Carrier Dynamics
Marco (of the ever awesome Instapaperand Tumblr) discussed the Palm Pre and it being on Sprint vs Verizon in this post. I’m on Verizon and do enjoy that it seems to always have better coverage or at least less static and breaking up than other networks. This comes by way of indirect experience, mostly watching friends with other networks struggle with them. So why is the Pre, Palm’s savior device and answer to the iPhone, on Sprint? Marco gives two explanations:
I can think of two explanations:
1. Sprint paid Palm a lot of money or made other extremely significant concessions in Palm’s favor. But I don’t think Sprint could pay Palm enough to make up for the value of a Verizon exclusive.
2. Verizon refused.The latter is a much more interesting possibility, and I think it’s more likely. Verizon is notoriously difficult to work with, and has exhibited a consistent delusion in the past that they don’t need specific blockbuster devices and can make their own knockoffs that are just as good. But I don’t think that’s what happened this time. Verizon has lost enough customers specifically to the iPhone that I think they finally noticed at a very high level and are taking steps to fight back.
I think Apple gave Verizon an incentive to turn Palm away.
I can see that too. Despite all the hipster feel-goodiness about Apple they are very much a cut-throat business, especially since coming back from the grave in the past decade after Microsoft almost ran them out of business. I didn’t understand how they ended up on such a crappy network like AT&T but I would suspect they’re trying to make amends now.
What would be nice is if we the customer had the option that everyone else in the world has with their coverage: they can switch companies by switching a chip in their phone. I don’t know how it works with the iPhone overseas but why, on this issue like many others, can this country not support smart models of business?
Back in the early Internet days, the Europeans paid for Internet on a per minute basis. US companies came out with the idea of flat rates and now that’s how European internet companies work as well. They could switch because it made more sense. Why can we not take their ideas of pay-as-you-go and a freedom to change carriers and apply it more directly here? Virgin Mobile is the only that does this and it’s really not a valid option in the majority of the country. Here, we let our corporate interests dominate the market, lock people into difficult, hard-to-break, expensive contracts and tie them to shitty devices. Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to choose what phone exactly it was that you wanted and then choose exactly the company you wanted to go with it by popping in a chip?
That’s real freedom.
You Stay Classy New York
Invitation from party of NYC-based designer:
The premise of the party series: “In New York City, there has never been a shortage of parties. Parties celebrating a new product or publication or development have been rampant. Those celebrating or nurturing a meaningful social exchange, on the other hand, have been noticeably absent.”
Wow…fifty parties in fifty weeks. With themes. How, um, original? Especially having a ‘white trash’ party. That’s great. That’s some real evolution in thinking. And parties where people have meaningful social exchange. Maybe these folks just go to the wrong parties if it’s all product launches. I don’t understand the point of having a White Trash party either when the hipster chic of late has been to dress like their approximation of white trash – PBR, trucker hats, etc. Except paired with glasses, black and thick as a pinkie, to show that, hey, we’re jus’ havin’ some fun, being “ironic”.
via NOTCOT
The New Music Video
MTV America doesn’t play music videos anymore. That’s ok because we have other friends in the world that still want to make smart, fun, videos. This is one of them, using some webby technology (and a large dose of magical coordination, editing, and creative skills) to show us what we’re missing out on:
Same Time, Same Place
I have a few posts in the works and other thoughts bouncing around in ye olde cranium and hope to get them written and up this week as well as a possible return to the hallowed halls of Why We Worry. Also, trying to work out plans for adding a bit of immediacy to my LA Cycling Map project. Here are some short notes from the past week/weekend:
Dearth of Quality Independence Day TV Programming: Not from regular shows but of movies. I understand that people go outside and whatnot during the holiday but that doesn’t mean that you should skimp on having some imaginative, quality movie programming. Even TCM dropped the ball. This is probably going to lead to a fuller post of the movies I wish I’d scene on the 4th of July.
Job Search: As you can see, the weekend wasn’t exactly busy for me. The job hunt process is coming up with nothing. Unfortunately, this means I have to stay still for a bit longer until I either a) hear back or b) say screw it and go ahead with other plans. Waiting is not my strong suit but I also don’t want to be in the middle of a New Mexico desert and get a callback from across the country and have to frantically make it back for an interview that might / might not lead anywhere. The only consolation is that I have options and other opportunities unlike a lot of other folks out there. I’m being selective in my choices because I try not to think of work as only a paycheck but an opportunity to learn something new or improve other skills but it’s probably going to come down to taking something out of necessity in the next few months if my luck doesn’t get any better. So be it.
