Polish My Tra-La-La

Nothing like a shiny Bianchi to put a smile on your face. More Pista porn here.

I Eat Mid-Century for Breakfast

I'm left completely breathless with Genevieve and Maxwell's mid-century bungalow.

Forgetting Sarah Marshall Review

I've been holding this movie off on my Netflix queue for a while now, but I finally got to see Apatow's latest creation. Following 40-year-old Virgin, Knocked Up, and Superbad, topping it is no easy feat. However, with likable characters all around, some decent laughs, and a fun story, it's hard not to give the actors and actresses nods of approval for a job well done. Though I must say I did find the "uncut" version featuring Jason's male assets just a little more uncomfortable than I'd like (and this is coming from a guy who watched Ichi the Killer). Still, it's a fun film that's definitely enjoyable and proves that Apatow's still got tons of stuff up his sleeve. I can't wait to see more. 7.9/10.

Week One in a Single Sentence

Greeted by eggs, a fistful of fees, and a pair of broken sunglasses; I scoff at these slithering demons, as I've seen far worse in my lifetime.

Shopping for Funkiness in Hong Kong

A friend told me about one of the must-see speciality stores in Hong Kong, Goods of Desire (or G.O.D.). There are 5 stores throughout the city but the one in Harbor City is the largest and best one. G.O.D. store can only be found in Hong Kong and are usually missed unless you're out actively looking for it.

The shops are a blend of modern style with funky Chinese culture. They have everything from modern furniture to flip flops. Much of the lighting and home accessories are packed flat for travel and easily fit into any suitcase.

Fobs of Felt

Who would've thought punching a hole in felt and adding a key ring could get you awards at Contemporary Design fairs? Heck, I have a pile of Spinneybeck leather fabrics that could essentially be used for the same exact thing...

The Art of Inspiring Oneself

Dr. Ronald Chevalier from Gentleman Broncos on "The Art of Inspiring Oneself." I sorta do the same thing, except I only wish I had a synthesizer.

Business 3.0: Incentive Models

Dan Pink discusses the current inverse business approach with financial incentives and how it hinders the speed of cognitive tasks instead of strengthening it. The shift, he proposes, should be towards Autonomy (intrinsic motivation to direct our own lives), Mastery (ability to improve oneself), and Purpose (a long-term goal). This translates to paying people adequately and fairly, but also allowing them freedom to discover new things on their own, with less focus on time frames and deadlines and more focus on creativity and discovery.

Monday Truths

Since we'll eventually be creating robots to all of our bidding anyway, one can wonder...

64 Colors, Really?

These happy-go-lucky prints from 64 Colors Design make me want to buy a puppy. At $50 a pop, they ain't cheap. But where else are you going to find such bouncy happiness flavored in Japanese miso goodness?

Man, I Love Saturdays

It's been a long hard week of driving, moving, and re-designin'. Time for a break, courtesy of DJ Vadim. Yes, indeedy...

Charge Plug 700C Fixie

Too lazy to learn how to build a fixie from scratch. Grab one of these pre-built completes from Charge. The 700C runs a sweet $630 shipped online. It's not cheap, but it sure beats sitting around in your living room with a bunch of hubs and gears, scratching your head.

Big Pimpin'... In Bloomington?

Take that energy drink out of the fridge. Flash those bright super-sonic sunglasses. Because it's time to bring the bay to Bloomtown. Ya'll ready?

Clipse - When the Last Time (ROTMrmx) (MP3)

Addicted to Everything

Living in Davis these past few years have been like having a subtle stream of crank going into my system. I'm not talkin' about that nasty stuff either. I mean good crank. Crank that gets your gears moving, thinking in circles, believing in the "green movement." Crank that gets you to realize how distracted you've had been, solely fixated on single-line thinking. And change is the only remedy.

I now must confess my addiction to biking, as a mere starter, of course. Despite the general consensus that biking being perceived as "slower" and "dangerous" in comparison to driving a motor vehicle, I've learned to realize that the whole concept of distance is all relative. If work permits, I will bike there. I've noticed that ever since my buddies and I began biking that work has become less of a chore, but a mere daytime destination. When all's done, biking back brought us a renewed sense of joy, even on the toughest of days when everything seemed to be going to shit all at once. In a few words, it was "refreshing."

