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Geeks We Love: Elaine Chow of Gizmodo

GeekSugar — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 04:01:36 -0800

You've already seen the men of this year's Geeks We Love series, and now it's time to mix it up with a girl-crush: Elaine Chow of Gizmodo.

A gadget girl living in and writing from China, Elaine is set apart by geography and gender, as most of the Giz staff is male. Check out what she has to say about that, as well as a valuable dating/technology lesson she learned in my interview with her.

GS: You're the Gizmodo member who writes from Asia. Do you look out for what's breaking in tech while we're all sleeping on the other side of the world?

EC: Basically that's my job! Catch things that are only around the Asian websites or that would otherwise fall through the cracks during the graveyard shift. Thanks to the Internet, it's not too hard to do - though it sometimes gets lonely since very few of my coworkers are on the company chat room at two in the morning.

To see the rest of my interview with Elaine, just read more.

GS: Gadget rundown! Cell phone, computer, console?

EC: I actually have a terribly old cellphone - a Nokia model from 2005 that my dad stopped using last year. I'd lost my U.S. phone, a SE W580, on the plane ride over here. I've been hemming and hawing over what to replace it with since. A part of me wants something I can slip into tight jeans. Another part of me wants to use a smartphone already. Preferably running Android.

I've got my tablet PC, a Fujitsu Lifebook T4210, and my desktop. . . a Shuttle PC I built myself. I've been kind of lazy with my Shuttle. Back in New York, I had it hooked up to a 27-inch LCD TV. I was going to do that here, but just haven't found the time or money to go TV shopping. I got the Shuttle because it was small and easy to move around, but I wanted to be able to swap components as they got old. With the tablet - I love tablets. I like to doodle, so sometimes when I'm feeling a little strung out, I'll fire up Sketchbook Pro.

Besides that, I've got a Wii, a PS2, and my DS Lite. I've been a little obsessed with Mario Kart lately. I used to DDR a lot, but I haven't found a good mat in China yet. I'm waiting for Sony to come out with a slim PS3 (you know they're going to at SOME point in time. Come ON Sony!). . . and debating whether I really need an Xbox 360.

I waffle a lot when deciding whether to buy new stuff. I'm very stingy and I hate waste, so I'll obsess over the value to use ratio of my purchases. My TV's a big ol' 26-inch CRT my parents donated to my apartment.

GS: As one of the only female writers on the Gizmodo staff, do you feel you have an edge? Do you think you handle tech stories differently?

EC: I don't know if it gives me much of an edge to be a girl writer. When I first started out, I'd get some misogynistic comments if I ever wrote about say, a kitchen or cleaning gadget. I would like to think I don't handle anything differently than my fellow writers because I have ovaries though. It helps that the Giz crew is a pretty enlightened bunch. Maybe the guys tend to make a few more boner jokes. . .No. . . No, I make a lot of boner jokes too. Never mind.

GS: Being a woman writing in tech, is it more important that you connect with a female audience and show them you're a woman so they can relate to you, or that you are seen on the same level as a male tech blogger?

EC: I think the best way for me to write is to not think about being anything other than being "Elaine, who was fascinated enough with geeky things to become a tech blogger." I think me being a woman will color my posts as often as me being an environmentalist, me being a science lover, me liking cats, etc. You know? Like, it's important. . . but it's not the most important thing. That being said, if me being a woman blogging at Gizmodo has made any girl out there think "Hey, maybe this tech stuff isn't just for guys after all," I'd be super psyched.

GS: How do you feel about the current state of dating and technology? Any funny mishaps happen to you that could be blamed on tech?

EC: I'm one of those terrible people that never write letters or calls to say hello anymore thanks to email, IM'ing and text messaging. I think the last two guys I dated, I never actually conversed with on the phone. Part of that is probably because I actually hate phone conversations. It's a weird neurosis.

Hmm . . . a mishap with technology. Well, I don't know if I can call this one funny. A former boyfriend of mine had problems controlling his jealousy. One day, I had left my MSN messenger on before leaving my house for work and he saw that I'd received an email from another ex. He went into my emails, from there got passwords to my private blog and then proceeded to read it and yell at me for things I'd written (sometimes about him) that he didn't like.

Now my laptop is password protected and there's a specific guest setting for anybody that's not me to use. Also, I try not to date psychos.

GS: What's your favorite or most memorable thing you've gotten to do as part of Gizmodo?

