links for 2007-01-31
-
How to build a book shelf that appears to be invisible, just books floating on the wall.
-
Phillip Torrone introduces Hackszine to his Makezine readers.
Updates from January, 2007 Toggle Comment Threads | Keyboard Shortcuts
-
Brian Sawyer
-
Brian Sawyer
links for 2007-01-30
-
New fiction by David Foster Wallace in The New Yorker
-
Newish nonfiction from David Sedaris in The New Yorker
-
Beautiful and informative annotated exploration of geometric paper sculpture inspiration, process, and final art pieces.
-
-
Brian Sawyer
Blogging Hacks
I post to my personal blog on my own time. But over the past few months, I’ve also been blogging away quietly on company time. I’ve been building up posts at Hackszine, in anticipation of the site’s formal launch (still to come). As I mention in today’s welcome post, this blog is the new online counterpart to O’Reilly Media’s Hacks series of books, for which I’m lead editor:
We’ve developed this site to promote the philosophy of Hacks as a way to gain control of the devices and systems in our lives. To hack something is to make it work the way it should — for you. This site will bring you the best hacks we uncover in the wilds of the Internet, while at the same time delivering fresh, original content developed by our pool of Hacks authors and contributors.To give you an idea of what Hacks is all about, here are a few early posts about the series itself:
- How to Write a Hack for O’Reilly
- Foreword to Wireless Hacks, Second Edition
- Foreword to Greasemonkey Hacks
And here’s a sprinkling of what I’ve been writing, on a variety of topics:
- 10 Government Hacks
- Auto-Correct Typos in Your Address Bar
- Personalize Your Flickr Replies
- Resize Photos with Flickr
- Chart Your Route with Virtual Pedometers
- Build a Fire with a Coke Can and Chocolate Bar
- Make Shorter iTunes Podcast Links
- YouTube Kaleidoscope
- See Better with Pinhole Eyes
- Syntax Hacks
- Traveling Toy Safety Net
- Babyproof a Banister Without Breaking the Bank
As you may have already guessed, my Map Your Books post from earlier today was originally written for Hackszine. I don’t plan on doing much double-posting across the sites, but I wanted to at least sprinkle a little of that flavor over here, to show you what I’m up to over there, with a post about a topic (books) I often address here (though, lately) not as often as I’d like).
Let me know what you think. I’m quite excited about this new part of my job and hope some readers of this avocational blog will follow me over on my vocational site.
-
Brian Sawyer
Map Your Books
The folks at Google have answered a great rhetorical question with an even better internal mashup of Google Books Search and Google Maps:
So why not visualize places mentioned in books on a map? Now you can. Our team has begun to animate the static information found in books by organizing a sample of locations from them on an interactive Google Map, with snippets of text from the book, and links to the actual pages where the locations are mentioned. When our automatic techniques determine that there are a good number of quality locations from a book to show you, you’ll find a map on the “About this book” page.
Though the service works for any books available in Google Book Search, it’s much more interesting for novels or narrative nonfiction than with technical books like this one:
Perhaps it will finally help me find my way around War and Peace, though what I really need for that book is a character map.
-
Brian Sawyer
links for 2007-01-29
Note: I’m experimenting with the “daily blog posting” feature for my del.icio.us links. Please bear with me on this “feature” as it develops. Feedback on its usefulness or annoyance level is welcome.
-
Craft is radical, craft is worldchanging, and craft has been with us all along.
-
This is a flatbed scanner that was built into a custom fabricated
leather-bound tome.
-
-
Brian Sawyer
Hobo or Brawler?
Two of my favorite pieces of creative media consumed in 2006 inspired me to create this simple test for fans of both works.
For each of the following, indicate which name is taken from John Hodgman’s list of “700 Hundred Hobo Names” in his book The Areas of My Expertise and which are characters in songs from Tom Waits’ Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers, and Bastards album:- Lil’ Shorty Longhorn | Little Son Jackson
- The 44 Kid | 50-Tooth Slim
- Candle-Eyed Sally | Big Eyed Al
- Blackjack Ruby | Battling Joe Frickinfrack
- Jeremiah Tip Top | Peoria Johnson
- Dudlow Joe | Jack Skunk
- Whitfield Faraday | Nick Nolte
- Jockey La Fayette | Cambridge Massachusetts Claude
- Salty Salty Friday | Skullion Childs
- Satchel Puddin’ | Baked Salmon Salad Finn
- Lord God Mose | Fourteen-Bindlestick Frank
- Nimrod Cain | Pickled-Noggin Nettles
- Birdy Joe Hoaks | Nichols Cracksknuckle
- Ironbelly Norton | Scarface Ron
- William the Pleaser | Smokehouse “Frankie” Jowl-Poker
- Buzz Fledderjohn | Waspwaist Fritz
- Louie Lista | Gin-Bucket Greg
- Huckle Smothered | Humpty Jackson
- Oklahoma Stilgar | Paul Body
- Gyp the Blood | Rumpshaker Phil
Good luck. You can leave your answers or questions in the comments (no peaking at others answers before you complete the test!). If you do not get 100% of these correct, study up and take the test again. These are important matters, which, someday, you’ll thank me for reinforcing.
