DEBRIS.COMgood for a laugh, or possibly an aneurysm

Proprietor: Can I help you?
Me: Is there such a thing as an Australian Zinfandel?
Proprietor: <look of consternation>
Spouse: <look of consternation>
Me: Oh, I mean, Canadian Zinfandel… sorry, I’d been thrown off by your accent.
Proprietor: Ahh, yes, I am, in fact, from … <long pause> England.

We replaced our PV array last October, due to ongoing production shortfalls. I have not heard the final diagnosis, but it was clear the panels were malfunctioning because they were maxing out at 72% of their rated capacity.

A few months into the new system confirms the magnitude of the problem: the production numbers for November and December were the best ever for this system. January and February tied previous records, and in April this array smoked the previous best by 32%!

The new panels are 130-watt units, which is a small upgrade in theoretical capacity from the previous model (125 watts), but I think the performance gains are due primarily to the fact that the new array isn’t b0rked.

I made a timelapse video during a recent drum session, showing the kit going up and the recording gear swarming into place. It’s a promo for my new website, which is a audio recording blog and microphone database and search engine. Tune in for gear reviews, mic shootouts, and studio tours… and if you’re comparison-shopping for microphones, try the mic database, which has over 400 mics with more coming daily.

(Contact me if you want to help out — there’s a free T-shirt with your name on it.)

Anyway, the soundtrack on the video is an excerpt from one of the songs I recorded during the session. The full song will be released later this year on Andrew Thomas’ new CD.

If you know anybody who owns an iPhone, you’ve probably seen this at the bottom of their emails:

Advertising via the email “signature” is nothing new; it was probably invented by Hotmail in 1996, and is used widely today. Lots of webmail and message-platform vendors promote their products this way.

With that in mind, check out the signature on the email I just received from my little sister, a Gmail user:

Is that not brilliant? Apple bought the signature line from Gmail to promote the iPhone!

That single line of text beautifully captures the sense of lust the iPhone inspires.

I was in awe of this little line of text. Was Ridley Scott in on this?

But no, it’s not a real Apple campaign. Not yet, anyway. My sister made it up, in sarcastic protest to all her hipster friends who can afford iPhones.

It’s too good not to be real, though, so (with my sister’s blessing) I’m offering it to Apple. Give TBWA the afternoon off. We got your iPhone campaign right here.

But please send an iPhone to my sister.

Dear PG&E Customer:
Pacific Gas and Electric Company is constantly striving to improve products and services for its customers. We are excited to introduce to you our latest improvement.
Beginning this month, the “detail of bill” section of your energy statement will be double-sided. This new format will reduce the amount of paper used for each statement creating a better, more environment- and customer-friendly bill.
…

So, my 2-page electric bill now fits on a single sheet of paper.

Unfortunately, the letter proclaiming this savings was printed on a second sheet.