A Day in the Life of...

On the Move

2010-09-18T00:42:00.003-04:00

PlayStation Move released today in North America as motion controllers take over the minds of not just eight to 13 year old kids and their new hip Moms, but the rest of the world too.

I originally had absolutely no interest in PlayStation Move.

None.
What so ever.

I have a Wii, and it hasn't been played since two week before Christmas 2009. Yeah, that long! When I first got it I put some considerable time into things like Wii Bowling or Wii Tennis but after a while I had found a way to completely defeat the purpose of the motion control. I could still play Wii Tennis while barely looking at the TV, laying on couch on my stomach, and still winning handily. If only real tennis could be played so lazily!

However, after all this time not being impressed with motion control, or any interest in the hype, they showed a demo of Sorcery at E3.

By the end of it I was completely floored and knew right away I was going to get Move. If this is what developers are working on now, then that means motion control is finally going some place awesome.

Weekend after E3 I went to my local GameStop to express my love/hate relationship with them by pre-ordering 10+ games as well as PlayStation Move.

Now I've said many times before, so I won't harp on it, but I'll paraphrase quickly here. I use the pre-order process as a lay-away system. Pre-order early, go in once a month or so, and pay off $10 - $20 at a time. By the time the game releases you will have paid it all off and your wallet/spouse won't hate you for it.

So I paid off the rest of the bundle and the Navigation Controller yesterday in hopes they would say "We're having a midnight launch so come and get it!" No such luck, but I did pick it up while running errands today. After about three to four hours of play time here's what I have to say.

Caution!

The above was shown on the Move controller's manual. I got a laugh out of it as I was skimming down, but let me clear some things up.

PlayStation Move is and is NOT Wii Motion Plus. Especially after spending all the time with Sports Champions, there will be a lot of comparisons between this and Wii Sports. There really isn't going to be a way to trick this into thinking you're doing the movements. You will need to get off your duff and play this game. Other games may allow you to fool them, but this game will require you to stand up and swing that sword, throw that disc, aim that bow, etc; These games are actual motion controlled as opposed what people have dubbed "waggle" controlled.

Now that we know not to knock over lamps, hit your friends/siblings/kids/spouse in the back of the head, or blindly compare this to a Wii Remote, let's get to it.

Setup

Setup is simple. Connect your normal USB charging cable for your DUALSHOCK 3 and SIXAXIS controllers to the bottom of the Motion controller and let it charge. Just like most other controllers it should be fully charged in about 20 to 30 minutes. While that charges connect the PlayStation Eye to the PS3 via USB port in the front, and you're basically done.

You have the option to place the PlayStation Eye on top of the TV or at the base of the TV; depending on your situation, you should be able to do either easy enough. The PlayStation Eye does allow you to adjust which direction it is pointing slightly, so you can angle it upwards if it's at the base of your TV and it's required.

Play

Pop in the Blu-Ray for Sports Champions and get started. Game comes with the option for Disc Golf, Gladiator Duel, Archery, Beach Volleyball, Bocce, and Table Tennis. Before the start of each one you do have to calibrate the controller to the camera, even if you've already played that game type. It does seem tedious, but it doesn't take long honestly. You almost just do it instinctively after a few times.

Game also supports customer playlists. So make sure you go into the settings and start your own playlist. I was in the mood for the Commodores, so that's what I played to all evening.

Disc Golf

Tiger Woods for the Wii actually came with a Disc Golf version on the disc. I don't know anybody who's played it, but I was always curious how it translated. I have done some Disc Golfing myself back a few years ago and I was curious how it would line up.

After about 6 holes my arm/shoulder were already sore from "throwing disc." It really does see/register how you're holding the controller which ultimately effects the way the disc flies. Each one of the games has a mini-tutorial so you can see how the game is played. Even if you pretty much know, it's good to get the feel of things.

Only issue is that it will take some getting used to. The controller does have some weigh to it, but you don't know exactly how hard you're throwing the disc. I had a few times that if there wasn't a wall behind the basket I would have thrown the damn disc into the next county.

I played a few Skins matches and I now have a rival in Kenji. I don't care what it is, but I now have an urge to beat him in everything! You can pick who you play against and there appears to be a number of unlockable characters you will have to earn on top of the ones already available.

1, 2, Skip a Few

So far I haven't played all the available games, or even touched the demo disc. So I've yet to sample Gladiator Duel, Beach Volleyball, or Bocce. I will get to them eventually, but I've only played three games because they were fun. I would say that's a good sign.

