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March 24, 2006

Williamsburg Podcast: Live From the WB


Sam / Live From the WB
Originally uploaded by Live From the WB.
At long last Williamsburg has a podcast:

Live from the WB...

The show is hosted by Jenna, Toby & Kristin and is sort of like Wayne's World meets Bedford Avenue. They already have four episodes under their belts and the show is worth subscribeworthy. The episode I was listening to covered everything from local bars to some 80s art history. Also enjoyable were the charming homemade music segments.

March 30, 2006

New "Live from the WB Podcast" is out...

The latest Williamsburg focused podcast "Live from the WB" is out and it's a pretty good one:

livefromthewb.com

This latest episode features news that local landmark Planet Thailand was shut down for health code reasons, but our hipsters-in-residence speculate that it's part of a real estate conspiracy.

I have to say that I've been enjoying each episode of "Live from the WB" and it's well worth the download.

April 13, 2006

The Latest Live from the WB is Out!

Show 007 Coming Soon Originally uploaded by Live From the WB.
My favorite local podcast Live from the WB just put out yet another highly listenworthy episode. This latest episode has an illin' theme as the entire cast seemed to have the flu. I was very impressed with them because you can always spot the real pros from the wannabes because they'll never use a "sick day" as an excuse not to turn in a highly energized performance. In this latest episode I was also blown away by their strangely detailed knowledge of Jem trivia.

On the serious side they're also doing a team for the AIDS Walk New York on May 21st which is a very good cause (so please think of donating):

Team Page of Live from the WB

April 19, 2006

Jenna loves Tofu


Jenna loves Tofu
Originally uploaded by Live From the WB.
The latest podcast episode of Live from the WB is out. It makes me so happy to have a Williamsburg-specific podcast, I listen to it on my iPod nano as I walk home late at night across the Williamsburg bridge.

In addition to talking about all the usual local Williamsburg hang outs, this episode features a segment on the politics of faux-veggie meat. On the right is a photo of podcaster Jenna with her "I love Tofu" t-shirt.

April 25, 2006

Live from the WB: New Podcast Out!

Live from the WB The latest Live from the WB podcast is out - and it's enjoyable listening as usual. In this latest episode the WB team put in a thumbs up review for new eatery Dressler, which is at 149 Broadway (between Driggs and Bedford Aves.), and it seems they even take reservations. Toby also shares his insights into the Mac to Windows ratio at Atlas on Havemeyer Street.

May 14, 2006

Hipsters vs. Yuppies

Hipsters vs. Yuppies I've been playing with the new Google Trends tool, so I tried Hipsters and Yuppies. I was pretty shocked to see how well the yuppies are doing, I guess money talks these days. But for now the hipsters are ahead!

Spring Computer Cleaning

Part of being the Williamsburg Nerd is having a love of computers and related hardware. So I've been cleaning up my studio and making my IT plans for the year to come. Like most people in my field (design and new media) 2002 was a real bad year - known as the great "dot.bomb", and at that point many folks in the industry lost their jobs due to the combo of:

1. The crash of dot.com companies in the stock market

2. The financial fallout of 9/11

3. Many jobs being sent offshore to places like India

So for me 2002 was a real marker of sorts, and it was a time NOT to buy new toys. So as I've replaced my software and hardware I'm always glad to see a bit of the past go. So I've realized that I'm now down to my last three surviving bits of pre-dot.bomb hardware. Some interesting insights on the survivors that are still humming along four years later:

3. My IBM Thinkpad laptop which I used for sales calls still works like a charm. The only reason I need to replace this is because it's running Windows 98, and it wouldn't be worth it to upgrade to Windows XP. But other than that it runs great! Well that and it looks sad if I pull out an ancient computer for a sales call. The machine is in prime condition - in fact you can sort of blame Microsoft for bloatware rather than IBM. I wonder if Lenovo will keep up the quality of the brand?

The replacement for my Thinkpad will be a 17" MacBook Pro. Even though all my favorite Mac software isn't ready for Intel I know a year from now it will be. I also know that I'll be able to give demos in Windows which makes it a real winner.

2. My Epson Photo 1280 printer. I'm going to replace this pretty soon, I think it's lasted this long due to light use and the fact that I baby it. I think my main problem with it is the lack of good CMYK proofing and speed. So my guess is that I'll be replacing this by Summer. I'll either replace it with another Epson, but I am thinking of looking at the HP line - which brings me to my all time winner:

1. My HP LaserJet 4000TN laser printer! I'm amazed because this printer dates from before the year 2000 - in fact it's been so long I forgot when exactly we got it. It still works like a charm and has survived three office moves to boot. What's amazing is that I've already replaced this printer, but since I never unplugged it and changed my printing defaults I'm still using it all the time. I may retire it at some point, but I have to admit I'd feel guilty if I didn't hand it off to someone else - it's much too worthy to be sitting in a landfill or to be recycled into parts.

