The Burning OR: Lifeblog

Yahoo’s 2010 Turn-Around Strategy Revealed: A Cycling Team

Fri, 18 Dec 2009 19:52:51 -0500

Yahoo’s 2010 Turn-Around Strategy Revealed: A Cycling Team:

Oh, Yahoo.

Revenues are down. Search share is down. The social stuff has been outsourced to Facebook. The search stuff is about to be outsourced to Bing. Things are not exactly on the…

Retro delight: Gallery of early computers (1940s – 1960s)

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 18:10:28 -0500

Retro delight: Gallery of early computers (1940s – 1960s):

We often think of computers as a very modern phenomenon, but there were actually plenty of computers around 50 years ago. They just weren’t an everyman commodity, instead limited to…

There’s always someone crazier

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 15:29:53 -0500

There’s always someone crazier:

By now the Conservapedia project is relatively old news on the internet. Someone decided that Wikipedia was too ‘liberal’ (whatever that means) and decided an open encyclopedia based on…

SHIFT Cottage by Superkül Inc | Architect » ...

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 12:59:56 -0500

SHIFT Cottage by Superkül Inc | Architect » CONTEMPORIST

Sometimes the house and the surroundings meld into one another almost seamlessly. Observer here how the use of thinly slatted wood paneling around the house is evocative of both the surrounding forests as well as the layers in the rocks on which the house rests. The colors match the windswept trees and foggy sky while the house itself becomes part of the rocks on which it is built.

The Wood Block Residence by Chadbourne + Doss Architects » ...

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 12:37:29 -0500

The Wood Block Residence by Chadbourne + Doss Architects » CONTEMPORIST

By far the most interesting aspect of this house in Washington are the last two photos at the bottom of the indoor rock garden and the outdoor tree plantings that are almost into the wall.

We tend to think of the inside and outside of a house as separate entities. Rocks and trees go outside while tile and wood and paint goes inside, but why does design have to be that way? After all windows themselves are a way of breaking down that separation between inside and outside, especially the large floor to ceiling windows one often sees in contemporary design.

I’d really like to see a more dialectical approach to the inside/outside dichotomy.

The Walmer Loft by Dubbeldam Design Architects » ...

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 12:29:56 -0500

The Walmer Loft by Dubbeldam Design Architects » CONTEMPORIST

I tend to focus here more in commentary on the color, design and texture of a building, but this loft has reminded me of the significance of lighting in a design. The use of lots of small spotlights combined with natural lighting, white walls and shiny hardwood floors creates an almost dazzling effect here. This is good to remember in other design areas, particularly webpages or program interfaces where a well placed shiny lighting effect can really grab the user. Watch out though, poor use of this effect can turn a gourmet design into cheap candy that quickly tires the viewer.

"So a C, an E-flat, and G go into a bar… The bartender says: “Sorry, but we don’t..."

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 11:04:42 -0500

“

So a C, an E-flat, and G go into a bar…

The bartender says: “Sorry, but we don’t serve minors.” So, the E-flat leaves, and the C and the G have an open fifth between them. After a few drinks, the fifth is diminished: the G is out flat.
An F comes in and tries to augment the situation, but is not sharp enough. A D comes into the bar and heads straight for the bathroom saying, “Excuse me, I’ll just be a second.”

An A comes into the bar, but the bartender is not convinced that this relative of C is not a minor. Then the bartender notices a B-flat hiding at the end of the bar and exclaims: “Get out now! You’re the seventh minor I’ve found in this bar tonight.” The E-flat, not easily deflated, comes back to the bar the next night in a 3-piece suit with nicely shined shoes.

The bartender (who used to have a nice corporate job until his company downsized) says: “You’re looking sharp tonight, come on in! This could be a major development.” This proves to be the case, as the E-flat takes off the suit and stands there au natural. Eventually, the C sobers up and realizes in horror that he’s under a rest. The C is brought to trial, is found guilty of contributing to the diminution of a minor, and is sentenced to 10 years of DS without Coda at an upscale correctional facility.

On appeal, however, the C is found innocent of any wrongdoing, even accidental, and that all accusations to the contrary are bassless. The bartender decides, however, that since he’s only had tenor so patrons, the soprano out in the bathroom, and everything has become alto much treble, he needs a rest and closes the bar.

”

- So a C, an E-flat, and G go into a bar… : Music

THE TIMELORDS / KLF - Doctorin’ The Tardis (via SP2153)

Wed, 09 Dec 2009 12:49:27 -0500

THE TIMELORDS / KLF - Doctorin’ The Tardis (via SP2153)

Nanotubes + ink + paper = instant battery (via...

Wed, 09 Dec 2009 11:12:25 -0500

Nanotubes + ink + paper = instant battery (via StanfordUniversity)

Labor Dept: Available Labor Rate Increases To 10.2% | The Onion

Tue, 08 Dec 2009 14:23:14 -0500

Labor Dept: Available Labor Rate Increases To 10.2% | The Onion :

There is always a way to put a positive spin on any figure.

