Shiny Objects -- No. 3

Here's some of the things that have distracted me over the last week:

1. Barrelhouse Brewing

I've written previously about Barrelhouse Brewing, a Paso Robles-based brewery that in its short life -- it's not yet 2 years old -- has shaken up the regional beer scene long dominated by Firestone Walker. I first tasted Barrelhouse at the Bakersfield Beer Festival and have enjoyed it in bottles since. But I visited the brewery -- not too far from Firestone -- for the first time Friday and was blown away by the excellence of its beers across the board. 

My four-beer sampler -- Blonde, Rye IPA, IPA and Stout -- was as consistently good as any brewery I can recall. My wife proclaimed the IPA and Stout the best beers she's ever tasted, and I'll admit they're at or near the top of my lists. We bought bottles of the IPA and Stout -- we had to chase the Stout down at Albertson's because Barrelhouse was sold out -- and are already planning a return visit. 

Take my word -- plan a visit of your own so you can later brag you knew about them before they got big.

2. Why Apple Pay may be DOA

 I’m thinking Ben Thompson has quickly become the most brilliant strategist in tech. His Stratechory blog and Exponent podcast with James Allworth does as great a job as any in diving deep into topical issues in technology. Case in point is this podcast from October (I know, I know but I’ve been so crazy busy I’m just getting around to some of these) that details the sausage-making of mobile payments and why Apple Pay faces an uphill climb to mass acceptance.

3. The Year of Outrage

We’re an angry lot, we of the Internet. Slate confirmed that with a spectacular year-end review of what drove us crazy, day by day by day. Some of this makes sense, but the drama on March 23? C’mon.

4. Why good leaders make you feel safe

A co-worker shared this TED video in which Simon Sinek, described as a management theorist, explains that leaders can only truly lead when they make public sacrifices. You’d think that’s a no-brainer, but Sinek’s eloquence reminds that such traits are much too rare.

5. Turning a face into a theater

Watching this demonstration of technology that projects visual maps onto a human face is a trip. You see some of this stuff in movies, but that art typically requires thousands and thousands of hours of animation. This example is real-time, which opens mind-blowing possibilities for futuristic art or chameonlike behavior.

6. Drum Fill Friday

Drummers are typically the butt of endless jokes from the slower side of the world, but NPR Music regularly showers stickmen with love via its interactive Drum Fill Friday. DFF is a five-question survey in which listeners get sound snippets then are asked to name the song. I’ve scored a perfect 5 once, but usually get 2 or 3 right. It’s not easy work, even for the musically geeked.

7. The Right Way to Load a Plane 

Anyone who has flown has likely encountered some kind of trouble, delay or otherwise witnessed general chaos during the boarding process. Things don’t have to be that messy, as this Vox video shows.