Wednesday, June 30, 2010

BREAKING: Woot To Be Acquired By Amazon, Then Left To Amuse Ourselves

wow.

 
 

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Holy crap! Woot has signed an agreement with Amazon - yes, the Amazon - to become an independent subsidiary of the ecommerce colossus. Woot HQ will remain in Carrollton, Texas, and will operate as autonomously as other Amazon companies like Zappos and Audible. More details forthcoming after we pick our eyeballs up off of the floor. Anybody see where Lefty rolled off to?

Here's more:

Direct press/media inquiries to  media@woot.com.

 


 
 

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Apple Hires Antenna Engineers. Really.

 
 

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via Slashdot by CmdrTaco on 6/30/10

kangsterizer writes "Sometimes, news items are just about a good laugh. You may or may not like Apple, but the way it has been handling its antenna issue has been like a small tech soap opera — Steve Jobs, the CEO, saying 'not to hold the phone that way,' rumors of software issues, and the latest but most crunchy part, since the antenna issue has been widely discovered, on 23 June, several 'antenna engineer' positions opened up at Apple. Seems someone got fired: Antenna engineer job position 1, Antenna engineer job position 2, Antenna engineer job position 3." I just figure they did all their testing in California, where AT&T dropping calls is as common as $4 coffees.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.


 
 

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Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Mmm... Cheerwine Filled Krispy Kreme Doughnuts

 
 

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via The Consumerist by Ben Popken on 6/28/10

Yes, it is the Cheerwine Kreme Filled Krispy Kreme doughnut. Two beloved Carolina brands together in a collision of flavor. Diabetes never tasted so good!

If you're not familiar with the regionally-produced Cheerwine, it's a very bubbly sweet-cherry soda that enjoys a bit of a cult following.

Krispy Kreme's Facebook page says they're only available in Carolina grocery stores for the month of July. Sorry, rest of the country.

Someone needs to put a burger or a piece of chicken between two of these and turn it into a sandwich, stat!

Cheerwine's Photos [Cheerwine's Facebook Page] (Thanks to puddintank!)


 
 

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The Fast Way to Remove Dark Circles Under Eyes in Photoshop

 
 

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via Digital Photography School by Guest Contributor on 6/29/10

A Guest post by Phil Steele

Almost any portrait subject over the age of 25 can use some under-eye cleanup, but many photographers struggle to make this common retouch look natural. I know I struggled with it, until I found this handy shortcut.

Most of us start out using the Clone Stamp tool as our all-purpose retouching sledgehammer. It's great for removing blemishes, so we just keep going and going and try to fix everything with it. But using the Clone Stamp tool to retouch bags or dark circles under eyes can require patience and artistic skill that many of us lack.

Not to worry. There's an easy "instant fix" solution.

1. Open the photo that you need to retouch in Photoshop.

2. Select the Patch Tool, which lives on the same Toolbar square as the Healing Brush. You can right-click on that square to select the Patch Tool from the fly-out menu.   

steele_patch_tool.jpg

3. Using the patch tool, draw a closed loop around the area under the eye that you want to retouch. Be careful not to chop off the eyelashes.

steele_draw_patch.jpg

4. Now that the loop is selected and surrounded by a dashed line, click inside it, and with the mouse button held down, drag that loop down onto the cheek of your subject. Drag it to an area of smooth, clean skin with good texture. This will be your sample area.

steele_drag_patch.jpg

5. After dragging to a clean sample area, release the mouse button. Bang! Instantly the texture of the sampled area will be remapped onto the target area under the eye, smoothing out any bags and correcting the color of dark circles!

steele_release_patch.jpg

Somehow the wizards at Photoshop have programmed this thing to blend the texture of the sample area and the color of the target area in a way that looks totally natural (most of the time). Occasionally, you'll find a face where it doesn't work so well, but 90% of the time, this fix is all I need.

6. Deselect it by pressing Command-D (PC: Control-D) and check the results.

7. If there is a visible edge along the border of the patch, you can zoom in and do a little cleanup. Now is the time for the Clone Stamp tool. Adjust the opacity to about 30%, take a sample (Alt:Click) from clean skin near the edge of the patch, and than lightly clone along the borderline to smooth away any visible edge.

steele_clone_tool.jpg

steele_clone_cursor.jpg

With practice, you'll get skilled at drawing and sampling with the Patch tool so that edge touch-up is rarely necessary.

