Niffty Stuff BlogNiffty Stuff dot Comhttp://www.nifftystuff.com/blog/2012-03-18T15:13:57ZSquarespaceDiaper Price Guidehttp://www.nifftystuff.com/blog/2012/3/18/diaper-price-guide.htmlMike Lewis2012-03-18T15:08:53Z2012-03-18T15:08:53ZI am working on a big project over on my other blog—Babies Are Like Puppies. Sarah and myself have started working series blog posts about our research into diapers and baby waste removal. We will be putting up new blog posts over the next few weeks. The first major piece of research, however, is our Diaper Price Guide.

This is a living project. Please set comments for feedback to my on twitter via email.

]]>31 Days Of Weird Al - Day 7: Like a Surgeonhttp://www.nifftystuff.com/blog/2011/10/8/31-days-of-weird-al-day-7-like-a-surgeon.htmlMike Lewis2011-10-08T12:56:49Z2011-10-08T12:56:49Z

Madonna did not like any of the potental parodies that Weird Al pitched. In there place she suggested the title "Like a Surgeon." Al thought the idea was pretty great. This is the only time that Al had the direct input on a song from the original artist*.

*Ray Manzarek played organ on Craigslist

]]>31 Days Of Weird Al - Day 6: Amish Paradisehttp://www.nifftystuff.com/blog/2011/10/8/31-days-of-weird-al-day-6-amish-paradise.htmlMike Lewis2011-10-08T12:36:34Z2011-10-08T12:36:34Z

If the take away from Smell's like Nirvana is that being the subject of one of Weird Al's songs was a sign you had "made it" in the music industry — Amish Paradise shows that not everyone in the music industry was as awesome and Kurt Cobain.

Legally, Al does not have to seek artist's permission to record a song because they are parody. But because he is a nice guy, he always seeks permission. Coolio's lable signed off without asking Coolie. After the song was released and become a hit, Coolie said publicly that Amish Paradise was a "desecration."

Coolie is now a clown rapper.

]]>31 Days Of Weird Al - Day 5: Smell's Like Nirvanahttp://www.nifftystuff.com/blog/2011/10/5/31-days-of-weird-al-day-5-smells-like-nirvana.htmlMike Lewis2011-10-06T01:03:40Z2011-10-06T01:03:40Z

Jumping ahead a little brings us to Smell Like Nirvana. Weird Al asked Cobain if he could do a parody of the song and without missing a beat, Cobain said "Yes." In later interviews, Cobain and Dave Grohl felt like they had "Made It" once Weird Al had parodied there song.

]]>31 Days Of Weird Al - Day 4: Fathttp://www.nifftystuff.com/blog/2011/10/4/31-days-of-weird-al-day-4-fat.htmlMike Lewis2011-10-05T00:42:08Z2011-10-05T00:42:08Z

Day 4 features the second Michael Jackson parody. "Fat", in my mind, remains Weird Al's greatest achievement of the 1980s. The video is an almost shot-for-shot remake Jackson's original video. This song (and its fat suit) remain a centerpiece of Weird Al's live show.

]]>31 Days of Weird Al - Day 3: Eat ithttp://www.nifftystuff.com/blog/2011/10/3/31-days-of-weird-al-day-3-eat-it.htmlMike Lewis2011-10-03T23:36:15Z2011-10-03T23:36:15Z

On Day Three we enter the golden age of Weird Al. If "Another One Rides the Bus" brought fame to Al, than "Eat It" brought the money. "Eat It" went to #11. No other single was as successful until "White and Nerdy" went to #9. This song also highlights the second important theme to this countdown: Food.

A bonus note: Weird Al personally presented the lyrics to Michael Jackson.

]]>31 Days of Weird Al - Day 2: Another Rides the Bushttp://www.nifftystuff.com/blog/2011/10/2/31-days-of-weird-al-day-2-another-rides-the-bus.htmlMike Lewis2011-10-02T19:42:41Z2011-10-02T19:42:41Z

Another One Rides the Bus was Weird Al's first hit. It was written while on an outing with the Demento show staff and other regulars. The song was performed live during the recording of the show. This is also the first in a long collaboration between Al and his drummer Jon "Bermuda" Schwartz.

