Waxy.org is the sandbox of Andy Baio, an
independent journalist and programmer living in
Portland, Oregon. I created I started this blog five years ago today with a basic idea: keep it original and keep it relevant. Unfortunately, I left out "keep it updated." As you can probably tell, Waxy is taking the back seat these days to other priorities, namely work and family. (I don't even have the time to weed out comment spam.) I terribly miss the quirky form of investigative reporting I used to do and I certainly miss spending more time exploring the backroads of the web. I promise I'll be back. In the meantime, the infrequent updates continue. Happy birthday, little blog!
Five Years of Waxy
Posted Apr 14, 2007
July 24, 2008
Amir's Super Mega Burn
— anonymity can turn anyone, even superfans, into superjerks in no time flat
(via)
The Balcony Is Closed
— Roger Ebert on Gene Siskel and the end of "At the Movies"
The Onion's Random Roles with Teri Garr
— like Random Rules, this format teases out insights and anecdotes from interview subjects
July 23, 2008
Bush: 'Our Long National Nightmare Of Peace And Prosperity Is Finally Over'
— remarkably prescient article from January 2001
Jeffrey McManus runs the numbers on Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog
— Joss Whedon himself confirmed the estimates were close
(via)
QA Deathmatch
— bug reporting as a multiplayer game
(via)
Fox News affiliate tries product placement with fake McDonald's iced coffees
— even if it's a morning show, this is a huge credibility hit and creates new conflicts of interest
(via)
GameBridge, Jabber/XMPP bot for Z-Machine, MUSH, and other text games
— nice list of text adventures on the Jabber bot
I-Fluid, PC game pilots a water droplet through a kitchen
— with a nice be-bop soundtrack
July 22, 2008
43 Folders on iPhone security
— is the time saved for convenience worth the potential hassles of identity theft?
Baby's First Internet
— "It doesn't matter what you say, just publish it twelve times per day."
(via)
July 21, 2008
Something Awful tries the 5-minute microwave chocolate cake recipe
— don't miss the handy microwaved huevos rancheros recipe
(via)
July 20, 2008
Multiplayer Minesweeper
— brilliant collaborative game, but only takes one jackass to ruin everyone's fun
(via)
Cliche Watch: Pushing over the Leaning Tower of Pisa
— many more in Pisa Pushers on Flickr
July 18, 2008
The Quirkbook
— Rands polls Twitter for everyone's odd quirks and mildly OCD mannerisms
Jane McGonigal on Werewolf at Foo Camp 2008
— ideal strategies, a sneaky all-villager variation, and the impact of the werewolf metaphor
Google interviews the creators of WarGames
— great trivia about the making of the film and its impact on tech culture
July 17, 2008
Logan Aube's Hockey Night theme
— Something Awful goons tweak an online contest with funny results
(via)
July 16, 2008
Sean Tevis is running for Kansas State Representative, XKCD-style
— help a computer geek defeat the incumbent, a hard-right, anti-privacy Creationist; he's trying to get 3,000 to donate $9 each
How to Fake Being a Wine Snob
— there might be supertasters out there, but most people are just faking it
The Economist responds to Freakonomics co-author's pasty/pastry mixup
— tasty response to this original post
(via)
Mike Arrington interviews Evan Williams at Foo Camp
— great interview; thoughtful questions and brimming with information, without the sensationalism
Rick Trooper
— The Empire rolls you.
Mocha VNC Lite, free VNC client for the iPhone
— link opens in iTunes; like others, I'm hoping an SSH client is next
Annalee Newitz on Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog
— exceeds the hype; the site's been down all day, so I just bought the season in iTunes for $3.99
July 15, 2008
The Sound of Young America Live interviews Ze Frank
— strange interview, but talks about the end of The Show and current projects; see also: Jay Smooth from Ill Doctrine
(via)
Defender of the favicon
— staggering hack puts a playable Defender clone in your browser's 16x16 favicon; Firefox and Opera only
Twitter officially acquires Summize
— search.twitter.com is now live
July 14, 2008
Deep Note, the Guitar Hero bot
— it got 820k points and 98% playing Through the Fire and Flames; amazingly, some humans can still beat it, for now
(via)
Unofficial RSS feed of newly-added App Store applications
— until Apple adds their own, I've been keeping tabs using this
5:39 PM
Happy Birthday, Waxy.org
It's always a pleasure reading your blog, Andy. :)
6:37 PM
a little less yahooing and more waxy!
