Evening Telegram » Nerdery & Sundry

here’s a distraction

Nikhil — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 05:15:21 +0000

I have a list of about 20 hours of work I want to do to my site, because I’m too proud to start a Tumblog. In the meanwhile, here’s one of the funniest things I’ve ever heard in a podcast.

The Sound of Young America—Matt Braunger

mapping america’s netflix rentals

Nikhil — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 04:39:41 +0000

Great interactive graphic from the NYT mapping the top Netflix rentals of 2009 to various zipcodes in major metro areas. New York is predictable: Manhattan watches artsy crap, Jersey and Westchester County watch crap they heard was sophisticated from people at the last wine tasting, and the outer boroughs watch action flicks and minority-targeted fare.

DC is predictable, too, but the patterns are far more distinct. One can actually make out a dividing line between the more affluent, mostly white suburbs (MoCo, NW DC, Arlington/Fairfax Co) and the areas with higher minority representation (NE/SE DC, PG Co, Alexandria). The dividing line seems to be along I-295 and I-395, bisecting the beltway.

Minneapolis is very, very white. But you already knew this.

a refreshed evening telegram

Nikhil — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 07:57:58 +0000

I promised I’m not dead, and indeed, I’m not. It’s been eight months since I last posted (not counting my ‘not dead’ post five months ago). In that time, I tried to accomplish a number of things on the site, including integrating my Google Reader account (so I could actually start contributing articles from my iPhone’s RSS reader—Byline!), making photo posts easier, and editing the typography. I didn’t get everything I wanted out of this site refresh, but $35, three WordPress themes, hours of plugin-coding, and eight months later, I’m starting up the blog again.

Here, you’ll find a few new features:
1) the blog has been divided into “Notable Issues”—including politics, economics, and other societal snark—and “Humanities”—including pretty much everything else. This is part of a wider effort in the Telegram. I recognize that a good portion of my readership couldn’t care less how much I hate income inequality as a measure of poverty, or how international leaders haven’t really changed how much they hate the US. But at the same time, I have some awesome things to show these readers. Hopefully, this division will make things easier for everyone.
2) You’ll (hopefully) see some blog posts via Flickr as I take and upload photos in India.
3) I’ve switched the lifestream to a new codebase that looks nicer, but takes up more space.
4) There is a new Google Reader shared list below the lifestream. Here, you’ll find the items that used to be included in my regular del.icio.us posts.

And all of this done just hours before I leave for India. Hope you enjoy following my trip around India this year, and hope I actually manage to post something while I’m there.

i’m not dead, yet!

Nikhil — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 03:56:54 +0000

(bonk)

I am in the process of adding some design tweaks I’ve had in mind for about a year, and some plug-ins I’ve been considering basically since I relaunched this page in March of ’08. Hopefully, I’ll begin blogging again in the near future.

little red riding hood

Nikhil — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 02:08:28 +0000

The story animated and reimagined with infographics. It’s a design blog hit that I’m just getting around to posting.

Slagsmålsklubben – Sponsored by destiny from Tomas Nilsson on Vimeo.

the raptor dance

Nikhil — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 20:27:13 +0000

From the 2003 movie Koi. . . Mil Gaya:

koi mil gaya – it’s magic
by snehas

Fast forward to :50. That is all.

addendum: I’ve been reminded that tomorrow is Raptor Awareness Day [Facebook link]. Consider this my part to make you more aware of the threat of velociraptor attacks.

how merlin mann made me feel better about my cynicism

Nikhil — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 20:03:09 +0000

I work very closely with social media in my job, but I might be one of the most cynical in my organization about its uses and merits. I’ve been working on being less of a jerk about the OMGWEB2.0WTFBBQ bandwagon, but Merlin Mann says it much better than I ever could in his excellent SxSW rant-duet with John Gruber:

Merlin Mann: Or, like, and my rant?—?and I’m sorry, I’m not gonna shut up about this?—?I’m so tired of every social media douche going “Zappo’s is on Twitter!”. And you’re like, “Yeah, they’re on Twitter; after putting millions of dollars into customer support.” It’s like, getting an account on Twitter does not make you Zappo’s. Having the resources behind serving the shit out of your audience makes you Zappo’s. And it doesn’t happen overnight, with a login and an email that you click on a link. So anyway; not to go on a rant.

John Gruber: Have you ever read… ’cause you know, Comcast is on Twitter.

. . .and. . .

Merlin Mann: So people think “Oh, you’re so down on social media. Why are you such a jerk?”. And I’m like, “‘Cause social media, when it’s really social media, is not about what you have to say; it’s having a tolerance for what people have to say about you.”?—?which is so different from posting about your great run. Social media is when they say “You’re a jackass. Stop talking about your run.” That’s social media. And that’s the conversation.

And one wonders if even social media experts understand that.

i am still 15 years old

Nikhil — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 17:06:03 +0000

Do Indian journalists not read what they write?

In a 19-year-old communal riot case, a Delhi court has acquitted 34 people accused of resorting to violence, and pulled up the police for its sloppy probe.

viral marketing on the death star

Nikhil — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 07:09:28 +0000

[via swissmiss]

spammer chutzpah

Nikhil — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 19:11:02 +0000

A recent bit of comment spam that Akismet filtered out:

to: Admin – If You want to delete your site from my spam list, please visit this site for instructions: [obvious spam site]

“If you want me to stop hitting you, please run into my fist.” That takes some balls.