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March 31, 2001
The other day, Jish asked
The other day, Jish asked "hey, you want to catch a concert on Friday? It's this band Guster." I hadn't heard them before, but Meg reminded me she went to college with them and they were good live, so I said sure.
I popped on napster and listened to a bunch of tracks, and I have to admit, I wasn't all that impressed.
I went along with the concert plans anyway, because I rarely get to see live music, and after a pretty good canadian openning band (half the audience knew all the words to an obscure Newfoundland band - if you thought there was an impending canadian invasion let me tell you, it's already happened. Fear the maple leaf.), Guster took the stage.
And they were amazing.
There's been other bands I've seen I could compare the experience with, Rusted Root is incredible live - so much energy and so much great music that is all but lost when they record on a CD. I'd put Guster in the same place, all the incredible energy and wonderful sounds that their percussionist creates can barely be heard on their studio stuff. Just watching him play was worth it, imagine a cacophony of rhythm being produced by a guy with two hands (no sticks, just his hands) moving at the speed of light and bouncing around for an hour non-stop.
I bought a disc of theirs, and will buy their two earlier releases, as they've made a Guster fan for life. Bonus: they're cool with taping their live shows, so cruising napster for artist:guster song:live results in a lot of their past gems (though a kid with a DAT recorder still doesn't compare to hearing it in person).
Posted by 11:56 AM | TrackBack
March 30, 2001
MP3 clocks?! Why was
MP3 clocks?! Why was I not informed of this?!
Posted by 11:12 AM | TrackBack
Lately I've been seeing more
Lately I've been seeing more and more people wearing ugly sunglasses from the 70's. It's funny when seen in context, but looks dumb in the year 2001.
Who came up with the idea of wearing the ugliest, most useless sunglasses possible? Can it be traced back to a lost bet or a dare among two fashion plates?
Even when viewed just on the merits of design, they fail miserably. They aren't improved versions of previous designs. A lot of snowboarding-inspired designs (dragon and blackflys come to mind) of the past several years borrow heavily from 60's surfer specs (Dustin Hoffman's character in The Graduate sports a pair when he's floating around the pool), but these ugly 70's designs are just straight copies. When I was in Manhattan a couple weeks back, I couldn't help but notice them on every tenth person I saw walking down the street. Light pink lenses, baby blue, and smoked brown gradient lenses were everywhere I looked.
Ick. Wake me when this trend is over.
Posted by 05:27 AM | TrackBack
What did people used to
What did people used to do all day at work before email, web browsers, and instant messaging clients came out?
They didn't actually work 8 hours a day did they? Was their day all about trading stories at the water cooler? Playing solitare on their desktop? Talking about last night's M*A*S*H episode over the cubicle walls?
What is the next generation going to do all day instead of work? Wristwatch-mounted playstation 7 console games? Tomfoolery with their digital-video-camera-enhanced pencils? DVD playback on a tiny panel inside their eyeglass frames?
What did people do 50 years ago?
Posted by 02:07 AM | TrackBack
March 29, 2001
So I guess I'm officially
So I guess I'm officially a touchy-feely designer now. A company stole (screenshot) my metafilter design lock, stock, and barrel, and it feels like my house was robbed, my daughter raped, and my pets killed.
Fuckers.
I know it's a totally unrealistic reaction, and I can't stop thinking about why I feel so crappy over this. I've had my car broken into several times, personal belongings and stereos stolen, and this feels much worse. My hands are shaking and my stomach is knotted up. I'm a big ball of anger right now.
It's probably because they're a business first and foremost. If it were a personal site, I'd be annoyed, but in the past I haven't done anything about thefts of my stuff for personal use. The fact that they're a business, and they're using my hard work to represent them is where the problem lies. Pouring two years of work into something that's basically gotten you squat financially is another big reason. I'm more and more aware of all the hours I spend on the site, and lately I can't stop thinking if I should move on, and do something else with my time.
Posted by 01:25 AM | TrackBack
March 27, 2001
Does anyone not think this
Does anyone not think this new found money is just a way to pay off the majority of americans into letting the richest 1% get a huge break? And didn't the 80's prove "trickle-down" doesn't work?
Posted by 11:26 AM | TrackBack
Though a few friends tried
Though a few friends tried to convince me long ago, I've finally seen the light. I can't get enough of Sloan now.
A couple weeks ago, James gave me a compliation CD with a couple of their tracks, and the other day I popped on napster, searched for "sloan" and ended up downloading 25+ tracks in a very short while (who said napster was dead?). I actually had to double-check some of the tracks against their discography at cdnow and amazon, they have stuff that ranges all over the place musically, but it's great.
