Reviews of Things I Have

For those not initiated, a pen tablet is a computer interface, just like a mouse or a keyboard. With a tablet, though, you interact with the computer by using a pen stylus on a flat board hooked up to your computer, usually via USB. The tablet tracks the pen’s coordinates and moves the pointer on the screen accordingly. When you touch the tablet with the pen, the mouse clicks. When you drag, the mouse holds its click and moves along with you. It requires a bit of getting used to but is amazingly intuitive once you grasp the concept.

Modern tablets also interpret how hard you’re pressing and which side of the pen you’re using. This is incredibly useful in digital painting and illustration work.

I got my Wacom Graphire4 pen tablet about two years ago and I still use it almost every day. This is my second Wacom; my first my mom got me when I was in junior high. It used a serial port and I’m sure would work perfectly today if I still had a computer with that connection.

Mine is the blue version with a 6″ by 8″ surface area. The model also comes in white and with a 4″ by 5″ area.

I use it mainly for Photoshop work and Flash animations. In fact, I’ve gotten so used to it, I can barely work with either of those programs without it.

It connects to the computer with an attached USB cable. Higher models from Wacom interact wirelessly with bluetooth.

The pen it comes with includes the normal plastic nub tip, plastic eraser on the other side, and two buttons about where you put your thumb. They are programmable and work well set as double-click and left-click.

The Graphire4 tablet features a scroll wheel and two programmable buttons. Higher models feature more buttons and more scrollers. The buttons work well for going backwards and forwards in Firefox, moving between frames in Flash, and undoing and redoing actions.

Besides the ubiquitous pen, the Graphire4 also comes with a mouse. The mouse uses the same tablet functionality as the pen, so operation can be a little awkward. When you’re working with your mouse at an angle that’s not parallel with the tablet, a straight horizontal line to you is interpreted by the tablet as a diagonal line. It takes some getting used to, but ultimately isn’t as good as a normal mouse.

The pen works well, without any noticeable lag, even with multiple heavy programs running. There’s 512 levels of pressure sensitivity, which is enough for you to not notice any lack of smoothness. Painting in Photoshop with varying pressures produces the exact flow it would in real life.

The screen on the Graphire4 is also removable, so you can lift it up and put stuff underneath it. Mine has stickers.

It works well on PC and Mac with the included drivers. It’s also bundled with some light software, useful if you haven’t the latest creative suite.

Some specs from the Wacom site:

Tablet size: 278(W) x 263.8(D) x 18(H) mm
Active Area: 150.8 x 208.8mm (6″X8″-A5 size)
Resolution: 2032 lpi (0.0125 mm)
Reading Accuracy: ±0.5 mm
Pressure Sensitivity: 512 levels
Report Rate: 100 pps
Weight: 860g
Cable Length: 150cm
Interface: USB

Final thoughts? Very, very good. I bought mine back in the day for 200 something, and it looks like its price hasn’t changed much, even though Wacom’s come out with new models since. I guess there’s a high resale value, so that’s good. I don’t think there’s much else I could want from it.

http://www.wacom.com/graphire/6×8.cfm

I remember always wanting to play guitar. By the time I was 12, I had finally convinced my mom to buy me one. She had the typical parental reservations; assuming that my interest in music was a fad and worried that I didn’t have the resolve to stick with it. Fair enough – I had spent the previous year nickel-and-diming her for art supplies to aid in my creation of a global comic book enterprise.

One day, we took a trip to the nearest music store. It wasn’t too long before my heart spotted a beautiful red electric guitar in the used section. Much to my delight, the headstock read “Fender.”

Long story short; I went home with the guitar. More than 10 years later, that Fender Mustang is still my main guitar. Sure, I’ve owned dozens of others through the years, but something keeps me coming back to the Mustang.

Maybe it’s the familiar comfort of my hand wrapping around the short-scale maple neck, fingers floating effortlessly over the rosewood fretboard. Maybe it’s the spongy, fat cleans I hear while playing through my 70′s Peavey Rockmaster or the fat, creamy tones that emerge when I push the tubes just enough. Maybe sometimes it’s just possible to make an emotional purchase without ever experiencing a single second of buyer’s remorse.

In an age of spec-sheets and unbiased online reviews, feature comparison tables and 110% price guarantees – I hope that you, too can find your Fender Mustang.

When I bought my MacBook Pro a year ago with the last remnants of my financial aid money, I knew I wanted some serious protection for it. I wanted a firm, reliable, minimalist case that could fit inside my backpack for class, as well as be reliable when used on its own. I definitely wasn’t going to trust my $2000 computer with a flimsy $15 foam envelope.