Uighurs Rioting: Close to 200 reported killed and more than 800 injured. Probably a blip on the screen for most in the US and possibly not even reported in parts of China. When I think about it, I think about the terrorist attacks in Madrid. 191 people killed, close to 2000 injured. But that was a terrorist attack. This was police enforcement against rioters and I think it’s a safe assumption to believe the majority of those killed or injured were Uighurs, not Han Chinese. The protests in Iran got more coverage and hand-wringing but what about the violent, horrific actions of a regime that American companies and political groups are falling head over heels to please? There was unerring praise and fellating over the handling of the Olympics but really, how well was it handled? It was used as a premise for further crackdowns on the Uighurs and hundreds, if not thousands, of families were forced from their homes to construct Olympic sites. China showed that it could shut down its factories and clean up its air, and Beijing residents were pleased, but economics trump clean air and I’m sure those factories have gone back online. I think I would have trouble being a diplomat because I would definitely make a statement that such actions were inexcusable. In the US there is much whinging from the left hand side about ‘cultural imperialism’. Well, some things need exporting, such as basic understanding of human rights. If we want to take steps forward from the Dark Age that just passed in the US, we need to step up and take a lead on these issues, be it in China, Guantanamo, or our own backyard.
Book reviews: I hope to have up a review of Geoff Manaugh’s BLDGBLOG book and Rebecca Solnit’s Wanderlust: A History of Walking. Here’s a review of the first from The Guardian: http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2009/jul/04/bldgblog-book-geoff-manaugh. Both have inspired a lot of thinking on my part but will keep all that to myself for the moment to let it ferment.
Where To Move: Re-posting a longish comment in response to a blog post at AllAboutCities.ca on ‘growth’ in cities during time of recession. Edited a little because I have horrible trouble proofreading sometimes in text fields provided. Actually, I hate proofreading on a screen in general but that’s another article for another day. Here’s the comment:
I think this is a rather irresponsible list, at least for those who wanted to question the widespread growth of subdivision suburbia and housing climate of yesteryear that drove it.
I think New Orleans’ growth is rather obvious. Why would you recommend further outlying suburbs for already catastrophically expansive, traffic-filled, polluting areas. Recommending these as places to move to only fuels continued expansion of road-based infrastructure, commuting, and bad housing development and planning.
I can truly only speak from experience in the Raleigh-Durham area but unfettered subdivision development has caused the area to expand massively over the past decade, increasing traffic and most probably being responsible for the major problems with drought in the area. Many folks are lured into the area by the cheap housing from out west and up north to the point where Cary is jokingly called the Central Area For Relocated Yankees. If you want a Southern version of New Jersey / LA-style sprawl then move there.
In regards to the TX recs, that only fuels the massive expansion there in cities that are already ranked highest in time in traffic (Dallas-Ft Worth).
CSM doesn’t really tell us how it got its stats but it seems like a move by mayors and local governments in trying to encourage growth in their outlying suburbs. Raleigh is always on that list for some reason but the local government there has no consideration for the effects of year after year of 5-7% growth on the local environment or existing residents. Maybe if you’re middle-aged with two kids these are good options for having an ‘affordable house’ but expect the same monoculture you have in suburbia throughout the country.
I’m rather harsh on Raleigh-Durham but there seems to be no limit to how much the city and county governments there and in the surrounding area are willing to sell out to continue expanding. It’s the same for most cities on the I-40/I-85 corridor. I also wonder how much of the growth is truly benefiting the ‘locals’, the people who’ve lived there for at least two or three generations, versus the people from outside the state that a lot of these multinational corporations are bringing in. I don’t know. Again, this probably my bias as a smart growth advocate rather than growth for growth’s sake, be it housing or the economy. It always helps to ask why.
Advertising Failures Follow-Up
Here are some evidence of advertising being used badly on the internet from reputable organizations:
MSNBC demonstrates a great way to build mistrust in your readers. Not only do you make the article they want to read difficult to read by loading up ads in the middle and having a generally bad design but you also have ad links within the article (the green and double-underlined links). This is a sad tactic I’ve seen elsewhere and it always makes me wonder why you would sacrifice a reader for a few cents. Once folks have caught on that that link isn’t to your content and that you’ve only included to make a quick penny then they’re less likely to trust you in the future. Given that you mutilate most of the content you provide anyway to show ads, I doubt it really matters. Check out that whole sidebar full of links – that’s typically something you see on sites blatantly set up to suck out ad revenue with most thought given to what sort of trickery can be used to get someone to accidentally click on a link.
