Topical Guide 461

Mark Dorset

Aesthetics; Style

Reservations Recommended, Chapter 3:

     It has been decorated, inside and out, at great expense, to look like a ruin. Here and there are artful imitations of patches of peeling stucco, baring brick beneath. One window has been painstakingly painted with some clear goo to make it look as if there are bullet holes in it.

Dear Reader, you don’t have to go to the trouble of painstakingly painting your windows with “some clear goo” to create the bullet-hole effect. I’ve found an easier method for you. MD

Decal Junky:

Shattered Glass Bullet Holes decals in small & large sizes can be customized. Get this Shattered Glass Bullet Holes stickers in colors & etched glass. Apply indoors or outdoors.
• High-quality die-cut vinyl decal with seven-year durability
• Small & large sizes can be personalized
• Offered in colors & etched glass
• Made in the USA

Engineering: Catenary Arc, Curve, and Arch

Wikipedia:

     In physics and geometry, a catenary (US: /ˈkætənɛri/, UK: /kəˈtiːnəri/) is the curve that an idealized hanging chain or cable assumes under its own weight when supported only at its ends in a uniform gravitational field.
     The catenary curve has a U-like shape, superficially similar in appearance to a parabola, which it is not.

Rita Greer, “Robert Hooke, Engineer.” A memorial portrait presented to the Department of Engineering Science at Oxford University in 2009. It shows Hooke in Oxford with important work—a wheel barometer, his microscope and copy of ‘Micrographia,’ a pocket watch, optic, spring and universal joint. He is holding a chain to make a catenary arch and on the wall behind him is a map of the City of London which he helped to survey and rebuild after the Great Fire of 1666. The original is an oil painting on board by Rita Greer, history painter, 2009. This was digitized by Rita and sent via email to the Department of Engineering Science, Oxford University, where it was subsequently uploaded to Wikimedia.

See also:
Aesthetics: Aesthetic Choices TG 49; Aesthetics; Style TG 82
Style: Flooring TG 141

Issue Number 20 of The Babbington Review is now on Substack.

Have you missed an episode or two or several?

• You can begin reading at the beginning or you can catch up by visiting the archive or consulting the index to the Topical Guide.

• You can listen to the episodes on the Personal History podcast. Begin at the beginning or scroll through the episodes to find what you’ve missed.

• You can listen to “My Mother Takes a Tumble” and “Do Clams Bite?” complete and uninterrupted as audiobooks through YouTube.

• You can ensure that you never miss a future issue by getting a free subscription. (You can help support the work by choosing a paid subscription instead.)

• At Apple Books you can download free eBooks of Little Follies and Herb ’n’ Lorna.

• You’ll find overviews of the entire work in  An Introduction to The Personal History, Adventures, Experiences & Observations of Peter Leroy (a pdf document) and at Encyclopedia.com.

The serialization of The Personal History, Adventures, Experiences & Observations of Peter Leroy is supported by its readers. I sometimes earn affiliate fees when you click through the affiliate links in a post. EK

The illustration in the banner that opens each episode is from an illustration by Stewart Rouse that first appeared on the cover of the August 1931 issue of Modern Mechanics and Inventions.

www.erickraft.com

www.babbingtonpress.com