Hal Meeks Lightens Up

2009-04-02T16:57:00.000-07:00

First Step, Spend $250.00

2009-03-16T17:58:00.000-07:00

Was all excited to look at this cool tutorial on animated type in After Effects, until I ran across this instruction, "Use plugin 3D Invigorator". I thought it was some sort of standard plug in, but noooo......it's a $249.0 piece of software! Some tutorial.

To build a super fast car:

1. Buy a Maserati

etc.

Bah! by Okapi

2009-03-06T10:26:00.000-08:00

I found this a while back in the great Comfort Stand site which has ceased to be updated. It is really good slice/dice mixology. I think the piece "Intro" is a work of art, but the rest of it is good as well. Call it "challenging" if you like. I think I found where Okapi released an CD as well, but I haven't been able to track it down.

Norton 360 Is a Virus

2009-03-01T08:04:00.000-08:00

Okay, my friend bought a new laptop last week. He needs Internet Explorer for his work, because that is the only thing that the web applications he uses support.

I will spare you the whole Windows Vista rant (it isn't that bad, just slow) but as you would expect it came with a ton of junk installed on it, including a 90 day trial of Norton 360 (antivirus, firewall etc etc). Every time I booted the machine up, it would come up and ask for me to register for my free trial, but there was no way to quit out of it. I finally got the the license agreement screen, declined to agree, and it then quit. I uninstalled it.

I found then that Internet Explorer was the only application that could access the internet. Firefox, iTunes didn't work.

I stayed up to midnight last night trying to figure this out. I found a reference to a Norton Removal Tool, which I couldn't download from Symantec's web site because Internet Explorer had quit allowing me to download stuff.

I had to download it on my Mac, copied it to a flash drive and then ran it on my friend's laptop. It removed some stuff, and then everything worked again.

I pity someone who has little or no understanding of how computers work. They are so screwed in this situation. Here is a piece of software that is supposed to protect a computer from hacking, and uninstalling it screws the computer up. It behaves like a virus.

Oh, and one last thing. I fished through the box to find the restore CD for this laptop, and there isn't one. It seems that this is pretty common now. What are you supposed to do when the machine gets really screwed up (this is windows we are talking about) or when the HD fails? In the case of an HD failure -- am I correct in assuming that what happens is the user has to buy a new Windows license in addition to the new harddrive? It is almost like the manufacturers are encouraging people to either throw away the laptop (by the time the HD fails, the laptop will be almost worth the price of a Windows Vista License and HD) or install a different operating system on it (which is exactly what I would do).

Blackbird Camera

2008-12-04T13:23:00.000-08:00

I've been looking a film cameras of all things -- but the stuff like the Lomo. I have CameraBag for the iphone which emulates many of these cameras, but it isn't the same.

This is a nice looking camera. Uses 35mm instead of medium format film, but gives you square pictures. The orange one is for me.

Apple A/V Connection Kit $44.99

2008-10-25T10:46:00.000-07:00

Best Buy has Apple's A/V Connection kit for under half of what it cost new. You get a dock, A/V cable and remote. The A/V cable itself is normally $49.00 at the Apple store. I've read some posts and I'm confident enough now that it will work with my 3G iphone that I just ordered one. The only catch is that it wants to turn on airplane mode (which I would do any way), and not all buttons on the remote work on the iphone (I would guess pause/play might work). In any case a great deal if you want to hook your iphone up to a display.

Crispin Glover quote on Cinema Verite

2008-10-17T14:07:00.001-07:00

Realism is always subjective in film. There's no such thing as cinema verite. The only true cinema verite would be what Andy Warhol did with his film about the Empire State Building - eight hours or so from one angle, and even then it's not really cinema verite, because you aren't actually there. As soon as anybody puts anything on film, it automatically has a point of view, and it's somebody else's point of view, and it's impossible for it to be yours. (NYPress, 2002.)

Students lean to the left more when in college

2008-10-14T08:02:00.000-07:00

This AP report is lean on data, but points to reason that students move to the left -- unsurprisingly -- it is from their peers, not from Faculty.

So -- what the hell happens after these students leave school?

And -- what the hell is going on with Palin? She went to a bunch of schools and it didn't help one iota.

Bloom for the iPod/iPhone

2008-10-14T07:09:00.000-07:00

Bloom is a looping music generator that creates stuff that sounds like Brian Eno's ambient music work -- which is because he was involved with the design of the software.

It creates looping music that you generate by tapping on the keyboard. It is, like other Brian Eno ambient music, bland but also intriguing. I was hoping for something more like Electroplankton, but it was an inevitable purchase for me anyway. The video demo is admittedly crummy, and you cannot really hear the complimentary audio bed the software plays along with your input, which you can vary between several presets. You can also adjust delay so that you can get some decent variations.

