widepipe.org - tumbld

The Starbucks Closure List

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 10:00:00 -0400

The Starbucks Closure List: Luckily none of my stores are closing.

The iGiveUp: A Handgun Bluetooth Handset. Thanks Andres.

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 17:46:11 -0400

The iGiveUp: A Handgun Bluetooth Handset. Thanks Andres.

The new Harley-Davidson Museum opened this past weekend....

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 11:09:00 -0400

The new Harley-Davidson Museum opened this past weekend. That’s the first Harley, “Serial No. 1”. I hope to get up to Milwaukee the next time we’re in Chicago.

36 Hours in Pittsburgh PITTSBURGH has undergone a striking...

Mon, 07 Jul 2008 09:59:21 -0400

36 Hours in Pittsburgh

PITTSBURGH has undergone a striking renaissance from a down-and-out smokestack to a gleaming cultural oasis. But old stereotypes die hard, and Pittsburgh probably doesn’t make many people’s short list for a cosmopolitan getaway. Too bad, because this city of 89 distinct neighborhoods is a cool and — dare I say, hip—city.

Bush Tours America To Survey Damage Caused By His Disastrous...

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 12:42:20 -0400

Bush Tours America To Survey Damage Caused By His Disastrous Presidency

Man on the Moon, Future and Past (via Haughey)

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 14:28:12 -0400

Man on the Moon, Future and Past (via Haughey)

Girl Talk goes track-by-track through Feed The Animals in his...

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 10:33:00 -0400

Girl Talk goes track-by-track through Feed The Animals in his pimp Pittsburgh apartment

Jay-Z and Ricky Gervais kickin' it to Coldplay

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 16:34:00 -0400

(with Jay-Z wearing the best glasses, in the best animated GIF ever)

Tipping Point: At one of my favorite local coffee shops, I’ve...

Thu, 12 Jun 2008 13:16:00 -0400

Tipping Point:

At one of my favorite local coffee shops, I’ve noticed they have a creative take on generating tips. I’m sure this is used elsewhere as well, but it’s the first time I’ve come across it.

There are two baskets by the register, with a rotating sign above that asks a question. Today it was: “Should Obama pick Hillary as Vice President?” Throw your tip in the appropriate basket, and we get an instant, visible poll as a byproduct of giving your barista a little extra change.

A fascinating design study, by BMW, of a car with a...

Wed, 11 Jun 2008 09:57:26 -0400

A fascinating design study, by BMW, of a car with a flexible exterior. (via SVN)

She Could Accept Losing. She Could Not Accept Quitting.

Thu, 05 Jun 2008 19:55:43 -0400

She Could Accept Losing. She Could Not Accept Quitting.:

A fascinating look at the last few weeks of the Clinton campaign.

In a campaign of near-deaths and premature obituaries, the night of May 6 will be remembered inside Hillary Rodham Clinton’s campaign as the moment it really ended.

And “new” Bill, adding some more tarnish to the Bill we revered.

Another member of the inner circle described Bill Clinton as coming “unhinged” in the final hours, raising his voice in phone calls with superdelegates, constantly revisiting his wife’s options for staying in the race. “He keeps asking me, ‘What about so-and-so? What about so-and-so?’ ” the supporter recalled, saying the former president wanted constant updates on superdelegate moves.

Jon Krakauer’s new book, The Hero, will be released on...

Fri, 23 May 2008 12:40:50 -0400

Jon Krakauer’s new book, The Hero, will be released on October 14, 2008. From Wikipedia:

The Hero will be about former NFL football player Pat Tillman, who enlisted in the US Army after 9/11 to become an Army Ranger and was eventually killed in action under suspicious circumstances in Afghanistan. In addition to performing research in Afghanistan, Krakauer was able to interview members of Tillman’s family and read Tillman’s diaries and letters, to prepare for writing the book. Doubleday’s David Drake says Krakauer’s interest in Tillman reflects “the fascination he has with extreme people, who push themselves to the very limits of their capabilities”.

