Around the same time that the various Chinese bus companies in lower Manhattan started serving interstate travelers, my husband and I started noticing these overstuffed, disc-shaped, sesame seed-crusted buns popping up at many of the food stands underneath the Manhattan bridge. I heard that the best ones were available in the basement of the Triple 8 Mall under the bridge, and that I should refer to them as Bing – which I believe is short for Shaobing. I ventured underground and bought a couple of them from a woman who was duly baffled by my presence. I was instantly hooked. They were tasty and satisfying and fit our limited budget. There were several varieties of Bing, but the trouble was, there was no menu and I couldn’t figure out what filling was inside any given pastry. Because of our mutual language barrier, the owner wasn’t able to shine any light on the puzzle. I knew there was a code to be revealed in the placement of the black sesame seeds, but I was firmly at a loss to break it. At around the same time, I heard that there was a place out in Queens that specialized in these little treats, both savory and sweet. I hopped on the subway, made my way to a shop called Unique Pastry and bought one of each kind. I subsequently made this crib sheet so that I could quickly and easily decipher the contents of whatever Bing I happened to find. Shortly thereafter, this piece appeared in the NY Times.

We are having some plumbing work done, and this little gem of a drawing was artfully generated by our plumber so that we could get a better understanding of how our water pressure system works between the well and the the two structures on the property. If you can’t understand it, I can’t help you. I now regret throwing away all of the many schematics I have either generated myself or those created by others.

Are we, or are we not, a nation of sandwich lovers? I would venture that we are probably more obsessed about sandwiches than most any other food, other than perhaps pizza and barbeque. David Schwen, a subversively funny designer, has captured our preoccupation with all that fits between two slices of bread. But he has brilliantly distilled it down to the barest of elements. I think you can buy a print version of a hamburger here. And a tee shirt here. I am going to lunch now…

Issues regarding our food supply are particularly pressing as our agricultural practices become more and more industrialized. This chart needs little explanation. Thanks Robert for posting…National Geographic via Paul Kedrosky

This is one of the quirkier things I’ve seen lately. An exploded diagram view, when executed well, can’t be beat. This comes via the always fabulous ThingsOrganizedNeatly via Mike Mitchell’s Tumblr of Amazing Things.