Archive for the ‘Technology And Other Passing Fads’ Category

A Silver Lining

Wednesday, July 15th, 2009

There is bad news coming from the art world these days; plastic is not the durable material once thought.  Antique plastic dolls at the National Museum of Denmark have begun to break down and peel and the first plastic toothbrush owned by the Smithsonian has all but disintegrated.

Because many of the 20th century artists worked with plastic like cellulose nitrate, their works are in danger of also disintegrating in time.  Insurance companies, alerted to the situation, are warning art galleries and collectors about the potential dangers of purchasing such works. 

However, there is good news about the limited duration of the medium.  Most of Jeff Koons work is in plastic!

But Do I Get a Blindfold

Thursday, July 2nd, 2009

The New York Stock Exchange today announced that you can now lose your money much faster than before.  The Exchange customers can “now see trades executed within five milliseconds compared to 103 milliseconds previously.”  This is an effort to improve their position in the competitive world of trading firms and bolster their image.

I have an idea to improve their image:  how about not referring to stock transactions as executions !

Look Who’s Talking

Tuesday, June 30th, 2009

I recently needed some electrical work done at the house and I finally realized the answer to the age old question…how many electricians does it take to replace a  light bulb? Answer: three..one to hold the ladder, one to screw in the bulb and one to talk on the cell phone.