« July 2004 | August 2004 | September 2004 »
August 31, 2004
This is just bizarre. 14,000 bags of candy accidentally ship to stores containing small toys depicting an aircraft flying into the World Trade Center. I mean, how does that happen? Who made the toys? What exactly would constitute the "ideal" market for them?
Tall Buildings - The Museum of Modern Art
August 30, 2004
I thought this plywood push toy was great. I can imagine you get quite a bit of shock absorption in it, especially when you take this puppy off road.
August 28, 2004
Seattle Bride Resource Guide 2004 - take a look at the picture in the top-left of the cover of this book. Pretty funny. 2 years ago, now.
August 26, 2004
I like the idea of watching a line representing your route gradually appear on your watch as you jog along. Then again, I'm a watch freak.
August 25, 2004
Build your own Hamster-Powered Night Light. Syrian hampsters recommended, since they are nocturnal, but remember to leave them in a room other then your bedroom.
August 24, 2004
Shannon and I walked out of this one trying to decide if it was the worst film we had ever seen. Then we remembered the Next Best Thing. But it was close. Very close. Bad comedy. Bad writing. Bad acting. Bad timing. Awful. Did I mention that I didn't like it? Do yourself a favor and see the original, which is a beautifully paced and acted DRAMA.
So Weirdly Wrong. This is a fun if unsettling, account of a conversation between a guy sitting OUTSIDE a library, using its wireless internet connection, and a policeman, who comes up to stop him. According to the policeman, new federal laws prohibit "theft of signal". What a weird thing to make up.
Here's a program that allows you to connect to, and download songs from, a shared iTunes library.
August 20, 2004
Hypocrite, Thy Name Is Real. An article from Fred von Lohmann at the Electronic Frontier Foundation about how RealNetworks current "Freedom of Music Choice" barage against Apple is a little, shall we say, rich, coming from a company well known for giving it's users little choice, musically.
Bitter Greens is a daily blog by a girl called Lulu telling the simple things that happen every day to her through cartoons.
(Thanks Dan)
(Thanks Dan)
Cleartype is a technology on Windows that makes fonts look much smoother and easier to read if you're using a laptop or flatscreen monitor. Here's an online Cleartype tuner that helps you set the technology up so it works best with your flatscreen.
August 19, 2004
It's been a big week for me as far as taking photos of nice buildings go. In the US last week I managed to visit the absolutely stunning Seattle Public Library. The outside is good. The inside is amazing. I'd find it hard to read a book there because the spaces are so breathtaking, and the furniture is so comfy.
In L.A. the following week I managed to revisit the Walt Disney Concert Hall, this time after construction was finished. You can walk across the top of the building through a park, which really gets you inside all of the curves and titanium.
And finally I managed to get to the Getty Museum on my last day in L.A. It's west of the city, up on a small hill. I can admire this building, but I found it a bit bright and a little boring as far as shapes go. And the idea that they shipped so much Travertine marble over to make this just remind me of Hearst. Still, it's pretty, and some of the areas where the marble gets more rough are interesting.
In L.A. the following week I managed to revisit the Walt Disney Concert Hall, this time after construction was finished. You can walk across the top of the building through a park, which really gets you inside all of the curves and titanium.
And finally I managed to get to the Getty Museum on my last day in L.A. It's west of the city, up on a small hill. I can admire this building, but I found it a bit bright and a little boring as far as shapes go. And the idea that they shipped so much Travertine marble over to make this just remind me of Hearst. Still, it's pretty, and some of the areas where the marble gets more rough are interesting.
August 18, 2004
Let them sing it for you - type some text in the text box and here an audio-sentence prepared by cutting up words from different pieces of music. You might need to be a bit creative with what you type since their database is by no means exhaustive. I couldn't find the words "headphones" or "husband", for example.
Three-in-One Breakfast Toaster Coffee Machine Egg Boiler. I can't imagine a better machine to wake up to.
iwantoneofthose.com - a site for "stuff you don't need but you really, really want."
