Under The Volcano
Originally uploaded by Juston Western
One of the great Houston dive bars, pictured on a hot summer afternoon.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Under The Volcano
Under The Volcano
Originally uploaded by Juston Western
One of the great Houston dive bars, pictured on a hot summer afternoon.
Tech Tuesday - Google Reader As Window To The World
While I love most of Google's products, Reader may perhaps be my favorite. It's like my own personal newspaper, and the first thing I head towards in the morning. I can access it on my iPhone, my iPad, my MacBook Pro, or on a computer in an Internet cafe. Beginning in the middle of 2007, this became my primary method of consuming information. It made the information I care about always quickly available.
Since that time, I've amassed a decent collection of feed subscriptions. If you're interested in what I'm currently following, or would like to jump start your own Google Reader account, you can easily view & subscribe via my bundles linked below.
Apple News
Daily Comics
Gadgets
Google News
Houston
Lifestyle
Music
New Orleans
Technology
Videogames
Web 2.0
Sam Houston
Sam Houston
Originally uploaded by Juston Western
His giant statue erected outside the Steamboat House steakhouse in Houston.
Monday, August 16, 2010
Music Monday - The Madd Wikkid - Electronola
While I have a passion for both jazz and electronica, the two genres don't frequently intermingle. So when I saw this posting on Kickstarter about a local New Orleans musician hoping to create an album that combined elements of each musical style, I knew I had to get on board.
The Madd Wikkid, also known as Earl Scioneaux, was in a unique position to have both industry connections within New Orleans and the musical talent to execute on such a project. By day, Earl is an audio engineer responsible for productions such as this year's excellent "An Album To Benefit Preservation Hall and The Preservation Hall Music Outreach Program". By night, he works on projects such as Electronola.
Over the course of a year, Earl partnered with heavy hitters such as John Boutte (the man behind the theme song to HBO's Treme), George Porter, Jr., Charmaine Neville, & Jason Marsalis. The resulting 8 tracks on the album are nothing short of remarkable.
You can listen to the entire album online for free at The Madd Wikkid's Bandcamp page. If you like what you hear and choose to purchase the album, it's available for download in a variety of formats (MP3, FLAC, AAC, etc.) for only $10.00.
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Tabasco Spicy Beans
Tabasco Spicy Beans
Originally uploaded by Juston Western
I wish I'd discovered these years ago. Such a delicious snack.
Set Sunday - Sven Väth Live at Rex Club Paris 2008
Sven Väth gets a nod in week two of the Set Sunday series. Clocking in at just under 5 hours, this monster techno set from the German DJ legend is a true gem in my collection. When I visited Paris earlier this year, seeing a show at the Rex Club was one of my vacation priorities, given the venue's storied past from performances like this. (See here, here, here, and here for some video clips we shot inside the club.)
One of the highlights of this Väth set for me is the inclusion of an extended remix of the Timo Maas hit "Subtellite". That track was being hammered during the last half of 2008, and it still brings a smile to my face today.
A tracklisting for this performance proved to be too elusive a document to locate, so you'll have to make do with the raw MP3 file and your ears this week.
Sven Vath - Live at Rex Club Paris 2008-11-20
Megaupload Download Link
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Software Saturday: Groceries
This week's selection is an app I use nearly every day. Groceries, as the name implies, allows you to organize your grocery list on your iOS device.
Prior to purchasing this app, my wife & I usually kept a Post It notepad in our kitchen and would add items to it throughout the week as we'd run out of products around the house. It was a decidedly low-tech solution, but mostly met our needs. The problem arose when we wanted to add an item to the list when we weren't nearby, or when we decided to run to the grocery store but didn't have the list with us in the car.
Groceries addresses both of those issues. Since I always have my phone with me, I can add items on the fly, regardless of my current location. Further, if my wife decides she'll run to the store instead of me, I can e-mail the list from my phone to her phone.
The application comes preloaded with thousands of brands of items, ranging from Tabasco Green Pepper Sauce to Snuggle Original Scent dryer sheets. If an item doesn't already exist in the app's database, you can add new ones as needed. Items can be marked as favorites if you frequently purchase the same ones. This allows you to quickly add those items to your new grocery list. The products on your list are organized by the grocery store aisle most likely to contain the item. I've found this really speeds up my shopping process since I'm not continuously scanning the entire list looking for which items might be in my current aisle.
Earlier this week, Groceries updated to a new version with support for the iPhone 4's high resolution Retina Display and fast app switching. The design of the app was gorgeous before, but it really pops off the screen in the new version.
