tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-128953892024-03-13T19:47:57.102-07:00instant classicsIn which I shill for odd objects, some of which you might actually need. But probably not.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15948342196950720934noreply@blogger.comBlogger117125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12895389.post-46850977478077221152013-10-30T12:46:00.000-07:002013-10-30T13:25:44.966-07:00Down in the (Bitcoin) Mines -- a review of the Butterfly Labs Jalapeno<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 21px; text-align: start;">You say they are blues, these old miner's blues</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 21px; text-align: start;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 21px; text-align: start;">Now I must have sharpened these picks that I use</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 21px; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">-Carter Family, <i>Coal Miner's Blues</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 21px;">Mining has always been a losing proposition, and, though the Harlan County metaphor might be a stretch, but, aside from the danger to life and limb faced by those lyrical Appalachian miners, it's not much different if you've been trying to get in on the game of mining Bitcoin.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Oh, what's a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bitcoin">Bitcoin</a>, you say? If you're here you should already have some idea, but it's more or less the most successful digital currency in history. Designed by a shadowy pseudonymous figure, <a href="http://money.cnn.com/2013/03/28/investing/bitcoin-cyprus/">pumped up by the failure of banks in Cyprus</a>, and famously used (at least until recently) <a href="http://www.ibtimes.com/silk-road-shut-down-fbi-owner-ross-william-ulbricht-dread-pirate-roberts-arrested-1413966" target="_blank">for the purchase of drugs</a>, this sort-of-money is something of a digital-libertarian wunderkind. Its value has grown by a factor of several thousand in the past few years, and a few billion USD worth of the things seem to be around.<br /><br />And how do you make it? By twiddling bits around, doing some sort of cryptographic magic -- "mining" in the parlance of those involved, using your GPU or a dedicated piece of hardware to compute a cryptographic hash of a certain sort. Right now, I'm sitting next to <a href="https://products.butterflylabs.com/homepage/5-gh-s-bitcoin-miner.html">a piece of hardware</a> that has "mined" a few bucks worth of coins in the last couple of days. Seems to good to be true, doesn't it?<br /><br />Unfortunately, it is. In the past year or so, a number of entrepreneurs savvy in the ways of digital cryptocurrencies have tried to bring products to market, with varying levels of success. A friend and I had put down cash for an early ASIC bitcoin miner from a company which had previously built an FPGA. We eventually received a refund after the producer couldn't meet his ship dates and the project failed.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.butterflylabs.com/">Butterfly Labs</a> has almost suffered the same fate -- a quick search for "BFL ship date" or similar will lead you to some of the, um, even-tempered discussions out there. <a href="http://arstechnica.com/business/2013/06/gold-in-them-bits-inside-the-worlds-most-mysterious-bitcoin-mining-company/">Here's an article</a> that describes their issues somewhat if you're not up to wade through the ire yourself. <br /><br /> And yet, last week, just about six months after my order, I've actually received a piece of hardware from them.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">First off, I just want to say that it's not easy to bring a product to market, as I've learned in the past few years working at several hardware startups. In addition to the design and production of the actual device, e-commerce, logistics, community, and software are all challenges of surprising difficulty. (And there are others.) Delays are the norm.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />Unfortunately, delays are a particular problem for a Bitcoin mining product. The difficulty of mining Bitcoin <a href="http://bitcoindifficulty.com/">has increased geometrically</a>, and the 'elbow' meaningful for my purchase seems to have happened in August-September. Had I received my unit in June, l<a href="http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2013/06/how-a-total-n00b-mined-700-in-bitcoins/">ike this guy writing for Ars Technica</a>, it would have been awesome -- I would have been in the black within a week or so. Unfortunately, <a href="http://mining.thegenesisblock.com/a/5a1e2426ad">according to most charts</a>, I'm not going to make it into the black, even though my order was placed early(ish) and got a better price than what's currently offered. Projections are that I make about $50 this month, maybe $20 next, and then not much after that. I take a bath to the tune of about $200.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />So, why am I sort of enjoying it?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Oh right. The device. It's actually quite nice -- packaging-wise, it showed up in a printed box, with everything you need to get going (a power supply and USB cable.) There was no printed manual, but who'd want one -- the included card with a link is sufficient.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The device itself is a nice little anodized box, about three inches each side -- about as close to a literal "black box" as you can get. Power and USB on one side, and a few vents. That's it. It's got a little red light on it that blinks when it sends a block. It makes a whirring noise like a laptop and is a bit warm.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Software wise, it's a different story. The world of mining software is pretty rough around the edges - I eventually grabbed <a href="https://multibit.org/" target="_blank">MultiBit</a>, a BitCoin wallet, and <a href="http://fabulouspanda.co.uk/macminer/" target="_blank">MacMiner</a>, which is basically a GUI wrapper for several popular command-line mining programs, including <a href="http://bfgminer.org/" target="_blank">BFGMiner</a> and <a href="https://github.com/ckolivas/cgminer" target="_blank">cgminer</a>. I joined <a href="https://www.btcguild.com/" target="_blank">BTC Guild</a>, the largest mining pool, punched in my info, and was up and running. I had to install some <a href="http://www.ftdichip.com/Drivers/VCP.htm" target="_blank">USB-serial drivers</a>, which makes the experience about as polished as running a MakerBot Cupcake, i.e. not very.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Once it was up and running, the device has consistently outperformed its 7 GH/s rating, and it's really nice to have a little box printing virtual money for you.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Emotions</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">OK, so we've already discussed how I'm basically going to take a bath on this. Furthermore, to go back to that <a href="http://mining.thegenesisblock.com/" target="_blank">mining profitability calculator</a>, it seems like all currently shipping miners are basically not profitable. There are some announced products which <i>might</i> be profitable -- if they can make their announced ship dates. So...good luck with that.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Why are we still doing it then?