Jeff's Tumblelog

Crossbones for iPhone / iPod touch

Sat, 20 Dec 2008 16:48:59 -0500

A former coworker has just released a new game for the iPhone: Crossbones. It really whips the llama’s ass, if I do say so myself. 99 cents for a game of this quality is highway robbery.

Charlie Munger: The Art of Stock Picking

Sat, 20 Dec 2008 16:44:36 -0500

Charlie Munger: The Art of Stock Picking:

Charlie Munger is the man. I want to pick up a copy of Poor Charlie’s Almanack.

The Real "Mother Of All Ponzi Schemes": Social Security

Thu, 18 Dec 2008 01:44:00 -0500

The Real "Mother Of All Ponzi Schemes": Social Security

"I’ve abandoned free-market principles to save the free-market system"

Wed, 17 Dec 2008 13:11:29 -0500

“I’ve abandoned free-market principles to save the free-market system”

- George W. Bush, interview with CNN

Fed Cuts Benchmark Rate to Near Zero

Tue, 16 Dec 2008 18:45:16 -0500

Fed Cuts Benchmark Rate to Near Zero:

“Far more important than the rate itself, the Fed bluntly declared that it was ready to move to a new phase of monetary policy in which it prints vast amounts of money for a wide array of lending programs aimed at financial institutions, businesses and consumers.”

Good thing I’ve been buying gold.

In Silicon Valley, Millionaires Who Don’t Feel Rich

Tue, 16 Dec 2008 01:04:05 -0500

In Silicon Valley, Millionaires Who Don’t Feel Rich:

Wow, what are some of these people smoking?

"You only learn who has been swimming naked when the tide goes out – and what we are witnessing at..."

Sat, 13 Dec 2008 16:43:55 -0500

“You only learn who has been swimming naked when the tide goes out – and what we are witnessing at some of our largest financial institutions is an ugly sight.”

- Warren E. Buffet, Berkshire Hathway 2007 Letter to Shareholders

"Can QB Dorsey complete a pass? Can the defense shut out Titans and give Browns win 3-0 in OT? Will..."

Fri, 05 Dec 2008 00:01:21 -0500

“Can QB Dorsey complete a pass? Can the defense shut out Titans and give Browns win 3-0 in OT? Will the Nashville BBQ be too much for Romeo? How high will the Browns 2009 draft pick be? This and more good conversation - only at your nearest BABB location this Sunday morning! Stay strong, show up, shop later.”

- Bay Area Browns Backers newsletter

This T. Boone Pickens ad cracks me up. I say, “drill,...

Mon, 22 Sep 2008 16:32:47 -0400

This T. Boone Pickens ad cracks me up. I say, “drill, drill, drill!”

Tour of Pennsylvania

Sun, 29 Jun 2008 19:49:39 -0400

This weekend, the Tour of Pennsylvania came to town. On Saturday, Mike was in town and we went to the stage finish at the South Side Works. On Sunday my parents came to Pittsburgh for the criterium downtown. The criterium was shortened by rain, but the festivities were still fun. I posted some of my photos on Flickr.

TOSRV

Sun, 18 May 2008 17:18:02 -0400

Last weekend I went to Ohio and completed TOSRV, a 2 day, 210 mile bike ride from Columbus to Portsmouth. It went very well, except for some rain and wind on Sunday. I should be in good shape for the MS 150 in June…

I voted today. The fact that a young man in his 20s that lives...

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 14:22:40 -0400

I voted today. The fact that a young man in his 20s that lives in Squirrel Hill could be a Republican caused great confusion amongst the poll workers. At first they couldn’t find my voter card, since they assumed that I must be a Democrat. (You’d think the fact that I was wearing my “I Support Ron Paul” t-shirt would eliminate that sort of confusion.)

Anyway, I’ve been listening to this track from the Ron Paul mixtape all day.

SXSW 2008

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 00:48:32 -0400

Although I’m very delinquent in writing this entry, I did, in fact, attend SXSW 2008. I went with my friend Jason from college and had a great time.

Had a great time in Austin, that is. Getting there and back was another story. I ended up spending unplanned nights in Memphis on my way to and from SXSW. One of those nights was in a roach motel, literally. And I had to rent a car and drive from San Antonio just to get there a day late. (I strongly recommend avoiding Pinnacle Airlines, a.k.a. Northwest Connection.) But enough grumbling.

When I did finally reach Austin, I was itching to make up for lost time, so Jason and I picked up my badge and proceeded immediately to a screening of Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson. I didn’t realize that it was produced by HDNet Films (the same people that did Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room), otherwise I would have been even more excited to see it. It was extremely well done. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas has been bumped to the top of my reading list. After Gonzo we headed to the Frog Design party. This was one of the few SXSW parties that was at a venue that was actually large enough to accommodate everyone who wanted to attend. The free green beer was vile, though. We finished off the night at a cafe in downtown Austin that offered smores. Yum.

