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How to Use a Gift-Credit Card at a Restaurant
brian on 2009.03.13 at 10:39 pm
You’ve probably seen them by now, a gift card that’s not to a particular store or restaurant, but bears a credit card logo (like Visa or AMEX) and can be spent where ever credit cards are accepted. A strange new thing. Personally, I’d suggest giving cash or a check, because they don’t have the strings attached. But I’ll talk about the pluses and minuses of gift and gift/credit cards at the end.
When you use one of these cards at a restaurant or a gas station, you could have big stumbling blocks. We did, this evening, with one. Here’s why. When you use a credit card at a restaurant, they first take the card, swipe it through their machine and put a hold on your account, then they bring you a receipt which you sign, add a gratuity, then hand over, and walk off with your card. The restaurant then reopens the bill in the machine, adjusts the total to accommodate your tip, and the sale completes after you’ve left the premises.
This is where the problem arises. When the restaurant places a hold on your account, they do so for more than the total of your bill. Many times the machine puts a hold for 120% of your bill, to accommodate the possibility of a 20% tip. They’re effectively asking your bank, “Will this person be able to pay their bill plus whatever they’re going to leave us for a tip (an amount that we, the restaurant, don’t know at the moment)?”
If you’re using a gift credit card, you have a hard limit. We had a $50 card. We had a $48 dinner. Sweet, perfectly paid for! We just have to leave a cash tip! Not so fast. When the card goes through, the machine isn’t asking for $48, it’s asking for closer to $60. Which you don’t have. So what happens? DECLINED.
There’s much more to this story…
Posted in: Cool Info
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I wish you used Twitter
brian on 2007.09.02 at 10:27 pm
Hi,
It’s your friend Brian. Remember when we used know what each other was up to on a day-to-day basis? The good old days before we had jobs and lived in close proximity? Yes, life has lead us apart a little, as it does. Phone calls, email and even IMs dwindle unintentially. But, some geeks in San Francisco have made something that brings back a little of that day-to-day contact.
I don’t want this to sound like an infomercial, but there’s this thing called Twitter, and its kinda wonderful. I’d love it if you signed up, and then you and I, and our common friends could all see what everyone else is up to. Its entirely free, and as simple as sending an instant message. 100s of 1000s are using it already, worldwide.
What is Twitter?
What is it?Â
Twitter is a community of friends and strangers from around the world sending updates about moments in their lives. Friends near or far can use Twitter to remain somewhat close while far away…Ok… so how does it work? You can send updates in three ways: send a text message from your mobile phone, type a message from the Twitter site, or instant message… (source: http://help.twitter.com/ )
Its a web service that asks you to simply type what you’re up to, in only 140 characters. Then the service sends your update (known as a “tweet”) to all your friends who you’ve let follow you on Twitter. Your tweet can be something profound or something random. Both are great!
You can update and receive updates from the web site at twitter.com, over an IM network (AIM, GTalk), over SMS (text message on your cell phone), and through other things like desktop widgets and plug ins on other websites, like Facebook.
So, if you have a moment, sign up for Twitter. You won’t get spammed and its super easy to sign up and use. If you’re confused by anything I’ve talked about, email me and I’d be happy to entertain any questions, or send you a direct invite to Twitter. Here I am on Twitter: http://twitter.com/briandigital – my updates are public: anyone can see them and follow my updates. Many people choose to only let their friends follow.
For the rest of this piece, I’m going to go a little more in depth on Twitter, especially on how to get the most out of it for the least effort.
The very first thing to realize is that it may take a week or two to really get a lot out of Twitter, because you need to achieve critical mass. Stick with it! You probably need five friends or so to join up and post about three times a day to really get and enjoy Twitter immensely. So perhaps the first two things you should do are 1) commit to posting three times a day, 2) invite a bunch of your friends! You’re welcome to point them to this blog post if you need help explaining what Twitter is – its hard to explain, but easy to love!
More important stuff is coming up, read on!
Posted in: Technology · Cool Info · Web
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Dollar Shirt
jake on 2006.02.24 at 03:13 pm
The other day I got a little interested in a t-shirt after seeing an image on a post I can’t find again. Gotta love RSS overload. I sucessfully made the shirt displayed here. Now if I could just figure out the shirt and tie version without a book (Amazon).Some more dollar origami…
Posted in: Cool Info
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Syncing Hot Dogs and Buns
jake on 2005.05.20 at 04:05 pm
Sweet Jesus. The end is nigh. Equivalent quantities of hot dogs and buns. Start the hysteria!