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have a couple of ideas. One is the "mouse on cocaine" scenario: we just keep pushing that lever, even in the face of diminishing returns. The other is that we feel compelled to make a futile gesture against ubiquitous surveillance -- after all that's a big part of what this experiment has been all about. Perhaps in some ways, the Bitcoin is the last vestige of the early, wild-west days of the internet, when we all dreamed about new communities, organized along different vectors than our old ones...of course what we got was smut, online shopping, and pictures of cats, but still, a good thought experiment. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And of course, we're all trying to recoup some of our investment while we can.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">OK, so...</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Oh right. Yeah. Is that the end of the story, run it for a month or two, make a few bucks back, turn it off still down a couple hundo?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Maybe not. There are some alternative cryptocurrencies out there, which you can mine a little faster. <a href="http://dot-bit.org/Main_Page" target="_blank">NameCoin</a>, <a href="https://litecoin.org/" target="_blank">Litecoin</a>, and <a href="http://www.peercointalk.org/" target="_blank">Peercoin</a> seem to be the biggest. Namecoin is mostly a distributed, censorship-resistant DNS scheme with funds also involved, and Litecoin doesn't work with the BFL miners, so I think I might try out Peercoin, which is basically an improved version of Bitcoin with a possible vulnerability patched. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Look out for a future update where I talk about my experiences with Peercoin -- with luck, I might just break even!</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15948342196950720934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12895389.post-52089821112825042832013-08-12T10:00:00.000-07:002013-08-12T10:00:09.034-07:00Not impossible: re-covering a vintage SX-70<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TRiOHXqnDiQ/UgVE9V1dgZI/AAAAAAAAA0k/2BVXW6DjpRY/s1600/SX70+recover+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TRiOHXqnDiQ/UgVE9V1dgZI/AAAAAAAAA0k/2BVXW6DjpRY/s320/SX70+recover+5.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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A few years ago, engulfed in a wave of mania for instant photography whipped up by the <a href="http://www.the-impossible-project.com/">Impossible Project</a> going live, I purchased a classic SX-70 Polaroid camera (ok, <a href="http://threeethan.blogspot.com/2010/09/design-love-for-sx-70.html">actually I purchased two</a>, but let's not talk about that.)</div>
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This second camera worked great -- the Alpha 1 model 2 has some fantastic upgrades over the original model that make it much nicer to work with. (Things like a strap, tripod socket, and a split prism for focusing -- really essential stuff.) Since then, I've run more than a dozen 8-exposure packs of Impossible film through it with great results. </div>
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There was one problem, however: the vintage leatherette covering was pretty decrepit, so the camera was not too good aesthetically.</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ANZBY0m6BNs/UgVE99IWoPI/AAAAAAAAA0s/zduT4bwL9jI/s1600/SX70+recover+6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ANZBY0m6BNs/UgVE99IWoPI/AAAAAAAAA0s/zduT4bwL9jI/s320/SX70+recover+6.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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But, all was not lost. I wasn't the only person who had this issue, and I found a few places around the web that manufacture replacement coverings for the camera. There were a range, including some very nice <a href="http://aki-asahi.com/store/index.php">real leather</a> <a href="http://cameraleather.com/polaroid/SX70/">coverings</a>. Eventually, however, I chose one of <a href="http://www.skinslove.com/index.php/cPath/145_148">skinslove's</a> offerings, a self-adhesive die-cut vinyl called "Black Rainbow," based on classic Polaroid branding. Awesome!</div>
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One problem did remain: actually putting it on. The <a href="http://aki-asahi.com/store/html/sx_replace/replace.php">research</a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/groups/sx-70/discuss/72157625112657516/">I did</a> was a bit discouraging. After the packet showed up, I sat on it for a few months, but eventually I worked up the courage to get started.</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RHI2IXItBcg/UgVE89E1E4I/AAAAAAAAA0U/ezgwYlKKEfA/s1600/SX70+recover+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RHI2IXItBcg/UgVE89E1E4I/AAAAAAAAA0U/ezgwYlKKEfA/s320/SX70+recover+1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Removal. </div>
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Two of the techniques discussed on the web seemed promising. One suggested leaving the camera soaking in isopropyl alcohol overnight, wrapped in a plastic bag. The idea here was to dissolve some of the old adhesive, and also to thoroughly wet the old covering to fight crumbling. Some people did worry about the alcohol seeping into the camera's workings, however.</div>
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The other suggestion was the heat gun -- this is the way I went, since a heat gun can be applied a bit more precisely. I heated each panel gently to soften the ancient adhesive, then used a painter's knife to slowly peel and scrape away the covering. </div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--VjIHGYJtXs/UgVE8-ZylZI/AAAAAAAAA00/YU-VIQT2RzI/s1600/SX70+recover+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--VjIHGYJtXs/UgVE8-ZylZI/AAAAAAAAA00/YU-VIQT2RzI/s320/SX70+recover+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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As you can see, it was a messy process -- the old leatherette simply shredded as I removed it. The <a href="http://www.dyson.com/vacuums/handhelds/dc34/dc34.aspx">mini Dyson</a> came in very handy managing this. However, I was able to get most of the panels off in large pieces.</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4TLjPRhdJFY/UgVE81x5DBI/AAAAAAAAA0Q/hMeNJVX7Yso/s1600/SX70+recover+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4TLjPRhdJFY/UgVE81x5DBI/AAAAAAAAA0Q/hMeNJVX7Yso/s320/SX70+recover+3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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The amazing thing about this was that the old adhesive was somehow still tacky after 35 years or so of service -- which meant that its removal was a second painstaking process, depending on <a href="http://googone.com/">Goo-gone</a>, paper towels, and ton of cotton swabs.</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KqGnC-U3hv8/UgVE9OL81DI/AAAAAAAAA0g/-wVqLi3UkuQ/s1600/SX70+recover+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KqGnC-U3hv8/UgVE9OL81DI/AAAAAAAAA0g/-wVqLi3UkuQ/s320/SX70+recover+4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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I applied blue painter's tape in a few places where it seemed like there were holes underneath the panels, to keep any detritus from entering. It seemed to do the trick.</div>
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Application.</div>
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Once everything was clean, applying the decals was fairly simple - I just put them on, one at a time, very carefully. Self-adhesive vinyl tends to be pretty tolerant of adjustments, and a few panels did require some fine-tuning, but eventually went on just fine. One small complaint was that the bottom-front panel seemed to be just a tiny bit small -- one edge of the metal plate you can see in the photo above is still visible after installation.</div>
