After rediscovering them again during this year’s Winter Olympics, my respect for downhillers soared. Reading this 30 year old piece on the history of the event makes me respect the sport all the more. From the article:
“I can say that the ideal downhiller must be a little uppity, a little arrogant,” Downhill Charlie says. “I love that type. He has to have guts, and he should always be plenty nervous before the start. And then, too, it doesn’t hurt if he is born poor, because when a skier’s born poor it is in his nature to want to get ahead. Yes, take the poor ones—Klammer, Moser-Pröll, Nadig, Wirnsberger—they all came from tiny villages, from poor parents, and they wanted to prove they were someone through performances on the mountain.” Continue reading…
Excluding blog posts and short news articles:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3IArJTfUy8[/youtube]
Although I think BMWs handle better, this Audi commercial entitled “Breaking the spell” is brilliant from a branding perspective. Love it. The black cars are pretty hot too.
Although gimmicky, Reebok Pump became such a phenomenon in the early ’90s, that even Nike released pressurized knock-offs for a while. That being the case, the above documentary of Pump technology is well worth 22 minutes of your time. Featuring the inventor of the shoe, Dee Brown, Michael Chang, and urban collectors.
See also: Classic commercials: Reebok Pump vs Nike Air
True to chain letter form, Lindsey emailed me the following “friend survey” today. With exception to nos. 23 and 41, her responses made me proud to call her my wife—especially with Valentine’s around the corner. They also make me look chivalrous, which is always a good thing.
Warning: some of her answers are a little sappy. But this is my blog—not yours. You can get lost if you have a problem with that! Continue reading…
I like Shirley Temples. A lot.
So imagine my frustration this weekend, when I was told by eight different grocers, including one floor manager, that they didn’t know what it was or if they even had it. “You might want to try a liquor store,” one lady incredulously advised me, as if I haven’t purchased at least two dozen bottles of the delicious red syrup at other grocers over the years.
Most upsetting, though, was not a single worker said, “I’m not sure if we sell that, but I will find out.” Not a single one.
Like Click To Flash or Flash Block, Caffeine is a must for portable Mac users. With this tiny program installed, your monitor won’t dim unless you say so by clicking an icon on the menu bar. First discovered in December (thanks, Matt!), it’s just the shot my portable video needed to stay awake. There’s also a PC version.
After a five year hiatus, I rediscovered multi-track recording this month. Here is my first new mp3 production, an “unplugged” cover of Phoenix’s 1901.
It was recorded in Garage Band with a cheap headset and USB guitar cable connected to my Epiphone acoustic/electric.
It’s good to be in the studio again. Enjoy the mp3.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tjYoKCBYag&videos=WLGC6CrDHT8&playnext_from=TL&playnext=1[/youtube]
… At any age even.
I despise Flash. It slows down your computer, starts without being asked, and crashes my Internets. So until YouTube finally abandons Flash, as does the rest of the web with media-rich HTML 5, here are two easy plugins I use to grab life by the horns:
Both programs are free and make it so you dictate when a Flash file is played, as opposed to it taking over. Now that’s browsing with power!
In an effort to avoid having to finish her lunch yesterday, my four-year old casually lied to her mother, claiming to have had a headache and, therefore, would be unable to finish her meal. Playing along, my wife ask, “How long have you had it?”
“14 days,” came the reply. Upon hearing this from the adjacent room, I did a double take and replied, “That is one massive headache.” Laughter ensured. Kids Say the Darnedest Things now up to 16,470,002.
Before you chase ’em with milk (a given), what’s your technique?
What’s the best way to eat an Oreo?(surveys)
See also: Off-brand alternatives I won’t buy
UPDATE: I stand corrected. As of 2011, I’m fully converted to digital books now.
As much as I love Amazon (it’s my favorite website), they’re lovely e-reader, the Kindle, will be as popular as Segways. Like the product that was suppose to render walking obsolete, e-readers like Kindle are the latest gadget that’s over-hyped, impressive, but impractical.
The no. 1 reason: printed books aren’t broken. In fact, they provide a far better experience than any e-reader on the market. Here’s why: Continue reading…
After much mental torment, I’ve decided to name the best new bands of the last decade. For one to qualify, they must have met the following criteria: 1) be awesome; and 2) formed in the year 2000 or beyond (which excludes Spoon, Muse, and The Strokes for example).
With the power vested in me, I hereby announce the winners. Continue reading…
Stuff White People Like is the sharpest satire of pretentious, leftist, and faker white lifestyles ever written. Out of 100+ entries so far, these are my favorites:
- #2 Religions that their parents don’t belong to
- #62 Knowing what’s best for poor people
- #8 Barack Obama
- #75 Threatening to move to Canada
- #94 Free healthcare
Do you pray?(survey)
“Soccer is often mocked for its low scores, but precisely because goals are so scarce, the release of joy is greater than in other sports.” Soccernomics, page 295.
Of all the reasons to watch soccer, this is probably the most compelling. Admittedly, a tough football game, grinding tennis match, or nine nail-biting innings of baseball is more engaging than 90 minutes of soccer.
But provided there are goals, I can’t think of a sport that crescendos better than soccer. (Fascinating book, by the way—like a mix between Moneyball and Freakonomics).
A lot of cool things were released this decade. But no other personal technology influenced society more in the last 10 years than the following—in order of impact, because I said so.
- Cell phones (see also: SMS)
- Online search (aka Google)
- Self-publishing (i.e. Blogging, Facebook, YouTube)
- Digital cameras
- Broadband Internet
- Web software (Google Docs, Firefox add-ons, etc.)