(oh, and a few discs of theirs are headed to me via amazon, thanks to the great stuff I got from napster)
Posted by 10:25 AM | TrackBack
March 25, 2001
Dang. Fucking Gladiator won best
Dang. Fucking Gladiator won best pic, and I have to say that was totally undeserved. I really wish Traffic or Crouching Tiger would have won.
Gladiator was basically a rehash of Road House, with nice outfits and phony accents.
It was not the best picture of 2000, not at all.
Posted by 10:06 AM | TrackBack
March 23, 2001
This. is. amazing. (background info
Posted by 11:27 AM | TrackBack
This makes no sense to
This makes no sense to me. I know Zeldman finished it, and it looks like it'll be out in May. Weird.
Posted by 11:13 AM | TrackBack
Mr. T, rapping about
Mr. T, rapping about his mother (1.8 Mb wav).
do I have to say anything more? [thanks Ben and Charlie!]
Posted by 01:54 AM | TrackBack
March 22, 2001
I updated my copy of
I updated my copy of winamp tonight, and I noticed an ad for their new visualization plug-ins. I rarely run them, as they're usually just eyecandy that wastes cycles, but sometimes they're cool to look at. So I checked out the most popular list, and at the top of the heap of techno graphing applets and wave generators are rendered dancing women. And they're not just popular, they're runaway hits. Over two million downloads in just a couple months.
I installed one of them, and it's basically an unrealisticly (if not impossibly) proportioned "juggy" dancer bouncing all over your screen, not even in beat to the music (like I suppose that mattered).
I'd like to think that women today have a better chance of making a mark on this world than they ever have, and that the only reason these are so popular is that winamp's primary audience are adolescent boys.
I certainly hope that's the case.
Posted by 11:38 AM | TrackBack
TiVo links worth sharing and
TiVo links worth sharing and bookmarking:
1. how to hack in a 30 second commerical skip
2. The new TiVo software is finally shipping
3. How to get the new 2.0 software in your TiVo asap
4. How to tape movies off your TiVo without having macrovision protection problems
I just did the 30 second hack and it works beautifully (I never used that "jump until the end" button anyway). My Replay-owning friends can stop gloating about their famed commercial skip button, because now I have the same thing too.
Posted by 09:24 AM | TrackBack
Today I thought maybe it
Today I thought maybe it was time to finally live in the future, by downloading and using jabber instead of AIM, ICQ, and all the others. I downloaded the "official" jabber client from jabber's list, installed it, created a new user on their site, and then ran the app. I got this screen.
And I'm never running this client again.
The entry for "jabber server" is empty, and there's no link to look up a list of current servers. If you go to jabber.com or jabber.org, there's nothing about a current server list. Even in their FAQ's, I can't find it.
update: after ten more minutes of rage-inducing searches of their site, I finally found an offsite link to jabberview, and it turns out jabber.com and jabber.org are currently running servers. Why in the name of jebus weren't they listed as defaults in the app? If the whole system is XML based, why can't new clients fetch and parse an XML list of online servers from jabberview, presenting me with a dropdown instead of a blank space? Why is this crappy user experience any better than what people have to deal with when using ICQ, AIM, Yahoo, or MSN's messengers?
another update: I enter "jabber.com" into the server space, and I get back the cryptic error message "Supply Complete Configuration." Adding port numbers to the domain entry results in the same, meaningless message. There is no help nor an example server entry, just cryptic errors.
So long jabber. Looks like there's still a significant amount of work left to do on the client.
Posted by 02:52 AM | TrackBack
March 21, 2001
Just when you think the
Just when you think the world is going to hell, and that manufactured, over-marketed things like pro wrestling, Britney Spears, and NASCAR are all the future holds for "culture" in America, the ratings for the televised XFL game last Saturday break the record for the lowest ratings ever (via the stuffed D).
Posted by 11:09 AM | TrackBack
A few random photos
A few random photos from this past weekend, spent on a day so beautiful I wondered why I've spent most of my 20's working indoors.
Posted by 10:24 AM | TrackBack
In college, there was a
In college, there was a guy everyone affectionately called "The Capeman." He walked the streets and the campus (I'm pretty sure he was a student), and was always wearing a long, black cape. You might see him on a Sunday morning, coming out of a coffee place, in midday when it was over a 100 in the summer, and he'd be wearing that cape.