From: Boing Boing
Posted in: Cool Info
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Some interesting articles from the May issue of Wired
jake on 2005.05.16 at 10:18 pm
I’ve been trying to keep my extraneous items out of my space. That means throwing away magazines I don’t really need anymore. If the subject matter is more technical, like how-to shoot a good portrait I’ll throw it into Del.icio.us. But sometimes it’s just an interesting article, and it makes more sense to share those here and archive them for posterity. This month’s issue of Wired falls into the later category.
Destination: Manhattan, 1609 — A comparison of Manhattan in 1609 and today.- White People Can’t Text — I am not sure what they’re getting at here. It sounds like cell phone content providers, aka assholes, are going to target minorities. Personally I find all of that crap a rip off, remember everyone, they overcharge you for content, you don’t need to buy from them. Getting a ring tone or two for $2.99 is one thing. You don’t need to repurchase all the latest hits. It’s why the bastards don’t want the iTunes phone to be released.
- Mega Player 522BT — If I don’t get a bare bones phone, it’ll have Bluetooth. Too bad more mp3 players don’t have features like this one. And too bad this one is not an iPod:.
- Shopping Cart — If I was still in college I’m sure I could get some use out of the The Ring Thing.
- Cracking the Real Estate Code — All the lingo surrounding real estate can be confusing, just like any other industry where you’re an outsider. This article tries to help level the playing field.
So consider the terms in the box on the previous page: A “fantastic” house is surely fantastic enough to warrant a high price, right? What about a “charming” and “spacious” home in a “great neighborhood!”? No, no, no, no, and no.
In fact, the terms that correlate with a higher sales price are physical descriptions of the home itself: granite, Corian, and maple. As information goes, such terms are specific and straightforward – and therefore pretty useful. If you like granite, you might like the house; but even if you don’t, “granite” certainly doesn’t connote a fixer-upper. Nor does “gourmet” or “state-of-the-art,” both of which seem to tell a buyer that a house is, on some level, fantastic.
Posted in: Cool Info
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NEMBAs Riding Land from Above
brian on 2005.04.10 at 10:36 pm
If you’re a mountain biker and interested in the NEMBA purchase of the 47 acres in Milford, MA ‘commonly known as Vietnam’ you may be interested in Google’s Satellite Image of the land. Look slightly north of the I-495/Rt. 85 interchange and it’s that nice woodsy area to the east of 85.
It’s much better than NEMBA’s own picture. I’m dying to get down there are check the place out. Except I’m between off-road bikes.
Posted in: Cool Info · Sports
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Quoteable
brian on 2005.04.03 at 10:57 am
“Fortune favors the prepared mind.”
– Louis PasteurPosted in: Cool Info
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Mind wandering back
brian on 2004.12.15 at 03:27 pm
Today I am off from the usual gig. Jake and I have been working on research to present in a proposal to a prospective client, which could be a very cool project. More on that when/if we have something to talk about publicly.
I've been pondering the fact that I haven't been posting as much as I should, and if you're a regular reader, I do apologize. We've considered adding a quick "links we've read recently" section, a la Kottke's remaindered links. which would have helped during the recent dry spell. I'm still reading the web / NetNewsWire voraciously, but I've not been spurred to comment much about what I've read recently. The only thing I might point to is Lisa Rein's coverage of the Ohio/National voting debacle. Otherwise, I've been trying to hold back on my political commentary. It just makes me so angry, that I don't want this to become a rant log.
But what has captured my mind over the last 24 hours has been weather, snow and webcams, and simultaneously thinking back to my cross country trip this summer. {Post One | Post Two} Someday we'll have more of a story about it. Maybe.
Particularly, our favorite part of the trip was Montana. If you combine Montana with weather, and snow, you get Brian in wonderland. Just something about snow out there that calls to me. Working for the National Weather Service or Montana DOT dealing with snow out there is just so appealing to me. Why? Am I nuts? Certainly. I am certainly not qualified to be a weather person. (question: do some schools offer meteorology as a major? or do you study environmental science and move over?) Whatever it'd be, it'd certainly involve the web.
So today I found a wonderfully simple way to transport myself out there, into the conditions... Montana webcams, many from the NWS and Montana DOT.
Also, I've been trying to think up a project that would allow me to combine the NWS's new XML feeds, a webcam (likely an iSight + EvoCam, but possibly adding a Linksys WiFi camera if I were to go all out) and some sort of personal weather center that I could collect my own data from, when we get to our new abode, sometime later 2005. I'd love to run this all off the new, pending G5
Till then, it's pure escapism. See you there.