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However, the camera is much more presentable than it was previously, and all it took was about $30 for a new decal, 2-3 hours of time, and a few of the old standbys from the toolbox. I've run a couple of packs of Impossible through it since with no ill effects, and it's really nice to do so without the covering flaking off.</div>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15948342196950720934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12895389.post-88845398813583679882012-04-10T17:59:00.001-07:002012-04-10T17:59:33.644-07:00Skyrim: Meandering in the North.<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px;">Open up a beer</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px;">You say get over here</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px;">and play a video game</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px;"><i>Skyrim</i> may perhaps be the most indulgent video game ever released. As everyone who might ever read this post knows, it's <a href="http://www.pcgamer.com/2011/06/08/skyrims-main-quest-30-hours-long-additional-content-lasts-two-to-three-hundred-more/">huge</a>, it's part of an <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Elder_Scrolls">old series</a>, and <a href="http://www.wired.com/geekdad/2011/12/skyrim/">tons and tons of people bought and played the hell out of it</a>. It's a phenomenon, and I'm sure that I have personally played the game for more than a hundred hours. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px;">It has been a hundred shameful, couch-sagging, tube-sock-wearing, beer-swilling hours of guydom. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px;">I've played more than a few video games. Some I would recommend immediately to anyone. Others, I would recommend only to the most craven old-school video-game recidivists. <i>Skyrim</i> falls squarely into the second category.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px;">But why? Surely it's not the majestic open world, with its vistas, or the detail of its characters; nor is it the gameplay, which many have decried due the overly-simply swordplay. How can you really complain when the archery and spell-casting mechanics are so good? The melee weapons aren't graceful, but adding in blocking with a shield is a sufficiently engaging experience.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px;">I'll even give the dungeons a pass -- even though they're almost all purely linear, they're just so damn beautiful it almost doesn't matter.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px;">Nor is my problem the alarming lapses that break the spell cast by the finely grained detail. (You might have thought it would hit them the 3rd or 4th time they had a voice actor read the "Arrow in the knee" line...) How can you really complain about a few lines being copied when there are so many characters, so many stories, and so many events that can happen? Sure, the experience is uneven -- they've lavished more time on some quests than others, and of course it shows. But to use some office-speak, with so many balls in the air, some are sure to drop. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px;">The problem certainly isn't with the leveling mechanic -- indeed, this is what <i>Skyrim</i> is all about. Want to kill monsters? Keep at it! Level your weapons skills. Of course, it's the alchemy, enchanting, and smithing that really get the compulsive impulses flowing. This is where the gamer's heart of darkness truly lays: ritualized button-clicking, calibrated to find the quickest ways to level up. Buy materials, make weapons, enchant, sell...buy more, craft more...level up. Adventure only after you exhaust the possibilities or you run out of money...or the merchants do. Note the imperative: one started there's not a lot of choice left. It's compulsive, solitary, and a bit disgusting. Masturbation is the obvious metaphor here.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px;">And yet this isn't the issue. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px;">This is the problem with <i>Skyrim</i>: it just doesn't matter. I know -- it's a video game. Of course it doesn't matter. Sure. But then, the same can be said about movies or novels. And yet we're not surprised when a movie or novel creates drama which draws us in. The problem with <i>Skyrim</i> is that it fails to create the same kind of drama we experience in other contemporary games -- and a big part of that is because your choices have no weight or consequence. And in a world of this size, there are many, many choices that feel like they should. At the end of the day, onanistic 14-year compulsion may be the <i>only</i> reason to play <i>Skyrim</i>.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px;">Sure there are quests with great moments; sudden dragon attacks. Powerful enemies. This is exciting stuff, right? And yes...at times it is. If <i>Skyrim</i> had come out a few years ago, it would be enough. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px;">But then a few things happened. Specifically, <i>Heavy Rain</i> and the <i>Mass Effect </i>series. When video games demand as much respect in universities, both of these titles will surely studied as early masterpieces, for a simple reason: your actions have consequences. Characters -- important ones -- live and die based on your choices, or even how well you play the game. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px;">Furthermore, the writing, voice acting, and production are strong enough to make you care. In these games, the package coheres into something that's more gripping than all but the best movies; as the experience spreads out over the hours, you become closer to the characters than is possible in a film. In a film, you sympathize with the characters. In these games, you <i>become</i> the characters you play.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px;">Don't get me wrong. <i>Skyrim</i> is a good video game. It's just not a <i>great</i> video game. Let me put it this way: the best games out today (<i>Mass Effect, Heavy Rain, </i>perhaps <i>Red Dead Redemption</i>, <i>Uncharted, </i>or <i>L.A. Noire) </i>are games that you <i>don't</i> play when your significant other is out -- they want to see what happens next. On the other hand, <i>Skyrim</i> is a game you <i>only </i>play when they're out, and nobody seems to mind.</span></span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15948342196950720934noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12895389.post-64141679831229127282012-03-29T19:59:00.001-07:002012-03-29T19:59:09.118-07:00Tip of the cap: selling parts<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/threeethan/7028384883/" title="Old vs. new by Threeethan, on Flickr"><img alt="Old vs. new" height="333" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7134/7028384883_a1f7100c81.jpg" width="500" /></a><br />
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About ten years ago I sprang for a set of headphones. I spent about a hundred bucks on a set from Sennheiser called the "HD 25 SP." I liked them for a couple of reasons:<br />
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1) good isolation from outside noise<br />
2) deep, physical bass<br />
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In the intervening years, I did a lot of things, including moving back and forth across the country, getting jobs, losing them, traveling various places...meanwhile, mp3 players became popular, which were then eclipsed by smartphones which also played mp3s. Headphones can be very handy and these got their fair share of use -- especially since their noise isolation rivals the popular active cancellation models.<br />
