The Office - Finer Things Club

J.J. Abrams and the Magic Box

Here's a video of J.J. Abram's TED talk from March of 2007.  Really worth watching for creative inspiration.

Spy Museum

So I got stir-crazy today and decided to do a museum in DC. Let's see - National Gallery of Art, Air and Space, or.... the Spy Museum!

The International Spy Museum won... and it was an interesting experience. Perhaps best visited on a weekday, when crowds are a little less, this is not a "free form" wander-about type museum. You are funneled through rooms that are crammed with exhibits from the origins of spying in ancient times to the spy technology of the 21st century. Although, interestingly, that exhibit was really, really small. I guess they just don't want us to know what going on now!

Did you know that there are more spies operating in Washington DC today than any other city in the world? I find this a bit of a stretch, since cities like Hong Kong, Beijing, Moscow, London and Paris have far larger populations and are much easier to access (with the exception of Beijing, I suppose). But, whatever, it does get you to think.

Overall, it's a great experience and well worth the $18 price of admission. I think that I liked the Imperial War Museum better (probably because I could wander around at will), but I would recommend this to any visitor to DC.

However, be warned that at the end of the tour, there is a propaganda film called Truth on the Ground which is kind of an eye-roller. They try to make the point that our current world is more dangerous than ever and that technology hasn't helped make the results of spying less consequential. Truly, the government has more ways to effectively spy now than ever before - and the gap between the ordinary citizen's ability to detect this spying and the government's ability to do it is widening every minute. That's the "Truth on the Ground" for real, today.

Amber MacArthur Leaves City TV

Well, it seemed like something odd was going on - Amber was in California the week before MacWorld, but went back up to Toronto before the Keynote. What was up? Maybe this video will give us an idea:

MacWorld Bound...

Getting ready for MacWorld Expo... I plan to post from there, so stay tuned!

The Androids are Coming!

Google announced it's new phone platform a few weeks ago... and here's a pretty cool demo of a prototype:

Heart!

Heart is one of the greatest R&R bands... here's a terrific video of "Crazy on You."

Quarterlife

Hey, this isn't bad.... 30 Something for 20 somethings...

Daily Show writers do their "bit" for the strike

So, we've all been starving for some of the acerbic humor of the Daily Show since the writers' strike started... here's a bit from some of those writers, focusing on the strike, Viacom, and Mr. Redstone:

Curved Air - who would have thought?

One of my favorite bands of all time is Curved Air... an early '70s prog rock band from the UK.

So, I am messing around with Amazon's new music store and looking for Curved Air. Can't find any, so I search using Google. And, lo and behold, there's a whole ecosystem built around Curved Air!

So, here's a YouTube video of a live performance... esoteric and typically 70's progressive, but darn good!

Nano Nano Radio

Berkeley researchers have created a radio receiver that is roughly the size of a human hair. Take that, ipods! Now, the dream of every station manager - implanting a radio tuned to their station in every child born - can be realized.

From the San Francisco Chronicle:

Physicists at UC Berkeley say they have produced the world's smallest radio out of a single carbon nanotube that is 10,000 times thinner than a human hair.
Professor Alex Zettl led a team that developed the minuscule filament, which can be tuned to receive AM or FM transmissions.
The first song it played? "Layla" by Derek & the Dominos. Eric Clapton's unmistakable guitar riff can be heard on a scratchy recording of the nanoradio's output posted by Zettl online.

On You Tube (of course!):

Leslie and Steve send Greetings to friends at Eckerd

Leslie Zajac-Batell and I met up in New Hampshire last weekend. We wanted to share a greeting to our friends at the Eckerd College renunion - so here it is!

SmartCar coming to US!

And, we're all wondering how this car will do in a high-speed crash with a concrete wall...

Well, here's the answer - put your seat belt on!

Our new view of computers...

Back in the '80s, the precursor to the Mac was the Lisa. I remember going to a friend's office and drooling over his recent purchase; as it turns out, he was one of the very few who ever bought the machine.

Here's an ad from Apple, promoting the Lisa - and the new lifestyle it was introducing. Lee Gomes of the Wall Street Journal has a column about this in which he points out that people today would think it was strange to be going IN to work to use a computer, since they have now become so commonplace that some people might go to work to escape the computer (he didn't actually say that, but it seems to be the logical extension of his point).



I remember back in the '80s myself, trying to convince people that personal computers like the Lisa, the Mac and the IBM-style PC were just tools, similar to the tools that a mechanic would purchase to repair your car. I always got strange looks (often because people didn't realize that mechanics bought their own tools, not their employer).

Today, this view is commonplace. And people are using this tool as part of their everyday life in ways that are truly amazing.

And, some people now go to the office to escape the computer.

Providence, RI new Travel Hotspot

The WSJ reports today that - among other places - Providence, RI, is being promoted as a new "travel hotspot," akin to places like Montenegro, Seychelles, and (yes) Minneapolis.

Now, for those of us who have actually been to Providence - we know it's a nice town, close to Block Island Sound, and has some interesting history as a sailing and mill town. But - a vacation destination for the world? No offense, but that's really a stretch!

Radio Focus Group on YouTube

This is a really interesting idea - posting radio "Focus Group" interviews on YouTube. Not scientific, not really researched - but what a great way to see what turns radio listeners on.

Nice Explanation of how to Program a Radio Station

Here, radio consultant Holland Cooke describes how to program a radio station to take advantage of the Arbitron diary methodology.

Four Seasons Kent Island Google Earth View

Four Seasons - View from the SE Corner to North

Hovnanian Homes is planning a development of 1,300 homes on Kent Island, in Chester, Maryland. This is a view from the SE corner of the property, looking to the north over farmland.

Four Seasons - View from the SE Corner

Hovnanian Homes is planning a development of 1,300 homes on Kent Island, in Chester, Maryland. This is a view from the SE corner of the property, looking out over the Chester River.