About.com is also notorious for this as well as badly targeted ads:
At least About.com calls out its ads on the left-hand side. What disturbs me is that this is part of the ubiquitous network of “jiggly fat” ads that have hit the net in the past few months. I couldn’t find a picture of the most grotesque one (with the fat roll hanging over the waistband and belt) but I’m sure everyone’s seen it by now. My question: why is this on a page regarding cover letters? Yes, it’s true I may have a gained a little weight in my unemployment but I still think it’s a bit of a miss demographically.
Now, About.com doesn’t really have much of a reputation to uphold. Their sites are sometimes usefully, generally full of ad links (obvious or covert) but what if you have a brand to uphold?
Not only is Esquire’s site design already cluttered with whatever the wanted to throw in there thoughtlessly but the ads they use are either of the type seen on the right there, a Google ad box that sticks out hideously, and they use the most of annoying the new online advertising stupidities, the pop-over ad. Unfortunately, I don’t have a screenshot of a pop-over but, needless to say, it’s one of the worst offenders for annoying me, the reader. Esquire’s wasn’t so bad. Some websites out there have them envelop the top half of your window whenever you get to the page. So, instead of getting a look at what you came to the site to visit, you spend seconds searching for the ‘X’ or ‘close’ button and hopefully won’t accidently click the ad and head away from the page.
A close second in the obscene annoyance category is the use of video ads that automatically start whenever I load a page. Since Internet Time Immemorial (well, since Javascript game about) people have hated things that flash, blink, talk, or play music on web pages automatically. It’s great that these days we have the bandwidth to do so and not cause a computer to freeze (unlike the olden days) but it’s still unnecessary and a severe annoyance to have music, speech, whatever coming out without me, the user’s, designation.
The best way to get people to come back to your site is to a) not annoy them and b) not cause them to distrust you. I think it’s unfortunate that a lot of name brand sites are willing to sell their readers’ trust and devotion for a quick click on an ad by not putting thought into better, legible user design, less devotion to irrelevant ads, and thoughtlessly sticking in active ads that disrupt the user experience and their desire to see your content.
Advertising’s Failure On The Internet: A Reply
Clint posted a thoughtful piece over at Why We Worry on why advertising will fail on the internet. I don’t fully agree with him though.
Here is a quote:
With the Internet, I am active. I decide what content I want, and then I access it via the shortest possible route (unless I feel like browsing), and I do this whenever I want. If ads block my route, I am annoyed. If they pop up at me, I close them down. If they arrive in e-mails, I filter them out. If they play before my video, I snarl at them.
I think internet advertising is the active entity and not wholly the user. If the user is still choosing to ignore advertising then the user is doing the same as someone like me who tries to do something else during the annoying ads that come on during a tv show. The development of the pop-up blocker cleared up most peoples’ major problems with internet advertising but new annoying tactics have cropped up. The pop-over ad, massive Google Ads sidebars, and other little things that add up to undesirable experiences, and when coming from ‘reputable’ sources, add a level of distrust from the user. We ask ourselves: is our beloved site trying to be sneaky and get us to click on this pop-up over so they can make a few cents? It is becoming a very cluttered and ugly online world but, being the free-for-all that it is, we have to employ the patience and ability to ignore it that we gained from years of relentless, typically fruitless, tv advertising.
But what if we can’t ignore it? Maybe that ad was meant for you then amigo and was probably part of good marketing research. I would say that the inability of publishers / marketers to control and target their campaigns (other than bad design) contributes to most of the dissatisfaction. Google tries its best with Adsense to target based on site content but, given the limited information about the user reading the site, they sometimes fail. Simple, relevant ads rarely irk me and some can even draw my interest and have me click through. That’s where they make their pennies.
I’m not sure how sustainable this model is. Sometimes it works for me as a consumer, sometimes it doesn’t. As Clint pointed out, if I want, say, a digital camera, then I’ll probably go through several different review sites and check them out the same I would a movie before going to see it or other products. Those sites may advertise other products but I will probably use the reviews plus recommendations from people on the site or from friends to ultimately make my decision to purchase the product.