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(Audio side note...keep in mind that the active models really work best at blotting out static white noise, like a plane engine, while a set with passive attenuation will cut all sound equally, without batteries or impacting sound quality. Also, though I understand the noise cancellation itself is very good, you pay a premium for anything labeled "Bose," and that premium may not always be reflected in the sound quality.)<br />
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My pair got pretty beat. As a member of our disposable society, I probably should have just tossed them and found a better pair. <br />
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There was only one problem: I couldn't find anything I liked better. At least, nothing with the same level of isolation and sound quality, unless I wanted to pay a lot more. Sure, I could upgrade to the HD 25 SP's big brother, the <a href="http://www.sennheiserusa.com/DJ-headphones-HD%2025-1-high-attenuation-of-ambient-noise_502188">HD 25</a> (basically the same headphones with some nicer features, very popular with DJs and sportscasters) or just plunk down another hundo for a set of the <a href="http://www.sennheiserusa.com/DJ-headphones-noise-reduction-HD-25-SP-502103">HD 25 SP II</a> which replaced my set.<br />
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Both options seemed pretty silly, especially since the only problem was that the pads were a bit ratty, as you can see on the left -- the pad's "skin" had started to separate around the edges. I attempted a patch with some electrical tape at some point...with mediocre results.<br />
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Along the way, I'd found a link to a set of replacement pads. The pad attachment on these things is a bit fiddly, so I'd forgotten about it...until earlier this week, when I plunked down to get a set of replacement pads from <a href="http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/357361-REG/Sennheiser_075527_H_75527_Ear_Cushions.html">good old B&H</a>.<br />
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And tonight, thanks to the quick shipping, the old phones are as good as new, or at least as close as I can tell. Sennheiser: classy move making these pads available and selling them through reasonable channels. You might not have sold me another pair of headphones, but you have earned yourself my recommendation.<br />
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So: if you're on the market for some sweet cans, check out the Sennheiser <a href="http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/507447-REG/Sennheiser_HD_25_1_II_HD_25_1_II.html">HD 25</a> and <a href="http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/751941-REG/Sennheiser_HD25SP_II_HD_25_SP_II_On_Ear.html">SP</a>.<br />
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Things to be ignored during this article:<br />
1) the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2012/03/18/magazine/anytime-egg-recipes.html">Bittman article from the Times</a> used for staging. <br />
2) the fact that the "DJ" on the Sennheiser pages is always wearing the same headphones...which don't match the ones on the page you're looking at...Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15948342196950720934noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12895389.post-10546060757162638302012-02-22T18:32:00.000-08:002012-02-22T18:35:17.862-08:00Heirloom tech: the stainless steel vacuum flask.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rBjYZHh3N0Q/T0Wg4s8lHwI/AAAAAAAAAQM/2QUXBmMpIOY/s1600/29760200_219457_full.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rBjYZHh3N0Q/T0Wg4s8lHwI/AAAAAAAAAQM/2QUXBmMpIOY/s320/29760200_219457_full.jpg" width="238" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image courtesy of Jeff the Gardener</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
When I was younger, I remember my father loading a vacuum flask in the morning before he made the long drive to school outside Boston. He'd dump most of a pot of coffee into a tremendous bottle that looked like nothing so much as a gigantic, green-toned <a href="http://www.stanley-pmi.com/stories/detail/id/798">mortar shell</a>.<br />
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That mortar shell was, of course, the classic <a href="http://www.shopstanley-pmi.com/product/7190">Stanley flask</a>. My father's is still in better shape than this one, but it takes quite a bit of abuse to destroy one of these things. And note the specification: it'll keep your beverage at temp for 24 hours.<br />
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The stainless flask is truly a brilliant device. It uses no energy to maintain temperatures -- it's just metal, impervious steel, odorless and tasteless. The liquid space is nestled in an evacuated cavity so the only heat transfer happens through the metal itself. The metal only connects at the neck of the bottle, which can only transfer heat slowly -- over 24 hours or so.<br />
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Glass-lined vacuum flasks (like Thermos) are perhaps even more efficient. However, they're not as durable, and if you've ever broken a glass vacuum flask, you wouldn't want to do it again. So it's stainless all the way for me.<br />
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Before we go, I'll leave you with a few other high-fliers on the stainless flask scene:<br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Nissan-FBB1000-Stainless-Steel-Insulated-Briefcase/dp/B00009V4FM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1329964126&sr=8-1">The Thermos Nissan 34 oz. </a><br />
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<a href="http://www.rei.com/product/825834/zojirushi-tuff-slim-vacuum-bottle-05-liter?cm_mmc=cse_froogle-_-gpeLink-_-product-_-825834&mr:trackingCode=9A866520-B3A1-E011-9A77-001B21631C34&mr:referralID=NA&%7Bcopy:s_kwcid%7D=&mr:adType=pla&gclid=CKWThNSGs64CFcjc4AodSF6xRQ">The Zojirushi Tuff Slim</a> (note detailed temperature performance specs)<br />
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Or, if you're cheap like me...Ikea always has one or two <a href="http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/categories/departments/eating/20620/">very affordable options.</a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15948342196950720934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12895389.post-88384289736946037982011-12-08T05:30:00.001-08:002011-12-08T05:55:35.409-08:00Heirloom Tech: Zassenhaus Coffee Grinder<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ovpXQhV8aa0/SclRUsJ_UQI/AAAAAAAAAEg/I5_yg-IgKeU/s1600/Zass+crop+1600.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="181" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ovpXQhV8aa0/SclRUsJ_UQI/AAAAAAAAAEg/I5_yg-IgKeU/s320/Zass+crop+1600.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Move over, Mercedes and BMW: here is German engineering at its finest. It's an elegant, zombie-proof (as in, will continue to be useful after the zombie apocalypse) method of grinding coffee, from the finest Turkish grind up to a decent size for pour-over, if not quite French Press. <br />