EC: Meeting Brando in Hong Kong was a very surreal moment and it was thrilling to know that he was a fan. I think that sometimes I forget that millions of people are reading us, and some of those people are making the things we talk about all the time. And then you meet one of them and you're kind of like "whoa, why are you even giving me the time of day? You're awesome!" I love that I got the opportunity to do that.

Casa Query: What Do You Think of Porn For Women?

CasaSugar — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 08:27:26 -0700

I get it. I know that the book Porn For Women, which came out in 2007 from Chronicle Books, is a joke. Still, it rubs me the wrong way. If you're not familiar with this little book of photos, here's a synopsis:

Prepare to enter a fantasy world. A world where clothes get folded just so, delicious dinners await, and flatulence is just not that funny. Give the fairer sex what they really want: beautiful PG photos of hunky men cooking, listening, asking for directions, accompanied by steamy captions: "I love a clean house!" or "As long as I have two legs to walk on, you'll never take out the trash." Now this is porn that will leave women begging for more!

I have a problem with this book for a few reasons (and believe me, I have a well-developed if dorky sense of humor, just ask GiggleSugar). One of these is the idea that what makes women hot isn't happening between the sheets with her man, but it's getting her sheets ironed by her man. And equally alarming, I think, is the idea that men still don't do their share of housework. At my house, my fiancé does at least 50% of the housework (and nobody gets the white kitchen countertops as sparkling as he does; really, he's some kind of countertop genius). Even when I was growing up, my dad was down in the trenches on Saturdays, our family's official housecleaning day, holding his own with the broom and the dustcloth. So tell me, Casa readers, has this been your experience with men and housecleaning, or is my experience the exception to the rule? And also, what's your take on the book? Tell me when you leave a comment below.

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Discover Your Napastyle With Michael Chiarello

partysugar — Wed, 09 May 2007 12:58:32 -0700

Last Thursday evening, YumSugar and I had the pleasure of meeting and chatting with one of my favorite Food Network chefs and the creator of Napastyle, Michael Chiarello. Michael specializes in homey Italian influenced Northern California cuisine and has been the host of many television shows including Season by Season on PBS, Easy Entertaining on FN, and Napastyle on Fine Living. I love Michael for his friendly, easy going approach toward food and his fresh, delicious, recipes. In October of last year Michael opened his first store, Napastyle, in Berkeley - which is where Yum and I spoke with him. The event was a private party, tasting, and demonstration. In person, Michael is a lot like his TV personality: charming, welcoming, laid back and surprisingly he's more charismatic, incredibly personable, and quite funny.

Before the demonstration began, guests were invited to taste wines from his wine club (if anybody wants to surprise me and get me a subscription to it I would be ecstatic), sample homemade sausages and dips from his store, and to mingle with Michael. Once everyone had passed by the sample table (my favs: the parmesan dip & the rosemary garlic salami), the demonstration began.

For Michael's philosophy on food and life, the difference between taste and flavor in a dish, what he has to say about fellow Food Network celebrity chefs and our interview (including a video with a fantastic Julia Child impersonation), read more.

Growing up, Michael learned at a very young age the importance of sustainability, seasonality, and eating locally. He was raised on a farm in the California Central Valley where his mother taught him about the love that is put into making a meal. He doesn't believe in fast food - which he defines as any meal that is not worth remembering and has jokingly told Rachael Ray, "I can't even clean the kitchen in under 30 minutes."

Michael enjoys turning the ordinary into the extraordinary, being a guest at his own parties, and gray salt. Although his life is beyond busy, he inserts self-imposed speed bumps or meditation time to spend time with his 14 month old baby boy (maybe we should set him up with KatieSugar), 3 older daughters, and his wife (whom he lovingly refers to as his girlfriend because it "sounds better").

Afterwards Michael took a moment to chat with us and even set me up on a date with his sous chef! Here's how it went:

PartySugar/YumSugar: What did you eat today?
Michael Chiarello: For breakfast I had organic cheerios, mangoes, and strawberries. For lunch my wife made me asparagus soup with Point Reyes blue cheese and I drank dinner.

P/YSugar: What are you inspired by?
MC: My mother. That little girl in the crowd, Samantha, who watches my show every Saturday. The fact that food can open your heart and bring people into your life. One time a woman came up to me and told me that she had never gotten along with her mom and when she asked her mom why she had never tried making pasta, the mother answered it was because she didn't have anyone to help her, so the daughter offered. Cooking brought them back together as a family. The best food is like gospel music, it makes you feel good.

P/YSugar: What's your advice to the everyday hostess?
MC: The Greeks set aside time while building the Parthenon to eat, so eat well even while busy. Set aside the time to eat well.