Posted in: Technology · Cool Info
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News about News, Conclusion
brian on 2004.12.08 at 01:15 pm
Hello to our readers... few bits back I announced that there would be an announcement here, but then, didn't follow up on my promise. Here we are...
I'm getting married to my girlfriend of six and a half wonderful years, Amanda. It should go down in Connecticut in 2006.
No offense to our blog readers, but I had to notify all of our more personal friends first, since I didn't want to get any angry emails, "Hey, you blogged your engagement, but didn't contact me?" This may still happen...
No plans for Amanda to start blogging here anytime soon, although she does partake in reading them from time to time.
Posted in: Cool Info
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Seen in Brighton
brian on 2004.10.17 at 11:19 pm
Banner on Brighton Pharmacy.
If our prices were any lower, Canadians would shop here.
Posted in: Cool Info
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Best ad of the Day
brian on 2004.08.30 at 10:30 pm
Seen in a Boston bus stop:
Guiness has only 125 calories. Not on purpose.
Posted in: Cool Info
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The Long Journey Begins
brian on 2004.08.04 at 09:57 pm
It's vacation time! Tomorrow, we embark for a two week driving tour across the northern United States. Our goal is a wedding on the Pacific coast of Washington State mid way, and then a different route back. Be on the look out for pictures from the road, if or when we find WiFi!
Posted in: Cool Info
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Strawberry Shake Shootout
brian on 2004.05.18 at 04:12 pm
Here's two reviews of recent Strawberry Milkshakes I've consumed.
JP Licks Strawberry Frappe.
To start, if you don't know what a Frappe is, that's OK. It's New England for "thin milkshake." That's going to skew things in my review, I'll admit. I prefer shakes that are thick. But I won't penalize JPL on grounds of style, however, being thinner, the drink loses its cool faster. A factor when walking the three or so blocks home while enjoying your treat.
The Frappe is made with JP's own ice cream, which is of famously high quality. From what I could tell, The ingredients of my frappe were one ladel of chunky strawberry topping (ostensibly made of actual stawberries and syrup) some unknown amount of hard ice cream (assumedly vanilla) and my choice of whole or skim milk (I chose skim). Fresh, high quality ice cream base is going to give JPL the lion's share of their points. Flavor was pretty much spot on. Not too much on the sweet side, not too much on the milky side. I did get chunks of strawberry up the straw. However, a section I will penalize on is the grounds of price. There's only one size on the menu. Luckily for me, this was the quantity I wanted. But it weighs in at $4.50 before tax ($4.73 after). Ouch. The "Extra-Thick Frappe" is $4.75 on the menu.
Things that I don't factor into the score here are ambience of the shop (I visited my local Coolidge Corner location, very nice) or quality of the server (equally good). But I thought I'd add that in.
I give JP Licks' Strawberry Frappe a 3.5 out of 5 asterisks. JP Licks has 7 locations throughout the Boston area. But no website to link to. Here's a link to a review of their Newbury Street location.
{Totally unrelated, on my walk back from JP Licks, my iPod treated me to one of my favorite songs, Recently, by the Dave Matthews Band - off the 1993 self-released "Remember Two Things." This is where I got the inspiration for our weblog's name (although its entirely relevant on its own). }
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McDonald's Corp Strawberry Shake
OK, now turning to an easier to find milkshake, we'll take a look at McD's. Here, the most points are scored right off the bat with a very good thickness. Just shy of "damn-near-impossible-to-sip." Also, McD's scores big points for value for your dollar. The medium size (16oz) is plenty big, and cost just less than $2. The flavor and ingredients are where McD's predictably slips. The flavor was surprisingly passable, but simply cannot compare to an actual ice cream shop. I've also had a vanilla shake once from McD's and thought it tasted like an oil slick, and promptly got a stomach ache from its unknown ingredients.
Speaking of ingredients, one can only assume the shake is made of some form of McD's standard ice milk, which would save you a little on the fat side, but we don't make such considerations here. Additionally, the source of that dairy is likely very corporate in nature... surely not of ice cream shop quality, and the flavorings, colorings and thickening agents are partially of artificial nature. Big minuses in our book. However, in McDonald's defense, here are the actual ingredients from the shake I consumed. Surprisingly, strawberries are actually on the list. Unsurprisingly, there are preservatives.
