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“Superbad” in real life

Oh dear God, it’s a real-life Superbad trio:

superbad in real life

In case you needed a reminder of what the three main characters in Superbad looked like:

superbad

And, for old times’ sake, here’s the trailer:

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“Support My Friends” Saturday, part 2: Read Taste Bluebook!

caroline

Once in a while, I like to use the reach of my blog to help out my friends, which I do in an occasional series called “Support My Friends” Saturday.

I’ve stayed in some pretty nice AirBnB places, but by far my best stay was during South by Southwest 2012, when my Shopify coworkers Edward Ocampo-Gooding, Mark Hayes, and I stayed at Caroline Fabacher’s fab apartment that was a hop, skip and jump away from downtown Austin. I have friends and exes who are twice Caroline’s age and cannot keep a house anywhere nearly as neat, stylish and “grown-up” as Caroline can, and few AirBnB hosts put out a welcome kit as nicely as she does, either. She’s the person I think of when someone says the phrase “the hostess with the mostest”.

She’s in Denver now, where apparently working on a JD-MBA just doesn’t take enough of her time, so she’s also got a blog called Taste Bluebook, which she describes thusly:

I have long been a firm believer that you CAN have what you want, you can DO what you want, if you just make smart choices and are educated about the necessary skills. You can kill it at the office and throw a great dinner party. You can know how to fix that excel formula and know how to make jam. You can discuss hot-button legal issues and the basics of investing and this season’s fashion trends. You can pursue the path to partner and out-bake your (future) mother-in-law.

There are plenty of fashion blogs out there. There are plenty of finance blogs out there. There are plenty of DIY blogs out there. But the fashion blogs fail to provide much content that can be adopted by readers who work in conservative offices or favor sandals with their shorts instead of heels. The finance blogs can feel daunting and intimidating to dive into for those who just want to learn SOMETHING about investing. The DIY blogs are full of amazing projects, but those renting apartments can’t squeeze that cleverly converted palette garden on their patio, or take up knitting just to have that cute coffee cozy.

Taste Bluebook is the answer. It will offer a a little bit of everything for the young women who are interested in a little bit of everything. With posts ranging from style and cooking, to health and finance, Taste Bluebook will provide ideas and advice for tackling just about any project. The content will be as practical as it is entertaining.

Go check out Taste Bluebook, and if you know people who’d appreciate it, send them there!

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“Support My Friends” Saturday, part 1: Buy Nic’s MacBook ($600)

nic's macbook

Click the photo to see Nic’s Craigslist ad.

Once in a while, I like to use the reach of my blog to help out my friends. This is one of those times.

In cities with decent-sized populations, Craigslist is popular, which is good news and bad news for sellers. The good news is obvious; the bad news is that their wares are lost in a sea of everyone else’ offerings. My friend Nic, whom I met over a decade ago at a little local drinking-and-mischief club called The Thirsty People of Toronto, is selling his MacBook, and I thought I’d help him move it.

It’s 2.4 GHz Core 2 Duo 13-inch “unibody aluminum” MacBook, with 8GB RAM and a 320GB hard drive. This is the model with the replaceable battery. It currently has OS X 10.5.6, and I believe — based on my experience with an iMac with a slower processor, less RAM and from the same era — that it will run the latest OS X (version 10.9, known as “Mavericks”) quite well.

For those of you who want more specs:

  • Processor and bus details: 45 nm “Penryn” 2.4 GHz Intel “Core 2 Duo” processor (P8600), with two independent processor “cores” on a single silicon chip, a 3 MB shared “on chip” level 2 cache, 1066 MHz frontside bus.
  • RAM details: 8 GB of 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM (PC3-8500) installed in pairs (two 4 GB modules). This is the maximum that can be installed on this model.
  • Hard drive: 250 GB Serial ATA (5400 RPM) hard drive.
  • Optical drive: 8X DL “SuperDrive”, which reads and writes CDs and DVDs.
  • Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics processor with 256 MB of DDR3 SDRAM shared with main memory.
  • Display: LED-backlit 13.3″ widescreen TFT active-matrix “glossy” display (1280×800 native resolution).
  • Webcam: Integrated iSight camera.
  • Networking: Loads!
    • AirPort Extreme (802.11a/b/g/n)
    • Bluetooth 2.1+EDR
    • Gigabit Ethernet
    • USB 2.0 ports (2 of ’em)
    • Optical digital/analog audio in/out
    • Mini DisplayPort supporting an external display at 2560 * 1600

Apple’s internal reference for this machine is “Macbook 5,1”, and you can see its factory specs here.

What can you do with such a machine? A fair bit, actually. Yes, it’ll do the web browsing, word processing, spreadsheeting, and presentations, but I’ve been using an older, slower, less-RAM-outfitted iMac to do graphics work and iPhone development. If you’re a web or mobile developer or designer on a budget, you should consider this machine, especially given what Nic’s asking for it:

$600. That’s right: $600.

Nic says it’s in impeccable condition, nice an clean, and has been used in a non-smoking environment.

Check out his ad, and then buy it from him!

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Black Friday Death Count: in case you need to keep score…

black friday death count

Screen capture of Black Friday Death Count on Friday, November 29, 2013 at 9:46 EST.

Black Friday — a day that some guy at Goldman Sachs called “the Special Olympics of capitalism” — often has a body count, and now you can keep score, thanks to BlackFridayDeathCount.com.

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Kenzie Lind may have accidentally invented Twitter haiku (or: Black Friday in the U.S., summarized quite nicely in three tweets)

kenzie lind tweets

A screen capture of those three tweets, just in case. Found via Huffington Post – click to see their article.

In three consecutive tweets, Kenzie Lind summarized America on Thanksgiving weekend quite well. She may have invented Twitter haiku!

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The Great Declutter Sale, Part 6: You can call it a kitchen cart, I call it “The Don Draper Memorial Damn Fine Bar” – $100

draper 01

Click the photo to see it at full size.

And on it goes with my Great Declutter sale!

don draper

If you’ve been to one of my parties, chances are that you’ve seen the kitchen cart — er, BAR — that’s performed so much yeoman service as the storage and preparation area for drinks. It’s also functioned at some point as a TV/stereo/videogame cabinet, as well as a stand-up computer desk. And now, it can be yours!

draper 02

Click the photo to see it at full size.

It’s in good condition with very few scratches or nicks on the side, and the top has remained smooth and shiny. I’m throwing in the ice bucket attachment that can hang off its side.

draper 03

Click the photo to see it at full size.

As I implied earlier, it’s been well cared-for, because I am a grown-up. Take a look at that wood-grain countertop. Smooth like buttah!

draper 04

Click the photo to see it at full size.

Whether you’re preparing drinks, dinner, or spreadsheets, this cart/bar has plenty of depth to accommodate all sorts of kitchen work, drinks mixing, a big honkin’ desktop computer setup, or a nice home entertainment system.

draper 05

Click the photo to see it at full size.

The wheels roll smoothly, and the front two wheels have brakes that work perfectly, so this thing won’t be rolling around your kitchen, living room, rec room, or wherever you end up putting it.

draper 06

Click the photo to see it at full size.

It’s a great cart/bar/stand-up desk, and it can be yours for $100. Want it? Drop me a line!

draper 07

Click the photo to see it at full size.

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Happy Thanksgiving!

I brought a turducken

That bear is adorable. Comic by Liz Climo.

To my American family, friends, and readers: Happy Thanksgiving, and for those who celebrate it, Happy Thanksgivingkah!

Since I’m a gentile and Canadian, it’s just another regular day for me (well, as “regular” as my days go, anyway), so I might as well post this:

ill make my own thanksgivingkah