First Snow

Some pictures of our the first snowstorm this winter from twelve floors up.

Milwaukee's Best in 48 Hrs

Lake Michigan, we've missed your shores.

When in Milwaukee, the only place to stop for coffee.

A little Third Ward action.

The best burger in MKE, with a tall boy? Yes, please.

Post burger trip to Kopp's Frozen Custard. The best custard around.

Our View

We can now enjoy it a little more since Jarrod bought our grill. Thanks!

Triple Threat

Katelyn Sellers Hoge

8 lbs. 7 oz. 21"

11 October 2011 4:35pm

I am thrice an uncle. 

Steve Jobs' Passing

Steve Jobs did the impossible. He got me to work in a mall. I only lasted 10 months, but that’s ten more months than I ever thought I would be working in a mall. His passing somehow brought me a greater sense of pride that I was part of the company than working in the store actually did. I was truly saddened last night. I think everyone expected his death, but not so soon, not five weeks after he stepped down.

I have been struck by the magnitude of his death. From President Obama releasing a statement last night to floral tributes outside Apple stores, most tributes have been appropriate, but others have been cringe inducing. Jobs oversaw every detail of his company and intimately cared about each product the company produced. What current CEO does that? Not a one. However, he was no MLK, Jr., a comparison I heard last night that made me spit up my milk and cookies all over my MacBook Pro. Coincidentally, I had watched MLK, Jr.’s anti-Vietnam speech earlier in a class yesterday, reinforcing the point that his impact on intellectual thought, humanity, freedom, and rights is immeasurable and never was anyone so damn eloquent in bringing that about.

Nevertheless, as I sit here, studying (which I really should be doing right now) I see a few iPads, many iPhones, an 11-inch MacBook Air, and a handful of other MacBooks. Jobs’ influence is everywhere and it’s stunning that in a person’s absence we are more acutely aware of their legacy and we immediately yearn for their presence more than we ever did when they were alive. And that is why death hurts so much.

Godspeed, Steve.

Tributes

Apple's homepage has a nice tribute to Steve Jobs. It will probably change soon so go check it out. 

Even wired.com is all black tonight.

Living in the Future

If you didn't visit a news website,  listen to NPR, or watch TV today, you might not know that Apple announced its iPhone 4S today. It includes Siri, which is, at it's simplest an assistant you can talk to. Just read this from Gizmodo. It sort of blows my mind. It's crazy actually. Sci-fi movies are slowly becoming reality. 

This thing actually seems smart, judging by the demos. It actually interprets what you are saying. You don't talk to it using commands. You just talk to it like you would talk to another person. So instead of asking "tell me the weather today" you can just say "Do I need a raincoat?" and it will reply "It sure does look like rain today!" Or if you say "Wake me up tomorrow at 6am" it will automatically set up the alarm for you. Or "hey, remind me to buy milk later" and it will remind you to buy milk as you pass near a grocery store—yes, Siri is location aware.

A Sober Reminder of Where Your iPhone Comes From

Read this.


Look at this.


It's worth mentioning, this is essentially where all electronic gadgets come from. Like the guy in the Times piece says, this is what happens when you outsource to a fascist country with no human rights.

100 Million Degrees

I have been reading a fairly dense history of U.S. foreign policy over the last two weeks. Ahead of each chapter, there is a quote, which relates to the topic of the chapter, but may not be found within. The lead quote for the chapter on the Pacific front of WWII was powerful. It paints a picture that is impossible to imagine. 

When the first atomic bomb went off, at Alamorgordo, New Mexico, on July 16, 1945, the temperature at Ground Zero was 100 million degrees Fahrenheit, three times hotter than the interior of the sun and ten thousand times the heat on its surface. All life, plant and animal, within a mile radius of Ground Zero simply vanished. General Leslie Groves, director of the Manhattan Project, turned to his deputy and said, "The war's over. One of two of these things and Japan will be finished."
- Gordon Thomas and Max Morgan-Witts, Enola Gay