Again, ambience will not be factored in, as we stopped on the MassPike at 11pm on a Saturday night, that's good for McD's score. But it also does well in another unscored catagory of convenience.
I give McD's Strawberry Shake a score of two asterisks out of five.
Posted in: Cool Info
2 Comments -
3D Metroid Shockwave Game
jake on 2004.05.09 at 12:47 am
I couldn't resist linking to this isometric 3d Metroid game. Brings back memories... Posted in: Cool Info
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Scale Siege Engines
jake on 2004.04.21 at 04:36 pm
I sent this to my brother yesterday as he collects things like this. Small scale Siege Weapons. If I only had a few hundred bucks to blow, I'd love to get a F.A.Trebuchet, shown right.From Boing Boing
Posted in: Cool Info
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The Call of the West
brian on 2004.02.09 at 09:45 am
I don't know what it was this morning, but hearing about the 129 mile closure of Interstate 80 on Sunday, and following a link at the bottom of the story to the Wyoming Highway Department which has web cameras of Wyoming by-ways, something just clicked. A desire that I've had for a long time to simply roam the big sky country. Yeah, it's 10° there. Yeah it's hundreds of miles of open land. Of course, none of this has ever been a bad thing to me.
Hopefully, this summer, when we have a couple of friends getting married in Washington State, we'll be able to take a cross country road trip. Interstate 90 goes from Boston to Seattle. it would likely be our main route. Of course, we'd likely try lots of side roads, as well.
Posted in: Cool Info
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Disney Auctions Site
jake on 2004.01.23 at 03:52 pm
I had no idea they had a Disney Auction Site. I found this through Boing Boing and just wanted to archive the link for myself.
Posted in: Cool Info
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Save money by "downgrading" a Creative Nomad Muvo2
jake on 2004.01.22 at 04:37 pm
I found this link over at Gizmodo. Apparently you can strip out the microdrive from a Creative Nomad Muvo2 and replace it. Considering the price for a 4GB microdrive (what comes in the player) you actually save money by doing this.Posted in: Technology · Cool Info
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A Good Day
brian on 2003.11.10 at 12:49 am
Apologies to anyone who actually started reading our weblog, and then we disappeared on you. Jake and I have been terribly busy both with 40/week jobs and we've been working about 20 extra on the side with our little upstart studio (the key here is "upstart," which is full of optimism!). Two clients. Maybe one will pay us...
Anyhow, today was my birthday, and my full-time employers gave me an iPod. OK, everyone else in the division got one, too, and I'd like to say that's for my birthday, as well. You're welcome. OK, and the company still owns it. But, hey, why look a gift horse in the mouth? If it can chew oats, who cares?
Posted in: Cool Info · Apple
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Maher rides again, uncensored.
brian on 2003.08.10 at 02:15 pm
Bill Maher has a weblog. Cool.
Posted in: Cool Info · Web
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Overseen
brian on 2003.08.02 at 10:59 pm
Book title seen on the "T" ride home today...
Clinical MicroBiology Made Ridiculously Easy.
Posted in: Cool Info
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Business Card Cubes
jake on 2003.06.06 at 03:32 pm
Nifty way to play with business cards. Fold six of them into a cube.
Ned Batchelder [from Boing Boing]
Posted in: Cool Info
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Camworld
brian on 2003.05.31 at 10:26 pm
Hey, for all of you blog readers out there, I just thought I might call your attention to the fact that Cameron Barrett is back and blogging it up at Camworld. He dissappeared for a while, and might again (although hopefully blogging it this time), but for the time being he's back and blogging.
Posted in: Cool Info
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Red vs. Blue
jake on 2003.05.26 at 10:00 pm
Red vs. Blue is Halo video captures with some hillarious dubbing. [from Boing Boing]
Posted in: Cool Info
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Castlevania Name Generator
jake on 2003.05.26 at 04:58 pm
Blue's News posted this link recently. It's a script that randomly generates titles for Castlevania games. A few silly results...
"Septet of Depression"
"Hexagon of Destitution"
"Square of Terror"
Posted in: Cool Info
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Random links
brian on 2003.05.16 at 10:01 am
Been a little behind the posting this week, so I'll put both these links into one post:
- A set of cards that the Pentagon might be interested in.
- Kurt Vonnegut speaks at the Mark Twain House in Connecticut. His remarks cut to the point, as usual.
