Deets After Dark

I have a new favorite map of the St. Anthony Park Neighborhood...

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 22:13:06 -0600

I have a new favorite map of the St. Anthony Park Neighborhood in St. Paul.

Minneapolis gets 6 inches 54 nights a year.

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 22:00:00 -0600

Minneapolis gets 6 inches 54 nights a year.

I can’t possibly be responsible for more than 772 of the...

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 20:03:54 -0600

I can’t possibly be responsible for more than 772 of the 132,772 views this piece of awesomeness has received to date. Her other stuff is great too.

doublejack: ladymisskate: This reminds me of this one time in...

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 11:27:11 -0600

doublejack:

ladymisskate:

This reminds me of this one time in high school when my mom found two empty 40s of Old E stashed in my closet. I’m not sure exactly why I had hidden them there, but I do remember they’d been in there for months and I had forgotten all about them.

Anyways, I come home from school and walk into my room to find the two bottles sitting on my bed with a hand-written note from my mom that said, “Kate, if you’re going to drink, don’t drink this shit. Love, Mom.”

Best. EVER.

Nice. And reminds me my dreams were all about incredible green buds and Burning Man last night. Yeah, you’re right to be jealous.

By “clear tape”, is Mom really asking where her Scotch went?

fightwithknives: A decade into the 21st century, selecting a...

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 11:22:45 -0600

fightwithknives:

A decade into the 21st century, selecting a toaster has become so difficult. Here are some samples from various online toaster reviews:

“I am very happy with this toaster. It works perfectly. And it looks great in my kitchen. I like how it holds the bread in place as it toasts and how I can control the crispness of the toasts.”

“I bought this because Consumer Reports rated it high. This just proves that they can be wrong sometimes. The $7 toaster that this one replaced was a lot better in toasting… My Cuisinart toaster consistently burns the top of any bread/bagel/pastry I try to toast/heat, no matter what setting I use.”

“I put a delicious Cherry Poptart into the belly of the beast. I again set the shiny dial at 3 and waited for the results. The corners and top of my Cherry Poptart had turned to the color of coal. Plus, the whole house now smells like burnt plastic from my crappy toaster… : (“

“This time I just wanted something that would do our toast, poptarts and hamburger buns! THIS ONE DOES ALL OF THIS GREAT! It has wide slots and we can do our buns which is great as hubby likes his toasted! Also if something short is to low to grab, just push up on the lever and it raises it up a bit so you can grab it! All in all, it is a super, simple but nice looking toaster!”

“I gave this as a wedding gift and so far they love it in New York!!”

“I bought this toaster just wanting something simple. I am quite happy with it. Holds a wider piece of bread just fine. I usually set the level down to 1 or 2 the first time just to make sure I don’t burn my toast. Every toaster is a bit different. I like the cancel button. Hit that when you think it’s done and it pops up, no problems.”

“cheap, and bad. you can get a better one from other store for like [price]. why would anyone pay 20 for this? spend 20 more and get a nice 4 slice toaster!! DONT BUY unless youre the idiot.”

I am the idiot. Why would a single girl ever need to toast four slices of bread? How should I balance my need for well-toasted bread with conflicting reviews? I don’t eat poptarts; should I worry? Should I bring slices of my preferred bread to the store just to make sure the toaster is wide enough? Should I get a one-year or a three-year toaster warranty? What will they think in New York?

I thought toasting was a solved problem until our wedding toaster decided to stop staying down. Toasting is much less of a modern convenience when you have to hold down the lever.

My toaster buying advice: Toaster reviewers who claim their new toasters were perfect the very first time they used them only have sex with virgins.

"Having lived and worked in Philadelphia, New York and Boston I have spent plenty of time pondering..."

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 17:06:24 -0600

“

Having lived and worked in Philadelphia, New York and Boston I have spent plenty of time pondering the different attitudes and expectations toward transit in those various cities. Through those experiences I have come to the conclusion that transportation systems work best when there is investment and ridership from the privileged, educated and economically well-off, i.e. white people.

When public transportation is perceived as charity for those who are poor it will never be invested in and respected by those who throw their weight around cities; business leaders, government employees, professors and doctors. Rather, when public transportation is utilized by people throughout a city and when privileged people depend on transit to get them from place-to-place the system will be invested in and respected.

”

- White Population and Its Effect on Transit « The Transit Pass (via Instapaper)

Google PowerMeter illustrates the energy cost of working from...

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 15:57:23 -0600

Google PowerMeter illustrates the energy cost of working from home.

Cost of Electricity by State

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 23:34:10 -0600

Cost of Electricity by State:

West Virginia’s cheap power comes with a side of Black Lung.

"[Iric] Nathanson begins his century with Mayor Doc Ames, an executive so venal that his take from..."

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 22:51:33 -0600

“[Iric] Nathanson begins his century with Mayor Doc Ames, an executive so venal that his take from illegal slot machines alone was estimated at $15,000 annually, somewhere north of $350,000 in today’s dollars. This venality came in waves through the century, with the indictments of six aldermen in the late 1920s, the rackets of the Kid Cann era, and as recently as the past 10 years, with the imprisonment of three council members and a developer in a federal public corruption probe.”

- Longfellow resident, Iric Nathanson, traces Minneapolis’ past in his new book, Minneapolis in the Twentieth Century. Steve Brandt reviews it here (for a limited StarTribune.com access cut-off time).

Amazon may not be the best choice for maps when planning...

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 22:44:33 -0600

Amazon may not be the best choice for maps when planning off-road trips in Turkey.

"Probably the nicest thing I can say about the pit beef is that it was tasteless, which is to say it..."