Further comments on the post get into ideas of ”Who is curating the reviews?” since sometimes it’s rather easy for business owners to come in and pump up their ratings and reviews on sites. Unfortunately, we’re at the point where we have to curate it ourselves and make the relevant decisions on the information given. Not everything in life can be beaten down into a predictive algorithm unfortunately and so gathering knowledge and making decisions is still fraught with some bit of peril.
Advertising as it exists on the net today will probably still persist, with pernicious pop-overs and the ubiquitous obesity ads playing on our screens. They’ll disappear when enough people get annoyed to write the publishers or when they can’t make any money. But, if they’re making money for someone, then they’ll keep going. That’s the way of it and all we can really hope for is for users to come up with workarounds (like Readability or a pop-up blocker) or for marketers to learn to target better and website managers / publishers to provide better design so that ads are not as obnoxious.
Amazon vs North Carolina Update
Well, they’ve gone and done it:
We are writing from the Amazon Associates Program to notify you that your Associates account has been closed as of June 26, 2009. This is a direct result of the unconstitutional tax collection scheme expected to be passed any day now by the North Carolina state legislature (the General Assembly) and signed by the governor. As a result, we will no longer pay any referral fees for customers referred to Amazon.com or Endless.com after June 26. We were forced to take this unfortunate action in anticipation of actual enactment because of uncertainties surrounding the legislation’s effective date.
Please be assured that all qualifying referral fees earned prior to June 26, 2009 will be processed and paid in full in accordance with our regular referral fee schedule. Based on your account closure date of June 26, 2009, any final payments will be paid by September 1, 2009.
In the event that North Carolina repeals this tax collection scheme, we would certainly be happy to re-open our Associates program to North Carolina residents.
The North Carolina General Assembly’s website is http://www.ncleg.net/, and additional information may be obtained from the Performance Marketing Alliance at http://www.performancemarketingalliance.com/.
We have enjoyed working with you and other North Carolina-based participants in the Amazon Associates Program, and wish you all the best in your future.
Best Regards,
The Amazon Associates Team
Even before the NC legislature has passed the act. I guess once it’s passed it becomes law and therefore Amazon is liable. I haven’t received emails from any other corporation in regards to this. No one from Google has contacted me about Adsense being held in the same category nor any other services I have signed up for in my decade or so online. What does that mean? Is Amazon the only one that was targeted as a potential loophole for the NC government to try this idiotic enterprise? Also, why us? New York has a similar program and yet Amazon has left its Associates there unharmed. The potential lost income for people doesn’t really matter to me (Amazon pays a pittance). I think what’s important is this being a continued battleground issue as states try and cope with financial fallout and the potential future of taxation on the internet.
Short Notes On A June Saturday
The blog has been quiet for a while and will probably remain so. Other than the tedious, unlucky Job Search, I’ve been trying to limit my internet time.
Books
I’ve added two to the pile: Best American Travel Writing 2009 and BLDGBLOG book. As you’ll notice, I’m linking to Powell’s instead of Amazon. See previous post for reasons why.
Best American Travel Writing is co-edited by Anthony Bourdain this time around and bears the traits of his interests – the darker places of the world, intrepid adventure and food. It’s been quite good so far with few stories skipped unlike previous editions.
The BLDGBLOG book was written by Geoff Manaugh of BLDGBLOG and has so far been quite wonderful, which isn’t all that surprising given how continually delightful and thought-provoking the blog the continues to be.
Movies
I can’t recall the last time I posted about movies. Here’s a list from my recently watched Netflix ones:
4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days – spectacular, moving, and brutal
Fitzcarraldo – watching today
Aguirre: The Wrath of God – insane
Something Wicked This Way Comes – light entertainment
Picnic at Hanging Rock - well-designed ambiguity
Army of Shadows – top-notch film about the French partisans in WWII; not blindly jingoistic or heroic as American films about the war tend to be – just ppl doing a dirty, brutal, thankless job and typically being killed for it
The Man Who Would Be King - fun adventure in Afghanistan in the 19th c
The Lookout – excellent movie with always excellent Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Man on Wire – captures the delight and insanity of being human
The Deer Hunter - surprisingly engaging 3 hour film about life, love, and war
Mongol – beautiful scenery of the Mongol steppe, okay story
Snow Angels – Sam Rockwell being great in a tiny film about love in a small town
I’m kind of on a Werner Herzog bender in my queue the next few movies. Depending on job prospects and itchy feet, I might not get around to them for another month or so. We’ll see. I highly recommend 4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days. It’s about a young woman in a difficult situation in Ceausescu’s Romania. It seems that it is part of an emerging Romanian cinema trend that I will need to check out. I loved the lingering shots, even with the main characters far away, or offstage. You can see similar shots in Army of Darkness and even Picnic At Hanging Rock. Picnic At Hanging Rock amazed me in how it could get the hairs on the back of my neck to stand up without having anything particularly frightening happening. I don’t know if it was the cinematography, the story, the music or the combination of all three but it work. If I were to recommend anything I would say those three are my top picks of the month with The Lookout also well worth watching.