Posted in: Cool Info · Politics
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eBay scammers stopped by Mac community
brian on 2003.05.12 at 10:10 am
This story is a little out of date, and seeing how it got national press coverage (NYT, ABC, CNN) I'm not sure how I missed it. Never the less, the story is downright fascinating, and you should read how one angry Mac user turned to the Mac community for help when the FBI, Secret Service and Chicago PD turned their backs on him. Apparently the movie rights have been sold, so perhaps we'll see this on the silver screen soon...
Posted in: Cool Info
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Boing Boing on Disney or Disney on Boing Boing
jake on 2003.04.16 at 03:10 pm
Whichever you prefer
In the past two days a couple interesting posts were put up at Boing Boing.
Yesterday a link to an iCal calendar was put up. It features information about attractions that are being renovated/closed at Disneyland. The best part is that it works with the Mozilla Calendar app. That's good news for PC users like myself.
Today an even bigger post involving a new attraction. Referred to as "Forbidden Mountain" it should open in 2005 at Animal Kingdom.
Posted in: Cool Info
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Connecticut Champions Again
brian on 2003.04.08 at 11:58 pm
Back to back, the Connecticut Huskies have captured another NCAA Women's Basketball National Championship. After graduating one of the best recruiting classes in women's basketball history last year (including the 1st, 2nd and 4th picks in the WNBA draft), UConn has captured its fourth national championship in a rebuilding year. Interestingly, both the Women's and Men's champions this year hail from the Big East conference, and both did so starting many freshman. The Huskies didn't even have a senior on their roster.
UConn also had someone named Diana Taurasi, who I will now say is (or perhaps, is going to be) the best female basketball player of all time. She is the future of women's basketball. Why? It may sound a little sexist, but frankly, because she's the first woman who plays like a man. She's easily as good as, say, Tyronn Lue. Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of great women's players (Sue Bird, Chamique Holdsclaw, Sheryl Swoops, Lisa Lesile) but I think Taurasi is the first who would make an NBA squad.
Posted in: Cool Info
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Fusion Pictures
brian on 2003.04.08 at 02:13 pm
This isn't a picture of fusion. However, it is a picture of a device that Sandia National Laboratories is using to work on fusion, and it's pretty damn cool. (via Slashdot | article)
Posted in: Cool Info · Science
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Weblogs in Primetime
brian on 2003.04.01 at 10:17 pm
Tonight's "Judging Amy" (10pm Tues. CBS) features one of its characters (Donna) writing for her weblog. It had 76 readers. I think that's more than we have here. If you're out there, drop us a line. (Hey, we have comments, you know?)
Posted in: Cool Info
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Creating Community Connections Project
brian on 2003.02.24 at 02:15 pm
Non-geek-centric Community Wireless It looks like Wi-Fi is attempting to bridge the Digital Divide (a theory that those with less income have less connectivity, etc). A housing project in Boston appears to be the first to roll-out a wireless connectivity plan to connect its residents to high-speed Internet service. Excellent.
Posted in: Cool Info
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Insert pun about Ancient Chinese dynasties.
brian on 2003.02.06 at 12:48 am
Everyone near a TV in the last few months has noted that the Chinese Invasion has occurred. This isn't a rant about Chinese restaurants and the INS. No, this means ball. Basketball, and abnormally tall Chinese men, with extraordinary human athleticism. The man's name is Yao Ming (and if my understanding of Chinese naming customs are correct, Yao is his family name, Ming his common name, although Chinese coming to the States have been known to switch their name's order to mash with our customs, and to confuse me.). Never the less, he went from scoring a goose-egg in his first NBA appearance with the Houston Rockets to quickly being the leading vote-getter for the upcoming All-Star Game and shoe-in for Rookie of the Year (note: rookie in this context only means first year in the NBA, as many international players have other pro experience before reaching the NBA). Anyhow, we all know this. Now, go check out this story at Kuro5hin (if this name isn't familiar to you, it's said "corrosion" like rust, which is because it was started by a guy named Rusty Foster). None the less, read the article to learn a little more about Mr. Yao and his trip to the states, how he picks his endorsements, and assorted other related tid-bits about the business of international sport. A good, if meandering read. No mention to whether or not Ming's PowerBook is only 12" or if he ever got his check accepted.
[Side note: Nothing to do with Yao here, except when I was gathering pertinent links for this post, I had my only real prolonged experience with NBA.com. Site-review-in-a-sentence: it's a royal mess. And that's being kind. Notice I didn't link to the rookie of the year ballot. That's because I couldn't find it. There's no search feature and every team site is apparently laid out by the same Cro-Magnon who is responsible for the slop at NBA.com. Apparently, no one told them they don't get cheaper hosting rates for having everything on the front page. They didn't save by skipping the IA, either.]
