Then vs Now

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Hello World:

Go outside, be present with the people you love when you’re with them, or go make something. Staring at your little screen isn’t doing anything for you.”

Take a look at the fascinating photo comparison on the linked web site. What do you think? Does the 2013 photo represent a good thing, a bad thing or just the nature of the world we live in?

ShellyBlog’s SXSW 2013 Sampler Links

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ShellyBlog:

Each year’s SXSW conference turns my hometown into a giant carnival of music, food, and strangers from strange lands.

My contribution to SXSW coverage is a listing of free music downloads and samplers, featuring bands who will be in or near Austin next week.

A lot of techies may not realize that while the first five days of SXSW is a tech conference, there’s a huge live music component too. Even better, a lot of these undiscovered bands make their music available for free online. Shelly Brisbin has collated some of the links to these gigabytes of MP3s.

iPad photo workflow

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Ben Long delves into pro workflow tools for iPad-toting photographers.

Bizarre iPhone accessories

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Wired has a slideshow gallery of some of the weirdest accessories for iOS devices you’ll ever see.

Miyamoto on Nintendo

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Shigeru Miyamoto opens up to Polygon about designing games for Nintendo past, present and future.

Sistine Chapel VR

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As the Papal Conclave happens in Rome, the cardinals spend their days in the Sistine Chapel. Here is a very cool VR of the inside of the chapel.

Greatest homes made from shipping containers

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ku io9:

The relatively cheap shipping container is a good foundation for a strong, mobile, and post-apocalyptic home. In the last two decades, architects have been incorporating shipping containers into everything from schools to houses — for aesthetic reasons, but also out of economic necessity. Here are some of their most eye-catching creations.

You’d think living in a shipping container means your life couldn’t get much worse but take a look at some of these beautiful and innovative homes and tell me you wouldn’t want to live in any one of them.

The day my grandfather Groucho and I saved “You Bet Your Life”

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Boing Boing:

Imagine my delight when I happened to discover Netflix had added the legendary ‘50s TV show, “You Bet Your Life” to its streaming service. The reason for my delight? The host of “You Bet Your Life” was none other than my grandfather, the one and only Groucho Marx.

But I also couldn’t stop thinking about how close every one of those classic episodes of “You Bet Your Life” came to being destroyed many years ago and how my grandfather and I managed to stop that from happening.

I’ve always been a huge Marx Brothers’ fan and especially of Groucho Marx. I’ve only ever seen short clips of “You Bet Your Life” but I’m happy to hear they were saved and are on Netflix!

BookArc for iPad mini

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Twelve South makes an insert for the BookArc to provide iPad mini support. It’s an elegant way to present your iPad on your desk.

The best affordable DSLR is Canon Rebel T4i (but you might not want to buy it)

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t4i The Wirecutter:

If I wanted to spend less than $700, the Canon Rebel T4i…would be my pick — but first I’d have to decide if I’d even want a DSLR to begin with.

Here’s the rub: if you’re newly making the switch to a lens-based system, and don’t plan on going pro, it’s really debatable if you even want a DSLR. While the format has some advantages, there’s very little that an entry-level DSLR can do that a new Mirrorless camera can’t do just as well while taking up much less space.

I would agree with this reviewer. If you’re looking at a budget DSLR, make sure you take a long hard look at the crop of (very good) Mirrorless cameras on the market today.

How cheap is Nicaragua? How about $2 beers in a luxury hotel minibar

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Gadling:

If I ruled the world, I would issue a decree commanding every hotel to install minibars stocked with $2 bottles of beer. But since that’s never going to happen, you might have to go to Nicaragua to experience such an enlightened minibar alcohol policy.

Two dollars is actually a pretty high price for a beer in Nicaragua, where most places charge $1 for a 12-ounce bottle of local beer. The Hotel Plaza Colon is an outstanding hotel and room rates there hover around $100 a night.

I might look at Nicaragua for my next big boy vacation! Any Loopers ever vacationed in the country?

God’s Architect: Antoni Gaudi’s glorious vision

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Sagrada CBS News:

During his eight years as pope, Benedict XVI carried out thousands of official duties, but only once did he travel outside Rome to bestow the Vatican’s highest honor on a church, transforming it into a basilica — a sacred place forever.

I watched this last night and it’s a fascinating look at one of the world’s most beautiful and intricate buildings – and even after 130 years, it’s still not finished construction.

On SimCity’s always-on DRM

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SimCity’s DRM technology is putting a real burden on legitimate users, who are dealing with server problems and persistent connections that prevent them from playing the game offline. Is it right?