Uni Qlo Robot

Uni Qlo Robot, originally uploaded by blackavar21.

We went by Uni Qlo on Saturday and ran across their new robot. His name is Wakamaru.

It was late enough that no one was really playing with him. I felt like I should have asked him something, but quite frankly, he creeped me out.

It’s Like A Having A Weekend In The Middle Of The Week

So a couple of weeks ago we moved. Our lease was up, and our landlord was gouging up the price way higher then we could pay. After making a reasonable counter offer, waiting a long time for a response¹, we got word that it was pay his new price of nothing. So the apartment hunt was on.

While both Jane and I agreed that we wanted to move out of the city, with both of our jobs still here, now wasn’t the time. This kept the search pretty tight to the Upper East Side, and eventually we found a new place only a few blocks down, but a good deal east, from our old place.

Now our new place isn’t exactly better then our old², but it’s nice in its own right and I like to think we settled in quite nicely.

Now one of the best things about the new place is its location. Alright I’ll grant you that it is farther away from the subway then I was before³, but it is closer to two of my favorite things in the city. An Oren’s Location, and Carl Schurz Park. Oren’s I’ve talked about⁴, so you know my love for them and how it’s a huge plus to be able to walk down and get a cup on my days off. Schurz Park, besides being the home of Gracie Mansion, is one of my favorites parts of the city. The park isn’t huge, but it has a great river walk looking out to Roosevelt Island, Queens, and beyond.

My new day off routine is to walk down to Oren’s, grab a cup, and walk back to our apartment through the park. It’s been a chance to start my day, and a way to get a few pictures in. I keep forgetting to bring my D-SLR, so I’ve been stuck with my iPhone’s camera. It’s normally a pretty crappy camera, but I’ve been playing with CameraBag, which doesn’t so much as make the camera better, but it at least runs some filters on the photos to make them interesting.

Today, having the day off I did my usual walk. I still didn’t have my D-SLR, but I still think I got couple good shots.

All were taken with CameraBag.

This one was with the “Cinema” filter. The way the app works, you take the picture, and then apply the filter later. After shooting, and before the filter, the shot just looked like a wide angle shot, and the “cinema” filter seemed right.

This is with the “Ansel” filter. I really just wanted a clean shot, but the pigeons took off just as I got the phone in place so I hit the shutter and caught them in flight.

Same shot, only with the “Helga” filter.

 

Another shot with the “Helga” filter. A good example of what would be a crappy shot if it wasn’t for the filter.

Yes, I really like the “Helga” filter. This one I actually took last Saturday, but I really like the way this one came out. It was raining here so I had to cover everything, but I like the mist over the background building and the slickness of the ground.

Just thought I’d share these, and I thought I’d start posting some of these so I can come back later for when I take some more shots this weekend. I’ll try to bring my D-SLR this time.

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1. He was vacationing in Europe for about 2 months and didn’t respond to his lawyer’s email for that time. This tells me that he really doesn’t need the extra money he wanted to charge us.

2. It’s smaller, more a month then what we were paying, and a 4 floor walk-up.

3. For you non-NYC people, the only subway over here on the East Side is the Lexington Ave line. Before we were only three streets down and one avenue over from the 96th St. stop. In the new place we are only three blocks up from the 86th St stop, but we’re now we’re three avenues over from the subway and avenues are a whole lot longer then the streets. Basically for every one avenue it’s about two streets.

4: Still the best coffee in the city. Hands down.

You Could Have Just Sent 1 Million People A Copy Of Vista

So apparently the Seinfeld/Gates ads were only a “teaser” and now we are going to get the next phase of the campaign.

Alllright…

Yet from the sound of it, those ads will have almost nothing to do with the rest of the campaign. So really, why make them at all?

I’ll admit I found the second one to have it’s moments, and they did get people talking, but they paid Seinfeld $10 million to make 2 commercials that wouldn’t have even been good “Seinfeld” episodes, neglect to mention your product, and that just the “start” of your ads? Talk about having money to burn.

But really the best you can come up with is some Microsoft engineers, a bunch of celebrities/real world users, and, worst of all, a John Hodgeman clone?!?!

