Combine one of my favorite televisions shows with Star Wars and what do you get? A very happy geek.
Art by Jason Sly, via Laughing Squid.
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MetroCard Commercials from 1997 [Remember When?]
Remember when we had to buy tokens to ride the NYC subway? And being a frequent user of the MTA meant you needed to purchase rolls of tokens? (Is that a rolls of tokens in your pocket or are you happy to see me?)
Now, in 2010, it’s hard to recall a time before MetroCards. Take a trip down memory lane with these series of commercials for the then-new MetroCard (called “MetroCard Gold”) from 1997:
Via Gothamist.
P.S. — Taking a similar trip back in time, remember the days before E-ZPass?
P.P.S. — It looks to be another busy weekend. Sorry for the lack of posts!
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Some Additional Thoughts on Squarespace, and Updates to the Site
I have been using Squarespace since 2008 when I was asked to test their new V5 platform, and even wrote an extensive review on it after deciding to switch over from WordPress. I still believe it to be the best blogging platform available, and wholeheartedly recommend it to all my friends and colleagues.
But as much as I love Squarespace, I would be lying if I were to say that I do not have any issues with it.
I think it’s safe to say that Squarespace can be comparable to Apple (more specifically, the iPhone platform) in that they are very secretive about what’s coming next, its users are reliant on them and not third-party resources for major improvements and updates, and those updates are few and far between.
However, like Apple, those improvements and updates are almost always meticulous and well-tested, and more often than not well worth the wait.
For example, its release of Social Widgets a few months ago was met with warm applause all around. I had a Twitter timeline on the sidebar of my blog before using the code provided by Twitter, but Squarespace’s Twitter Widget allows me to add a highly customizable, pretty Twitter badge that pre-loads data and does not slow down the loading of this site, even when Twitter is slow or down…all at the click of a few buttons!
That being said, my biggest gripe with Squarespace thus far is its archaic commenting system. There is no way to incorporate Gravatars. There is no way to reply to individual comments, or receive email notifications when someone replies to your comment. And along that route, there is no way to visually thread the comments. All are features that have been widely available on other blogging platforms for quite some time now, and experts claim that engaging with your audience (in this case, your commenters) is one of the best ways to build a community around your blog.
Squarespace’s response to this (very common) complaint is that you can choose to install a third-party commenting system like Disqus or IntenseDebate to your site. While these two are both very respectable and widely-used systems, I do not like the fact that all my comments will be stored on their servers. What happens if the company goes bust? Or if their website is down? Additionally, there is currently no way to import my old comments to their systems, and I do not want the thousands of comments that I have received over the years to suddenly disappear (technically, be hidden) from my blog.
Well, Squarespace added some new features yesterday, one of which is an option to easily subscribe to comments on a particular post: simply check the box stating so at the bottom of each comment box.
While this isn’t the commenting system I would like to see, it’ll do for now. I’m just keeping my fingers crossed that a robust commenting system is on the way with Squarespace V6!
In addition to the option of subscribing to comments, Squarespace also announced the incorporation of (optional) HTML snippets to each post so that bloggers will have the option of easily adding Facebook “Like” buttons, Tweetmeme buttons, Google Buzz buttons, or even the new Twitter buttons (which was perfectly timed as Twitter announced its official button yesterday).
Since I recently re-activated my Facebook account, I figured why not? and proceeded to add both the Twitter and Facebook buttons. You can find them at the bottom of each post:
So please feel free to Tweet or “Like” away! I’m always delighted to find that a post has been shared via any social media outlet as I myself have found many of my favorite blogs this way.
I continue to look forward to more updates from Squarespace in the future (and I am quite certain that their frequency and quality will increase as they recently received a major investment), and I will try my best to keep this site attractive, user-friendly, and up-to-date. In the meantime, if you have any suggestions for this site I would love to hear it!
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Adobe Photoshop Cook
My friend Kelly (of Blunsh!nk fame) shared this on Facebook today and I couldn’t help but be utterly delighted. I hope all my foodie and designer readers love it as much as I do…enjoy!
Via Behance Network.
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Wonder Woman and Batgirl Shirts
I really, really want both!
ThinkGeek always has the best stuff! Like the nom nom nom bib that we will definitely purchase for our little one.
Perhaps I will get these shirts and use them as inspiration to lose weight after the baby comes?
Via Fashionably Geek.
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Registry Judging [Rant]
This is a yet another post on mommy wars, specifically topic #4276: registries.
With our baby shower less than a month away, J and I have been putting the finishing touches on our registries. In my studies of review sites and message boards for advice, I have come across many women who seem to have problems with others’ baby registries.
Really?
Once again I’m forced to wonder: like mommies don’t judge each other enough already!
So herein lie the registry-related debates and my thoughts on them…
1.) Is it proper etiquette to have more than one registry?
I believe so. We decided to register at two different stores because not every store carries the items we want, and certain retailers sell different items at cheaper prices. Plus, with two registries we give our friends and family the option of shopping at the retailer of their choice (whether it be due to location, sales, coupons, etc).
2.) Is it okay to have expensive items on your registry?
We have some high-priced items on our registry (I believe the most expensive item is the Medela Breast Pump at $279.99) but we have plenty of small, less than $20 items too. Do we expect our friends and family to buy us the expensive items? No. I actually expect them not to! The main reason we decided to put the more expensive items on there is for the registry completion discounts we will receive. But hey, if someone, or a group of people, decide to purchase them for us, that’s great too!
3.) Why don’t you have _____ on your registry? Don’t you know you’ll need that?
How do you know we don’t have it already?
