Getty Museum Acquires Penn Photographs

This type of portraiture has always fascinated me ...

Getty Museum Acquires Penn Photographs: "On Wednesday the J. Paul Getty Museum announced that it had acquired Irving Penn’s ‘The Small Trades.’ The series includes 252 full-length portraits of workers."

(Via NYT > Art & Design.)

Chupacabra update: Mystery grows with new test results

Chupacabra update: Mystery grows with new test results : "Who isn't interested in their family tree?
But for Phylis Canion, it's a search for the lineage of a beast living under the oak trees of her Cuero ranch.

(Via .)

Parchment paper: A kitchen marvel, and cheap!

Parchment paper: A kitchen marvel, and cheap!: "So low-tech it's easy to forget, but a lifesaver in all sorts of cooking conundrums.




GREAT cooking equipment -- copper pots, high-tech gadgets, anything manufactured by European car companies -- can set you back some. So now, while we're waiting for Ben Bernanke to cook up something in his kitchen, is a particularly good time to appreciate a chef's tool that's as inexpensive as it is versatile."

(Via L.A. Times - Food & Dining.)

A Soviet-Era Training Jet Jump-Starts a New Era of Green Flight

I've always liked the idea of biodiesel and this pushes it to the extreme.

A Soviet-Era Training Jet Jump-Starts a New Era of Green Flight: "A Czech-built plane makes the world's first canola-powered jet flight. Next up: modifying a Learjet.

(Via Wired News.)

In London it could cost you $50 a DAY in taxes to drive a car

"Congestion taxes" are not working so the solution is to more than double them ...

Stop, thief – it’s Ken’s CO2 tax robbery - Times Online: "Stop, thief – it’s Ken’s CO2 tax robbery
Plans to raise the London congestion charge to £25 a day for some cars will hit the less well-off"

(Via .)

My Top 3 SuperBowl ads

Here are my Top 3 ads:

I kinda identify with this one, at a interview long ago, the interviewer was constantly interrupted and then the final nail was when they tore off a corner of my resume to write down a number to give to one of the interrupters.

I didn't notice the first time I saw this that the car dropped in the window was the "head of shipping's"

A Nod to a classic movie with somewhat of a surprise

Runner Ups:

Doritos: Mousetrap

E-Trade: Bobo the clown

Bridgestone: The Scream / Headlights

Garmin: Napoleon

Wasted their money:

SalesGenie.com

Ice Breakers

Claritin

Didn't get:

Gatorade: Man's best friend

Is the dog drinking because you wore him out from running or is he drinking gatorade which is doubtful.

Complete piece of GARBAGE:

GoDaddy - Exposure

Shame on Danica for going to the lowest common denominator, this was so trashy Im considering moving my domains and services elsewhere.

Is Obama a Mac and Clinton a PC? - New York Times

Kinda a different way at "looking" at the candidates on the D side.

Is Obama a Mac and Clinton a PC? - New York Times:

STYLES make fights — or so goes the boxing cliché. In 2008, they make presidential campaigns, too."

(Via .)

5-year-olds repair OLPC laptops at Nigerian "hospital"

A truly amazing story about the ingenuity of children.

5-year-olds repair OLPC laptops at Nigerian "hospital": "

Filed under: Laptops

During the recent Greener Gadgets Conference in New York, former OLPC CTO (and XO challenger) Mary Lou Jepsen discussed the real-world difficulties with using the kid-friendly laptops, including the creation of an XO 'hospital' used to repair broken computers. Apparently, in the crowded conditions of schools in places like Nigeria, the little green laptops have a tendency to be jostled around and even knocked on the floor from time to time. As there's typically no repair shops nearby, the kids have learned to fix the systems themselves, setting up a 'laptop hospital' where they can repair what's broken using simple tools and cheap replacement parts. Mary Lou says the company designed the systems to be easily fixable, including extra screws embedded in the computers themselves, and allowing for quick changes of the LCD backlight and other components. The in-house repairs cut down on shipping, promote reuse, and increase kids' understanding of ownership and responsibility, thus furthering the OLPC mission, and making everyone generally want to hug.