After doing some research, I settled on the Brain Cell Laptop Bag from Tom Bihn.

It comes in a tall, vertical version for backpacks (the one I got) and a fat, horizontal version for messenger bags, flavored in a variety of colors, depending on their stock.

The bag is made of 4mm corrugated plastic with 8mm thick foam padding. At the bottom of it, depending on which version you get, there’s 12mm of memory foam to further protect your computer from sudden bumps.

Before I graduated, I used it to take my lappy to class inside my backpack a dozen or two times without worry, even with a walking commute. I’ve also taken it on road trips back to the folks’ and to the girlfriend’s. I don’t think I’ve ever taken my computer anywhere without it.

The aluminum chassis on my MBP can heat up like crazy sometimes and the last place I want it right next to is my future children. As an added bonus, with its rigid form, the Brain Cell can double as a pad for underneath your computer when you actually have it on your lap.

They say their Brain Cell is designed for use with Tom Bihn laptops and messengers, but it’ll work just fine with any other bags. Just make sure you check their site for dimensions before you buy.

When I bought mine, it ran about $60, which, admittedly, is a lot, but I’d say it’s worth it. Also keep in mind that their factory is in Seattle, WA, so you’re paying for American craftsmanship. Without getting too political, it’s important to support your local economy. On a mildly related note, this is the same company that got into some controversy a couple years ago for calling the President stupid in French on their tags.

All right, I think that’s all I’ve got for this one. It’s weird talking about bags.

Pros: Durable, slim, safe, minimalistic yet rugged
Cons: Expensive, not entirely waterproof, not much pocket space

http://www.tombihn.com/page/001/PROD/300/TB0390

First of all, let me say that the new Panormous pizza from Pizza Hut is powerful. So powerful, in fact, that I can’t strike it from my mind and it’s been completely consumed for over 3 hours. I was totally going to write a review about something cool, like the Misfits Box Set or my 300 lb Trinitron but I just can’t shake this feelin’.

Allow me to take you back in time…

Knowing that I was going to have company over for dinner tonight, I decided that the easiest and cheapest way to appease all appetites would be to order pizza. Since I already knew that Pizza Hut is kind enough to let people repeatedly abuse their 20% off first-time online order coupon, I thought I’d browse their website and see about their most recent offerings. The first thing to catch my eye is what appeared to be two pan pizzas in a single box for $12.99. I was immediately sold.

Fast forward to me tearing open the box and pile-driving the mushy, crispy grease-bread down my greedy hatch. One slice down, it’s easy to define the Panormous experience as pure gluttonous pleasure in true Pizza Hut form. Truth be told, there’s really no difference in taste between this pizza and a normal Pizza Hut pan pizza but you get a lot more for your money on this one.

Important Notes:

• antacids, yes
• this pizza might be made of breadsticks (even if it’s not)
• I still think the Bigfoot was bigger and more delicious (even if it wasn’t)

I’m a big fan of Amy Poehler. I think she’s adorable and funny and adorable. Plus, she’s married to Gob from Arrested Development. Anytime I see Amy Poehler in anything that is readily available to me, I partake. What of hers did I partake in most recently? “Smart Girls At The Party.”

“Smart Girls At The Party” is a podcast starring pregnant Amy Poehler. She is joined by two other pregnant women, Meredith and Amy (another Amy, not Amy Poehler), who may or may not be her friends. Each episode, pregnant Amy (Poehler, not the other one) talks with a little girl about some stuff. Sometimes they talk about Yoga, other times about feminism, other times sisterhood. Stuff like that. It’s fun, funny, and possibly meaningful.

Did I mention it’s sponsored by Barbie? It kind of makes the whole thing almost unwatchable. The podcast is prefaced and ended with awkward Barbie nostalgia commercials, which may or may not negate the entire message. I’m not sure.

Anyway, the best part of the show is when they end the talk with a “dance party,” a la Pee-Wee’s Playhouse, and splice in footage of Gob and Kristin Wiig dancing, as if we couldn’t tell that it’s the same footage each time. Uh, dudes, we can totally tell it’s the same footage, ok.

The show’s also cool because it has pregnant women in it, and sometimes they look pretty terrifying, but sometimes totally, you know, like, woah, hello. You know what I’m saying?

Verdict: Cute, watchable, possibly ironic?

http://www.onnetworks.com/videos/smart-girls-at-the-party