]]>31 Days of Weird Al - Day 1http://www.nifftystuff.com/blog/2011/10/1/31-days-of-weird-al-day-1.htmlMike Lewis2011-10-02T02:20:02Z2011-10-02T02:20:02Z

Weird Al is the best. This was first song that Dr. Demento played on his show. It also begins one a common theme in his music: Bragging about things that are not really worth bragging about.

]]>On the Future of IT - Google +1 and Small Business Marketinghttp://www.nifftystuff.com/blog/2011/4/14/on-the-future-of-it-google-1-and-small-business-marketing.htmlMike Lewis2011-04-14T13:59:19Z2011-04-14T13:59:19ZSince starting work at Switchfast, I have not been blogging as much here as I would like. I write a lot of blog posts for clients and for my company. This is one am particularly proud of: Google +1 and Small Business Marketing

Does that sound familiar? Digg, Reddit, Facebook, and dozens of Delicious clones have been doing this for years. Google believes that putting the ability to up-vote content directly in search results and AdWord Ads will make searching more social. In an interview with Mashable, Google spokesman Jim Prosser said, 'People consult their friends and other contacts on decisions. It's a very easy and lightweight way to make search results more relevant. +1 lets Google cut out Facebook's well established social recommendation effect by putting the 'likes' directly into the search stream.

]]>Successful Tortillashttp://www.nifftystuff.com/blog/2011/4/11/successful-tortillas.htmlMike Lewis2011-04-12T01:34:51Z2011-04-12T01:34:51ZLast night on twitter I posted that I had just made my best batch of flour tortillas yet. My recipe is below. Before hand, some notes. This is basically Robert Rodriguez's recipe from the Sin City 10min Cooking School only without the lard or bacon grease. I did not take pictures because this is something we make all the time. But we are just now getting the hang of it.

Here is the recipe as written, my notes are below.

Tortillas

 

  • 2 cups unbleached white flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 cup butter, softened to room temperature or 1/8 cup butter and 1/8 cup lard
  • 3/4 cup warm water, approximately

    •  

     

    Directions

      1. In large mixing bowl combine the flour, salt, and baking powder.
      2. Cut in the butter (or butter and lard) using a pastry blender or your hands until mixture is incorporated and coarse, like wet sand.
      3. Add 3/4 cup warm water and using your hands or a fork, form into a dough, not too sticky and not too dry. If too sticky, add more flour, too dry, add more water.
      4. Knead the dough on a floured surface for a few minutes until no longer sticky; the dough should feel smooth, elastic and not dry.
      5. Divide the dough up into 8-10 balls and arrange on a baking sheet.
      6. Lightly dampen a tea towel with warm water, cover the dough and let rest for 20 minutes.
      7. Using a rolling pin, shape the flour tortillas into thin round circles about 6" in diameter. (Or use a wax paper lined tortilla press to form.).
      8. Heat up a cast iron skillet on medium heat. (If you want, you can add a [~small~] amount of bacon drippings to the skillet to cook the tortillas).
      9. Cook the tortillas until bubbles form and brown specks appear, about 1 minute. Turn over and cook other side, about another minute.

    My Notes

    There are some key things to getting these to come out right. First, I cut the butter into 8 little pieces and dropped them into the mixer every 30ish seconds. As the butter worked into the flour mixture I turned the speed up. I also ended up using more like 7/8 cup of water. Finally, when you roll the Tortillas out you have to get them thin. Realistically, you can yield 8 good-sized tortillas for tacos. If you are looking for burritos, cut for 6.  Remember to construct a tin foil tent before starting to make your tortillas.  They need a warm home to keep them from drying out or cracking before you are ready to make tacos.

    Sarah made hand-pulled chicken, homemade black bean spread, roasted red peppers, sliced avacados, and sauteed bell peppers and onions. I added pepper sauce for some extra heat.

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