I wish that drag worked, but it does use multitouch. If I could use other voices, perhaps something not so ---- tinkly -- I would like it even better.

If you leave it alone it will begin to auto generate it's own music. A neat toy if nothing else.

Bandai LuminoDot

2008-09-15T10:16:00.000-07:00

Beautiful Animated LiteBrite. Unfortunately not available in the US (at least, not just yet). Hope they have Mac software.
(embedded video follows).

Spin

2008-09-08T17:32:00.000-07:00

Spin (Embedded Video Follows)

McDonald's Training Film

2008-08-20T10:16:00.000-07:00

Deelightful!

So, what do you do with that "Don't Care" Attitude? The secret is courtesy! Courtesy is contagious!
(embedded video follows)

5 Questions before starting any new Project

2008-08-18T07:36:00.000-07:00

Wrote these while sitting in a meeting. I have asked these same 5 questions many times before when talking with clients.

Who is the Audience?
What is the purpose?
What is the expected outcome? (Visualize and describe what the end looks like)
Who does the work?
What is the cost (people and money)?

I am sure there are more, but these 5 always work for me.

John Cage Water Walk

2008-08-05T13:03:00.001-07:00

John Cage Performing Water Walk. Stay with it, it slowly unfolds with little layers. He is a hero of mine; he is so smart, but so willing to have fun.
(embedded video follows)

Mexican Cokes!

2008-08-04T14:19:00.000-07:00

I am trying to avoid high fructose corn syrup. I know that when I drink a soft drink with it in it I will feel bad shortly thereafter; a sort of sugar crash where I feel profoundly tired. For a long time I quit drinking soft drinks, save for the occasional half-glass of diet coke or pepsi (about the time I am halfway through 12 ounces, I realize how bad they taste).

Anyway, I found out a while back that Mexico, like many other countries, still uses tried and true sugar. The best part of these little grocery stores popping up in our area is that they often carry coke, orange crush and other soft drinks made in mexico.

They taste fantastic (orange crush particularly) and come in real glass bottles. If your morals can take it, Sam's Club carries cases of 12 oz bottles of coke from mexico, and I just found out that Costco does as well (at least, sometimes). Googling showed me the way here, and now I know that others figured this out a few years back. Bet you haven't had an Inca Cola though....

What is graphic design?

2008-08-03T13:05:00.001-07:00

Via my buddy TB:
(embedded video follows)

TrueSpace 3D for Free

2008-07-27T07:59:00.000-07:00

Caligari's Truespace was a ground-breaking product when it was released for the Amiga back in the mid-80's. It offered real-time viewing/editing/shaping in a environment that was very intuitive. Many 3D packages had rudimentary graphical modeling at the time, but this was much better, in it's immediacy. It was really the only 3D modeling package I spend any significant amount of time on.

The company is still in business, having branched out into 3D online space (of course!). In fact, they were recently bought by Microsoft! The upside of this is that their most current version of their modeling software (for Windows only sadly) is free.

Piaggio MP3

2008-07-17T05:14:00.001-07:00

Been out for a while, but still......wow.

Signs in a UHaul

2008-07-16T11:02:00.001-07:00

Because it is made from plastic coated cardboard.

OH SNAP! Now they tell me!

Gospel Dynamite

2008-07-09T07:35:00.000-07:00

This is an evangelical christian animation from I think the 40's or 50's. I found it on one of my favorite sources for raw material, Archive.org.

There is/was a lot of christian based animation and comics, some of it really primitive and scary. I used the dynamite heart sequence in something I did a year ago (How to Make a 60's Art Film). I kind of ignore the message and go with the visuals.

Dr. T

2008-07-01T06:21:00.000-07:00

For anyone working with electronic instruments in the 80's, Dr. T was the man. He developed several affordable and flexible packages for controlling synths and composing music. I used Dr. T on the Amiga to control something (I can't even remember what it was) and to use a yamaha drum pad as an input source, but before that I ran in on a Commodore 64.

The version I had did not really have a graphic interface. Most of the time you were editing midi data, cutting and pasting blocks to make stuff work. It sounds tedious but it was in some ways really efficient for simple pattern based electronic music.

Eventually I moved on to other stuff, I use Garage Band as a scratch pad, and am struggling with Logic in hopes it will give me more flexibility.

I ran across this bit on Boris's web site, and it is great to hear that he is still working on stuff, working for a cool company. Boris's Continuum Complete has a whole bunch of stuff for Final Cut (I just want the pan and scan plugin myself), and it is interesting to hear what he is doing with it. Too bad it is $900, no way I can afford that. I guess it helps to work for the company.

Well he is a cool, smart guy making stuff. Good.

Hifi in a Suitcase: Cambridge Model 12

2008-06-28T05:11:00.000-07:00

Cambridge audio was one of the many companies that Henry Kloss, a well known audio and video technologist/designer was involved in - he was the K in KLH. It is hard to believe now, but KLH was a very innovative audio company back in the 50's and 60's, introducing the world to affordable high fidelity gear that was designed to fit into a home; equipment that featured a contemporary, clean design.

The Cambridge model 12 is definitely an extension of that idea, a carrying case that holds two satellite speakers and an amplifier -- plus the case itself doubles as a subwoofer! Many years ago I had a chance to hear this in action, and it was better than my home system at the time. I have always wanted one if for no other reason because it is so well designed.

Much to my surprise, it is still available. If you need good audio, and plenty of it, in a carry-on case -- here you go.

I want to live in this dorm

2008-06-26T08:23:00.001-07:00

Wow. I would love to live and go to school here. It is beautiful and functional.

Awesome Debbie Harry Picture

2008-06-06T16:03:00.001-07:00

Someone please buy this for me.

Nissan: Give the US the Micra C+C

2008-06-06T10:51:00.000-07:00

Dear Nissan,

The Micra is a very popular car in Europe. It is cute, cool and reliable. You have a neat little convertible version. Why Why Why can't we get it in the US? Americans are now getting a small taste of what Europeans have experienced for years -- high fuel prices. The time is so right for a small car with panache -- a competitor to the Mini, and maybe the Fiat 500. This is the car.

I know you are coming out with a new model this year. I imagine that you might even be thinking about US emission and crash standards during the redesign. Now is the time to bring it here.

I sent you this letter, and got a nice form reply back. So I am writing here to my blog, which hardly no one reads anyway, but it's friday and just wanted to update things. Plus it looks like I may be selling my mini -- and at some point a year or two from now I will be the market for a new car.

Let me know.

--hal

John Phillip Law -- Gone!

2008-06-05T14:31:00.000-07:00

On my facebook page I have a list of my favorite movies. I completely understand that some of the movies that I enjoy are not films that a film student would call "great films". I like them for many reasons beyond sheer technical brilliance, incisive dialog or inscrutable plots.

One such movie is Danger:Diabolik, directed by Mario Bava and starring John Philip Law. Mario Bava made his name directing a series of lurid (and at times excellent) italian horror movies. Danger:Diabolik was a change-up for him, a comic book based master criminal -- kind of an anti-hero Batman.

I love the movie for many reasons. It is flawed to be sure, and the hyperzoom camera work that Mario Bava uses really dates itself now. But I also believe it is one of the most successful translations of a comic book to the big screen that we have ever seen. It is wonderfully over the top. Scene design (Diabolik's lair) is fantastic -- it looks much more expensive than it's tiny budget (Mario Bava was famous for coming in under budget with his movies). The story meets that important criteria of being just on the edge of plausibility (unlike the new Indy Jones movie, which blows it in a few places). Ennio Morricone's soundtrack is sixtie-licious and varied (the theme music is wonderfully memorable).

But the thing I like the best is John Phillip Law's underacting, his stoic expressions with hyperactive eye movements -- shifty, always looking, clever. I am sure some will call it "wooden" but I think it is inscrutable. It doesn't hurt that he was a remarkably good looking guy as well.

He made a bunch of other films (some good, such as Barbarella) but this is the film that I appreciate him most for. I am so sorry to see him go.

$200 1080p Camcorder

2008-05-28T19:10:00.000-07:00

Aiptek made a lot of ripples with their cheap and cheerful Go HD camcorder that would shoot 720p video and cost well under $200.00. It had flaws (mediocre audio, no completely smooth recording, cheesy zoom) but it actually did record 720p video, that in daylight, looked fairly good.

Now they have introduced a 1080p camcorder for $200.00. It isn't 1080p 16:9 (instead it is 1440x1080 4:3) but it will also shoot 720p at 60fps! Of course, the trade-off is a zoom that is not as smooth as more expensive cameras, autofocus is a little iffy in dim light (where noise really becomes a problem as well) and optics that are not as nice as the more expensive camera. But it still quite a break through. It is almost twice of a Flip video camera, but much more capable -- 640x480 video looks terrible on someone's nice new 42 inch HD tv set. I wonder how well it stacks up agains Sanyo's HD700. I have a friend that just bought a HD700 after my positive experiences with my Sanyo CG-65, and so far he is happy with it. I am planning on buying one myself (particularly now since I have missplaced my beloved CG-65).

