Friday, July 19, 2024
Welcome back to Wolmania. I'm embracing a lot of my interests this week, which I expect a few of you will find appealing.
Item 1: a link
For people of a certain age and set of esoteric interests, the Optimus Keyboard was an elusive, mysterious object of fascination - for years. The idea is simple: put a little screen under every key on your keyboard so you can change their appearance (and function) depending on what you're doing (and what you think looks cool). Revealed by the Art Lebedev studio as a design concept in 2005, when much of the enabling technology hadn't actually been invented yet, the idea was received with massive enthusiasm. I remember reading about it (probably in a shamelessly pro-tech blog like Gizmodo or Engadget, back when they hadn't yet been traded back and forth between soulless media conglomerates and private equity firms for a decade, with a quarter of the staff getting laid off with every transaction as they continuously yo-yoed between "pivoting to video" and embracing oil companies sponsoring "Green Week") - oh, where was I? Right. I read about the keyboard and thought it was very cool. So many other people agreed with me that Art Lebedev was essentially forced to actually try to make the darn thing, which they eventually did (with a $1,600 price tag).
At any rate, there's no reason for me to regurgitate the whole story when The Verge just wrote this epic history of how the Optimus was conceived, finally released to a thud in 2008, and ultimately set the stage for the far less exciting - but far more successful - Stream Deck. Originally conceived as a pretty niche product - a standalone keypad for video game streamers to manage their game broadcasts in real time - the Stream Deck is simple and versatile enough that people use it for all kinds of stuff (personally, I find it helpful for Zoom shortcuts and turning my smart lights on and off). And it's not just a spiritual successor to Art Lebedev's Optimus keyboard - it's literally built off the work that Art Lebedev did to bring their glorious folly to life.
But all of that is in the Verge story too so just go read that.
Item 2: a list
2024 Minnesota State Fair New Food Items, ranked:
- Buffalo Cheese Curd & Chicken Tacos
- Dill Pickle Tots
- Wrangler Waffle Burger
- Ba’bacon Sour Cream + Onion [this appears to be... hummus? with bacon on it?]
- Swedish ‘Sota Sliders
- Deep-Fried Halloumi Cheese
- Nixtamal & Wild Rice Bowl with Wóžapi & Bison Meatballs or Sweet Potato Dumplings
- Bánh Mì Éclair
- Swedish Ice Cream Sundae
- Cookie Butter Crunch Mini Donuts
- Blazing Greek Bites
- Shroomy “Calamari”
- Grilled Purple Sticky Rice
- Lady’s Slipper Marble Sundae
- Walking Shepherd’s Pie
- Fried Bee-Nana Pie
- Crab Boil Wings
- Strawberries and Cream Waffle Stick
- Turkey Kristo
- Afro Poppers
- Patata Frita Focacciawich
- Sweet Corn Cola Float
- Lobster Éclair
- Strawberry Lemonade Donut
- Mocha Madness Shave Ice
- Sweet Heat Bacon Crunch
- Raging Ball
- Chile Mango Whip
- PB Bacon Cakes
- Ham and Pickle Roll Up on a Potato Skin
- Deep-Fried Ranch Dressing
- Marco’s Garden
- 3 Piggy Pals On-A-Stick
- Cotton Candy Iced Tea
Item 3: a media recommendation
Cocteau Twins - Cico Buff
Item 4: word of the week
Wassail
Look, I was young once. I stayed out late, I loitered in the park with my friends. I wassailed with abandon. But these kids today, with their skibidi and their anime and their rampant Zyn nicotine pouch abuse - they are completely out of control! And that's why I'm voting for the candidate who has vowed to lower the corporate tax rate.
Item 5: a photograph
See ya!
Thanks for reading. See you next week.
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