37th Frame

Snowtainment!

2010-02-08T17:37:00.003-05:00

Now THIS guy is looking for an Oscar©

Snow go

2010-02-03T11:43:00.002-05:00

Two inches of snow (known as a flurry in Buffalo), and all area school districts are so overcome with weather troubles that they are forced to open two hours late.
Just wait until the kiddies graduate into 'reality' and realize that most of the world has just get up a little earlier to deal with the snow and stay on schedule.

Tuesday in the park

2010-02-02T13:58:00.003-05:00

Whites Road Park, just after dawn

How to report TV news

2010-01-28T22:47:00.001-05:00

A simple guide to TV journalism.
(F-bomb alert...make sure Sponge Bob drowns this out if kiddies are nearby)

Media scrum

2010-01-27T08:15:00.003-05:00

AP photo

Five photographers...count 'em...five

A CGI experience

2010-01-26T13:14:00.006-05:00

If you have 12 minutes to spare and a good high-speed internet connection, you should watch this in full-screen mode:

The Third & The Seventh from Alex Roman on Vimeo.

This is completely computer-rendered.

If you have a really good connection and a decent monitor, turn the HD option on. It's well worth it.

iThing

2010-01-25T14:44:00.003-05:00

I'm selling accessories for the new Apple iWhatever slate that will be announced Wednesday. Don't let a little thing like not knowing squat about this new device stop you; you already know you want one. The accessories may or may not work, but who cares, you'll be the first to have them. Meet me in the alley and bring cash.

Good-bye, friend

2010-01-20T14:04:00.003-05:00

Here's something I wrote today to well-wishers after our 18-year-old cat Pudding died of natural causes early this morning in my arms:

We had 18 awesome years with this cat. We spent some time this morning recounting some of the many good times we had with this amazing creature...she played fetch, could catch milk bottle caps in mid-air, and could hunt voles and birds despite being an indoor cat (she used to escape once in a while).

She survived three houses, three presidents and two dogs.

The way you see her sitting in the photo is the way she always sat...paws crossed or neatly lined up in front of her. Her eyes were bright yellow and round, and she loved to be turned upside-down and have her belly rubbed. She nursed us through some bad times, and was always happy to keep us company late at night.
She was so quiet and stealthy that some friends still think we never had a cat.

Her real name is Morticia (which she came with from the rescue), but she always loved pudding, and that name just stuck.

We have more of these stories, but you get the idea. When you get a pet, you know that someday you are probably going to face a day like I had today. It's hard as hell when you have to let a vulnerable, trusting creature go, with the only consolation being that you 'did the right thing.'

Is it worth it? 18 years with Pudding says 'absolutely.'

Used tree salesman

2010-01-10T16:28:00.002-05:00

Cheap Christmas trees for sale in Upper Gwynedd...any takers? Anybody? Hello?

The $45,000 lens

2010-01-05T14:27:00.004-05:00

This was sold on eBay recently for the bargain price of $45K

Minimum focusing distance = 400 feet, widest aperature = f/14

Peanuts mash-up

2009-12-21T13:57:00.003-05:00

Linus sings the Police

If you like it, there's more HERE.

Link thumbnail photo.

Live snow cam!

2009-12-19T09:54:00.004-05:00

Video chat rooms at Ustream
thumbnail photo (for linking)

Just an illusion

2009-12-15T07:19:00.001-05:00

Very cool optical illusion found on www.moillusions.com

Guitar Hero meets Christmas

2009-12-14T11:58:00.003-05:00

Thanks to Aixa for bringing this to my attention...

Adventures with mushrooms

2009-12-01T10:51:00.003-05:00

Yesterday I had an adventure with a mushroom.

No, not the Alice in Wonderland kind of mushroom. This was a wild mushroom found by a co-worker of mine who is becoming sort of a wild mushroom game hunter, seeking rare species in the woods and trees in this area.

What he found was a 'bearded tooth,' which was about the size of a good cantaloupe, covered in white hair, growing on a tree just out of arm's reach. He knocked it to the ground, which sullied the pure white exterior with dirt. But the interior was pure white, which meant that this was a mushroom at its prime.

The big question: Is it edible?

Now I tend to not test the extremes regarding food I find in the woods. A few berries, honeysuckle - that's about my limit.

But we did some research, and found a credible source that said that not only was a bearded tooth edible, there was no poisonous mushroom that looked anything near to this one. So even if our identification was wrong, or we failed to identify some sub-species, we should be OK.

So I took this behemoth home, sliced it about french toast thickness, and fried it in olive oil and garlic salt. It looked nice, but had the consistency of a sneaker.

So I tried again, this time cutting very thin slices and using less oil. The results? Better, but not something I'd be willing to shell out $8 for as an appetizer.

