Long Island Oysters

Courtesy of the New York Times, an article on Long Island oysters. Mmmm.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/28/dining/28oysters.html?_r=1&hp=&pagewanted=all

How is it I'm not the target audience?

Apparently one of the lines of business my employer is targeting has employees who spend much of their time watching the Discovery Channel where flint knapping, is a key survival tool. I just get a kick out of my son telling me SAP's on Mythbusters. (Now that I think of it, 'lithic reduction' does sound better.)

Two random thoughts (NSFW)

Is anyone else watching TED? The Mark Bittman piece is very interesting and something Amy and I have discussed for quite some time. That's what she said.

A f*!#$ing Saturn?

Apparently the good folks at Saturn had a little fun when making one of their more memorable commercials of late. (Yes, it's suitable for work.)


Find more videos like this on AdGabber

Brijit's Dead

While I haven't written an abstract for months, six to be exact, I'm sad to see it go. Brijit was a fun fling and I enjoyed playing copy writer for a few days but it looks like this model was difficult to sustain. And while the main site indicates it's all done the writer's site is still accepting assignments.

Look at it this way; I was too young to play in the first boom/bust cycle so any chance to live that experience vicariously is a hoot.

An absolutely brilliant movie box office graphic

Courtesy of the NY Times, a fabulous graphic depicting box office revenue, by week, of movies from 1986 to present. (How did Patch Adams do that well?)

Be sure to use the slider at the bottom to move through time. Look here.

This is fun

Have you ever wondered what might have been cropped with respect to CD or album covers? Wonder no more, my friends.

Extending album art.

I can finally eat in Chicago again

http://dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/05/14/chicago-overturns-foie-gras-ban/

Finally this ridiculous intrusion on a gastronomic's night out has ended.

Looks Like I'm Getting Married

http://amyharrison.blogspot.com/2008/04/mark-your-calendars.html

Well, a 20th anniversary special would be nice. Plus, Amy would get the ceremony she really wanted.

Why Baseball is the Best

As seen on kottke.org today - Why baseball is the best game ever. From the Boston Review's article on John Rawls, baseball fan and philosopher. (A lot like my friend Tim Dillon.)

First: the rules of the game are in equilibrium: that is, from the start, the diamond was made just the right size, the pitcher’s mound just the right distance from home plate, etc., and this makes possible the marvelous plays, such as the double play. The physical layout of the game is perfectly adjusted to the human skills it is meant to display and to call into graceful exercise. Whereas, basketball, e.g., is constantly (or was then) adjusting its rules to get them in balance.

Second: the game does not give unusua1 preference or advantage to special physical types, e.g., to tall men as in basketball. All sorts of abilities can find a place somewhere, the tall and the short etc. can enjoy the game together in different positions.

Third: the game uses all parts of the body: the arms to throw, the legs to run, and to swing the bat, etc.; per contra soccer where you can’t touch the ball. It calls upon speed, accuracy of throw, gifts of sight for batting, shrewdness for pitchers and catchers, etc. And there are all kinds of strategies.

Fourth: all plays of the game are open to view: the spectators and the players can see what is going on. Per contra football where it is hard to know what is happening in the battlefront along the line. Even the umpires can’t see it all, so there is lots of cheating etc. And in basketball, it is hard to know when to call a foul. There are close calls in baseball too, but the umps do very well on the whole, and these close calls arise from the marvelous timing built into the game and not from trying to police cheaters etc.

Fifth: baseball is the only game where scoring is not done with the ball, and this has the remarkable effect of concentrating the excitement of plays at different points of the field at the same time. Will the runner cross the plate before the fielder gets to the ball and throws it to home plate, and so on.

Finally, there is the factor of time, the use of which is a central part of any game. Baseball shares with tennis the idea that time never runs out, as it does in basketball and football and soccer. This means that there is always time for the losing side to make a comeback. The last of the ninth inning becomes one of the most potentially exciting parts of the game. And while the same sometimes happens in tennis also, it seems to happen less often. Cricket, much like baseball (and indeed I must correct my remark above that baseball is the only game where scoring is not done with the ball), does not have a time limit.

TV on Demand

In a move that makes many of us who work from our computers a bit happier, Fox has opened the floodgates and is offering Fox on Demand so you can get your TV fix without actually watching TV.

http://www.fox.com/fod/

Two of My Favorites (NSFChildren)

Snorg Tees is a great place for t-shirts and to see what the kids think nowadays. These two, below, are some of my favorites.

'The Life Aquatic' in Lego Form

Look here.

April Fools!

What would 1 April be without great web hoaxes? This year promises to be another bang-up occasion for April Fools as evidenced by the following I've seen early today:

Virgle - A New JV between Virgin and Google, dedicated to the colonization of Mars
http://www.google.com/virgle/index.html

The Kia Kee-Wii - A new vehicle which utilizes Wii controllers to drive
http://www.autoblog.com/2008/04/01/april-foolery-kia-introduces-the-radical-new-kee_wii-sans-stee/

iPark - A new joint venture between Apple and Disney that puts a Disney theme park on your iPod
http://www.iparkland.com/
http://www.miceage.com/allutz/al040108a.htm

Mentioned elsewhere but a hoot is the fact all 'featured' YouTube videos are posting to this gem
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yu_moia-oVI

A compendium of Google gags may be found here
http://blogoscoped.com/archive/2008-04-01-n71.html

Not satisfied with the 'time' your G-mail was sent? No sweat.
http://mail.google.com/mail/help/customtime/index.html

Death Match, Winner Take All for the Democratic Presidential Nomination
http://www.espn4.com/

This one's just plain painful
http://www.ecorazzi.com/2008/04/01/mccain-chooses-al-gore-for-vice-president/

Whereas this one's a little bit funny
http://science.howstuffworks.com/air-force-one-hybrid.htm

I've still not heard nor located NPR's annual treat. I'll update when it becomes available. In the meantime, here's an article from Slate magazine, a sort of self-defense kit for this day.
http://www.slate.com/id/2187681/

***Update 2 April***
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89284569

You think Easter's early this year?

Well, you're right; it can only be one day sooner in the year than it was in 2008.

Courtesy of Wikipedia.

Wie wollen Sie ändern die Glühbirne unter der Mikrowelle?

One of the most helpful Google gadgets of 2007 was the announcement of translation services within Google chat. While I use their chat client sparingly, it does have some great features. For example, if you start a chat with 'en2de' you can enter "How do you change the light bulb underneath the microwave?" and the translation immediately appears as a response.

As someone who wore out freetranslation.com for many years, this is a welcome change. Link here.

Come on; you know how he feels

It's amazing when cynicism meets objects from your youth. Wouldn't you agree?

Go plant, go!

It's almost time.

Sen. Obama in Indianapolis

Amy and I secured tickets to see Senator Obama in Plainfield today. I've been a supporter of the junior senator from Illinois for quite a while and it was great to see him in person today. His candidacy is equivalent, in my time, to a previous generation's Kennedy moment; I consider him to be the real deal.

'The Man Trap', and Others

Wow; this site brought back memories of my freshman year in college. The in thing to do in my dorm was rush back from afternoon class and watch 'Star Trek' on WBFF-TV45 in Baltimore, MD. Seated in barcaloungers you'd find up to a dozen 19 year-olds drinking beer and yelling at Spock and McCoy on the tube.

My personal favorite? Well, that'd have to be 'The Enemy Within' (season 1, episode 5) and 'The Trouble with Tribbles' (season 2, episode 14). Watch them here, courtesy of cbs.com.