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Yes, this is the <a href="http://www.sweetmarias.com/sweetmarias/grinders/manual-grinders/zassenhaus-175-m-turkish-mill.html">Zassenhaus Turkish Coffee Mill</a>, one of the finest pieces of coffee kit available for purchase. Zassenhaus does make some other coffee mills (including the always-in-demand <a href="http://www.sweetmarias.com/sweetmarias/grinders/manual-grinders/zassenhaus-knee-mill.html">knee mill</a>) but the shiny brass Turkish mill is the sexiest of the bunch. While the wooden box mills summon images of hardy New Englanders on a chilly winter morning, the Turkish mill seems more suited for a charming square in Greece (or, uh...Turkey.)<br />
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But back to the zombie-proof aspect of all this. Yes, this machine depends on the sweat of your brow to pulverize your coffee into very tiny, even particles (the quality of the grind is as good as you'll get from any powered grinder...probably better, since there is no motor to heat the grinds) but in exchange you'll never have to worry about the power being out. You can travel with it. You can have beautiful, even coffee grinds in the woods...or yes, after attacks by zombies or malevolent aliens have taken the power grid offline. While your cell phones and videogame consoles lay dormant, undone by the lack of electricity and the near-complete breakdown of society, zombie-proof heirloom technology like this hand grinder will soldier on, unbowed. Even if the breakdown of society has slowed the import of good coffee beans. <br />
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And for that, we salute you, Zassenhaus Turkish Coffee Mill.<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15948342196950720934noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12895389.post-4165055069624558782011-12-01T17:37:00.001-08:002011-12-01T17:47:28.088-08:00Brush-on Super Glue<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.stewmac.com/product_images/1lg/7006/StewMac_Brush-on_Super_Glue_sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://www.stewmac.com/product_images/1lg/7006/StewMac_Brush-on_Super_Glue_sm.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Everybody loves superglue, right? <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyanoacrylate">Cyanoacrylate glues</a> are ubiquitous because they are strong and quick-drying. But most of them are packaged in tiny tubes where you're supposed to just dab your glue joint with a drop from the end of the thing. Eventually you stick your hand in there and get the fast-drying glue on your hands, or get the workpiece stuck to yourself.<br />
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Hey, what if you instead had a brush? No, not a disposable glue brush, but one integrated into the bottle?<br />
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Guess what: it exists. A few brands make it, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Quicktite-Brush-Super-Glue-gms/dp/B000H5VP5M">Quiktite</a>, <a href="http://www.acehardware.com/product/index.jsp?productId=1274202&CAWELAID=348436301">Loctite</a>, and best of all, <a href="http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Glues,_adhesives/Stewart-MacDonald_Super_Glues/Brush-on_Super_Glue.html">Stewart-Macdonald</a>, the guitar supply company. <br />
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Yes, this is as amazing as it seems. It is a completely new superglue experience and renders the tiny tubes obsolete. 100% no-brainer instant classic.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15948342196950720934noreply@blogger.com164tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12895389.post-43064834508872404952010-09-20T15:25:00.001-07:002010-09-20T15:52:07.846-07:00Design Love for the SX-70<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_p6r2RSDoVTk/TJfgRCrU7RI/AAAAAAAAAKg/jYknFyKkDhg/s1600/sx-70.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_p6r2RSDoVTk/TJfgRCrU7RI/AAAAAAAAAKg/jYknFyKkDhg/s320/sx-70.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5519126451746827538" border="0" /></a><br />An ebay SX-70.<br /><br />If you're not familiar, the <a href="http://www.rwhirled.com/landlist/landdcam-sx70.htm">SX-70</a> was Edin Land's crowning achievement. As <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EdwmaQltHc">this ad</a> (by the Eames) tells us, it is "a compact, folding, electronically-controlled, motor-driven single lens reflex camera, capable of focusing from infinity down to 10 inches to exploit integral self-processing film units." An amazing bit of technical jargon masquerading as marketing that could never be unleashed on the public today. Or, in other words, the first modern Polaroid camera and film.<br /><br />The SX-70 is a far cry from the plastic instant Polaroids those of my generation are familiar with. It's a beautiful piece of 1970s design. Folded down, one might mistake it for an oversized cigarette case. Popped up, it is, in fact, a fully-functional SLR camera with automatic exposure. SLR cameras are fairly complex things; I don't know of any other camera of this complexity which collapses as fully as the SX-70.<br /><br />That's right...a Polaroid that focuses. Instead of a "fixed focus" lens, where a tiny aperture is used for large depth of field and the photographer just hopes that it comes out OK (in reality everything comes out a bit blurry) the SX-70 allows for proper focus. Many models even had an old-school split focusing circle to make manual focus easier.<br /><br />Manual focus, but automatic exposure, adjustable by two stops in either direction. It's a photographer's Polaroid, and I'm dying to take pictures with it, using the new films from <a href="http://www.the-impossible-project.com/">the Impossible Project</a>.<br /><br />Unfortunately, it doesn't quite work. The camera ejects the darkslide perfectly, with the motor running smoothly, but hitting the shutter button results in...nothing. And, as you might imagine, fitting a real camera into a package that folds makes working on them a bit fiddly. A brief look underneath the housing didn't show anything promising...I am afraid that I might need to go deeper. Sigh.<br /><img src="file:///Users/ethanhartman/Library/Caches/TemporaryItems/moz-screenshot.png" alt="" />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15948342196950720934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12895389.post-28239662085788516052009-10-29T07:49:00.000-07:002009-10-29T08:05:44.867-07:00PassagesI first encountered the <a href="http://www.kokoromi.org/blog/">Kokoromi Collective</a> a year or so ago, when I read a bit about the music to their 2d/3d platformer, <a href="http://polytroncorporation.com/?page_id=61">Fez</a>, on the blog <a href="http://createdigitalmusic.com/">Create Digital Music.</a> Around that time, I heard tell of a game which had been exhibited at their <a href="http://www.kokoromi.org/projects/gamma256/">Gamma256</a> event, which was a showcase of retro-styled games with pixelated graphics. There was some buzz about it.<br /><br />As it happens, I didn't download and play it at the time; I was busy. Some other things happened as well. But a few days ago, I finally took the time to download <a href="http://hcsoftware.sourceforge.net/passage/">Passage</a>.<br /><br />I wouldn't say that it was an earth-shattering experience, exactly, but, there's something undeniably beautiful about the game. I keep thinking that "impressionistic" is the word to describe it: it's so simple and melancholy, oddly open-ended for so simple a game...it's an exquisite experience, a tiny masterpiece which left me full of more emotion than I had thought a game could inspire. Download it, and play it for its entire five-minute running time, and see if it speaks to you.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15948342196950720934noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12895389.post-42599422408360316772009-09-08T17:43:00.000-07:002009-09-08T18:22:03.893-07:00BallparksI've finally had a chance to visit the new baseball stadiums which have debuted here in New York this year, and I feel much the way I thought I might.