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Blow your horn

2009-12-25T21:59:00.001-05:00

Blow your horn
Originally uploaded by Gus Dahlberg

Sent from my Verizon Wireless Phone

Ohio Is a Piano

2009-09-30T08:56:00.000-04:00

THIS IS THE MOST AWESOME OF ALL AWESOME THINGS. Sent to me by my cousins in Portland (who are partially responsible for this): Ohio is a Piano. Here's the backend and explanation.

Sydney Dust Strom

2009-09-23T10:49:00.001-04:00

Sydney Dust Strom
Originally uploaded by tomhide

holy COW

Setting the Stage

2009-09-05T11:30:00.001-04:00

Setting the Stage
Originally uploaded by Gus Dahlberg

Sent from my Windows Mobile� phone.

Repeat Offender

2009-05-27T12:46:00.000-04:00

I was away from my desk for much of yesterday, so even though my boss excitedly told me that Obama would be announcing his nominee for the Supreme Court yesterday morning, I still didn't see it until later that afternoon. Judge Sotomayor's name is vaguely familiar to me (I think perhaps I've read one of her decisions somewhere, but I can't say where), but beyond that and what the NBC Evening News last night and Morning Edition on NPR this morning had to say about her, that's the extent of my knowledge of the nominee.

And then I sat down for lunch here and thought I'd at least skim through the news while I ate my soup. This was the first story on the MSNBC ticker on MSN:

GOP faces delicate task in fighting Latina pick
All-out assault on Sotomayor could alienate Hispanic and women voters
President Obama nominated federal judge Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court yesterday, putting her in line to become the nation's first Hispanic justice and creating a difficult political equation for Republicans as they weigh how aggressively to fight her appointment.
An all-out assault on Sotomayor by Republicans could alienate both Latino and women voters, deepening the GOP's problems after consecutive electoral setbacks. But sidestepping a court battle could be deflating to the party's base and hurt efforts to rally conservatives going forward.
In introducing Sotomayor at the White House yesterday morning, Obama hailed the 54-year-old appeals court judge as an accomplished and "inspiring" individual with a compelling life story. She would replace Justice David H. Souter, who was appointed by President George H.W. Bush but became a reliable member of the court's liberal wing.

Senate Republicans responded with restraint to the announcement yesterday, and their largely muted statements stood in sharp contrast to the fractious partisanship that has defined court battles in recent decades. Leading conservatives outside the Senate, however, did not hold back, targeting a pair of speeches in which Sotomayor said appellate courts are where "policy is made" and another in which she said a Latina would often "reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn't lived that life."

Critics also targeted her support for affirmative action, with Rush Limbaugh calling her a "reverse racist" in his syndicated radio program, citing a case in which she ruled against a group of white firefighters who claimed discrimination in hiring practices.

There is obviously more in the link; I've only highlighted the first couple of paragraphs. But it's the headline and the insinuation in those early paragraphs that have my back up.

To suggest, as reporters Shailagh Murray and Michael D. Shear do, that Republicans face a choice of either opposing Sotomayor and "alienat[ing] both Latino and women voters" or conceding Sotomayor's confirmation and staying in those voters' good graces, is, I feel, both a naive and bipolar view of politics in general and this nomination in particular. It's also more than a little offensive -- and I say that as a Democrat. It assumes that identity politics -- your race, gender, creed, what have you -- is far more important than, say, a judge's positions or temperament. It assumes that any nominee who is the member of a minority should or may enjoy some special protection in that nomination process as a result. It assumes that voters themselves are stupid, and are unable to distinguish between a legitimate question regarding a nominee's record or ideas and their basic identity -- and thereby willing to punish anyone who dares question their nominee.

It is, in short, an offensive and undemocratic notion. And it's in the Washington Post, stated almost as if it were the Conventional Wisdom of the political class -- which is odd, since nowhere in the entire piece does it quote anyone who suggests that the GOP will feel the wrath of women or Hispanic voters if they oppose the nomination. The closest they get is Chuck Schumer, warning the GOP to oppose Sotomayor "at their peril" but never really saying why that's so.