Here's a review with some sample video.

Live Free or Die

2008-05-23T17:49:00.000-07:00

To Live Free Or Die
by Ilmar Laaban

To weigh the sun on the scales of leaves
to proclaim truth to each gust of wind
to bear on the brow the reflection of wells
to live free or die

(more.....)

Goodbye Richie Haas

2008-05-23T11:47:00.000-07:00

Adios. He will be missed.

Lancia Flavia Zagato

2008-05-12T18:50:00.000-07:00

Zagato is one of several automotive coachwork/design firms in Italy that have continued to be influential. Their designs in the 60's featured a very aggressive forward-biased look that they applied to cars made by Alfa and Lancia. Today some of their stuff, like this example, doesn't really age well, but cars like the Alfa Junior Z and Lancia Zagato have a clean, fresh look despite being made in the early 70's. In any case, this is still a really unique car, especially since the body panels were all handmade.

Twitchy Site Design

2008-05-07T17:20:00.000-07:00

It is easy to forget that there is still tragically bad web sites out there. This one makes my head hurt. Stuff keeps changing so quick that I can figure out what to watch. I have to give up or my eyeballs will implode.

Butterland!

2008-05-01T08:26:00.001-07:00

Let's go to Butterland!

English of the Dead

2008-04-16T07:13:00.000-07:00

Learn English while killing zombies! Brilliant! Make one for French and you have my money.

i can't get that tune out of my head

2008-04-08T09:21:00.001-07:00

Green Key Chair

2008-04-04T09:12:00.001-07:00

I bought this awesome chair today. It is a nuclear green. I think I can even key it if I wanted to.

I am quite excited.

Trabant for $5k in USA

2008-04-02T05:11:00.000-07:00

Yes, a trabbie. Two cylinder engine. Composite panels made of plastic and recycled wood fiber. Emblematic of east germany industry, and perhaps it's fall. And it is listed for sale in Craig's List.

I hate this. It is the mongrel puppy that you don't want to take home, but it keeps looking at you with those sad eyes.

And it has a green roof.

Another French Spaceship Car

2008-03-23T19:39:00.000-07:00

Found this in Hemmings Motor news, an amazing Peugot 402 from 1938.

Copy Paper Light Kit

2008-03-14T06:37:00.000-07:00

I just posted some pictures to my flickr account documenting my super cheap lighting setup for photographing objects. I have mentioned other designs, such as the card board box with panels cut out, where you then cover the open sides with tracing paper. I am pretty sure that other people have figured this rig out -- but what the heck.

I decided that I wanted more flexibility, so I came up with the potential fire hazard version. I can aim the lights, and I have even used them to do shots of my head for keying. I can change out to different types of paper or materials for lighting effects. Having three lights lets you light your background as well as your subject, knocking out shadows.

Yeah I know the headphone looks totally nasty. It is. I put it together in about 10 minutes.

Free Mac SubTitler

2008-02-18T18:31:00.001-08:00

Subtitling video is a pain in the neck. I used to use Magpie, but it is not really useful if you are intending to subtitle DVD's.

Miyu is/was a subtitling package for the Mac. The software was free, but a commercial plugin pack gave you more options, including the ability to export to a format that DVD Studio Pro understands. Now the whole thing, including the Pro Plugins, is free.

Chill Tonic

2008-02-14T08:34:00.000-08:00

Time to relax with some GRRRROVES TASTELESS CHILL TONIC!

Wild Cherry Diet Pepsi -- Now with less benzene!

2008-02-06T06:36:00.000-08:00

I am doing research on the history of pepsi, and was digging through their site when I ran across this consumer notice.

Remix some Lamb of God, win some junk

2008-01-29T12:33:00.000-08:00

These cheery, chipper lads have a garageband project just waiting to be downloaded and remixed. If you win you get a DVD, yur schtupf on their web site, a chance to fly to NYC and an autographed pixture. Not as cool as the "Shock the Monkey" raw audio bits from Peter Gabriel (and more), the 9inch nails project, or even the Bootsy Collins contest where you got to remix stuff using a demo copy of Traktion.

Still, might be fun.

Transcend T.Sonic -- great cheap recorder

2008-01-22T12:40:00.000-08:00

For years, iRiver made a series of flash based mp3 players that had a line in jack. You can connect one to a cassette recorder, or perhaps a mixing console for recording of a live event -- and have a very good quality recording (356 kbs mp3). The iRiver recorders (model series IFP) also has a built in mike preamp, so you could use inexpensive dynamic microphones. Plus, they were nice mp3 players. However, they are no longer made, and most mp3 players that do have a line in jack limit recording to 192 kb/s -- not really good enough for my purposes.