Archery

Archery is pretty cool! It's simple, you've seen it in the commercials, but the games are fun. Play against another player and hit as many targets as you can in the time frame, both players firing at the same time. Some of them are moving targets, some of them are stationary bulls eyes, some of them are just fruit on a pedestal at a distance. Smaller the fruit the more points you receive. While you're notching your arrow then trying to line up the shot, the person you're playing against is doing the same thing! So I've had some nice shots lined up and the computer sniped the shot from under me! Found myself getting a little competitive about it.

Archery can benefit from having two Move controllers, but can also be done with just one. After you play a few rounds your arm kind of gets tired trying to grab an arrow, and line up the shot. I found myself getting competitive with the computer player even calling them names when they stole my shot. lol

Table Tennis

I'm a rather big ping pong fan. My Father played a lot when he was in the Air Force, and he later got me hooked on it as well. I used to begged my Mom for my own ping pong table each year when she asked "what do you want for your birthday" or "what do you want for Christmas?"

"Where will you put it??"
"In my room!! Duh!"
"And were will you sleep??"
"Under it of course!"
"Well aren't you a know it all?"
"Well I learned from the best!" Under my breath so she couldn't hear me of course.

She eventually did buy me one, but we had a basement for it, and it worked out. Challenged all my friends, and Mom's co-workers who thought they had game. I almost bought the Wii Motion Plus bundle when it first came out just for the ping pong. Now that I have this, I'm good!

The game randomly gives you an info splash screen that suggest you stand at least 8' from the center of your TV. I don't really have that much space, so I have the TV turned towards the hall into the kitchen. Standing there I'm just about 7' away but not a lot of lateral space available. At first I was having problems moving to the sides to hit those forehand shots, but I seem to be doing O.K. now.

Things like spin translate pretty well. You can really get some movement on serves or slams, and really see the ball take off on top spin forehands. On the other side a good backhand slice really shows on the other side of the table as well.

The computer opponents scale as you go through a tournament, and range from decent to just brain damaged. I've had times where they just shanked an easy shot out of nowhere on game point, to where I had to fight to make up for early mistakes. I foresee myself playing this most of all the games, and I think I already have like 4 of the Trophies that go along with the Table Tennis and maybe one or two for Archery and Disc Golf.

The Controllers

Another thing I would like to point is these controllers have the best trigger buttons I've ever come across. The Sibling Ninja asked was there a way to transplant these triggers to a DUALSHOCK 3 before Need For Speed Hot Pursuit comes out. They are just that smooth.

Rest of the buttons are normal PlayStation buttons. They always have a quality D-pad that's only on the NavController. Each one has a PS button that does the job. Nothing really special about it, but their design and location compliment the whole package. I bet the NavController would work well for some basic XMB stuff, buy something from the PlayStation Store, but it's missing some of the needed buttons to work as a Blu-Ray controller.

The controller has a good quality weight to it, and if it does manage to slip out of your hand it will break your TV or fly out a window. Use your wrist straps people, use your wrist straps!

Well that's all I have now. Going to go back and finish this ping pong tournament. This guy's giving me a little trouble. I had the game won and he's coming back! I'll not have any of that mess!

Weekly Reading - 08/29

2010-09-02T14:23:00.000-04:00

Since I can't post from work any more, I was going to do it from home Sunday or Monday night instead. After another round of computer problems, I couldn't really make the post on Sunday or Monday. I've actually read almost everything I have listed here. lol

Here's the pile.

I knocked out Scott Pilgrim Vol. 1 about mid week. It's almost identical to the movie. There were two or three minor changes, but was pretty much the same, and I enjoyed it just the same. You can definitely see where the movie got it's style.

As I posted to Buzz, I also enjoyed some HARIBO Gummy Frogs and HULK #24. The final question of who's best appears to have been laid to rest. The fight itself wasn't all that exciting, but I've become a Hulk fan over the years and I enjoyed seeing the green guy put the smack down. The ending of #24 has me interested though. Seems Hulk and Banner are fused. So Hulk has all of Banner's faculties, and doesn't appear to be pure rage on a stick.

This week's Avengers stash is pretty good. The Avengers apparently visited the DC universe, and time traveled. (sigh) The New Avengers fought demons and we learn a little more about the Iron Fist. In The Secret Avengers Steve Rogers linked with the Worldmind, and had the Nova Force transfered to him. As soon as he put it on the Nova helmet he got a new "costume" and became Captain Nova America. Nova Captain America? American Captain Nova? Either way he was even more bad ass, and laid down much smack. After what happened at the end of HULK #24, and the fact that The Secret Avengers apparently need a more readily available "Cosmic-level hero," I wonder if the Hulk will join the team.