Three hundred million dollars, and you get a Hodgeman clone. Ugh. Plus you just know most of the testimonials they get are going to be from a bunch scientists who do use windows, but mostly because the programs they use were written in DOS and they have no choice but to stick with it.

Look Microsoft why not just focus on the good points of Windows, like gaming, or enterprise (look I would love to have a Mac at work, but I sure as hell don’t want one for my server), or the fact that you can get a Windows box for WAY less then a Mac. (Not that I’m saying Mac’s aren’t worth their price, but there are times when being cheap is a plus, e.g., the netbooks.)

Focus on these in the ads, and you’ll do just fine. Sure, you can bring in some star power to do it, but not in a way were you neglect to mention the product at all, and definitely without a Hodgeman clone.

Oh, and please don’t go on the defensive with Apple. They had to attack you because you are the dominant player in the market. They found their opening and they took it. Please don’t turn this into the OS equivalent of a political attack campaign.

We have enough of those already.

(And I know it’s a little cliché, but I guess I should also throw in a bit here at then end where I point out that if you just spent $300 million on making your products better, you wouldn’t have to make all these ads asking people to use them. People use things because they work, not because a comedian tells them too. Although I’m sure that new Verizon ad where Greg Giraldo voices the talking dog would prove otherwise.)

I Just Don’t Get It

more about “I Just Don’t Get It“, posted with vodpod

OK, I’ve seen it about five times now, and even putting aside the fact that I’m an unapologetic Apple fanboy, I just don’t get the new Seinfeld & Gates Windows commercial.

Yeah I get the joke about one of the richest men in the country shopping at a mall shoe store, so much so that he has the frequent buy’s card, and I even chuckled at the joke about wearing shoes in the shower, but really, what was the point of all that?

This is what they spent $10 Million on?! This is what’s going to regain their name after all the bashings they taken in the, “I’m a Mac,” ads?! This is the marketing a multi-billion dollar company can buy?!Gates has proven that he can laugh at himself, and Seinfeld is, well… Seinfeld. Come on guys, you can do better then this.

Oh and while you’re at it, why not actually talk about Windows computers? I get that it shouldn’t be a minute and half of Seinfeld & Gates going on about Vista’s security features, but other then the logo at the end, would you have known what the ad was about?

Alright, I’m sure this is just the opening shot to establish how the two met up, and to give a taste of the tone they want to take, but try to have a little more focus next time, could you?

(Oh and listen, I have no problem against Windows machines. I use them every day at work and I get by just fine. I have people ask me all the time what kind of computer to get, and while I nudge them in the Mac direction, I also tell them that can do just fine with a Windows box too.

I just think that if your going up against a campaign that’s focusing on some specific bad points, you might want to start pointing out some good things rather then go for pure irreverent comedy.)

I’ll Have The Chicken, And The Flood Of Painful Memories. Thanks!

I got word today that the mailer for our 10 year High School reunion is being sent out, and if that wasn’t a scary enough idea, they’re asking for $116.

Per person. Yikes.

I like to think that I keep in pretty close contact to a lot of my friends from High School. We talk online a lot, Facebook helps, and I try to make it back home to hang out when I can. Still I was a little stoked at the idea of getting all of my friends back together in the same place at the same time.

Plus there is a good amount of people who I’ve just plain lost touch with over the years, and who it would be nice to catch up with.

So I was actually warming up to the idea of a big party reminding us that we’re almost 30 and that we should have done something with our lives already, just so long as I got to see some friendly faces.

(Oh and the fact that I have a pretty decent job and a cute fiancee that I can show off, doesn’t hurt either.)

But really, $236 to eat bad food, and spend the night shaking the smiling hands of a whole bunch of people who I never really talked to then, but who want to talk now for nostalgia’s sake?

Couldn’t I just spend it on a X-Box, a box set of Star Trek: The Next Generation, and probably achieve the same level of feeling like a goofy nerd all over again?

Naturally a friend and I started toying around with the idea of throwing the anti-reuinon. We would rent a place, get some food booze and music, and show those money-grubbing reunion organizers what’s what!

