The Onion makes me laugh out loud -- again:

Would someone tell me how this happened? We were the fucking vanguard of shaving in this country. The Gillette Mach3 was the razor to own. Then the other guy came out with a three-blade razor. Were we scared? Hell, no. Because we hit back with a little thing called the Mach3Turbo. That's three blades and an aloe strip. For moisture. But you know what happened next? Shut up, I'm telling you what happened—the bastards went to four blades. Now we're standing around with our cocks in our hands, selling three blades and a strip. Moisture or no, suddenly we're the chumps. Well, fuck it. We're going to five blades.

Sure, we could go to four blades next, like the competition. That seems like the logical thing to do. After all, three worked out pretty well, and four is the next number after three. So let's play it safe. Let's make a thicker aloe strip and call it the Mach3SuperTurbo. Why innovate when we can follow? Oh, I know why: Because we're a business, that's why!

You think it's crazy? It is crazy. But I don't give a shit. From now on, we're the ones who have the edge in the multi-blade game. Are they the best a man can get? Fuck, no. Gillette is the best a man can get.

Source:
Fuck Everything, We're Doing Five Blades
By James M. Kilts
CEO and President,
The Gillette Company, February 18, 2004 | Issue 40•07
http://www.theonion.com/content/node/33930

See also:
Gillette's Five-Blade Wonder
William C. Symonds
Business Week, SEPTEMBER 15, 2005 
http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/sep2005/nf20050915_1654_db035.htm

Posted at 02:14 PM in Finance, Humor | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack

"Not that good hamburgers can't be found in NYC, but it's just not a hamburger town."
-Jason Kottke

>
The K-man is wrong (hey, it happens occasionally).

Not only are there great burgers in NYC, this is a burger town. While Chicago is a hot dog town, and Cleveland/Detroit/Milwuakee are bratwurst/sausage towns, this is definitely a burger type of burgh. (That's the dichotomy: Burgers or Dogs).

Because there are so many great restaurants in this city, you don't think of it as a burger town -- but it is. Its also a great steak town, as well as a great Italian / French / Chinese / Sushi / nouvelle / wings / BBQ / Kosher town.  But between Dogs and Burgers, its a Burger town. 

Nuff said.

Here's my list of best Burgers in NYC:

Corner Bistro (My personal favorite)
331 W. Fourth St. (Jane St.)
Manhattan, NY
212-242-9502

Peter Luger Steak House (They use the tail of the porterhouse -- outstanding beef)
178 Broadway (Driggs Ave.)
Brooklyn, NY
718-387-7400

burger joint at Le Parker Meridien (ask the concierge -- its hidden in the back)
119 W. 56th St. (bet. 6th & 7th Aves.)
Manhattan, NY
212-708-7414

J.G. Melon (excellent!)
1291 Third Ave. (74th St.)
Manhattan, NY
212-744-0585

Spotted Pig (also excellent -- but no decor and tight quarters)
314 W. 11th St. (Greenwich St.)
Manhattan, NY
212-620-0393

McHales Burgers (cheap and huge)
750 Eighth Ave. (46th St.)
Manhattan, NY
212-997-8885

Island Burgers (This is a subgroup's favorite  -- but be aware: no fries)
766 Ninth Ave. (bet. 51st & 52nd Sts.)
Manhattan, NY
212-307-7934

Prime Grill (high end restaurant, with very good - and reasonably priced -- Burgers)
60 E. 49th St. (bet. Madison & Park Aves.)
Manhattan, NY
212-692-9292

Rare Bar & Grill (try the frickle!)
303 Lexington Ave. (37th St.)
Manhattan, NY
212-481-1999

Last, I've never been to the new spinout from Luger's -- Ben & Jack's -- but given Lugers great burgers, its gotta be good!

Ben & Jack's Steakhouse 
219 E. 44th St. (bet. 2nd & 3rd Aves.)
Manhattan, NY 10017
212-682-5678

Since Ben & Jack's is around the corner from my office (Chrysler Building), I'll check it out soon and report back.

But of this entire list, nothing beats the Corner Bistro . . .

>

UPDATE: September 30, 2005 7:56am
I've kept chains off of the list, hence, no Jackson Hole, Better Burger or Hamburger Heaven; But if I  missed any seriously great burgers, do let me know  and I'll check 'em out, and if found worthy, add them to the list.

Anyone who steers me to a terrific burger joint  I've never been to -- as good as the average on the above list -- gets a free meal there (on me).

>

UPDATE: October 14, 2005 1:16pm
Some have pointed to GoodBurger as a possible addition to the list. I had lunch at the aptly named GoodBurger today:

The Good:  Flame grilled, nice flavor, juicy.

The Bad: Smallish Burger left me somewhat hungry, the burger itself was undercooked (Rare was on the tartare side), and the french fries were non-descript

Bottom line:  A good, not great burger.