4.) Why do you have _____ on your registry? I found it to be a complete waste of money!
Just because you found it useless doesn’t mean everyone does.
I felt like I was getting married all over again, seeing all these judgmental women bickering over things that will never affect their own lives!
Personally, I have never judged anyone for their registry — wedding or baby. I do not know why a couple wants that $100 serving platter, nor do I really care to find out. All I know is that they chose to include it on a list of items they would like, and if I can afford it, I will buy it for them.
I also don’t “get” people who are vehemently against registries either…I understand that some may see registries as products of a greedy consumeristic society, and if you choose not to have a registry for whatever reason, that’s totally fine. But if you want to gift someone for their upcoming wedding or baby, why not purchase an item off the registry? Why not get them something that you know they need or want?
I now step off my soapbox and leave the comments open for debate. What is your thought on gift registries? Have you ever found yourself judging someone based on their registry?
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How to Get 5 Million People to Read Your Website
Watch his hilarious and informative presentation by Matthew Inman, the mastermind behind one of my favorite sites, The Oatmeal. The advice isn’t anything I haven’t heard before (ie, use creative headlines, create content that anyone can relate to), but the 5-minute video is still worth watching!
Via Geeks are Sexy.
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$250k Doesn’t Get You Far in Manhattan
I always said that a six-figure salary doesn’t mean much in Manhattan — it seems like everywhere I turn I run into 26-year-olds making at least $150k a year, or people younger than me buying $1.2 million apartments. (And yes, these are real example of my friends and acquaintances!)
According to the White House, the $250k salary is the mark of wealth in the U.S. However, it is obvious when taking into account cities like New York that $250k does not have the same effect in different parts of the country. CNNMoney has compiled a Google Map to show just that — in Manhattan, you would need to make $545k/year to maintain the same lifestyle as someone making $250k/year living in Missoula, Montana (where the cost of living index is exactly at 100).
Clicking through the red pointers (which marks cities whose cost of living are above average), it seems that Manhattan is the most expensive place to live in the U.S., and frankly I’m not surprised. The last time J and I went down to Baltimore, we marveled at the number of luxury, waterfront condos on sale in the $200k-$300k range and we couldn’t help but wonder if we made a mistake moving back up to NY.
How does you city compare to the rest of the nation? Are you surprised by the numbers?
Via Gothamist.
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Cell Phone for Kids
I still am astonished whenever I see little kids of grade school age sporting their own mobile phones. “Did I even have anyone to call at that age?” I ask myself. “Didn’t I just go outside to play and expect to meet my friends there?”
While I still think that allowing very young children their own cell phones may be overdoing it, I understand the need for safety precautions. As such, I can get on board with cell phones that are designed specifically for kids, like this one by the Japanese company KDDI.
Mamorino is a cute, almost toy-like cell phone that has minimal functions that are limited to calls, E-mail, GPS and SECOM Rescue (which I believe to be similar to 911).
Safety features of the Mamorino include an emergency light that can be programmed to detect darkness, an earthquake alert, and the SECOM button, which when activated, does the following:
Calls and e-mails are restricted to only 4 people on the child’s contact list. You may even choose to deactivate the e-mail function altogether.
All other services that have become so rampant with cell phone use are not available. Parents do not need to worry about distractions or even the abuse of data plans with the Mamorino.
One last great feature of the Mamorino is that it is waterproof. And as you can see from the pictures of the phone, it looks to be a cinch (at least compared to other cell phones) to wipe clean.
Unfortunately, the Mamorino is currently only available in Japan and Korea. But I hope that it — or another phone like it — will make its way stateside soon!
Via Little Seouls Blog.
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Redesigning the NYC Subway Map
There has been a lot of talk lately about redesigning the map of the world’s largest subway system in an effort to make it easier to read and increase ridership.
Designer Eddie Jabbour took up the challenge in a heavy redesign called NYC Subway KickMap:
The Kick Map is designed to get more people to ride New York City’s subway system. Created with clarity and ease of use, it allows riders to navigate this vast system easily and without uncertainty. The subway map is the key to understanding this most complex subway in the world, which has 26 separate lines and 468 stations. A well-designed map not only welcomes and empowers novices to use the subway but also encourages additional use for regular “home-to-work-only” commuters to use the subway for recreational destinations where they might otherwise take a car. For this reason the design of the subway map can directly influence ridership numbers and can indirectly have an effect on New York’s traffic congestion and pollution. In short, a better-designed subway map will make our subway system more open and accessible.
Unfortunately for Jabbour, the MTA rejected the new design. So he took it upon himself to upload the map to the Apple Store so that people can download it to their iPhones…and immediately garnered over a quarter of a million downloads.
Take a look at the map yourself, along with some side-by-side comparisons with the current NYC subway map:
Call me a snobby New Yorker, but I never found the current NYC subway map (and I’m talking about the version whose overall design has been in existence since the late 1970s) to be difficult to comprehend at all. Even my very first time taking the subway alone as a clueless teenager was not marred by confusion over the map.
While I have to admit that Jabbour’s design is definitely cleaner and more aesthetically pleasing, I much prefer the different lines of each color group to be merged as one when they run on the same tracks, as opposed to right next to each other as he has displayed on the KickMap. But that’s just me.
Did you ever have trouble interpreting the NYC subway map? What do you think of the KickMap?
Via Laughing Squid.
I like books, gadgets, spicy food, and art. I dislike shopping, hot weather, and the laws of entropy. Although I am a self-proclaimed computer nerd, I still have a love for handbags and makeup... and I am always teetering on high heels. To learn more about me, visit the 
