Alex Arena

Cool It.

Sun, 19 May 2013 15:45:08 -0400

A pragmatist’s approach to climate change.

minimalmac: gannonburgett: It took three weeks – due to the...

Sun, 19 May 2013 14:02:52 -0400

gannonburgett:

It took three weeks – due to the lack of a power-sander up until a day ago – but my upcycled pallet desk is now complete and in my room. Here are some shots of it.

The cords dangling in the background will be resolved as soon as my wire basket gets to my place.

Handsome. I love the idea of re-using a pallet for a desk.

Amazing work - I was thinking about “upcycling” a desk earlier this year, but I eventually caved and just went to Ikea. Props to Gannon.

Linguists identify 15,000-year-old ‘ultraconserved words’

Tue, 07 May 2013 09:46:43 -0400

Linguists identify 15,000-year-old ‘ultraconserved words’:

You, hear me! Give this fire to that old man. Pull the black worm off the bark and give it to the mother. And no spitting in the ashes!
It’s an odd little speech. But if you went back 15,000 years and spoke these words to hunter-gatherers in Asia in any one of hundreds of modern languages, there is a chance they would understand at least some of what you were saying.
That’s because all of the nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs in the four sentences are words that have descended largely unchanged from a language that died out as the glaciers retreated at the end of the last Ice Age. Those few words mean the same thing, and sound almost the same, as they did then.

Likes Won't Save Lives

Fri, 03 May 2013 15:26:23 -0400

Likes Won't Save Lives:

Some seriously dark humor out of UNICEF today, but I couldn’t have said it better myself.

Donated.

Instacast for Mac - The Public Beta is Here

Wed, 01 May 2013 18:03:23 -0400

Instacast for Mac - The Public Beta is Here:

Vemedio has just released the public beta of it’s popular Instacast podcasting client for the Mac. While I haven’t had much time to play with it, my initial reactions are overwhelmingly positive.

Of course, the bar for podcast listening on the Mac is admittedly low, with iTunes, which hasn’t seen major improvements to it’s podcasting listening experience in years, being the only popular option. The simple inclusion of things such a syncing with iOS devices and the ability to read show notes already makes Instacast a far better option for podcast listening than iTunes ever was.

But keep in mind that this is a beta application, so although I haven’t experienced any crashes and bugs just yet - I’ve been told to expect some.

Finally, it’s worth noting that Vemedio has said that they don’t have any immediate plans to bring the full version of Instacast to the Mac App Store due to developer restrictions. It’s an interesting decision, but I don’t really see this as a sign of any mass-scale developer disillusionment with MAS just yet.

Google Now on iOS

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 10:36:04 -0400

Google Now on iOS:

Google Now wants to be a smart assistant by parsing and combining information from your Google account to offer an experience that, unlike Siri, tries to proactively predict what you’re going to do.

Major Lazer: Free The Universe

Sun, 28 Apr 2013 11:31:00 -0400

Every once in a while, an album comes along that I can’t stop listening to; Free the Universe is that kind of album. It’s an incredible mix of genres with a common thread of electronic and Jamaican undertones.

The sheer variety on FTU is amazing, with incredibly deep songs like “Get Free” mashed up with what are more or less dance songs like “Watch out for This”.

I must have listened to the entire album something like 20 times by now - it’s that good.

Oh, and the mastermind behind Major Lazer is Philadelphia based DJ, Diplo, so extra points for that.

Alternative Rdio Icons

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 21:55:23 -0400

I’ve recently resubscribed to Rdio, and for the most part it’s great. In addition to having a pretty stellar iOS app, the developers also created a native OS X app. Unfortunately, it’s icon is pulled straight out of the iOS app and consequently, as a square, looks terrible in the OS X Dock.

Luckily, this is one problem that’s easily remedied. I found a few nice replacement icons which I’ve included below for your edification.

Both are really nice, but I found myself preferring the silver icon by Dan Eden, especially if you’ve got your Dock on the left or the right.

Finally, I had some trouble changing the icon using my usual “Show Package Contents” and replace method. If you run into anything similar, I’d recommend ”Option 1” outlined here.

