May 2012
4 posts
2 tags
The movie vanishes →
A charming video explaining how Pixar nearly deleted the entire Toy Story 2 movie by accident. Toy Story 2 has long been my favorite Pixar movie, so this would have been devastating for me. I still remember watching it for the very first time in that small theater in Shadyside while I was at CMU. [YouTube via kottke.org]
1 tag
How my friend Akio made my day
Everyone knows that a chef’s most essential tool is a trusty kitchen knife. So when I told my friend Akio that I’d like to start cooking more often, but the only thing standing in my way was the lack of a good knife, she went out and bought me one as my graduation present. Actually, she bought me three. And she made me a hand-drawn card. She is officially awesome. And I now have no...
2 tags
Did Eduardo Saverin do anything wrong? →
A lot of people seem to think that Eduardo Saverin is ditching his US citizenship in order to avoid having to pay US taxes. While there’s no question that it’s at least partially motivated by tax, it doesn’t quite work that way. So how much tax will Eduardo Saverin really be paying after renouncing his US citizenship? The Economist sets the record straight. The answer: a...
2 tags
How Apple Sidesteps Billions in Taxes →
As someone who is interested in both Apple and taxes, I suppose I should link to this article in the NY Times describing how Apple’s tax strategy saves it billions in taxes:
Without such tactics, Apple’s federal tax bill in the United States most likely would have been $2.4 billion higher last year, according to a recent study by a former Treasury Department economist, Martin A. Sullivan....
April 2012
3 posts
2 tags
How the guys at Studio Neat helped out my friend... →
A few weeks ago, I gave my Cosmonaut stylus to my friend Akio. She used it so much that it developed a tiny slit at the top. She decided to email the guys at Studio Neat, and they wrote back to say that it was “by far, the greatest email [they] have ever received”. See for yourself. [Akoism]
Caine's Arcade →
I know that this has been shared by just about everyone, but it’s absolutely adorable and definitely worth a watch. [Vimeo]
1 tag
On love, life, and hope
I love this:
I would speak to you of cool breezes.
You may or may not wish to listen to me, since I am 43 years old and have never. Sex, kiss, date, cuddle, whatever a human might want from another human, slap a ‘never’ on it and that is me. Taking my advice might not be a great idea. But I have learned some things.
Sometimes on a warm day, a cool breeze will come along. It just...
March 2012
9 posts
2 tags
Txt, my very first cinemagraph
I really like this new app called Cinemagram, which lets you take short video clips and convert them into cinemagraphs like the one I took above of my friend Akiko at the coffee shop. It’s available for free in the App Store. [iTunes]
2 tags
Fish: a tap essay →
Everyone with access to an iOS device should really download this (free) app called Fish: a tap essay:
This is a short but heartfelt manifesto about the difference between liking something on the internet and loving something on the internet.
I couldn’t agree more that there’s simply too much good content on the internet these days. But even with all of the great stuff that you...
2 tags
Akio and her new Cosmonaut on her (new) old iPad
A few weeks ago, I sent my Cosmonaut stylus to my good friend Akio mainly because I knew that she would make way better use of it than I ever would. She thanked me by drawing this adorable image of her holding it using her (new) old iPad — an iPad 2 that we recently got replaced when I was visiting her in Denver. You’re welcome!
2 tags
Pendulum →
We all have times in our lives where we wish we could just hit the rewind button and start over again, but unfortunately life doesn’t exactly work that way. This animated short captures that emotion perfectly. It actually reminded me of another classic short, the opening scene from Pixar’s Up. [YouTube via Kotaku]
Photorealism →
A video made using only still images and some snazzy After Effects tricks. [Vimeo via Doobybrain]
1 tag
Girl's first ski jump →
What an inspiring (and adorable) video. Definitely worth a watch [YouTube via kottke]
1 tag
Tribute to RJD2's "Good Times Roll Pt. 2" →
I love this sweet video that my buddy Eddie put together in tribute to RJD2’s “Good Times Roll Pt. 2”. [Vimeo]
1 tag
Why James Whittaker Left Google →
Edit: I should have guessed from the URL, but James Whittaker apparently left Google to work at Microsoft, so you should probably take what he has to say about his former employer with a grain of salt.
Former Googler James Whittaker wrote a nice post explaining his reasons for leaving the Big G. It’s worth a read since it offers a glimpse into how Google has changed over the years, but...
2 tags
The inside of instruments →
I love these marco shots taken inside of instruments. [Behance via Peta Pixel]
February 2012
20 posts
1 tag
Why videos go viral →
Kevin Allocca, a trends manager at YouTube, explains why certain videos go viral. I love all the nyan cat iterations. [YouTube via Gizmodo]
2 tags
Dropbox can do what Apple, Microsoft and Google... →
Garry Tan wrote a response to Farhad Manjoo’s post regarding Dropbox, and he also makes a few good points:
Earlier in the piece Farhad talks about how things just plain worked as Dropbox synced things from his Windows desktop to his Macbook Air. What are the odds of Apple getting their sync client right for PC’s? Just about zero, considering what they’ve done in the past with...
