May 2006 Archives

Casualties of the 05-06 TV Season

MAY 30, 2006

Rick compiles all the death we've endured this year

Quick Post link: http://www.magneticmediafed.com/?p=51

Posted in Quick Post at 9:09 pm.
1 Comment |

Google's Gapminder

MAY 29, 2006

Interactive graph of world development indicators from the World Bank [via waxy]

Quick Post link: http://tools.google.com/gapminder/

Posted in Quick Post at 7:50 pm.
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Hear Me on the Brian Lehrer Show

MAY 25, 2006

Tomorrow morning, around 11:30am, I'll be interviewed on the Brian Lehrer Show on WNYC for The Movie Binge. It's my first radio interview (for this or anything), so I'm a little excited.

You can listen along at their website or download the podcast after it's all finished.

Update (5/27/06): I managed to get an mp3 of the interview if you'd like to hear it. You can also listen to the entire show at WNYC.org if you're interested.

Posted in My Life at 7:04 pm.
3 Comments |

The Lost Experience

MAY 25, 2006

A blog following the summer tie-in for the ridiculously awesome show

Quick Post link: http://www.thelostexperience.com/

Posted in Quick Post at 12:18 pm.
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Photos of MIT's $100 Laptop

MAY 24, 2006

Part of the OLPT campaign

Quick Post link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/pete/sets/72057594143224765/

Posted in Quick Post at 12:00 am.
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Chris Eyeballs Morning Subway Demographics

MAY 22, 2006

Quick Post link: http://www.graphpaper.com/2006/05-22_morning-subway-demographics

Posted in Quick Post at 3:01 pm.
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The Movie Binge

MAY 22, 2006

Today the Movie Binge is live. I was a cryptic before, but now I can tell you that me and a few fellow movie lovers will be seeing every commercially released film from Memorial Day to Labor Day and we'll blog about it the whole way. Along the way we'll give you reviews, previews and an update of how much popcorn, candy and soda we've consumed. It's going to be a nutty ride.

If you'd rather get your reviews elsewhere, so be it, but something that has already proven useful for me is our our list of films for the summer. I'm also working on an .ics calendar file you can subscribe to via Google Calendar, iCal, 30boxes or whatever.

I'm pumped. This should be a lot of fun.

Posted in My Life at 10:33 am.
1 Comment |

Nerd Alert: Video of Hard Drive Replacement on the MacBook

MAY 19, 2006

So easy. Can't wait to get the next revision of this beast.

Quick Post link: http://youtube.com/watch?v=8c6ckjy-gdY

Posted in Quick Post at 10:57 am.
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"Mork and Mindy" Nike SB Dunk High

MAY 19, 2006

Na-noo Na-noo!

Quick Post link: http://www.hypebeast.com/2006/05/19/nike-sb-mork-and-mindy-dunk-high/

Posted in Quick Post at 10:49 am.
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New Glass-Enclosed Homeless Shelter Opens on Fifth Avenue

MAY 19, 2006

Seriously though, after the first month, I wonder what the clientelle will look like at the new 24/7/365 Apple Store.

Apple Retail Employee: Welcome to the new Apple Store on 5th Avenue! Would you like an iPod?
Homeless Man: Unnghhhh. Which laptop makes a better pillow, the MacBook or the MacBook Pro?
ARE: Umm, these aren't really meant for sleeping. Maybe you could buy some iPod Socks though?
HM: Nah, I'm wearing six pairs of socks right now. I'm just gonna curl up under those stairs.
ARE: Sir, I'm, wait... [homeless man hobbles away] ...don't forget about AppleCare!

And scene.

Posted in Technology\Web at 10:14 am.
1 Comment |

Steve Jobs Receives Steve Jobs Award

MAY 18, 2006

This would only be cool if he got it every year.

Quick Post link: http://www.macworld.co.uk/news/index.cfm?home&NewsID=14685

Posted in Quick Post at 9:53 am.
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My Jack Spade Bag

MAY 16, 2006

I believe everyone should buy themselves a good birthday present. You know yourself better than anyone else, so you should at least get one thing you're going to love. This year, I bought myself a Jack Spade bag. I've seen them around the subway and admired their simple, clean lines, but alway thought they were just a little too expensive/metrosexual. Then I saw one in the flesh (Jen got James one) and there was no turning back.

The bag is built beautifully and the attention to detail is exquisite. My favorite parts are the two outer pockets, which are clearly sized for an iPod and a set of keys (the larger pocket has an exit for your headphones), and the magazine slot in the back. I often find myself nearly missing my subway stop because I'm engrossed in an article and having to fumble with my bag to get the magazine inside, but this clears that up. As a bonus, one of the three small pockets on the inside fits my PSP perfectly (unfortunately my DS is a smidgen to large, which is why I'll obviously have to get a DS Lite).

Looking at the bag on the macro level, it's ideal for my commute to work. It can fit 2-3 magazines, all the items listed above and a lunch without much problem. Even better is that it easily fits in my lap, which was often a difficulty with my Chrome bag.

