Somehow I missed this when it first came around. Stereogum interviewed the band Air and went through each track on the 1998 album Moon Safari to explain their influences and background.

Date posted: March 18, 2024 | Filed under music, shortlinks | Leave a Comment »

As someone who has a collection of tube radios, I found this article interesting for a number of reasons. The author has a huge collection of tube amplifiers, and was looking for a way to resurrect them. He bought a device called a variac, which is basically just a power transformer with adjustable input. In the article he explains how he used a variac to slowly bring the capacitors inside old tube amps back to life by slowly increasing the voltage applied; this sounds like another interesting project.

Date posted: February 15, 2024 | Filed under radios, shortlinks | Leave a Comment »

I stumbled across an article about antique refrigerators the other day and followed a link to a parts vendor I wasn’t aware of. Looking through their storefront I didn’t see mention of my fridge but figured I’d email to see if they carried the gasket I need for the IH; within a half an hour a nice lady wrote me back with a link to exactly the gasket I need. I’ve got to get out to the garage to measure how much I’ll need, but I know where I’m going when I’m ready to replace it.

Date posted: February 14, 2024 | Filed under appliances, shortlinks | Leave a Comment »

I read the other day that Bluesky, the Twitter competitor started by the founders of Twitter, came out of invite-only beta this week, so I signed up to park my name. I’ll probably never post there, and will never install the app on my phone. I never signed up for Mastodon, mostly because I never saw the point of belonging to a federated version of a service I never paid attention to anyway. Why have I done this, when I avoided ever being on Twitter? Hard to say.

Date posted: February 8, 2024 | Filed under shortlinks | Leave a Comment »

The GAP used to be a central hub of the mall, back when the mall was the central hub of teenage life. A former GAP employee has been collecting the centrally-curated music playlists from two decades ago and building them in Spotify for everyone to enjoy. (via, via)

Date posted: February 2, 2024 | Filed under music, shortlinks | Leave a Comment »

Another chapter in this-is-why-we-can’t-have-nice-things: Fruit Stripe Gum is being discontinued. I spent many, many hours in the back seat of various large American station wagons on the way to or from my grandparents’ houses, and usually Mom or Dad would hand my sister and I a fresh pack of Fruit Stripe gum for the ride. Because it was what it was, the flavor only lasted until the end of the driveway, but damn that stuff tasted good.

Date posted: January 22, 2024 | Filed under life, shortlinks | Leave a Comment »

Here’s a low-tech article on how to build your own solar power system. Good information here. A pair of 4’x2′ 100-watt solar panels is $160 on Amazon right now. (via)

Date posted: January 1, 2024 | Filed under projects, shortlinks | Leave a Comment »

I’ve always loved the New York City subway signage system. I used Vignelli’s maps and design standards manual as a learning aid when I taught college. Today I learned that the MTA sells surplus signage and equipment, and you can buy it directly from them. I think you have to go pick it up yourself, though.

Date posted: December 16, 2023 | Filed under art/design, shortlinks | Leave a Comment »

Apple is now selling us, the faithful, a USB-C case for the AirPods Pro as a standalone item, for $99. Apparently it’s not shipping until after Christmas. I think I’ll probably wind up upgrading my AirPods as a unit when these die, but it’s good to know that’s an option. In terms of useful appliances I use every day, I’d have to rank AirPods in the top 3—and they show the wear and tear. (via)

Date posted: December 13, 2023 | Filed under apple, shortlinks | Leave a Comment »

Music-Map is the kind of thing that shows up every couple of years with some new technology underneath it, and it usually disappears after a few months. In any case, this one does what it says on the tin: plug a band in and you get other bands that sound similar. Bookmarked. Also related: Gnoosic, which follows a slightly different format.

Date posted: December 10, 2023 | Filed under music, shortlinks | Leave a Comment »