Link of the Day [12.16.08]

broderic on December 16, 2008

I’m sitting at home waiting for the right time to head on over to the post office to pick up a package. I wish they would open at 8 am rather than a half hour later. I have to stay at work later than I would want to just because of the opening time.

In this day and age, the US postal service is a throwback to earlier times when letters were all important. Now, it’s just email, text, or IM. When will it be e-packages, text-packages, or IM-packages? Send my figures to my 3D printer so that I don’t have to wait so long.

Anywhoo, with the holiday coming up (9 days of shopping left), you better mail out those packages if you need them to get to their destination before Christmas morn.

http://www.usps.com/

Apple v Sony

broderic on December 16, 2008


If you talk about overpriced, highly stylized personal electronic equipment, the companies that jump to the fore are Apple and Sony. They are the two companies that take pride in making consumer electronics that you want to touch and own, to display and fondle, and to have. They make things sexy. Except Apple beats the pants off of Sony when it comes to the unsexy part of the equipment.

Look at the design choices that Apple has made into their plugs and chargers. They still reek of elegance. Look at the design choices that Sony made for their plug and charger. Rather, look at the lack of a design choice. That PSP may look cool, but I just want to plug that thing in a hole in the ground so that I don’t have to look at that ugly.

When will we finally get other consumer electronics makers thinking about the whole experience of owning the junk we buy. Thank kami-sama for Apple. They force others into thinking about design. Let’s just hope the others decide to think all of it through.

Quote of the Day [12.15.08]

broderic on December 15, 2008

“The worst thing that ever happened to me was on Christmas. Oh, God. It was so horrible. It was Christmas Eve.

I was 9 years old. Me and Mom were decorating the tree, waiting for Dad to come home from work. A couple hours went by. Dad wasn’t home. So Mom called the office. No answer. Christmas Day came and went, and still nothing. So the police began a search.

Four or five days went by. Neither one of us could eat or sleep. Everything was falling apart. It was snowing outside. The house was freezing, so I went to try to light up the fire.

That’s when I noticed the smell. The firemen came and broke through the chimney top. And me and Mom were expecting them to pull out a dead cat or a bird. And instead they pulled out my father. He was dressed in a Santa Claus suit. He’d been climbing down the chimney… his arms loaded with presents. He was gonna surprise us. He slipped and broke his neck. He died instantly.

And that’s how I found out there was no Santa Claus.”

Kate (Phoebe Cates), Gremlins

Link of the Day [12.13.08]

broderic on December 13, 2008

Remember the Night stars Barbara Stanwyck and Fred MacMurray. It was released in 1940 a few years before the two stars made memorable cinematic pleasures with Double Indemnity. The movie was also written by Preston Sturges. If you will recall, Sturges directed and wrote The Lady Eve, one of the greatest screwball comedies, for Ms. Stanwyck. What is there not to like about watching this flick?

I haven’t seen it though. It’s one of the few Stanwyck films that I haven’t seen. You know, I think there may be a DVD version out there. I should track it down. But for today it’s being shown on TCM at 6:00 PM. I’ve set my DVR. I can’t wait.

http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title.jsp?stid=87956