Avengers Academy seems slow to publish, but it's interesting enough to stick around for. Trying to scare the kids straight, while the kids sneak behind the adult's backs to enact revenge. We'll have to wait to see if they can do it, and to what extent.

I've read Green Lantern Corps but I haven't touched Brightest Day #8 or JLA. I'll probably do that later today. Especially since a recent article sent my way via Buzz pointed out some very interesting parallels from Brightest Day and the Bible. The story line is also ramping up and actually becoming interesting.

Friend also sent me some All-Star Superman books to check out, as he has embarked on a quest to make me like Superman. Good luck to you, sir!

Going to the Vault on Friday to pick up my new stash. Going to add Batman to my subscriptions finally, and see if I can get some back stuff. With Batman, Inc coming up in the next few months, I'm really interested how things are going to play out. I'm a huge Batman fan, just have really disliked how books have been handled over the past two decades.

Speaking of back stuff, that reminds me, I also have to email the Vault about some X-Men/X-Force books I'm missing as well. I've been putting off reading them since I didn't have everything.

Scott Pilgrim Vs Chewbacca Vs Snake Eyes

2010-08-26T14:54:00.002-04:00

After the Sibling Ninja and I went and saw Scott Pilgrim Vs The World we went to Barnes & Noble to see if they had the books. Well they only had book #4 and #5 in stock, and they were twice the price they were on Amazon. So I ordered them from Amazon.com instead. (Man I <3 the Amazon app on my Android phone!)

Opted for the free 5-7 day shipping, as I wasn't in any real hurry, and it obviously keeps the cost down. Two weeks later, almost to the day, the books finally show up. Funny part is I did get an email a few days after I placed the order that said "YAY!! The books are shipping sooner than originally thought." Obviously, making me thinks I'd have my items sooner, I was excited. In hind sight, man was that silly! Now I wonder, if this was "sooner than originally thought," and it still took 2 weeks, how long would it have originally taken? 2 months? Oh well.

Anyways, the box showed up today, and my Desktop Guardians quickly assessed the situation. Chewy and Snake Eyes have an odd friendship. Probably due to the fact that Snake Eyes can never understand shit Chewy says, and Snake Eyes never actually says anything. That whole vow of silence thing doesn't prevent him from performing his duties, but Chewy can never tell if he gets his Wookie jokes or not.

After deciding to open the box, Snake Eyes showed of some mad Ninja skills using his katana to cut open the box. With obvious care and skill so not to damage the unknown contents. (Well, at least unknown to them.) After seeing the contents of the box they got into a little scuffle over who would take ownership.

Round 1! FIGHT

Things actually got quite heated! I had to step back a little as they went at it. Snake Eyes being careful not to let Chewy grab a hold of him, lest he wanted his arms ripped out of their sockets. And Chewy having to duck and dodge both the gun and sword of a faster man.

After I separated them, and then some very tense negotiations on my part, I convinced them there was enough Scott Pilgrim to go around. "Don't let material things come between your friendship!" They both conceded to my logic, but I don't think either liked it. (Chewy growled something; I can't understand him either. And Snake Eyes respectfully bowed and turned away from Chewy.) They're not trying to kill each other, but I don't think they'll talk to each other for a day or two. Well, y'know, as much as two guys who can't actually understand each other would talk to each other.

They're back on guard duty, but they seem to be keeping an eye on each other just in case. But I'd bet tonight when a bug decides to crawl across my monitor in the dark they'll both spring into action like the highly trained team they are.

Weekly "What I didn't read last week" Reading

2010-08-16T19:42:00.000-04:00

Well, despite my excitement for certain materials last week, I didn't read a single comic book, and barely touched my other books.

As the saga of my computer woes were coming to their not so exciting conclusion early last week, I did little to no reading. Didn't have the time, or energy, or just wanted to sleep. However now that the system is up and running (~ish. As I had problems with it last night, and now need to investigate that.) I'll hopefully be able to read SHIELD #3, as well as everything else.

This week I have ULTIMATE Avengers 3 #1. Appears to have Blade, and a "young" Daredevil on the cover, but I've yet to crack it open.

