safari 4 beta...

I like it a lot so far. I'm a big fan of open source software and all, and am thankful for Mozilla and Firefox... but Apple just plain out gets it. They make stuff that functions really well and is just a pleasure to use.


Thumbnails for your top sites.



Coverflow view of your history



Developer bar so you can view source code.


and there's a really nice RSS reader built in. You can download it here.

holy crap...

this is the most amazing video I've seen in a long, long time. I've always loved when I get a crappy avi file or mp4 file and get to see that trippy kind of digital noise, especially when it gets "caught" on someone's face. These guys killed it here and I have no idea how the hell they did it. I'm amazed.

I found this video on Moving Brands blog. They do fantastic physical computing installations, check out their demo reel.

photos by Haley...

Haley does a lot of amazing things, taking pretty photos is one of them. She posted her photos from Peru on her Flickr page. They're pretty wonderful. You should look at them and have a better day because of it.

arduino class...

first Arduino test from Jason Harmon on Vimeo.

so I went to the Hactory and took a 6 hour seminar on Arduino, microcontrollers and electronics. so fun. here's what we made in class... I modified the code that we wrote in class a little to make this light blink and a little speaker make clicky noises. not too fancy I know, but I guess a guy has to start somewhere. today Haley and I went to Circle Thrift and found old toys with electronics in them. we gutted an Elmo and a baby Mickey Mouse and got all kinds of buttons and servo motors. I don't know what Im going to do with them yet... but its going to be entertaining.

so good!

I wish I were that clever.

sweet metal...

so its been a pretty metal kind of week for me. First I find out that the pastor of my new church digs metal... that's awesome. Then my buddy Allen points me to the new Lamb of God album... awesome. Then me unbelievable girlfriend gives me the gift of metal for Valentines day... she got me a photo book of a bunch of Norwegian black metal bands. (she said since it had blood on it, it would be an appropriate Valentines day gift... she rules.) THEN... talking to Allen again asking about other bands he tells me about Rosetta. Who I quickly find out are from Philly... and are playing the same night that I found out about them in Fishtown. And here's where it gets better. Jeremy a guy I work with told me a while back about a friend of his that does the visuals for Neurosis, then played with Red Sparowes, then started his own band called, A Storm of Light... which happens to be the band that Rosetta was opening for. Needless to say, awesome show. Here are some pics. I also had a killer time right before the show helping Haley sew a pillow... and as good as the show was I think I would have enjoyed continuing to sew even more.

if you really know me...

then you'll understand why this rules so much.

When Haley showed at my place for our dinner date, this is what her hands looked like.



She's pretty much my dream girl.

Here's a list comprising what we did while we were out for dinner.
1. Listened to metal music. (though I seriously doubt she liked it very much.)
2. HomeDepot to buy spray paint... which is what her hands were covered in.
3. Also at HomeDepot we found a "Clear Can" which is a revolutionary storage container with which we are creating a time capsule. (you can see its documentation in the corner of the pic.) So far the receipt for the time capsule, a business card from a Mexican restaurant, Chiclets and a penny are in it.
4. A.C. Moore for fabric dye and an impulse purchase of the February Martha Stewart Living magazine.
5. Listened to A.A. Bondy (which she may have liked a little more than Children of Bodom)
6. A lovely Mexican dinner... with complimentary Chiclets.

making stuff move...

I've wanted to know more about using my computer, and video, to control physical objects via microcontrollers for a long time now. This morning I signed up for a 6 hour seminar that should give me the basics on doing just that. I'm pretty excited about it.



It's through the Hacktory, which is amazing.