February 2012
9 posts
“But how big is the Republic/Empire? There’s probably a canonical figure...”
– Mother Jones goes full Clerks. I am positively elated.
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Treehugger has a survey up on its site right now, titled “Should Environmentalists Cheer Electric Cars?” When I checked in nearly 80% said yes. If they were smart, they’d say no.
Granted, this is an unscientific survey (as most voluntary internet polls are), but still, this is surprising.
To Treehugger’s credit, they bring up some good points regarding why cars, and not...
TV tech: Hipster bicycles on Downton Abbey
I’m still hesitant about jumping on the Downton Abbey bandwagon. Especially when the other major overproduced melodrama on television features zombies. But being the nerd I am, I have noticed some awesome retro tech amid the droll witticisms and aristocratic intrigue.
Exhibit A: the 1901-1910 Raleigh:
This thing was a triumph of British engineering - not to be confused with an actual...
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In which we each give Zuckerberg a crisp $50 bill
*Update: It’s only a $5 billion IPO, but still, that’s a lot of money.
A few thoughts on the impending Facebook IPO, distilled over a weekend of throat lozenges and Seinfeld DVDs: First off, the rumored $10 billion IPO (incidentally, the largest in history) and potential $100 billion valuation of the company is 100% justified. Zuckerberg and co. have created the most ingenious...
January 2012
14 posts
Video games to get you through the flu
This is an abbreviated post. I’ve been down with the sickness all weekend. It’s some type of flu. Probably not the bird or swine variety, but I’m not a doctor so who knows. All I know is I’ve been staying in bed for a good 16-20 hours a day, occupying my time with TV reruns and the occasional video games: Osmos (iPhone, iPad, Mac, PC)
Osmos is a beautiful game where...
Tips for buying an Xbox on Craigslist
The following are all real observations that I have actually encountered. I can’t make this up. Honestly, I’m not that creative.
When meeting your seller, remember that basement sublets can have pretty low ceilings. This isn’t a problem for inhabitants, as you will discover most seating is of the beanbag or gamer chair variety. Still, wear flat shoes and remember to watch...
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The complete novice's guide to Gmail
I’ve been a Gmail user since early on. So early on, in fact, that I sometimes forget that some people are just starting out with the service. Portland State, where friends and family earn a living, recently took the plunge and converted to Gmail over the summer. While this was a welcome change for most of the students (myself included) many others who worked at the school didn’t see...
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There’s not a lot in this post left unsaid. Adam Pash over at Lifehacker has written an excellent rant on Google, from the perspective of an avid user and lover of Google’s products.
I am inclined to agree with most of it.
Choice quotes:
Google’s not the only giant web company who wants to grab every piece of the internet you use. Every sufficiently large web company wants...
Flailure
I have used an Xbox Kinect precisely once. I was buying a HDMI cable at Fry’s Electronics and, breaking my rule of spending as little time there as possible, I stepped up to the in-store demo for a bout of Kinectimals. This lasted three minutes. It’s not that I don’t get the appeal. I recognize there’s a substantial portion of the population that, when they’re...
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Anatomy of a Facebook Rage-Quit
We’ve all been there. One day you wake up and just decide to throw in the towel. Maybe you’re sick of the constant stream of invitations to Zynga games, or the older relatives who snoop through your posts like a mother through a sock drawer. Maybe you’ve got one friend with serious emotional issues who uses the status update as a therapy session. Maybe you’ve just had...
There’s an excellent New York Times article that’s been making the rounds over the last few days. Titled “How the U.S. Lost Out on iPhone Work,” the article explains one of the reasons manufacturing jobs – particularly high-tech manufacturing – has been entirely outsourced to China. White the NYT piece makes a strong case that this is due to the entire supply chain for...
Spotify does not respect my musical taste
“YO THIS YOUR BOY BIG SEAN, INTERUPTING YOUR MOGWAI PLAYLIST WITH A MESSAGE FROM SPOTIFY!” This has happened to me so many times, I’ve lost count. Sure sometimes it’s the pleather cowboy sincerity of Lady Antebellum cutting into a long set of Radiohead, or Titus Andronicus briefly pausing so Ke$ha can say a few words. I’m not totally opposed to ads. I’ve...
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Jailbreak blues
Do I dare begin a blog with not one, but two Apple posts? Yes, because although I spend a good 10-12 hours a day behind a computer, I like to live dangerously. And live dangerously I shall. Today, the hacker “Dream Team” known as Chronic Dev (which, not unlike the actual Dream Team, is made up of incredibly talented people working overtime on something you don’t really care...
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iClass
I will give Apple this much, it takes some serious brass ones to say “you know, with all those budget cuts you’re making, you should really set aside some cash to buy everyone an iPad.” But that’s exactly what they did today with the announcement of iBooks 2 and accompaying textbook publishing deals. I should also get a disclaimer out of the way. I own an iPad 2 and use...