I'm a fan of IconBuffet. There are lots of icon sites out there, but none have the quality and unique spin of IconBuffet. Every month, I get a new free set of icons dropped into my email account. I can then share icon sets with friends and they can share sets with me. So I have a nice collection of around 20 sets now. Everything from Taipei Monkeys to the wonderful Super Modena Bros.

The company just relaunched their site for the better. It wasn't bad before but they have a nice blog forum now and a few new features that are very clearly explained (like how stamps and tokens work so you can get your mitts on more icons). But what I'm also impressed with is their use of OpenID. This is the first site I've come across where I've actually been able to use my Open ID. So that's just fun to be able to use it.

Granted, there are some major hurdles that OpenID will need to overcome in order to become a smashing success. I really like the concept of it and I hope it doesn't die out. But given its rate of adoption (by AOL, Wikipedia, Yahoo!, Microsoft and Firefox to name a few of the big players) I don't think we have to worry about that anytime soon.

So go create your OpenID and sign-up for IconBuffet. The former might prove very useful to you. The latter might not be useful at all except for changing your Desktop's Recycle Bin into a koopa shell.

8:32 PM

Monday, March 19, 2007

Why the kids invented the YouTube

During this month's podcast, I featured a Brooklyn band called Grizzly Bear and one of their songs "Knife." Now see it performed a cappella by the band as they stroll down a street in Paris. You can really find anything on YouTube.

And if you enjoyed that, check out the band crammed in a Parisian bathroom performing a very haunting tune called "Shift".

8:55 PM

Sunday, March 18, 2007

Nervous Music Podcast 010

The Best of 2006 music list ain't happenin'. It's already late March, I struggled with compiling a list at the top of the year, and it's just not going to happen. I didn't pick up a lot of new music last year but I'm finding that I've already stumbled upon a few new releases this year that are noteworthy. So this edition is the Best of 2007...so far.

It's been several months since my last podcast, so this one's about 10 minutes longer than usual. I'm making up for lost time while at the same time cramming as much music into one edition as I can. I've selected five new albums to spotlight and you'll hear a couple tracks from each. Unfortunately Garageband maxes out at 999 measures (ack!) so it's split into two mp3s. Sorry about that, but I just didn't feel like paying for the Garageband 3.0 upgrade to get 1999 measures. So we're going to party like it's 999 instead.

Nervous Music Podcast 010 - Part 1 (32 min, 37.1 MB)
Nervous Music Podcast 010 - Part 2 (8 min, 9.6 MB)

4:26 PM

Saturday, March 17, 2007

Like I need another pair of headphones

I have more sets of headphones floating around than I know what to do with. Earbuds and headphones that came with iPods, CD players, shuffles, DJ equipment, work headsets, and gifts. My favorite, of course, will continue to be of the Bose variety. But soon I'll have another pair.

This was a terrible segue to say that I just pre-ordered the new SanDisk Sansa Express from Amazon. I don't really need another music player, but this one really grabbed my attention because of the combination of: its features (direct USB connectivity, expandable microSD slot, FM tuner and built-in mic), its quality (SanDisk is 2nd place in portable music marketshare and has an excellent reputation for memory products), and its reasonable price.

It's Windows only and doesn't support AAC which is a bit of a drag. But I think it'll still be interesting to try out and see how it stacks up to its competitor, the iPod shuffle. I'll pop back here in a month to let you know all about it.

9:28 AM

Saturday, March 03, 2007

What I've been diggin': The almighty five things

I'm finding myself blogging less and less these days because 1) I don't have the time, and 2) most of what I'm finding that's interesting is showing up on my del.icio.us list. But every now and then I think about what I've been digging and then lists emerge. Like this one.

L.L. Bean Wireless Indoor/Outdoor Thermometer: This was a Christmas gift from my parents and I love it. It's the bee's knees, as they say. Each morning now, as I stroll into the kitchen I can catch a glimpse at the time, the indoor temp and the outdoor temp. OK, so that's nothing revolutionary. But did I mention that it measures to a tenth of a degree and it's devilishly stylish? Hey, if I don't have to peer out a frosted window in hopes of catching the mercury level that's probably covered in snow anyway, I'm happy.

IZZE Sparkling Juice: Call it what you will - a refreshing, healthy beverage or Red Bull for wussies - but I like it. I just discovered 4-packs of the stuff at Target for $2 (on sale). There's no refined sugar, no caffeine, no artificial anything. Just fruit juice and sparkling water. I love the flavors they have, and I'm drinking a clementine one right now!

The new Trans Am album: Trans Am formed in 1990 in Washington D.C. and some friends and I are big fans of their second album Surrender to the Night. It's a wonderfully schizophrenic mess of angular rock, sweeping synths, and playful instrumentals. Since then, the band really hasn't produced a gem like their sophomore effort. Over the last ten years, they've dug their heels into politically charged albums that had a few great tracks here and there, but mostly the albums were: meh. Their new release Sex Change, however, is a return to their roots. Does it trump Surrender to the Night? No. But see for yourself. It's a fun ride.

~~Trans Am "North East Rising Sun"~~ (mp3)
~~Trans Am "4,738 Regrets"~~ (mp3)

Getting organized: Or more accurately, "getting things done" has kept me sane these days. Yes it's ultra-nerdy and I never subscribe to those "get fill-in-the-blank quick" schemes, but this one actually works and is quite adaptable to the geek lifestyle. So I've been getting all kinds of organized with my GTD books, Remember The Milk lists, Google Calendar, index cards, binder clips, plastic trays for In, Read/Review, and Next Actions, new Outlook folders like ".Next Actions" and ".Waiting For", manila folders, a hipsterPDA, and my trusty (and unabashedly geeky) label maker. All of these things equal a clearer head.

New ways of keeping up with friends: Blogs, Gmail IM, Twitter, social networking sites like LinkedIn, feeds like Flickr photos, Last.fm, Amazon wishlists, ... It's all very wacky. I've caught up with friends in the most random of online places lately. I take a photo of ice fragments on the Charles with my phone and moments later it's on Flickr and a friend across the country comments on it. The strange thing is that this phenomenon is starting to feel natural.

11:12 AM

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Thursday, March 22, 2007

OpenID and IconBuffet