P/YSugar: A successful party is…
MC: Spending half as much time at the table as your guest do. When somebody else cleans up. When the wine is wonderful.

P/YSugar: What’s in your fridge?
MC: Organic Greek yogurt. Mango and papayas. Organic milk. Lots of cooked and ready to go protein.

P/YSugar: What is your guilty pleasure food?
MC: Ruffles.

P/YSugar: Is your show filmed in your house?
MC: No, my first show that aired on PBS was but not anymore.

P/YSugar: Did you read the Omnivore's Dilemma and if so what did you think of it?
MC: Yes, I read it twice. Michael Pollan is an amazing writer and he presents the facts as good as he can. He is conventional and brilliant.

Michael jokes about being upset by the fact that he rarely gets invited out to a friend's house for dinner and dislikes that his favorite organic milk is available only in glass bottles. And while his style is definitely different, he loves that his buddy Emeril has brought millions of people back into the kitchen.

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Come Story Telling with me!!! The Completed Story

DearSugar — Sun, 01 Jul 2007 09:30:00 -0700

I hope you all enjoyed this new feature as much as I did! Your wild imaginations made for a great story line! To read the completed tale you all helped create, read more

I hopped into the shower and felt the sting from the hot water on my sunburned back. Turning my neck to look, I noticed the imprint of my bandeau bikini top. It is going to burn for days but my fabulous time at the beach BBQ was so worth it. I still cannot believe that the first time I run into him I am relaxed and wearing next to nothing...couldn't have been better! Sure he may have been toting a pretty skinny little Christina Aguilera look-alike on his shoulder and I might have just gotten out of a Britney-post-Kfed phase, but I knew I looked good all cleaned up! I had gotten my act together since that fateful day when I found the my ex-husband stole all of our money on our joint bank account so he and and his young, blonde mistress could start a new life in Malibu. I don't know what's worst, that I didn't try to seek revenge like my girlfriends have suggested or that this sort of thing, husband leaving wife for a hot younger girl is so typical in our society.

I'm hoping that my trip to Madrid, funded by my wonderful mother, will change my life, and who knows, I might meet a gorgeous Spanish bullfighter. Okay a woman, in her mid-30s, can still wish like a teenager, right? Anyways as I look through the closet filled with turtle-necks sweaters and cardigans, I thought of hitting the local boutiques to find myself new wardrobes. That's when I realized that my old friend from college Elizabeth has a villa on the Southern coast of Spain in Puerto de Santa Maria in Cadiz! She owns and runs a beach bar with her boyfriend Enrique, maybe I could get a little place there and work behind the bar for awhile. I turn from the closet eager to contact her and go to the nightstand where I left my Blackberry. I dial her up and tell her about my situation. She invites me over for coffee. When I arrive at her villa, I am taken aback by the beauty of it's architecture. I walk into my room, as Elizabeth proposed that I stay with her and as I looked out my window in the mid afternoon, I saw that Spain is just amazing - its architecture, it's culture so rich! This is a great escape from the craziness that I was in. I plan to enjoy myself, have a good time and meet some great people.

Then I hear Elizabeth calling me so that she can show me around. As I come down the stairs, I see Elizabeth and Enrique's friend Ocatvio who is extremely gorgeous standing there in khaki shorts and a blue button down shirt accompanied with brown leather loafers. He smiled at me, all six foot two--manly broad shoulders of him--smiled at me. I lusted myself towards him and held my hand out to greet him. He leaned down and kissed my hand when I felt I was blushing and then noticed that Elizabeth and Enrique were staring at me like a museum exhibit.

Elizabeth chimed in and grabbed the both of us saying "Octavio is Enriques family friend, ahem, hes a very astounding artist here in Spain and he also has an amazing yatch that we are so reluctant to be able to spend the day on! Right Ocatvio??" He laughed and said "of course, I hope you have some deck shoes because those heels wont do you any good on the boat."

i looked down at my shoes, took off the straps of my shoes, placed them aside and slipped in a pair of Elizabeth's sandals. "That was fast," Elizabeth said with a smirk. We all started to laugh as I though to myself that everything will go smoothly today as long as I don't get seasick. We pile into Enrique's small silver car and cruise through the Spanish streets toward the marina. I'm in the back seat next to Octavio, the wind running through my hair. I turn towards him and he leans in and whispers, Pardon me for noticing, but your dress strap has, uh, slipped. I looked down and groaned -- apparently I had been channeling my inner Britney or Tara, and half my breast was showing. I covered up, and then tried to make light of it by saying, "Oooops... guess my girl couldn't wait til we got to the beach to come out. I've always wanted to go to a European beach where clothing is optional. I can imagine it to be a very liberating feeling. What do you think??" Octavio smiled and said,"You can be 'liberated' once we get on my yatch."