My other addictions have been pretty apparent if you've tracked my writing topics from the beginning of the year until now. I noticed I've gone from a modern home retro-purist, art & music blog with hints of technology to a hardcore hobbyist's embrace of present day trends in high-end audio, lifestyle automation, and European-style contemporary modern. Mainly the Swedes, really. I've found them to be pretty hip (love you Lykke!).

But what I've learned from all this isn't simply depth of knowledge, it's that one can discover by the simple act of searching. It's that thinking in multiple directions, sometimes even with no focus in particular, isn't always necessarily a bad thing. You learn to develop something you love from something completely general. Like when I discovered how 1's and 0's can be seen differently depending on the way an application had been engineered. Color correction. DAC decoders. Information pulling from the clouds. It's amazing to think that every piece of digital technology we use today, from the text on this blog to the from the inteface of the iPhone, has been purposely designed to perform a certain way, in line with what the originator had hoped to create as a user-experience.

Most importantly, however, this multi-faceted face of "everything addiction" has lead me to have an addiction to time. Time is relative to the belief that one day you will die. But no matter how hard I try to wrap my mind around it, time remains the only thing you can take advantage of in life. Fashion will change. New languages will develop. And if we allow it, wars will end time for millions. Time; you can only invest so much time into anything. So why not make it count, yeah?

Watchmen Review

More of an art film than super-hero flick, The Watchmen manages to capture everything from the comic (well, all the good parts of it at least), in a daring 186 minute (saw the DC) rendition of one of my favorite novels of all time. What more can I say? Aside from a few cuts I didn't quite enjoy, mainly the character development of the psychiatrist for Rorschach, I felt this to be a wonderful addition Zack Snyder's fine artistic pieces full of rich, perverse, and violent experiences made into a piece of motion art. 8.4/10.

Smorkin' Friends

Not that I enjoy the company of smokers too much - I tend to get pretty nauseated whenever a breeze of air drags in second-hand smoke from my downstairs neighbors into my bedroom. However, these little guys I may actually make an exception for. I mean, c'mon. These shiny silver rabbit pork guys make perfect accompaniments to my subwoofer as decor. And that, I'm down for, friends.

Robot Phantasmagoria: Machinarium

Definitely need to keep my eye on this little gem coming out to PC later this year. It's been a while since I've come across a game that's kept me mesmerized until the very end. Watch it in HD and full screen for the complete effect.

What the Hell Is Pre/Pro?

So you've been looking for a new home theater system. You've probably come across all types of wacky terms you've never heard of in your life; DAC's, preamplifiers, amplifiers, and pre/pro's. Well, here's some help, straight from the experts.

If you ignore the cost angle, a Preamp/Amp combo will sound better than any all-in-one receiver. The fact that the amps and the preamp circuitry are actually separated is supposed to be good thing. Some may argue that it's cheaper in the long run to go with separates. Since you can keep an amp for decades, you just need to swap out the pre-amp as new formats become available; however, with a receiver, you need to swap out the entire unit. This argument only makes sense if you're going with the really high end receivers.

The obvious pro-receiver argument is cost. A good receiver can be had for less than $1,000, whereas an entry level preamp/amp will cost you much greater than $1,000. The best inexpensive preamp/amp combo I know of is from Outlaw. Their 970 PrePro/7075 Power Amp combo costs around $1300.

A rule of thumb in home theater and stereo should be like this: 70% goes to speakers and 30% on electronics. If your speakers run $3000, then you should go with separates. Otherwise, stick with an AV receiver until you have enough for the high end.

Art by Netherland.

To All My Friends...

I'm saying my final farewells this week. A lot of you are on vacation, but it's okay. I will be back in a few years time. I'll just be doing my thing over in Indiana. Do you even know what states border Indiana? Didn't think so. Know it when I see you next time, k?

PS: There will be no updates the following week as I will be driving across the U.S. in my Maxima with all my little tech trinkets.

Styrofoam Cup Art

Nothing like sitting around the office bored to death and doodling away for 6 hours straight. If only the results were always this amazing..

It's A D-D-Danish Design Bomb

Those floors be poppin'! And that fridge. So retro! Almost makes me feel like breakdancing, except I'd live in fear of leaving bloody marks on the floor after doing sloppy windmills. What? I can't do windmills? Ha! You've seen nothing yet..

Stello's DA100 Signature DAC Is Digital Heaven

I think I'm in love. Try the DA100 Signature with any of your digital sources - computer, CD, DVD, cable or satellite TV receiver. You'll be amazed how digital sound can be transformed into something musically seductive and emotionally satisfying.