FM

Francesco Zantedeschi, Joseph Henry, Michael Faraday, James Clerk Maxwell, David E. Hughes, Heinrich Rudolf Hertz, Nikola Tesla, Jagadish Chandra Bose, Thomas Alva Edison, Alexander Stepanovich Popov, Oliver Lodge, Guglielmo Marconi, Edouard Branly and many others gave us this: the radio. Since this is a very simple mono FM radio receiver, tune somewhere from 87.5 to 108.0 MHz and wait for Roger Waters - Radio K.A.O.S. (Who Needs Information)

TEA FOR TWO

A masonry heater, tile stove, kakelugn or kachelofen - once fired by wood and now connected to the gas network. My second favourite form of domestic heating. And yes, I like it dark - let's turn off the lights and play Art Tatum's version of Tea for Two from 1939 (vinyl, of course) :)

LEVELLING

It's flat. No, it's not. It is. It isn't. But it is! No, it is not. Flat! No! It is flat! Not flat!...
(Dubliners - Seven Drunken Nights)

ARE YOU GOING WITH ME?

Apparently, this is the oldest working passenger elevator in the city. For the most part, it's manufactured in Vienna and assembled on site during the early years of twentieth century. Motor traction machine is heavily modified but the original metal cage with wooden panels is still intact. The lights are low and there is no elevator music so you will have to imagine your own piece of instrumental nostalgia, something like Pat Metheny Group - Are You Going With Me? (Live from Travels)

LIMITED CHOICES

This one reminds me of our frenzy adventure. It's either locate it or escape it. :D This has been another crazy day with no time to play. But isn't that a gamepad? Well, yes and no. It's an access panel of one sophisticated (and equally expensive) sound processor, but you can play with all the buttons and flashing lights. And Miles Davis - Tutu (live with Marcus Miller) will do just fine for surviving the day.

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(PS: Bob Dylan - Everything is Broken, MTV Unplugged)

WIRED

I will be stuck in The Network for the next few days. Nevertheless, I'll continue to post my technological postcards while operating in such a controlled environment. This is my new neighbourhood. There are some strange noises inside but I think I've recognized a few notes of the Tangerine Dream - Tangram (the original one, 1980 - link is only an excerpt).

DON'T GO OUT THERE

I was thinking about doing the city lights but not exactly this way. My daughter told me I look like a big bear in the snow. So here it is: Bierdna by the great Swedish folk-fusion group Hedningarna. Never heard? Go and check them out (hint: YouTube) but stay away from the Remix Project.

THE MUSICAL BOX

It's a long way from Antoine Favre and his Carillon without bells or hammers to the cheap 18-note musical movements made in China, but the musical box somehow survived all technology thunderstorms. In 1975, late Karlheinz Stockhausen composed a great set of 12 contemporary pieces for 12 musical boxes, Tierkreis, roughly based around the twelve zodiac signs. Since too many people find Stockhausen's work disturbing and barely listenable, my recommendation for today is "The Musical Box" by Genesis, preferably the one from the Genesis Live album (1973).

HELICAL HISTORY

(A tribute to Kimbomac and her Repeating Shapes and Patterns)
324GB of uncompressed data plus 125 minutes of 48kHz digital audio. DDS-3 (Digital Data Storage) was replaced with DDS-4, 5, 6, 7... and DAT (Digital Audio Tape) format officially died on the first of January 2006. DDS-3 tapes were used for data backups, but HHB DAT is still playable: Fleetwood Mac, "Tusk" (Live 1982)

ADRENALINE

(An early tribute to Secretatlantis and her wonderful Bikes)
Two wheels, no noise! Ultralight materials, custom made parts, progressive design, geometry variations - high end cycling is great, but this is my trustworthy everyday companion for the last four years. I was busy almost the whole day so I took the opportunity. Triptych - taken with a small (non waterproof) compact. Put on your headphones and press play: Pink Floyd, "Bike"

INCANDESCENCE

What is this? Only a light bulb? Oh yes, but what a light bulb! Glorious Philips Photolita-SM PF217 from the old stock (only a few left). It has an internal mirror, satinated and frosted, it gives a very precise 3400°K but has a relatively short life cycle - approx. three hours. Still quite good for a decent photo session and almost enough for a complete recording of Richard Wagner's "Tristan und Isolde" :D

PIECES OF TIME

Zenith won a first place in one of the watchmaking competitions held at the Exposition Universelle, Paris 1900. This is a commemorative Zenith Grand Prix 1900, limited edition gold pocketwatch. Same time, same place: Erik Satie, "Pièces froides".

RAINBOW INTERFACE

In a world of the ever-increasing number of interfaces and the lack of an agreed-upon theory, I've found a rainbow. Borrowed soundtrack for today: Judy Garland, "Over the Rainbow"

ELECTRIC

I'm not particularly fond of anime movies but "Serial Experiments: Lain" really caught my attention. Among other things, I was amazed by the large number of power grid drawings, accompanied only by a hypnotic humming sounds. Ten years later, I am still looking up at the wires. Background music for my sunny version: "Strom" by (very early) Kraftwerk.