make your own shirts…well, almost

I’ve always been a slim guy…at least I think so.  I don’t remember “off-the-rack” shirts ever fitting perfectly:  they have always seemed to be too large around the torso and waist.  The closest I have come is, when I lived in Denver, I invested in a bunch of shirts from the Brooks Brothers store that was there.


“Blank Label is empowering you to co-create your own dress shirt. Forget about shopping at your local retail stores to buy a dress shirt…that fits like a parachute…”

You have my attention…

“Customize the collar, cuff, placket, pockets, shoulders, buttons and more on your personalized dress shirt. Individualize it with a personalized monogram or a custom label…

“Make it a slim fit dress shirt meant to be untucked for Friday nights out, or a fitted dress shirt long enough to be tucked in for a serious day at work…make it your own. Designed by you, stitched by us.”

(That’s a good line:  “Designed by you, stitched by us”…)

Some of their Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs):

“There are 100% cotton fabrics as well as polyester cotton blends, ranging from broadcloth, poplin, pinpoint and oxford.

“…All our dress shirts are individually made for you so we can pretty much do anything with it that you want, including making short sleeves. On the Sizing Page of the Dress Shirt Application, on the bottom right, look for the ‘[5] Measurements’ box. Please just state there ‘Short Sleeve’.

“Find yourself a measure tape, watch instructional videos, make sure the tape is perfectly horizontally straight and you’re measuring at precisely the right positions…

“We don’t encourage self-measuring. There are too many variables that could go wrong with you measuring yourself.

“…we cannot make sizes bigger than XXL with a 18.5 collar and 37-38 sleeve…”

You design/”co-create” your shirt on their website.  I was amazed at the options:
forty types of fabric
collar (complete contrast, inner lining)
cuff (sleeve, complete contrast, inner cuff, single or double button, french/cufflinks)
placket (standard, french, covered)
shoulders (complete contrast, military/epaulet, double strip, clean shoulder)
pocket (complete contrast, double flaps, single notch, no pockets)
buttons (blue, red, brown, black, lavendar, standard)
monogram (collar, pocket, cuffs)
label (collar, placket)

It’s fun just to design a shirt so you can play with all of the options.  When you’re done, URLs can be provided for you to share the design and the shirt!

Danny Wong of Blank Label sent a package to me:

“…Here’s a shirt from my personal collection…

“I have included return shipping inside the bag…”

Oh, well…so much for my birthday present from him…

I’m impressed by the quality of the shirt…to my surprise, he customized the inside of his sleeves…and, it appears we have similar measurements…

(Oh, calm down everyone:  I plan on returning his shirt.  I “plan” on it…today, I plan on it…)

http://www.blank-label.com/

new PS3 news

September 1st, a new system software update (version 3) will be available for the PlayStation 3 (via “System Update” on the XMB/XrossMediaBar). It will add screens for “What’s New” in the PlayStation Store, and recently played games on the XMB.

The price of the 80 GB PS3 is now $299, and the 160 GB version is $399 because…

The newest PS3 will be in stores September 1 for $299 with a 120 GB hard drive. Per Sony, “…users will not be able to install other Operating Systems to the new PS3 system”.

Some new titles upcoming (from SCE Worldwide Studios) are:
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
EyePet
Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time
Heavy Rain
God of War 3
MAG
ModNation Racer
and Gran Turismo 5.

memory for your mother, for Mother’s Day


Mother’s Day is Sunday (May 9th). Lexar is suggesting that you consider giving portable memory storage (for data) as a gift…

At first thought, it may not seem like a great idea…but, hold on: it’s something she can keep things on and take with her anywhere she goes. She can put important information on it, like a will and health records. Pictures and videos can be available for her to show-off. And, she can copy some music files so she can listen to them.

They can be very stylish. For example, Lexar has drives available in different colors and sizes:

 

“…It also serves as a fashionable accessory and comes with a key chain hole so it can be easily tethered onto a key ring, attached to a backpack, or hooked to a purse or briefcase…”

To enhance it as a gift, I thought you can: purchase a USB drive…copy files to it that she will love (pictures, audio recordings, and videos of and from family)…and then give it to her on Mother’s Day. With a tissue, because there’s a good chance she might think it’s so sweet she’ll shed a tear or two…

Yeti USB microphone review

“You have a package…and it’s ‘heavy’…”

So, I’m thinking I need to warm-up to keep from pulling a muscle…until I saw the box was 10 inches tall, and 5 to 6 inches wide on the sides. It only weighed about 3.5 pounds. (Based on the description by others, maybe we Americans really do need to exercise more…)

“Look, ma…it’s a Yeti!”

(in my best Marlin Perkins voice)
“The Yeti…or, ‘Abominable Snowman’…is a mythological creature. An ape-like cryptid said to inhabit the Himalayan region of Nepal and Tibet. The names Yeti and Meh-Teh are commonly used by the people indigenous to the region…” (Thanks, Wikipedia.)

However, the “Yeti” I received from Blue Microphones connects via USB. And, it’s got “toys”.

“The Yeti is the most advanced and versatile multi-pattern USB microphone available anywhere. Combining three capsules and four different pattern settings…THX Certified…”

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“THX certifies products for your entire home entertainment experience.”

“THX Certified Multimedia Products are designed and engineered for PC gaming and multimedia on the desktop.”

“…A rigid THX testing process ensures the fidelity of the recording always remains true to its source, allowing you to accurately capture voice-overs, interviews and other sound elements with confidence…”

* Ultimate recording and playback fidelity: Superior design, quality and rigorous lab testing by THX affirms the best possible recording and playback fidelity.

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On the front of the microphone there is a mute button, and a volume control for the headphone jack which is at the bottom of the microphone.

At the rear is a gain control, and the pattern selector for:
Omnidirectional (picks up sound equally from all directions)…
Stereo mode (left and right)…
Cardioid (for recording sound directly in front of the microphone)…
and Bidirectional (the microphone picks up sound at the front and rear of the microphone).

Omnidirectional and Stereo modes should give better quality, because the other two modes are attempting to “reject” sound.

Available on the bottom is a threaded mic stand mount. (Sweet!) On one side of that is a Mini-USB jack, and the 3.5mm headphone jack on the other.

A ten foot USB cord is included.

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When I plugged the microphone into a computer that has Windows Vista as its operating system, the microphone was installed, and it works. End of review.

I mean…that’s it. At this time, I have nothing else to report. Other than I’ve been keeping it very close to me when I sleep. And a baseball bat nearby…

I love it. Get it…use it. I plan on doing so…you will be hearing from the Yeti. And me.

http://www.bluemic.com/yeti/

http://www.facebook.com/bluemicrophones

free software to access HFS/Mac file systems

For a limited time, Paragon Software is giving free licenses for HFS for Windows:

“HFS for Windows enables the use of Mac-formatted partitions in Windows operating systems…

“…Windows cannot read from and write to HFS+ partitions. This limits the ability to exchange or share files between Windows and Mac OS X file systems…

“Paragon HFS for Windows is designed to provide full (read and write) access to HFS+ partitions. It can be installed on all versions of Windows…”

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“HFS for Windows, the only software that lets you read Apple iPods, Macs and iPad data from a Windows PC…

“If you have an iPod you may probably know that it contains all your music inside some sly hidden folders. When you attach your iPod (excluding Touch models) to the system it can be seen as a simple Removable Flash Drive…”

Even if you don’t need it now, do consider that having this software might be very helpful in the future…