2 tags
Samsung Galaxy S III looks pretty hot →
The ultra-thin bezel at the top of the phone seems a little too thin, but this phone looks pretty slick (and has some ridiculous specs to boot):
1.5GHz quad-core Samsung Exynos processor
4.8-inch “full HD” 1080p resolution with 16:9 aspect ratio display
A 2-megapixel front-facing camera and an 8-megapixel rear camera
Ceramic case
4G LTE
Android 4.0
[BGR]
2 tags
Dropbox is a feature, not a product →
I’m a huge fan of Dropbox, but this article by Farhad Manjoo for PandoDaily is one of the more negative outlooks I’ve seen yet for the service — and he makes some great points:
Someday, someone will figure out how to make this sort of thing work well, but I suspect it will most likely be one of the companies that makes a major operating system: Either Apple, Microsoft, or...
2 tags
Google's new "batshit crazy" UX →
Google recently redesigned their sites so that users can no longer click on the top-left logo to take them “home.” First of all, this is not one of those “OMG I hate the new Facebook/Twitter redesign” overreactions — this is a legit UX gripe, and I am clearly not the only one.
Dustin Curtis recently linked to a post by former Google designer Kevin Fox on why this...
2 tags
Please steal these WebOS features →
So why was it so easy for me to use the TouchPad for work, but not the iPad? I think it’s because there are a number of things the TouchPad does that make it more suitable for work.
Now that it is becoming increasingly obvious that HP won’t do anything useful with webOS, it’s time to start stealing the things it does well. Here are some of these things.
Lukas Mathis points out all the great...
1 tag
Kevin and Phebe - "Buzzer" →
Kevin and Phebe is a series of web shorts that are quick and to the point. I particularly liked this episode. Extra bonus points because a friend of mine is friends with “Kevin” from the series. You can see all the episodes on their site, The Wildness. [Vimeo via The Wildness]
4 tags
Bokeh and art →
Samsung made this cute little video using custom bokeh shapes. They also published this handy little tutorial in case you wanted to mimic their results. [YouTube via PetaPixel]
3 tags
On Google, Apple, and "privacy" →
I’m not really too interested in last night’s WSJ “scoop” on Google and its mobile Safari practices, but if you want to read up on it, this piece by John Battell is probably the most balanced I’ve read so far:
In short, Apple’s mobile version of Safari broke with common web practice, and as a result, it broke Google’s normal approach to engaging with consumers. Was...
2 tags
About Gatekeeper →
The folks at Panic — developers of popular apps Transmit and Coda — wrote up a pretty good article explaining the pros and cons of Gatekeeper, a security feature offered in the newly announced OS X Mountain Lion.
Today’s Mountain Lion announcement introduces an important new security feature, called Gatekeeper, in addition to the “sandboxing” feature that premiered in Lion. I’d like...
1 tag
How to erase people from your photos like a boss
Thanks to modern day technology, there are a lot of post-processing tricks illusions (a trick is something a whore does for money) that photographers can use to enhance their images. Scalado just announced a new tool called Remove that can literally remove anyone from the background of your pictures — absolutely perfect for preventing ex-girlfriends strangers from ruining your shots....
3 tags
How Samsung plans to win over Apple fans →
I’m sure you’ve seen those commercials where Samsung takes a dig at Apple fans waiting in line for the next iProduct. At first I thought they were kind of silly, but it turns out there’s a method to their madness:
For starters: The washed-out look of the commercials was purposefully unsaturated and a bit milky, because the tone visually embodies the boredom of waiting in...
2 tags
BoxHead portrait tutorial →
I really like this portrait tutorial by my friends at BoxHead Studios. Great stuff. [BoxHead Studios]
1 tag
Giants fan
I really like this shot that I took at the NY Giants Super Bowl parade yesterday. This girl caught my eye, but everyone was packed in like sardines, so I didn’t have enough room to look through my viewfinder as I normally would. Instead, I extended my arms in the air and blindly fired off a couple of shots. Luckily, this one came out pretty well.
3 tags
Chinese Oreos also come in wafers!
Jason Kottke recently posted that Oreos in China are actually tube-shaped. Essentially, Kraft had to rethink the entire cookie :
It turns out that if you didn’t grow up with Oreos and develop an emotional attachment to the cookie, it can be a weird-tasting little thing. And this started a whole process in the Chinese division of Kraft of rethinking what the essence of an Oreo really...
1 tag
The problem with the iOS Home Screen →
The iOS Home screen is conceptually broken. Not “broken” as in unusable, unstable or technically flawed. From an engineering standpoint, the iOS Home screen works. The concept of the Home screen we interact with today is broken because the Home screen wants to be a real, physical, tangible surface while providing access to the gates of the intangible: apps. Apps are data, information,...
1 tag
I got mail!
The other day was my birthday, and I received a single birthday card in the mail. It was awesome. Thanks, Ang!
