dan says...

Scotch: A Pronunciation Guide

Sun, 01 Jan 2012 23:40:06 -0500

And one final video (or rather series of videos), via Mr. Peter Vidani: actor Brian Cox demonstrates the proper pronunciation of leading single malt Scotch names. I’ll confess I’ve always been a bit intimidated to ask for Auchentoshan or Bruichladdich in a bar.

LomoAmigo Kathryn Yu Shoots with the Lomo LC-Wide

Wed, 16 Nov 2011 11:34:00 -0500

New York City Photographer, Kathryn Yu, takes on the Lomo LC-Wide. Specializing in concert photography, her work has been featured on various publications like the Wall Street Journal and The New York Times. Check out her gallery and her interview after the jump!

awesomepeoplehangingouttogether: Anthony Bourdain &...

Sun, 06 Nov 2011 18:03:21 -0500

awesomepeoplehangingouttogether:

Anthony Bourdain & Christopher Walken

shooshee: world-shaker: May I present to you: The Best...

Sat, 29 Oct 2011 19:24:52 -0400

shooshee:

world-shaker:

May I present to you: The Best Parents, EVER.

*smile*

Thanks for everything, Steve.

Wed, 05 Oct 2011 23:02:18 -0400

5 GR
10 COLOR=12
20 HLIN 16,18 AT 13
30 HLIN 22,24 AT 13
40 HLIN 15,25 AT 14
50 HLIN 14,26 AT 15
60 COLOR=13
70 HLIN 14,26 AT 16
80 HLIN 14,25 AT 17
90 HLIN 14,24 AT 18
100 COLOR=9
110 HLIN 15,24 AT 19
120 HLIN 15,24 AT 20
130 HLIN 15,24 AT 21
140 COLOR=1
150 HLIN 15,25 AT 22
160 HLIN 16,26 AT 23
170 HLIN 16,25 AT 24
180 COLOR=3
190 HLIN 16,24 AT 25
200 HLIN 16,24 AT 26
210 HLIN 17,23 AT 27
220 COLOR=2
230 HLIN 17,19 AT 28
240 HLIN 21,23 AT 28
250 COLOR=12
260 PLOT 19,12
270 HLIN 17,19 AT 11
280 HLIN 17,18 AT 10

(credit: jferg)

kathrynyu: A deconstructed Bloody Mary at Aviary starts with a...

Tue, 16 Aug 2011 18:53:56 -0400

kathrynyu:

A deconstructed Bloody Mary at Aviary starts with a glass of frozen Worcestershire sauce, frozen balls of celery and Fresno ice cubes topped with white, tomato-flavored ice. A carafe of tomato juice and Karlsson’s vodka is added to the glass by the guest to finish the drink.

(via Critic’s Notebook: Next, in Chicago - Slide Show - NYTimes.com)

For those of you who are curious what the little program in the...

Mon, 25 Jul 2011 12:27:48 -0400

For those of you who are curious what the little program in the header does.

shooshee: received in response to me saying I am “throwing...

Mon, 18 Jul 2011 20:02:46 -0400

shooshee:

received in response to me saying I am “throwing things in my Fuck-it Bucket…”

Woods+

Mon, 11 Jul 2011 12:42:08 -0400

Woods+:

“In this scenario one sunny day you’re working on low-level NoSQL projects at the Gootch or wherever, and you get an email from Facebook and you go for the interview and Zuckerberg is talking about scaling PHP and suddenly pauses, gets this look in his eye, pulls his hoodie over his head and says “You have sixty seconds. You should be running.” Because engineers, as we are often reminded, are the ultimate prey.”

(via Buzz)

When I was 15, I configured a Waffle BBS system to act as a mail...

Thu, 16 Jun 2011 00:58:00 -0400

When I was 15, I configured a Waffle BBS system to act as a mail application and Usenet newsreader:

In the middle of the night, a mechanical lamp timer would turn on my 286 computer.
AUTOEXEC.BAT would detect the time, and run a separate batch file.
This batch file would run a UUCP application. My 2400 baud modem would call Lake Systems, a private dial-up UNIX system run by the sysadmin of Marquette University, and download a payload of mail and news.
In the morning, I was free to read rec.humor.funny without the bother of busy signals or slow modem throughput.