I just bought a replacement for my iRiver IFP-990 -- which still works, but the 256 MB limit became a hassle -- with a Transcend T.Sonic 630. The 4 GB model cost $80.00. It records as .wav files using ADPCM compression at a high bitrate (356 kbs) -- quite reasonable. The display is a black and white OLED that is easy to read, and the controls and feel are almost iRiver like. The built in FM radio is not as good as the iRiver's, but that is not really what I bought it for. I am quite happy with it, makes a nice compliment to i-devices -- small, decent with a built in recorder (even has it's own built in microphone). Only a bit more than buying a recording add-on for the iPod, and much smaller and lighter.

--hal

Excellent, Cheap Mike Preamp for Computer Recording

2008-01-10T18:28:00.000-08:00

Macs come with line inputs via their 3.5 mm input jack. This means that you can't connect microphones to a Mac. Either you buy a mike preamp, or you buy an external audio interface with a mike preamp built in. Inexpensive audio interfaces usually cut corners, particularly on the mike preamp. My yamaha usb mixer had that problem -- the preamps were adequate, but noisy.

ART makes an inexpensive tube based mike preamp that periodically goes on sale. You can plug in either unbalanced or balanced inputs -- such as a guitar, or a professional microphone. It has a simple limiter, phantom power for microphones that require a power source. It sounds much better than it's $30.00 price. I have used it with a griffin iMic for a while now to record voiceovers with a Shure SM57 microphone. It is bare bones to be sure, but it works well enough. It is not pristine -- but I like the simplicity and compactness. I can unplug the mike, and plug my guitar in. I can even overdrive the preamp a little bit to give the guitar some bite.

First Act Child's Guitar = Cheap Travel Guitar

2007-12-12T19:27:00.000-08:00

I was in Asheville NC a week back, and ended up at a really run down flea market. I was about to give up when I ran across a child's acoustic guitar. It was made in China, pretty cheap -- but steel frets -- for what it was -- I was able to play it well enough. First Act is well known for making inexpensive guitars -- and this is no exception -- $30.00 retail.

I bought it for $5.00, it's missing a string so I will end up spending more on new strings than I paid for the guitar -- but I am fine with that. Nice travel size guitars are pretty expensive, but this guitar can be found for $20.00 on ebay. I would definitely not buy one as a first guitar (get a nylon string Yamaha student guitar) but for someone that already plays, and wants something to drag along on camping trips -- this fits the bill quite well. I really like mine.

FishEye

2007-11-28T14:26:00.000-08:00

I've got the hankering for a fisheye lens for my Nikon D40, but the best one that supports autofocus is around $900, and the decent 3rd party one is $500.00 (almost what the camera cost). But there is the Peleng.....which is about as extreme a fisheye as you can get.

Beyond the intrinsic coolness that it makes almost circular pictures, it is a decent lens for making panoramas. Here are some really great ones (you will need to have Quicktime installed). The guy that made these explains how it did it.

Ken Rockwell has an excellent review of wide angle lenses for Nikon digital cameras.

Nokia N800 $200!

2007-11-24T04:41:00.000-08:00

I have owned through work a Nokia 770 internet tablet. It is a odd thing, not quite a computer, definitely not a cell phone, or for that matter, a PDA (which is what it resembles). It's display is truly able to render web pages at 800x480, little compromise other than physical size of the screen. The device as zoom buttons so that navigating pages is not a chore. It is an internet tablet because of it's built-in wifi -- and it's small size makes it truly portable.

The replacement, the N800 is really a major fine-tuning of the fomula; faster, even better screen, two memory slots, built in camera -- and even a fm radio!

Nokia has just starting shipping the N810, which adds even more. More ram, one less memory slot, but now including GPS and a built in keyboard.

Both run a form of debian linux, so there is an active developer community, and with the release of the 810, there is an updated OS which manages to wring better performance of of the device, plus it now uses Mozilla as it's web browser. The built in camera works as a video camera with Skype, so you now have a voip device that can do video conferencing -- which you can slip into your pocket.

Nokia said some time back that the new OS would be available for the N800 as well -- since both devices have essentially the same hardware (sans extra memory and gps in the 810). People have managed to get a copy of the N810 OS and flash it on their N800 and it works, ahead of Nokia's official release.

The N800 is now $200 at Buy.com. This is really a bargain. I use the N770 as an Internet Radio, since it handles shoutcast streams just fine. The N800 improves on the experience with stereo speakers. I have publicradiofan.org as my homepage in the browser for the device, so I get immediate listings.