Lessons I've learned:

1. Software drives the hardware market. These devices still work like a charm, but it's the fact that upgrading them to support the latest software doesn't pay.

2. Because Apple software is glued to the hardware, you'll always be buying new Apple hardware to support the cool new features in software.

3. If the hardware survives the first year without a real glitch, and if you take care of the hardware chances are good that it will last.

4. Brand names do count for something (sometimes).

5. If you want the hardware to last a long time, purchase at the top of the line.

6. Printers will always outlast computers.

May 18, 2006

Toby is a J Train Man!

The latest Live from the WB podcast is out and it's a must download episode. Rewinding a bit: For those of you who don't know "Live from the WB" is a Williamsburg Brooklyn specific podcast, it's also one of the better podcasts that I've come across.

I was impressed to find out in this latest episode that Toby (who is one of the hosts - seen on the photo at the right) doesn't live to far from where I live - which makes him a "J Train Man" - which in fact increases his hipster rating over mere L train riders.

Other highlights from the episode are:

- It seems the Clovis Press bookstore won't re-open
- The Glenwood Hotel at 339 Broadway will be opening an internet cafe on the ground floor (this makes me happy since it's not that far from my apartment)
- The Williamsburg Savings Bank will become condos
- And there's a rumor that Starbucks is coming to Williamsburg on Broadway, but I'm sort of surprised that this happened already...

June 2, 2006

A Wee Bit of Web Fame

I just had an essay published at the website for the PBS show "Now":

2016: A Peek at Our Internet Future

"Along with a change of mindset will be a generational shift. By the year 2016, no one under the age of forty will remember a world without personal computers. The average twenty year old will find it hard to imagine a time when there wasn't any email to check or Web sites to visit. When we reach this point, even the novelty of the term "Internet" will have long since faded to join such golden buzz-words of yesteryear as "space age" and "atomic".""

June 6, 2006

I'm Proud of these Podcasters!

If you haven't listed to Live from the WB yet, you need to subscribe right away (if you have iTunes, just go to the music store - go under podcasting - and do a search - it's 100% free). In their latest episode (they are up to #14) they depart from their usual studio format and take it to the streets - this entire episode is done free form and features their rants and raves as they wander about the AIDS Walk in Central Park. What's very cool is that our local Williamsburg podcasters have used their show to raise funds for the walk which is very cool in my book. This episode was very free form, sort of like a "White Album" meets "Nirvana Unplugged" meets Williamsburg.

June 7, 2006

Go Go Go Williamsburg!

I just found this on YouTube - it's a fake tourist commercial for Williamsburg Brooklyn:

June 8, 2006

Krunky Longstockings

I found this on YouTube - it's a fictional opening title of a TV show set in Williamsburg. The show looks like a hipster version of "the Real World":

June 15, 2006

Hip or Dangerous?

A silly Williamsburg hipster themed skit I found on YouTube:

June 28, 2006

New "Live from the WB" episode is up...

In this latest episode our gang does a dramatic reading of a NY Post story posh dinner parties for retro-lovin' Williamsburg hipsters. Later they slag poor DVD rental services in Williamsburgnand talk about the decline of gay Chelsea (the place in Manhattan not the Clinton daughter). Well worth the download:

http://www.livefromthewb.com/

October 19, 2006

Shopping in Williamsburg

After 27 episodes the Live from thwe WB podcast is still going strong!

The latest episode is on shopping in Williamsburg:

Live From the WB

Below: Jenna and Toby!

live-from-the-wb-oct06.jpg

November 26, 2006

SMS the Rabbi

This isn't quite kosher for Ultra-Orthodox Rabbis yet, but perhaps that will change in time:

Have a question about halakha - why not SMS the rabbi?

"The Rabbi Shlomo Aviner, writes and receives an average of no less than 3,000 cellphone text (SMS) messages a month. Almost all are questions of halakha (Jewish law), to which Aviner responds in short, "permitted" or "forbidden", without giving the reason."

December 3, 2006

How to Speak Hip

I was listening to my Pet Sounds box set of the outtakes, and at one point Brian Wilson makes a reference to the 1959 album "How to Speak Hip", so of course I had to google it up right away. I quickly discovered that someone has turned the album into a website:

How to Speak Hip

how_to_speak_hip.jpg

Hey man get on the horn call some freaky people and dig the scene!

About New Media

This page contains an archive of all entries posted to The Williamsburg Nerd in the New Media category. They are listed from oldest to newest.

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