Tumbling down

"[I]t looks like Obama’s Presidency faces a serious threat from media rounding."

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:52:43 -0500

“[I]t looks like Obama’s Presidency faces a serious threat from media rounding.”

- Squashed: The Obama slide in New Jersey and Virginia

(Thanks Jim)

GPOYW: Baseball, Beer and Hot Dogs Edition.

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 22:12:59 -0500

GPOYW: Baseball, Beer and Hot Dogs Edition.

Apple TV and a new UI

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 10:00:00 -0500

Quick, I’m going to go on a short font and UI rant, so I guess you should look for that unfollow button.

The choice to switch to Helvetica Neue¹ for the interface is a little confusing. They’re using it in a regular weight, which lacks the heft Lucida Grande had. This is most striking on the Now Playing screen, where the type looks so fragile.

What would improve the Now Playing screen, ever so slightly, would be to use a bold weight, which I thought I’d spied in one of the browse screens, more. It can bring a little prominence to the song title, or section headers, which will detract from how awkward Helvetica Neue looks at that size. Here’s a rough sample of my idea:

Another problem exists with the main navigation bar and the features above it. In the home screen, the main navigation is non-selectable, but uses the same blue glow used for selections elsewhere. I’m unsure what would be better (a spotlight, perhaps), but it’s distracting at times.

The new menu setup improves movement across sections, but the Remote application feels even less precise than before, and selecting “My Movies” or “My Music” at the top of sections is nigh-impossible; you end up accidentally selecting the features area.

I’ve finally become acclimated to seeing Helvetica Neue instead of Lucida Grande, and the new software is a good improvement on the large part. But there still seem to be rough edges to the software, as if it was rushed ahead of important hardware improvements. My hope is for an Apple TV that can actually do 1080p or 720p at 30fps (or 60, but I’m not holding my breath), and there’s a lot of potential in that largely-empty Internet menu.

N.B.: They didn’t totally switch to Helvetica, according to Ars Technica, but I’m pretty sure the only Lucida left is for the numbers in top lists. A little too pedantic for me blood, even for this rant.

My friend’s Halloween costume, also known as the first...

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 23:05:00 -0500

My friend’s Halloween costume, also known as the first piece of modern art to grace our apartment walls.

“Beer Pong Table”
2009
Andrew Lovell
Mixed media on foamboard

In true Joe Buck statistical speak, I’m batting 1.000 when...

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 22:01:10 -0500

In true Joe Buck statistical speak, I’m batting 1.000 when playing people who aren’t my brother.

As though you needed an excuse to drink on Halloween,...

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 15:34:47 -0400

As though you needed an excuse to drink on Halloween, here’s a power hour for you.

The Rise & Fall of The Nintendo Wii

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 14:13:23 -0400

Marco makes, as usual, makes great points about the trouble the Wii has today. From the Basement piece:

When we first got the Wii a couple of years ago, it was a universal hit at Arc90. The bowling and golf games in the Wii sports package were just plain fun.

Fast forward about six months from the time we got the Wii and it’s a completely different story. It was hardly being used. Fast forward two years to today and I can confidently share that it probably hasn’t been turned on in over a year.

This is almost true with me, but what kept me turning on the system daily for nearly eight months was Wii Fit, during my attempt to lose weight. Though I wasn’t using it intensely, it was still being turned on, and I occasionally played one of the Virtual Console games I’d downloaded.

(The recent Internet Channel refund also enticed me to buy Tecmo Bowl for Nintendo, which didn’t quite placate my desire to play the vastly superior Tecmo Super Bowl I grew up with on Genesis.)

One aspect that really doesn’t help is how dated the Wii’s graphics hardware is. It didn’t matter as much when the system was released in 2006 and everyone was (rightfully) enamored with the innovative new gameplay mechanics. But the Wii’s 480p resolution and Gamecube-era graphics hardware produce drab, dated, jagged-edged output on now-quite-affordable HDTVs, and it’s not helping the system age gracefully.