So that's my complaint for the day. It seems like it's the same things we talk about year after year: can we, for once, have a discussion about politics and law without someone polarizing the positions into two camps and then treating it like it was Wrestlemania XIV?

Waiting at the Shake Shoppe

2009-05-24T14:06:00.001-04:00

Waiting at the Shake Shoppe
Originally uploaded by Gus Dahlberg

Sent from my Windows Mobile� phone.

Riverwatch

2009-05-21T21:29:00.001-04:00

IMG00311.jpg
Originally uploaded by Valerie Dahlberg

Wake Up With the King

2009-05-11T13:52:00.003-04:00

Wake Up With the King
Originally uploaded by Gus Dahlberg

Or, as I told Val, "because when I'm buying Burger King (TM) brand Onion Rings or Ketchup & Fries potato snacks, the first thing I worry about is how much transfats are in the bag, and not that I'm buying ONION RINGS IN A BAG."

A Smile for a Rainy Day

2009-04-14T08:58:00.005-04:00

It is pouring in Columbus and I am worried about my grandmother. This made me smile in spite of that:

Obviously from the giant Cornhole All-Stars graphic, we�re bringing the game of Cornhole to the iPhone. I�ll quickly throw in that this is anything but an ordinary game of Cornhole....

...We are based in the great city of Columbus, Ohio. That�s right I said it: Columbus, Ohio. Our fine state lays claim to the origins of Cornhole. Don�t even give an ear to Kentucky who thinks they invented the game. It all started here. One only has to drive through the OSU campus to see lawn after lawn filled with Cornhole players. You get a feel for its popularity and tend to wax reminiscently on the game�s origins. The religious experience of Cornhole is spreading like wildfire. It seems to have found its way to the suits of downtown Brooklyn, who are rumored to participate in �Corporate Cornholing� and to Scottsdale, AZ, where they host the Worldfest of Cornhole.

That said, we did not set out to recreate a game for the iPhone because of popularity, rather, Chuck and I just wanted to create a fun, social game that showed some Ohio pride with a twist. So, we put our heads down and teamed up with expert designers and developers (Corn fed- Columbus grown I will add). And with local pride blowin� under our wings (don�t forget Ohio gave birth to flight), we began to conjure up visions of corrupt sheriffs, scurvy-infested pirates and rickety crypt keepers who would dominate western towns, pirate ships and graveyards...

Much more, including development notes and concept art, at Graphic Conversation.

Dusty

2009-03-30T14:41:00.000-04:00

Ye gods, this place needs cleaning. I think maybe it's time to scrap the old design and start fresh. Thoughts?

Carl and Nora, Sittin' In a Tree

2009-03-27T20:11:00.002-04:00

IMAGE_254.jpg
Originally uploaded by Gus Dahlberg

Sent from my Windows Mobile� phone.

Jackets down low!

2009-02-21T19:11:00.004-05:00

Jackets down low!
Originally uploaded by Gus Dahlberg

Sent from my Windows Mobile� phone.

That's a big Amish donut, yeah

2009-02-20T07:39:00.001-05:00

That's a big Amish donut, yeah
Originally uploaded by Gus Dahlberg

Sent from my Windows Mobile� phone.

Carl's Song of the Day - January 2009

2009-02-03T20:49:00.001-05:00

Carl's SOTD - January 2009
Originally uploaded by Gus Dahlberg

Your favorite pop star is BACK, baby.

Gus Chips Out

2009-01-28T09:35:00.001-05:00

A Thing Which is Awesome

2009-01-24T15:31:00.000-05:00

Via Michael Scherer at TIME's Swampland blog: photographer David Bergman's 1,474 megapixel photograph of the inauguration. A nice shot in and of itself, but the amazing part is the zoom -- right into the faces of each and every person in the picture, in clear and unmistakable detail. Try it for yourself and see.

There's a Jedi in My Bathroom

2009-01-17T15:28:00.001-05:00

There's a Jedi in My Bathroom
Originally uploaded by Gus Dahlberg

IMG00065.jpg

2009-01-02T14:14:00.001-05:00

IMG00065.jpg, originally uploaded by Valerie Dahlberg.