Of course the ironic thing is, even after being able to get a discount on a hall to have it in, and a sound system, we probably STILL wouldn’t be able to bring it down below $116 per person.

Plus then you got the set up, getting the word out, and of course the clean up…

Hell man I’m willing to pay $116 right now to avoid all that crap.

Still the rebel in me thinks it would be cool to set up our own part, and even invite the people who we hung out with who were in grades above and below ours. Ah… it will probably never happen, but it would be soo cool…

PS – Oh and one last thing, since I have not received my own invite yet, and was told the price by a friend who did, I have to point out that I obviously haven’t received all the details yet. There could very well be a big flip-side to the mailer that points out that for our money not only will the food be provided in a Iron Chief fashion were Alton Brown oversees a cook off between Mario Batali and Gordon Ramsey (Fuck off, you wooden shoe wearing, donkey dick!), but that we’ll be flown to the Bahamas in a tricked out Airbus A380, while U2 provides the soundtrack.

However I’m pretty sure we’re all expected to make it down to Priceton area so we can eat bland, “safe” food (”Chicken or beef?”), while listening to wedding DJ who still plays “Electric Avenue.”
So, anybody else going? 8)

PPS – I think, “Wooden shoe wearing, donkey dick,” is either my new favorite curse, or the name of my new band.

Both.

Wow, We Found The Ghostbuster’s Firehouse

Wow, We Found The Ghostbuster’s Firehouse, originally uploaded by blackavar21.

The End Of Summer

Muxtape might be down while they work out things with the RIAA (and if the things they are doing to online radio are any indicator, things might not end well), but Mixwit is still going strong.

The main difference I’m told is that while Muxtape had you uploading your own tracks, Mixwit searches the net for the tracks you want. Not sure what the legalities are, but Mixwit’s still running so we’ll go with that.

So I figured I’d throw a mixtape together of some of the stuff that I’ve been listening to the most this summer. It’s a little Spoon/The Hold Steady/ Ted Leo heavy, but I’ve been listening to them the most lately. It also slows down a little in the middle, but I figured it would be cool to bring the mood down a bit.

It’s been awhile since I made a mixtape, or even a really good playlist (I prefer whole albums), so if it’s a little janky don’t get too mad, but these are some of the bands I’ve been getting into lately and I figured I spread them around a bit.

Enjoy.

more about "Test", posted with vodpod

You Mean It’s More Then A $90 Electronic Hula Hoop?

After months of checking the Wii Fit tracker online, and numerous trips to both the Nintendo store in Rockefeller Center and the Times Square Toys r Us (both are always a fun, rage filled, trips) we finally have Wii Fit.

I had sort of given up on getting it after talking to a Nintendo store employee who told me that although they get daily shipment, unless I was willing to line up at 7:30 in the morning on a weekday, I wasn’t likely to snag one. I stopped looked for awhile, but then on a whim last Friday I decided to check out Toys r Us one more time, and low and behold, they had a pile of them. After quickly calling Jane to confirm that she would split the cost (yeah $90 isn’t much, but $45 is even better), I was hefting one home.

And I do mean ‘heft.’ Amazon say 10 pounds, but it felt more like 20. Let me say it was one of the few days during the summer that I took the subway home.

I’m sure most of you have heard about it by now, but just to go into a little great detail, what you get for your 90 bucks is board that uses it’s four feet to not only weigh you, but check your balance (left/right, front/back) as well.

You also get a game of sorts that will use the balance board to walk you through different exercises in yoga, strength training, aerobics, and balance. I’m sure you can guess what each one of those entails, well except for balance. That’s a little vague. Basically you play a bunch of mini games while using your balance to move the characters around. One time you might be a penguin trying to catch fish, the next your going down a ski jump. While fun, they are mostly just there to be just that, fun.

Sure, Wii Fit claims that they help correct you balance, but most of them are over so fast that really can’t have too much of an impact on your everyday balance.

So I’ve been using it everyday for about a week now, and while it’s not the most intense workout ever, and, sure, all of these exercises are they kind where you really don’t need a $90 game to do them, it defiantly feels like it’s doing something.