ULTIMATE Spider-Man is in the middle of something, and there's doppelganger running around. Not the direction I thought they'd go after the incident with Kitty Pride, but we'll see where this all goes and how it ties into ULTIMATE Mystery.

Some actual World War Hulk this week instead of the random tie-ins. Still have no idea where they will be going with this, but I would to see the Hulk beat the snot out of the Red Hulk again.

Well I have another post to work on, and some reading to do. So let's see if I can finish this week's pile of reading materials.

(Wow that picture looks pretty terrible. Sorry 'bout that.)

Weekly Reading - 08/09

2010-08-09T18:17:00.002-04:00

SWEET!! SHIELD #3 is in, and I'm excited to check it out. #1 and #2 were awesome, and I'm really interested to see where this ride goes.

Other then that I have some more Brightest Day, though I'm still not sure where it's going. They made it out to be a 4 part series at the start, and I figured it would just wrap up Blackest Night. Now it's at #7 and other than trying to make something of Deadman, I don't see what they're trying to do.

ULTIMATE Avengers 2 #6 in the pile as well. I'm not sure if this is going to just be a mini or an on going series, but presently it's really quite unremarkable. The main ULTIMATE Avengers volumes have been damn pretty good. The third and current volume isn't as awesome as others, but it's not bad either. ULTIMATE Avengers 2 has been a let down.

Outside of that I also have some World War Hulks. Thor vs Spider-Man. Captain America Vs Wolverine. Pretty silly premise, but at least they look pretty cool. At least soon we will have Hulk vs Red Hulk in all it's glory. I wonder if I need to buy a Skaar book in order to see the battle between father and son.

On top of these I still have my book from last week (STAR WARS Specter of the Past) to finish. I was going to finish it this weekend but I decided to back track in the STAR WARS time line a bit, because of a few references to other stories. (Also had my weekend of frustrating God of War III on insane-o mode eating up my time as well.) So I went back and skimmed through STAR WARS Jedi Search since there were a few references to the role the Jedi now serve in the New Republic. I also have STAR WARS Dark Apprentice as well as STAR WARS Champions of the Force to read. I may try and knock those out before I pick up my spot in my current book.

I think after I finish the second of the Hand of Thrawn books - STAR WARS Vision of the Future, I'm going back to Asimov's Foundation series. Need to finish those books. I think I'm on book 10 of like 18 total books if you really tie it all in together. But I've really enjoyed a lot of those books. Might actually start back at the beginning. All the way back to the unofficial start of I, Robot.

Weekly Reading

2010-08-02T12:01:00.000-04:00

Well it's been just about a full month since the last time I did my weekly post.

Didn't do one after the 4th of July because it was a "short" week at work.
Didn't do one the week later because I only had like 3 comics and I was lazy.
Didn't do one last week because the Ann Arbor Art Fair was in full swing, and my comic book shop is located right in the middle of it all.

I know that only covers 3 weeks, but I couldn't remember what happened that other week. Either way I picked up a stash over the weekend, and I've started a new book.

After taking roughly 7 months, I finally finished STAR WARS: Darth Bane: Dynasty of Evil on Friday I think it was. Quite enjoyable and making me want some more of these characters and this time line. I really hope they're working on another book! That time in the STAR WARS history has been really interesting to me.

One of the reasons I started reading STAR WARS books was because I was curious about what happened after the final movie. The war was assumed won, the primary bad guys were vanquished, but the real work had only just begun. A friend recommended the The Thrawn Trilogy, and after checking them out I got hooked on some of the books. It then seemed that there was actually a second Thrawn Series added at a later point that I some how missed. Well after the action packed ending to Dynasty of Evil I started the 1st book in the Hand of Thrawn series; STAR WARS: Specter of the Past. I'm about 60 pages in now.

On the Comics front I picked up a mix of Green Lantern, Brightest Day, ULTIMATES, and Avengers. It's two weeks worth of goodies since I missed last weeks' trip. (Almost missed this week's trip due to Friday's Car troubles.) Sadly there was no SHIELD #3, but I have some good stuff here.

I'm curious about this ULTIMATE Mystery. I've really enjoyed the ULTIMATE universe since I was introduced to ULTIMATE Spider-Man and ULTIMATE X-Men back in 2001, but they have so many of these 4 part series. I've enjoyed a number of them, but I have to confess they're starting to get old.

Either way, that's it! It's Monday, time to start reading!