[Image courtesy NotebookReview / Kevin O'Brien]

Not so fast Micro$oft - Apple and Fox consider buying Yahoo

Apple among those considering rival bid for Yahoo? - Apple Insider: "

Apple among those considering rival bid for Yahoo?
Apple Insider'- 29 minutes ago
By Slash Lane Global giants including Apple Inc. and Rupert Murdochs News Corp. are considering rival bids for the internet search icon Yahoo, which has received a $44.6 billion offer from Microsoft, the Scotsman is reporting.
Microsoft makes bid for Yahoo! WSLS.com
all 2 news articles

"

(Via Google News.)

An Indelible Image of War, 40 Years Later

An Indelible Image of War, 40 Years Later: "

Forty years ago Friday, photojournalist Eddie Adams captured one of history's most memorable images. The 1968 photo of a South Vietnamese officer executing a Viet Cong guerrilla helped change American opinion of the Vietnam War.

(Via NPR Topics: Visual Arts.)

Punxsutawney Phil: Six More Weeks of Winter

Punxsutawney Phil: Six More Weeks of Winter: "Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow, leading the groundhog to forecast six more weeks of winter."

(Via FOXNews.com.)

Super Bowl How-To Special: Set Up Your HDTV, Plan a Party, Throw a Football

Super Bowl How-To Special: Set Up Your HDTV, Plan a Party, Throw a Football: "Planning a Super Sunday shindig? Still trying to figure out where to plug in the HDTV? Consult our Super Bowl How-To guide for tips on geeking up the big game.

(Via Wired News.)

Sigma's APO 200-500 F2.8 telephoto lens gets close to wildlife

I have a Sigma 50-150mm 2.8 and absolutely love it, I've been saving up my pennies for a 120-300mm 2.8 and now Sigma has to do this to me.

Sigma's APO 200-500 F2.8 telephoto lens gets close to wildlife, your wife: "

Filed under: Digital Cameras

Hello daddy! Meet Sigma's new APO 200-500 f2.8 ultra telephoto zoom lens. Weighing 16kg (35-pounds), it's the world's first to offer a F2.8 aperture at 500mm focal length. A dedicated F5.6 attachment ensures autofocusing at 1000mm while an internal Li-ion battery powers the zooming and AF mechanics. Available for Sigma and Nikon mounts in June or Canons in April for ¥2,500,000 or nearly $25,000. So ask yourself, just how deep does your love for the bird go?

(Via Engadget.)

Microsoft Bids $44.6 Billion for Yahoo - New York Times

M$ buys another company to make irrelevant and stifle innovation...

Microsoft Bids $44.6 Billion for Yahoo - New York Times: "

Edmonton Journal

Microsoft Bids $44.6 Billion for Yahoo
New York Times'- 1 hour ago
By MIGUEL HELFT SAN FRANCISCO - In a bold move to counter Google’s online pre-eminence, Microsoft said Friday that it had made an unsolicited offer to buy Yahoo for about $44.6 billion in a mix of cash and stock.
Microsoft offers $31-share, $44.6 billion, for Yahoo MarketWatch
Microsoft Offers to Buy Yahoo for $44.6 Billion (Update4) Bloomberg
Reuters'- CNET News.com'- Washington Post'- CNN International
all 753 news articles

"

(Via Google News.)

Berkeley gives Marines the boot

This is very disappointing.

Berkeley gives Marines the boot: "Forum: Join the reader discussion

The Berkeley City Council voted this week to tell the U.S. Marines that its Shattuck Avenue recruiting station is not welcome in the city."

(Via InsideBayArea.com: Top Oakland Tribune Headlines.)

Uh oh .... Passions to be exposed - MacHeads The Movie

http://www.macheadsthemovie.com/

Government Healthcare

Lack of funding and over 18 week wait times ... but hey, it's "free"

BBC NEWS | UK | Scotland | Tayside and Central | 'Removed patients' to be treated: "health board bosses told him to remove names as a 'simple solution' to people waiting more than 18 weeks for treatment."