If you want to check out the details for yourself, I put together a flickr set with a few detail shots. I just wish more purveyors of goods took a ton of shots like this for each product, because the internet age is not great for kicking the tires.

Posted in Design, My Life at 7:53 pm.
6 Comments |

Federal Government is Tapping ABC News' Phone Calls to Find Confidential Sources

MAY 15, 2006

"It's time for you to get some new cell phones, quick" [via boing boing]

Quick Post link: http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2006/05/federal_source_.html

Posted in Quick Post at 6:42 pm.
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Wal-Mart's Growth from 1962-2004

MAY 15, 2006

Watch as the stores spread like a disease [via airbag]

Quick Post link: http://www.theboxtank.com/walmartbox/2006/05/walmart_growth.html

Posted in Quick Post at 3:35 pm.
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7-11 Japan Will Sell Oxygen in a Bottle

MAY 15, 2006

Finally, someone has created Perriair!

Quick Post link: http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/gadgets/canned-oxygen-for-sale-suckas-173739.php

Posted in Quick Post at 10:05 am.
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All Quiet on the Blog Front

MAY 12, 2006

This isn't your usual "Sorry I haven't been posting more" apology. Instead of begging for your forgiveness, I will show you the logo of what has been keeping me busy. You'll see it all for yourself a week from Monday.

Posted in My Life at 3:42 pm.
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Cool Hunting's Review of the LG Chocolate

MAY 12, 2006

The first phone to make me consider ditching my s710a. It's so thin!

Quick Post link: http://www.coolhunting.com/archives/2006/05/lg_chocolate_ph.php

Posted in Quick Post at 1:04 pm.
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Oddica

MAY 9, 2006

A new t-shirt website with designs that are truly art and offers a unique profit-sharing model for the artists

Quick Post link: http://www.oddica.com

Posted in Quick Post at 9:08 pm.
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Beat Boxing + Editing + Norweigan + YouTube = Gold

MAY 8, 2006

I have no clue how fast he can beat box without editing and I don't care.

Quick Post link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9698TqtY4A

Posted in Quick Post at 8:17 pm.
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How to Cure Hay Fever or Asthma with Hook Worms

MAY 8, 2006

Crazy story. You'd have to have really bad symptoms to consider this.

Quick Post link: http://www.kuro5hin.org/story/2006/4/30/91945/8971

Posted in Quick Post at 2:46 pm.
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Time Gets a First Look at the Nintendo Wii

MAY 8, 2006

Lev Grossman plays Warioware, the new Zelda an a tennis game, which he couldn't put down.

Quick Post link: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1191861,00.html

Posted in Quick Post at 11:28 am.
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Adicolor Shoes in NYC Bodegas

MAY 4, 2006

I'm not in love with the shoes from Adidas' Adicolor campaign, but all of the supporting materials and marketing promotions have been fabulous (especially the short films). Now, as you can see on the right, they're displaying some of their shoes in bodegas around New York City. In this case, a shoe from the white series is set in amongst feminine hygiene products.

If you'd like to see them for yourself, here is a list of the seven stores:
1. Deli Spring & Lafayette: Soho
2. Marlow & Sons: Williamsburg/Brooklyn
3. Grand Food Market Inc Grand and Crosby
4. Deli on Prince and Sullivan
5. Jewel News: Union Square
6. DeliMart: North 7/Bedford/Brooklyn
7. Deli Next to Arlene’s Grocery: Lower East Side

Information and photo is from The Go Figure, which has now been added to my RSS reader.

Posted in Art at 1:51 pm.
5 Comments |

10' x 7' Minority Report-like Screen Up at O'Hare

MAY 4, 2006

I want one of these at home. Now.

Quick Post link: http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/gadgets/minority-report-screen-at-ord-171547.php

Posted in Quick Post at 12:03 pm.
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NYT.com Adds Contextual Links

MAY 3, 2006

On this listing for an article about Stephen Colbert's awesome speech at the White House correspondent's dinner, the New York Times provides a link to the YouTube video of the event. It's nothing new for news sites to provide referencial links with an article, but this one is different.

The New York Times seems to be offering their readers the option of reading/viewing the piece in question before reading the commentary. It likely took guts to do this, but it's a great move. They're now saying, "it's okay if you weren't in on the joke before, but if you take a look now it'll be a lot more interesting."

Many companies would be afraid a constituent would go to the source media and not come back, which is a reasonable concern when your revenue is ad-based. NYT has admitted they're not the only site out there (and also doesn't seem to mind linking to copyrighted material posted without consent, which is another story all together) and understands that their readers are going to seek out this material anyway. By providing the links themselves, they're offering a better service. Similar arguments have been made in other contexts, but this is a great example of the theory in action.

I applaud the New York Times for doing this and I hope it sticks around.

Posted in Technology\Web at 8:39 pm.
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Django

MAY 3, 2006

I'll likely build the next version of Capn Design around this. Jeff Croft gives a great introduction for non-programmers looking to use Django. I'm excited about this in the same way I was excited when Movable Type was first released.

Quick Post link: http://www.djangoproject.com/

Posted in Quick Post at 8:22 pm.
1 Comment |