Blog - Page 2 of 47 - Nathan Nelson

Settled

May 17, 2026May 16, 2026

A person reclines in a chair, bathed in the glow of a television set, with a lit lamp behind them — captured in black and white in an old Maxell advert. The scene suggests they're being pushed back in their chair by the sound.

We’ve moved a lot, over the years. A lot. I don’t think I’ve been settled in one place for more than a few years since I left home. It’s been the same for H as a forces child. You develop rituals that tell you when you’ve settled in. Maybe it’s the last of the packing …

Balloons

May 14, 2026May 6, 2026

A black and white photograph, apparently from the early 20th century, showing a person sitting at a desk writing, wearing a large padded helmet that completely encases their head. The helmet has small goggles over the eyes and a breathing apparatus over the mouth, connected by a tube to a gas cylinder on the left. A desk clock, telephone, and other office items are visible on the desk.

…results suggest that people do flit from one task to another more frequently than they did in previous decades, and that this switching is often detrimental to performance. But there is little evidence that the brain’s fundamental ability to concentrate has been impaired. This suggests that if we can shut down the distractions of our …

I’m framing this and putting it on the wall

May 17, 2026May 5, 2026

A cartoon showing a large crowd of people at a fork in the road labelled "Answers." A massive queue stretches far into the distance toward the left path, signed "Simple But Wrong." To the right, a door resembling a library or bookshelf is labelled "Complex But Right" — with only one or two individuals heading that way. Set in a desert landscape.

From Wiley Miller’s comic strip Non Sequitur.

One night in the life of a bowl of dog food

April 13, 2026

A black and white nighttime photo of a hedgehog near a bowl of dog food.

I put a camera out last night with some of the dog’s unwanted food (high quality, expensive stuff, turns out she’s happy with cheaper). Anyway, others appreciated it, and it was great to see one of our spiky buddies around.

The Artemis II Lunar Flyby

April 10, 2026

An image of the moon fully eclipsing the sun taken from the Artemis II mission.

Beautiful images from the recent NASA Artemis II mission; this is a favourite.