Grant Hutchins

Loving this Windows-MIDI-themed tribute album

https://soundcloud.com/sexytoadsandfrogsfriendcircle/sets/staffcirc-vol-60-windows-variat1

Ford’s solar-powered electric car takes transportation off the grid - Quartz.

One day I hope to have a car that is 100% electric. But who knows, maybe eventually I’ll even be able to be 100% off of the power grid.

How Much More Does Crossing The Holland Tunnel Cost Today?

Show me a case where a toll highway, tunnel, or bridge is converted to a free thoroughfare. It never happens.

Incidentally, toll hikes were never contemplated in the original plan to build the Holland Tunnel, as tolls were to be rescinded after the initial costs of building the tunnel were recouped. But by the time this recoupment was close, PANYNJ had taken over the tunnel, and needed further financing for the construction of all the other Hudson River Crossings named after engineers (Goethels, Outerbridge) or presidents (Lincoln, Washington). PANYNJ is entirely non-profit, as it runs according to an interstate compact negotiated between New York and New Jersey. For PANYNJ to raise capital, it issues bonds, approved by the two states, which are backed by PANYNJ’s toll and rental income. Long story short, when PANYNJ needs financing, they raise tolls.

The Slowening of Faster Devices

My Sharp HDTV suffers from this greatly.

It’s miserable waiting several seconds per channel while I try to hit “channel up” from a low number to a high number to catch a show that’s about to start.

It’s also completely horrible to turn on the TV to a very loud station and have to wait several seconds before I can turn the volume down.

The firmware is upgradable, so I hope that Sharp somehow magically hears my plea for an upgraded experience.

If we don’t have something original to say, we won’t.

— Newsweek’s editor, Jon Meacham

A Tribute to Fallen Sodas | Gunaxin

Out of this list, the ones I most miss are Josta, Surge, and OK. The ones I miss least are dnL (though I loved the concept) and Pepsi Blue.

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall - Errol Morris Blog - NYTimes.com

A fascinating and lengthy in-depth look at some of the photographs that best defined George W. Bush’s presidency. I just read through the whole thing.

The Stoopid Student: Top Ten Nicest College Dorms

This blog post didn’t get Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering’s name right, but the random Flickr photo they decided to link to is the common room from my 6 person suite senior year. That’s my Oklahoma flag!

In the last couple years, I have started reading several books, but finished very few. It would seem that my appetite for new knowledge doesn’t have a very long attention span.

Meanwhile, I spend night after night reading as much as I can from my feed reader, which right this instant clocks in at 501 subscriptions, with 1295 unread articles. I have yet to discover anyone who is subscribed to more feeds than I am.

Now I know that sounds staggering, and it should, but I don’t read everything. Indeed, it would be pretty much impossible to do so. But I do make quite an effort, and in doing so I have initiated the reading of countless streams of never-ending text. Yet more books I will never finish.

One thing I did recently finish, in one sitting, is Patrick Combs’s story from 1995 about cashing a junk mail check for over $95,000. Not sure how long it would be as a book but it would certainly take more physical pages than the 10 or so webpages that the story is split into.

The other day at work I printed out a page of Google API documentation that I was reading, and it came out to about 36 pages. I had already pretty much read the whole thing by the time I hit “Print”, so I was taken aback a little bit at just how much I must read in any given day without skipping a beat.

I’m even starting to read books on my iPhone. Right now I’m reading Edwin A. Abbott’s Flatland as part of the fun little Classics application. So there’s yet another incomplete reading.

So I guess the point is that I read a lot. My hunger for knowledge cannot be satiated.

So how do you occupy your time? Video games? Some sort of physical activity? Let me know in the comments.

Moonset & Apocalypse from Mike on Vimeo.

The El Pelon Taqueria (which I ate at once) burned along with several other independent restaurants in Boston yesterday. A stop-motion photographer happened to capture it all.

Great

A new webcomic about a hapless fellow.

Jonathan Denmark Makes Hip Hop Blush

My good friend Jonathan Denmark just got some press coverage from LA2DAY for his concert this Friday in Los Angeles.

I have written a few of the backing tracks for his set, including for Great Dietitian, which is available in the iTunes Store.

Dan and I have just had a pun battle. Check it out!

Start with a seasoned hamburger patty. The one I used was from Whole Foods and was covered with crumbs of onion, bell pepper, garlic, and parsley.

Cook on a grill. I used one of the tabletop ones that grills both sides at once. Well-done works best so that it’s a bit crumbly.

Make a bed of spinach on your plate.

Toss some sliced pepperoncini peppers over the spinach.

Lightly cover the spinach with a garlicky Italian dressing, then spread some flaxseed over it so that it sticks to the dressing here and there.

Take the burger patty and cut it into chunks, and spread over the salad.

Crumble some white cheddar on top, leaving the chunks fairly big.

Serve with some crackers. One great choice is “Everything Flatbread” by Passport which adds even more garlic and seeds to the mix.