Internet / Other
Los Angeles Cycling Map is still going along unsuccessfully. It probably doesn’t help that I’ve put no effort into marketing it other than begging Timur for a plug.
Late Night TV: I’ve been watching. It’s how I end my day. Conan and Jimmy. It’s nice to laugh before going to bed. Most of the jokes in Jimmy’s monologue fall flat but he’s good at riffing on them and even gives cue cards of the worst to audience members. One of the best moments recently has been Shatner on Conan. Sorry, unable to embed the video.
And I built a fence along my folks’ driveway. Tore down the old, salvaged what good pieces of wood I could, dug holes, and got it to stand. This kind of relates to some thoughts I’ve been having after reading the excellent Matthew Crawford article ‘The Case for Working With Your Hands‘ (via Michael Ruhlman). More on this later probably.
Amazon vs North Carolina Government
A few days ago, Amazon sent me a befuddling email denouncing the actions of my (beloved) state’s government. It seems that they are going disallow North Carolina residents from participating in their Amazon Associates scheme because the state government is on the verge of passing a (stupid) tax scheme to place a sales tax on items sold in North Carolina.
Here is the email from Amazon:
We regret to inform you that the North Carolina state legislature (the General Assembly) appears ready to enact an unconstitutional tax collection scheme that would leave Amazon.com little choice but to end its relationships with North Carolina-based Associates. You are receiving this e-mail because our records indicate that you are an Amazon Associate and resident of North Carolina.
Please note that this is not an immediate termination notice and you are still a valued participant in the Associates Program. All referral fees earned on qualified traffic will continue to be paid as planned.
But because the new law is drafted to go into effect once enacted – which could happen in the next two weeks – we will have to terminate the participation of all North Carolina residents in the Amazon Associates program on or before that same day. After the termination day, we will no longer pay any referral fees for customers referred to Amazon.com or Endless.com nor will we accept new applications for the Associates program from North Carolina residents.
The unfortunate consequences of this legislation on North Carolina residents like you were explained in detail to key senators and representatives in Raleigh, including the leadership of the Senate, House, and both chambers’ finance committees. Other states, including Maryland, Minnesota, and Tennessee, considered nearly identical schemes, but rejected these proposals largely because of the adverse impact on their states’ residents.
The North Carolina General Assembly’s website is http://www.ncleg.net/, and additional information may be obtained from the Performance Marketing Alliance at http://www.performancemarketingalliance.com/.
We thank you for being part of the Amazon Associates program, and we will apprise you of the General Assembly’s action on this matter.
Sincerely,
Amazon.com
This is one of the few, probably only, blatantly political messages I’ve ever received from a major corporation. Amazon is trying to play the victim here and have NC-based Associates do a bit of the lobbying for them it seems. They even go so far as to call the state’s actions ‘unconstitutional’, which is debatable, but really offer up any details other than ‘your legislators are talking about this’. I’m sorry Amazon, but my newspaper died the other day, can’t you at least tell me the bill number?
I could really care less for Amazon’s feelings getting hurt or for the NC legislature. Who’s really getting screwed in all this? The NC-based Amazon Associates participants? It’s not like Amazon pays out that much money (a few small percentages on books and maybe more on other goods). A survey of profitable bloggers and other internet-based businesses would show that Google Adsense and other avenues are better than Associates. So maybe they aren’t getting that screwed. They might have to find some new marketing opportunities but so what?
So why is Amazon willing to cut these folks out of the deal even though they drive traffic to their site and only earn a small sum for it?
From Motley Fool:
North Carolina is arguing that the Amazon Associates program — through which the leading online retailer pays commissions to website and blog operators for sales arising from their direct referrals — gives the company a physical presence in the states where those operators live.
