It was 50 years ago this week that the MINI – symbol of all that is British, mod, and cool – first rolled off the line. And from The Italian Job to, well, The Italian Job, the Mini has remained a tiny, economical and very stylish way to get from point A to point B. But how did the Mini become the Mini? Here’s a brief history of the car that proved that less truly is more.

Read more about MINI at Mental Floss.

I thought it was just going to be an adventure for Cooper and I, but Kelly and Ellery joined us for what turned out to be a driving, sighting, eating, and playground adventure. By the way, Ellery picked up two new nicknames today: Elle’s Bells and Beaner. (Can you figure out the provenance of each? One is decidedly easier than the other.) Continue reading for pictures and commentary.

Here’s a little background information about the big guy from maisonbisson.com:

PITTSBURGH – How can you find the Cadet Restaurant in Kittanning? The question is: How can you miss it, what with the 30-foot-tall cowboy standing out front on Route 422 wearing what looks to be a 10,000-gallon hat and holding a hamburger that looks like a quarter-tonner?

Customers “go by the cowboy,” says owner George Morda. “They like that.” Morda, who started the business northeast of Pittsburgh in 1952, met this big boy at the 1962 Chicago restaurant show and decided to buy him for $3,900.

As the fiberglass statue helped rope in diners, it acquired the nickname “Cowboy Sam” from Sam the police officer, who patrolled the popular drive-in lot the restaurant ran at the time.

Alas, one foggy morning in, Morda believes, 1978, the big man in white was felled by a Ford Bronco that was smashed into by a loaded coal truck coming from Indiana, Pa.

Sam’s broken body lay behind the restaurant, the subject of some pranks by local students who’d “borrow” his hat or his whole head.

But some Cadet customers eventually pieced Sam together again, and they finally stood him back up by crane in 2002. The traveling public, who still tend to stop and snap pictures and buy 50-cent postcards, couldn’t have been happier. Nor could Morda, who says, Sam “helped me out tremendously in my business,” increasing it by 20 percent or so. “That’s what he’s there for.”

The cowboy is great. He lived up to all my expectations, but I think Cooper was a little scared of the big guy. We went inside the cafe for an early dinner. Of course, I had to get their signature dish: the “Poor Boy,” which is essentially a double cheese burger.

After dinner, we tested the GPS to see what kind of Points-Of-Interest it had to offer. We ended up at a community park in Kittanning, PA. The park was pretty desolate, and its hard to understand how a town like that is still sustaining itself, but Cooper had a great time running around.

You can see more picture at our flickr account: http://www.flickr.com/photos/thedahlpod/sets/72157617661502652/

I’ve decided to keep this space for personal writings and linkings, and I’ve started putting all of my professional oriented writing on my new blog at www.informationbricolage.com/blog.

Hit the link and check it out.

From the author:

I COLLECT LOST LUGGAGE, PHOTOGRAPH IT, AND THEN TRY TO FIND THE OWNERS. IT’S A LITTLE ODD BUT NOT AS ODD AS STAMP COLLECTING, JUST A LITTLE HARDER TO FIND STORAGE SPACE. when A BAG GETS LOST THE AIRPORT OR AIRLINE WILL STORE IT FOR A WHILE AND TRY TO FIND THE OWNER. if they can’t identify the OWNER OF THE case THEY SEND IT TO BE AUCTIONED OFF WITH THE PROFIT GOING TO CHARITY. I GO TO THESE AUCTIONS AND BUY THE CASES SO I CAN PHOTOGRAPH THEM FOR MY WEIRD VOYEURISTIC PASSION. The reason for the web site? i would really like to try to find the people who own my suitcases, so if you HAVE ANY FRIENDS WHO HAVE LOST A CASE PLEASE GET THEM TO HAVE A LOOK.

[ via: swissmiss ]

What’s Pecha Kucha? Basically, each presenter is given 20 slides and 20 seconds per slide. The presentation is set to automatic, so the slides keep moving forward whether you are ready or not. That’s 6:40 to present an interesting idea and tell a compelling story.

It was great fun, and I would do it again in a heartbeat.

I presented an update to a side-project I have been working on just for the fun of it: my side view mirror project. Basically, I’ve been taking photographs of drivers through their side view mirrors during my daily commutes.

Check out the video below to experience it for yourself.

Pecha Kucha – Side View Mirrors Project from Erik Dahl on Vimeo.

At the time of writing this, I’m working on putting together an independent site for this project. More details to come.

During my presentation, I mentioned a few kindred projects and inspirations:

Andrew Bush – 66 Drives

Brian Collier – The Highway Expedition

Brian Collier – Very Small Objects

Julian Montague – The Stray Shopping Cart Project

Let me know what you think.

You can download the presentation here: dahl_PKN.pdf

powerlinerflyers from wes johnson on Vimeo.

(Go to Vimeo to watch in HD.)

Between now and April 15th, create and share your own U.S. Design Policy’s Necessity videos. You’ll have the opportunity to star in the Initiative’s Design CEO’s Design Policy Support video, which will be led by IDSA.

Contxts lets you send your contact info via text message. Thought this was kinda a cool idea. I’ve signed up and am ready to share my business card via SMS next time I’m in a business card exchange situation.