You can read more about the app and find the download link at the developer's website below:
Andy Warhol's Printer
Andy Warhol's Printer
Originally uploaded by Juston Western
I think I read somewhere that he was in fact the brains behind the first MFP. Of course, that's assuming MFP means "multi-faceted painting" vs "multi-function printer", but who's really keeping score, right?
#FF Twitter Recommendations - Houston
This week's Follow Friday entry spotlights the Twitter accounts I follow to stay abreast of what's happening in Houston.
Media
Dwight Silverman - Tech Columnist & Blogger for the Houston Chronicle - @dsilverman
Purva Patel - Business Reporter for the Houston Chronicle - @purvap
Mike McGuff - Multimedia Producer & TV Consultant - @mikemcguff
Eric Berger - Science Reporter & Blogger for the Houston Chronicle - @chronsciguy
Organizations
Houston Technology Center - Non-Profit Incubator for Emerging Technology Companies - @HouTechCenter
BioHouston - Non-Profit Championing Life Science & Biotechnology - @BioHouston
IDEA Interactive - Interactive Advertising Agency - @ideainteractive
Caroline Collective - Coworking Space for Houston's Creative Community - @CarolineCo
Culture Pilot - Design & Marketing Firm - @CulturePilot
Entities
Geek Gathering - Monthly Meetup of Technology Bytes listeners - @geekgathering
TEDxHouston - Independently Organized TED Event in Houston - @TEDxHouston
Venues
Wortham Center - Performing Arts Epicenter of Houston - @WorthamCenter
Discovery Green - Houston's Downtown Urban Park - @DiscoveryGreen
Interesting Individuals
Rakesh Agrawal - Founder of SnapStream - @RakeshAgrawal
Marc Nathan - Undisputed Houston Tech Community Guru - @marc1919
Kelsey Ruger - Vice President of ChaiONE - @Themoleskin
Robert Gremillion - Oracle Programmer & my BarCamp Houston Buddy - @rgremill
Rhonda Tipton - Software Developer & Pulse-Keeper of Houston Tech Events - @rtipton
Jessica Hampson - Founder of TEDxHouston Book Club - @JessHampson
Libations
Saint Arnold - Texas' Oldest Craft Brewery - @SaintArnold
Spec's - The Largest Liquor Store in the world - @Specs1962
Friday, August 13, 2010
Actual Facebook Movie Trailer, Spoof YouTube & Twitter Ones
For those who haven't seen these floating around over the past few weeks, each trailer is rather amusing. I've embedded all three videos below.
The first one is for "The Social Network", an actual film being released later this year that documents the rise of Facebook. Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nail's fame has signed on to do the score of this film. It is scheduled to debut in theaters on Friday, October 1.
The second trailer is a spoof of "The Social Network" trailer, profiling a fictional film about the creation of YouTube.
Finally, the last trailer also parodies "The Social Network" trailer, but this time features Twitter as the subject of a fictional film.
The first one is for "The Social Network", an actual film being released later this year that documents the rise of Facebook. Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nail's fame has signed on to do the score of this film. It is scheduled to debut in theaters on Friday, October 1.
The second trailer is a spoof of "The Social Network" trailer, profiling a fictional film about the creation of YouTube.
Finally, the last trailer also parodies "The Social Network" trailer, but this time features Twitter as the subject of a fictional film.
Apple TV Reportedly Becoming iOS-Based Next Month
Engadget reports that the Apple TV, which currently runs a modified version of Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger, will now run a new version of iOS when the device is refreshed next month. The name of the home entertainment device would also change from "Apple TV" to 'iTV" to bring it in line with their other i-prefixed products. Similar to existing iOS-based devices, the new iTV would be capable of running apps, and is rumored to start at a $99 price point.
While previous rumblings indicated the refreshed Apple TV would sport 1080p output, the newest reports suggest it will max out at 720p. My initial reaction is that this is a bit of a letdown from a resolution standpoint. Ideally they'd release an iTV at a $99 price point, and then an iTV Pro at $199/$299 with additional storage & 1080p output. However, this likely doesn't fit with their "local storage is irrelevant" paradigm once iTunes moves to the cloud and all media is streamed.
I'm skeptical the A4 chip (currently used in the iPhone 4 & rumored to be in the new iTV) itself is completely incapable of driving 1080p video, since the 3GS could do so with the previous generation's hardware. More likely, it didn't deliver consistently reliable 1080p playback. Apple has a history of limiting its devices in such a manner, such as when they prevented the iPhone 3G from shooting video natively.