When you see someone wearing a cape, you have to wonder how did they decide that a jacket or overcoat was just too confining? Does a scarf or shawl not have enough "punch" they need for dramatic entrances? Where do you even buy capes? Do they rate the amount of flow each cape may contain?
Posted by 08:49 AM | TrackBack
March 20, 2001
Every weekend, I grab the
Every weekend, I grab the remote, fire up the TV and watch my favorite TiVoed shows of the past week. I skim through most shows I missed, but lately there's one show I'm dying to see new episodes from.
This Old House.
I know, it sounds stupid, but when you can automatically tape an entire season, you can get into the story. The current season is covering an apartment building restoration on Bunker Hill, in Boston. I've followed the owners' (a young couple) trials and tribulations with city permitting, project budgeting, and scheduling work crews for the past two or three months. Each week there is some source of suspense, as deadlines change or the weather rears its ugly head, and each week the crew seems to barely squeak by under budget and within their due dates. There are only one or two episodes left, and I can't wait to see how the place turns out.
I'm emotionally invested in a home improvement show. There is drama, intrigue, and suspense, and I prefer it over any show written by teams of gifted writers. I am neither a home owner, nor a home improvement type of person, yet I love This Old House. Silly but true.
Posted by 12:03 PM | TrackBack
March 19, 2001
My cat can get some
My cat can get some crazy height when he jumps. If you look closely you can see he's jumping for a small piece of yellow paper (his favorite cat toy on earth is wadded up pieces of paper), and his lower legs are probably a good 2 feet above the ground.
After sleeping, eating, and beating up his little sister, his next favorite thing to do is launch for paper.
Posted by 11:18 AM | TrackBack
March 18, 2001
I'd heard that Mike from
I'd heard that Mike from American Movie was at SXSW, but I didn't think it was true. Aaron found him though.
On the American Movie DVD, there are some extras, and one cut scene has the greatest Mike moment. He talks about ACDC, and how he sometimes wishes he was in the band. If you haven't seen the movie, you really should. It's both sad and inspiring, and often times, funny as hell.
Posted by 11:52 AM | TrackBack
My brain is writing checks
My brain is writing checks my body can't cash.
Posted by 05:57 AM | TrackBack
March 17, 2001
A wake-up call This
A wake-up call
This morning, I drove to the south bay to run some errands, and on the way back into the city, I took the exact route I take coming home from work everyday. But something seemed wrong and unfamiliar. I checked and double-checked every street sign to make sure I was still going the proper direction home, and I was, but I couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't right. Then I figured out what was wrong.
It was the first time I'd ever driven that path in daylight.
Posted by 11:20 AM | TrackBack
March 16, 2001
Dakota Smith's Canadian Girlfriend is
Dakota Smith's Canadian Girlfriend is my current favorite song on earth. It's pure genius, just check out the lyrics.
It's James Kochalka genius. It's Tenacious D genius.
Posted by 11:43 AM | TrackBack
March 15, 2001
Last year I came
Last year I came away from South by Southwest feeling inspired and ready to conquer the world. There were no limits to what we could all do.
This year things were a tad grim, the free drinks were non-existent, the parties were smaller, glitz and glamor were out, cozy, intimate gatherings of friends were the norm. It was great to see that personal publishing was still alive, and will be for some time. All the stimulation and conversations made transitioning back to work at my day job quite difficult. Why can't work be that stimulating? Is there any real reason it can't?
Looking back, one question keeps popping into my head: given all the motivated, smart, like-minded people present, why the hell aren't we working on interesting projects, building new businesses, or creating collaborative spaces together? Just look at all the gathered talent; we're stuck, sitting on our islands, separated by geography and employers.
When are we going to wake up, come together, and create a motherfucking revolution?
Pyra was one example. 37signals sound like they're doing everything right. I have no doubt that Adaptive Path is going to go far, given the talent and dedication in the partners. So that's a few companies that did/are doing something special.
I wish those companies were just a few of many.
Posted by 10:26 AM | TrackBack
March 14, 2001
SXSW was mostly a blur
SXSW was mostly a blur for me, but Taylor's SXSW recap is easily the best I've seen so far. I agree with him on all counts, especially the stuff at the end about milestones.
I didn't have much time for photographs, but here are a few from the week.
Posted by 05:07 AM | TrackBack
March 12, 2001
I now have an image
I now have an image burned into my brain, that I'll carry for life, which will forever be my definition of surreal.
