Billbebop Recommends
billbebop recommended this 1 year, 7 months ago
Swing Kids is the story of a group of teenagers coming of age in in Hamburg, Germany, in the 1930s, as the Nazis exert more and more control over German society.
The Swing Kids are the counter culture that find common identity in listening to the banned American Swing music.
Stunning movie.
billbebop recommended this 1 year, 7 months ago
Lots of 'do it yourself' bike adaptations.
Repairs. Improvisation. Repurposing.
Lots of ways to make your own panniers
billbebop recommended this 1 year, 7 months ago
Good discussion site for cooks and their recipes.
This site is a real cooking community.
(Organized by the same people that created the StackOverflow site for programmers)
billbebop recommended this 1 year, 7 months ago
There's something very engaging about these handmade knives and tools.
billbebop recommended this 1 year, 7 months ago
Beautiful photographs of doing 'more with less' in real life.
Often minimalist.
billbebop recommended this 1 year, 7 months ago
Much innovative thinking about the technologies needed to preserve the earth, and move its life forward.
It challenges much of the conventional 'Green Thinking'.
Like taking another look at Nuclear Energy.
Or Genetically Modified Plants.
billbebop recommended this 1 year, 7 months ago
Interesting discussion of 'Edge Cities'.
For someone from the Developed World, it's fascinating to think of a squatter city as a generator of new lives, rather than as a squalid end
billbebop recommended this 1 year, 7 months ago
Pure Text is a simple utility that I put on all of my computers.
It strips all formatting from the contents of the Clipboard, leaving only the Pure Text results.
Windows-V (instead of ctl-V) is the standard key to get Pure Text pasting.
billbebop recommended this 1 year, 7 months ago
One of the greatest jazz albums of all time.
Sometimes Mingus is a bit too avant garde for my taste, but this album is tightly focused.
I took it out of the library by random when I was 15, and I still love it 40 years later.
Includes, "Good Bye Pork Pie Hat", Mingus's haunting tribute to great tenor, Lester Young.
billbebop recommended this 1 year, 7 months ago
There aren't many albums like this. It defined modal jazz.
Perfect balance between the musicians.
Still remember when I bought it on vinyl, back in college.
I'm still listening to it 40 years later.
The liner notes said that Duane and Greg Allman studied this album during their formative years.
billbebop recommended this 1 year, 7 months ago
Clamptite is a tool that lets you make strong clamps using only wire.
It fits my minimalist philosophy.
I love being able to use a common material like wire in so many situations.
Just yesterday, I used it to make a neat clamp in the handle of my son's amplifier.
billbebop recommended this 1 year, 8 months ago
This is a coming name in LED lighting.
Noticeable initial cost, but great energy savings down the road.
billbebop recommended this 1 year, 8 months ago
I like what I've seen from this company.
Solar lighting.
Looking forward to getting one of the S1s for our next camping trip.
Charge during the day, use during the night.
Can also charge with cell phone charger if the sun isn't cooperating.
d.light also contributes solar lighting to the 3rd world. Could be a real life changer to someone without electricity
billbebop recommended this 1 year, 8 months ago
I like this site because the author explains 'How' (or is that 'Why') the recipes work the way they do.
The author has tracked down the Why of cooking and explains how the recipes work.
Logically laid out.
billbebop recommended this 1 year, 8 months ago
I enjoy woodworking with hand tools, particularly Japanese tools.
This is my favorite place to buy these tools.
This catalog has a few other items too, including bonsai, knifes, gardening, but it's mostly about woodworking
billbebop recommended this 1 year, 8 months ago
This is a nifty little light.
Very pleasant white LED reading light.
Integrated Solar Panel charges battery.
My wife and I took this camping, and it was our "lantern" after the sun went down
billbebop recommended this 1 year, 8 months ago
This knife is always in my pocket.
I use it a dozen times a day.
Mostly to cut tape, open packages.
The scissors are surprisingly handy. Tweezers too.
I used to think the tiny blade was useless, but the fact is, I always have it in my pocket, so I always have it available to use.
billbebop recommended this 1 year, 8 months ago
I always have one of these Fisher Bullet Space Pens in my pocket.
They are a little expensive ($22) compared to a Bic disposable, but
it writes nicely
it takes up no room in my pocket
and the pen fits into the cap to make full size pen
billbebop recommended this 1 year, 8 months ago
Interesting site for the EDC (every day carry) crowd.
Lots of small, useful items and tools that you can carry in your pocket or backpack.
billbebop recommended this 1 year, 8 months ago
Interesting book on light weight furniture for easy moving.
The authors were designers that moved frequently to teach at design schools throughout the world.
This books reflects their thinking on how to move gracefully.