While I’m not busting out of my tee due to muscles, I do feel like things have tightened up a bit. (I would say something about not falling out of my clothes do to weight loss, but since everyone tells me I need to eat something, I figure I’d rather not push it.) I’m a little sore, which is something to look for when you work out, but surprising not so much so that it’s hard to move around. It’s more like a light reminder that you did work out, but you could still use some more.

The yoga has also helped out a bit too. While I still can’t touch my toes or do a proper downward-facing dog (it has only been a week), do feel a little more fluid lately.

Yes, it maybe because this is more exercise then I’m used to doing, but there’s something about running around a cartoon island with cartoon dogs, and boxing a robotic punching bag that make it more fun.

(The aerobic and balance games take the more cartoony vibe, while thankfully the strength training and yoga use a more realistic model. It makes it much easier to see the moves you should be doing, plus I really don’t need Mario telling me to, “Feel the burn,” in that fake Italian accent, thank you very much.)

The feedback that the game gives you based on what you are doing with the balance board is also a plus, but I sometimes find it to be a problem.

Sometimes it’s just flat out wrong (the other night I knew I was doing a pose correctly, but the indicator of the screen made it look like I was putting too much pressure on my left side, and the game chided me for doing so), while other times it feels like a false sense of security. Sure it’s good to know how much pressure you are putting on your front foot while doing a lunge, but shouldn’t be worried about over-extending you back foot as well? Certain times the game does know you’re over doing it and tells you to take it easy, but this just makes you take it down a notch, but all this does is add to that false sense during the times where it can’t tell if you’re just doing something flat out wrong.

Still, the same could be said about any home exercise routine, and it’s always better to have at least some feed back then no feed back at all.

I also feel like it could come up with more of a routine for you. It’s big on taking these body tests that measure you weight and balance, and combine that with height and age to figure out your BMI and your, “Wii Fit age,” so you would think it would come up with a course of exercises for you to do. Instead, it lets lays all the exercises out there for you, while you pick and chose which ones you want to do. Since most health officials suggest that you change up your routine to work different muscles, it would have been nice if Nintendo asked you what you wanted to work on, how long you wanted to work out, and then use a randomizer to come up with a routine for you. Seems so simple, that I have to think that will see it on the inevitable “Wii Fit 2.”

All in all though I have to say it’s a great device to get if you’re looking for a little help working out, and as long as you’re not looking to win “Mr. Universe,” you can’t go wrong. I know I never will, but I really do feel a lot better then I did a week ago.

(Also if nothing else I just spent $90 on a cat perch. That’s his new spot when he wants to tell us he wants food.)

Dessert Truck

Aug 21, 2008, originally uploaded by blackavar21.

I’ve been hearing about this dessert truck in just about every “Around New York” article I’ve read lately. Then today as I walked down the street to find a place to eat lunch I see the dessert truck parked on Park Ave.

Not one to put the end before the beginning, I sit down and eat my lunch, making a note to check it out after.

I finish my egg salad sandwich and walk up to check out the sandwich board they have out front, plying their wares.

I was hoping for maybe a brownie or possibly one of those cupcake cones I’ve heard about. Nope. Just cheesecake (yuk), creme brulee (eh, sure it’s good but pass), chocolate mousse, and molten chocolate cake.

Hmm… while I’m sure the mousse and the cake are good, I tend to shy away from overly sweet chocolate things since my throat tends to close up a bit after eating them. Not all chocolate, but I do notice that if I eat the really rich cookies they have in meeting here at work, I have a hard time swallowing after. Needless to say this makes me a little gun shy around some desserts.

So after hearing about this thing for months now I had to walk away empty stomached.

Oh well, according to their web page this is their new daytime spot, so maybe I’ll get a chance to try something once their menu changes.

The Hold Steady: ‘Radiohead have lost the plot’

http://www.nme.com/news/the-hold-steady/38990

I have to say as much as I liked “In Rainbows,” I have to agree the it seems like Radiohead is not sure what it wants to be anymore. And that whole, “We’ll only do a ‘Green’ tour,” is really a copout.