Sunday was the Mark Zuckerberg keynote, which was supposed to be the highlight of the Interactive festival. It was a complete train wreck and one of the worst interviews I have ever witnessed. The only thing good about it was that the sheer awfulness of it provided good conversation fodder. Kathy Sierra’s talk about “Creating Passionate Users” followed and was much better. In the evening, Jason and I headed to the Alamo Drafthouse (this would become a theme during the trip) for a screening of Nerdcore Rising. I love documentary films, and was very impressed with the depth and character of what could have easily been a gimmick film (it was about nerdcore hip-hop, after all). Despite heading for the after party promptly following the end of the screening, we had to wait a long time to get into the club. MC Frontalot performed a few songs, but we missed him. We did get to see Prince Paul, who was featured in the film, perform, though.

Monday was the PostSecret keynote, which was interesting, if a little fluffy. After that Jason and I went to the Bootstrapping 101 panel, which was crap. So we bailed and decided to see a screening of The Matador, a documentary about an up-and-coming bullfighter in Spain. Now I really want to go to Spain and a corrida up close and personal. We went straight from that screening to the Alamo Drafthouse for the regional premiere of Morgan Spurlock’s film Where in the World is Osama bin Laden? Good stuff, and I hope lots of people go see it. I’d sum up the film in the words of an Afghani man-on-the-street when asked about Osama bin Laden: “Fuck him and fuck America too.”

On Tuesday, we got up and met with Isaac from Pittsburgh for lunch at Stubb’s BBQ. Fried okra for the win. The keynote for that day was Jane McGonigal, who gave an interesting talk that boiled down to applying the principles of “positive psychology” to software development. After that we hit a film panel with members of Troublemaker Studios, Robert Rodriguez’s company. That was more interesting for Jason than me, but it was alright. That evening we went to see two films: Second Skin and Dreams with Sharp Teeth. Second Skin was a documentary about people who play online RPGs (although, curiously enough, given the title, it said very little about Second Life). Dreams with Sharp Teeth was a documentary about Harlan Ellison, the sci-fi author. Both were very well done, and I’m pleased to say that of the six films I saw at SXSW, I wouldn’t rate any of them below a high ‘B’.

On Wednesday we met Jason’s friend Buzz for lunch at Iron Works, another BBQ joint. That, on top of a trip to a bratwurst cart named “The Best Wurst” the previous evening, meant that we ended up eating quite a bit of beef brisket and sausage during our trip. No regrets about that, since you can’t find BBQ one-tenth as good anywhere in Pittsburgh. After lunch it was time to head to the airport and bid SXSW adieu.

At least, until next year…

Just signed up for TOSRV, a 200 mile bike tour the weekend of May 10-11. That ought to focus my...

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 22:54:56 -0400

Just signed up for TOSRV, a 200 mile bike tour the weekend of May 10-11. That ought to focus my training…

I did my first bike ride of the year tonight. 10.05 miles, 45m 27s, 850 ft of climbing.

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 21:22:46 -0400

I did my first bike ride of the year tonight. 10.05 miles, 45m 27s, 850 ft of climbing.

Bobby G: Adventure Capitalist and Wall Street Warriors are now available in their entirety on Hulu.

Sat, 12 Apr 2008 01:07:21 -0400

Bobby G: Adventure Capitalist and Wall Street Warriors are now available in their entirety on Hulu.

Montana Governor on 'Real ID' Act

Sat, 08 Mar 2008 14:08:00 -0500

Montana Governor on 'Real ID' Act:

Montana governor Brian Schweitzer is my new hero after listening to this interview. Make sure you stick around until the very end of the interview.

Mike turned me on to a couple of TV shows on the Mojo network...

Sun, 02 Mar 2008 23:53:00 -0500

Mike turned me on to a couple of TV shows on the Mojo network this weekend: Bobby G: Adventure Capitalist and Wall Street Warriors. Just finished watching the first season of Wall Street Warriors. This discussion of “fuck you money” was pretty funny.

Holy shit, Point Brugge is tasty.

Sat, 01 Mar 2008 15:52:31 -0500

Holy shit, Point Brugge is tasty.

Mike was in Pittsburgh for work today, so we met up for dinner at LuLu’s. Afterward we went to...

Sat, 01 Mar 2008 01:36:00 -0500

Mike was in Pittsburgh for work today, so we met up for dinner at LuLu’s. Afterward we went to see No Country for Old Men. Good stuff, but not as good as There Will Be Blood.