24 Feb 2005
Round Pods
I redesigned papertowel.org to stop using frames (I liked them, but Google didn’t), and I made some cute little rounded pods, for the navigation on the left, using style sheets (and no graphics). They seem to work in every 5.0+ browser except Internet Explorer on Mac OSX, in which the round corners appear backwards. And nothing I do seems to fix them. Arrgh!
20 Feb 2005
10-4, 24in48
Well, 24in48 is over. I think it’ll be a while before I take any more photos with my cameraphone, considering that my Verizon bill will most likely be outrageous this month and my life is clearly not all that interesting anyway. Actually, today we’re planning to go to the Chelsea Flea Markets, the Natural History Museum, and the Park, so this might have been a better day for sweet hot cameraphone action.
UPDATE: We ended up going to lunch with my Uncle and cousins instead, and then going to the Clelsea Flea Markets. We bought a weird (extremely heavy) mirror, and then it was very difficult to catch a cab back home. That night I went to watch Desperate Housewives at Chelsey’s, and it snowed, and Chelsey, Sharie, and I played in the snow at the park and threw snowballs at The Gates.
18 Feb 2005
Hello, Can You See Me?
If you haven’t looked yet, be sure to check out 24in48.org. I’m participating in it this time, and we’re about halfway done with the project right now.
18 Feb 2005
Quote of the Day
“Everyone understands this language,” I said, opening my wallet and holding it up to my face, “the language of the smell of the color of money!”
18 Feb 2005
If You See Something, Say Something
Based on the following Gothamist article, I think it’s safe to say that New York City is creepy at times. Please, no one forward this link to my mother. However, what I love about Gothamist is the graphic they made to go with it.
18 Feb 2005
You Deserve a Break Today
Last week Improv Everywhere pulled their most interesting prank ever. They put a fancy bathroom attendant in the men’s restroom at McDonald’s Times Square (via kottke).
Even the manager convinced himself that this wasn’t a prank, but a simple misunderstanding. Surely we were just at the wrong McDonald’s.
What I love about it is the huge variety of people who came in during a single hour on a Sunday, the way the attendant represented the company with their catch phrases and cheerful attitude, and the fact that everyone just accepted both the bathroom attendant and the guy snapping photos.
It’s only in a camera-crazy tourist haven like New York that you can go into a public bathroom, snap photos of men standing at urinals, and not only will they NOT be angry, they’ll often take out their own camera and snap a pic of that same urinal, thinking, “Huh, this toilet must be famous.”
I suspect that, as a result of this, McDonald’s Times Square will hire a bathroom attendant.
17 Feb 2005
So Clever, the [Pepsi’s iTunes Giveaway] Cheat
For anyone who doesn’t already know about it, there’s an easy way to score free songs from Pepsi’s iTunes Giveaway. There’s a free song code under the cap of one out of every three bottles. You can read detailed instructions on how to win every time, or I’ll just summarize it for you:
- At the store, tilt a participating Pepsi bottle so that the liquid almost touches the cap.
- Look up toward the cap through the side of the bottle, just above the label. You’ll be able to faintly see the inside of the cap.
- If you see “PLEASE” upside down or “AGAIN” right side up, put the bottle back and try another. Rotate the bottle a little bit to be sure. If you see something other than that, buy the bottle.
- Just like washing your hair, repeat as desired.
16 Feb 2005
Your Razor Is a Wus
At some point, razors had only one blade. Then they had two, and then three. Next they had three blades and a lotion strip. Then three blades and two lotion strips. Recently Schick introduced the Schick Quattro, with four blades.
Well, friends, I’ve decided to make millions of dollars by inventing the next breakthrough in razor technology way ahead of its time. Introducing… DIECI.
16 Feb 2005
The Lost Museum
City University has an amazing web site dedicated to Barnum’s American Museum (via bb), which was destroyed in a fire in 1865. The museum is especially interesting to me since it’s mentioned throughout the musical Barnum, which I happen to love. Anyone else who’s familiar with the musical will enjoy seeing some of the bizarre items and people (his “living collection”) that Barnum talks about in “The Museum Song.”
16 Feb 2005
Random Thoughts
A few things I’ve noticed:
- When I add milk to Earl Grey tea, it tastes like Froot Loops. Perhaps that’s actually the Sweet-n-Low that tastes like Froot Loops, actually. Not that there’s Sweet-n-Low in Froot Loops, but… I think it tastes similar.
- The designers on those design shows always want to paint rooms really bright colors. And really, who does that? I mean, besides Chelsey, who recently painted her kitchen turquoise. But besides Chelsey, does anyone actually paint their walls a really bright color?
