Ploafmaster General

Holy my crap, this is amazing! I couldn't figure out how not to auto-play the embedded video (non typical source), so click on to check it out.

http://bobandsylvia.com/player.swf?file=WINGSUIT.flv
(via ze frank)

I purchased the album from Plan 9 yesterday on my way to the butcher shoppe, and I have to say that Vampire Weekend is rocking my ears to the extreme.

Some of my favorite tracks (other than the previously mentioned "M79") include "A-Punk", a Police-meets-The Strokes piece that gets my feet shuffling for just over two minutes, and "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa", a song which musically sounds more Cape Town than Cape Cod. The instrumentation seems one moment spare, the next lush with strings and keys, and the vocals are clear and uplifting.

One more reason to wish I was at SXSW :-)

In response to a disparaging article, 37signals' Jason Fried essentially sums up his company's broad approach to doing business and developing software. This is a great article for anybody who creates products - not just nerdy computer types like myself. And if you couldn't tell from this post's title, I'm rather fond of the culinary example, as it echoes my own approach to cooking.

Mugs is writing some more. Do check out his site, but especially read, "Why I'm Jealous of My Son."

You really have to enjoy one to understand my rapturous tone, but a warm, buttered egg bagel is one of the sublime pleasures of eating.

An egg bagel is rather simple in concept: a plain bagel dough with egg added where it would otherwise be absent. But the flavor is rich, the color near unnaturally yellow, and when said bagel comes from The Bagel Oven in Red Bank, New Jersey, the baked ring of bread is dense, chewy, and covered in a barely crispy skin just thick enough to balance the texture.

I enjoy the occasional bagel from Panera or Einstein's, but munching on that glorious "o" of dough this weekend reminded me just how bagels outside of the North East try - and utterly fail - to be what bagels ought to be.

It feels good to be back in Richmond, home, and emotionally settling. While I have a less-than-delightful cubicle move today, I still plan to post when I can - it's been so long after all :-)

Anyway, here are some tidbits to catch us up:

1. My dad is buried in the same cemetery as the great Vince Lombardy.
2. There's a horrible new yipping dog across the street that doesn't know what noise ordinances are.
3. The 8-year-old can of Jones Soda "Whoop Ass Energy Drink" that I keep at my desk is still leaking at the top. Slowly. And that nasty jank still smells like crushed Flintstones vitamins.

That oughtta have me covered for a little while.

My nephew is more awesome than your soul.


Donoblaster from ploafmaster on Vimeo.

One of my best friends, Robert, was just accepted into Virginia Tech's PhD program! Congratu-frickin'-lations man!

I dropped a few more pics on the ol' Flickr-oo. I managed to get 11 pictures out of 4 rolls, this time :-)

Of course, the highlight for me is that the pics that didn't make the cut for Flickr are substantially better than my past efforts. I also know for sure now that I need a sturdier tripod if I want any of my 300mm shots to be worth anything.

Well, Brett, you had a good run.

My dad passed away over night from complications following an otherwise low-risk hernia surgery.

I've always viewed my relationship with my dad as more like a really close uncle, so it's hard for me to know how to deal with this right now. I'm sure the shock will wash over me in the coming days, but for now, I'm just taking some time to clear my head. My posting may be sporadic over the next week or so. I don't really know how to approach that, either. Is it profane for me to seek out and reference the absurd web content that usually fills my site? Or is that therapeutic?

Whatever.

Rest in peace, Thomas Treacy Warshaw Jr.

May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind always be at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
and rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.

Fifty-eight per cent.

Flickr user Nick Wheeler has a really cool tutorial on how to make a home-made ring flash, thoroughly illustrated with step-by-step photos. I may have to try this out some time. Maybe I need to get a flash first, though :-)

This is too cool to ignore:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z25t-PQDn5A&w=500&h=418]
(via kottke)

"Five Primal Emotions" OR "Watch Dan Practice Facial Gymnastics" from ploafmaster on Vimeo.

Less artistic, but more appropriate to today (just make sure you turn up the volume, it's pretty quiet):


February 29 from GuySansom on Vimeo.

Tasty.


18fps from 16:9 on Vimeo.

Wikipedia's entry for February 29th is full of distractions for your Friday, with lists of notable historical events, births, deaths, et al.

Dan Benjamin has done it again.

Today he's posted full instructions for a "roll your own" install of Ruby, Rubygems, Rails, and Mongrel on Leopard. As soon as I get home I'm going to take a stab at it, but I'm sure it'll be as easy as his previous efforts.

Reasons Why I Love "The Sneeze" #2874: Naming a toilet.

Make sure you won't disturb anybody with your laughter before you read this.

If you get a chance, check out the music of Vampire Weekend. Yesterday's Fresh Air contained a review of their self-titled disc, and I have to say that while their music sounds quite derivative, it's still VERY pleasant to the ears.

You can hear two tracks, "Oxford Comma" (Trey and Phil may go bonkers over this one...) and "M79", on their website. I'm a particularly big fan of M79, and after hearing snippets from several other tracks on the Fresh Air review I may have to snag the album.

Alright, I know I'm not the first person to talk about it, but it's just so funny that I can't contain it any longer.

Go read Stuff White People Like. And don't take it too seriously or I'll pee in your Cheerios.
(via Blankenship)

So this morning I hopped in the car and started driving up Seminary Ave. on my typical route to work. I was almost to Brookland Park Boulevard when I noticed a tall, lanky fellow standing by his car on the side of the street. A feeling of recognition hit me, and as I started passing by, I realized it was my friend Isaac from when I was in high school! He recognized me, too, so I parked and jumped out.

It turns out that he just purchased a house three blocks up the street from Valerie and myself. So now I have one of my old pals living in the same neighborhood. Rock, rock on.

The above shot was taken by my buddy Dave on his first day shooting film with a manual camera. I think he managed to capture my prettier side.

Today Wes Anderson's The Darjeeling Limited releases on DVD. After I pick up my developed film, I'm heading straight to the store to snag a copy. HUZZAH!