Another story from last year, waiting 2 MONTHS for your first URGENT cancer treatment.

BBC NEWS | UK | Scotland | Cancer waiting cuts 'encouraging': "Just over 87% of patients are being treated within 62 days of urgent referral"

(Via .)

HumanCar

I wonder how fun this would be in the 50 mph winds we have today?

HumanCar gets a price, release date, new look: "

Filed under: Transportation

It's been awhile since we heard anything about the HumanCar, but it looks like the Flintstones-inspired vehicle is now rapidly becoming a reality, with it finally getting a price, release date and a even slightly sleeker new look. Apparently now more specifically known as the Imagine LMV, the vehicle will appropriately be available this coming Earth Day (April 22nd), when it'll set you back a hefty $15,000 for the 'base' model. For that price you'll apparently get a top speed of 30 mph from the vehicle's dual electric motors and, most importantly, 'variable human power input,' which should soon make you the most popular member of your car pool group. If that's not enough luxury for you, you'll also apparently be add various navigation and internet options, iPod connectivity, and various biometric devices to see just how much of a workout you're getting.

(Via Engadget.)

Apple Delays Apple TV Software Update and I'm sad

Apple Delays Apple TV Software Update - InformationWeek: "

GameSHOUT

Apple Delays Apple TV Software Update
InformationWeek'- 1 hour ago
Apple says it needs another couple of weeks to finish the software upgrade that will let people rent movies directly from their televisions.
Apple TVs movie rental upgrade not quite ready San Jose Mercury News
MacBook Air Released with Slew of Problems Wired News
Daily Northwestern'- CNET News.com'- San Francisco Chronicle'- TechSpot
all 57 news articles

"

(Via Google News.)

The Space Race began 50 years ago today ...

The Space Race began 50 years ago today ...

Jan. 31, 1958: Explorer I Makes It Official — There's a Space Race: "Reacting swiftly to the Soviet success with Sputnik I, the United States makes its first foray into space a highly successful one.

(Via Wired News.)

Dell to close all 140 U.S. Stores that sold nothing.

Dell tried to copy Apple's success but opened stores that sold NOTHING. Hmmmm, I wonder why that didn't work?

Dell to close all 140 U.S. kiosks | Technology | Reuters: "Dell to close all 140 U.S. kiosks

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Dell said on Wednesday it would close all of its 140 U.S. kiosks, a concept it launched in 2002 to showcase computers, as it expands sales of PCs in retail stores."

(Via .)

Steak School, That's my kind of school ..

School's open, the butcher is in - Los Angeles Times: "School's open, the butcher is in

The most famous butcher in all of Italy is offering classes. Check your frequent flyer miles. Now.
January 30, 2008

STEAK school is open. The Butcher of Panzano -- aka Dario Cecchini, the most famous butcher in all of Italy -- announces his Officina della Bistecca (Steak Workshop) in the heart of Tuscany's Chianti Classico region:
"
More

(Via .)

Government Healthcare

NPR: Report: Poor Care at VA Hospital Caused 9 Deaths: "
 
NPR.org, January 28, 2008 · Investigators say the surgical unit at a southern Illinois veterans' hospital was in such disarray that doctors were allowed to perform operations they weren't qualified to perform and that hospital administrators were too slow to respond once problems surfaced, leading directly to the deaths of at least nine surgical patients and as many as 19.

More

(Via .)

No Breakfast For YOU! .... Lunch, you'll have to wait ...

I'm reminded of this episode of Sienfeld ...


Today, at about 10:35, I went to an establishment that has the word "Cafe" in their name. I waited in line looking over the menu, noticing that the "lunch menu" is served after 11 am. So I place my order for a "breakfast panini" and was promptly told they are no longer serving breakfast after 10:30, so I thought ok I'll do lunch. Then it was explained to me that in order for them to switch over from scrambling eggs to heating sandwich cold cuts in a microwave they have to close the kitchen for 45 mins and then I could have my "lunch order". I promptly turned around and walked out, obviously they aren't really in the cafe business. Also don't bother going after 6 on a friday night to eat at the "cafe" the kitchen is closed. I've been to this place 3 times and 2 times I could not get something to eat, I doubt I'll give them another chance since there are other REAL Cafes that serve food anytime they are open.