Standing in the middle of Times Square, surrounded by people tending to my needs, with a 30 foot high Kathie Lee Gifford above my head jabbering away on the big screen.
Posted by 08:22 AM | TrackBack
March 09, 2001
It's not a trip/vacation until
It's not a trip/vacation until it's 2am, you're still frantically doing laundry, arranging your personal effects, and packing 5 hours before you depart for Austin and New York.
It'll be great to see old friends and new faces, familiar and exciting places. I've promised myself that I'll take things easy this year, try to relax more and just go with the flow. I've only got a couple time commitments during the week, and the rest is open.
I'm taking my camera, but limiting myself to only interesting things: airport minutia, people walking down the street, sunsets, and architecture that captures my eye. Perhaps it's due to my recent purchase of this book, but there's certainly something wonderful hidden in the frozen moments of everyday life.
Trips like these are all about collecting experiences and adventures to share with everyone when you get back. I promise not to disappoint in that regard, but until then, there probably won't be anything new here.
Posted by 01:54 AM | TrackBack
March 08, 2001
This site is the story
This site is the story of post-college adventures in economics and Siberia, told by a fellow coworker at KnowNow that lived through it. Amazing stuff.
Posted by 11:05 AM | TrackBack
I want this. Now. Beautiful
I want this. Now.
Beautiful design and just about the most ingenious thing I've seen in ages.
I need this right now.
Posted by 09:02 AM | TrackBack
March 07, 2001
Thanks to a good deal
Thanks to a good deal of help from Eric, today I rewrote an intranet site to be completely CSS-based, better looking than the old table-based layout, done in 1/2 the code, and up to standards. It's also a cinch to update the layout or tweak the look now.
I wasn't sure the upgrade your browser campaign was the best way to move forward, but now I'm thinking it's not that bad. I think the hardest part will be convincing all the linux guys to use Mozilla 0.8 or Netscape 6 (which they say are slow and inferior to Netscape 4.7).
Posted by 10:06 AM | TrackBack
March 06, 2001
I was skimming news sites
I was skimming news sites today, when I noticed a striking resemblance between Salon's well know design, and the National Review Online site. Are conservative publications working with liberal online outlets suddenly, or is it blatant theft?
Posted by 09:26 AM | TrackBack
Filepile is a great
Filepile is a great idea from Andre, but it's quickly going to seed (porn). The music pane however, continues to be interesting. Bookmark this page, and revisit once an hour or so, and you'll see ten new songs worth downloading.
I downloaded Herbie Hancock's Rockit, and was instantly transported to 1984, surrounded by breakdancing, parachute pants, and cardboard.
Posted by 06:50 AM | TrackBack
March 05, 2001
I figured something out this
I figured something out this weekend. It's hard to hate a movie now that they all come with DVD extras. Even the most boring movie gets seen in a different light when you sit along with the director for an hour and a half. The best example of this (at least for me) is Go. It was an ok movie, perhaps a bit derivative, kind of a teenage version of Pulp Fiction. For some reason I listened to the extras, and the director and editor added an incredible amount of stuff. They were very honest about the film, and by the end you hear how jokes didn't work, what subplots were scrapped at the last minute, how filler shots were done in the editor's backyard with a hose simulating rain on a car, and how hard they tried to make a great movie.
And then suddenly, you realize it was a great movie, if things went had gone perfectly.
This past weekend, I watched Me, Myself, and Irene, and the extras contained enough cut scenes that it went from Police Academy stupid to almost Something About Mary funny. If they hadn't cut the ten minutes of footage on the DVD, it might have gotten good reviews.
Back when I was at UCLA, I took a sneak preview class where we saw preview screenings followed by someone involved with the film doing an hour of Q and A, and I remember it being a great learning experience. You find out how writers are screwed, how to get the studios to do what you want, how much everything actually costs, what it's like to work with top actors, and you learned basically all the mistakes that got made, and how they'd avoid them in the future. And now, many DVDs contain the same information.
I hope the quality of movies skyrockets, given all that is available to learn from.
Posted by 10:34 AM | TrackBack
March 03, 2001
XML? XSL? XHTML? Semantic web?
XML? XSL? XHTML? Semantic web? Huh?
Forget all that. It's about monkey vs robot. That is the explanation for everything.
Posted by 01:17 AM | TrackBack
March 01, 2001
After purchasing a CD at
After purchasing a CD at Amazon, three similar titles were suggested, and one caught my eye. I clicked through it, and here's what the album cover looked like.
I almost bought it, because y'know, pimps have to eat too.