As we were walking towards the yatch I tripped and fell and face planted into the ground. I broke my nose and blood spurted everywhere. Enrique, Elizabeth and Octavio ran over to me as well as everyone else on the boat dock. Enrique pulled out a cloth from his pant pocket and held it over my nose as Elizabeth shrieked at the site of my blood. I sat up and noticed I had torn my dress and I was a complete mess. All of a sudden I felt a deep cry coming on and tears began to uncontrollably roll down my face. I couldn't control myself, I was sure a sight to tourists because people wouldn't stop starring. Suddenly Octavio picked me up while Enrique grabbed my tote bag and carried me onto his yatch. He sat me down on the couch below deck, pulled out ice from the champagne bucket then wrapped it in a towel and placed it over my nose his soothing voice comforting me. My sobs of pain and embarrassment soon began to quiet down, traded in for little giggles as Octavio joked about the time he fell off his yatch.
"I was sure a sight!" He said, and I laughed. Elizabeth brought me some water and soon I began to slowly drift off to sleep, with Octavio holding me I woke up some time later, with that uncomfortable feeling of not knowing where you are, or how long you've been asleep.

Immediately I felt a pounding in my face around my nose and I recalled with all-to-clear accuracy where I was. Whether I was asleep for minutes or hours, I didn't know, but Octavio had not moved from his spot. He smiled down at me as I woke up and said "How do you feel? Everyone is on deck getting ready to have lunch, are you up to some crab cakes?" I pondered the thought of moving from where I was because my dress was still torn, my face still throbbing and I’m sure I was rather unattractive at the moment. "Sure, I just need to freshen up, where’s the restroom?"

After I safely made it to the tiny restroom that was big enough to only bend at a 45 degree angle, I dug through my bag and changed into some shorts, my cute bikini I just got and a white flowy tunic. I looked at my face in the mirror. Not too bad, it was workable. I pulled out my concealer and dabbed it over my pink nose and soon I looked decent enough to be seen in public again. I threw on some sunglasses, my big floppy hat and made my way upstairs to the deck where I could hear music blaring, laughter and the sound of champagne bottles bursting open. I glanced around searching for Octavio, then saw him waving at me from his table. I made my way towards him, brushing past strangers and stopping when Elizabeth asked how I was doing. I assured her I was just dandy, and continued my way to Octavio, who had the most cutest grin on his face! Plopping myself down beside him, he poured me some champagne and set the crab cakes he promised in front of me.

"Dig in!" He said, and I did. As I ate in such a hurry. It had been hours since I'd eating and crab cakes were one of my guilty pleasures. "I see you keep your word" I murmured as I swallowed the tasty crab cakes. Octavio plastered a huge grin across his face as he whispered in my ear "You look very lovely today, despite your little accident, the most gorgeous woman I've ever laid my eyes on" Of course I started to blush and giggle like a school girl. He grabbed my hand and squeezed gently and stared me deep in the eyes. I couldn't stop concentrating on his beautiful lush brown puppy dog eyes, I could feel myself falling, and falling fast, as his face grew closer to mine. "I know our day didn't start out on the right food, but I am so happy to have you as my guest, I just have a funny feeling this is the beginning of something amazing."

I couldn't believe this was actually happening to me -- I gave him a kiss on the cheek and whispered, "I couldn't have said it any better".

GiggleSugar Exclusive! Product of the Day: Ann Coulter Toilet Paper

GiggleSugar — Fri, 30 Mar 2007 00:05:17 -0700

I think I speak for most people (no matter what their politics), when I say that Ann Coulter just needs to shut her pie hole. Her hate speech, poorly disguised as political commentary or "jokes," should get no more attention from mainstream media. C'mon now--Coulter's not serious enough to be a political commentator and not funny enough to be a comedian. Since it's unlikely she's going away as long as we take her seriously, I say we should stop talking back--and start wiping.

That's why it's with great pleasure that I introduce you to X-Wipes' new edition to their printed TP family: Ann Coulter toilet paper. Coulter's made a mess of political discourse with her verbal diarrhea, and we the people need to clean it up. The medium is the message! Available for purchase on April Fool's Day, so get your own roll soon and wipe back!

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