Posted in: Cool Info
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We'll miss you Columbia
brian on 2003.02.01 at 10:39 pm
My thoughts today were with the crew of Columbia STS-107. As American's I think we totally ignore the absolutely amazing work NASA has done quietly, daily, since JFK lit the American wick of space exploration. And we just take it for granted, yap about the new season of Survivor, and drink Tang. Totally oblivious. Makes me wonder what the rest of the world thinks.
I remember once hearing a story of an American telling rural Africans that man had stepped upon the moon, and they just laughed and laughed in disbelief.
Posted in: Cool Info
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Republican-based Intellegence
brian on 2003.01.24 at 01:44 pm
OK, most people reading this right now are just waiting for me to tear into some random Republican for something underhanded. Well sorry to disappoint, but I'm hear to sing the praises of Gov. Mitt Romney of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (no one here calls it a state). Well on this one issue at least. Read this Globe article detailing how Mitt and his crew have actually listened to environmentalists who continue to harp on how sustainibility makes sense economically.
Yes! He wants to cut out SUVs from the state fleet, where they're 99% un-needed.
"The price tag for SUVs is 50 percent more than regular cars and it's 50 percent more to operate,'' said Douglas Foy, the newly appointed coordinator of housing, transportation, environment, and energy under Governor Mitt Romney. ''Aside from the environmental issue, it's a budget issue in these austere times."
He's also staying with an excise tax on SUVs mentioned during his campaign and looking into the placement of government offices in urban settings which are readily accessed by mass transit. Damn. I'm impressed. I disgree on many topics with Mitt, but I will be the first to say "Job well done" if this kind of progress makes it to reality.
Posted in: Cool Info
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Today
brian on 2003.01.18 at 10:51 pm
Rode to work on the T. Saw three of my co-workers on board. Had a busy day at work. Finished work, picked up my first thing with the employee discount. Recommended if you are an early-adopter, like I am. Got home, on time (purposely) to catch the big game. Came back all game just in time for the grand disappointment when you learn your highly-talented, but young, team doesn't yet know exactly when to foul. Got over it, as there's a lot of time left in the season. I was made happy by the other news of the day.
Posted in: Cool Info
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SUVs: Cool vs Evil
brian on 2003.01.17 at 12:23 pm
I think some SUVs are very cool. The problem is that 99% of them are not, and 99% of their drivers would be ticked if their glorified truck touched dirt. That said, I tend to react with disgust when I see a SUV on the road. This leads me to recommend the reading of four things:
- Book: High and Mighty by Keith Bradsher (of the NYTimes)
- Article: Bumper Mentality by Stephanie Mencimer, Washington Monthly
- Article: Are Hummer Owners Idiots? by By Mark Morford, SF Gate Columnist
- Website: The Detroit Project by Arianna Huffington
Posted in: Cool Info
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1421- The Year China Discovered The World
jake on 2003.01.14 at 12:26 pm
Well, it seems that someone made a big discovery. That someone is Gavin Menzies. There is lots of information that supports his theories. Yet there are still skeptics.
I say, who cares. If the Chinese discovered the Americas, that's great. More information to understanding our world. In the modern age we live in you think people would be a bit more open minded about concepts like this. While he may not have gone about it 100% perfect, I applaud his efforts.
I attest the practice of teaching history to youths. Telling them one thing to "simplify it" and then five years later telling them what happened was completely different.
I think I may have found a new coffee table book of course, since moving into a new apartment on Saturday, I have yet to own a coffee table.
Posted in: Cool Info
3 Comments -
Antarctica
brian on 2003.01.10 at 12:18 am
Is it a Big Dead Place?
"You're talking about the south polar region, the most inaccessible continent, a block of ice renowned as the most distant psychological space on the planet.
Except by the IRS, who claims that Antarctica is part of the United States for tax purposes. This results in a paycut for an American at the South Pole who would otherwise be rewarded if he or she worked for NSF or Raytheon in Canada or the Bahamas or in Europe, none of which are the coldest, deadest, place in the world."
Apparently Antarctica breeds sarcasm. Let's hope that certain Congressmen don't read and change their minds about certain raises in the NSF budget.
Posted in: Cool Info
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A Switch Tale
brian on 2003.01.06 at 01:05 am
Many people know that I myself once Switched, and have been terribly happy with my tech life ever since. I even work part-time for the big A. This story has almost nothing to do with that, what-so-ever.