- Really Simple Syndication (aka RSS)
- Gesture control (i.e. Nintendo DS, Wii, Apple iPhone)
- Global positioning systems (aka GPS)
- USB storage devices (i.e. thumb drives)
I’d probably put digital video recorders at no. 11. Am I missing anything?
Excluding reports, blog posts, and short-news articles:
As the father of two girls, with another on the way, I’ll take all the help I can get concerning their well-being and development. And although it could have been written using fewer words, the 197-page Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters was an enlightening wake-up call to some of the challenges my daughters will likely face. After reading it, I felt empowered and reassured of the fathering techniques I already held to be true.
Written by Meg Meeker, a child psychiatrist and mother of four, the book is peppered with personal stories and alarming statistics. The stated “10 secrets” aren’t really secrets as much as their are good advice. To summarize, they are as follows: Continue reading…
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vsghn7OKvg8[/youtube]
When used properly, I think iPhones are nifty devices. Like all Apple hardware, including my two Macs, they have an impressive interface. Still, iPhones are probably the most overstated status device of the decade. Case in point: Apple’s latest “Did you get my email?” commercial (shown), which attempts to embellish and sell three bad behaviors “without ever leaving a call.” Let me tear ’em down for you, may I? Continue reading…
Source: One of many email forwards sent by my dear Mother
Q: Who was the first Nobel Peace Prize winner to order 30,000 additional troops to war only two months after winning the award?
Remember, the Nobel Peace Prize is awarded in part “to the person who shall have done the most or the best work for the abolition or reduction of standing armies.”
Before anyone freaks out, I disagree with but like our president. It’s just that I like irony more.
Not sure if you knew, but some cheap-looking infomercial has discovered the secret to making steady profits in the stock market, and they’re hosting sales seminars in your area this weekend! Major brokerages don’t even know about the system! And unlike every other financial reward in life, you don’t have to know anything about financial markets to get rich off this ambiguously “proven program”!
This is great news for people like me and you! What’s that saying again? “If it sounds too good to be true, then maybe I just got super lucky and stumbled into a fortune.” Yeah, that’s the one! *facepalm*
Behold—my obligatory Thanksgiving post. In honesty, I actually write these for myself, as they’re fun to look back on. But most importantly, they make me feel blessed. And who doesn’t like to feel blessed?! Continue reading…
As if Major Leauge Soccer didn’t have enough credibility challenges, the two opposing teams playing in this weekend’s championship will be outfitted by two suspect companies—as they have been all year.
In one corner, you have the LA Galaxy sponsored by Herbalife, a multi-level marketing company out of Los Angeles that sells magic herbs. In the other corner, you have Real Salt Lake sponsored by XanGo, a multi-level marketing company out of Utah that sells super juice. (Match preview here.)
Continue reading…
For their patriotism, big sound, and classically-inspired writing, I adore national anthems. Every time I hear a good one, I feel like saluting someone. Every time I hear one of these, I feel like dying for a cause. They are the best-sounding national anthems ever. Does your favorite make the list? Continue reading…
Here’s a nice summary written by Newsweek’s Daniel Lyons on how the Internet “ruined” newspapers, movies, television, music, and even Microsoft in the last decade. Why waste time reading 1,000 articles on the subject when this does all the heavy lifting for you? Get that.
Wanna search the web faster? Ditch your browser search bar and use URL commands instead. In minutes, you’ll be burning down the information superhighway (aka cyberspace) at neck-breaking speeds. To do this in Firefox, follow these three easy steps: Continue reading…
Simple Photoshoping of my company logo turns an otherwise crappy stock photo into digital wonder. Did this years ago but never had any use for it… until now!
Magnets are fun. These magnets by United Nuclear, on the other hand, are no laughing matter. Check out this purchase disclaimer:
The magnets listed below are very powerful, much more powerful than magnets most people have seen, and need to be handled with proper care. Our larger magnets can easily bruise fingers and even break finger bones as they attempt to connect together. If you or someone in your household has a PACEMAKER or another electronic surgical implant, don’t even think of ordering these items. Neodymium magnets are not suitable for children to play with, and should only be handled under strict adult supervision.
Last month, the website cautioned that said magnets could “crush hands” and “cause things to go airborne,” but they’ve since updated their copy. Still hilarious. (Thanks, Matt)
Excluding blog posts and short news stories:
From Born to Run, p. 92:
How do you make anyone actually want to run? How do you flip the switch that changes us all back into the Natural Born Runners we once were? Not just in history, but in our own lifetimes. Remember? Back when you were a kid and you had to be yelled at to slow down? Every game you played, you played at top speed, sprinting like crazy… Half the fun of doing anything was doing it at record pace, making it probably the last time in your life you’d ever be hassled for going too fast. That was the real secret of the Tarahumara: they’d never forgotten what it felt like to love running.
In other words, “If it feels like work, you’re working too hard.”
I couldn’t have said this better myself, so I won’t:
- Make the user interface simple.
- Don’t emphasize “community” unless you really know what you’re doing. Most users don’t want to join a community; they want to accomplish a task. Focus on the tasks.
- Watch your users for inspiration. People won’t use the tools you provide in the way you expect. Build on their innovation.—Daniel Harrison
Hear, hear!
“Defense wins championships” is the dumbest thing you’ll ever hear in sports. Winning requires scoring and damage control, regardless of the competition. To prioritize the latter over the former is absurd. In fact, offense might be more important—not to mention more exciting to watch.
Pelé, the world’s greatest soccer player, also made this point in his biography (p. 280). Although his comments are directed at soccer, the same can be said of just about every other sport. “Why do I find fault with defensive football, when it obviously is the style preferred by many coaches throughout the world?” he says. “For one main reason: The only way—or certainly the most possible way—to score goals is if your team is in possession of the ball. Continue reading…