Of Flatscreens and Lingonberries

2008-12-04T10:02:00.000-05:00

Greg Allen on Costco:

Seriously not needing anymore flatscreens, and being of such an age and technological sophistication that I only buy flatscreens that pass the, "But how does it look if I drop 250,000 rubber balls down a San Francisco hill?" test, I decide I'm not going to spend a thousand dollars on three flatscreens from Kirkland or whoever, we go buy an entire office partyful of Brie instead, a 550g wheel which, embarrassingly, is almost gone not 4.5 days later.

But here's the thing about buying a 3lb jar of Skippy [1] peanut butter. No one has a knife long enough to reach the bottom, and you can't just toss it out and open the other 3lb jar it was shrinkwrapped together with, because a) there's like a depression or something in the news, b) why go all the way to Costco to save 50 cents on a year's supply of peanut butter if you're just going to toss it, and c) in fact, that blob down there is actually like half a regular jar from the deli; it only looks like a small amount because it's at the bottom of a peanut butter bucket.

[greg.org] (via kottke)

Cut the Blue Wire!

2008-12-03T16:13:00.002-05:00

Cut the Blue Wire!
Originally uploaded by Gus Dahlberg

Found in our office stairwell. Wonder if there's a timer stopped at 0:01 somewhere...

Words to Live By

2008-12-02T13:47:00.000-05:00

Productivity guru and amateur photographer Merlin Mann on the tolerance of courageous sucking:

Nobody likes feeling like a noob, especially when you�re getting constant pressure on all sides to never stick out in an unflattering way. And, in this godforsaken just-add-Wikipedia era of make-believe insight and instant expertise, it�s natural to start believing you must never suck at anything or admit to knowing less than everything � even when you�re just starting out. Clarinets should never squawk, sketch lines should never be visible, and dictionaries are just big, dumb books of words for cheaters and fancy people. Right?

I think finding your own comfort with the process (whatever that process ends up being) might just be the whole game here � being willing to put in your time, learn the craft, and never lose the courageousness to be caught in the middle of making something you care about, even when it might be shit and you might look like an idiot fumbling to make it. What�s the worst thing that could happen?

Well, you could quit, because it�s too hard to make stuff you aren�t already great at. You could convert all that pointless effort and practice back into MySpace updates and the production of funny cat pictures. No, it�s not technically the worst thing that could happen, but it�s a damned common pathway for fear to molder back into an emotional impulse to put on jammies and watch Judge Judy.

I�m not doing anything special here, and I don�t claim to have a magic formula for creativity, let alone for getting a half-decent photo of a rubber shoe. All I know is that sticking with things that don�t arrive with instant mastery does have its own reward, even if you�re the only one who ever collects it. Because the more you push through the barriers for these little avocations, the easier it becomes to remember you always have everything you need to just keep banging until you�re satisfied with any work that�s thrown at you.

There's much more in his post, but this especially jumped out at me...

Michigan!

2008-11-22T11:36:00.001-05:00

Michigan!
Originally uploaded by Gus Dahlberg

Sent from my Windows Mobile� phone.

Patriotic Duty

2008-11-04T10:38:00.001-05:00

Patriotic Duty
Originally uploaded by Gus Dahlberg

The deed is done, the ballot cast. This election is FINALLY going to be over.

We Are Night Zombies!!

2008-10-31T20:50:00.000-04:00

Oh, good -- I was afraid Ralph Nader wouldn't be able to top his 2004 "debate" with Bush and Kerry action figures. I was clearly WRONG:

Words fail.

Voting Machines That Don't Record Your Vote

2008-10-29T11:22:00.000-04:00

Not that I'm that worried we're going to have problems next week, but:

An apparently easy problem to fix when it occurs -- but now aggregate that across thousands, millions of voters, all on one day, all rushing to get their vote in, all freaking out when something goes awry because it couldn't possibly just be an error, it has to be deliberate, you're suppressing my right to vote, you're trying to rig the election, foul foul FOUL --

-- well, yeah. That ain't good.