Design Herman Yung Design Herman Yung

A look back at the AT&T Merlin phone system from the ‘80s

That iconic office ring sound comes from this AT&T Merlin phone system.

This is kind of neat. I’ve always wondered where that iconic “business” phone ring used in a ton of movies and TV shows comes from and it turns out it was a real part of the AT&T Merlin phone system introduced in the ‘80s and heavily used throughout the ‘90s.

As you can imagine with the slow upgrade speed of some larger businesses, support for the AT&T Merlin system still exists and you can still buy handsets and desk sets today in a variety of configurations.

The Merlin system ringtone is so iconic that even newer phone systems unrelated to the original phone maker include it as a ringtone.

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New Jersey Herman Yung New Jersey Herman Yung

A final look at the former Sheraton Hotel in Mahwah, NJ

Last look before this building gets torn down.

Sheraton Hotel in New Jersey

The former Sheraton Hotel out in Mahwah, NJ known by some as the “spaceship” for its size and shape, has been closed for over a year. And recently news has finally come out that it is set for demolition with plans to redevelop the 140-acre site into several smaller office buildings.

The 22-story building is the tallest structure in Mahwah, NJ, a symbol to many traveling through that they were on the border of New York and New Jersey.

I recently visited the site and it was heavily guarded by private security and local police. The building is in immaculate condition (at least on the outside), with barely any indication that it has not had any patrons in over a year. Unfortunately, you cannot go inside anymore and you cannot even get close to the building as the inner-most road is blocked off to public traffic.

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New York Herman Yung New York Herman Yung

Compact Disc safety sign in Times Square

A new warning sign in Times Square.

I guess the NYPD and the Times Square Alliance are sick of people getting scammed and coming to their precinct to file a report! These signs telling tourists (and locals!) about compact disc scams in Times Square are basically saying you can walk away with the discs if you’re dumb enough to open your hand to them. Honestly, this might cause more trouble than just handing it back and walking away. But I guess if you did end up holding one, now you know the NYPD has your back so you can just walk away with it…?

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Art Herman Yung Art Herman Yung

Why do movies look so bad now?

HDR in modern film making is making our movies look worse.

I actually thought about this as I watched the first part of Wicked recently. The movie looked “bright” but not quite colorful to my eye and I couldn’t quite put my finger on it.

As it turns out, a lot of people felt the same way and a lot of the blame seems to be settling on a few areas of the filmmaking process, notably the colorist and the cinematography.

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