<br /><br />Disclaimer: I am not a fan of the New York Yankees. But this isn't about the team so much as the Stadium. I'll try to be objective.<br /><br />At first I was unimpressed with both stadiums; compared to AT&T park in San Francisco or Fenway, baseball's oldest, both stadiums feel antiseptic and show a lot of bare concrete. But Citi Field has grown on me -- in an era of smaller and smaller parks, the Mets have bucked the trend and built a gigantic, old-school baseball stadium. It's got the modern amenities, and even the upper-deck seats in which I sat had a decent view. It's also got some old-timey brick and a few quirks, mainly the scooped out right area in right field (Mo's Zone) where a ball can rattle around or take a strange hop.<br /><br />But then Shea Stadium had set the bar fairly low. Its historical highlight, after all, was probably a Beatles concert, or that game where they Red Sox almost broke their world series slump. (Ok, I understand that the 1969 had some rather magical moments, and that 1986 team also had its moments.) Nobody was sorry to see that stadium go, and it's undoubtedly a nice upgrade for Mets fans.<br /><br />I had been incredulous about the Yankee stadium redux when I first heard that it was planned. Ok, the 1970s rehab project had changed it drastically from the park it was when it was built in 1923 and soon thereafter made famous by the Ruth's heroics. But it was, fundamentally, the same park. The Yanks still played on the same diamond at least. Sure it had its deficiencies: it was 1970s-feeling and concretey. The concourses were also pretty dark and drab. I can understand why an update might be desirable. But to jettison the history that came along? That seems strange, especially for a team with the storied history of the Yankees.<br /><br />And then I saw the park.<br /><br />I had decent seats for this one: field level, 21st row left field. A nice view, and the seats were wide and comfortable, with soft cushions. But...the new stadium is distinctly similar to the old one. Big and full of concrete. Once you get past the facade, which is reminiscent of the 1923 park and definitely an upgrade over the previous one, the park is not going to win any beauty prizes. The concourses are nice and open, the concessions are very nice (and expensive even by the standards set by other major leage baseball stadiums) but...aside from the facade, there is not even a touch of the old-timeyness which has been the rage ever since Baltimore's Camden Yards was built in 1992. Not a bit of brick is evident; perhaps it would clash too much with the flatscreen HDTV monitors?<br /><br />George Steinbrenner's goal was to give Yankees fans the best stadium in baseball, to match their team. And in this "inaugural" year, the team has certainly played well; they have the best record in baseball. But the stadium falls flat, at least for me. I had imagined a place that would blend the hominess of a Camden Yards or AT&T Park with the majestic size of Yankee Stadium, a place that really had it all; it's not that. Of course, I might have a different opinion if I had visited the sumptuous VIP seating, boxes, or dining rooms; maybe they saved the best for the true elites.<br /><br />Nevertheless, I'm guessing that this time, the field in Flushing is going to be the one to age gracefully; and for now, the diamond where Ruth played grows weeds across the street from the new Cathedral.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15948342196950720934noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12895389.post-38847039949838412632009-08-29T10:38:00.000-07:002009-08-29T10:44:04.382-07:00Charlie Parker and Michael Jackson were born on the same day.Coincidence? Probably. But they were both great American entertainers, innovators who were unsurpassed in their own, self-created genres, and both of them came to an early and unforunate end: Parker died at age 35, fifteen years younger than MJ.<br /><br />Today there will be a celebration of MJ's life in Prospect Park just a few blocks away; WKCR's birthday broadcast (24 hours of Bird) is going out over the air today as well.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15948342196950720934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12895389.post-52787006924771996982009-08-26T15:25:00.000-07:002009-08-26T15:48:14.139-07:00The BlightWoe is me, my friends, for we, all of us, are stuck in a predicament so dire that it is almost beyond description. What if, I ask you, the fruit of your labors, the carrot at the end of the stick, long chased-after and all the more desirable for it, were to fall to dust suddenly upon being grasped? What if, gentelmen, a long-desired woman, finally within your grasp after years of wooing and betrothal, was overcome by stroke and died, even as she finally lay on your marital bed? Truly I tell you that you would be no sadder than I am now.<br /><br />For I am stricken with the blight: the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/18/nyregion/18tomatoes.html">Late Blight</a>, the very disease which decimated those potato crops, sending hordes of German and Irish immigrants to these American shores. OK, I am not directly affected by the disease, I mean, I don't have blight-sores opening up on my own arms & legs, but it's still bad. In fact, it's worse: it's hurting the tomatoes.<br /><br />First, a bit of backstory: in two of the last four years, I have cursed myself by planting tomatoes. Each time I planted tomatoes, fate intervened such that I had to move, unexpectedly, on August 1st, just as the tomatoes bore fruit. Somehow, my tomato misfortune deepened last year: I was traveling in August, and was unable to eat any top-quality heirloom tomatoes at all.<br /><br />But this all pales in comparison to the destruction this year: my ill luck has sunk the entire east coast tomato crop, hitting the heirlooms varieties, with their limited defenses, hardest of all. <br /><br />In truth I have already eaten more heirlooms this year than last, but the Blight has resulted in a much thinner and weaker crop than I would have hoped for. For me, knowing that the Blight is waiting around every corner has, in fact, become an incentive to enjoy the season as much as I can, and I implore each and every one of you to do the same.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15948342196950720934noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12895389.post-40112158111902683112009-08-20T12:57:00.001-07:002009-08-20T12:59:55.639-07:00Heights #2<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_p6r2RSDoVTk/So2qvTAfaKI/AAAAAAAAAHQ/GhQyUEeJ95U/s1600-h/heights+one+crop+small.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 84px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_p6r2RSDoVTk/So2qvTAfaKI/AAAAAAAAAHQ/GhQyUEeJ95U/s400/heights+one+crop+small.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5372137660055775394" border="0" /></a><br />Another image from the Brooklyn Heights rooftop. The heights has such a spectacular view of lower Manhattan...Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15948342196950720934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12895389.post-1325973647128886412009-08-20T08:42:00.000-07:002009-08-20T12:59:55.640-07:00Lower Manhattan from Brooklyn Heights<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_p6r2RSDoVTk/So10KG6dJoI/AAAAAAAAAHI/ZJWKL393r_s/s1600-h/heights+two+crop+take+two+small.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 116px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_p6r2RSDoVTk/So10KG6dJoI/AAAAAAAAAHI/ZJWKL393r_s/s400/heights+two+crop+take+two+small.