Perhaps the folks in the jailbreak community or at aTV Flash will be able enable 1080p playback unofficially, though. (As an aside, anyone with a current generation Apple TV shouldn't think twice about purchasing aTV Flash to enhance their device. It changed my usage of the Apple TV from an iTunes music extender, to a full-fledged media center solution.)
With the addition of the new iTV to Apple's lineup, it would bring the number of products running iOS to four:
- iPhone
- iPod Touch
- iPad
- iTV
The unveiling of this new device is expected to be on Tuesday, September 14. A new version of iOS, likely 4.1, is also anticipated to be announced at the event.
Thirsty Thursday: Abita Andygator
This used to be my brew of choice circa 2003 - 2004. Every Wednesday & Thursday night, my friends & I would go to either the Bulldog or Balcony Bar on Magazine Street in New Orleans and get pitchers of this beverage. At the time, it was marketed as a barley wine and was claimed to sport an 11% ABV rating on draught. The brew held an elusive mystique since you could only find it at the Abita Brew Pub in Abita Springs, and a mere handful of other locations around Louisiana. For college students, it also packed a great bang for your buck.
Beginning in the Fall of 2008, Abita decided to expand the beverage's market and begin bottling the brew. In the process of shedding its draught-only status, the recipe seemingly changed, too. In its currently form, it's advertised as a Helles Doppelbock and distributed in 22 oz bottles. The ABV rating has also dropped from 11% to 8%.
The back of the bottle reads:
"The Andygator is a fearsome beast...much too big for any little bottle. Don't let his toothy grin, slightly sweet flavor and subtle fruit aroma fool you: this cold-blooded creature is a Helles Doppelbock that can sneak up on you. Sip, don't gulp and taste the wild of Abita Andygator."
Even in its modern form, I still consider it a delicious brew and try to keep a minimum of two 22 oz bottles in my beer fridge at all times to share with out of town guests. You can find it in the Houston area for between $4 and $6 per bottle. There's also distribution along the Eastern seaboard and throughout CA & OR on the West coast.
Photographs of the bottle enjoyed this evening are illustrated below.
Optimistic Classification
Optimistic Classification
Originally uploaded by Juston Western
"Healthy" is apparently a relative term.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Social Media During Disasters
The American Red Cross has released results of a survey about the use of social media during disasters or emergencies. The PDF report of its findings can be found here:
Some interesting figures are contained within the report, including that over 75% of respondents would expect help to arrive within an hour if they requested help via a social media network. Personally, I think this expectation is overly optimistic, but it would hinge upon who was in a user's respective social graph.
When Hurricane Ike hit The Woodlands 2 years ago, I realized that we'd likely lose power for a while and find it difficult to communicate with the outside world. Prior to the storm's landfall in Texas, I e-mailed all of my friends & family, and directed them towards my Twitter page to stay up to date with our progress during & after storm.
This turned out to be a prudent decision, because we did in fact lose power & most cellular connectivity for several days. Thankfully, SMS messages are surprisingly resilient following natural disasters (they require much less cellular infrastructure to receive & transmit relative to voice & data services). This allowed me to update Twitter throughout the storm & its aftermath simply by texting the service.
For those interested in seeing my account of "events on the ground", I captured all my tweets from the storm in a blog post last September to mark the 1 year anniversary of Hurricane Ike:
Since that time, I've followed my friends' descriptions of earthquakes on the west coast and crippling blizzards on the east coast, all from my Twitter & Facebook activity streams. When you want to tell a large group of people you're ok after a disaster, it's tough to find a more efficient way than with one of these social networks.
Creating A Culture Of Innovation
Interesting article this week on the Harvard Business Review about how executives can foster an environment ripe for innovation:
http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2010/08/six_invisible_secrets_to_a_cul.html
The full essay is worth reading, but here are the 6 recommendations on how to accomplish this in an organization:
1. Meet People's Needs.
2. Teach Creativity Systematically.
3. Nurture Passion.
4. Make the Work Matter.
5. Provide the Time.
6. Value Renewal.
From my own experience, I'd say numbers 3 & 4 were instrumental when I've been in roles where I was truly creative or innovative.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Writing Wednesday: Twitter Psychological Insights
Some interesting data-driven findings about Twitter are revealed in this study conducted by British psychologists.
I enjoyed the description of "informers vs. meformers" as it relates to tweet content. I find that my own social graph has a fairly balanced ratio of users who fall into each category.
I'd propose that Twitter as a source of breaking news or emergency response will only continue to grow in importance. When I want information about something that JUST happened, I always search Twitter first. Granted, you may end up with content that proves not to be 100% accurate after the dust settles, but no less so than information you'd gather from other sources. That's just the nature of gathering information quickly.
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