Then you'll enjoy this as a fast, easy, one-step solution to most of your under-eye portrait problems!

philsteele.jpgAbout the Author : Phil Steele is the founder of SteeleTraining.com where you'll find free photo tutorials and training on a variety of topics ranging from basic photography tips to advanced off-camera flash techniques.

The photo used in this tutorial came from his popular course, "How to Shoot Professional-Looking Headshots and Portraits on a Budget with Small Flashes."

Post from: Digital Photography School - Photography Tips.

dpsbook.png

The Fast Way to Remove Dark Circles Under Eyes in Photoshop



 
 

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Battle Against Unattended Children Escalating In Passive-Aggressive Fashion


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Battle Against Unattended Children Escalating In Passive-Aggressive Fashion




An LAWeekly reader sent in this photo of a sign at a local cafe. We've heard the espresso and a puppy line before, but the addition of a drum and profanity really adds something to the mental picture. Kudos.



LA Weekly Reader Twitpic Photo of the Day: Espresso + A Puppy [LA Weekly]



~david

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Brand Fail: Not Just Bagels


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Brand Fail: Not Just Bagels




They may want to think about a new name. (Thanks to Andrew!)



~david

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Sunday, June 27, 2010

2,000,000+ Drop-Side Cribs Recalled

 
 

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via The Consumerist by Ben Popken on 6/24/10

The CPSC recalled over 2 million drop-side cribs from seven firms today, due to reports of falling and entrapment. The makers are:

Child Craft (out of business), both fixed-side and drop-Side
Delta Enterprise Corp
Evenflo
Jardine Enterprises
LaJobi
Million Dollar Baby
Simmons Juvenile Products Inc

Drop-side cribs have a side rail that moves up and down to make it easier to pick up and put down your baby. However, every drop-side crib that has ever been recalled has been because of a problem with its hardware or durability created an opening where a child could get trapped or asphyxiated.

Here's a video that explains the dangers more in-depth and how to deal with them.

The CPSC warns not to try to jerry-rig your drop-side crib to fix it. Immobilization devices will be issued in the next few weeks to disable the side rails from moving. However, if your drop-side hardware is damaged or broken, contact the manufacturer for an alternate solution.

Seven Manufacturers Announce Recalls to Repair Cribs to Address Entrapment, Suffocation and Fall Hazards [CPSC]
Seven firms recall 2 million drop-side cribs [Consumer Reports Safety Blog]


 
 

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Friday, June 25, 2010

f.lux

interesting.

 
 

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via Cool Tools on 6/25/10

f.lux is a free piece of software that slowly shifts the color temperature of your computer monitor throughout the day in order to adapt it to the natural rhythm of light. I first downloaded it after reading about Seth Robert's self-experimentation involving sleep. As Roberts points out, research indicates that certain color temperatures stimulate wakefulness and affect circadian rhythms. This is why people with Seasonal Affective Disorder use blue light devices that supposedly mimic the blue sky of summer. By using f.lux to shift the temperature of a computer monitor away from blue light and towards red after natural light has faded the idea is that it will diminish the unintended wakefulness caused by the screen and allow for a more restful sleep.

While I am not as careful a self-experimenter as Seth Roberts, I have noticed that when I use f.lux not only do I get sleepier sooner but that I also awoke earlier. By simply disabling the program for an hour (an option that is built into the software) I also notice an immediate sense of renewed wakefulness. The shift in color temperature is significant and immediately noticeable when I use my computer at night, but not in a way that negatively impacts the quality of the image on screen (and when it does, or if I need to edit photos, I simply disable it).

The program is available for Mac OS X and Windows XP/Vista/7. A similar program called Redshift is available for Linux users.


-- Oliver Hulland

f.lux
Free

Available from f.lux

Produced by stereopsis


 
 

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Thursday, June 24, 2010

Freelancers: Work for Full Price or Free, Never Cheap [Freelance]

 
 

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via Lifehacker by Adam Pash on 6/18/10

laptop-work.jpgCommon advice given to new freelancers dictates they should never do work for free. Designer Paul Scriven offers a smart counterpoint, suggesting that freelancers should either "work for free or for full price. Never for cheap."

His reasoning:

If you do a job for free you can control the expectations of the client. You can tell them what the boundaries are and what they should expect of you. When they aren't paying anything they don't want to overstep those boundaries to piss you off. They are thankful for any work that they can get out of you.

This is why charging for free is a better option than charging cheap because people who pay money have the same expectations no matter what they are paying. If that is going to be the case shouldn't you be rewarded appropriately for the time you are taking?

