Letters Remain

Tag: travel

  • Side-by-Side Car Comparisons

    Car Sized is a simple web app that lets you compare car dimensions and designs from a street perspective. Front, back and side by side. As a frequent car renter, this site’s been incredibly useful for my last few holidays. It’s also just fun to do some comparisons, like this Ford F-150 against my last…

  • Food-Based Body Clock the Key to Jet Lag

    The primary cause of jet lag (or desynchronosis as it’s correctly known) is the disruption of our circadian rhythms based on the daily light–dark cycles we experience. However this is only the case when food is in plentiful supply, with new research suggesting that circadian rhythms based on food availability are able to override those of the light-dark cycle. This…

  • Paper Maps vs. GPS vs. Personal Directions

    Noting that “a device can be precise without being accurate” and contemplating the possible effects the simultaneous rise in digital maps and a decline in the use of paper maps could have, John McKinney looks at some studies comparing the efficacy of different navigational aids: Studies by the British Cartographic Society show that high-tech maps…

  • On Being Foreign

    Having (very) recently emigrated from the UK (to the Netherlands), this article on what it means to be ‘foreign’ was not only timely, but quite emotive, too. The [complaining foreigner] answers [the question of why he doesn’t go home] by thinking of himself as an exile—if not in a judicial sense then in a spiritual…

  • Words and Phrases Lost in Translation

    Coming from the author’s confusion in relating to her German-speaking Balkan partner, the question is asked: can phrases and words that we give great weight to in our native tongue truly be translated across cultural and language barriers. Could it really mean the same thing for him to say “I love you” in English if he…

  • Surviving Jet Lag

    With my 25-hour flight from Sydney back to London fast approaching, my mind is wandering to the topic of jet lag–or desynchronosis, to use the medical term. The most often suggested remedies for jet lag (where recovery times are generally said to be 1 day per eastward time zone or 1 day per 1.5 westward time…

  • The Introverted Traveller

    Starting with the declaration that “We introverts have a different style of travel, and I’m tired of hiding it”, Sophia Dembling looks at the differences in how introverts and extroverts travel, and what this means. I’m always happy enough when interesting people stumble into my path. It’s a lagniappe, and I’m capable of connecting with…

  • Observations on London and Paris

    Returning from a trip to Europe, Nate Silver—proprietor of the political analysis website FiveThirtyEight—has promptly compiled a list of observations on London and Paris from an American point of view. As an ‘insider’ it appears that I’ve take a lot of these gradual changes for granted, not really making any conclusions. London, and the United…

  • Living Abroad Enhances Creativity

    Could living abroad, (or more specifically, adapting to a foreign culture) enhance creativity? Researchers conducting a series of novel and interesting tests (including the candle box functional fixedness test) are starting to suggest so. Across these three studies, the association between foreign living and creativity held even after controlling for personality variables. In other words…

  • Where the Hell is Matt… Again

    Where the Hell is Matt… again. The third video, available in HD. Featuring Zero-G Matt, no less! 14 months in the making, 42 countries, and a cast of thousands. Thanks to everyone who danced with me. All of Matt’s videos can be found on his YouTube Channel, and WhereTheHellIsMatt.com via Link Banana