The part that does have to do with it is parody. John Bender is a Switcher. He's an American who moved to Canada. He parodied Apple's ads with his own, based upon his experience moving north. His site is a great knock-off of Apple's and is full of interesting info and links on The State's Great White neighbor. Of course, his switch has a great deal to do with meeting a Canadian who would become his wife, but he seems quite happy with the move, none the less.
I'm not endorsing leaving The States. No matter how many times I've thought of it when W. has opened his mouth without thinking first, I couldn't give up on the US of A, despite the fact that I'm quite fond of Canada, the North and snow, snow, snow! I'm quite proud to be an American, and a Yankee/ native-New Englander. Side note: Jake and I both have matching Team-USA Hockey Jerseys.
Posted in: Cool Info
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Dow gets low
brian on 2003.01.03 at 09:49 pm
and we
Dow Chemical, how low can they go? Here's a hint:
On December 2nd a peaceful march of 200 women survivors from Bhopal (India, 1984) delivered toxic waste from the abandoned Union Carbide (recently acquired by Dow) factory back to Dow's Indian headquarters in Bombay with the demand that Dow take responsibility for the disaster and clean up the site. Dow obviously has other ideas because they are suing survivors for about US$10,000 for "loss of work". Hmm, funny because only one Dow employee came to speak with the protestors, but thousands lost their lives in this incident. Who should sue whom?Posted in: Cool Info
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I hate yearly reviews
brian on 2003.01.02 at 10:57 am
As much as anyone, I can't stand the recaps of the previous year when January rolls around. That said, I got a good laugh out of Dave Barry's 2002 year in review. Well worth the read.
Posted in: Cool Info
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LOTR2
brian on 2002.12.31 at 09:37 pm
The good and the bad.
Saw LOTR 2 last night. Quality flick, in the vein of the first one. However, I do have a bone to pick. I had to pay $9 to see the movie, while sitting in a 70's green upholstered seat and suffered through (at least) 10 minutes of commercials, followed by a half hour of previews. What exactly did I pay the nine dollars for? I think the damn movie was paid for before I ever bought my ticket. I for one will never return to "The Circle."
Posted in: Cool Info
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Fascinating
brian on 2002.12.17 at 10:18 am
Diary from Uzbekistan is a fascinating look into the life of an Atlanta-native American journalist, Marika Olsen, who has recently traveled to Uzbekistan to assist in the establishment of independent media and news services. Recommended reading.
[Edited.]Posted in: Cool Info
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XML :: RSS
jake on 2002.12.12 at 01:52 pm
Coming soon!
I have been playing with a RSS news feed. Hooray for syndication.
It has come to my attention, I was using simple teasers, when I should have been using the whole posts. Thanks B for pointing out my lack of understanding of the word "syndication." ;)
Posted in: Cool Info
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Adaptation
brian on 2002.12.11 at 09:01 pm
of a book
I've been awaiting the release of the the movie "Adaptation," a movie based loosely on the book The Orchid Thief by Susan Orlean. Before she penned the book, she developed the thesis in a short story in the New Yorker. I first learned of it from Jason Kottke via his weblog, as he built Ms. Orlean's website, and subsequently, a weblog about the movie rendition of Orchid.
Confused yet? Well, if you don't enjoy confusion, perhaps avoid the movie. You see the screenplay was written by Charlie Kaufman, and directed by Spike Jonze, both of Being John Malkovich fame. So, what's confusing about that? Nothing. But the plot of the movie is roughly "An account" of screenwriter Charlie Kaufman's (played by Nicolas Cage) attempt to adapt Susan Orlean's (played by Meryl Streep) non-fiction book The Orchid Thief, about a plant dealer who clones rare orchids then sells them to collectors. We see the book playout while Charlie writes the screenplay adaptation of the book, interactions with the book's author, and Donald, Charlie's twin brother (also played by Cage). Yeah, pretty cool.
Problem: it wasn't playing in the Boston area this weekend. Me: bummed, waiting.
Posted in: Cool Info
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The HuskyNation Rejoices!
brian on 2002.03.31 at 11:37 pm
Another National Championship - another undefeated season.
Congrats to our UConn Husky women’s basketball team, once again National Champions, 39-0, tying the best final record of all time, with the second undefeated season in UC history. UConn is the first women’s team to repeat undefeated efforts under the NCAA’s bookkeeping.