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5372077647526176386" border="0" /></a><br />Last night from a rooftop in Brooklyn Heights -- nice clouds because of the impending storm. Not a terrible thing to see every night and every morning.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15948342196950720934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12895389.post-36294535304754244022009-07-24T14:59:00.001-07:002009-07-24T15:06:26.649-07:00Speakers/Ethan learns to veneer<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_p6r2RSDoVTk/Smou4P_OGqI/AAAAAAAAAG4/ECD54s-o5S8/s1600-h/speakers.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_p6r2RSDoVTk/Smou4P_OGqI/AAAAAAAAAG4/ECD54s-o5S8/s320/speakers.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5362149850237246114" border="0" /></a>So I've been building a set of kit speakers for awhile: the <a href="http://www.geocities.com/cc00541/Tritrix_pg_1.html">Tritrix</a> from <a href="http://www.parts-express.com/">Parts Express</a>. They had a crazy sale for the parts -- less than $250 for the drivers, crossover parts, and pre-cut mdf for the enclosures, which is a transmission-line design.<br /><br />Of course that doesn't include the money I spent on tools or the $80 I spent on the koa-wood veneer. What I've learned: veneering stuff is hard. This picture doesn't show the ripples I can't get out or the badly-matched seams. I got raw veneer (as opposed to paper-backed) and I can understand why people might want to use the paper-backed stuff; but nothing is going to beat the grain on this koa.<br /><br />Update: actually you can kinda see how crappy the seam is.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15948342196950720934noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12895389.post-49093102965958155082009-06-12T09:22:00.001-07:002009-08-20T12:59:55.640-07:00Grand Army Take #2<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_p6r2RSDoVTk/SjKA_cbXjiI/AAAAAAAAAGw/2749lUnR-HY/s1600-h/ga_foggy_crop_small.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 58px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_p6r2RSDoVTk/SjKA_cbXjiI/AAAAAAAAAGw/2749lUnR-HY/s320/ga_foggy_crop_small.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5346477535093296674" border="0" /></a><br />Here's another attempt at Grand Army Plaza, this time a foggy night with fairly long exposures. The fog really seemed to bring out the colors in addition to diffusing the light. The only thing I'm not totally happy about is how the light-trails end abruptly as they cross the image boundaries. Not quite sure how to deal with this but I'm fairly sure I can fix it in the<a href="http://www.gimp.org/"> gimp</a>.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15948342196950720934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12895389.post-44354972925089127532009-06-11T10:23:00.000-07:002009-06-11T10:32:04.029-07:00Storage!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_p6r2RSDoVTk/SjE9wm5vuII/AAAAAAAAAGo/FXf_YKySRSI/s1600-h/storage_fixed.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 195px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_p6r2RSDoVTk/SjE9wm5vuII/AAAAAAAAAGo/FXf_YKySRSI/s320/storage_fixed.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5346122137951254658" border="0" /></a>This building just looks great at night.<br /><br />I took this image with my normal camera and then corrected the perspective in <a href="http://hugin.sourceforge.net/">Hugin</a>...it doesn't look quite perfect to me, but the walls look vertical instead of diagonal. Apparently this is really important, and people buy incredibly expensive tilt-shift lenses to correct this for their architectural photography.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15948342196950720934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12895389.post-67281790603882022262009-05-26T08:55:00.000-07:002009-05-26T09:01:28.284-07:00Grand Army Plaza<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_p6r2RSDoVTk/ShwRZFz4aFI/AAAAAAAAAGI/Fm71dqCOg4Q/s1600-h/grand_army_1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 47px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_p6r2RSDoVTk/ShwRZFz4aFI/AAAAAAAAAGI/Fm71dqCOg4Q/s320/grand_army_1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340162380908750930" border="0" /></a><br />Today I did a quick panoramic of Grand Army Plaza in Brooklyn; the light wasn't ideal for what I wanted, and I did it a bit too quickly: as you can see, a few features that I would have liked to preserve are cut off here, so I think I'm going to go back and try it again. The walk light also blocks the modern Richard Meier building, so I think I'm going to have to change my position a little bit; stay tuned.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15948342196950720934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12895389.post-25349090305617848832009-05-17T11:36:00.001-07:002009-05-17T11:45:24.848-07:00Pano of my new home<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_p6r2RSDoVTk/ShBZXMtBc4I/AAAAAAAAAGA/p0R982UVqFQ/s1600-h/washster_fused_crop_small.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 96px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_p6r2RSDoVTk/ShBZXMtBc4I/AAAAAAAAAGA/p0R982UVqFQ/s320/washster_fused_crop_small.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5336863813515965314" border="0" /></a>This is a quickie 3-shot panorama I made of the intersection just outside my new home in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn. It's the intersection of Washington Ave & Sterling Place, and <a href="http://nymag.com/listings/restaurant/toms-restaurant/">Tom's Restaurant</a> is visible at the corner there. I haven't been yet, but it's on the horizon.<br /><br />I made a run to B&H this morning and got a new tripod head, so be on the lookout for more panoramic images of Brooklyn, and (this is exciting) night shots!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15948342196950720934noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12895389.post-48919029975003178602009-05-01T11:32:00.001-07:002009-05-01T11:37:48.849-07:00Sawin' logs<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_p6r2RSDoVTk/SftAa4IuAII/AAAAAAAAAF4/WVP9wozwR3Y/s1600-h/lapsteel_roughcut.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_p6r2RSDoVTk/SftAa4IuAII/AAAAAAAAAF4/WVP9wozwR3Y/s320/lapsteel_roughcut.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5330925414412845186" border="0" /></a><br />I had a nice little man-moment using power tools earlier, when I cut up these two blanks out of a board recovered from a NYC building...these guys are destined to become lap-steels. The tall one might become a bari steel, for more of a howl than a whine. You also get a glimpse into my workshop, with Jimi overlooking it all sort of like a patron saint.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15948342196950720934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12895389.post-26294993385787625742009-05-01T11:22:00.000-07:002009-05-01T11:32:00.421-07:00What was lost has been found<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_p6r2RSDoVTk/Sfs-wd2Q-xI/AAAAAAAAAFw/TcGXTEYFwZQ/s1600-h/nintendo.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 190px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_p6r2RSDoVTk/Sfs-wd2Q-xI/AAAAAAAAAFw/TcGXTEYFwZQ/s320/nintendo.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5330923586289990418" border="0" /></a>After literally years of searching, I've finally found the cache of Nintendo games that were lost during the move to this house eight years ago. Included are such classics as Shadowgate, Ninja Gaiden, Kung Fu, Dragon Warrior, Snake's Revenge (Metal Gear 2) and my favorite, the original Final Fantasy. I think I recovered close to 30 games, though a several were doubles from when we consolidated our collection with a friend's a few years ago.