Jun
30
2010
For those of you who are interested in a super-quick way to create an easy online portfolio, I recently launched a site called FolioHD to do exactly this. We’ve had about 100 people sign up so far and had over 2GB of images uploaded already. So, yeah. If you need a portfolio site, you should try this free online portfolio site and tell me what you think!
We timed it and it only takes 60 seconds to sign up, upload some pics and have your site live. Beat that with any other site and I’ll be surprised…
no comments | posted in asides, cool stuff, software
Aug
2
2009
Sometime last week I decided that I needed to get away from the city for a few days. My old-reliable escape destination since I moved to LA has been Joshua Tree National Park. It has several distinct advantages over most every other destination within 2 hours of Los Angeles.
First, it is inexpensive. An annual pass to the park costs only $30 and I’ve had one for the past two years. Camping is just $10/night per campsite. I can say for a week at Joshua Tree for the same price as a single night at an inexpensive hotel/motel. And is an ice machine conveniently located just down the hall really worth 7x the price?
Joshua Tree’s second advantage is that it doesn’t attract large crowds of people. Last time I spent 3 days camping there, I only talked to one other person and only saw several people in total – it was fantastic. This time, even with the 100+ degree days and lack of most services (i.e. real bathrooms and running water), there were quite a few people visiting but still nothing like a state park on the ocean.
Third (and most importantly), it has basically zero cell coverage throughout the entire park area. This allows/forces me to really disconnect from the rest of the world. I get calls and text messages all day long (not to mention emails) and my morning routine before I even get out of bed is to 1) check email, 2) read facebook, 3) skim NY Times headlines and read any interesting stories, then 4) glance at twitter – only after all those tasks are completed do I even bother to crawl out from under the sheets. Not so during my time at Joshua Tree. You realize how long a day really can be when it’s not filled with constant attempts to “keep up” with various, often irrelevant, information. Continue reading
no comments | tags: camping, cycling, outdoors, photography | posted in cool stuff, cycling
Jun
5
2009
Between the beginning of February and the middle of April, my mountain bike had been gathering dust in my office at work. It was living in my office because my car has no way to attach a bike rack (no trunk, no roof rack, no hitch) and because the office is closer to the beach than my downtown loft, it seemed like a great staging area. The only problem was that I never rode it and it never left my office for those months. I hadn’t really done any serious riding since my massive-ish wipeout at the end of last year and I was missing those beach at sunset rides. And eventually, as the weather transitioned from winter to spring – which is to say, went from the low 60’s to the high 60’s – I decided it was time to get back on the bike.
So I started riding on the super-convenient Ballona Creek trail which is very nearby my office and starts somewhere up in Culver City and goes out to the beach trail. My casual ride was about 10-15 miles depending on how much time I had. Best way to describe it was “relaxing”. After a long day of working in a chair in an office, I got to stretch my legs, get some fresh air, and enjoy that proximity to the ocean.
At some point I got the crazy idea that I could commute on the bike.
I mapped it out on Google Maps and it claimed to be just 16 miles one-way. The terrain looked pretty much flat. And the first portion of the commute would take me on the familiar Ballona Creek trail. The rest of the ride was a road route that I knew very well because I would drive it when the freeways were jammed up. In the car, with normal traffic, the route took just under an hour. I estimated that it would take me about two hours on the bike the first time.
Continue reading
no comments | tags: cycling, fitness | posted in cool stuff, cycling
Sep
8
2008
Need to find something on your way to somewhere? check out FindItOnMyWay.com. If you need a starbucks on the way home, or need a FedEx on the way to the office, it can help.
no comments | posted in asides, cool stuff, software
Jul
13
2008
edaah is a social dining recommendation tool. based on where you and your friends are eating, edaah will suggest a few places to try. if you spend more than five minutes thinking about where to eat today, edaah will come to the rescue. by keeping track of where you eat, we can make sure you don’t repeat too often and can help to find a place your group of friends can all enjoy for any occasion.
we just launched the beta site – check out my page and then sign up for yourself.
no comments | posted in asides, cool stuff, software
Feb
21
2008
Last week I just released with a couple friends the v1.0 of ChopShop Racing on Facebook. It’s better than all the other racing apps.
Why?
Because it has a visual race viewer – you watch cars progress throughout the race (no coin flips).
Because it is based on Physics – heavier, faster cars aren’t always great around the turns.
Because it has technical tracks – we build track data based on the severity of the turn, lengths of the segments, etc.
Because you can race people who aren’t your friends.
Because you don’t have to invite people to play the game!
I’ll let the rest of you fill in the blanks after you go play.
http://www.facebook.com/apps/application.php?id=7900548411
no comments | tags: chopshop, facebook, game | posted in asides, cool stuff, software
Feb
23
2007
ok, Top Gear is a sweet show. but this time they’ve outdone themselves. found that last night and wanted to toss it up on here before i forgot about it. they also did a shootout between a Lotus Exige and an Apache attack helicopter in one episode. i need to move to england…
no comments | tags: cars, top gear, video | posted in asides, cool stuff
Jan
31
2007
I’ve seen some cool smoke and fire photography before, but these really are impressive even knowing the color is all photoshop. Unlike some, I don’t take issue with people using photoshop for artsy purposes as long as they’re not deceptive about it. In related photos: Ariel also has done some cool stuff with matches in the past.
no comments | tags: photography | posted in asides, cool stuff
Dec
13
2006
Yesterday I was doing my morning blog reading and stumbled upon a posting at downloadsquad.com which pointed to an old app created by Brian Cross (one of the Windows Mobile Team bloggers). He called it The Mobile Secretary and it essentially allowed you to automagically send SMS messages to someone whose call you just missed.
Continue reading
1 comment | tags: mobile, software | posted in cool stuff, software