Recent content by Pompidou

I only use Netflix, since I, for all intents and purposes, live at my coffee shop 24/7, and business cable is about 250 a month. My laptop has a Netflix account. That said, my cafe acquired a 1958 Philco television which would be a dream to have working, even if only to play off-copyright silent...

You've got an old generation on the way out, in a world they no longer understand. Perhaps blasting it is their way of consoling themselves that they didn't want it anyway - like not getting invited to a party and telling yourself it's going to stink anyway, and you're actually glad you're not...

Regarding formal modes of address: I don't see any cause for ridicule. I'd imagine you know when they're appropriate. Regarding archaic vocabulary: You're no different, except by degree, than a fellow walking around speaking Elizabethan, or even Chaucer's Middle English. Languages evolve.

Thirty years ago I was four, and totally hooked on cheesy 80s pop like My Sherona - any of that synthy, bass heavy, power chords only stuff that's impossible to listen to without irony today.

In the realm of gaming, I'm the curmudgeon that thinks things haven't been the same since they went 3D. I've relegated myself to indie homages to the 70s, 80s and early 90s. Jeff Minter is a favorite developer of mine, and I'm a beta tester for P1XL, who make games for the Commodore 64 and port...

I've regretted three out of four hat purchases. My first hat was a Dorfmann Pacific Indy repro. My second was a black pork pie by Baileys. My third was a Stetson Whippet - light brown. I've given the first two away to friends. The third is now decor at my cafe. There's only one hat I wear and...

A single Apple product isn't particularly amazing anymore, not since the newness has worn off and competition emerged, even in the form factor. I think the place Apple shines most is when you dive fully into the ecosystem. Everything from desktops to laptops, tablets to phones all work together...

I use my iPhone 5 for everything. I've installed every bit of productivity software a desktop computer might have, from word processing to music production, and it's now the only computer I own. I can write my stories, do the cafe financials, track inventory, produce songs from my synthesizer...

It's all I do. I count my consumption in pots rather than cups. I have a cup in my hand everywhere I go: home, work, shopping, etc.

My 95 S10 lasted me till June, 2012. I replaced it with a functionally identical 2012 Silverado. It's small, but the cafe doesn't need heavy duty. It just needs more than a car trunk. As far as coffee goes, I'm a huge fan of fresh ground, medium roast, fair trade, organic Equal Exchange, a...

I've only done two worthwhile things in my life towards leading a successful life: gotten a BA in History from UConn, and opened a coffee shop without a loan. I have to imagine back in the 30s, BA's weren't as useless as they are now, so there's that route to success. If not that, than the...

The "them" is fairly easy to define - the definition is all over the Internet. The "us" is a whole different matter. We range from hating the present to liking the past, from single niche hobbyists to historians to veritable living artifacts. There is no "us". Or, at the very least, no "us" that...

It's not the wearing that Lizzie is bothered about, but the pretending. The closest parallel I can think of is the wall of shame for folks pretending to be Navy Seals. So, wear blue collar if you like, work blue collar if you want to, but if you don't, don't lead the world to believe you do...

A big difference in purpose, but very little difference superficially. Walk around with enough of the visual trappings of a hipster, get accused of being one, deny it, and rest assured you've just rested their case. Nobody casts superficial judgements on people based on intentions and real...

I always have a comb in my pocket. If I'm out for something important, I've got a whole first impression package: the comb, Altoids, and a bottle of water because my hair only cooperates wet.