There is much more that is interesting about this device -- I am interested in exploring it's uPnP support -- which should let me access my media over my home network -- to listen to music or browse my photos.

I ordered one for myself yesterday, sort of a early christmas present.

Walking on Thin Ice

2007-11-21T18:01:00.000-08:00

Yoko Ono as a new album out, remixes of old stuff. I thought Walking on Thin Ice was about the best thing she had ever done. Some tracks are playable off her site. you will need windows media or flip4mac to play this back.

Luptonista

2007-11-02T07:05:00.001-07:00

I went to a great presentation last night by Ellen Lupton. Half of her presentation was on abuse of typography -- the other half was on diy and generalized complaints about bad design. She brought many "out of real life" examples about typography and drilled home a few critical points -- what bad things happen when we smash fonts (but sometimes it does look cool), spacing and more. She then talked about DIY and showed some examples -- good stuff.

From my notebook:

diD YoU KNow that there is a thing called "Church of Craft"?
http://www.churchofcraft.org/

some more random notes

www.design-your-life.org
www.thinkingwithtype.com
www.etsy.com

Books
diy
diy kids

and others -- do an amazon search on ellen lupton.

She was awesome, and gave me ideas for something I am working on for next year's DE conference and maybe something a little more.

Cheap iPhone Headphones

2007-10-30T07:26:00.000-07:00

I hate the headphones that ship with the iPhone. They don't fit me, actually hurt my ears if I wear them for a while because I have to jam them in to get them to stay in place.

On top of that, I lost my Koss Portapro's (which are fantastic) so I need another pair of headphones. Given my luck with losing headphones, I have decided to go cheeeap. The additional problem is that the iPhone's headphone connector is recessed. This has pissed people off, but I understand why : it makes for a more robust connection, and prevents some types of cables (such as iPod video cables that plug into the headphone jack) from connecting -- because they won't work with the iPhone. You can buy adapters so that you can use conventional headphones with the iPhone (I like the Griffin Tech one -- definitely not the Belkin one, which is what the Apple store carries).

But -- I just bought two pairs of these from a FYE store for $10.00 a pair. Their name is of course a bit embarrassing (Smoking Buds!) but the connector on the headphones is exactly the right size for the iPhone. They come with three pairs of silicon earpieces that help with fit, they offer very good sound isolation -- and best of all -- they actually sound pretty decent for a cheap pair of headphones. I still like my Portapro's the best, but two pairs of these for almost half of my Portapros -- can't beat that! The only thing I would change is the cord -- they use this cheap grippy rubber that loves to tangle.

The FYE store here in Raleigh at Crossroads had a *ton* of them -- in all sorts of colors. I bought an Orange pair (natch) and Black.

People on ebay are selling these for between $15.00 and $20.00 a pair. I'm tempted to buy a bunch and sell them on ebay......

Serials

2007-10-18T17:12:00.001-07:00

I just finished Dick Tracy vs. the Spider, a 15 chapter movie serial from the mid-late 30's (I would guess). It is in the public domain via archive.org or via the vintage video podcast.

They are available in ipod-ready mpeg-4, and the format (short form content) fits the ipod (and podcasting in general) perfectly.

I love this stuff. It is bent on action, danger. The technology plays a definite role. I like it for the the very same reasons that folks like George Lucas liked it; it is not the lack of cutting edge special effects, or occasionally wooden dialog -- it is the imagination and general aesthetic. It is for the economical storytelling -- not a lot of time for plot logic -- gotta move! There is a mysterious criminal, and his evil mad-scientist sidekick and they have a huge, cool flying wing.

Flash Gordon's last serial (Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe) is available in the public domain as well along with others. Some of the serials outright terrible (okay, a lot of them are -- like the Gene Autry cowboy/scifi mashup), but a few are minor masterpieces -- engaging, entertaining, imaginative -- nailing the classic "Quest of the Hero" motif in fiction. I think the Flash Gordon ones are great, Captain Marvel is good as well(flight sequences are cleverly done). It is obvious to see where Lucas got a big part of his inspiration.

Cheeseburger Club at Finch's Fine Foods

2007-10-03T17:11:00.000-07:00

This is what I had for lunch at Finch's. I had to take a picture because it looked so great -- and it was. I couldn't finish the mound of fries.

Weekend Speaker Project

2007-10-01T07:19:00.000-07:00

My friend Patrick Duke helped me (as in, did all the work) to build this set of speakers. Of course I think they sound phenomenal, and Patrick was impressed as well. The driver is a 3" aluminum cone driver made by Aurasound. It's a well regarded and inexpensive full range driver ($20.00). It also helps that it's anodized black. The finished speakers are based on this design.

