Kevin Purdy

A ThinkPad, a cat that doesn’t understand personal space, coffee, and water–vital parts of my morning routine.

My social-media-savvy (and skilled) fellow Lifehacker Tamar Weinberg did the yeoman’s job of getting the whole editorial team to spill what we use in discussing, planning, researching, and writing the site. My own picks and preferences are about halfway down the page–they’ll stand out for all the Linux gear (plus the open admission to using Vista without a pistol to my frontal lobe).

Brian Ibbott, creator and host of the long-running, ground-breaking music podcast Coverville, agreed to chat with me last week, and the Q&A is posted at Lifehacker.

It was really weird, in a great way, talking one-on-one with a voice I’ve been hearing for years–on car trips, during dish-washing sessions, over the occasional jog, and in other spots. But he’s very candid, very honest, and didn’t mind when one of my questions went for more than a minute (which got axed in editing, by the way.

If you’re a return visitor, you might notice that I’ve changed the looks of this place. Let me tell you, it’s a lot more fun than house decorating, but it involves just as many challenges.

For those who follow WordPress minutiae, I made the move from the PressRow theme, designed by Chris Pearson, to Cutline, which Pearson also worked on. PressRow hadn’t been seeing any updates in a long time, and I find that managing sidebar “widgets” is a lot easier than manually embedding “plug-ins” on the sidebar.

The sad part? What really pushed the upgrade was the new WordPress iPhone app, which requires an up-to-date installation. I don’t know when, exactly, I’ll be away from my computer, with a wi-fi connection, and in need of writing a quick post, but, hey, what kind of tech writer would I be if I didn’t prepare for the pretend data-pocalypse?

Here’s an exclusive, exciting sneak peek at the late-night fun involved in re-building a site to fit the Cutline theme!

One man, alone (actually, accompanied by a patient wife and/or a friend or two) and unarmed (except with a camera, wallet, iPod touch, keys, a water bottle, pre-applied sunscreen and sunglasses) against a horde (nearly 60, actually) of Buffalo’s restaurants, all lined up on one avenue, for two days.

This epic tale can be found over at Buffalo Buffet, where I described my adventures at Taste of Buffalo 2008. The festival is one of many reasons that a city known for its shovel-thumping winters is a secret treasure in the summer.

Too busy to read the prose? Check out my Flickr set, or other food/photo geeks’ pics.

Taken from the observation tower at the Erie Basin Marina.