Throb

Halloween Hijinks

After an extremely fun Halloween party at Mark's last night, I went back this afternoon to help clean up and decided instead that I'd take a few minutes and carve up one of his pumpkins. I thought I did an ok job until I discovered Pumpkingutter. Next year.

Morning Sounds Dissected

Got to bring Nic Harcourt and KCRW publicist Debbie Adler into the Real studios today for an interview to support our Rhapsody Radio mobile service for Sprint, which contains podcast content from KCRW shows. Jason had fun (I think) interviewing him, and I got to sponsor an executive meeting between Nic and Real CEO Rob Glaser. Nic described the process of writing his new book as "torture." Hopefully its promotion is less arduous. Interesting dude.

This isn't working out

Tried to write a song at the bar:

So much promise
(exotic sexy fox)
I want to kiss your pink
(getting off my rocks)

You terrify me
(you exotically arrogant bitch)
I want to make you think
(nasty baby love cuddler)

Chorus:

You've got a secret

This isn't working.

Shhhh

I've been kind of quiet here lately.

Nothing is wrong. I just can't say anything. I'm not allowed. I'll try to write some song lyrics and post them. Safe. Effective. How about that local sports team?

Sudoku

Wow. Sudoku is a fun way to waste some time, if you like logic puzzles. Try it online at Web Sudoku. I've ignored this for all too long.

6 Point Perspective

Most of us who have some art education remember learning how to draw in 2, 3 and, perhaps, 4 point perspective. Dick Termes is an artist who's developed a system to draw in 4, 5 and 6 point perspective. Neat. An easy way to wrap your head around 6 point perspective (pun intended, it's coming) is to imagine sticking your head inside of a sphere and painting the outside of it with everything you saw. The net is you can capture an entire scene on a ball. For a while I was thinking about marketing balls-of-places that were manufactered using some combination of Quicktime VR and a photo printer that could print on spheres to make souvenirs of pretty places. Imagine being able to take a 360° view of the Sistene Chapel home with you! Anyway, maybe I'll do this later. Maybe somebody else will.

Kind of glad I don't have a car

Strange Lifeforms

My friend Mark Selander, who is a professional designer of mech warriors, among other things, sent me this crazy video of some extremely rare lifeforms created by 1st Avenue Machine.

Cat's Cradle

I've been dreaming up a powerful new way to communicate. Imagine that everything in the world is at some point along an infinite series of strings (which represent sets) stretched between outer extremes. That is, if a line existed between, say, the information entities Dada and BobRoss you could quickly and deeply describe something if it lined up at about point NormanRockwell on that scale. Everything fits on the Dada/BobRoss string. If you could also say that the thing in question was Corona of Pabst to Guiness you'd know much more about it. Adding Madonna of Twiggy to Dolly would just about define it. Maybe.

Actually, I'm not sure I know what I'm talking about. Hm.

Fantastic invention ideas

Stuff the world (ok, me) needs:

• Software to make your home computer act like a server and let you browse and stream your library of MP3s to your phone and share them with your friends.
• A universal TV-off remote in the shape of a Walther PPK.

• High design inflatable couches equipped with an automated inflating system and internal lighting - which can be deflated and moved by one person.
• Cellphone software that uses location-based and/or GPS technology to help you remember where you parked and lead you to your car.
• A service that lets you know when the ads and previews end at particular movie theaters and saves you a good seat so you can show up just late enough.
• A matter-spewer that lets you capture real world things and create physical object sculptures - kind of like how this (fucking stupendously amazing) thing lets you create paintings based on photography and video captures.
• Grey goop - Computer-controlled and magnetically-powered super nanosubstance that becomes whatever you tell it to be.
• A space elevator.
• A computer work interface/exercise machine that uses some kind of force-feedback mechanism to make it physically difficult (and rewarding) to have an IT job. Pedal to keep the screen lit. Lift a weight to scroll. Execute a perfect kick to the shin of your virtual opponent (or better: competing coworker's avatar) to make a folder open. Etc.
• Something similar to exercise the Spirit at work. Maybe an HR department that pays you on some kind of effectiveness/not-a-dickness scale.
• A wireless C2B (customer to bartender) I-would-like-a-refill notification system.
• Oh... solutions for poverty, homelessness, stupidity, greed, jealousy, meanness, depression, beer bellies, habitual scowls.