Also congrats specifically to Geno Auriemma, who joins only UCLA’s legendary Coach Wooten as the only college basketball coaches to ever have more than one undefeated season in their career.
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Yeah
brian on 2002.02.01 at 12:10 pm
…right!
Jake: “once I’m settled and my body adjusts to waking up at 6am“
Brian: “That’ll be the day…”
Posted in: Cool Info
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The Wait is On
brian on 2002.01.16 at 06:10 pm
or, are these guys nuts?
Yup, two guys in Seattle are officially the first in line to see Star Wars, Episode II. It comes out in May. They claim it’s both an attempt at a world record for “waiting in line for an event.”
And “an art project designed to capture the evolution and journey of waiting for a single event… captured by time-indexed photographs taken every hour as well as pictures and video of the people we interact with… This project also explores the issue of the pursuit of happiness. It asks how much will a person sacrifice for a temporary acquisition… I wonder if our fast-paced society has become unwilling to slow down and wait for the things that bring us the greatest joy.”
Hey, I like Star Wars as much as the next guy (possibly less), and I wish them the best of luck (people are already buying them meals, a NY radio station sent them a stripper…) but, don’t you think instead of Seattle they should have picked say Santa Cruz or somewhere lower on the “always raining” scale?
Posted in: Cool Info
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Q: Who are "Overland Experts?"
brian on 2001.12.23 at 11:40 am
or, "Look what I found in my backyard."
A: They’re how National Geographic gets to the “Geographic” in a given “Nation”
So while working with the fam at the hardware store, one of my favorite diversions is watching out our giant front windows which view the parking lot and Halls Road (US rt1) at the multitudes of passing cars. Anyone reading this who knows me knows I’m a bit of a automobile enthusiast. They also know I have issues with the hordes of SUVs on America’s roadways. The more informed ones know I am also fascinated by real-life off-highway vehicles, like the ones that reside off road with the purpose of getting people to remote areas. On paved roads in the hands of soccer moms they are a down right danger. Off highway, on unpaved roads and trails, in the hands of experts, they are an invaluable tool.
Thus, when I saw two Rovers outfitted for expedition on two different days in our lot (one Land-, one Range-), I was more than curious. Seeing the second one, I noticed a URL, http://www.overlandexperts.com, I wrote it down as fast as I could. Today I visited the Overland Experts and found out that a world-class expedition trainer, outfitter, and leader resides only a few short miles north of here, in Hadlyme, CT. Sweet.
I’ve always been elured by backcountry expeditions. These guys actually do this stuff. They recently took NatGeo to the north of Vietnam. I think it’d be fascinating and thoroughly entertaining to be the driver of part of a wilderness expedition. Well these guys do that for a living. I hope they come back to the store soon, so I can pick their brains…Posted in: Cool Info
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Job
jake on 2001.12.17 at 06:02 pm
Boo yah!
Well, after a bit of searching and a few interviews I was offerred a job today from Amphenol. While it's not solidified yet I am under the impression that they want me. I just have to wait till January when things calm down from the end of the year junk.
Hopefully I'm not just getting yanked around.
Posted in: Cool Info
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we're going live soon
brian on 2001.12.13 at 09:42 am
as soon as we can make this place presentable
So maybe we'll actually start getting some traffic now...
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Finished!
jake on 2001.11.20 at 08:26 pm
Now what next?
Well, after 6 CD's and a few weeks of squeezing in "training" time I have finished my ASP junk. I have now learned the basics of ASP 3.0 and using VB/Interdev/whatever.
Now I can code in two scripting languages! :)
Hopefully this will help me land the job I'm interviewing for next week. Otherwise I'll be out gettin' a part time job to stay off the hand of debt.
Posted in: Design · Cool Info
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Word up from Beantown...
brian on 2001.11.17 at 06:05 pm
From the Ministry of Remote Access.
Greetings from chilly Boston
So, I checked my email, and got into the website. In news, last night I was in Boston’s north end, the Italian section, and down the street was a sweet stretched ‘57 Chevy limo.
That’s all for now. Say goodnight, Alice…Posted in: Cool Info
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First Post
jake on 2001.11.15 at 09:23 pm
congrats to us!
Well after some work, and a lot of patience we have the first, very basic, version of our blog. It is built on a modular base with PHP. It uses the local MySQL database and in the future we hope to archive all of our information in XML files, to keep the database clean and easy to manage.
Welcome, and I'm sure you'll get a post from my compadre Brian soon…
Posted in: Cool Info
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