“sculpture is the art of the hole and the lump.”
-auguste rodin
the trojan room coffee pot – action shot
the trojan room coffee pot was a coffee machine located next to the old computer lab of the university of cambridge, england, which in 1991 provided the inspiration for the world’s first webcam.
to save people working in the building the disappointment of finding the coffee machine empty, after making the trip to the room, a camera was set up, providing a live picture of the coffee pot to all desktop computers on the office network. after the camera was connected to the internet, a few years later, the coffee pot gained international notoriety as a feature of the fledging world wide web, until it was retired in 2001.
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“a watched pot never boils…. but it does develop paranoia”
― josh stern
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credits: cambridge university
rip paul. i always enjoyed your stories, your comments and the way you always beat the odds. we will miss you –
Those of us who’ve grown to love the lively words that bounced from the head and fingers of Paul Curran will never be the same.
The writer from Canada has died, according to his neighbor Steve Watson.
I received this email on the contact tab from my blog:
With great sadness I have to tell you that Paul Curran has passed away. Paul passed last week.
Our guest blogger, Paul Curran.
Now Your Barrista – Paul
Curran
A series of the column head shots Paul sent me since 2013 to just a month ago.
I found the email this morning. I arrived yesterday. Steve Watson was listed as the photographer in the If We Were Having Coffee Sunday column Paul had me post here on Sept. 11 after his emergency operation.
I could not find an obituary through search engines.
Paul lived in Ottawa, Ontario…
View original post 518 more words
norma and her therapy dog, ringo on the road.
Norma Bauerschmidt, who decided to take a cross-country RV trip instead of undergoing cancer treatment has died at the age of 91.
More than 400,000 people have followed Norma Jean Bauerschmidt’s journey with her son and daughter-in-law on her “Driving Miss Norma” Facebook page. Her final stop was San Juan Island, Wash. San Juan County Coroner Randall Gaylord said Bauerschmidt died Friday, Sept. 30.
When 90-year-old Michigan native Norma Jean Bauerschmidt learned she had a large, likely cancerous mass on her uterus, she wasn’t going to waste any time with what she saw as debilitating treatment. Instead, she spent her final days experiencing as much of the world as she could.
Bauerschmidt, a native of Presque Isle, died in her motor home on San Juan Island, Wash., on Sept. 30 at the age of 91, but not before she’d traveled more than 13,000 miles in an RV, sleeping in 75 different locations in 32 states.
In that time, “Miss Norma” became in internet sensation, with more than 482,000 people following her travels via a Facebook page set up by her daughter titled “Driving Miss Norma.”
Her story has since gone viral, appearing on CBS News, BBC, Huffington Post and NBC’s “Today Show.”
Bauerschmidt’s decision to refuse treatment was made just two days after her husband, Leo, passed away. While sitting in an OB/GYN office talking about treatment options, including surgery, radiation and chemotherapy, a doctor asked her how she would like to proceed.
According to Facebook, Bauerschmidt, a tiny woman at 101 pounds and under 5 feet tall, looked the young doctor dead in the eye and with the strongest voice she could muster, said, “I’m 90-years-old. I’m hitting the road.”
And that’s what she did. They did, “what they don’t teach you in medical school,” and hit the road on Aug. 24, 2015.
While on the road, Miss Norma experienced many things for the first time. Big things like riding in a hot air balloon or on a horse, to little things like getting a pedicure or having her first taste of key lime pie, oysters and fried green tomatoes.
She was hosted by the U.S. Navy, the Atlanta Hawks, the Georgia Aquarium and the towns of Winthrop, Mass., Marietta, Ga., and, according to her Facebook page, what felt like the entire state of South Carolina.
Miss Norma also visited the Grand Canyon, Mount Rushmore, Walt Disney World and Yellowstone National Park.
She began hospice care after arriving in the San Juan Island town of Friday Harbor in August, according to the Associated Press.
A celebration of Miss Norma’s life and a memorial tree planting is scheduled for Friday, Oct. 7 at 4:30 p.m. at Friday Harbor’s Overlook Park.
“Our families, friends, and the many thousands of former strangers have lifted us up and kept our spirits high,” a message from Miss Norma’s family reads on Facebook. “We continue to be overwhelmed by the kindness and love that has been directed our way.”
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credits: mlive.com, brandon champion, pittsburgh post gazette/ap