Hodge Podge
Today I was back in Troy to go on a tour of the Emma Willard School campus before I begin work. This was my first introduction to an "Emma Girl" as well. The young woman who showed me around, a senior day student, was excited to tell me everything about her school, her interests, her projects, her friends' projects, what she's learned and what she hopes to learn. At the same time, I got to see the inside of each of the original buildings on campus, as well as the new additions over the years. I also got to see my office, which is ready and waiting for me to show up next Thursday!
When I left Emma Willard, I drove through the surrounding neighborhoods to see whether I might like to live in any of them. There are several houses for sale that are within a few minutes of the school, and even some that might be in my budget. That will be another upcoming adventure!
On my way to the school, I had passed a sign that said "Welcome to Troy - Burden Pond." I have seen many pictures and read snippets about Burden Iron Works, a major industrial force in early Troy (named for Henry Burden, not because it was a heavy load). Burden had the most powerful vertical water wheel in history. I wish it were still in existence, but unfortunately it collapsed in the early 1900's. You can, however, still visit the pond where the water was held in reserve, which was made possible by a series of dams along Wynantskill. As I was leaving the area, I decided to pull into the parking lot beside Burden Pond and take a look for myself. I don't know exactly where the water wheel was, but it's something I'd be interested to know.
It's quite a peaceful little spot, with benches where you can enjoy the sound of the water falling over the spillway and continuing over the rocks beyond. The ducks were happily swimming right up to the falls, playing along the edge as a light rain began to fall. I didn't linger, since I was getting wet, but I can imagine that this would be a lovely place to come for a peaceful moment in your day. Even though it's close to a busy intersection, the water really does drown out any traffic noise.
Apparently there are also several water falls further down Wynantskill that Kef and I will have to explore later.
Back at home, I became interested in a series of videos about the Helvetica font (on LinkedIn Learning). I know, I'm a nerd. I used to use Helvetica back in my Mac days. Windows doesn't use it anymore, so I haven't either... not in many years. I honestly had no idea how ubiquitous Helvetica has become. As I type this, I'm looking down at my AP Stylebook and see that the title along the spine is in Helvetica. Almost every sign you see in a public place... Helvetica. Logos for everything from American Airlines to Target to Crate and Barrel... Helvetica.
Watching these videos and interviews with typesetters and graphic designers was quite interesting. The first video started with an old-school typesetter actually picking the letters out of the box, setting them in a form, inking them, and pressing a card with the word Helvetica. The interviews covered everyone from the original designers of the font to people who find it inane and uninspired. Those who love Helvetica embrace the fact that it's a blank canvas. Those who reject it believe that it simply doesn't communicate... well, anything. It's fascinating how something as simple as a typeface can inspire such fervor in people.
And so, because of this fascinating font lesson, I decided to edit my photo of Burden Pond to include the name of the place, although NOT in Helvetica. The font you see on that photo is Gotham Light (in case you care), my latest favorite font family.
And there, my friends, you have my Thursday Hodge Podge.
When I left Emma Willard, I drove through the surrounding neighborhoods to see whether I might like to live in any of them. There are several houses for sale that are within a few minutes of the school, and even some that might be in my budget. That will be another upcoming adventure!
On my way to the school, I had passed a sign that said "Welcome to Troy - Burden Pond." I have seen many pictures and read snippets about Burden Iron Works, a major industrial force in early Troy (named for Henry Burden, not because it was a heavy load). Burden had the most powerful vertical water wheel in history. I wish it were still in existence, but unfortunately it collapsed in the early 1900's. You can, however, still visit the pond where the water was held in reserve, which was made possible by a series of dams along Wynantskill. As I was leaving the area, I decided to pull into the parking lot beside Burden Pond and take a look for myself. I don't know exactly where the water wheel was, but it's something I'd be interested to know.
It's quite a peaceful little spot, with benches where you can enjoy the sound of the water falling over the spillway and continuing over the rocks beyond. The ducks were happily swimming right up to the falls, playing along the edge as a light rain began to fall. I didn't linger, since I was getting wet, but I can imagine that this would be a lovely place to come for a peaceful moment in your day. Even though it's close to a busy intersection, the water really does drown out any traffic noise.
Apparently there are also several water falls further down Wynantskill that Kef and I will have to explore later.
Back at home, I became interested in a series of videos about the Helvetica font (on LinkedIn Learning). I know, I'm a nerd. I used to use Helvetica back in my Mac days. Windows doesn't use it anymore, so I haven't either... not in many years. I honestly had no idea how ubiquitous Helvetica has become. As I type this, I'm looking down at my AP Stylebook and see that the title along the spine is in Helvetica. Almost every sign you see in a public place... Helvetica. Logos for everything from American Airlines to Target to Crate and Barrel... Helvetica.
Watching these videos and interviews with typesetters and graphic designers was quite interesting. The first video started with an old-school typesetter actually picking the letters out of the box, setting them in a form, inking them, and pressing a card with the word Helvetica. The interviews covered everyone from the original designers of the font to people who find it inane and uninspired. Those who love Helvetica embrace the fact that it's a blank canvas. Those who reject it believe that it simply doesn't communicate... well, anything. It's fascinating how something as simple as a typeface can inspire such fervor in people.
And so, because of this fascinating font lesson, I decided to edit my photo of Burden Pond to include the name of the place, although NOT in Helvetica. The font you see on that photo is Gotham Light (in case you care), my latest favorite font family.
And there, my friends, you have my Thursday Hodge Podge.
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