing an exhibition about Darwin needs to have a really good hook and narrative.
Unfortunately, this exhibit seems to be put together in a hurry and without much thought for how it was going to work together and be used. It provides no new information and highlights no new connections within his work or life. Compared to some of the other recent exhibitions (like the Sedgwick Museum’s Becoming a Geologist exhibit), this is very basic. That being the case, it is a very easy to use resource covering the basics of Darwin and his ‘friends’ but the most useful part of the exhibit has to be several of the images that have been included in the exhibit.
Either way, this little exhibition is worth a browse.
Waterslide through the Shark Tank
I have always wanted to go to Las Vegas, because of the food, shows, and general displays of extravagance! The new £30-million pool complex at the Golden Nugget is clearly that! Consisting of a large pool, shark tank, water slide through the tank, private cabanas (Mon-Thu rental of $175 per day), waterfalls, and a bar … this is really a major complex. To see more of it, check out the cheesy video of the pool complex.
Guess this is another thing to go on the list of places to visit …
via BudgetTravel.com
Title Page
A Century of Hats and the Hats of the Century (click here for full-text PDF) by Edward Mott Woolley is a funny little volume published in 1923 by The Mallory Hat Company of Danbury, Connecticut. With only 40-some pages of text, it is an interesting company history of Mallory hats from its foundation by Ezra Mallory in 1823 to its modern governance and factory methods. In addition to the basic story, the text is illustrated with some wonderful engravings. Read more »
Well, this is clearly not a pedal car, but it is a new Morgan sportscar! As another part of the Morgan centenary celebrations, they are introducing the Aero SuperSports.
Designed and engineered in house, the Morgan Aero SuperSports is a lightweight aluminium sports car with a luxurious specification. The interior features a comfortable combination of polished hardwoods, hand stitched leather and electronic technology to create a driving environment that is efficient, ergonomic and sumptuous. In spite of all this opulence the overall weight of the car is still minimal so the car is responsive to driver inputs and economical to run. The unique way Morgan can achieve this is down to our use of aircraft style superformed aluminium outer panels and the skills of our craftsmen to hand finish the assembly of each car.
Read more »
Comments 
