This is the next set of photos......... you may want to look at the post below to get the progression of the kitchen, etc.

I really haven't put much on the blog in a while.... mainly because I've been ridiculously busy, and I've been posting a lot of stuff to Google+ lately.  Anyways... here are some photos from the latest refresh of the house.  (BTW:  the blue and green film on the cabinets and refrigerator is just a protective film... that is not their actual color.)

We have done a lot in the past weeks.  These are a few shots of the interior as it is being finished-up.  The 8" reclaimed oak plank floors are very cool -- they run the entire house, aside from the bathrooms. The bedrooms want to be slept in, and the bathrooms are looking for their first shower (no, i don't have any bathtubs in this house --  it was designed by a guy).

In a matter of weeks she'll be ready for a mop, some abrasive scrub brushes, and some furniture.

I'm sure there is plenty of this that I shouldn't be publicly admitting, but the truth is that preparing for these big conferences -- no matter how easy it looks in the end -- is actually a lot of work and terribly difficult.

Over the course of the past few weeks I've had speakers cancel, lodging reservations get totally screwed-up, bios and photos coming in at less-than-optimal speed.  And while there are plenty of things I can critique myself on, the simple truth is that preparing a series of panels for a conference is very similar to herding elephants.... much of it is just beyond my control.

Reports on the first 24hrs of Casual Connect are coming back very positive.  I'm quite excited for our presentations and our guest panelists on Thursday.  You can follow some of the trends on twitter @casualconnect and #casualconnect 

A good friend recently sent me this article about a new technology built for "aspiring musicians" -- and I think its great.

The basic premise is that a band is worn around the forearm, which tickles specific nerves with electro-impulses in musical sequence -- as needed for guitar plucking, or piano playing, or whatever the instrument may be.  In other words, the impulses are mapped to the notes of the music, as played by specific fingers, and the impulses trigger the dexterity of those fingers in specific sequence.

I've seen this done with actual implants before -- there were these British researchers who created a similar system in which electrified pins were actually inserted into the wrist, but of course, this new method is far less invasive.

What do I think about this?  Cheating?  Hell no..... I think any form of dexterity programing and any method of musical advancement with the aide of technology is wonderful.  Sign me up.
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21028186.100-handhacking-lets-you-pluck-strings-like-a-musical-pro.html

How do you know when you've hit the top?  

...When your name is in print next to LeVar Burton.

I've been to all of the Standard hotel locations now.  They are all charming in their own little kinda-boutique-but-over-the-top-glitzy-glam-pop way.  The Standard NYC has the best rooms, hands down.  I wanted to take this whole room home with me.

There is this company, Zoosh, who has built a pretty clever electronic payment and fund transfer system based on acoustic technologies.  As I watch the NFC space blasting its way from concept to application, I'm happy to see this alternative entrant to the market.  But, I'm hesitant when I hear the words "acoustic" and "money" in the same sentence -- not in the starving cafe singer/songwriter sense -- but in the "redbox" sense.

Of course, I haven't read enough information about Zoosh to have a complete understanding of the technology, nor the security.  Acoustics, both sub (infra) and ultrasonic are areas that fascinate me, and the world has seen remarkable things done with these variants of audio [frequency] manipulation.  Clearly these guys are doing something pretty cool here.

When I was a kid, I used to make Redboxes. I remember calling my dad from middle school off a payphone that had just accepted my "phreaks".... When the call went through, I felt like I had just conquered the Roman Empire.

Again -- without knowing more, I'm concerned that the audio signals will be too easy to copy or manipulate, thus turning a great and convenient way to pay for groceries at the store, into a nightmare of fraud.  But, I could just be paranoid.