The good news, of course, is that I did not break out into hives or drop into a mushroom-induced coma. No hallucinations or out-of-body experiences.

For now, however, I think I'll stick to the supermarket variety of mushrooms, if not for the taste, then maybe for my own safety.

Dancing fools

2009-11-19T13:29:00.005-05:00

Two things come to mind when I watch this video of employees at a new Microsoft store dancing a la Texas Roadhouse:

First, Microsoft will never be 'cool.' They should stop trying. It always ends in disaster (remember the SongSmith video?). Apple wins; you're still bigger; get over it.

Second, in-store dancing is bad for inventory control. Check out the woman in the white shirt at 2:14 as she appears to work a five-fingered discount into her dance routine.

Sunrise at Stony Creek

2009-11-03T12:14:00.004-05:00

A few early-morning photos in Stony Creek Park, Lansdale, starting with a setting moon and ending at sunrise.

That old Boston feeling

2009-11-02T15:02:00.004-05:00

I listened to most of Game 4 of the World Series while driving home from North Jersey with my family Sunday night, on NYC station WCBS-AM. At about Flemington I switched to Philly's WPHT-AM and a wave of fresh air swept into the car. At that point the Phillies were losing 4-2, but just around when I crossed the bridge into New Hope, Pedro Feliz clocked in the game-tying home run and two of my passengers, who had been sleeping for several innings, woke up at the sound of screaming announcers.

Then Lidge took the mound.

Well, I suppose I can thank him for keeping us safe on a late-night journey dark Bucks County roads, because there certainly was no danger of falling asleep at the wheel with all that tension pouring out of the radio. Top of the ninth...one out, two outs...strike one, strike two....well, if you read this far you know what happened next.

We wheeled into our driveway just in time to watch that disaster wrap up on TV.

Despite the fact that I did nothing but sit in a car for two hours, I felt worn out.

Many years ago, I lived in another east coast city and watched their beleaguered team excel every year, only to fall apart at very inopportune times in October.

The Red Sox eventually overcame their 'curse' and won a Series or two. But back in the 80's, it was a very different story.

I have thought about the Red Sox lately, especially since Philadelphia now has the dislike of the Yankees in common with our colonial-era neighbor to the north.

Sunday night's game felt a lot like one of those old Sox games...so much promise, so much disappointment.

There is still at least one more game to go, and though the winds of fate are whipping against us at hurricane speed, as one ex-Yankee put it, 'it ain't over until it's over.'

Hope springs eternal.

Pulitzer material?

2009-10-28T10:59:00.006-04:00

It took 3 NY Post writers to write eight paragraphs trashing the Philly Phanatic? Wow, if they has all those extra 'journalists,' we could sure use them down here. We have a groundhog scandal that needs to be covered.

Street View in the burbs

2009-10-22T10:53:00.004-04:00

The sometimes controversial Internet time-killer Street View from Google finally made its way into our little slice of suburbia. So far, only the main roads (like Orvilla Road, Sumneytown Pike, Route 309, etc.) are covered, with a few exceptions.

View Larger Map

Hopefully (or not, if you like your privacy) they will be extending their coverage to the side streets.

Frost on the car

2009-10-19T09:23:00.003-04:00

The Phillies are still pounding out the hits, but winter will be here before we know it, and I have to remember to leave extra time in the morning to scrape little holes in the frost on the car windows so I can see the other cars with frost-covered windows swerving over the yellow line early in the morning.

Note the unraked leaves.

Helicopter boyz

2009-10-15T11:46:00.001-04:00

Interesting, creative use of new Nikon cameras that feature a built-in projector. Very, very Japanese.

Late score

2009-10-12T08:52:00.003-04:00

Since school was out on Monday for Columbus Day, we let our kids stay up and watch the Phillies game, which started at 10:07 pm Sunday night. 7-year-old Ben wanted to keep score...he made it to the fourth inning before passing out.
Note to MLB: PLEASE schedule our games at a time that people outside of Manhattan can tolerate.

Ghost in the machine

2009-10-06T11:18:00.004-04:00

I'm not sure what to make of this mobile phone app. It's eery.

Wikitude Augmented Reality: WTC - Its not there but its there from Wikitude on Vimeo.

Fluperbole

2009-09-30T14:21:00.002-04:00

Vaccinations for the H1N1 flu (yes, the Swine Flu) will be given out starting next week to school children. I fully expect a pandemic of media coverage complete with multi-colored maps and hours of televised talking heads explaining why we shouldn't go around kissing pigs.

At least we will be spared the spectacle of watching TV footage of screaming children as they are injected with 8-inch needles by Nurse Diesel - this vaccine is to be administered through a nasal solution.

Drink orange juice, sneeze into your sleeve and avoid kindergartners (if you can).