To me, this reads that if Amazon cuts the Associates programs to NC-based participants then they will not liable, via the NC government’s logic, to pay sales taxes as they wouldn’t constitute a ‘physical presence’ in the States.
There is also a “separate tax provision [that] would tax internet downloads such as music, books, and computer software.” (via SearchEngineWatch)
Why is the North Carolina legislature trying to do this? Desperation. There is a huge shortfall in the budget and unemployment is topping 11% here. The governor says that she doesn’t want to cut education programs. That’s BS. The governor’s original budget [pdf] called for a 4.9% cut anyway.
As far as I can recall, there has always been a shortfall in our state budget and always education and other services have been cut. It was very thrilling to go to be a senior in high school and be told that we were the lucky ones because school would be broke next year. This was back in 2001. It seems it’s been the same story ever since. The moronic state lottery that was finally enacted a few years ago to earn money for education was an abject failure. The universities (like those around the rest of the country) continue to increase tuition and nothing has been done about fighting textbook price hikes and all the other little things that add up to a very expensive education for people in a state that still can’t afford it.
Amazon will be ok. It will lose a bit of traffic from NC-based referrers but they actually might save some money in the long run from not having to handle accountancy for another state. And, if they cut the program, then they don’t have to keep track of sales tax and NC residents still won’t have to pay sales tax for their purchases online. It seems to work out for everyone except for the NC state government. And why should it?
This whole thing leaves me with more questions than anything:
I’m not sure how this will work for digital downloads and what not. That provision is just ridiculous. How does my having a virtual copy of something mean I have to pay a sales tax on it. I buy something from the iTunes store – Apple is based in Cupertino, CA, I purchase it on my Toshiba laptop, manufactured in Japan / Malaysia, and use a credit card whose company is based in Delaware. Why would I be taxed for this?
Also, if I’m going to be taxed for this, I have a feeling that you are a) going to piss me off and b) drive me to download illegally. Apple, Amazon and others have done a good job of getting people onto the pay bandwagon but you’ll be driving North Carolina citizens back into the black market because of your stupidity.
Another question: why are you trying to turn us back into the Rip Van Winkle state? You see, that was our cutesy little title when, doing Reconstruction and later, the state’s economy hardly grew at all. Once tobacco, furniture, and textiles collapsed it took some time before we figured out technology and services was the way to go. But, if I’m a tech company, I would probably think twice before basing myself into RTP or elsewhere. Now, if you’re a big company, the state will cut you quite a deal, open their legs, and think of the Wright brothers. But what about the small start-ups?
And what about Adsense? Does my site, registered in my name in North Carolina, payed for with a credit card based out of Delaware, hosted on a server in Colorado, and with referral links to penile enhancement products in Connecticut still get taxed a sale tax because I happen to live in this state? How much is 7% of 8 cents?
This is a bit of a rambling post but the whole idea of ‘taxing the internet’ has been tried by many other states, shot down, and even the Supreme Court has said you can’t tax online unless it is of customers purchasing things from you in the State you happened to have a physical presence in.
This state’s government doesn’t really care for such provisions nor for effective, smart growth. They don’t mind continuing to screw over the future generations in the state as long as they can make a quick buck today.
Per Se, Thomas Keller, and Being Smart With Plasma
Doing some research for a project, I came across the seriously good Serious Eats website, more specifically this article featuring a photo of a Panasonic flat screen set in the French Laundry’s kitchen showing a live video feed of the kitchen of Per Se. I’ve always wondered how chefs with mini-empires keep track of their kitchens spread across the world. Setting up a flat screen with a live feed never occurred to me but seems to make more sense than running around on private jets to and fro (as it seems Gordon Ramsay does, crossing the Atlantic from New York to London once a week).
This is not to be unexpected from Thomas Keller, the beloved chef of both restaurants, who continues to rake in acclaim and has yet to make a misstep in his pursuits. I first ran into Keller in Michael Ruhlman’s The Soul of a Chef and have subsequently purchased the lovely French Laundry Cookbook and followed any interesting news that comes out of Yountville about the restaurants. For any serious foodie, a seat at one his restaurants, most especially The French Laundry, is the holy grail.
The man gets enough acclaim and hardly needs any from an itinerant pseudo-blogger but the plasma tv live feed just struck me of the sort of brilliance the guy is known for. Then again, who knows, maybe it was a suggestion by the dishwasher? We’re capable of some level of brilliance.