Ira Glass loves Howard Stern And in our house, the show that is...

Thu, 22 May 2008 09:50:31 -0400

Ira Glass loves Howard Stern

And in our house, the show that is most on is Howard Stern. That is just the happiest show in broadcasting, and I say to people who don’t listen to Howard, It’s not what you think. People who don’t actually listen to the show just think it’s about girls taking off their tops.

This Picture of Robert Mondavi at 90 makes me think that making...

Fri, 16 May 2008 17:49:58 -0400

This Picture of Robert Mondavi at 90 makes me think that making and drinking wine is good for you. He passed away today at 94.

Bike Pittsburgh’s Bike Map is now available online.

Fri, 16 May 2008 11:40:34 -0400

Bike Pittsburgh’s Bike Map is now available online.

Why I Sold My Kindle

Wed, 07 May 2008 17:00:00 -0400

I just shipped my Kindle to a new owner in Arizona. I know I’ll probably buy a future model someday. I just wasn’t ready for it now.

With music, television, movies, and newspapers, I rode the frenzied line between early adopter and old-media diehard. I spent way too much to have the 1st generation of the latest media player, but I tried my darnedest to hold on to the format that I grew up with.

It wasn’t too long ago that I maintained the practice of buying a CD, even if I had downloaded a leaked copy of the album months earlier. I have found it harder to swim against the current in the last few years. I can’t even remember the last time I stepped into a record store. I just ordered a real CD for the first time in over a year, and that was only because it was recorded by a friend.

I had the same reaction to newspapers. I would get The Washington Post every day, but in the end, I couldn’t rationalize the amount of paper I seemed to be wasting. I find that I get nearly the same pleasure by reading the paper online, especially when it’s done in such an eye-pleasing fashion, like the New York Times. I do occasionally get a Sunday paper, but it has become a luxury.

I thought I was ready for a similar transition when the Kindle came out. I always looked longingly at Sony Readers, but they didn’t quite have that extra thing to put me over the edge. When the Kindle came out, with the ability to download a book on a whim, I ordered one.

I loved using it. Sure, it’s ugly, but it did it’s job well. I loved taking it on trips, without the load of a couple heavy books. It was really nice to pay just 75¢ for a copy of the Sunday New York Times. Being able to look up a word you didn’t know can’t be understated.

I realized it probably wasn’t going to be a lasting relationship when I started separating what I would buy for the Kindle vs. what I wanted as a hard copy. Books that had pretty covers or were written by authors I had liked in the past went in the hard copy pile. Classics and guilty pleasures were downloaded to the Kindle. The final straw came when I decided I wanted to go into a bookstore, have a cup of coffee, and buy the new Michael Pollan book. I basically had a choice between these two things:

That evening I put the Kindle on eBay.

Compared to music and newspapers, the digitization of books puts a particularly sharp dagger in my heart. I know that we’ll all eventually be carrying an eBook reader on our trips to the moon, I just decided I’m not going to be the one leading the charge.

Amazon sure has some geniuses in their packing department

Tue, 06 May 2008 16:00:00 -0400

Amazon sure has some geniuses in their packing department

A Pen Clip for you Moleskine: It’s a clip that you can...

Tue, 06 May 2008 10:53:14 -0400

A Pen Clip for you Moleskine:

It’s a clip that you can attach to pretty much any notebook or folder or diary of your choice and once done so, you can attach your writing utensil of choice to it.

Lance Armstrong, wishing good luck to The Fat Cyclist’s...

Tue, 06 May 2008 10:46:00 -0400

Lance Armstrong, wishing good luck to The Fat Cyclist’s wife, who is battling cancer.

Kanye’s Glow-in-the-Dark Fixed Gear

Sat, 03 May 2008 16:16:00 -0400

Kanye’s Glow-in-the-Dark Fixed Gear