I've finally gotten the pictures of our recent trip to Pittsburgh off our two camera, organized them chronologically (sort of), and uploaded them to our flickr account. I split the photos up into a Pittsburgh set and a Falling Water set. Falling Water was, of course, much more picturesque, but that's not to say that Pittsburgh's skyline wasn't interesting.
As we pulled into Pittsburgh, we definitely got the impression that we weren't in DC anymore. Some would (and have) called the buildings ugly, but I kind of have to disagree. "Different" is a better word. You also wouldn't confuse the place with New York, either. It had its own feel: older, more industrial, architecturally solid. Also, empty (but that could have been the fact that it was downtown on a weekend.
If you ever get to go, I'd recommend the Andy Warhol Museum (seven stories of Andrew Warhola may seem like overload, but it goes fast and is much more interesting than you might think, even if Pop Art's not your thing). We couldn't make it to the Mattress Factory, but heard that was interesting. And if you have time to pop out of the city, check out Falling Water. Despite the tourists, it's a good time.
Playing around with pictobrowser, it appears I can only make a slideshow of a specific set. I'll go with the more aesthetically pleasing Falling Water.
OK, really just the highlights...
Monday -- Watched Will Smith get jiggy with it in a 6 song set at the HANCOCK premiere. Also saw Diddy, Charlize and the boy Bateman. Charlize should have selected another dress. I was not a fan of the Dior and I thought she needed a stronger lipstick. She looked a little washed out.
Tuesday -- Worked until 9 p.m. It sucked. But I got lots of overtime including an hour of double overtime. V. Nice.
Wednesday -- Out of work early (yay early release!) and Indian food.
Thursday -- Lots to do, studio closes early, hair cut, catching flight to Portland, Oregon at 9:30 pm.
Weekend -- Portland, Oregon with the 'rents for the Portland Blues Festival. Yay!!
I know some of you are pondering an iPhone 3G (less than two weeks away!), so this may be of interest. AT&T has released its set plans for the faster iPhone. No included text in any of the plans (you can add on 200 texts for $5, 1500 for $15, and unlimited for $20 on individual plans; family plans only offer an unlimited plan for a staggering $30 a month). Individual plans start at $69.99 for 450 minutes; family plans at $129.99 for 700 minutes. Click that link if you want more details; there are charts.
Rolling the clock back to 2006 for this post, but I think that this one's worth it, maybe... I guess. For the longest time (we're talking over a year), I tried to figure out this thing called Twitter. What purpose does it serve in my life? What's it do that a blog or an ichat/gtalk status doesn't? And why in the world would I ever a) go to the site and read other people's tweets, or b) go to the site and type in trivial update on my life in 140 characters or less?
As some of you have heard, I cut my left thumb a while ago while slicing a bell pepper (ouch). My nail has a huge gash in it (I'm sure it will fall off) so I've been wearing a series of band-aids.
RoughlyDrafted has an interesting article that details "SproutCore," Apple's solution to building rich internet apps that doesn't rely on Adobe Flash or Silverlight. The article is heavily biased toward Apple, so take that into consideration while reading, but it brings up a few interesting points: namely between the different approaches Apple and Google are taking (open) to the ones Microsoft and Adobe are (closed, proprietary).
This is via Cyndi, who got it via Penn Quarter Living, who got it via WaBizJo, but all that doesn't make the news any less awesome. Wagamama, the most awesome-est noodle house to come out of London is on its way to Penn Quarter! And with it, memories of a really good point in my life (when I met Cyndi, of course). I guess my red Wagamama t-shirt isn't going to draw as many ooo's and aww's, but I guess it's worth it.
Cyndi and I are wavering between whether or not to keep our cable plan when our contract is up in July. Honestly, if NBC and its affiliated networks (Sci-Fi, Bravo, etc.) were on iTunes, the decision would be pretty easy. We hardly watch any television shows regularly, neither of us watch sports very often (the occasional baseball game, and football in the fall), and we don't have any premium channels. So really, we're paying a pretty high price to watch Lost, Battlestar, Top Chef/Project Runway, and, well, re-runs of House Hunters?
- First up, there's iTunes/AppleTV. The selection of shows is great, and from what I've read, the quality's not bad, although there's no HD option available yet (for TV). Shows are $1.99, less if you buy a season, stream from your computer, and have decent sound (not true 5.1, but better than straight stereo). As far as selection, the good news is that HBO is now offered ($2.99 each). The bad, of course, is no NBC -- in addition to the lack of HD, as I already said.
- Next, Tivo with Amazon Unbox. The price is comparable to iTunes ($1.99 per episode, less for a season) and the offerings are broader, including NBC, SciFi, and Bravo. It doesn't require a computer to stream from, either, not that this is a problem for us, and you can queue up your shows from any computer (including work) and have them ready for you when you get home. Cons: poor sound quality and no HD (even with an HD Tivo). It also takes a while to start watching an episode, from what I've read. Oh, and it requires having a Tivo and paying the monthly fee.
- The final option I looked into (and have played around with) was Xbox Live. Requires an Xbox 360, but you can actually download shows in HD. From the five or so episodes of Lost that we've watched, the quality is on par with Comcast HD. SD shows go for $1.99, HD for $2.99 (or the equivalent in Microsoft points or whatever). You can start watching after only a few minutes (much like Apple). No season pass option, no NBC or premium channels. And, of course, having to watch television over the jet-engine roar of the Xbox. Not sure if it's available for Silver Accounts (the free one), but even a Gold is only ~$4 a month ($49.99 for the year).
I love the feeling that washes over me as I watch the final files of a project upload to an ftp server. It's fantastic. Especially when I'm particularly proud of the job that's done. It also means (usually) that I can reclaim a little bit more free time for my own projects.
pumping them out as fast as we can... two new reviews to read this week on Connexion Bizarre. further incentive: one of these albums was given a "10" by this author...
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This stuff simply defines cinematic. Its orchestral nuances and muffled piano, spectral voices and effective interlude transitions, among other elements, serve to elucidate this formative strategy. As the second release for young label Spectraliquid (based in Athens, Greece), "Blackfilm" reflects a promising musical direction and, more significantly, astute artist selectivity.
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