- In the winter in California, it was always colder when it rained. Here in New York, it’s always warmer when it rains. Technically I understand why, but it’s still a bit unnerving.
15 Feb 2005
24in48
I’m planning to participate in the 24in48 project this weekend. I’m excited. Twenty-four people with cameraphones in New York City, including myself, will take photos this weekend and post them together on a website. They did this once before, last November.
15 Feb 2005
The Best Handheld Computer Ever, Part B
Jason Kottke wrote about his “analog Palm Pilot” today. Clearly he is not familiar with the PaperPalm, which I wrote about a few years ago. But he should be. So Jason, if you’re reading this, you should buy a PaperPalm.
14 Feb 2005
More on The Gates
Amid all the acclaim, someone actually had criticism of Christo and Jean-Claude’s multi-million dollar art installment (via kottke.org):
As I approached the gates from the Upper West Side near the park’s northern edge, I spotted a bluff topped with orange flags. I had seen all the sketches and early installation photos and even pieces of the project being assembled near Central Park South, but still, my first thought was, “Oh, another construction site up here.”
I think the last paragraph of the article, regarding an elderly woman discussing some ducks, sums up how I felt about the experience. I quickly became bored.
14 Feb 2005
V-Day Commute
Both of my morning trains were remarkably uncrowded this morning.
I walked right onto the 6 without having to squeeze myself in or wait for several trains to pass by. There was even room to read my shitty newspaper. (The shitty newspaper is free, and I have little interest in reading it, but it’s handed out at 77th Street by the nicest lady in the world, who sings, “Good morning! Have a good day! It’s a happy day! Have a lovely day!” and you just can’t say no.)
The NRW (I never notice which one I actually get onto) was even less crowded. Very few people were waiting for it, very few people got off of it at Lexington, and very few people were on it in the first place. I actually got to sit down on a bench all by myself! Oh, and now that I think of it, it was definitely a dark green or blue bench, not individual orange seats, so that means it was definitely… um… unfortunately, I don’t know offhand which train has those benches.
I’m assuming a lot of people took the day off for Valentine’s Day. Good for them. While they’re scurrying around looking for the florist who still has red roses, I’m enjoying an easier commute.
13 Feb 2005
ABC This Fall
I’ve got a horrible idea, folks, and I need to pitch it to ABC as soon as possible. It’s called Extreme Makeover: World Edition, and they rebuild the entire world.
I mean, they could start out small and just do one third-world country on each episode, and eventually after a few seasons they’d be completely done. Clearly, if Ty Pennington had been in charge of the liberation of Iraq, the Iraqi people would all have Philips flat-panel televisions instead of death and rubble. So who’s gonna help me pitch this?
13 Feb 2005
The Gates
Everyone in New York City with a weblog is writing something about The Gates and posting photos of it. I posted a few photos as well, just in case someone missed something while taking the thousands of photos already online.
13 Feb 2005
“Good Art Won’t Match Your Sofa”
Fred Babb said, “Good art won’t match your sofa.” Fortunately, I’ve never been a fan of good art. You know those Rothko paintings that are just huge canvases painted one or two colors? Those are some of my faves.
Ashleigh and I needed a piece of art for one of our large, white walls (it’s a tiny apartment, but it has huge walls because the ceilings are high). For a little while we browsed around to find a framed poster that we both liked, or maybe a canvas print. Everything we found was too expensive, though, especially considering the fact that it was all mass-produced. I also tried hunting for original art at the Chelsea Flea Market, but I didn’t find anything I liked.
Finally we went to Pearl Art Supplies and bought a thick three-foot by three-foot canvas. Then we went to Home Depot and bought some burgundy paint, and then Ashleigh skillfully painted the canvas burgundy.
Now we have our own “modern art” that we created, and it may not be worth much, and it may also not count as real art, but at least it does match our decor.
4 Feb 2005
Suce le Coq
They served coq au vin in the Cafe downstairs today. I couldn’t help but giggle because it sounded like cock with wine.
But then I was humbled by the realization that, technically, it is cock with wine. I mean, it’s prob’ly just standard chicken when they cook it here, but clearly coq is the same root as our word cock (ie, “rooster”). So now it’s not funny anymore.
Wait… coq au vin… actually, yeah, it’s still funny.
3 Feb 2005
New York, New York, New York, New York, New York, New York…
One of the interesting caveats of living in New York is that you’re required to hear the song “New York, New York” at least once a day. Sometimes you hear it from a dancing stuffed animal at Duane Reade, sometimes you see it being played with a bow and a saw in the 59th & Lex subway station, and sometimes, like today, you get to hear old blue eyes himself being played at Starbucks. The last one is the best.