---

title: "Things I learned this week #3"
author: Thomas Wilson
date: 2020-08-28
draft: false
slug: 2020-08-21-things-i-learned-3
tags:
  - things-i-learned
---

- **This medieval lingo**: Have you ever wondered how to refer to the area where a good-old-fashioned joust took place? You know, jousts? Two men, two horses, two giant poles, and one film where Heath Ledger is irresponsibly handsome? Sorry, I got distracted there - did you know the area where the jousts took places is called a _List_, and the fence that separated the two riders is called the _Tilt_ ([source](http://www.lordsandladies.org/jousting-terminology.htm)). Initially it seemed a little wild to me that people ever jousted without the tilt, seems a little bit like unnecessary risk but that seems a little like mopping up the seawater as the Titanic sinks.
- **This unusual payment**: Between the 12th and 19th centuries there was a menagerie at the Tower of London. Around the 17th century, if you didn't fancy paying the three half-pence entrance fee, you could bring a cat or a dog - which was presumably used for food. [source](https://www.thevintagenews.com/2018/03/03/18th-century-zoo/)
- **This new word**: _[Heterodox](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/heterodox)_ or _Heterodoxy_, meaning a belief which deviates from some norm or convention, but not enough to be unorthodox or unorthodoxy.
- **This Minoan jewellery**: About three-four thousand years ago, the Minoans created some [incredible](https://culturetaste.com/blog/45_minoan-malia-bees-history-symbolism.html) [bee](https://www.ancient.eu/image/885/minoan-bee-pendant/) jewellery. Created around 1800-1700 BE by the Minoans in what is now Crete, the Bees were symbols of nature/earth, with honey being used in holy rituals by the culture. I'm amazed that humans made those so long ago, and that they survive until today to be seen.

## Things I've had on rotation

- **Something new**: _Broken Access_ by Theo Alexander (2020). The spacious, elegant classical tones of this piece make it a joy to drift off to and come back to. ([Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/album/2WN5bFYGFunOS7AMGZbmgI?si=dc3ZldZTSZ-r30TMLG4tYQ), [Apple Music](https://music.apple.com/gb/album/broken-access/1513480825))
- **Something old**: _Camp_ by Childish Gambino (2011). While I'm glad that Childish Gambino has evolved into what he is, the mixtape, hype, and always-woke vibes of old Gambino are what you need sometimes. ([Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/album/4yE6WFFun0KjJXbdWkoVrp?si=ZpWDgL4YSz2gTgCg5RYbLQ), [Apple Music](https://geo.music.apple.com/us/album/camp/1450829373))

## Cool things:

- [screenshot.rocks](https://screenshot.rocks/) - Create nice little screenshot mockups in your browser. Found this on [r/webdev](https://www.reddit.com/r/webdev).
- [Arwes.dev](https://arwes.dev/) - A futuristic sci-fi and cyberpunk GUI. I love me some retro-future aesthetic. Found this _everywhere_ because people kept sharing it.