The cabinets are a happy accident. Patrick had these old aluminum B&O cabinets that were part of some graceful, swedish all-in-one system. He had gutted them a long time ago and they were oxidized and pitted. At first I thought about sanding them and then suggested we use a wire brush. They turned out beautifully -- the swirling pattern hides what imperfections are left in the cabinet.

The speaker does exactly what I want -- it's a great near-field monitor. It will not fill a stadium with sound -- we found yesterday in Pat's garage that there was a point where if the speaker was driven loud enough, the sound stage collapsed and distortion crept in. That's the deal with single driver systems -- they can sound amazing, but are best for small rooms.

Pat threw together a quick crossover and added a subwoofer. Cutting bass off at 120 hz benefits the speaker even further, but it sounds quite good without it. Pat wanted to start on the subwoofer but I wanted to hold off, but now I think I've changed my mind.

Patrick is a whiz at this stuff -- it wouldn't have happened without his skills.

Electric Theatre

2007-09-16T16:46:00.000-07:00

Moral and Refined!
Pleasing to the Ladies!

Hollie's On a Carousel

2007-09-13T17:23:00.000-07:00

I know this is old, but it is so fresh and free of pretense. Check out the guitar player, who is kinda of mangling the lead, but obviously having fun. I wasn't a big fan of the Hollies, but I have to say -- this cheered me up.

From the great pop culture blog, Bedazzled

My comatose pet

2007-09-10T18:27:00.000-07:00

These toys are sleeping pets, that never wake up.

Never. Kind of creepy I think.

Panasonic Calculator

2007-09-01T14:24:00.001-07:00

Panasonic made some ubercool looking electronics in the 70's (ball radio and wristband radio are both great examples) but this takes the cake. I picked up this calculator today from the flea market -- made the trip totally worthwhile. The bright fluorescent display is so.....cheerful. There are even cases for the calculator and the power supply. The battery compartment looks like it was never used. The buttons have this great springy quality -- no key bounce, so the key doesn't accidently repeat, but nothing like what we have today. As you can see, it's quite big.

I want to keep it, but it may go to ebay.

--hal

Tangband Speaker kit

2007-08-30T18:00:00.000-07:00

Folded horn speakers are fairly rare because they are expensive (the cabinets are more labor intensive) and because they are big (many designs reach 50").

Typically, there are multiple chambers inside that feed into each other, acting as a sort of acoustic amplifier for low frequencies -- think of a long horn, crunched up. The designer of this speaker kit solved the problem by putting the folding horn on it's side -- each piece is a cross-section of the speaker. Bolt/glue the sheets together, and you have a finished speaker. It has the advantage if being unique looking, rigid and economical to make on scale. Good design.

Typsy Gypsy

2007-08-28T12:18:00.000-07:00

I love this. Balkan Breakbeat.

Get the podcast.

Inexpensive Audiophile Stuff

2007-08-26T06:21:00.000-07:00

I have been promising myself for a while that I would rebuild my stereo system. The amp part has been done for a while; I have a vintage 60's dynaco tube amp that sounds great (17 watts per channel). I was looking into class-T amplifiers, which have caused quite a stir in the audiophile community; particulary the Sonic Impact Class T portable amp, and it's bigger brother (better power supply, better electronics and connectors, nicer case). They offer very low distortion is you use them inside of their rated limit (less than 15 watts per channel).
Instead, a friend of mine convinced me that a National Semiconductor Chip Amp was the way to go. NS makes a series of "chip amps" that offer a lot of bang for the buck, and are very popular with the DIY audio community. You get a lot more power, and can go crazy with better transformers, esoteric components, or build something simple. I just got mine after a 6 month (!) wait and it's very good.
So,now for speakers. I'm looking for a desktop system for my home studio, so they have to be reasonably small and have decent sound. Super low bass is not necessarily an issue (I can add a sub later). There is a cadre of audiophiles that believe in single-driver designs for several reasons (time/phase delay, simplicity, more efficient). I think they are great, but many of them require fairly elaborate and somewhat large cabinets -- but still perhaps one day. In the mean time, I ran across this set of speakers sold by Best Buy, and made by Radiient. They have been getting nice reviews - but keep in mind that the audiophile community is this weird combination of cheapskates that love a good deal (and thus over emphasize quality vs. cost) and those that will buy a $50.00 pair of Insignia speakers, build new crossovers (another $30.00), add more dampening internally ($20.00). Simply put, they are a very nice set of inexpensive speakers -- but necessarily a giant killer. However, they are put on sale all the time (unfortunately, not for the $50.00 they once were). The interesting point here is that for less than $100, you can have a audio system that sounds quite good. It is not super loud -- but you don't have to apologize.

