Rooz Mousavi’s Rolling Luggage
Mobius PLAY
iZzy’s iPhone
She looks pretty happy about her new toy:
Comments on Commercials
- The TV ads in which a Chevy at a gas station is sabotaged by the pump hose were made by people who are much better at what they do than GM is.
- Every time I see the ExxonMobil commercial, in which a man with a short gray beard is suddenly buying mosquito nets for everybody in Africa (which is a good cause), I think of the mob giving money to the Catholic Church.
- When I see a John McCain commercial, I can’t imagine who wouldn’t think that it was a call to look for a person missing from a home.
Apple Store
Went to the Apple store yesterday to get Cindy’s iPod Touch (gift certificate, generously given to her by her staff), which she wanted instead of the phone because she hates phones and the iPod, with wi-fi, lets her do everything she wants to do with such a thing. Jesus–what recession? That place was packed, like a trade show held in a one-room apartment. And everybody but me looked like they had lived in that place for so long–who wouldn’t know how it all works? It all went well though, and I got the Touch and a nice Italian leather case for it. On my way out I saw a woman with her sullen off-to-college-for-the-first-time son, and you wouldn’t believe the stuff she was piling up for him. MacAir, printer, stack of software, big monitor–and a load of all those little things mom would later have to buy again and stuff into his Christmas stocking because he lost them “outside somewhere.” I wanted to hang around to overhear the total, but it was enough to see that Mary Kay didn’t really give a shit how much it was. Strange feeling it all left me with. I like all that stuff too, but I kind of felt like I needed a shower.
My mom, the iPod and genericide
My mom, quite unintentionally, is waging a one woman genericide war on the iPod. Not only does she refer to all media players as iPods but she calls ANY small electronic gadget an iPod. Cellphones, PDA’s, calculators and remote controls are all iPods as far as she is concerned.
Zune Tattoo Guy Switches to iPod
One-Way Gate of Praise
From the ticker: “McCain credits Bush for recent $10-a-barrel drop in oil price.” But of course he didn’t blame him for any of the rise in that price. The story notes that McCain believes it is the psychological effect of Bush’s lifting the ban on offshore drilling that did the trick–in spite of the fact that it would be almost twenty years before any oil from those wells hit the market. Funny that the recent news about gigantic oil reserves in Brazil didn’t prevent the rising prices of late.
My New Favorite Tequila
See a review here. One of the things I like best about this tequila is its smoothness–which comes without sacrifice of a distinct range of flavors. And another thing: its price. If I encountered this tequila in a blind tasting, I would expect it to cost twice as much.
church key included
The red part on the back of this rack doesn’t only act as a red flag, it’s also a bottle opener. Because bikes, beers, and cars mix so well…
Has anyone noticed?
Shiny is the new black.
iPhone 3G: The Siren Song
I have resisted the iPhone for a solid year now, instead sticking with my BlackBerry 8130 on Verizon. But increasingly the BB isn’t doing it for me, and I find myself lusting after iPhones even more than when they launched. I told myself some time ago that I would wait until iPhone v2 arrives, and assuming it has 3G capability, I would take the plunge then.
Tomorrow at WWDC might be the tipping point for me. If the new model amazes — and I think it will, but not NEARLY as much as the 3rd-party software demos will — I will buy one and make the move to AT&T.
I found some purported (’leaked’) images of the 3G iPhone over on Engadget, but I have my doubts as to whether or not these are real. In fact, I agree with John Gruber: before WWDC, all ‘leaked’ info should be assumed false, as leaked Apple images/news are amazingly viral before any headline Apple event.
If you are an iPhone user, what are your impressions of the device (and network) after owning one for some time? Any insight into the whole iPhone vs. BlackBerry debate?
Hands on with the new Flip Mino
Meanwhile, in a completely different country . . .
About four out of five UK businesses believe the type of biscuit they serve to potential clients could clinch the deal or make it crumble, a survey says.
