February 2012
3 posts
Apple is “a company of patterns”
I was just thinking about something John Gruber said, that “Apple is a company of patterns.” Gruber mentions this in the context of iPhone and OS X names, but it makes a lot of sense as a general statement. Apple is a company that hates to make promises — a company that delivers products when they’re ready, and doesn’t like to give indications of what’s coming up. So establishing patterns — not...
1 tag
January 2012
6 posts
1 tag
Loxed Out: H&H Bagel Evicted From Last Site →
So sad. For a few months, I lived across the street from their 24 hour UWS location, which was a hard-to-top luxury. They’ll be missed.
The Philosophy of Playing With Your Food →
Interesting post on a video game designed to entertain farmed pigs, but to do it in a way that allows humans to engage with the animals that are being grown for consumption:
Pig Chase is played with an iPad or other tablet device. Players will see a live video feed from a pig barn on their screen. By touching the screen, players move a ball of light around one of the walls of the enclosure of...
Had a big cooking night…the first in a long time. Roasted squash plus cream/milk, pasta water, and ricotta became a squash sauce for 1½ lbs pasta. With this, we blanched and sautéed a cauliflower remnant, à la Bittman, and made an absolutely delicious kohlrabi salad that il introduced us to.
Let’s Play: Ancient Greek Punishment! →
Can’t get over how awesome this is. An Ancient Greek Punishments Flash game. Sisyphus, Tantalus, Danaids, Prometheus, and Zeno for good measure.
December 2011
2 posts
New Yorker: Putin and politics in Russia →
I’m very glad someone like David Remnick is following this. The transition to democracy can be so perilous, especially in a troubled economic climate; but in Russia’s case, a sense of former greatness and 80 years of the Soviet brainwashing machine also take their toll.
November 2011
1 post
WatchFrom PBS, a short (7 min.) video on generative art.
Off Book: Generative Art - Computers, Data and Humanity (by PBS Arts)
October 2011
1 post
WatchRelated to something I’ve been thinking about lately — how we’re surprisingly out of touch with what makes us happy, how advertisers have figured that out, and how we make a lot of choices that end up being bad for us and bad for the planet. (via Barry Schwartz on the paradox of choice)
September 2011
2 posts
I had a dream in which I was re-reading “The Lovesong of J. Alfred Prufrock,” and the “In the room, the women come and go” couplet was suddenly much longer, and went into a lot of interesting stuff. I wish I remembered what it said. I’ve had a long history with Prufrock, including memorizing it, reading the sections Eliot excised following Ezra Pound’s advice, and working on a poem in the style of...
F-16 pilot was ready to give her life on Sept. 11 →
What a story. (Washington Post)
July 2011
4 posts
1 tag
Marking duplicate files with ipython
I use (and love) Notational Velocity for storing and quickly retrieving notes on OS X. Recently, I accidentally enabled both SimpleNote and DropBox syncing on two different computers, which resulted in many duplicate notes. Some quick IPython hacking fixed the problem.
Notes are stored in files like Title.rtf, and duplicate notes ended up in files like Title.1.rtf. I first found and extracted...
“Like the protected books, plays and movies that preceded them, video games...”
– Justice Scalia (via Daring Fireball)
“It is more important that innocence be protected than it is that guilt be...”
– John Adams (via Daring Fireball, Andy Ihnatko)
WatchJon Stewart on NYC pizza
June 2011
3 posts
Autism ascribed to parents' talent for... →
Autism spectrum conditions share mechanisms with “talent[s] for system-oriented thinking,” that is, working with computers / IT?
“[Robert Nisbet’s] argument is that individualism destroys community, but...”
– Stephen Marglin, The Dismal Science
April 2011
1 post
February 2011
1 post
December 2010
7 posts
Clean Plates | the eating guide for every body →
I have to recommend this site—we have last year’s guide book. It’s a great guide for healthy and sustainable restaurants in NYC, for carnivores and vegetarians alike.
“What are the differences between Mark Zuckerberg and me? I give private...”
– Julian Assange on SNL (via kateoplis)
Browse for a good cause →
If you’re using Chrome already, install this extension to “donate” the tabs you use to one of five causes. If you don’t use Chrome, consider trying it out; I recommend it on its own merits!
November 2010
4 posts
Jay-Z’s “Decoded” and the language of hip-hop :... →
Wandering Mind Is a Sign of Unhappiness -... →
F# Goes Open Source →
F#, the .NET version of my still-favorite programming language OCaml, is now open source; it’ll be integrated with Mono and MonoDevelop eventually, including intellisense, parameter documentation, interactive shell, etc. Exciting to see this advanced language taking steps towards the mainstream.
In NoHo, a Bento Box They Can Live In →
Makes me miss Japan already.
October 2010
1 post
September 2010
2 posts
August 2010
2 posts
Ovid at blogs.perl.org: What to know before... →
July 2010
4 posts
How to never make the same-old, same-old salad... →
Nice Salon article by Francis Lam on salad design and salad ingredients.
Pitchfork: Interviews: Sleigh Bells →
Nice Sleigh Bells interview on Pitchfork. If you haven’t listened to them, you should—jam of the summer.
Interview With a Robot →
National correspondent Amy Harmon sits down to talk with the Bina48 about what it’s like to be a robot.
June 2010
2 posts
1 tag
Zonal Marking →
Diagrams of football (soccer) tactics, updated regularly for World Cup games. Also on Twitter.
1 tag
Pitchfork: Why We Fight: The Trouble With Maya →
Nitsuh Abebe coherently writes about what’s awesome and what’s problematic about M.I.A.’s music and politics. Great, insightful music writing.
May 2010
1 post
1 tag
April 2010
6 posts
2 tags
Hyperbole and a Half: The Alot is Better Than You... →
Ways of coping with poor Internet grammar.
2 tags
Cherry Blossom 10 mile race in D.C.
Spent a nice weekend in D.C. and Baltimore. Got to see some exhibits on Saturday: Rothko’s black paintings in the tower of National Gallery East Wing, and Whistler’s “nocturnes” on paper at the Freer Gallery. Then, Sunday morning, ran the Cherry Blossom 10 mile race. It felt a lot easier than last year, and, despite stopping for 2 minutes to wait in a bathroom line, I ran about...