Weekly Comics Reading

2010-06-28T22:30:00.000-04:00

It's Monday. You can't quite tell my tone from reading this, but I am not having fun. Why couldn't it still be the weekend. Oh well, what can ya do? For those of you who are thinking Time Machine, I have a few Science Ninjas working on that. But FYI, they've failed thus far at their other mission, so I don't have my hopes up. Other mission you ask? Can you say "Heat Seeking Shurikens?" I knew that you could!

Well, since Reading is FUNdamental, here's what I'm putting down this week.

I'd call it a 3:1 split of Marvel to DC. On the Marvel side I have Avengers #2, Red Hulk #23 (sigh), ULTIMATE Avengers 2 #3 and #4, ULTIMATE Spider-Man #11, and a Black Cat #1 of 4. Dunno what this is about, but my comic shop is awesome, so they know what I like.

On the DC side of the fence I have some Green Lantern Corps - #48 & #49- and then the likely boring conclusion to Brightest Day. (#4) Brightest Day has been pretty "meh" after Blackest Night was actually mostly sweet.

I'm still recovering in part from last week since finishing Final Crisis left such a sour taste in my mouth I didn't finish last week's reading. I won't go off on a rant about it, mainly because I know somebody who's reading it now, and because I'm trying to prevent my brain from imploding.

I need to knock all of these out so I can go and do my catch-up week of X-Men and the 2 mini-events I've not read anything about, and then it's time to jump - cannon ball style - into my massive amounts of Amazing Spider-Man. Average of 3 books a month for two and half years. sigh

Weekly Comics Reading

2010-06-23T21:58:00.000-04:00

Yay..... It's Monday.

Either way, no matter how much I detest this day, it's time for an update.

Still working on Final Crisis since I didn't finish it last week due to E3 reading. A lot of info dropped last week, and quite a bit to get excited aboutt. The week before that I didn't finish it because... Well because I didn't! I am an adult, don't look at me in that tone of voice!

On top of Final Crisis, I also picked up the last 2 week's stash from my comic books store. Among the pile are SHIELD #2, Brightest Day #4, New Avengers #1, and Avenger's Academy #1 to name a few.

I'm curious where they're going to go with the SHIELD book, and I'm excited about where they're going with the Heroic Age books as well.

(I tried to post this on Monday, but it wouldn't handle the image. So this may show a time stamp of Monday, but it's 9:57PM on Wednesday.)

Oh, it's Monday...

2010-06-14T19:51:00.000-04:00

And what does Monday mean? That's right, Weekly Reading post. Last week I couldn't post it because I had problems getting Blogger to load, so I just dropped a Buzz post.

Well this week, my Weekly Reading will be the IntarWebz. See, it's E3, and while I still haven't finished last week's reading, there's going to be tons of news to be reviewed.

I've been watching parts of the G4 TV streams of the different conferences and have posted Buzz for each so far. Here's a quick run down.

Xbox doesn't appear to be taking things seriously.
EA is trying to change everybody's perception of them - from bad to good

Either way I'm excited for tomorrow's Sony and Nintendo conferences. I'm glad all developers aren't trying to choke the world with motion controls, and hopefully Sony won't try either. No idea what to expect from Nintendo.

But that's this week's reading. I'll try not to spam my Google Reader with too much E3 SPAM, but I make no promises.

Weekly Reading

2010-05-24T12:58:00.000-04:00

Well, I stayed up late last night playing God of War III (I highly recommend it!), so I didn't "plan ahead" like I had planned for this week's reading.

The original plan was to jump head first into three years of Amazing Spider-Man, but they went to three issues a month shortly after the Civil War event. So that means there's roughly eleventy bajillion books I'd need to gather, list chronologically, and then find a moving van big enough to haul them out of the house.

On top of that, I'm honestly not looking forward to that stint of likely 2 or 3 weeks of "What I Didn't Finish Last Week." After the One More Day event, where ASM was at an awesome high of writing and art concluding Civil War, they decided to smother it with 3 issues a month and I feel Spider-Man suffered.

Either way, I ramble in the wrong direction. this week is going to be Hodge-Podge. I have a mix of Hulk, in the middle of World War Hulk; where I'm thoroughly confused! I have some of the new Heroic Age books. I also picked up my 20 or so issues of back Incredible Hercules. So I have a good mix this week.

PIX OR IT DIDN'T HAPPEN!!

Blog: Revitalized... ?

2010-05-23T21:08:00.002-04:00

After the addition of Google Buzz to Gmail, I've started posting each Monday what I'll be reading that week. This all kind of started as I decided to finally go back and catch up with all the comic books I hadn't read, as well as books that have been piling up.