This is going to be true of any system, but is especially so with the Wii. I don’t own an Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3, so I can’t compare graphics, but I did go retro last weekend playing Nintendo 64 at a friend’s house. Nobody will say early-era 64-bit graphics have aged gracefully, but I think those games hold a lot more nostalgia than anything in the GameCube era. (I always thought most early PlayStation 2 games looked awful.)

Like most used-up fads, I don’t think there’s a future for it.

I have no idea what Nintendo’s next console will look like, but I don’t think they have any great options. The novelty that made the Wii such a powerful fad will remove most people’s motivation to ever buy another system like it.

The Wii makes a fantastic demo / party machine, but where I think Nintendo went wrong was relying too much on people getting together to play games. People tend to get together to hang out and enjoy each others’ company; they don’t play video games in the same room. Wireless play is everywhere these days: just look at the people playing Word with Friends. And none of this addresses the fact that the use of friend codes is annoying and frustrating at best, and lacks any centralization and quick communication.

I don’t put any stock into the idea that much-rumored Netflix support would entice anyone to return to the Wii, since its output is so piss poor. A lack of HD support really takes the wind out of the sails when it comes to media playback.

This is the first console they produced that has no hardware expandability on the console itself, which could have helped fix some of the issues with performance. The next obvious step is a Wii Plus or Wii XL that will address the hardware and display issues, but they can take an intermediate step with software that will make managing friends an integral and easy part of the system, taking a tip from Xbox.

I look forward to the future of the system, but don’t forget that the point of Wii was to entice the casual gamer. I’m completely unsurprised that use of the Wii has lagged, but keep in mind that Nintendo is in millions of homes that probably never would have bought a console at all.

From the comments of Giz Explains: Why Every Country Has a...

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 13:02:44 -0400

From the comments of Giz Explains: Why Every Country Has a Different F#$%ing Plug:

The Lost Viking:

I used to think all those different power plugs were a hassle, then I found this. It has a socket for every type of plug, and a plug for every type of socket.

It’s like some kind of electrical orgy just waiting to happen.

NYT: Never grow up, financially

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 12:36:32 -0400

NYT: Never grow up, financially:

At the same time smart, stylish folks are trying to get people to grow up stylistically with the fantastic Put This On, the forces of capitalism are trying to infantilize young people. While I miss health insurance (but won’t get into that debate), creditors unwilling to help young people build credit is killing a young generation.

beigeinside: poeks: Things I’ll Miss About NYC… Canal Street...

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 14:04:44 -0400

beigeinside:

poeks:

Things I’ll Miss About NYC…

Canal Street on a Saturday. Just kidding, Canal Street on a Saturday is the worst place on earth.*

(via RogelSM)

* Okay, fine, Times Square on a Saturday is the worst place on earth.

Nope, you were right the first time. Times Square isn’t on Earth. It’s in hell.

Live here from the outskirts of hell, and I’m okay sitting in my fiberglass tower.

GPOYW: I Swear I’m Not Bored At Work, Boss Edition

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 16:10:34 -0400

GPOYW: I Swear I’m Not Bored At Work, Boss Edition

Ares 1-X launches at 11:30am EST.

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 11:59:14 -0400

Ares 1-X launches at 11:30am EST.:

sniffyjenkins:

steelopus:

Watch it. This is a big deal.

ZOMGSQUEEE!

I just caught this (and I apologize if you didn’t). Hooray for science!

Who, me? Just eatin’ ham sandwiches and chips,...

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 21:07:15 -0400

Who, me?

Just eatin’ ham sandwiches and chips, drinkin’ some brown ale, watchin’ some Mad Men. As usually.

Ladies.

On dream jobs.

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 16:51:33 -0400

irreverend:

kurafire:

dearcoketalk:

Dream jobs are incredibly rare these days. Rocky relationships with dubious salvage potential are a dime a dozen.

Dream jobs are also very often too good to be true. Most people don’t really know what (or who) they want, most of the time.

(note: not saying the advice should have been different, just saying the argument made is not flawless at all)

I’ve written a few “dream jobs” articles where I profiled people who do the work we all think we want to do. The one question everyone can answer without having to think is, “What are some of the drawbacks of your job?”

One of them was a fishing guide who said he used to love fishing more than anything in the world, until he made it his business. “No matter what you do for a living,” he said, “eventually it’s just work.”

My own view is slightly less cynical. I think any job can be a dream job if you’re surrounded by the right people. Maybe that’s why so many teachers love their jobs, even though teaching isn’t likely to make any of those “dream jobs” lists.

I wanted to respond intelligently to this, because I’m of the opinion that I have my dream job, or at least an iteration of it. Just like your “dream girl,” what you’ve idealized isn’t quite what you get. I’m sure I expected my job to feel more rewarding, be more exciting, and plug all the empty holes in my heart. The reality is no job is going to be all those things —- at least not all the time.

The larger, more confusing issue is that you end up getting exactly what you think you want, and it’s nothing like Willy Wonka says. I literally have the job I wrote sappy LiveJournal posts about years ago, and I have it at a frighteningly young age.

I keep asking myself if (a) I deserve this job at all, and (b) what I’m supposed to do after this. There’s pressure to come up with either bigger dreams, since if you can make it this far, why not push yourself higher? But scarier yet, what if I’ve already peaked, or I become complacent because I don’t think I need to push myself?

Something that TJ said really stuck me:

I had never in my life thought about an acceptable “ratio” of “success to failure.” Growing up in an academic family (my older brother got a 4.0 his first semester of college and was on honor roll/dean’s list every semester, my older sister was high school valedictorian and got a 4-year full-tuition scholarship to college), I had learned to measure myself against “100%” from an early age. Well, it’s one thing to get 100 on a math quiz with clear cut answers which can be calculated.

The thing is, life isn’t a math quiz. Life isn’t like school. And the only people who never fail in life are people who never try.

I don’t know how that relates to dream jobs, but it’s good food for thought.

poeks: The Avalanches - Frontier Psychiatrist Couldn’t sleep, last day of work at the...

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 15:35:00 -0400

poeks:

The Avalanches - Frontier Psychiatrist

Couldn’t sleep, last day of work at the office, wet socks, synapses misfiring, moving in three days, crazy in the coconut.

This made my day. I couldn’t get the audio to work, so you get the video instead:

YouTube’s stupid embed probably doesn’t work on the Dashboard.

Holy fuck, guys, Jason Permenter made Cole cry.

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 04:45:20 -0400

Holy fuck, guys, Jason Permenter made Cole cry.

This is nothing like @drw’s beard, but there are the few...

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 04:00:02 -0400

This is nothing like @drw’s beard, but there are the few moments when I actually like my three-day (okay, four-day) creepster beard.

You can’t really see it in the photo, but there are just a few copper-colored hairs on my chin. I think it’s awesome because the only other color hair I’ve ever had was white.

Now please excuse me, as I need to shave. Forever.

Thursday night:

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 22:29:47 -0400

mayafish:

Watching some people watch Paranormal Activity from the lovely safety of the far far corner of the living room where I have no view of the tv. We’re all drinking absinthe.

So far, I’m bored.

But they do look pretty cute crying over there.

You want to see people cry on absinthe? Watch The Fifth Element. I know this from experience. Not the experience of me crying, of course.

GPOYT What Do You Mean It’s Not Wednesday Anymore...

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 07:15:56 -0400

GPOYT What Do You Mean It’s Not Wednesday Anymore Edition.
Good luck with this working thing, people. I’m going to sleep.

Not to harp on this whole scandal business over at ESPN, but I’ve been up all night and had...

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 07:10:51 -0400

Not to harp on this whole scandal business over at ESPN, but I’ve been up all night and had like six cups of coffee, so I just have one more thought.

After glancing at snippets of the note she wrote — I refuse to link it, along with any more coverage, because this should just go away — I am troubled at how disturbed this young woman truly is. She had an important, close relationship with an older person — anywhere and anyone else, and you’d call him a mentor — and perverted it. Who started what is not my call — I’ve tried my best not to read more than the headlines — but it’s clear that she has some serious issues.

(Confidential to the woman at the center of this clusterfuck: You do know a fellow alum is chief executive of ESPN’s parent company, right? You really can’t get much better networking than that.)