The outcome of a meeting could be influenced by the range and quality of biscuits, according to 1,000 business professionals quizzed by Holiday Inn.
The chocolate digestive was deemed to make the best impression followed by shortbread and Hob Nobs.
Lawyers were most impressed by good boardroom biccies, the survey added.
Biscuits ‘key’ to clinching business deals, BBC News, Monday, 2 June 2008.
Mmm. I think I will get me some Plain Chocolate Hob Nobs at lunchtime.
Read more
The Luke arm
Via Dylan
HOTWICKS
So HOTWICKS looks to be the candle-ary equivalent of Demeter colognes. But Dirt and Laundromat notwithstanding, I don’t think Demeter offers anything quite like The Stripper Candle or The Urinal Cake Candle.
(Chris Glass picked up on this by way of Uncrate: The Buyer’s Guide for Men. Ah. A guy thing.)
the geek in me…
…wants these salt and pepper shakers for my kitchen:
via Coudal
they don’t build ‘em like they used to
A light bulb in the engine bay of a Livermore California firehouse has been burning almost continuously since 1901.
A Brief History of Velcro
Velcro turned 50 this week.
You may know the famous story about Swiss engineer George de Mestral’s 1941 hunting trip in Switzerland—while walking his dog in the mountains, he accidentally brushed up against some cocklebur plants, and by the time he got back home, dozens of the round, spiky seeds were clinging to his wool trousers (and his poor dog’s fur). What you don’t know is how hard it was for de Mestral to translate that natural stroke of genius into a manmade one.
He quickly figured out why the seeds were so sticky by examining them under a microscope—the spikes each ended in tiny hooks that grabbed onto fabric and fur and wouldn’t let go. But it wasn’t until 1952 that de Mestral made a serious effort to mimic the cockleburs’ hooks using different types of fabric. He quit his day job and raised $150,000 in venture capital, an enormous sum at the time. He also joined up with a textile weaver from Lyon, France—the only weaver who thought the idea would actually work. The pair’s first attempt, using cotton, was a failure. But nylon, sewn into tiny hooks under bright infrared light, worked much better. He dubbed it “Velcro” after “velvet” and “crochet,” the French word for “hook.”
“[T]he single portion offers calorie control.”
Aside from a light gown of salt, it rests naked within its deplorable womb of plastic.
—”The Individually Wrapped Cashew,” Culinary Abortions from Japan
(Via Robyn Lee at Serious Eats)
Dear clusterflock
I come seeking advice and counsel . . .
I’m in the market for an in-town bicycle. Because I’ll be on sabbatical this coming fall, I’ll be giving it a try as my fair-weather transportation till winter sets in for real in November; if it goes well, I’ll be using it as commuter transport in the spring. Home to work is 11 miles one way. The streets on my route aren’t in the best of shape.
$200 is my upper limit. Sturdiness is paramount. What bikes should I look at/stay away from?
Hot DP
From the Wikipedia entry on DP —
In the 1990s, the movie Blast from the Past has a character played by Christopher Walken whose wife (played by Sissy Spacek) prepared hot Dr Pepper. There was an actual campaign in the early 1960s to serve Dr Pepper hot with slices of lemon as a winter drink. The police investigators at the beginning of Blast from the Past can be seen reeling in disgust at his having it prepared hot.
Hot DP was an abomination. It was nasty.
DP Q & A
No, no, no. Dr Pepper.
Q: I have 2 commemorative cans of Dr. Pepper. One is full of soda and one is empty. The archives of Abilene Christian University would like to keep both cans. Can anyone offer advice regarding safe housing and storage of the Dr. Pepper cans?
A: Try the Dr. Pepper Museum people.
(From the Archives & Archivists List)
Billy the Big Mouth Bass Was a Dumb Idea?
Ten dumb ideas that made a lot of money.
(via coudal)
Sony XEL-1, it’s a wafer thin
