awesome
Instapaper is wonderful
I have loved Instapaper ever since I became aware of it. It fits perfectly into my workflow. There’s tons of stuff I want to read, but not just yet. Instapaper gives you a little bookmarklet to save these jewels for later when you’ve got more time to slow down and read a longer piece.
When the accompanying iPhone app came out, I fell in love again. Instapaper is perfect for filling your interstitial time, which is something I often find myself when I fish my iPhone out of my pocket. Also, you have to check out the tilt-scrolling feature; every reading app should implement it.
The love affair grew stronger recently. The newest version of the iPhone app came out boasting great improvements to the interaction design and new functionality that makes it an even better tool for occupying the time where you would otherwise find yourself day-dreaming[1].
Firstly: a sort of light-weight feed reading mechanism. It’s not for every site out there; there’s a curated list of sites you can consume in this way. I went with The Economist, but noticed things like Wikipedia Featured, Wired, The New Yorker, and popular stories posted to Instapaper. Great idea.
Next: folders. I’ve used it to organize my reading list into topics so that I can quickly go to whatever matches my mood or energy level. This functionality is present in the web app too, and Marco’s done a great job of making it really easy to set things up just the way you want.
Finally: shared favorites. Peek into what other people have marked as great reading. Maybe it’s a cliche “social feature”, but I’m excited to see curated reading lists from my wonderful friends.
In conclusion: Marco Ament is awesome, start using Instapaper and leave your username in the comments so I can read your stuff.
fn1. For example, wondering why butterscotch is so awesome.
A slide in the workplace
The Red Bull headquarters in London has a slide going between floors.
I want to go to there. Photo credit: Alexander K.
Awesome people, hacker spaces, double basses, dictionary
Brian Oberkirch is a big fan of people who are doing awesome stuff on the web. Me too! I’d add to his list: Ryan Tomayko, Greg Borenstein, Garrett Dimon, _why the lucky stiff, Jeremy Keith, Robert Hodgin, J. Chris Anderson, and Christian Neukirchen. My list, like his, is incomplete, so make your own!
A hacker’s space in Kansas is renting an underground bunker to house their activities. Recommended joke: those guys wouldn’t know a hacker’s space from a hole in the ground.
This image and story makes me want my double bass really badly. Don’t miss the story; it’s fantastic.
Pro-tip: go ahead and add refactoring to your system dictionary. You won’t thank yourself later, but you won’t curse the machine either.
The Next Generation meets Reading Rainbow
Star Trek: The Next Generation was, for all intents and purposes, my jam. I was just the right age to enjoy it when it was on the air. Concurrently, I was the right age to watch Reading Rainbow. Ergo, the episode of the latter regarding the former was pretty much the coolest thing ever.
Generative Van Halen
I saw this last week (really!), but it appears the “blogger embargo” was broken on Sunday, so here goes.
“Microsoft Research released an app”:research.microsoft.com/en-us/um/… that lets you sing along to a drumbeat and then it generates music to match your singing. Many moons ago, an acappella version of “Runnin' with the devil” made it’s way on to the internet. Some brilliant joker used the former on the latter and you get: something that’s just not quite right. It’s especially interesting how the software tries very hard to accommodate David Lee Roth’s off-beat entrances.
In my opinion, the “DLR soundboard”:www.thetyser.com and the “Roth Alarm”:rothalarm.ytmnd.com are even better uses of the source material.
The Creative Big Bang
That John Gruber, he's good with the words. From Bang:
Consider the Big Bang. One moment there was nothing, except for everything condensed into a single infinitely dense point. Then, one minuscule sliver of a second later: the universe. Nothing was yet formed, all the true work of forming stars and galaxies remained ahead, but the framework, the laws of physics, were set, and the rest was thereafter inevitable.
This is what everyone contemplating a new creative endeavor craves: that in the moment it turns real, to get it right. To frame it in such a way that the very act of framing propels the project toward an inexorable destiny.
That’s a really beautiful way to capture the process of turning an idea into something people see, hear, use or laugh at.
Garrett's life, yesterday
My Day, Yesterday - a glimpse into the world of Garrett Murray. Best ninety seconds of video I’ve seen all week. If you like it and/or my style of humor, you’ll like his Qwick Reviews too.
"Science Machine" from birth to completion
How Chad Pugh’s brilliant “Science Machine” came to life:
This illustration is the inspiration behind the Vimeo login page, which is itself a pretty outstanding example of the genre. If you’re quick, you can order a print of the illustration itself.
(Just for my own ego gratification, I’d like to note that I saw this before it appeared on Kottke. And thus, I am a wonderful and unique snowflake.)