Although I am admittedly a bit of a gadget geek, I think the web needs another gadget review blog like it needs another directory of real estate agents... However, when a gadget with the right features is particularly hard to find, I will shout about it.
The result of my month-long quest to find a DVD player that will play shuffled MP3’s off of a DVD-R has resulted in the LG LDA-511.
If you haven't discovered YouTube yet, you're in for a treat. My favorite posts are a game six of the 1986 World Series reenacted using the Nintendo RBI Baseball video game (also found on Google Video) and a live reenactment of the opening sequence of The Simpsons.
One of my brother-in-law’s favorite records is The Miraculous Hump Returns from the Moon by Sopwith Camel - a group that came out of San Fransisco in the 60’s.
In helping my sister procure some mp3’s, I ended up listening to the record and liking it a lot! I’m going to completely rip-off a review posted on Amazon (but give full credit of course) and post it here:
"Beauty is its own reward. The best commercials can be pure little pieces along these lines."
World renowned television commercial director, Joe Pytka.
Joe Pytka has directed a number of well-known commercials including the This is your Brain on Drugs public service announcement, the Bartles and James Thank You for Your Support campaign, and the Ray Charles Uh-huh Pepsi spots.
He also directed one of my favorite commercials of all time for Sony (Quicktime / Windows Media) about a middle-aged man who cashes-in to take a space flight (with help from Sony gadgets along the way).
My other favorite add is the Hummer commercial produced by Boston-based ad company, Modernista. You can view all of the Hummer spots at their web site.
I haven't read this yet. I'm recommending this on the cover photo alone. My friend Paul and I were at that game and only a few meters away. A-Rod is pushed by Jason Varitek after Rodriguez was hit by a pitch from Red pitcher Bronson Arroyo in the third inning at Fenway Park, July 24, 2004.
Faithful: Two Diehard Boston Red Sox Fans Chronicle the Historic 2004 Season
by Stewart O'Nan & Stephen King
Rich Schiesser: IT Systems Management: Designing, Implementing, and Managing World-Class Infrastructures
To all the CEO's out there - read this book, then take a long, hard look at your IT department. (IT managers, read this book before your CEO does.)
Jesse James Garrett: The Elements of User Experience: User-Centered Design for the Web
Light read, but enjoyable. Recommended for anyone (technical or non-technical) involved in a web applicaton project.
Ralph Kimball: The Data Warehouse ETL Toolkit: Practical Techniques for Extracting, Cleanin
Make this the first book you read on data warehousing.
Shilpa Lawande: Oracle 10g Data Warehousing
This is an amazing book by an amazing technical author. A must-read for dba's involved with Oracle data warehouseing projects.
Simon Robinson: Professional C# (Programmer to Programmer)
Aimed at experienced programmers, this book is remarkably complete.
Laura Lemay: Sams Teach Yourself Perl in 21 Days (2nd Edition)
If you've worked with any scripting languages before, this book will actually teach you in 5 days.