10:13 PM
5 years is a long time.
10:42 PM
Happy Blogday!
12:39 AM
Happy birthday Waxy.org...can't wait for you to find more time for blogging again. In the meantime we still have waxy links.
1:12 AM
A mention by waxy means a torrent of interest. People know quality. Keep it going!
6:29 AM
my site's been up for the same amount of time too.
I'm updating mine less and less lately...and it seems just like a cost to me now...I'm really thinking about just auctioning it off and handing the keys to the hosting to someone else. Sad but I just don't spend all that much time on the net doing anything constructive these days...a generic run-of-the-mill funny video and pic site.
10:26 AM
Why not allow a few close friends who also have an eye for intriguing pages and stories contribute to waxy links in order to keep the spirit of the blog alive? Just a thought.
1:56 PM
Maybe a redesign is in order. The links are still updated regularly, but they're relegated to a sidebar. Kottke, for instance, just puts all the stuff in one column, and it doesn't feel like the front page is old just content. Then you can sidebar the articles, so they are easy to find.
3:42 PM
Oh, don't worry. I have big plans. They're just going to have to wait a while until things settle down.
11:01 PM
Congratulations!
I still subscribe to you, even if you take months to post. Do your thing man!
11:26 PM
Just do what you need to do, little buddy. We'll be here when you're up and running again!
Happy anniversary!
3:31 PM
Congrats. Also: beware the path of updates about a lack of updates. It does not end well.
4:00 PM
Take as long as you want -- my feedreader will still catch ya. And congrats on 5 years :-)
4:17 PM
Hey Andy, grats! Nice work. Always a pleasure cuz u have uncommon topics
9:01 PM
That's OK we still love you for the links. Always fresh!
8:24 PM
I remember when I shut down for a while and you yelled at me. I won't do the same. Heh.
Bring! Waxy! Back!
1:22 PM
Bring back ascii art!
er Waxy.. yes bring that back too ya Fink.
Teal
1:05 PM
Happy birthday! (or is an anniversary?) Your original rules are still great and I try to run my site by them except I every now and again give into #2.
4:48 AM
I'm glad you're packing not all in; I started reading your post there and thought it was a 'farewell' to blogging or something like that. Hurry back to posting. And Happy Birthday!
3:18 AM
Waxy - I am not sure you realise that you are your own brand through this blog. And its a brand more powerful than I think you realise. I agree with the fourth poster - less yahooing - more waxy. I reckon the rewards will follow.
3:21 AM
Waxy - I am not sure you realise that you are your own brand through this blog. And its a brand more powerful than I think you realise. I agree with the fourth poster - less yahooing - more waxy. I reckon the rewards will follow.
6:29 AM
Congratulations!! Five years are really a long time in the online world. Keep up writing articles for the next five years.
6:04 AM
I don't think regular updates are nessecary for a good blog! And your blog is a good one!
6:07 AM
I don't think regular updates are nessecary for a good blog! And your blog is a good one!
9:38 PM
OH, man, you have made my day, ages ago I watched the Nutragrain I feel great commercial. Then I lost it, then I found your site and bookmarked it. I still occasionally open the link and watch it over and over again. It never fails to crack me up. Thanks for keeping it up there!
Hey does your Ascii art have anything to do with Fungi...Now I have to check that out...
Sarah
1:38 AM
Glad to hear that - I've always a big fan; I helped research the pirated Oscar movies...
2:12 PM
Congratulations.
By the way, who doesn't know about the time problem? Bringing life family work ... and webthings into little 24h a day
Cheers, keep on rocking
RockTheCam
6:07 PM
Sometimes quality means more than quantity...update when you can, we'll still be here!
Danni.
10:13 PM
Been reading your linkroll for a long time. I've always enjoyed how you portray the internet's. Take you time, but life is only gonna get busier.
Thanks for all the tasty bits.
1:12 PM
Sometimes quality means more than quantity...update when you can, we'll still be here!
4:40 PM
First kottke stop posting frequently, and now you. I don't know where to turn anymore!
7:44 AM
3 posts a year? hopefully you'll post another before the end of the year. :p
9:44 AM
Anybody home?
11:03 AM
Patience! Updates coming very soon.
8:59 PM
Yay.
10:27 AM
Wow, congrats for surviving such a long time.
1:03 AM
Come back to us...
COME BACK!