When you charge a rate that you feel is underpaying you, you become a pain in the ass to the client and yourself. You begin to despise design because it feels like cheap labor. Your creativity suffers along with your work performance. Instead of focusing on the job at hand all you do is worry about the guy down the street making more money than you.

Replace "design" with "freelance work" in the paragraph above and Scriven's advice applies equally to any freelancer, design or not. Whether or not your agree with that advice, let's hear about it in the comments. Photo by kiwanja.


 
 

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Build The Cadillac of Fly Traps for a Fly-Free Summer [DIY]

 
 

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via Lifehacker by Jason Fitzpatrick on 6/24/10

Build The Cadillac of Fly Traps for a Fly-Free SummerHorse flies putting a dent in your enjoyment of your patio and fruit flies taking over your kitchen were as annoying decades ago as they are today. Use these vintage plans to build a premium and extremely effective fly trap.

Apartment Therapy writer Leah Moss was on vacation in Ecuador when she came across the Terminator of fly traps. She writes:

I came across this contraption at a horse farm in Ecuador where the flies are nearly as abundant as the wild flowers. That mountain at the bottom of the cage is the fly accumulation in one week! Thankfully, our own fly problem is not quite so pronounced in DC, but the pesky little things have still been known to ruin many a good outdoor meal, making this simple trap all the more attractive.

The bait (in this case, "dog manure", but you could use something less offensive like composting scraps) in the trap attracts flies in through the bottom, leading them up through the screen cone and into the cage. Since flies only fly up, they don't know how to escape through the cone-shaped screen through which they entered. And voila!

As she notes you may not have a fly problem so bad that require building a mini-fridge sized prison for your local fly population but don't worry. The site where she found plans to build her own fly trap have several variations including the huge one in the photo, a smaller one roughly the size of a paint can, and a mini-model designed to capture fruit flies in your kitchen. Check out the link below for all the vintage plans.


 
 

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Craftsman 20" Hedge Trimmer $30

think we'll need another one of these? sale ends today.

 
 

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Old Navy Online and In Stores: 30% Off Everything Including Sale And Clearan...

looking for anything for you or the boys?

 
 

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Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Book On Tuesdays, Fly On Wednesdays

Here it is again...

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Book On Tuesdays, Fly On Wednesdays




Looking to save money on airfare for that fun summer getaway? The best time to buy an airline ticket is Tuesday around 3pm, and the best time to fly is a Wednesday. Why?



The data loving number crunchers at FareCompare have ferreted out from the airfare tables that airlines often post their ticket sales on Monday evenings. The other airlines then try to come out with their own matching deals Tuesday morning. By Tuesday afternoon, all the best fares in the computers and waiting for you to snatch them.



Wednesday is the day least traveled, so its often the cheapest. Also, Wednesdays airlines charge the lowest "peak air travel surcharge."



So buy on Tuesdays, travel on Wednesdays, and you'll have more money left over for beach-side margaritas.



Summer Travel: Money Saving Tips [CBS MoneyWatch via StrollerBaby]

Airline Ticket Surcharges for Peak Domestic Travel - Avoid the Most Expensive Days [FareCompare]



~david

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Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Verizon Offering Trials Of FiOS With No Cancellation Fee, Cheaper No-Term Co...

 
 

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via The Consumerist by Chris Morran on 6/21/10

Even though Verizon might have throttled back on expanding its FiOS network to new areas, the company still needs to make sure the networks it's spent millions installing start making money. That's why the telecom biggie has made two moves to attract reluctant consumers.

After testing the offer in Florida, Verizon will now be offering potential new customers one-month trials of their FiOS internet and cable services with no early termination fee if they cancel at the end of the month.

Additionally, Verizon has begun discounting the monthly rate (for the first year of service) for new customers who sign up for the No Term Contract option. Until now, this required customers to pay a hefty monthly premium.

These deals could potentially leave Verizon hanging out to dry, if enough people were to take advantage of them. It's estimated that it costs the company about $1,350 per household to connect them to the new fiber-optic network, but, sounding not unlike a drug dealer, a rep for Big V says that once new customers get a taste of FiOS, "they'll stick with (it) for the long haul."

Do either of these deals sway your thoughts on getting FiOS? And for those who currently have FiOS, does it bother you that you weren't given these options when you signed up?