<br /><br />Oddly enough I didn't play too many of them...I guess the idea of getting sucked into a video game isn't quite as enticing as it used to be. Also, I'm sure I need to replace the batteries on most of the role-playing games that allow you to save your information. It would be a shame to lose all that progress!<br /><br />There's really only one major piece that's missing from this collection: we've never had a copy of Bubble Bobble, which seems to be the most desirable Nintendo game in the used market. One day, maybe.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15948342196950720934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12895389.post-37494754193547776542009-04-18T07:33:00.000-07:002009-04-18T07:37:26.438-07:00Panoramania #2<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_p6r2RSDoVTk/Senk2uD2AjI/AAAAAAAAAFo/U9cA-dgSE0c/s1600-h/redhook+pano+crop+small.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 105px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_p6r2RSDoVTk/Senk2uD2AjI/AAAAAAAAAFo/U9cA-dgSE0c/s320/redhook+pano+crop+small.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326039663070544434" border="0" /></a>This is actually the first panorama I made -- this one is in Red Hook, looking back from where the Beard building juts out into the ocean. It was made up of three hand-held shots. The building on the right behind the old streetcars houses the Brooklyn Fairway, which is a worth destination in itself of course. The Statue of Liberty is visible in in the distance as well. Once again this is much smaller than the full-size panorama.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15948342196950720934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12895389.post-2642551901828256572009-04-18T07:17:00.000-07:002009-04-18T07:37:56.300-07:00Panoramania<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_p6r2RSDoVTk/SenhHpVJEJI/AAAAAAAAAFg/yxKi5fKyFmw/s1600-h/dumbo_pano_small.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 42px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_p6r2RSDoVTk/SenhHpVJEJI/AAAAAAAAAFg/yxKi5fKyFmw/s320/dumbo_pano_small.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326035555812184210" border="0" /></a><br />I've been in Brooklyn occasionally shooting some photos, and I don't know, one thing led to another, and, suddenly, I've started shooting some stitched panoramas. This one was shot on the boardwalk at the Empire-Fulton Ferry Park in Dumbo, out of eleven distinct pictures. There are a few artifacts (that boat is actually longer than it appears, and the railing is blurred oddly) but I'm pleased with the way it's come out.<br /><br />This wasn't even shot with a tripod -- these are hand-held shots stitched together with <a href="http://hugin.sourceforge.net/">hugin</a>, a vigourous-seeming open-source project. Also, the version above is only about a fifth of the resolution of the actual finished panorama.<br /><br />Now, I wonder where you can get this sort of thing printed (cheaply)...Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15948342196950720934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12895389.post-26521408951591080252009-04-05T19:26:00.000-07:002009-04-05T20:03:45.616-07:00With the grain<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_p6r2RSDoVTk/Sdlsdrg4HJI/AAAAAAAAAFY/lJEJ4U0KicY/s1600-h/night_street_crop.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 230px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_p6r2RSDoVTk/Sdlsdrg4HJI/AAAAAAAAAFY/lJEJ4U0KicY/s320/night_street_crop.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5321403691867577490" border="0" /></a>I was wandering around Manhattan and Brooklyn snapping a few pictures today and I found myself musing on why I've taken a liking to photography recently. (If you haven't been paying attention, it's my latest obsession.)<br /><br />I realized that I like taking pictures that are at the limits of a camera's capabilities; I've always liked low-light photography, and I also like images with extreme dynamic range. The phenomenon is similar to "euphony" in the sound world, which is when a sound reproduction technology fails to reproduce the source realistically, but does so in a way that is pleasing to the ear. The canonical example is electric guitar amplifier distortion: the amplifiers which created the sound of rock couldn't reproduce the electric guitar signal cleanly at the volumes guitarists needed, but the distortion added harmonic content to the signal and actually made it sound <span style="font-style: italic;">better</span>. Today it's hard to imagine electric guitar without it.<br /><br />Cameras do something similar. In fact, they capture images far less transparently than today's audio recorders do; they have trouble dealing with light levels in which our eyes function near-perfectly, and even in the best of conditions, transform the captured image. Film grain (or digital noise and artifacts, as in the picture above) can be pleasing or ugly, and of course I prefer it to be pleasing. But I think there's something a bit deeper than that at work: while audio pretends at perfection, the camera makes no attempt to hide the fact that it cannot make perfect copies of reality. As its image loses its focus or softens to noise, it allows a veil of modesty to be drawn between the viewer and reality.<br /><br />Our perceptions are far from perfect, and the camera does not hide this but actually accentuates it. It tells us not that we are all-knowing (and by extension all-powerful) but reminds us that we have limitations. It advises us not to grip too tightly to our ideas, because there is some knowledge that will always be beyond our grasp. And perhaps best of all, it tells us to know our limitations, and use them to our advantage.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15948342196950720934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12895389.post-90491542099049149342009-03-31T19:33:00.001-07:002009-03-31T19:48:33.290-07:00Windows on the world & new leaves<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_p6r2RSDoVTk/SdLSpPb7LTI/AAAAAAAAAFQ/9h3fOt8Riuo/s1600-h/Deluxe+reverb.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_p6r2RSDoVTk/SdLSpPb7LTI/AAAAAAAAAFQ/9h3fOt8Riuo/s320/Deluxe+reverb.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319545715838102834" border="0" /></a>I bought a camera. These days, a digital camera is, just as Steve Jobs decreed a few years ago, part of the digital lifestyle. Obviously I like to take pictures of things, self-document, try to capture the beauty, wrestle it to the ground and stuff it in a bottle, lest it flits away on butterfly wings.<br /><br />So with the new camera (which just means room, after all, sort of a room of one's own, where one can collect light and fix it down, just as one can do with thoughts) I've composed a paean to the amplifier, the early silverface Deluxe Reverb which a kind fellow sold to me for the princely sum of $50 when he'd decided to move on entirely to solid-state. To be sure, I've spent a few more dollars on repairs, and I even had it open myself a little while ago (I managed to escape without a jolt) but, without a doubt, this is one of the finest sources of sound I have ever known.<br /><br />The image is a tricky one to capture: it's low light, and the jewel, as you can see, is overexposed: it has a huge dynamic range. One day I'd like to be able to capture the facets of the pilot light's jewel very sharply, with just a hint of the surroundings...Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15948342196950720934noreply@blogger.com0