UPDATE
Here’s an audio version of the “700 Hobo Names,” read by the author (and linked to from his web site), for anyone unfamiliar with them:
-
Brian Sawyer
Floored
In yesterday’s post, I complained about not having time to knit, which I realize is something of a cop out. (I know I get tired of hearing people say they’re too busy for X, since we all have time for the things we choose make time for.) So, this post isn’t a justification for my knitting sloth. But I hope to at least show what’s been occupying most of my time lately. It’s true that I haven’t been working on this project around the clock, but it’s also true that it hasn’t left me with a lot of energy in my free time. And the work has been wrist-intensive, which actually continues to make seemingly simple things like knitting and typing difficult. (Please excuse me for the brief DIWhine.)
Over the holidays (as well as both before and after), we were busy making over our kitchen from this:
to this:
The result is a kitchen that retains not a single element of the original (with the exception of the overhead lighting fixtures).
Of course, we contracted the bulk of the job–namely, cabinets, countertops, and appliance delivery/installation (with the exception of the new microwave, which I delivered and installed myself)–to professionals, but that doesn’t mean it didn’t take up a lot of my time anyway.
That said, after the kitchen was once again fairly usable, it was time for my main personal contribution of blood, sweat, and tears: the floor. It was my job to turn this floor:
into this:
The project involved a great deal of planning:
and a greater deal of work:
an attention to detail and precision:
and even a little practical math (this is the first time I’ve ever required the Pythagorean Theorem in a real-world situation):
Still, after all the frustration, stifled (and, yes, some not stifled) curses, and pain (and, as mentioned, earlier, with some continued soreness), I’m quite pleased with the results:
Now, I just need to tile the backsplash, after which I’ll be left with nothing to complain about and nothing but free time for lace knitting.
If you’re interested, check out more photos of this and other DIY projects in my Home Renovation Flickr photoset.
-
Aimee
That is impressive! The new kitchen looks stunning. What a pleasure it will be to cook there.
-
natalie
Wow what amazing work! (Nice math there too, btw.) It looks beautiful.
-
maki ♥ squarepatch
that’s alot of work but it looks really awesome now
-
-
Brian Sawyer
WIP It
For as much as I talk about knitting, I realize I haven’t posted much of my own work in quite a while. I just haven’t had the time (to knit, not to post). But today I reached something of a milestone, so I thought it was worth mentioning. Perhaps having others know what I’m up to will give me the encouragement (or guilt) necessary to keep moving.
Anyway, here’s what I’m working on now, the Jade Pullover from Elsebeth Lavold’s Designer’s Choice Book Two: The Sentimental Journey Collection:
As I mentioned, it’s been slow going (I started this piece just over a year ago), but I finally finished the back:
As you can see, the back and front are simple stockinette stitch, which is kind of tedious when you don’t have a lot of spare time to knit, but I’m really looking forward to learning lace when I get to the sleeves and neck.
Barb is discussing. 
Brian Sawyer
Celebrity Sighting
Yesterday, I had the chance to meet one of my son’s idols, and believe me, he was jealous:
Now, I just need to convince him that this isn’t how I spend every day at work.
-
bekaboo
Now THAT is cool!
Brian Sawyer
Knit Lit?
I somehow doubt that The Friday Night Knitting Club will spark a new literary genre, but the fanfare over its publication certainly signals a trend:
With knitting captivating a new generation of women, writer Kate Jacobs based her debut novel around a yarn shop in New York — winning actress Julia Roberts’ attention.
Roberts, a self-confessed knitter, was passed a copy of the novel, ‘The Friday Night Knitting Club,’ in which she briefly appeared and enjoyed it so much that she is making it into a film.
Thanks to Ed, who perhaps might have been just a little disingenuous when he expressed fear of a term (knit lit) he appears to have coined himself (I didn’t see it mentioned in the article).
-
Aimee
Oooh, sounds like a very fun read.
Barb 10:39 am on January 30, 2007 Permalink |
This scanner is awesome! It would look ever so much better on the desk in the office! Very impressive.