Via James Fallows, Timbuk2 has a new “Corona” ad featuring my temporary home:
Summer in the City
Month: June 2011
Cowen: How Would A Greek Transition Out of the Euro Go?
Tyler Cowen has some thoughts: Forget about the macroeconomics for now, I am thinking about the sheer mechanics of it. If Greece announced it was leaving the euro, it might declare a bank holiday. For some number of days, no one can pull their euros out of the bank (otherwise all euros leave the Greek banking system). The government would have to put a money stamping technology in place fairly rapidly. Once the banks are reopened, withdrawn money gets a stamp and it is now a “Greek euro” or “drachma euro,” trading at a lower value of course. Is there an indelible, irreversible money stamping technology and how long would it take to distribute it to every Greek bank? How
Strawberry Canyon
Over the weekend I took a trip out to Berkeley to hike along Strawberry Canyon. Two quick thoughts: 1. I’m still blown away by the number of amazing hiking trails that are right in the Bay area. Quite a few of which are accessible by public transit. 2. It made me happy to learn that the Lawrence National Laboratory at Berkeley has a herd of 350 goats living on the property for the sole purpose of eating brush to help prevent wildfires. I’m not kidding. I shot a video: They were all very busy. Here are a few other shots from my phone:
Clarence Clemons
I just heard the sad news that Clarence Clemons, the sax player from the E Street Band, died over the weekend after having a stroke last week. I remember discovering how great rock saxophone could be when I first heard Clarence playing on The River about ten years ago. Here’s a small tribute: And this is classic:
Vancouver Riots
I was completely blown away when I saw the pictures from the Vancouver post-loss riots. I had envisioned some variation of the Red Sox 2004 Kenmore Square riots (the crazier ones were after the ALCS, not the World Series). But no. This was on an entirely different scale: More here. I wish my brother, who is a big Bruins fan, luck when he moves to Vancouver in the fall.
Interesting Reads
1. From MIT, Soon We’ll Be Able to “Throw Applications Between Our Computers and Phones” 2. Better displays with quantum dots? 3. Volcano Sunset Photography 4. If you’re into this sort of thing: The First Self-Powering Nano-Device That Can Also Transmit Wireless Data 5. Arabian Unicorn Leaps Out of Near Extinction 6. Mapping Sun’s Potential to Power New York 7. The Sad Plight of the Fundamental Analyst 8. When people move to the States from abroad, where do they go?
The Mother Hips
I have to thank my brother for letting me know about the Mother Hips show at Cafe du Nord last night. The venue was great – it’s an old Swedish hall that was build over 100 years ago in Upper Market. I’ve been meaning to see the Hips for a while now, and they put on a good show, although there were definitely a few parts of the set that dragged a bit. Here’s a clip of a Stones cover I shot: But they didn’t play my favorite song:
South Dakota Photography
I went through some of my shots from the road trip, and here’s the first batch. These were taken on June 4th in the Badlands, the Black Hills, Custer State Park, and there may be a couple from Eastern Wyoming.
It Tastes Like Pine…No Wait, That One’s Grapefruitty
Sam Adams isn’t the first brewery to release single hop beers, I have to hand it to them. They got this right: By and large, most beer is made with a hodgepodge of hops, those flowers that add aroma, bitterness and flavor. That’s because certain hops are ideal for imparting fragrance, while other breeds are better suited for adding mouth-puckering bitterness. Matching various hops’ strengths and weaknesses helps brewers create singular flavor profiles, much the way that cooks blend spices in different ratios and proportions. Yet lately, brewers have stopped mixing hops. Instead, they’re dosing beers with a single breed, allowing drinkers to discern each hop’s unique characteristics. One of the best examples of this liquid lesson plan is Boston
25 Best Places to Photograph On Earth
PopPhoto.com has a list of the 25 best places to photograph on Earth. Here are a few highlights: The Galapagos: Kangaroo Island: Geysir National Park: