The Beginning of the End

I've been collecting compact disks from the beginning and now have thousands of them. I began to rip them to MP3 a couple of years ago, but just as I was reaching the end of the stack, my external hard drive died. Tens of thousands of songs and hours of my precious time just vanished. So sad.

I bought a new hard disk--with a backup--and began the process all over again in January 2007. And once again, I'm nearing the end of the stack. I may even finish up this weekend.

Then I will weep with joy.

Update 09.05.2007: I'm done! Now all I have to do it get the new external HDs ready, clean up the files list, configure the backup software, and we're off.

Photoshoplifting

Another Photoshop scandal in the works. And another reason not to believe anything you see. Hat tip: BuzzFeed.

Facebook

So I've signed up for FaceBook and spent a fair amount of time exploring. To quote a co-worker: I'm still not sure why this is fun. Maybe one day, I'll have a FaceBook epiphany. Until then, it's in the "research for work" category.

If you want to find me and manage to do so, give me a poke.

Why the iPhone Matters

I'm already a fan. Farhad Manjoo explains why you should be, too.

"We all have phones and iPods, but the portable Internet is a fairy tale every tech company has been laboring to realize for a long while. So far, we've got nothing very great. The best portable Internet app is e-mail on a BlackBerry, and it feels stunted compared with what you get on a full machine.

Apple says the iPhone will give us the Internet on the go -- and because Apple has a vaunted history of making good on big claims about consumer technology, it's wise to take it seriously."

Update: Check out a video blog of the iPhone line in Manhattan. The feed stopped at 10:39 AM, so we don't, in fact, get to see any hipsters trampled in the bumrush for the door.

Why Bladerunner FX Still Rock

Mythbuster Adam Savage explains why the special effects in the 25-year-old Bladerunner are still unsurpassed. Key quote:

But they did all of these effects in camera, which even back then was a much more complex way to execute them. The key to this is a motion-control camera — a smart robot, basically — that moves through the city on the same track, over and over again. It's accurate to within a couple thousandths of an inch. They did separate passes, rewinding the film each time and then re-exposing it to add each new element. So they did one pass for the lights on a building, another for the video projection, then a pass for the rain lighting and so on — as many as 16 passes in some cases.

I think part of what Savage is getting at in this article isn't that Bladerunner's FX are perfect. They aren't. But that these non-CGI effects capture something perfect that makes the movie better. That is, their very nature creates a mood; the medium helps the message.

Modern CGI effects approach and often attain complete photorealism. But they really only work when they are completely invisible or retain some kind of Hollywood dreaminess--for example, the Lord of the Rings. But when the fantastical is reduced to mere reality--the latest Star Wars trilogy, the Harry Potter movies, the new Transformers--the most expensive effects in the world become not so very special after all.

This Never Gets Old

If Microsoft designed the iPod. Be sure the sound is turned on, for full snark.

Mac vs. PC Smackdown

I'm in the market for a new computer. Some things I know: It's definitely going to be a high-end laptop. The surprise is that I'm actually considering moving to a Mac. I've done a fair amount of research and--surprisingly--found a number of other PC users who've made the switch. Their reasons mirror mine: I'm sick and tired of babysitting my computer. I hate dealing with compatability issues with software and hardware. I hate being part of a monopolistic monster. The list goes on and on.

On the other hand. All of my software is PC-based. My friend Tony is the best PC helpdesk you could ask for. I haven't used a Mac in 15 years. It's much more expensive. Blah, blah, blah.

But perhaps the real reason I'm considering buying a Mac is that I want to cause trouble. That's T.R.O.U.B.L.E.

Big time.

I want all my PC friends to cry and all my Mac friends to fawn. I want to be the evil soap opera star pulling the strings. Can you hear my evil laugh? Can you?

Decisions, decisions.

This Cat Is a Better Photographer Than I

Mr. Lee, a cat of German descent, has his own camera and takes smashing photos of his day-to-day life. Why, you may ask. Or, perhaps, how. Here's what his owner says:

I thought about our cat who is the whole day out, returning sometimes hungry sometimes not, sometimes with traces of fights, sometimes he stay also the night out. When he finally returns, I wonder where he was and what he did during his day. This brought me to the idea to equip the cat with a camera.

Of course.

Wi-Fi iPod?

CyberNet says maybe. It's an old article, but it still made my ears perk up.

Web 2.0 in Less Than Five Minutes

Some people have asked: What the heck is this Web 2.0 thingamajiggy you keep talking about? This short inspirational video explains it better than I could.