The Origins of Photography

The Origins of Photography:
In the fifth century B.C. in China, the philosopher Mo Ti (ca. 470 B.C.–391 B.C.) made the first recorded observation that light passing through a small hole into a dark chamber created an inverted but exact image of the scene outside the chamber. In the 10th century, an Arabian scholar, Abu Ali al-Hasan ibn Al-Haytham (Alhazen) (965–1040), discovered that the image thus seen was made clearer with a smaller hole or aperture.
Roger Bacon (ca. 1214–92) in the 13th century and Reinerius Gemma-Frisius (1508–55) in the 16th century made similar observations. The phenomenon these men observed was the basis for the camera obscura, formally developed during the Renaissance.
Initially, a camera obscura (literally ‘dark room’) was an actual room with a tiny opening in one wall that permitted an image of the outside to be projected on the opposite wall. It could then be drawn or traced by the artist standing in the room. A number of 16th-century scholars, including Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519), Girolamo Cardano (1501–76), Erasmus Reinhold (1511–33), and Gemma-Frisius, all recorded descriptions of camera obscurae; no one knows who first invented the device.

Want more essential knowledge? Buy The New York Times Guide to Essential Knowledge, 2nd Edition, today!
(Via Essential Knowledge of the Day.)

Some detective work returns a camera half way around the world.

USNews.com: Nation & World: AP Article: "Photo Clues Lead to Camera's Owner"

Jan. 24, 1984: Birth of the Cool (Computer, That Is)

Jan. 24, 1984: Birth of the Cool (Computer, That Is): "






I didn't start out using Mac's, at the time they were just to expensive but I'm glad I made the switch.

Coffee - Is it an indicator of the economy?

This is a $20,000 coffee maker from Japan

At Last, a $20,000 Cup of Coffee - New York Times

Starbucks Tests $1 Cup, Free Refills in Seattle - WSJ.com

According to some doom and gloomers, since Starbucks is test marketing a buck a cup coffee with free refills this must mean we are close to a recession/depression/possibly the end of the world. SBUX offering a "intro priced" product to drive more traffic in the door knowing that people will spend more than $1 on pastries or other snacks in a highly saturated market couldn't possibly be a possibility could it? maybe?

Test of Blogging Software

testing 1....2....3....

It's been way to long and the Year of Apple

Sorry I haven't posted in a while seems life, home renovations and the holidays have kept me busy.

The Year of Apple
After living in the G4 generation of Macs for a few years I finally upgraded to the new Intel based macs and all I can say is WOW, Apple did the right thing. Cross-platform runs seamless, you can run winders if ya hafta, much brighter screens etc. So here's very brief reviews of Apple products I've picked up this year:
iMac 24" - Bought 1 month and 3 days before the new "metal" ones came out. Performance has been flawless, the big screen with support for a second makes photo editing a pleasure. It's fast and quiet, great for recording audio.
MacBook Pro 15" - I downsized from a 17" PowerBook but I like the more portability of this model. Basically a portable version to the T of the iMac with no compromises.
AppleTV - HUGE hit for family gatherings, I scanned and collected photos and present them on the screen with background music during family events. With AppleTV you can share content off your computer to the living room tv very easily. You get Music, Video, Photos, Movies and YouTube all in one little wireless box with component and HDMI connections
Airport Extreme - Like all Apple products its a stylish white box with no antenna or unnecessary blinking lights, it just works and works perfectly.
And finally the iPhone - I waited (for the tmobile contract to end), watched (the hysteria and lines) and waited some more. I've used it for 2 months now and dont know how I ever lived without it. The internet is everywhere now, my email is with me always, music, weather, maps that find places and oh yeah, a phone that works and is easy to use.