A Penguin in the Orchard

I’m trying hard today to stave off a real sadness. These two days are full of meaning, both related to my Dad. I originally passed along the story of our meeting here. I’ve never quite been able to bring myself to update the story in any meaningful or coherent way, though I’ve often felt like the [...]

Photo Gallery: Best Album Art of All Time

Tony Steidler-Dennison — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 12:15:02 +0000

Wired Top Stories via Photo Gallery: Best Album Art of All Time.

Decision time

Tony Steidler-Dennison — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 21:45:38 +0000

I need to decide on Monday whether to give iOS 4 a whirl in the 3G iPhone, or keep the current jailbreak configuration that I’ve really come to like. It’s a minimal jailbreak, really. SBSettings, Notifier, Backgrounder, and ProSwitcher. In any event, a new iPhone will follow in August, or so.

Fitness Tech

Tony Steidler-Dennison — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 21:24:51 +0000

The amazing Runkeeper is a current favorite app. I bought the Pro version to track all my fitness activities, including the new exercise routine of running three times a week. Paired with the JayBird EN1 Endorphin Rush Sound Isolating Earphones and my new Father’s Day Timex T5J031 Unisex Digital Fitness Heart Rate Monitor Watch, I’m [...]

In A Slump

Tony Steidler-Dennison — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 13:49:16 +0000

I really hate seeing the Cardinals swept in a series. It’s worse that it was by the Dodgers, my die-hard in-law rivalry. Let’s hope they can pick things up this weekend against the Diamondbacks.

Apple: We want our device back

Tony Steidler-Dennison — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 19:25:09 +0000

It’s the flippant, disrespectful (using “Bruce,” not “Mr. Sewell,” the “burning a hole in our pockets” line and calling the unfortunate late-20s employee who lost the phone “the kid”) tone that permeates this letter — and, indeed, their handling of the entire ordeal — that irks me. Also, there’s no conceivable way they can claim [...]

Janiva’s Number One

Tony Steidler-Dennison — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 17:21:24 +0000

Alligator Records’ Tim Kolleth notes that the excellent new Janiva Magness release “The Devil Is An Angel Too” (priced stunningly at $5.99 on Amazon) has debuted at #1 in the Billboard Blues charts. Tim is great about thanking the blues shows that have already featured this release but, really, this album might have done this without [...]

Well, it’s 9:30 somewhere

Tony Steidler-Dennison — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 16:12:47 +0000

The 9:30 Club became the place in Washington where the misfits could go and nobody would judge them. The scene became bigger as MTV opened the doors to this kind of music. But the 9:30 Club was on the ground floor.” Today’s Washington Post magazine features an oral history of the 9:30 Club, in celebration of [...]

The New Science of Exercise

Tony Steidler-Dennison — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 13:38:05 +0000

One thing is going to become clear in the coming years, Braun says: if you want to lose weight, you don’t necessarily have to go for a long run. “Just get rid of your chair.” “…Exercise does have an important role in weight loss. That role, however, is different from what many people expect and [...]

Leading the division

Tony Steidler-Dennison — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 22:48:54 +0000

The Cardinals lead the National League Central after two weeks of the regular season. They’ve been alone in the lead for all but the first two days of the season.

In case I ever forget I’m an engineer

Tony Steidler-Dennison — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 21:34:29 +0000

Overheard a few minutes ago from a crowd in a hallway: “It’s only an 8369 ECM spectrum analyzer.” Followed by uproarious laughter. Posted via web from On The Fly

Cardinals hold first full-squad workout

Tony Steidler-Dennison — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 18:19:17 +0000

JUPITER, Fla. – The Cardinals held their first full-squad workout Tuesday in Florida. Manager Tony La Russa began the proceedings with a team meeting, but invited the players to step up and to most of the talking. Once on the field, top prospect Shelby Miller was a popular figure, throwing his first bullpen session of the [...]

Shuffle Update

Tony Steidler-Dennison — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 16:17:03 +0000

A short update on the use of the 3G iPod shuffle. Very short. It’s sitting in a drawer in my desk, unused. While the buttons on the headphones weren’t particularly difficult to use, the shuffle turned out to be useless in the gym for another reason. After two weeks or so of use, it started randomly skipping [...]

Thoughts on using the new shuffle

Tony Steidler-Dennison — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 18:03:58 +0000

I purchased a new black iPod shuffle on the Friday after the announcement. The package arrived the following Tuesday after a short 21-hour trip from China. I put it to work the following day in the gym and have been using it regularly since. I have some firsthand thoughts, both good and bad. Nothing I read [...]

Hoping For … [updated]

Tony Steidler-Dennison — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 14:32:02 +0000

My own wish list for the iPhone 3.0 announcement today. Cut and paste: check Better power management Background apps: sorta – push notification Bluetooth stereo: check App management tools Not a long list, but one that would seem to be entirely realistic. Additional good stuff: landscape in all apps, MMS, voice memos, search all Apple apps (including IMAP email searches on the [...]