After the Battleground roller derby event last Sunday, TG decided I needed a “derby shirt”. One Wednesday we decided to hit some of the resale shops ITL to find a good starting point. It ended up being a tour of many stores we (mostly) hadn’t been to.
Many resale shops in Houston are run by volunteers for charities. As such, they’re only open when the volunteers are available, which seems to be 10am - 3pm. So, many of these stores you need to hit mid-day. We visited eight resale shops:
- Blue Bird Circle Resale Shop, 615 W. Alabama, 77006 – they had some furniture items that we liked but didn’t spend on, and I bought several hundred Magic the Gathering cards for $1, no shirts jumped off the shelves at us. (more…)
June 18th, 2007
Posted by
bshirley |
houston |
one comment
This will be the third consecutive weekend I’ve gone to roller derby events…
Two weeks ago, it started with a nice weekend in Wimberley with friends and board games. Unfortunately, I went a bit under the weather and there wasn’t as much beer drinking as would have been commensurate with the rest of the fun.
Leaving Wimberley Sunday afternoon, TG and I made it leisurely and stopped at the Driftwood Vineyards. It provides a fantastic view, so after our tasting we bought a bottle of B&E Cabernet Sauvingnon (from their sister winery in Paso Robles, California), sat on a picnic bench, and played another board game (to the envy of a passing employee). (more…)
June 17th, 2007
Posted by
bshirley |
sports, weekend |
no comments
photo by etchasketchist
MgGuff points out: The New York Times covers the impending release of the iPhone, and can only say bad things. (”That iPhone Has a Keyboard, but It’s Not Mechanical” - John Markoff, June 13) Even the title sounds condescending: “That iPhone”! And he’s expounding upon “news” we’ve known for six months.
Is this true objective analysis, or is there some CA v NY in there? Are they resentful of Apple’s recent business acumen?
They try to tie the dead weight of Apple’s Worst Design Decision Evar™: the one button mouse. <sarcasm>We know that cost them a Billion dollars, just like they warn this will.</sarcasm>
The first quote of the piece shows an insecurity that seems quite fragile – without a keyboard, I’m afraid. Is this a true umbilical need Americans now have of technology (that it be rigid and unchanging?), or is an analyst just trying to show that he’s smarter than Steve Jobs?
“The tactile feedback of a mechanical keyboard is a pretty important aspect of human interaction,” said Bill Moggeridge, a founder of Ideo, an industrial design company in Palo Alto, Calif. “If you take that away you tend to be very insecure.”
Though, the article does finally represent the crux of the matter, two-thirds through the piece with an attributed unquote: “Dispensing with a physical keyboard has given software an increased importance over hardware in product design.”
This is the true key. If there is a perceived problem in the product – and this is version 1.0, so there will be – you don’t have to sell them the fixed product, you just rev the software.
Full NYT article cached: (more…)
June 14th, 2007
Posted by
bshirley |
inthenews, tech |
no comments
In 1993 or so I went to see The Breeders in concert. I had never seen the Pixies before they broke up and really liked The Breeders (3/4 of the band), so I wanted to see them. Unfortunately, they were opening up for Nirvana. I hadn’t jumped on the Nirvana bandwagon, and was a bit annoyed that I’d get a 45 minute set sandwiched between Shonen Knife and Nirvana.
The show was at the Astro Arena. The floor was sold out, but I made it down there. The 45 minute Breeders set was incredible. With only 45 minutes to last, they let it all hang out, and I was thrashing all about the floor.
Having paid for the ticket, I stayed for Nirvana and was blown away. It was an amazing show. Soulful, raw, painful, beautiful. I was a Nirvana fan from then on, and still am today. (more…)
June 8th, 2007
Posted by
bshirley |
music |
no comments
An excellent XTC song (as redundant as that phrase is) popped on to my music shuffle this morning. Hadn’t heard it for a while and I really like it. Unfortunately, it seemed a bit topical as well.
War Dance
There’s an epidemic stirring passions in young hearts
Even the old campaigners have got it really bad
Well we ain’t seen nothing like it since coronation day
But when the street parties sound
I’m going underground
To keep the rabid hounds at bay
Oh my my – this war dance (more…)
June 6th, 2007
Posted by
bshirley |
music, politics, random |
2 comments
I was twice riding my bicycle downtown in the past two weeks to experience several blocks of downtown closed to traffic. It was obvious it was a movie or TV shoot. I had an agenda, so I didn’t linger to find out.
I was almost right; it was a TV commercial shoot. For German cell phones.
There was an article about some of the reasons that Europeans and Asian like doing photo shoots in Houston. One of the reason was many reflective buildings that do a very good job of lighting automobiles.
So, apparently the Europeans like the “look” of Houston. They may not know it, but their marketeers do.
The whole story is worth reading:
Lights, Camera, Houston!
Producers of commercials say architecture is photogenic
By TINA MARIE MACIAS
Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle
June 4, 2007, 10:01AM
Around lunch hour, strolling down Travis Street, it’s fairly normal to see pedestrians slowing traffic as they cross the street, talk on their cell phones and move at a bovine pace.
But recently it was a little slower than usual at Travis and Rusk. Maybe it was the variation of He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands blasting on the corner. Or the screens covering the sidewalk, or the large video camera blocking pedestrians’ stride. Something strange was happening. (more…)
June 4th, 2007
Posted by
bshirley |
houston, inthenews |
no comments