August 17, 2004
August 16, 2004
Apology Given for Lemonade Stand Closing. Well, they WERE selling dangerous ice!!
Finally, an organization that lists the coolest hotels around the globe.
August 13, 2004
Looks like the Livestrong bracelets that I gave out to family over July 4th weekend have taken off like hot cakes (not that hot cakes can fly). 8 million sold. A million on backorder. And selling well over price on eBay (I wonder if the Lance Armstrong foundation gets anything from an eBay sale?)
August 11, 2004
SIGGRAPH 2004: Computer Graphics Go Virtual. This is what I'm at at the moment.
This article in the New Scientist reminds me of that amazing intro to the movie Contact with Jodie foster, which follows the radio waves of terrestrial TV transmission out into space. The camera flies out from Earth with the audio of the television transmission in the background. The further the camera gets from Earth, the further back in time the transmissions get, until it gets far enough away that it catches up with the first TV broadcast that could have been heard from space. Ironically, it's a speech by Hitler at the 1936 Olympics in Munich.
The irony now is that as technology advances we rely less and less on terrestrial broadcasts, and more and more on cable or satellite TV. Those transmissions that leak into space, the first thing an alien would probably "hear" from our planet, are drying up. Earth is going quiet.
August 10, 2004
How to Complain - "demonstrating excellence in complaints handling". I love the simple promise of this site. "Find the organisation you want to complain to...simply fill in the specially designed form...click 'submit' to send your complaint".
August 09, 2004
Lewis Carroll Scrapbook. Posted by the Library of Congress.
Turf-carpeted call-box at Aussie grocery store. As Cory points out, this is a cool example of someone wanting to make an environment more comfortable for others. As long as it doesn't get too wet. Or too attractive for dogs.
Boing Boing
Boing Boing
August 08, 2004
The heat_horse, a pants-drying radiator. I guess I could make some jokes about what a radiator that dried British pants would be shaped like.
Personally, though, I'd prefer a radiator that's shaped like a towel. Oh wait. That would be a plain rectangle...
Personally, though, I'd prefer a radiator that's shaped like a towel. Oh wait. That would be a plain rectangle...
99ROOMS.COM - I don't THINK there's a goal. But the rooms are atmospheric.
August 07, 2004
Wynniatt-Husey Clarke Garden Design. Here's the website for a couple of friends who have a company designing extremely cool, contemporary gardens.
The Phonesafe. This is where Spiderman might keep his phone. Except I guess it might end up getting in the way of the bit of his wrist where his web-stuff jets out.
August 06, 2004
itv.com/f1 - Button makes shock Williams return. This is a bit of a shock. Cool for Williams. But I kind of think that stability with a team is a good thing, and I think he has that now with BAR. Plus being number 1 on that team gives him some confidence. I don't think Webber will be happy being a number 2 (and Williams don't work that way, anyway), so this could end up backfiring on Jense.
August 05, 2004
FHL - 4 Teams 4 Visions - There's just something about architectural project boards that are inspirational. Here are 4 proposals for the master plan of the Highline abandoned elevated railway in New York.
August 04, 2004
Freaks and Geeks - I know we're kind of late to this party, since the show was cancelled in 1999, but Shannon and I have really been enjoying the DVD of Freaks and Geeks. I remember reading the amazingly positive reviews of this show, which is set at a high school in 1980, and then the wierdness of the cancellation. A total shame. We're dreading getting to the end of the 6th disk.
August 03, 2004
SPACE INVADERS - we had dinner in Neal's Yard, near Covent Garden today, and I noticed one of these moasic space invaders on the wall. It had small mirrored squares for eyes.
August 02, 2004
gapingvoid: how to be creative - a list from hugh "cartoons drawn on the back of business cards" macleod
Comments (4)
Tiger Woods hits balls into the gulf. What a cool perk for Tiger Woods, hitting golf balls from the helicopter pad of the Burj Al Arab hotel in Dubai, into the waters of the Arabian Gulf 321 metres below. Photos here. Story here.