In order to set up this Rube Goldberg contraption, I needed to register as a host. Scanning my soda can- and candybar wrapper-littered desk, I fixed upon a half-eaten white chocolate bar, and chose my hostname.

Alpine.

Twenty-one years later, an anonymous software engineer pulled together various digital artifacts to create a multiplayer game for his son.

Tonight, while playing that game, I ran into my 15-year-old self.

Remiel: Friday, Rebecca Black, and celebrity hate

Fri, 15 Apr 2011 10:03:00 -0400

Remiel: Friday, Rebecca Black, and celebrity hate:

remiel:

I love “Friday”. Unabashedly. I hope Rebecca Black makes a million dollars from it, her debut album is a Gaga-caliber hit, and she marries her dreamboat, Justin Bieber.

When I first heard “Friday”

I thought “This is quite possibly the worst song ever!” Every pop musician who pays attention…

"[Apple’s] focus this week has been to troubleshoot all the iPad 2s that customers are returning to..."

Tue, 22 Mar 2011 09:07:00 -0400

“[Apple’s] focus this week has been to troubleshoot all the iPad 2s that customers are returning to the stores. One iPad came back with a post it note on it that said ‘Wife said no.’ It was escalated as something funny, and two of the VPs got wind of it. They sent the guy an iPad 2 with a note on it that said ‘Apple said yes.’”

- iPad 2: Wife Says No, but Apple Says Yes - Mac Rumors (via implodr)

Home (Theater) Improvement

Wed, 26 Jan 2011 16:41:00 -0500

I currently have an insanely complicated home theater setup that takes up half my closet, connected by a rat’s nest of cables that I dare not touch lest I inexplicably lose the left audio channel on my Blu-ray player. It’s ridiculous, it’s completely overkill for my needs, and did I mention it takes up half my closet? My tiny, Manhattan-sized closet?

Something’s got to give.

I won’t bore you with the details of my master plan (yet) but I find myself searching for a piece of hardware that I’m not sure exists. Perhaps you can help.

My home theater receiver is huge. Massive. It’s 10” tall, 20” deep, weighs 800 lbs, and probably draws more power than our air conditioner. Despite its long list of capabilities, it has but two jobs that are of any use to me: 1) switch between my various components, and 2) make things loud.

Now, since shifting to a Mac Mini home media server running Boxee, that first job is all but obsolete. And the second? Well, as I said, I live in a small apartment in the West Village. I’ve never come close to testing the amplification limits of this thing.

And so, I find myself looking for a replacement. Something small. Something elegant. Something that does what I need, and nothing more. Something that, ideally…

has a single, optical audio input,
will decode that audio input into surround sound channels,
will amplify those channels enough for me to enjoy television and movies at a reasonable volume,
and comes in a compact, visually appealing form factor with a simple user interface. Or, better yet, no user interface. Just a volume knob and an on/off switch.

Do you know of such a beast? Do you have one yourself? For the love of god, please tell me! Everything I see is pretty much the opposite of what I want: a giant monstrosity that has eighteen inputs, 500W of ground-shaking power, and an unholy mess of buttons, dials and knobs.

Boba’s Invoice by Laser Bread, on Flickr

Tue, 11 Jan 2011 16:48:56 -0500

Boba’s Invoice by Laser Bread, on Flickr

"We all have ways of coping. I use sex and awesomeness."

Thu, 11 Nov 2010 10:07:31 -0500

“We all have ways of coping. I use sex and awesomeness.”

- Jack Donaghy

Seeing the abandoned Six Flags in New Orleans reminds me of...

Thu, 11 Nov 2010 09:35:00 -0500

Seeing the abandoned Six Flags in New Orleans reminds me of DandeLion Park, an amusement park in the small town where I grew up. Closed when I was three years old, the decaying skeletal remains of the Tail Spin towered over Janesville Ave until finally being demolished in 1983, six years later.

