Stephanie and I are lucky enough to live near one of the eleven worldwide locations in which a 7-Eleven store has been converted into a Kwik-E-Mart. We paid the Kwik-E-Mart a visit tonight, took some photos and video, and I got a Squishee. (But only because they were sold out of KrustyO’s, donuts, and Buzz Cola.)
Check out the photos on Flickr (all taken by Steph), or enjoy the slapped-together video I’ve just uploaded to YouTube. Gotta love that music.
Thank you, come again!
Might be kinda hard to fit in my pocket. I need bigger pants.
It’s no secret that I’m a geek, but even as a geek I usually only get excited about technology that is consumer-facing. I’m not a hardcore server enthusiast or networking guru. I don’t really get pumped up by load balancing algorithms or optimizing compilers. The technology I love most is the technology created to be enjoyed and used by the average consumer. That’s why I love Apple. The average consumer is Apple’s focus.
I mention this because I recently got excited about something that probably isn’t “average consumer” material. Maybe it will be one day as people begin to store their most precious possessions digitally, but it isn’t there yet. I got exited about redundant data storage. More specifically, I got excited about Drobo. If you want to know why, just watch the demo video. When it comes to the topic of redundant data storage, Drobo is hot, my friends.
I don’t care that RAID has existed for a long time and this isn’t a new idea. Drobo’s way of approaching the problem is so friendly and so simple that it just can’t fail. And when you pair Drobo with an AirPort Extreme you’ve really got something amazing.
Now if I could just scrape up an extra $500.
If you’re curious and want to know more, check out the Engadget review and the CrunchGear review.
I’ve kept this relatively quiet for a few weeks, but I figure with the iPhone being only three days away, there’s no harm in showing this now. This is the t-shirt I wore today. (If you don’t get it, you might want to brush up on your Unix commands, or just relax and accept the Dennis Miller Ratio in its full glory.)
While I was standing in line this evening at Target, one of the two guys in line in front of me conspicuously stared at my shirt, chuckled, and then quietly pointed it out to his friend, who also laughed. After mumbling back and forth, I heard his friend’s final response, “Three days, man. Just three days.”
I love this valley.
It is absolutely urgent that you view the iPhone Guided Tour that was posted by Apple yesterday. It will absolutely blow your mind.
The iPhone is a paradigm shift in user interface and usability. Don’t get distracted by the presentation itself, just watch how it’s used. Then compare that to the phone you’re used to.
I know you want one. I do too.
I CAN HAZ LOLSHIRT?
(For the confused, a primer on lolcats. These make Joshua very happy.)
It’s a popular practice to play music for your baby while it’s still in utero (although I don’t know how popular actually playing Nirvana’s In Utero might be). Steph and I have purchased a cheap pair of headphones that are flexible enough to stretch out and cling to her belly, and we occasionally entertain the kid with some tunes. Previously, it’s been mostly Steph’s music. He’s reportedly reacted well to common baby music, but also to Madeleine Peyroux, so I figure there’s hope for his tastes yet.
To that end, I chose to play him some Beck tonight. Some “experts” who have “doctorate degrees” and have studied child development and psychology for “decades” will tell you that rock music, or whatever it is that Beck plays, is “too complex” for a baby to understand. I would point out that actually understanding Beck’s music is a step in the wrong direction for those who want to appreciate his work, but I digress. I carefully avoided Analog Odyssey (you may choose to do the same) and chose three songs that I wanted my boy to hear, and we stretched the headphones out and plugged him in for a mini-concert, sans-puppets.
The first (which, regrettably, is not on iTunes) was “He’s a Mighty Good Leader”, from Beck’s early album One Foot in the Grave. I thought it would be hard to start him off with anything simpler than this without removing rhythm and notes altogether. The song almost removes the rhythm by itself. He seemed to like it.
The second song I picked is one of my personal Beck favorites, although no one would probably guess it: “Ramshackle”, off the smash hit Odelay. The plodding calm of that song catches me every time. It’s just gorgeous. I want to be there with Beck, strumming my guitar, tapping my foot, lazily droning that chorus. Stuck together, one and all.
Steph requested something more upbeat for the last one. I figured that something a bit more pure, tonally speaking, might be an interesting contrast, so I pulled out “Bad Cartridge” [E-Pro] from his GameBoy Variations EP. Steph was initially concerned that it would be too much for his little ears, but considering the fact that this particular EP is too much for the ears of most of humanity, I trusted that the genes would sort it out. I mean, I at least want him to know what video games used to sound like, don’t I? Don’t I have that responsibility?! Yes. Yes I do.