Verizon to offer FiOS service for $99 per month, with no contract [LA Times]

Verizon offers FiOS try-out [Reuters]


 
 

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Monday, June 21, 2010

ThinkGeek's Best Ever Cease-and-Desist Letter

 
 

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via Slashdot by kdawson on 6/21/10

ThinkGeek, sister company to Slashdot, received a meticulously researched (except on one point) 12-page cease-and-desist letter from the National Pork Board. What had the meat lobbyists up in arms was an April Fools product from the TG catalog: Radiant Farms Canned Unicorn Meat, whose copy included the line "the new white meat." The NPB figured this was confusingly similar to their trademarked "the other white meat" (an advertising slogan the pork industry is considering retiring anyway). Geeknet, parent company of Thinkgeek and Slashdot, issued a press release apologizing for any confusion; you can read it on ThinkGeek's site (PDF), because the newswires refused to distribute it for some reason. Oh, and ThinkGeek has no intention of taking down the protected parody.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.


 
 

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Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Black Widow Spider Found In Whole Food Grapes

yay spiders in grapes, yay!

 
 

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via The Consumerist by Meg Marco on 6/16/10

According to WBZ in Boston a man found a black widow spider in his package of Whole Foods grapes. Don't worry though, while the bite of the Black Widow is painful, few people die from it.

From WBZ:

A manager told [the customer] the entire shipment of Anthony's brand organic red seedless grapes would be removed from the shelves.

In a statement to WBZ, Whole Foods said spiders are part of the landscape at their California grower and "although we are very cautious when unpacking produce, sometimes insects are not detected."
[The customer] said Whole Foods offered him gift cards if he'd leave the spider with them. But, he wants to keep it, at least for now.

The article says the black widow is one of the most common creatures found in produce and sightings are on the rise because farmers are using less-toxic pesticides.


Black Widow Spider Found In Whole Foods Grapes [WBZ]


 
 

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ABC Doubling The Commercials On iPad App, Online Streams

joy!!!

 
 

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via The Consumerist by Chris Walters on 6/16/10

If you watch ABC's shows online or with an iPad, your limited commercial interruptions are about to get a little less limited. So far, most of ABC's streaming shows contain 5 to 6 ads of 30 seconds each, but mocoNews says one of ABC's executives just confirmed that the network is going to double that ad load, perhaps leading the way for other networks to do the same.

"ABC Doubles The Ad Load Within iPad Episode Streams" [mocoNews]


 
 

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Free $10 Amazon Video on Demand Credit Towards Select T.V. Shows when you follow Amazon Video on Twitter



~david

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Tuesday, June 15, 2010

BP Gulf-Sized Spilling Occurs In Nigeria Annually, But Nobody Cares


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BP Gulf-Sized Spilling Occurs In Nigeria Annually, But Nobody Cares




For America, the BP spill in the Gulf is a "tragedy that never should have happened," requiring, "the largest environmental response in this country's history. In Nigeria, they just call it "Thursday."



More oil is spilled in Nigeria each year than has been lost in the Gulf of Mexico due to the BP Deepwater Horizon Disaster, reports The Guardian.



Shell, with the federal government as majority stakeholder, blames the spills on saboteurs, vandalism and theft, and not its crumbling infrastructure.



Wallowing in poverty, and oil, and subjugated by gun-toting security guards, what little attempts at fighting back the local population has managed to muster have either been squashed, or appear to be without hope.



Two years ago, Current TV's Mariana van Zeller traveled to Nigeria to check out the situation in the excellent investigative report, "Rebels in the Pipeline":
I imagine not much has changed since.



Nigeria's agony dwarfs the Gulf oil spill. The US and Europe ignore it [TheObserver via BoingBoing

Rebels in the Pipeline [Current]



~david

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Bon Ami

but does it take energel out of white, cotton shirts??? i guess we didn't test that.

 
 

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via Cool Tools on 6/15/10

I've used Bon Ami cleaner for a year and a half. I have yet to find something that it won't clean to perfection. I've used it to remove tarnish and other corrosion on metal, wax, grease, glued-on paper, soot stains and permanent marker from nonporous surfaces. It removes engine grease, wet oil paint and food coloring stains from skin, but isn't gritty like Lava soap.

It also works great as a kitchen-cleaner. As it's nontoxic, it is ideal in this role.

