March 2008

On the Web

• Binary Marble Adding Machine: An amazingly simple wooden machine that performs calculations using marbles. Don’t miss the video demo!
• Muxtape: Remarkably simple site that lets you make a mixtape online. Check out mine.
• Penguin Classics Tumblr Theme: Beautifully rendered by Max Wheeler.

Philly peeps: Here's my schedule for the Philadelphia Film Festival. D me if you want to join me for some screenings: urltea.com/31yf

Son of Rambow is probably better than Be Kind Rewind, but there are only so many movies about remaking movies I can see in a short time.

The IRS guy on the phone just used The Karate Kid to explain the application and removal (wax on, wax off) of penalties and interest.

Just discovered that my 10:40 doctor appointment was actually 9:40. Time zones in iCal are not my friend today.

There is a man outside selling ice cream out of a musical truck. Perhaps I will become a patron.

I can see signing up for a mailing list, but do people really sign up for SMS updates? Why?

Scowling at the overuse of em dashes for dramatic effect.

Making my schedule for the Philadelphia Film Festival.

Popcorn is pretty much the best idea anyone has ever had.

Run Fat Boy Run: Can my admiration of Simon Pegg and Hank Azaria eclipse my disdain for Michael Ian Black and David Schwimmer? We'll see.

Interpreting guitar riffs phonetically.

All kinds of MAILER DAEMON e-mails today, bouncing back spam that was apparently sent from my e-mail address. Awesome.

The people selling used furniture on craigslist have about as much taste as iocane powder.

Making way more vegetable stir fry than I thought I was making.

Excused from jury duty at noon in a weird stroke of luck, cashed my $9 check, promptly lost $2 in a chess game, and spent the rest on lunch.

Beginning jury duty radio silence.

cowpiesurprise.muxtape.com

Watching Bring It On. For the second time. Yeah, that's right.

A lotta drama in Center City this afternoon.

Being lowballed something fierce. Apparently eBay Power Sellers are the Wal*Mart to craigslist's local merchants. Fuckers.

You tailgate me as I'm passing a semi. I give you the finger. You cut me off at 75 mph. I Google your license plate and "carpet beetles."

Loving the results of a burglarized @JesseMcPherson's detective work: blog.mcfearsome.com/2008/03/22/wo…

Having some fun with two-point perspective.

Beginning Season 2 of The Wire, feeling fortunate not to have had to watch it according to the dictates of a broadcast schedule.

The Safari 3.1 upgrade seems to have killed PicLens for me. Anyone else having this problem?

Apparently I severely tore a brand-new pair of jeans last night. I have absolutely no idea how or when.

Just strutted my stuff on stage for a free t-shirt and drink ticket. Now the whole place is getting rickrolled. God bless America.

At Bob & Barbara's drag show. The dollar bills are going fast.

Seriously, Adobe, fuck you.

Disliking Moo MiniCards, which swim amidst other business cards like petulant children. Standards are useful in non-web places, too, people.

Like so many good documentaries, The Weather Underground owes everything to the hindsight of its characters who lived to tell the tale.

Having a heated imaginary discussion with the very idea of "soft rock."

The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie version of @simplebits's and @beep's M&SS: The Markup & Style & Behavior Society.

Publishing my obligatory post-SXSW blog post: robweychert.com/editorials/20…

Calculating what my dramatically decreased premium would've saved me if I didn't wait many months after I moved to update my auto insurance.

Just rendered Leah's iPhone useless by daring to upgrade it to 1.1.4. Now it won't even restore to factory settings. Thank you, Windows.

Anxiously awaiting evolution's plans for nose hair.

Just saw a car covered in magnetic poetry.

Finally dipping a toe in Expression Engine, and chuckling as a site I designed immediately pops up in the EE Showcase.

Watching John Mellencamp on a bar TV, where he is performing at the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame, which looks more like an AARP banquet.

Just beat my best streak on the iLike Challenge, which required me to correctly identify a lot of really terrible music. Please help me.

Someday, I'll stop saying "someday."

Recuperation Day begins. Convincing my ears they're back on the ground is high on the agenda.

Somebody pressed the mute button on Philadelphia while I was away.

Homeward bound. Goodbye for now, dear friends.

Ending a typically bittersweet final night in Austin.

My fourth year at Austin’s juggernaut of an interactive conference was more of a mixed bag than years past, as both I and SXSW adapted to its growing pains.

This year’s conference was, I believe, about three times the size of my first (in 2005). Daytime sessions expanded to remote areas of Austin’s sprawling convention center, and overcrowded lunch and evening activities tested even Texas’s deft corralling hand. Those who knew the territory well enough… See more →

Planning to get in on the ground floor of the logical next trend in spam: vagina enlargement.

Looking at some obscenely gorgeous vintage Cuban film posters.

Sidetracked by@jasonsantamaria, back outside Ballroom A.

Heading into the creative collaboration panel.

Sitting outside Ballroom A, hoping to see/meet people I haven't yet seen/met. If that's you, come on down!

Just got a generous e-mail offering me a chance to upgrade my babymaker here and now.

Nighty night. Don't expect me to be able to speak very intelligibly to you tomorrow.

Overheard: "The client wants the donation form to look like the one on Michael J. Fox's site."

Turning in after a great night with great peeps, glad that it won't matter that I'll be hoarse and hung over tomorrow.

At Ginger Man with a few good people.

Why would you do a panel discussion about logos being irrelevant and not include a graphic designer?

Crashing a ma.gnolia lunch thing at Spaghetti Warehouse.

Heading to the convention center in search of lunch companions.

Wondering how many people will be awake enough to come see our presentation this morning.

Up before the sun.

Having a hard time remembering to Twitter while I bounce around SXSW. Today's summary: Five good panels, wine, cheese, Japanese.

People who don't have that Veer "KERN" sweatshirt are in the minority here.

Munching on fortune cookies provided by Adobe since I can't get lunch yet.

Forgot my camera. Guess there won't be any "Rob and X" photos this year.

On the bus to the train to the plane to Austin.

That lo-fi, grainy, DV verité approach turns me off every time. The original DIYers created greater art with a much higher barrier to entry.

Very, very wary of film festival entries for which a trailer doesn't exist or is otherwise unavailable.

Man, lots of SXSW spam this year.

Realizing that Newsgator on the iPhone lets me read more feeds without distraction, and wondering if it'll ultimately be bad for my eyes.

Any more memoirists care to be exposed as frauds this week, or will that be all?

Leah, hearing Jesu coming out of my speakers: "Oh, you like this Jesus band."

Recovering from the taxman attack with a frosty Flying Rob Irish Stout, and figuring out my schedule for SXSW.

Paying the taxman, and softly weeping.

Publishing my obligatory pre-SXSW blog post: robweychert.com/editorials/20…

March has arrived, and since college basketball doesn’t interest me any more than a zombified messiah figure selling chocolate or an ophidiophobic Irish folk hero selling Budweiser, March means just one thing: South by Southwest. In just a few days, I will descend on Austin for nearly a week’s worth of quality time with good friends and good ideas. If you see me there, I hope you won’t hesitate to say hello. Here are some… See more →

Thoroughly enjoying the Besnard Lakes while hiking through acres of SXSW prep work.

Trying unsuccessfully to follow a half-dubbed Italian film with no subtitles.

Fundraising in Hyrule's cemetery.

28 Weeks Later: Not bad, not as good as the first. Could've done without the misplaced homage to Dead Alive's legendary lawnmower scene.