"Don’t wear suede shoes… you’ll be in the toilet, taking a pee, and a guy will..."

Thu, 04 Nov 2010 14:03:00 -0400

“Don’t wear suede shoes… you’ll be in the toilet, taking a pee, and a guy will recognize you. And he’ll turn to you and say, “Michael Caine!” And he will have peed all over your shoes.”

- Michael Caine, recounting John Wayne’s advice to him, early in his acting career (via Fresh Air)

Me time...

Mon, 11 Oct 2010 02:31:37 -0400

catalogliving:

At 10:30 every morning, when Gary’s rolled up all his beige paper and put away his giant compasses, he takes a moment for himself to sit in his favorite chair and do a quick “Mork calling Orson” monologue.

Free to a good home

Sun, 18 Jul 2010 13:52:00 -0400

Kathryn and I are neck-deep in cardboard boxes, and I’ve uncovered a number of items that are too valuable to throw away, but not valuable enough to spend my (very limited) time selling on Ebay or Craigslist.

Do you live in New York City? Any or all of these items are yours, provided you can come and pick them up this week. Call, text, email, or DM on Twitter if you’re interested.

UPDATE: All gone!

Mac mini (PowerPC Model A1103): I don’t remember how fast the processor is. It’s either 1.25, 1.42, or 1.5 GHz. Brand new hard drive.
AirPort Extreme (802.11g, Model A1034): Remember when wifi base stations looked like spaceships? SO EXTREME!!1
Apple Mice: One wireless Mighty Mouse, one corded Mighty Mouse, and one Pro Mouse (no scroll ball).
Canvas Jack Spade messenger bag (tan): I’ve had an item labeled “Clean and sell Jack Spade bag” on my to-do list, but I just never got around to it. A little detergent, a little elbow grease, and it’ll be like new. Perfect for carrying your Mac Mini, AirPort Extreme, and assorted Apple mice.
Spice Rack: Our oft complemented, seldom used magnetic spice cabinet shan’t be making the move with us.

Extreme Makeover: Liquor Cabinet Edition

Mon, 10 May 2010 18:53:00 -0400

Kathryn and I have run out of space in our liquor cabinet. Bottles are, once again, spilling out into our dining room, and we’re faced with a decision: buy another cabinet, or figure out a way to fit more booze into our existing space. If at all possible, I would prefer the latter, so I’ve concocted an absurdly complicated plan to squeeze every last inch of space out of our existing cabinet (a sliding-door credenza from CB2).

Each half of the unit currently houses around 30 bottles. Most are 750ml, some less, and a few are infuriatingly shaped so as to consume the largest possible footprint while containing a small amount of liquid (ahem). Bottles in the back are difficult to reach, and any attempt at organization devolves into a game of Tetris.

I’m convinced that non-uniform bottle size is incompatible with a Manhattan-sized apartment. I searched the internet for inexpensive, square, tall bottles, suitable for rebottling hooch, and found this little beauty.

My quest for a 750ml bottle was fruitless, but I’m starting to think that 500ml bottles actually make more sense. A survey of our cabinet reveals that we have far more bottles that contain under 500ml of booze, than more. When new bottles are acquired, we can split the contents between two bottles, or gift/sell the overflow to friends (an appealing option for niche spirits, for which we want on hand for rinses or eyedropping).

With carefully measured, custom cut shelves, the bottles can be stored horizontally, and effectively double the capacity of our cabinet. Each side would be laid out thusly:

Bottles would be labeled, of course, and corresponding labels will be affixed to the edge of the shelves for ease of reference. I’m still working through this, but I’m currently favoring a solution based on magnetic tape and metal plates, so that labels can easily be moved.

Before I buy bottles and have shelves cut, I want independent, third-party verification that this isn’t a really stupid idea. Unless convinced otherwise, I’m placing an order for 132 glass bottles right after the Manhattan Cocktail Classic. If you, or anyone you know, has tried something like this and ended up with Gin all over their dining room floor, now would be an excellent time to speak up.