-- John Edds

[Note: Similar to the previously reviewed Bar Keeper's Friend whose active ingredient is oxalic acid, Bon Ami is an even safer alternative that uses feldspar, calcium carbonate, and sodium carbonate. For a more thorough breakdown you can read more here. --OH]

Bon Ami Powder Cleanser
$7

Available from Amazon

Manufactured by Bon Ami


 
 

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Saturday, June 12, 2010

A weekend-by-weekend guide to a fun-filled summer

____________________________________________________________

The following appeared on Boston.com:
Headline: A weekend-by-weekend guide to a fun-filled summer
Date: Jun 12, 2010

"A host of standout events to help you make the most of New England's short, sweet season."
____________________________________________________________

To see this recommendation, click on the link below or cut and paste it
into a Web browser:


http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/magazine/articles/2010/06/13/a_weekend_by_weekend_guide_to_a_fun_filled_summer/?s_campaign=8315

____________________________________________________________

This message was sent by fyreasst@gmail.com[mailto:fyreasst@gmail.com]
through Boston.com's email recommendation service. Please note that
Boston.com is not responsible for the contents of this message, and
has not verified the sender's name or e-mail address. If you have
questions or comments about this free service, please email us at
feedback@boston.com.

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Friday, June 11, 2010

Study: Overwhelming Number Of Kids' Drinks & Snacks Contain Lead

surprisingly, we don't regularly eat anything on that list.

 
 

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via The Consumerist by Chris Morran on 6/11/10

In a newly released report from the Environmental Law Foundation, nearly 150 varieties of beverages and fruit snacks marketed to children were tested for lead levels -- and the results were not exactly good.

According to the ELF, 125 out of 146 items contained enough lead in a single serving to warrant a warning label under California's Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986.

The study looked at everything from bottled juices to baby food to canned fruits, and no category was able to pass muster on the lead test.

Additionally, it's not just the larger producers like Welch's, Gerber, Minute Maid, Dole and Del Monte that are singled out. Several smaller brands -- and many store brands (Trader Joe's, Kroger, Safeway among them) -- made the list of foods and beverages that the ELF has flagged and sent notice of violation to various law enforcement and regulatory agencies about.

When contacted for a story by NPR, the Food and Drug Administration did not comment directly on the ELF's report. However:

A spokesman confirmed that the federal limits for lead were last updated nearly two decades ago. In the meantime, many scientists, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, now say that there is no safe level of exposure to lead.

For the complete list of lead-tainted items, go over to inhabitots.com

Lead Found In Children's Foods and Baby Foods: Legal Notices Sent to Law Enforcement [Note: PDF]

85% of Kids' Drinks, Snacks Could Contain High Levels of Lead [inhabitots.com]

Group Finds Lead In Kids' Drinks [NPR]


 
 

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Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Maximize Savings in a Small Garden by Selecting Profitable Plants [Gardening]

 
 

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via Lifehacker by Jason Fitzpatrick on 6/9/10

Maximize Savings in a Small Garden by Selecting Profitable PlantsIf you're gardening on a small city lot or an apartment balcony you really want to plant vegetables that will give you the most profitable yield for your space and your effort. Check out this index of vegetables in price-per-square-foot format.

Photo by BeverlyLR.

Over at the gardening blog Cheap Vegetable Gardner they put together a list of how profitable plants are based on how much space they take up and what it costs to purchase them—organically grown—at the local grocer. The most profitable plants are:

  1. Cilantro - $21.20
  2. Arugula-Roquette - $20.92
  3. Green Salad Mix - $17.55
  4. Chives - $16.40
  5. Dill - $16.40
  6. Lettuce - $16.20
  7. Tomato, Cherry, small & medium - $15.57
  8. Turnip - $9.90
  9. Tomato, large - $9.50
  10. Squash, Winter - $8.40

Plants you'll want to avoid include cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, and mustard greens—all yield less than a dollar worth of produce per square foot. Check out the full list at the link below to see how your garden planning stacks up against a trip to the grocery store. For another look at gardening, this time from the perspective of investment versus yield, check out how to plant a high-return vegetable garden.

The Most Profitable Plants in Your Garden [Cheap Vegetable Gardener via Re-Nest]

 
 

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The Star Wars Kid Is Back

seeing the star wars kid is like seeing an old friend...

thank you internets!

 
 

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via Slashdot by samzenpus on 6/9/10

An anonymous reader writes "It was eight years ago that Ghyslain Raza slashed his way into our hearts with his Star Wars Kid video. Sadly, Raza suffered from severe bullying and abuse for his video and eventually ended up in a psychiatric ward for children. However, his video was seen 1 billion times and multiple thousands of geeks came immediately to his defense. While those must have been the worst years of his life, things are now looking up."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.


 
 

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