I’m switching back to Bloglines

I tried out Google Reader for a while, but their interface for the iPhone is weak sauce. So I have to switch back to Bloglines, specifically Bloglines Beta. I think that Google Reader in a normal browser is great, but I like to read my blogs wherever I am, like if I’m waiting on lunch, or sitting in traffic or something. The problem with Google Reader is that, on the iPhone, it doesn’t take into account the folders I have set up. And when you’ve got 212 feeds you like to read, but you really like to read some more than others, folders are really handy.

Here’s a question for you guys: What RSS feed reader do you use? If you don’t use an RSS aggregator, you need to start. Hit me up if you have any questions.

Coachella Music Festival looks great but their website fucking blows.

The Coachella Music Festival seems like a great festival, with acts like Roger Waters, Portishead, Kraftwerk, Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks, Jack Johnson, and more.

Too bad their website is a fucking joke. Check it out for yourself. There’s no indication of the dates of the festival anywhere (except for some weird countdown to the festival – but I’m not fucking bothering with that). Any time you have a date-sensitive event, you need to clearly communicate this to your readers. Even their poster doesn’t have any dates. As much as I’d love to see Roger Waters and Portishead (two must-see-before-I-die shows), it’s not going to be at Coachella.

Better luck next year, suckers.

Flickr partners with the Library of Congress!

Flickr and the Library of Congress have started a unique partnership that allows Flickr users to search for and add tags for photos from the Library of Congress. There are about 3,000 images online now, and I’m sure that number will increase as time goes on. Searching the LoC database now is pretty lame, and adding them to flickr is a great idea. I’m looking forward to adding tags as I peruse these images.

Spicy Picklegate: Week 2 wrap-up

Well, this wrap-up is even easier than you would have expected. I wrote two weeks ago about how the Spicy Pickle switched their bread on me, and how I was never going back because of this. Their company’s COO called me and told me that he would call in the coming week to arrange a lunch meeting to talk more about their bread change. And, well, he never called last week. So that’s my update. No email, no phone call, no nothing. This essentially means that my boycott of the Spicy Pickle has entered its’ third week.

It’s probably been a few years since I’ve done a top 5 list, so here is a new one.

Top 5 sandwich shops (in or near Denver) to consider instead of the Spicy Pickle:

5. Gelman’s Market & Bistro – I had a great crabcake sandwich there a while back.
4. Mendelsohn’s Deli – A nice New York-style Deli downtown.
3. Rudi’s Deli, Winter Park – The Roasted Turkey Panini sandwich is stellar. I also enjoy the Turkey Avocado Melt.
2. Pat’s Philly Steaks and Subs – Get the PJ’s Gobbler.
1. Fat Jack’s Super Subs – a great shop with a silly name. I get the Don Juan usually.

Flying Dog Doggie Style Classic Pale Ale rolls off the bottling line

I’m pleased to let my readers know that our updated labels for Doggie Style Classic Pale Ale have started rolling off the bottling line here in Denver. Today I took photographs of the aforementioned bottles. And they’re turning out pretty decently. I’m going to add some sweat to these images, hopefully. Fake sweat, even! But I’m finally satisfied with these bottle shots. The first gazillion were less than I had hoped for, and the faked bottle shots just don’t compare. But it’s coming along, and every time I take photos of stuff like this, I think the results get better and better. Not bad for a setup under $100. The key is to use compact fluorescent bulbs, they’re not hot and they’re super white. I love that I barely have to color correct these at all.

I also took photos of our Wild Dog Barrel-Aged Horn Dog Barley Wine. So rare, there are only about 700 bottles known to exist in the world. I just think that makes it sound super rare, therefore adding to the mystique of this limited-batch product.

We’ve got quite a bunch of other labels on bottles now, actually. Old Scratch Amber Lager, Gonzo Imperial Porter, and Snake Dog India Pale Ale (among others) have already run. Look for other bottle shots to come up periodically, along with selected 6-packs. Below is my silly little setup.

The light tent is ok, but I need to find a better solution for the panel where the lens pokes through. The slice in that panel is too tall, and you can see it in the reflection on the bottle. I’m wondering if the fake sweat will help diffuse this situation. I’ve got some ideas in mind, some that even include some sort of spandex-like material, but we’ll see what happens. I also would really like to get some sort of wide angle lens so that I might be able to fit some larger things into the aforementioned light tent.

[edited: I've replaced my original version with a version with some sweat. It looks way cooler.]