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 19:40:31 -0600

“Probably the nicest thing I can say about the pit beef is that it was tasteless, which is to say it didn’t actively offend my taste buds, but instead, eating it was akin to biting into a flavorless stack of protein set lovelessly between two halves of a soggy kaiser roll.”

- Doug keeps things positive in his negative review of Lyndale Tap House.

"Brand is the refuge of the ignorant. Advertisers don’t believe it’s worth advertising to..."

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 14:40:20 -0600

“Brand is the refuge of the ignorant. Advertisers don’t believe it’s worth advertising to smart people because they pay no attention to brand. Smart people make an actual choice. They can’t be tricked or convinced. They research. So we can’t sell ads to a network for smart people.”

- Leo LaPorte recalling a conversation he had with a TV executive. He comments, “Suddenly, television makes sense, doesn’t it?”

"I’ve found the experience liberating, and to the best of my knowledge, have not spooked a deer with..."

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 10:59:38 -0600

“I’ve found the experience liberating, and to the best of my knowledge, have not spooked a deer with my scent-marking.”

- To Pee or Not To Pee Off Your Treestand?

via @tdrichter

doublejack: everydaydude: Pardon me while I nerd out here for...

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 10:48:36 -0600

doublejack:

everydaydude:

Pardon me while I nerd out here for a second. Some of you know I play disc golf. I compete (poorly) against the pros. Yes, that’s a thing. Yes, I have friends that make a living playing ~~frisbee~~ disc golf.

I’ve been in the footwear business for some time (as a result of a connection I made through playing disc golf mind you) and recently, a group of my closest friends and I helped to design, wear test and name this shoe. This is the Keen Milo, designed/tested/named specifically for the sport of disc golf. It was released yesterday. My dear friend at Keen tells me the bulk of the stock will be in the warehouse and ready to ship by 11/20/09 though there are a few limited sizes available right now. It’s waterproof. It’s $110. It’s only available at KeenFootwear.com

That’s awesome. I will attempt to get a pair. How could I not? I love my one pair of Keen shoes, I play disc golf (I compete [poorly] in the lower Amateur class), and my father’s name is Milo.

Congrats.

This allows me to throw money at my disc golf game rather than time. I dig that the color scheme is called Drizzle/Gargoyle.

Pandora Judges Me

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 09:43:27 -0600

squashed:

Seriously, what made it think that nostalgically asking to here music by They Might Be Giants meant I would be thrilled to hear Monty Python’s “Lumber Jack Song”? Okay, I understand what, but come on. My wife’s in the room. I’m pretending to be cool.

I had similar issues the other day on my Eazy-E station. Sure, I get the NWA and Snoop, but when they start mixing in Warren G and then flip-flop between West Coast & East Coast, things get awkward.

I’m just sayin’ that Pandora may contribute to a 187 if they keep this up.

"I can’t start running until I have the right shoes,” you find yourself saying. “What am I looking..."

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 09:44:28 -0500

““I can’t start running until I have the right shoes,” you find yourself saying. “What am I looking for in a midsole? Maybe I should find an article about lacing methods. Do I need that Runner’s World book about eating?” Dude, just run. It’s like the one thing your body already knows how to (sort of) do.”

- Getting out the door is the biggest challenge to running and fitness in general.

"The number of foreclosures in Woodbury already has exceeded the 2008 total, and officials say there..."

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 19:06:31 -0500

“

The number of foreclosures in Woodbury already has exceeded the 2008 total, and officials say there is no indication the rate will slow in the next several months.

There were 338 sheriff’s sales in Woodbury in the first three quarters of 2009, according to Washington County records. The city saw 335 sheriff’s sales in all of 2008.

”

- Woodbury sounds like the Twin Cities’ Eastern ghost-utopia.

"In some situations, directory publishers and local search sites may be using call tracking without..."

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 21:35:22 -0500

“In some situations, directory publishers and local search sites may be using call tracking without the knowledge of the business owner (to prove value at renewal time).”

- Telmetrics Responds to Call Tracking Debate « Screenwerk

As I understand this, the deal here is that yellow page companies may show a number other than a local business’ actual phone number in order to track the calls that the yp site generates. This can be good, but it can also cause issues if customers end up storing a number other than the business’ actual number in their phones. If done with permission, it’s essentially customer hijacking.

(via Instapaper)

"But my interest remains, as ever, in the quality of the apps, not the quantity. Let’s say that when..."

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 20:22:28 -0500

“But my interest remains, as ever, in the quality of the apps, not the quantity. Let’s say that when the dust starts to settle in this market, Android winds up with far fewer total apps than iPhone OS, but they’re of generally higher quality. That would make Android the Mac to the iPhone’s Windows. I would switch to that platform.”

- Gruber’s on something or he’s onto something here. I have an iTouch and a HTC Hero so live in two app store worlds. One of my frustrations with the Apple App Store is how poorly apps are sorted. Maybe I’m biased by the time I spend on Amazon, but why is it so hard for me to figure out the best choices among many similar apps?

With free trials, I’d at least be able to test and uninstall the ones that don’t suit my needs, but that’s still an investment of time that Apple should be able to help me avoid through an improved rating system.

#firstworldwhine

doublejack: rocketjumper:hotwheels:Curbside If this were my car...

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 16:53:28 -0500

doublejack:

rocketjumper:hotwheels:Curbside

If this were my car I wouldn’t give a shit that people would think I was compensating for a small wang. Hell, I’d have wang-reduction surgery if it meant I could have this car.

Auto-reblog for “wang-reduction surgery”.