The Weak Gesture

Thu, 11 Apr 2013 13:32:06 -0400

The Weak Gesture:

President Obama announced that he would return 5% of his salary every month for 2013. He does so as a gesture of solidarity with other federal workers who are getting shafted.

This is a stupid and pointless gesture.

15 Minutes With David Smith

Mon, 08 Apr 2013 20:53:00 -0400

15 Minutes With David Smith:

I spent 15 Minutes with David Smith talking about Feed Wrangler, it’s business model, apps, and more. It’s well worth a listen if you’re at all interested in Google Reader alternatives or RSS in general.

Thanks again to David for joining me.

parislemon: nevver: Season Six Go time.

Sun, 07 Apr 2013 18:25:26 -0400

made by radio

made by radio

made by radio

parislemon:

nevver:

Season Six

Go time.

Keen Observers of the Obvious

Sat, 30 Mar 2013 15:23:02 -0400

Keen Observers of the Obvious:

Jon Swartz for USA Today on Facebook’s Android announcement:

Made by HTC, and using a version of Google’s Android software, the device will be built into Facebook’s services and include a camera, according to a report in the New York Times today, citing anonymous sources.

A camera, really? Newsworthy!

Well in that case, I’ve got my anonymous sources telling me to expect a screen, speakers, a microphone, and even a processor clocked at a speed.

1910s Paris color photos redone in contemporary Paris

Mon, 25 Mar 2013 14:03:13 -0400

jkottke:

In past few months, I linked to two collections of color photos of Paris taken in the 1910s and 1920s under the direction of Albert Kahn.

Recently Rue89 sent photographer Audrey Cerdan to recapture some of those old scenes in modern day Paris and knocked up an interface so that you can slide back and forth between the old and current photos. In some of the pairs of photos, pharmacies, tabacs, and boulangeries are in the same places. (thx, christophe)

Outstanding. Thanks, Rue89.

Subliminal Messaging

Tue, 19 Mar 2013 09:10:03 -0400

Subliminal Messaging:

Is Obama Satan? According to the History Channel, apparently so.

Google Now for iOS

Tue, 12 Mar 2013 23:28:51 -0400

Google Now for iOS:

Google’s plan for dominating the mobile market seems pretty clear- by not only by shipping their own devices but by becoming must-have’s on Apple’s.

Either way, they win.

Your move, Apple.

Indispensable Web Tools

Sun, 03 Mar 2013 14:07:53 -0500

For this week’s Sunday Pick, I’ve rounded up some of my favorite web tools for your enjoyment.

Domainr - Pick a really cool domain name.
Color Hex - The color encyclopedia.
Symbolset - A beautiful symbol font.
iWantMyName - Check the availability of a domain name with nearly any TLD.
Subtle Patterns - Beautiful background patterns.
Lost Type - A name-your-own-price font foundry.
Convert to Title Case - Does what it says.
Down for Everyone? - Check whether a website is down for everyone or just you.

"After four and a half intense and wonderful years as CEO of Groupon, I’ve decided that I’d like to..."

Thu, 28 Feb 2013 20:04:09 -0500

“After four and a half intense and wonderful years as CEO of Groupon, I’ve decided that I’d like to spend more time with my family. Just kidding - I was fired today.”

- Andrew Mason, in his letter to Groupon employees following his ouster. (Which he posted publicly because “it will leak anyway”.)

A brilliant and refreshingly straightforward way to exit.
(via parislemon)
Something’s telling me this guy won’t be looking for a job for long.

From Office to Apartment

Thu, 28 Feb 2013 10:27:17 -0500

From Office to Apartment:

I bought it as on office and turned it into an apartment. It is build around 1920 as a temporary church in name of our Queen, but unfortunately there are no signes of that anymore. Unfortunately, for the sale of houses in Amsterdam, everything needs to be pretty plain without being to eccentric.

A stunning transformation.

Mac Email Perfected

Wed, 27 Feb 2013 17:39:00 -0500

Mac Email Perfected:

Where do I sign up?

The Samsung Muffin

Tue, 26 Feb 2013 20:34:03 -0500

The Samsung Muffin:

I guess I’ll be eating these with my s’fork and s’knife.