The Yorkville Residence by Taylor Smyth Architects » ...

Tue, 08 Dec 2009 14:20:07 -0500

The Yorkville Residence by Taylor Smyth Architects » CONTEMPORIST

Report: U.S. Fears Public Scrutiny Would Scuttle IP Treaty Talks | Wired.com

Tue, 08 Dec 2009 13:38:41 -0500

Report: U.S. Fears Public Scrutiny Would Scuttle IP Treaty Talks | Wired.com:

Now this is democracy. The governments need to negotiate the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) in secret because there would be too strong of an uproar if the details were to get out.

Tarantino Meets Plastic Dog in a Crazy Japanese Ad...

Mon, 07 Dec 2009 18:48:38 -0500

Tarantino Meets Plastic Dog in a Crazy Japanese Ad [Video]

Weird.

Blacktron X4(E) ‘Erinys’ | The Brothers Brick | LEGO...

Sat, 05 Dec 2009 13:47:06 -0500

Blacktron X4(E) ‘Erinys’ | The Brothers Brick | LEGO Blog

Seriously. Old-school Blacktron was and will forever remain…BAD…ASS.

House in Nikaia by Christina Zerva Architects » ...

Sat, 05 Dec 2009 12:15:05 -0500

House in Nikaia by Christina Zerva Architects » CONTEMPORIST

This house reminds me of the sort of things I used to make out of Legos back when I was a kid. Very geometric. The big ‘pushed out’ window in particular reminds me of Coastal Rescue Base (which, by the way, was one of my favorite sets as a kid.

The Unemployment Game Show: Are You Really Unemployed? (via...

Fri, 04 Dec 2009 14:30:25 -0500

The Unemployment Game Show: Are You *Really* Unemployed? (via MintSoftware)

Oh my gosh. I never though a video about unemployment could be fun.

"There you have it. The bailout was meant to keep the curtain drawn on the way the rich make money,..."

Thu, 03 Dec 2009 14:15:37 -0500

“There you have it. The bailout was meant to keep the curtain drawn on the way the rich make money, not from the free market, but from the lack of one. Goldman Sachs blew its cover when the firm’s revenue from trading reached a record $27 billion in the first nine months of this year, and a public that was writhing in financial agony caught on that the profits earned on taxpayer capital were going to pay employee bonuses.”

- Arming Goldman With Pistols Against Public: Alice Schroeder - Bloomberg.com

Symbiotek Podcast Ep. 19 “Google Chrome OS, Apple’s...

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 18:16:54 -0500

Symbiotek Podcast Ep. 19 “Google Chrome OS, Apple’s...:

Symbiotek Podcast Ep. 19 “Google Chrome OS, Apple’s Issues, Twitter Lists, Flash 10.1 Gets Sexy”

In this episode, Devindra, Dwayne, and Chris discuss the implications of Google’s Chrome…

Toothpaste Combats Water Marks on Wooden Furniture [Mac Gyver Tip]

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 18:16:54 -0500

Toothpaste Combats Water Marks on Wooden Furniture [Mac Gyver Tip]:

No matter how many coasters you set out over the holidays, it’s almost inevitable that someone will leave a drink on your hardwood furniture. To help rid your favorites pieces of unsightly water…

Distinctions between Theology and Science

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 13:44:09 -0500

Distinctions between Theology and Science:

I was perusing old posts on Faith and Theology the other day and came across this quote by Karl Barth evolution and theology:

[One] can as little compare the biblical creation story and a…

The Burning OR: Lifeblog

Yahoo’s 2010 Turn-Around Strategy Revealed: A Cycling Team

Retro delight: Gallery of early computers (1940s – 1960s)

There’s always someone crazier

SHIFT Cottage by Superkül Inc | Architect » ...

The Wood Block Residence by Chadbourne + Doss Architects » ...

The Walmer Loft by Dubbeldam Design Architects » ...

"So a C, an E-flat, and G go into a bar… The bartender says: “Sorry, but we don’t..."

THE TIMELORDS / KLF - Doctorin’ The Tardis (via SP2153)

Nanotubes + ink + paper = instant battery (via...

Labor Dept: Available Labor Rate Increases To 10.2% | The Onion

The Yorkville Residence by Taylor Smyth Architects » ...

Report: U.S. Fears Public Scrutiny Would Scuttle IP Treaty Talks | Wired.com

Tarantino Meets Plastic Dog in a Crazy Japanese Ad...

Blacktron X4(E) ‘Erinys’ | The Brothers Brick | LEGO...

House in Nikaia by Christina Zerva Architects » ...

The Unemployment Game Show: Are You *Really* Unemployed? (via...

"There you have it. The bailout was meant to keep the curtain drawn on the way the rich make money,..."

Symbiotek Podcast Ep. 19 “Google Chrome OS, Apple’s...

Toothpaste Combats Water Marks on Wooden Furniture [Mac Gyver Tip]

Distinctions between Theology and Science

The Unemployment Game Show: Are You Really Unemployed? (via...