>

See also:

20 Hamburgers You Must Eat Before You Die 
http://men.style.com/gq/features/full?id=content_2526

Posted at 06:45 AM in Food and Drink | Permalink | Comments (77) | TrackBack

This is my friend Cody Willard:

This is the photo from an article he did for online mag. For some reason, he is reviewing Blue Jeans for some advertising rag.

He is heterosexual (all appearances to the contrary)

Check out his Blahhg

Posted at 11:38 AM in Design, Humor | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Very cool stuff from Tim Biskup:

click for larger graphic

Posted at 09:44 AM in Art & Design | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Common sense ain't all that common:

"First: Understand why you're writing

Before you type anything into a new message, have explicit answers for two questions:

Why am I writing this?

What exactly do I want the result of this message to be?

If you can't succinctly state these answers, you might want to hold off on sending your message until you can. People get dozens, hundreds, even thousands of emails each day, so it's only natural for them to gravitate toward the messages that are well thought-out and that clearly respect their time and attention. Careless emails do not invite careful responses.

Think through your email from the recipient's point of view, and make sure you've done everything you can to try and help yourself before contacting someone else. If it's a valuable message, treat it that way, and put in the time to making your words count.

Get what you need

Although the possible topics and content of messages are theoretically endless, I'd propose that there are really just three basic types of business email.

Providing information - “Larry Tate will be in the office Monday at 10.”
Requesting information - “Where did you put the 'Larry Tate' file?”
Requesting action - “Will you call Larry Tate's admin to confirm our meeting on Monday?”

Other sensible suggestions:

• Write a great Subject line

• Brevity is the soul of...getting a response

• What's the action here?

• Make it easy to quote

• Minimize noise

Writing sensible email messages via Kottke

Posted at 10:16 AM in Weblogs | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

The fastest way to economic destruction is the debasement of the engine of growth. In this country, that's Science and Technology.

The godless central planning communists in China must be laughing their arses off at the attempts here in the U.S. to introduce non-science into the scientific curricula in the United States. This is a sure path to economic ruin.

In the marketplace of ideas, the strongest arguments should (theoretically) triumph. Therefore, to help dispel the self destructive campaign of dumbing down our scientific future, here is the Index to Creationist Claims.

Its an incredibly detailed point by point refutation of all the failings, false statements and inaccuracies of the personal religous belief system of Creationism and Intelligent Design.

Source:
Index to Creationist Claims
http://www.talkorigins.org/indexcc/list.html

Posted at 09:39 AM in Current Affairs, Philosophy, Politics, Religion, Science | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Source:
Happy 15th Birthday, Hubble 
Amit Asaravala
Wired, 02:00 AM Apr. 25, 2005 PT
http://www.wired.com/news/space/0,2697,67304,00.html 

Posted at 05:29 PM in Science | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Tom Toles:

Tom Toles via Yahoo!

Posted at 08:36 AM in Current Affairs, Humor, Politics | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

There's an article in the Long Island section of the Sunday NYT about the way cool creations of Huntington artisan Joseph Jesselli of Jesselli Guitars, dubbed the Stradivari of Huntington.
 

According to the NYT, Jesselli "obsessively" handcreates a few guitars per year. Each of them take 5 to 6 months to make. He uses wood that he's had for at least 10 years, with incredible attention to detail and craftsmanship. The pieces are hand carved, crafted or tooled. 

They start at $20k or so per. The Stones Keith RIchards owns one. Alan Rogan, The Who's guitar technician, called them the "Best guitars ever made." 

The article is not on line, but here are some of Jesselli's work:

click for larger photo

Note how the case and tools (above) match the guitar (below)

The Nouveau model is carved "in the round." The lines of the instrument can be traced from front to back. This gives the impression that the guitar is one finely-crafted whole, rather than a series of constituant parts. The result is the organic look typified by the Art Nouveau style. Take note of the ported back plate; rimmed in gold and held in place by twenty-two micro bolts.

The Modernaire: cutting-edge appearance executed in a turn-of-the-century art style.

The Sound Lenz (below) walks the line between being an acoustic and electric:

The full gallery of his creations are on line here.

The
<spacer>

Sources:
Huntington's Stradivari
Brian Fidelman
NYT, Sunday, Spetember 25, 2005
Long Island section (not on line)

Jesselli Guitars
http://www.jesselliguitars.com/index.html

Posted at 12:51 PM in Art & Design, Music | Permalink | Comments (10) | TrackBack

This is so Cool:

Mobulas gathering on the sea floor of the Sea of Cortez

Photographs by Michael Albert

Catching some air!

Photographs by Michael Albert

You can see the entire photo gallery here

Source:
The Flying Mobulas of the Sea of Cortez
Written and Researched by Paul Albert
Photographs and Story by Michael Albert
6.26.05
http://www.malbertphoto.com/mobulas1.html

Posted at 06:59 AM in Science | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack