GeekSugar

Love 2.0: Anil Dash and Alaina Browne

GeekSugar — Tue, 20 Feb 2007 10:10:19 PST

As part of our Geeks We Love series, I caught up with a few couples that, through the beauty of the internet and technology have influenced both our lives and each other.

There are plenty of couples that both blog, but Anil Dash and Alaina Browne are in an elite club of longtime bloggers that have been around the blogosphere for years, but are still humble about their success, influence and accomplishments. Anil, is Vice President at Six Apart, a blogging software used by millions of people across the world, but he describes his occupation by saying "I help people start blogging." Alaina is the general manager at Serious Eats, a website filled with video, blogs, photos and feature stories all geared toward the foods people love. What geeky things do these two love about life online and each other?

read more. Geeksugar: So, let's lay it all on the table. What do you think is the "geekiest" thing about yourself? Anil: I'm probably a little bit obsessive over weird little technical things, like the order of icons on my desktop, or the way my songs are tagged in iTunes. I've even gotten hundreds of people to tell me how they use Excel to organize their personal lives. So probably the most geeky thing about me is that I really, really love software and consider myself a student of software culture. Alaina: I won my school’s Computer Science Student of the Year award in 7th grade. Geeksugar: Tell us a bit about your background. Alaina: I’ve been a web geek pretty much since the beginning, working with MindSpring (later Earthlink) and puttering around with websites and later blogs for about ten years. I had a personal site for a long time, and then when I moved to New York City in 2002, I started NYC Eats, which later became A Full Belly. It was one of the first food blogs, and I was very lucky and happy to meet a lot of people and discover a lot of new things through the site, though I don’t update it much anymore. After we moved to San Francisco in 2004, I started working for Mule Design, a great web design shop run by some friends of ours. While there I got to work on a diverse mix projects for Six Apart, CNET’s Chowhound, and a lot of other great clients. Then late last year I got the chance to help get Serious Eats off the ground. Combined with the chance to come back to New York, it was an irresistible opportunity and one that I’m very excited about. The community on Serious Eats is already something really special. Anil: I work at Six Apart because I've been a blogger since 1999 (at dashes.com) and I wanted to help people get started blogging. I was the first employee, so I've been at it for about four years. These days, I get to go everywhere talking about Movable Type, TypePad, LiveJournal and Vox, and it's the best job I've ever had. You could say I got into it because I couldn't not do it. Geeksugar: What about the geekiest thing about your significant other? Anil: Hmm, that's a tough one. Alaina is very adept at masking her geekiness around others, so that I am the only one who gets to see how funny and clever she really is. It's like being married to a geeky J. Frog. Alaina: His blortal. Geeksugar: How and when did you meet eachother? Anil: We were introduced by a couple whom I had met through my blog. In late 2001, they set us up, and 5 years later, we're married! Alaina: We met in December 2001 thanks to an introduction from a college roommate, dear friend, and master matchmaker. Before we met, she sent me the link to his blog which I’d seen before. Its tagline at the time was “New York, New Media, New Funk,” which made me go “blech” but I trust Shannon so I kept an open mind. Geeksugar: What are your top 5 favorite gadgets? Anil: I really love my Nintendo Wii and covet Alaina's DS Lite. (I have a regular DS, so I can't complain.) I have an iPod Nano, which works well enough, but I love the form factor more than the device itself. Alaina: iPod Nano and accompanying Nike+ sport kit, white DS lite, Macbook, Fuji F11 digital camera, my pink Gameboy Advanced SP. Geeksugar: Top 5 luxury gadgets you really want? Anil: Oddly, I don't covet very many gadgets. I got a chance to see the new Nokia NSeries phones because they work with Vox, and the video camera in the N93i looks awesome. Geeksugar: Your first computer was a... Anil: A Commodore VIC-20. I had pretty much every Commodore but the Amiga, including a VIC-20, a C-64, a C-128, and even a Commodore Colt, which was a PC clone. Alaina: Commodore 64. Geeksugar: What are your favorite websites? Anil: Well, seriouseats.com, of course. And I am pretty proud of what I've done with dashes.com over the past several years. I think the web page I visit the most is my Vox neighborhood at anil.vox.com. But I'm inspired by some of the really great blogs I read - Overheard in New York, Ftrain, Rebecca's Pocket. Alaina: Seriouseats.com, Flickr.com, Vox.com, Kottke.org Geeksugar: What are your Valentine's Day plan? Anil: Well, we like to eat well, so I think a nice dinner somewhere and then returning home for a date to play Wii Sports and Wario Ware might be pretty nice. Alaina: Not to have a Valentine’s Day plan. Geeksugar: Who makes the final decision when it comes to gadgets for the home? Anil: Actually, we almost never even have discussions about this. We're fairly moderate in our gadget purchases, so we can each pretty much get whatever we want. It's always a nice surprise to come home and find that the other person has something shiny to show off. Alaina: We’re pretty in sync when it comes to gadgets and our finances and trust each other to make these kinds of decisions. If it’s a big ticket item, like the flat panel tv we just bought, we’ll discuss it together first so there are no surprises when it comes time to balance the checkbook. Geeksugar: Who solves tech problems at home? Anil: I think it depends on the nature of the tech problem. I tend to do most of the CSS troubleshooting and wifi wrangling. Alaina is more adept with hacking blog templates and making DVD/TV/web video go. It's a pretty balanced relationship. Alaina: I try to solve tech problems myself and if I get stuck, I call in Anil. Geeksugar: Are you going to buy an iPhone? Anil: Probably not. I love the idea of a common platform for portable hackery, but I hate phones and phone carriers, especially. I tend to be a late adopter with iPods anyway, which is fine by me. Alaina: No. No. No. Geeksugar: How do you feel about people calling you a "geek"? Anil: I'm very comfortable about that. I like that, when I'm in a room full of normals, I'm the geeky one, but when I'm in a room full of geeks, I'm seen as not geeky enough. Alaina: It’s an accurate description I don’t object to. Geeksugar: What do think are the greatest things you guys have contributed to the blogsosphere? Anil: I've helped promote the good work that other people do in creating the social web. I'm very proud to be friends or acquaintances with a lot of the most talented people in the world of blogging and social media. As far as Alaina's accomplishments, I think she has been phenomenally influential in the world of food blogging and in food community online in general - A Full Belly (originally NYC Eats), was a seminal food blog and informs the spirit of a lot of food communities today, including Serious Eats. Alaina: His ability to effectively communicate about technology with the non-geek majority. No one does it better. Geeksugar: How many hours do you spend online a day? Anil: Roughly 24? Actually, in all seriousness, I pretty frequently spend 14+ hours a day online, and sometimes 18 hours, since I don't sleep much and you could count watching a DVD on a laptop or playing video games as "being online." Alaina: 16. Geeksugar: How many hours does your partner spend online a day? Anil: Less than that. She actually does other things like running marathons and eating good dinners at nice restaurants. I should learn from her example. Alaina: All of them. Geeksugar: What is one geeky habit you're trying to quit? Anil: Obsessively checking things like stats, RSS feeds, and email. Nothing that important is ever in there, but sources of stress often are. Alaina: Reading scripting.com. Geeksugar: Are you the "Beauty" or the "Geek" in the relationship? Anil: I think we're both a lot of both in our marriage! Even though I'm definitely a geek, Alaina's had a personal website a lot longer than me, and really gets a lot of geek culture at a gut level. On the other hand, I dress a lot better since I've had Alaina's help, so while I can't quite come to her level of beauty, I'm at least not looking like something the cat dragged in. Alaina: I think we’re both beautiful geeks.

Love 2.0: Lauren Smith and Derek Fagerstrom

GeekSugar — Thu, 15 Feb 2007 12:00:51 PST

As part of our Geeks We Love series, I caught up with a few couples that, through the beauty of the internet and technology have influenced both our lives and each other.

It seems a bit of geekiness comes with the territory of owning your own online business, no matter what your background. If this is true, Lauren Smith and Derek Fagerstrom, who happen to be the owners of hip online store Curiosity Shoppe, wear it well. The couple abandoned their “kinda crazy lives in New York City” and came home to the San Francisco Bay Area to start up the Shoppe for the simple reason that they are obsessed with beautiful things. What makes them so geek chic?

read more Geeksugar: So tell us how you got into the business… Derek: We launched the Shoppe in October of last year. I’ve been a magazine editor for nearly 10 years, first in New York at magazines like Esquire and Interview, and now here in the lovely Bay Area. Lauren: Our site just launched in October, so we're fairly new to this. We also have a blog called Smarts & Crafts. Before moving to San Francisco, I worked at a design studio in New York City for 7 years. Geeksugar: So what’s the geekiest thing about yourself? Derek: I own, and have actually played Settlers of Catan. Lauren: I am obsessed with time management! I read all the self-help books and blogs, and am constantly making lists. Geeksugar: Now what’s the geekiest thing about your significant other? Derek: She often beats me at Settlers of Catan. Lauren: He can recite all the dialogue from the movie Weird Science. Geeksugar: How and when did you meet your significant other? Derek: We actually met in the computer lab during our freshman year of college. Lauren: We met freshman year of college, in the computer lab of all places. Geeksugar: What Are Your Top 5 favorite gadgets? Derek: Our iMac, iPod (when it’s actually working), our digital camera, PSP and TiVo. Lauren: Digital Camera, iPod, TiVo, FireLite external hard drive, where we store all our music and my Wacom tablet. Geeksugar: What about the top 5 luxury gadgets you really want? Derek: Digital projector, TO:CA 'wood' LED clock designed by Kouji Iwasak, HDtv, PlayStation 3 (just so I can play Guitar Hero) and an iPhone. Lauren: Flat screen TV, Tivoli Audio M1CLA Henry Kloss Model One Radio, Leica D-LUX 3 10MP Digital Camera, Wireless Headphones and a Swiss Army Knife with built in USB Flash Drive. Geeksugar: Your first computer was a… Derek: Apple IIe Lauren: I always used Derek's computer until we finally bought a first generation iMac together a few years back. Geeksugar: What are your favorite websites? Derek: Cute Overload, NY Times, Design Sponge, Library of Congress Lauren: Technorati & Google Analytics, to see who is talking about us and visiting our sites. Designsponge, for the latest and greatest in modern product design and other must-haves for the home. 43 Folders, for all things productivity related. Make It for great resource for people with craft-related small businesses. The Purl Bee from my favorite yarn and quilt supply store in NY - it's a great source of crafty inspiration. Geeksugar: What is your Valentine’s Day plan? Derek: Why do you ask? Is that coming up?! Lauren: We'll probably rent a bunch of movies and make a nice dinner at home. Geeksugar: Who makes the final decision when it comes to gadgets for the home? Derek: She does. Lauren: I always think I can live without them, but Derek manages to convince me otherwise. Geeksugar: Who solves tech problems at home? Derek: She does. Lauren: It's usually me! Geeksugar: Are you going to buy an iPhone? Derek: Ugh. Probably, though I may try to hold out until they work out the bugs. And if it performs as shoddily as my iPod, well, let’s just say I hope it comes with Applecare. Lauren: Probably not, although I am seriously coveting one. Geeksugar: How do you feel about people calling you a “geek”: Derek: It’s a term of endearment, no? Lauren: Geeks rule! I've been discovering that all my friends are closet geeks - we can talk about Photoshop tricks for hours. Geeksugar: What has been your greatest contribution to the online community? Derek: Well, I think our shoppe is lovely. And Smarts & Crafts (our web journal) inspires a couple of readers now and again. Lauren: I think our online shoppe is pretty cool! People seem to be liking it so far, and it's been a lot of fun putting the site together with Derek. Geeksugar: How many hours do you spend online a day? Derek: Lord. 8? 9? Is that a lot? Lauren: 8 or more hours- all our business is conducted online so I'm constantly checking on the site all day. Geeksugar: How many hours does your partner spend online a day? Derek: According to iChat it’s a lot of hours. Lauren: Probably the same. Geeksugar: What is one geeky habit you’re trying to quit? Derek: Checking my work email the second I get home from work. Lauren: Checking my email as soon as I get home, especially if I've been on the computer all day at work. Geeksugar: Are you the “Beauty” or the “Geek” in the relationship? Derek: I’m the Beek. Lauren: I hope I'm a little of both! Although some days I definitely feel more geeky than beautiful.

Love 2.0: Peter Rojas and Jill Fehrenbacher

GeekSugar — Wed, 14 Feb 2007 10:00:47 PST

As part of our Geeks We Love series, I caught up with a few couples that, through the beauty of the internet and technology have influenced both our lives and each other.

If there was an award for cutest hipster bloggers with actual street cred, Peter Rojas and Jill Fehrenbacher would take the cake. He is the cofounder and editor-in-chief of Engadget, a heavily trafficked tech blog about gadgets and consumer electronics, and the cofounder of Joystiq, which covers the world of video games. She is the founder of Inhabitat, a sensible and chic blog that looks at the future of design, tracking innovations in technology and practices and materials that are pushing architecture and home design toward a smarter future. Though they describe themselves as "art school geeks" rather than your "average geeks," the newly-engaged couple stands out in the Love 2.0 generation for using technology to spread their passion for life and their work. What do they love about their jobs and each other?

read more Geeksugar: How do you describe your profession? Peter: I blog about gadgets, more or less. Jill: I'm a designer, architecture student, publisher, blogger and all around green design evangelist. Geeksugar: Bloggers often have the fortune/misfortune of having incredibly unorthodox schedules, what’s a typical day like for you? Peter: I work from home, so a typical day for me involves getting up and going straight to my computer to deal with email and get a handle on what I have to do that day. I work a lot, but it's broken up by errands and meetings, with maybe an event in the evening. Then back to work before bed. Jill: The beauty of being a blogger is that each day is different! That said, each day does involve a lot of time in front of the computer for sure. Peter: It's funny that neither of us has a real job where we have to go an office every day. We both used to when we were younger, it's weird to have more freedom as you get older, I always thought it would be the other way around. Geeksugar: And are you totally connected to technology all day or more focused on the concept/bigger picture of what you want on your sites? Peter: We spend a lot of time at home on our computers, but my schedule varies a lot, so I'm often out and staying on top of things via my Treo. Jill: We’re right next to each other but working. I work from home usually about half day, and usually spend the other half of the day online at my studio up at Columbia. And when I'm not in front of a computer, I am online with my Treo. Geeksugar: And Peter - what's your "hours online" guess? Peter: I suppose I'm always online in one way or another from the moment I wake up until the moment I go to bed. If I'm out I'm connected with my Treo and checking emails or monitoring things with that. Not that I can’t unplug if I need to, but I don’t see my work as this completely separate part of my life I need to escape from. Geeksugar: To go a little bigger - what do you each think is your greatest contribution to your field? Don’t be modest. Pete: Well, I've been blogging for a long time and I think I've had an effect on both blogging and technology journalism. How important or major that impact might be is for others to judge. Jill: My goal is to bring the worlds of design and sustainability together, and I think I’ve been successful in this regard. I think people are finally starting to realize that sustainability is a design issue. You can see it in that most of the “green” organizations are focusing more on design and aesthetic presentation now, and most design and architecture magazines are focusing more on sustainability as well. Essentially, I'm an evangelist for thoughtful, sustainable design... Peter: I just want Engadget to be a site that people want to read. That they feel like is a must-read. Geeksugar: How did you two meet? Peter: We met in San Francisco in late 1998 in the dot com boom, though neither of us worked in tech at the time. I was broke and had a job doing media planning at an ad agency. I was really bad at it - my boss thought I was incompetent. It turned out the job was lots of numbers and I was a poor fit for it. Jill: I worked in a number of dot coms - doing things like HTML support, graphic design, and then I got a job as a web designer at a marketing agency. Peter: I had a friend at the ad agency who was friends with someone I'd gone to high school with. We all went for drinks one day after work and my friend's friend had invited her friend Jill to come out with us. Geeksugar: And clearly now you have found a perfect match… Peter: You could say that! Geeksugar: Would you describe yourselves as "geeks"? Peter: Yes and no. In a lot of ways we're not typical geeks at all. Jill: Yeah, I don't think we fall into the traditional definition. Peter: I don't think "geek" is a pejorative term at all. Obviously I love gadgets and tech - I'm the kind of guy who likes to geek out by installing Ubuntu on old PCs - but we're also really into design and art and fashion and music. It’s just that we think tech is as important and as cool as all that other stuff, too. Jill: I like being really nerdy about building materials! Geeksugar: Why do you think the tech world is so important/interesting right now? Peter: It seems like technology is driving a lot of cultural, social, and now even political change. It's hard to separate tech out from everything else. Some people are scared by that, but I think it's awesome how technology enables our lives – I know how cliché it sounds, but I know tons of people who are doing what they love now and that's because of the internet or because of some other technology. I thought I’d spend my life locked up in a cubicle somewhere doing a job I hated. Geeksugar: And instead? Peter: I more or less get to do what I want, in a sense. I have complete editorial freedom with Engadget, and because of the nature of the job I can work from wherever I want as long as I have broadband. Right now it's a good time to be creative - you can just follow your interests and build businesses around them. Geeksugar: So for the fluffy part - tell me what you love about one another... Peter: Jill is really driven and ambitious and smart. It'd be hard to for me date someone who wasn't always working on amazing projects. Jill: Peter is witty and very funny - he is fabulous at making me crack up - even when I am in a foul mood. He is the only person in the world able to make me laugh when I am upset. Geeksugar: So what are your Valentine's Day plans? Jill: Peter? Do we have any? Peter: Not yet... depends on how busy Jill is with school! Jill: I'm sure Peter will come up with something fabulous, right Pete? Peter: Perhaps I just want to lull you into thinking I have nothing planned. I did blow it out for your birthday, remember? Jill: He did indeed - he's good like that. He rented one of those double decker tourist buses and gave all of my friends a tour of Manhattan - with vegan cupcakes. How’s that for geeky & sweet? Geeksugar: This one is probably harder for Peter given the nature of his daily duties, but what are a few gadgets you both want right now? Peter: I want a Vista Media Center with CableCARD support so I can throw out this awful Time Warner Cable DVR. Plus I'd like Palm to improve the Treo. Jill: My stuff is all more blue sky. I want a sunlight transport device so I can brighten up my dim Manhattan apartment and an electric car! Geeksugar: What about favorite websites other than your own, or each other's? Peter: Fimoculous, PSFK, waxy, lifeiscarbon, BuzzFeed, TheSimpleMission, and Mashable. Jill: I can never get enough of cute overload and Overheard in New York. Of course I read a lot of design websites everyday: archinect, bldgblog, core77, treehugger, mocoloco, etc.. Geeksugar: Who makes the final decisions about big ticket gadgets at home? Jill: Peter because mostly - I just don't care except when it comes to lighting or home décor. Peter: I did just buy a 37-inch TV and I think Jill found out when she saw it in the apartment. Jill: Pete and I endlessly debate HDTV, because I don't really see the point of the technology. Peter: Even HD isn't enough for me. I want Ultra HD Jill: I care about the REAL WORLD, Peter, not TV. Peter: Cool, you can just go for a walk while I watch Lost in HD. Jill: Well, if we're talking about Lost, then I'll stay in and watch it with you - HD or no.

What To Get Your Geeky Valentine - Girl Edition

GeekSugar — Tue, 13 Feb 2007 15:59:36 PST

For all you folks wondering what to get your geeky girl, and all you girls that know your Valentine needs a little direction when it comes to finding you the right gift - fear not. I've created what I think is the ultimate geeky Valentine wish list. If your geek girl doesn't sing with glee when you present her with one of these items, then she's clearly not reading geeksugar enough!

My top four picks for myself and other geeky girls, is a new colorful iPod shuffle, $79; a DS Lite, $199; Lin & Leonora bag in rasberry, $290; and if she's really fabulous Rhinestone Studded Heart Eardrops, $34. For the rest of my list,

read more

Geeksugar already featured the Sonic Bomb Alarm Clock for him and now she can have her own version of the bed shaking clock. How cute, a pink heart-shaped design with colorful rainbow number display! This clock has the same features as the Sonic Bomb - buzz, buzz/bed shake, and only bed shake alarm settings, plus alarm tone control and a snooze button! ($40)

If your relationship is centered around humor (and really, whose isn't?) consider getting her something light and humorous. I know Think Geek's HTTPanties aren't everyone's style, but I would certainly get a great laugh out of them. If you've ever run across a "403 Forbidden" error on a web site, it means you've either stumbled onto the wrong page, or you've been snooping where you shouldn't be...aren't these panties on track? ($7.99)

What to Get Your Geeky Valentine - Guy Edition

GeekSugar — Tue, 13 Feb 2007 13:44:47 PST

Wondering what to get your Geeky Valentine? I search high and low to find mine the right gift, and although I cannot reveal it (come on folks you know he reads my site!) I have a bunch of suggestions for all you last minute shoppers.

My top four picks for the geeky fella in your life are the new colorful iPod shuffle, $79; the new blackberry 8800, $299; the black and gold calculator hoodie, $19.99; and the Dwayne Wade Sidekick 3. For the rest of my list,

read more
If you think he's looking to add a little artistry and arriere-pensee to reading his watch, check out the Nooka watch collection. The brainchild of Matthew Waldman, who is a multidisciplinary artist and designer in New York City, Nooka watches offer a linear and graphic representation of time. The visual mass on the watch plate increases as time passes, giving weight to an ephemeral and abstract concept. The pictured watch, which has a mirrored face and metal band, features a matching pure linear expression with a reflective flare. You can get a Nooka Mirrored Zen Watch at Elsewares.com for $250.

If he is geek chic enough, he'll probably be willing to wear it proudly on his belt. This Think Geek belt buckle has 147 colored LEDs surrounded by a chrome frame that can be attached to a belt or set on a desk or shelf. All functions can be programmed without a computer (using the onboard programming buttons) and you can store up to 6 messages, each message is 256 characters long for those days he really wants to geek out at concerts or Macworld. $24.99-$32.99.

Your standard computer keyboard is about as romantic as a half-eaten sausage. A jumbled-up amalgam of letters, numbers and squiggly symbols. But life doesn't have to be so black and white - we can insert a little flavor, color and spice here and there. The QWERTY Magnets do just that. The set is made up of magnetized I LOVE U or MISS YOU keys that will leave you feeling a little less lonely while typing away at your desk. Stick them on your nearest fridge, filing cabinet or desk. They really are the perfect gift for smitten tech-heads who need things spelled out. They're rather chic in an executive-in-love kind of way. Buy your QWERTY Magnets for $8.95.
And to really pack a punch, don't forget to wrap your gift in some geeky wrapping paper.

Love 2.0: Pete Mortensen and Kimra McPherson

GeekSugar — Tue, 13 Feb 2007 10:00:59 PST

As part of our Geeks We Love series, I caught up with a few couples that, through the beauty of the internet and technology have influenced both our lives and each other.

If loving the internet, pop culture and Macs is wrong, Pete Mortensen and Kimra McPherson don’t want to be right. He’s an innovation strategy consultant, and renowned Cult of Mac blogger and she is an editor on the world famous BuzzSugar team. When the couple isn’t playing Wii sports or hiking Half Dome they can be found in their San Francisco apartment making messes while learning to cook, building up their netflix queue and keeping their two cats off their keyboards. And of course blogging, lots and lots of blogging. What geeky things do these two love about each other and life?

read more Geek-ground Peter has spent the last two years covering Apple freelance for Wired and on the Cult of Mac blog. He also works for Jump Associates, a firm that helps clients unlock growth and create cultures of innovation. "I broke into blogging by sending Wired a blind cover letter with pitches," says Peter. "I’d been a Mac obsessive for about a decade before-hand, though, so I had a few things on my mind in advance." Kimra made her first Web site when she was 15 and has been on the Internet in various ways ever since, most recently as an editor for Buzzsugar. Geeksugar: Let's start simple. What’s the geekiest thing about yourself: He says: I was complaining just the other night that my experiment to learn twice as much on my morning train commute by listening to podcasts while reading books seemed to be failing, because I wasn’t retaining information from either source. Read that sentence again. Then get me some help. She says: I’m currently chronicling the year between my 25th birthday and my 26th birthday by taking a photo every day and posting them all on flickr. If you ever wanted to know what the inside of my purse looked like on January 26, well, now you can. Geeksugar: What’s the geekiest thing about your significant other: He says: I think Kimra has actually got every personal blog on the internet as part of her RSS roll. I like to believe I get a pretty rich survey of everything the web has to offer, but then I see what she’s reading and recognize how small my world can be. She says: The amount of information he knows about Apple is, frankly, a little scary. He might not remember shopping lists or flight departure times, but I’m sure he could tell you the names and personal histories of every key person who worked on the original Macintosh. He also “accidentally” impulse-bought a Nintendo Wii on eBay, so that’s a close second. Geeksugar: How and when did you meet your significant other? She says: We met in college, when he was my editor at our weekly campus magazine. We were also both college radio DJs, which is geeky enough in itself. He says: This is 100 percent true. Though we didn’t start dating until well after we were both out of school. Geeksugar: What are your top 5 favorite gadgets: He says: My iPod shuffle (clip style, of course! I really want an orange one, now). My HDTV. Its picture is great, and it’s a Westinghouse, which makes me feel like it’s 1956 in the living room. My Nintendo DS Lite. My Powerbook G4 12”. His name is Malimikigio, which is Esperanto for “You are the enemy.” I got the name from liner notes of Radiohead’s “OK Computer.” Hmm… that might actually be the geekiest thing about me. Except that my iPod shuffle is named “L’il Malky.” That could be. Kimra’s dustbuster Scorpion with the extender nozzle. It almost makes cleaning up kitty litter fun. Almost. She says: My 80 gig iPod, my iDog, my Blackberry Pearl, Pete’s Nintendo DS Lite (Brain Age has the best Sudoku game ever) and my iMic, for transferring my old high school mix tapes to mp3. Geeksugar: What are the top 5 luxury gadgets you really want: He says: The iPhone. Someone else can handle the service charges. A MacBook Pro, though I probably want the next generation of processors to roll through before that. If you’re paying, though, the current version’s fine. Noise-canceling headphones. Sennheiser makes some good ones. A Toyota Prius. Though what I really want is a hybrid Mini Cooper, if they’d ever get around to making it. A USB Missile Launcher. For attacks. Stealthy ones. She says: Some really nice earphones, the iPhone, the Nike+iPod kit. I know the kit’s cheap, but I count it as a luxury because I don’t already have a Nano. I also don’t run, but that’s beside the point, right? Clocky! I can’t really justify spending $50 on an alarm clock that doesn’t also play music, except that it would run away from me when I hit snooze. A Nabaztag rabbit. Maybe my iDog’s lonely, OK? Geeksugar: Your first computer was a… He says: A Kaypro II. I swear I didn’t make that name up. It had a built-in green screen and couldn’t render graphics other than letters and numbers. We had an awesome fake Donkey Kong game called Ladder for it where you were a capital P that ran away from lower-case o’s and hopped over vertical carrot characters. My brother was way better at it than me. Thanks to the internet, I can play it again now. Check it out! She says: An Apple IIe that my family kept many, many years past its prime. Geeksugar: What are some of your favorite websites? He says: yourmomsbasement.com, thevhive.com, daringfireball.net, core77.com, track50.com, crooksandliars.com, www.tenbyten.org/10x10.html She says: televisionwithoutpity.com, shelterrific.com, flickr.com, 43things.com, tomatonation.com, track50.com, catsinsinks.com, postsecret.blogspot.com Geeksugar: What is your Valentine’s Day plan? He says: We’ve got a reservation at one of our favorite restaurants, Sauce. They’re doing a pretty amazing price-fixed four-course menu for the occasion. It’s awesome. It’s a Wednesday. Then, on a weekend not too much later, we’ll head down on Saturday to Big Sur – site of one of our earliest really significant dates, and an area we haven’t visited in almost two years. She says: All of that is completely true. Geeksugar: Who makes the final decision when it comes to gadgets for the home? She says: We pretty much decide together while braving the piles of merchandise in Best Buy. He says:Yep. Geeksugar: Who solves tech problems at home? She says: Oh, he does. Definitely. He networked everything and thus must deal with my phone calls asking inane questions about how to work the VCR. He says: It’s cute that she calls the AV set-up a network. It’s not, but the fact that I could explain why it isn’t is way too geeky to even cover here. Geeksugar: Are you going to buy an iPhone? He says: If I start making a lot more money, I’d love one. HINT. I also would need to leave T-Mobile, which I’m not actually eager to do. She says: If I can ever get out of my Sprint contract, I would; they own my soul for several more years. Geeksugar: How do you feel about people calling you a “geek”? He says: It’s fine. I think I bristle a little bit at nerd, though. I could be wrong. I have a close friend who thinks geek is more insulting than nerd. But then, he’s not really a geek. I think the only reason he uses a computer instead of a typewriter is that I tricked him into it. She says: I definitely embrace it. Life just wouldn’t be the same without my Dashboard widgets and my Wired magazine subscription. Geeksugar: What has been your better half's greatest contribution to the tech/blog industry – don’t be modest He says: “She helped bring the BuzzReel into the world.” She says: He, his Cult of Mac readers and Claire Danes raised $15,000 through Donors Choose so teachers could fund Mac-related classroom projects. He also put his body on the line to taste-test the Jones Soda Holiday Collection so we don’t have to. Geeksugar: How many hours do you spend online a day? He says: I’m not even sure how to measure this anymore. Even when I’m not online, I have GMail open, and I read each message as it comes in. Let’s call it a good 10 hours and not probe too much more. She says: All of my working hours, and a large number of my leisure hours. Probably 12? Wow, I feel kind of dirty now. Geeksugar: How many hours does your partner spend online a day? He says: As much as I do. Possibly more. My day job sometimes requires me to put the computer down, which is both a blessing and a curse. She says: He uses the computer as much as I do at home but slightly less at work. So 10 hours sounds about right, I suppose. Geeksugar: What is one geeky habit you’re trying to quit? He says: Hitting refresh on sites I like that are just not actually going to update in the next five seconds. I probably waste a good hour a day just revisiting sites and message boards I’ve already skimmed in hopes they’ll offer me something new. It’s sad. She says: I’m way too easily distracted on the Internet. For example, I started answering this question 15 minutes ago, but then I decided I needed to go see if some of my old favorite Web sites that I hadn’t visited in a while had RSS feeds, and then I started following the links on their blogrolls, and suddenly I was reading the entire archives of a blog I’d never heard of before. So yeah, that. Geeksugar: Are you the “Beauty” or the “Geek” in the relationship? He says: I’m totally the geek. Kimra’s really beautiful, and, crucially, is nowhere near as dorky as I am when it comes to understanding how technology works, not just what it can do for her. Plus, I know the name of the woman who created all the icons for the original Mac. (Susan Kare! She’s great!) Um…yeah. She says: Not that Pete’s not attractive, but I’m going to have to claim the title of Beauty here – I can only dream of someday reaching his level of Geekiness.

Sexy Mini Desk - My Geeky Valentine

GeekSugar — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 16:08:19 PST

I spotted this adorably fantastic Mini Desk on Uncrate and just had to share it. While the price hasn't been determined yet, the design is made from an original British mini and can be hand-built to meet your specifications or needs.

You get to choose the color of the desk top, car color, rims, tires, and license plates. According to Uncrate, it also features a stereo in the dash with speakers in the parcel shelf, and fully working headlamps, hazards, and spotlights. Ever since the Mini Cooper announced its talking billboards I have been obsessed with them. I suppose having one on the street would be more exciting than having one in my office, but still, pretty snazzy.

Love 2.0: Heather Champ and Derek Powazek

GeekSugar — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 10:00:40 PST

If we’re to believe pop culture, a Beauty and a Geek can fall in love in six episodes, teach each other to dress and balance their checkbooks and combine to make the perfect pair. It may not be that easy in the real world, but there are plenty of beautifully geeky couples that continue to inspire us with their innovative ideas and contributions to the technology and resources we use everyday. As part of our Geeks We Love series, I caught up with a few couples that, through the beauty of the internet and technology have influenced both our lives and each other in a wonderful way.

Heather Champ is the Community Manager at flickr and co-founder of JPG Magazine. Her husband, Derek Powazek is the founder and CCO of 8020 Publishing and Editor-in-Chief of JPG Magazine. A life-long camera junkie, Heather never leaves home without a camera, hoping to capture the small moments that catch her eye. Derek was an early blogger - even though he never liked calling it that. He also used to run fray.com, the original digital storytelling magazine, which Heather calls a “wonderful gift to the web in a time when self-publishing wasn't as ubiquitous as it is today.” What geeky things do these two love about each other and life?

read more Geeksugar: Tell me a little about yourselves! Derek: I graduated from UC Santa Cruz in 1995 with a degree in Photojournalism. When every paper I talked to said they just weren't hiring photographers anymore, I fell into the web. I never really realized it would become my life, but here I am. Of course, now I'm running a photo magazine, so I guess I've come full circle. I invented the magazine I wanted to work for 10 years ago. Heather: I built a home page in August of '94 while working at Princeton and immediately fell in love with life online. I developed websites professionally for 10 years and then joined Flickr as Community Manager in 2005. Geeksugar: What’s the geekiest thing about yourself? Derek: The other day I was on the subway going to work, listening to a NPR podcast on my iPod and checking my email and surfing the web on my Hiptop, and I thought, when did it become the future? Heather: I've geotagged over 3,000 of my photos on Flickr. I became absolutely obsessed with adding the geo location information a few weeks before we launched the photos on Flickr. Given that I shoot mostly film, I find myself making mental notes of where I am when I'm out and about. Geeksugar: How about the geekiest thing about your significant other? Derek: Heather's pretty oldschool. She loves her Polaroid SX-70 and shoots mostly film. But come between her and her Treo and there'll be trouble. She's also the only person I know who can actually watch the low budget Saturday movies on the Sci Fi channel. Heather: He gave me a dual tuner DirecTV TiVo a couple of year's ago for Valentine's Day. Given that our viewing preferences fall into two buckets ("hand drawn", ie cartoons: him, accents and/or costume drama: me), a dual tuner device is a must. Geeksugar: How and when did you two meet? Derek: We met at SXSW in 2000, which I guess is pretty geeky, too. That was the same year Kottke and Meg met, and a few other couples, too. Love was in the air. Geeksugar: What are your top three favorite gadgets: Derek: Number one has to be the gadget I use most, which is my 15" Powerbook. I still have the pre-Intel version, which I'm sticking to until CS3 comes out. But it's just a marvelous machine. Two is Danger Hiptop, aka T-Mobile Sidekick I've had every version of this device, and each gets better. I love the flip-out display, qwerty keyboard, and mobile email, web, and chat. I wish the hardware design was better, but I guess the iPhone will be here soon enough. Three is the Apple iPod (video, 30gig). I know, so pedestrian. But it's a nearly perfect device. I love that I can use the click wheel through it's case. And the videos and games are a nice addition for boring Muni rides. I do wish the batter lasted longer, though. Heather: My Treo 680 (red), Sony DSC-T5 (the wet suit accessory is most excellent for the beach and rafting) and our dual tuner DirecTV TiVo (a Valentine's Day present a few years ago). What about the top three luxury gadgets you really want? Derek: The Leica M8. It's the digital version of the M6 I mentioned earlier, and it's expensive as hell, but I'd love to give it a whirl. If they could finally make a digital Leica as sweet as the film Rangefinders, it'd be a dream come true. Does a car count as a luxury gadget? If so, bring on my Mini Cooper. Silver and black with moon roof, please. A stylish car that you can actually park in San Francisco. Bliss. Also a big ass HDTV. When I picked up a plasma display last year, the actual HD models were just too pricey. Heather: Leica M8, Slingbox, Sony GPS tracker (oh, and a more current version of my point and shoot to go with it), that set of 128 tea mugs designed by Onkar Singh Kular - "Each of the 128 tea mugs is a Pantone shade of brown, which allows people to pick out the mug that matches the way they take their tea. Depending on which one they pick, the host with the most can judge how much milk to put in." And a My5 Power Plate (very weird jiggly, anti-fat thing). Geeksugar: Your first computer was a… Derek: Commodore 64. I was bootlegging video games on 5" floppies in grade school. Yeah, I was THAT cool. Heather: Mac Iici with a whopping 8 MB of ram, baby! Geeksugar: What are your favorite websites? Derek: Heather's site, of course! Daring Fireball is a must-read and Ze Frank has put a smile on my face nearly every day since he started the show. And, of course, the flickr addiction must be fed daily. Heather: Flickr.com (natch), jpgmag.com, cuteoverload.com, mightygoods.com, dooce.com to name a few. Geeksugar: What is your Valentine's Day plan? Derek: I'm not saying! Surprise is the spice of life. Heather: I don't know. We alternate and last year I made the plans: we went to EOS, a lovely restaurant in Cole Valley where we had our wedding reception. Derek's on deck this year. No pressure. Nope. None at all. Geeksugar: Who makes the final decision when it comes to gadgets for the home? Derek: We both do! We had dinner with a couple of friends not long ago, and she said something about not being able to buy a camera because he wouldn't let her. Heather and I just looked blankly at them. If I ever came between Heather and a camera, well, let's just say it wouldn't be pretty. Heather: We both follow our bliss when it comes to gadgets. Derek definitely plots out the big ticket items while I gift him gaming devices for Hanukkah. Geeksugar: Who solves tech problems at home? Derek: Judging solely by who cusses the most when the airport network goes out, it'd have to be me. Heather: Derek. Period. I once almost had a nervous breakdown when presented with a TiVo green screen of death while he was away at a conference. Geeksugar: Are you going to buy an iPhone? Derek: Are you kidding? I may buy two: one to use and one to keep pristine in its box to save for future generations to admire. "This was the moment, children, when computers went mobile," we'll say. And they'll respond in some sort of future kid lingo that we cannot begin to imagine now. Heather: Will my super secret de-coder ring be taken away if I say no? I'm a big fan of a qwerty keyboard and a die hard Treo fan. Geeksugar: How do you feel about people calling you a “geek”? Derek: Amen! To me, "geek" just means "someone who's just a little too into something." I was a guitar geek before becoming a camera geek before becoming a web geek before graduating to being a coffee geek. I can't wait to see what I geek out on next. It's better than being a nerd, anyway. Heather: That they're misguided. Geeksugar: What has been your partner’s greatest contribution to the tech/blog? Derek: As a prominent woman in tech, Heather's been a real inspiration to a lot of girls out there. She's also inspired a lot of people to pick up their cameras again. I know she inspires me to want to be a better photographer. Heather: If you've seen the Blogger "B", then you've seen Derek's work, but I think that Fray (fray.com) was a wonderful gift to the web in a time when self-publishing wasn't as ubiquitous as it is today. Geeksugar: How many hours do you spend online a day? Derek: Pretty much all of them. Heather: Too many. Geeksugar: How many hours does your partner spend online a day? Derek: Same. We try to get out of the house and away from the computers on the weekends. But, otherwise, the net is just part of the fabric of our lives. It's never far away. Heather: Too many. Geeksugar: What is one geeky habit you’re trying to quit? Derek: I think I've already done it: After 10 years, I just recently killed my blog. It was one of my new years resolutions: There's enough pressure already, don't put more on yourself. It was stressing me out whenever the top post got more than a couple days old. I decided to just take it down until I have the time to enjoy it again. Heather: I think I'm a great multi-tasker, though Derek would disagree. Less SMSing while out and about together would be greeted with enthusiasm. Are you the “Beauty or the “Geek” in the relationship? Derek: Oh please tell me I'm the geek. Heather: While Derek's wardrobe is far more beautiful than mine, I would crown him alpha geek at Casa Chawazek. Want to know more about Heather? Check out HChamp.com. For more about Derek, check out Powazek.com.

V-Moda Vibe Earphones - My Geeky Valentine

GeekSugar — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 03:18:34 PST

Want to get your Valentine something he will actually like and use? The v-moda vibe earphones are a great gift for any guy who's glued to his iPod. These stylin' earphones have great sound quality and include bass level isolating soft silicone (BLISS) technology to reduce noise and enable deep bass. If your Valentine plays sports, the vibe phones come with three sizes of silicone fittings for a secure fit. Also included with the phones is a gold leather pouch and VIP card for access to exclusive V-MODA modcasts, music and gear.v-moda vibe earphones are $101.

Have a great Valentine's Day gift you want to share? Join the My Geeky Valentine group and share your picks!

Add Some Love Letters to Your Keyboard

GeekSugar — Fri, 09 Feb 2007 16:01:59 PST

Your standard computer keyboard is about as romantic as a half-eaten sausage. A jumbled-up amalgam of letters, numbers and squiggly symbols. But life doesn't have to be so black and white - we can insert a little flavor, color and spice here and there. The QWERTY Magnets do just that. The set is made up of magnetized I LOVE U or MISS YOU keys that will leave you feeling a little less lonely while typing away at your desk.

Stick them on your nearest fridge, filing cabinet or desk. They really are the perfect gift for smitten tech-heads who need things spelled out. They're rather chic in an executive-in-love kind of way. Buy your QWERTY Magnets for $8.95.