1 tag
My kind of dress pants
Forget jeggings (they’re not nearly as comfortable as they sound, trust me) — dress pant sweatpants are the future. I would probably “dress up” way more often if I actually owned a pair of these. Just think about it for a second. Sweatpants… that look like dress pants. How have these not been invented before? Next up: sweatpant suit. [Betabrand via PetaPixel]
2 tags
The Dangers of Fracking →
A beautiful fracking website by Linda Dong. Informative, too! [Dangers of Fracking via Daring Fireball]
4 tags
Bark Hot Dogs = I wants it
Ever since watching this, I really want to try Bark Hot Dogs in Park Slope, Brooklyn. The only problem is, well, it’s in Park Slope, Brooklyn (sorry, Bear).
I’m actually not a huge hot dog fan, but just like this news anchor, I can always appreciate a great sausage. So who knows, maybe one day I’ll make the trip to Brooklyn to see what this Bark Butter is all about. In the...
January 2012
20 posts
2 tags
Clear for iPhone →
Clear looks to be a pretty slick app for managing your various lists. I’ll definitely be trying this out once it’s released. [Vimeo]
1 tag
Will the real Google please stand up?
Sarah Lacy of PandyDaily writes that Google should do itself a favor and just come clean already about its Search Plus Your World results:
This isn’t an issue of whether Google—as a for profit company—should have the right to push its own services over others. This isn’t an issue over what Twitter or Facebook would do in Google’s shoes. To me, the interesting issue isn’t even...
1 tag
Don't forget to "take your medicine" →
Adrien Chen of Gawker conducted a fascinating interview with an IT guy who services a different kind of clientele: high net-worth individuals and criminals. One of his unique services is to provide members of drug rings with prepaid cell phones and a supply of SIM cards that are cleverly rotated using a pill box:
With Martin’s system, each crewmember gets a cell phone that operates using...
1 tag
Tree in a puddle
Speaking of my last post, I really like this shot that I recently took in Washington Square Park of a tree’s reflection on a drizzly afternoon.
1 tag
Getting the picture
A surprising thing happened when the iPhone 4S was released back in October. No, I didn’t get one — which is actually kind of surprising by itself — but more significantly, I stopped taking pictures on my iPhone 4. Call it “camera envy,” but whenever I saw a picture that was taken on a 4S, I immediately felt like my iPhone’s camera was inadequate.
Of course,...
2 tags
Star Wars Uncut -- a crowdsourced remake →
I may be a geek, but I’m actually not a huge fan of the Star Wars series. Still, this entirely crowdsourced remake is pretty damn awesome. From the YouTube description:
The Story:
In 2009, thousands of Internet users were asked to remake “Star Wars: A New Hope” into a fan film, 15 seconds at a time. Contributors were allowed to recreate scenes from Star Wars however they...
3 tags
Confessions of a Publisher →
Sarah Lacy has a fascinating article on her newly launched PandoDaily site that provides an insider’s perspective on how Amazon may be planning on taking out book publishers altogether:
[Publishers] can’t pay $1 million for books anymore. Amazon could probably afford to lose $20 million/year in their publishing arm just to put the other publishers out of business. I think that’s what...
2 tags
This is what Madeline did →
I really love this video twist on a Project 365 (which is typically done as a photography project). It’s a great way of looking back on the year and remembering some of the things that you did:
I hope this video inspires you to treasure every day you get and find the good, beautiful moments in even the worst days (even if it’s just going for a walk, taking a drive, or spending...
2 tags
Clara C - I Won't Give Up (Jason Mraz cover) →
I’m not familiar with the original by Jason Mraz, but this is a pretty nice song. I’ve been a fan of Clara C ever since I heard her Rocketeer cover last year. Good stuff. [Doobybrain and Hans]
2 tags
Protect your lens in the most delicious way... →
I don’t always carry around my lenses in a wrap, but when I do, I use a burrito. [Photojojo via PetaPixel]
New York 2011, in Photos →
Some really nice photographs taken by a tumblr user in New York during 2011. I really need to take more pictures. [Eye Heart New York]
1 tag
How Doctors Die →
Ken Murray writing for Zócalo Public Square on how doctors die:
Years ago, Charlie, a highly respected orthopedist and a mentor of mine, found a lump in his stomach. He had a surgeon explore the area, and the diagnosis was pancreatic cancer. This surgeon was one of the best in the country. He had even invented a new procedure for this exact cancer that could triple a patient’s...
Ian Dunbar on dog-friendly dog training →
I’ll definitely be keeping this in mind when I get my own dog (someday!). I like how he also applies this philosophy to human relationships as well. [TED]
2 tags
Why Samsung Is The Next Apple →
John Biggs from TechCrunch:
Samsung, and to some extent the other vendors, have finally cracked it. For most of the past few years they’ve watched as Apple ran circles around them in terms of media sharing and remote control. Obviously Apple’s systems have been limited to iPod/iTunes/iPad/Mac but Samsung, a major player in both the white goods and the mobile markets, can now have it all.
...