Still....I'm thinking about a nice set of single driver fostex's......more later on that......

Wushu Poses

2007-08-18T11:21:00.000-07:00

I found these a while back, and was speechless. I found them again, and I am still...struck speechless......

More wushu pictures

Align your phono cartridge

2007-08-15T08:03:00.000-07:00

Just bought a new/used turntable, a Stanton T.80. It's fantastic -- even has digital out which I can hook up to my Mac mini's digital in via a RCA to 3.5mm cable.

I installed my Grado Green Label cartridge and used this protractor to line it up. The image above shows what it should look like when you are done.

I was skeptical that a new turntable would make that much of a difference, but it really does -- this is likely the nicest turntable I've ever owned -- and it has other features oriented towards turntablist/scratching -- cool! Was playing around with that last night -- scratching a Jim & Tammy Bakker album.

Here's some other protractors that might work better for you, depending on what turntable you have.

Sally Cruikshank's "Face Like a Frog"

2007-08-15T07:51:00.003-07:00

Can't take credit for finding this, but it is amazing and quite brilliant. Danny Elfman and his band (soon to be called Oingo Boingo) provided the music.

"Don't Go in the Basement" -- looks like a homage to Cab Calloway's walking/dancing.

p.s. if you are reading this in facebook, you will need to go the original link to see the video, as facebook doesn't handle embedded video in notes particularly well (like, not at all as far as I can tell).

Cherry Soda in Madison WI

2007-08-09T08:36:00.000-07:00

I am currently at a DE conference in Madison WI. What can I say? Great weather, had a fantastic cherry soda at Michael's Frozen Custard. I love this place.

Almost out of Bertman's

2007-08-01T17:47:00.000-07:00

This is IMHO the best mustard in the world. I went to the mustard museum in Wisconsin and brought some back, along with a bunch of other kinds of mustard. I bought friends of mine a half of a case of this stuff.

I lived in Germany for 4 years in the early 70's, and they have this ubiquitous brown mustard everywhere -- it's not Gulden's, it's not Grey Poupon -- it has a pronounced kick of horseradish and god knows what else. I love it.

Bertman's is a sort of toned down version, a bit milder but thus much more flexible. Harris Teeter used to carry it, but they stopped, and I don't know where else to get it. But....I'm going to Wisconsin next week.

Make your own lightbox for $10.00

2007-07-30T18:20:00.001-07:00

This is simple and clever. It allows you to take nice photographs of objects. I bet if I use a green, blue (or orange) background, it will key cleanly.

Sanyo Part Two

2007-07-24T19:13:00.000-07:00

I am embarrassed to say that I sold my recently acquired Sanyo HD1 video camera on ebay recently. I bought it only a month or so ago (again, on ebay). It shoots 720p HD video on SD cards. While it has some strong points (it is really small), it's low-light performance was terrible. Wait for Sanyo's HD3.

At Apple's developer conference in June, I had a change to go to this bizzare party that Sanyo put on to introduce their new waterproof video camera (sake with gold flecks in it). I got a chance to see it, and their new video camera that shoots h264 mpeg-4 -- the same stuff the iPod and AppleTV can play back. It packs more video onto a secure digital card (Almost 3 hours on a 4GB card) with quite good quality.

I just received the new Sanyo video camera (again, bought it off ebay) and I am really pleased. It is not a "pro" camera, but I learned a while back that there are more things important that pristine video -- a good story, and clear audio. The video can be ingested into Final Cut or iMovie -- so cool! I have an idea for a little documentary that I will shoot in a month or so.

I'll have some sample video up pretty soon.

I love citroens

2007-07-21T15:22:00.000-07:00

Oh goodness, I do. The DS is my flash gordon car. This is a M35 -- with a rotary engine, a test case that ended up not going anywhere.

I remember seeing the model it's based on in Germany (Ami), and thinking it was so different that everything else.

A Smaller Walmart

2007-07-20T17:07:00.001-07:00

Was listening to a NPR station in Tuscon, and they mentioned something called a "Walmart Neighborhood Market". It invokes non-threatening, hometown america imagery. I immediately thought of Red and White (now gone I guess) and Piggly Wiggly (still around, but in small towns). It's not quite that.

No Dial Phones

2007-07-20T13:59:00.000-07:00

I want one of these in red.

No Dial Phone Link

Lighting Up

2007-07-20T13:07:00.001-07:00

Found this while looking up led lighting on ebay.

Phone Line powered Lamp

I like that it looks like a mouse.

But Wait....there is more.