July 2009
“I think it will have an audience about the size of the audience for classical...”
– Norman Pearlstine on the future of long-form journalism in a session at the Aspen Ideas Festival.
June 2009
Twittering about a presentation on Twitter by @hirshberg at Aspen Ideas. So meta.
Just finding out about the #aif09 hashtag. Nice.
The Twitter session at #afi09 is getting ready to swarm against AT&T about their shitty service here.
AT&T Wireless hasn’t learned from SxSW. The number of iPhones at Aspen Ideas has brought the wireless network to a halt.
Eric Schmidt is speaking at Aspen Ideas. He’s a great speaker and has amazing comic timing.
Sad News
My grandmother on my father’s side, Helen LaFountain, passed away today at 87 from a liver blockage. She was one of the smartest and feistiest people I have ever known. I’m very sad she is gone, but am glad she is no longer suffering.
Thankfully, Francisca and I were able to go spend some time with her earlier this month. I was able to say goodbye. And, my father was able to be with...
“Listen up, Palm marketing people. If you’ve just launched your big...”
– Fake Steve Jobs
Is it me or is Netnewswire suddenly amnesiac about what feed items have already been read?
Watch
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The Latest from NextWorth
We are sorry that you are not happy about the inspected quote we provided. Our inspection process is completed by two different trained technicians. We receive in your item, each inspector does not know what you classified the item as, and they perform an inspection. If both independent inspectors classified your item (s) equally, then an automated email is sent to you with our quoted value. ...
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An Email from NextWorth
I have received this email from NextWorth regarding the sale of my used iPhone 3G.
YOUR TRADE-IN ITEM WAS INSPECTED Dear Marc LaFountain, Thank you for participating in the NextWorth trade in program - your easiest, most profitable and responsible way to trade in your old electronics. We have inspected your Apple iPhone 16GB 3G / item <snip> and we value it at $185.75. The quoted value for...
How to Politely Take Food Photos in Restaurants →
(via vanityproject)
I think what works best if you have a camera phone is to hold the phone as if you are checking email, load up the camera application, orient the phone in the needed way, and then quickly bring the phone up and snap a photo. Most diners will never even notice if you’re quick. I would limit it to one quick photo. And, if you have a flash, don’t use the flash out of...
fred-wilson:
Unfold - Julie Peel
this song was...
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I Have Trypanophobia
According to Wikipedia:
Trypanophobia is the extreme and irrational fear of medical procedures involving injections or hypodermic needles.
Trypanophobia can cause you to, say, almost pass out while having blood taken at your physical—to the point where you have to be given smelling salts, orange juice, and a reclining chair. That’s how I started my day today. It really sucked.
...
Contenture →
soxiam:
a bolt-on micropayment brokering service. it’s pretty different from other models. not sure if it will work but i find the concept interesting.
This type of seamless micropayment model is something that websites of traditional newspapers should be embracing, though many kinds of sites could benefit from it.
The Story - Brandi Carlile
'Battlestar Galactica': Beyond Background Music :... →
Bear McCreary composes the scores for Battlestar Galactica. He’s conducting a series of summer concerts featuring the show’s music — and the performances are selling out.
I loved BSG and its music. Passacalgia and The Shape of Things to Come were among my favorites.
Francisca is Learning to Play The Sims 3
Francisca's Computer: (female moaning sounds)
Marc: Wow, sounds like your Sim is having some great sex.
Francisca: No, I think she has to pee.
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Something I've Been Wondering
It surprises me that the iPhone 3G S does not support 802.11n wireless networking. Why is that?:
Because 802.11n is still a draft standard? (That hasn’t stopped Apple from using it in computers.)
Do 802.11n chips draw more power or produce more heat than 802.11b/g chips?
Is the chip for 802.11n physically larger than a b/g chip?
Is there some bottleneck in the 3G S that would keep...
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Selling My iPhone 3G at NextWorth
I saw a post over at TUAW about how one of their writers, Mel Martin, was selling his used iPhone 3G to a company called NextWorth. Martin’s story on June 16th said NextWorth was offering $280 for his “like new” 16GB iPhone 3G. I was lazy and didn’t check it out until June 17th and was offered $250, which is still being offered as of this writing.
I reformatted and...
I ordered the iPhone 3G S to be delivered via mail. It’s supposed to arrive today by 3 p.m. Not having to deal with store lines is nice, but hearing the stories from everyone who already has theirs is making the wait very painful.
Early iPhone 3.0 Software Thoughts
I’m loving the iPhone 3.0 software. Search, Cut/Copy/Paste, landscape keyboard, and Voice Memos are all wonderful and MMS and tethering will be great when AT&T gets its act together.
I have but one significant complaint. Why is there still not an option for a single, unified Inbox in Mail if you have two or more email accounts? The Mail application on Mac OS X can do it. After three...
Palm calls Apple's bluff on media syncing |... →
Apple: “Fuck you!”
Palm: “No, fuck you!”
The number of times you must click to install an AutoUpdate to Microsoft Office for Mac is completely insane. Every time the MacBU issues a new Office update, my right index finger feels sad.
“To call banks casinos, as is often done, is actually unfair to casinos, which...”
– Fareed Zakaria: A Capitalist Manifesto | Newsweek.com
A Rough Week
I’m in Schenectady, NY this week. My grandmother on my father’s side is dying and we’ve all come to say goodbye. She’s a warm, fiesty, special person who will be missed by many. I will have to say goodbye to her forever when I go home on Sunday and am still trying to figure out how.
Some random thoughts from a hard and stressful week:
It’s always good to see...