Since the comics were a "considerable pile" I started there. Usually made the post at the start of my work shift, including a picture of the sometimes huge piles of reading materials, and what the plan was. Later in the week I'd add a comment to the post giving a little "I read this, I liked this, this annoyed me" and so on. Some of those posts were getting kind of big, and I think a few people threw a "tl;dr" at it, and moved on to the next comment.

So I've decided to move the Weekly Reading post here. To my blog. What a novel idea huh? A blog named "A Day in the Life of..." would include something I do most days of the week. Who'd a thunk it?

So far I haven't completely decided what I'll read this week. I'm caught up on Marvel~ish. I still have Hulk stuff to decipher (Man that $@*% is confusing!), I haven't touched X-Men/X-Force in a long time, and I have (*gasp*) 3 years worth of Amazing Spider-Man to read.

Another thing I really should do is order Final Crisis hardcover, so I can fill in the considerable gaps in the Justice League stuff I read two or three weeks ago.

So.

For the few people who randomly give me crap for not posting to my blog, this means there will be at least one post a week.
For the people who follow me on Buzz, you won't have to do squat. Blog's already linked, and should show up instantly for you to ignore. :)

I will have to decide how I'll handle the follow up posts though. I was thinking about just leaving the comment in Buzz, and if I do the blog readers may not see it. I dunno, I'll think of something.

Another thing that I need to figure out, is posting this every Monday. I usually did my Buzz post from my Nexus One. I'll have to take the images with my phone, upload them to Picasa I guess, and then post somewhere. Looking at Blogger in the mobile browser I now see there isn't a mobile version of the site. Maybe I should look into that as well.

Froyo Impressions

2010-05-23T05:22:00.001-04:00

I've been playing with my Nexus One that I recently - as of about 2 hours ago - updated to Android 2.2; codename Froyo.

Day two of Google I/O was all Android. (Day 2 Keynote @ YouTube.) During the keynote, one of the things that Vic Gundotra stated was that there would be a marked improvement in all around system performance in Android 2.2.

Now, as I stated above, I own - and love - a Nexus One. It's already speedy, and I very rarely notice anything that could be confused or interpreted as sluggish performance. However I do notice at times when running Pandora (Or a music app.) while going back and forth from Gmail app to the web browser while a notification comes in I get some sluggishness. Generally it's a little bit of "stuttering" or delay jumping to the next task.

After roughly two hours of chatting, browsing, listening to music, and receiving a constant stream of late night Twitter updates I see none of that.

Another portion of the Android keynote was about the Android browser. I think Vic said there would be a 2 to 5 times performance increase in the browser. Now I'm connected over my very crappy home wireless, but there is a huge increase in just browser rendering. I was able to go to Google Maps in the browser and giddily see it perform like it does on my desktop. I honestly think I'll stop using the Google Maps app, and just go directly to the webpage.

If you go to Adobe's site and click on the "Get Flash Player" logo it directs you to the Android Market. After download and installation I watched a YouTube video, but I couldn't completely tell if it just quickly loaded the YouTube app or rendered it in Flash. I did load a Flash based game, which did load, but performance was rather terrible. I only tested that one game, but I honestly don't mess with Flash games. (What? There's a PS3 sitting on my desk, what do I need Flash games for?)

A few apps seem to have received a slight overhaul. Gmail app has changed, and so has the Gtalk app. Both load quickly, and look slightly different. One thing I did notice, is that it appears Gtalk - at least at the start - takes chat history stored in Gmail and display it the recent Gtalk chat.

I use Gtalk like I was born without a voice box. (Seriously. I've not invited friends to the movies because they don't use Gtalk.) Part of why I rejoined the cell phone era after not having one for some 6 years, was because of Gmail - where I sent text messages - and Gtalk. I asked the lady at T-Mobile when I ordered my G1 last may if I had to have a calling plan. She laughed. Apparently she thought I was kidding.

Back to my point.

Because I use Gtalk so much, I often start a conversation on a PC, move to my Nexus One, then to another PC/Mac, and back. Sometimes I miss messages in the transition or get lost in a conversation without context being right there for my review. Well I sent a friend a message that I was updating while my phone was rebooting. As soon as I opened Gtalk it had that history in the window. Now this is likely just something that's displayed form the Sync'd Gmail history, but either way it's a welcomed addition.

Another change that I've noticed is the search widget. It used to just be a "universal" search. If you started typing something out it would reference contacts and apps to see if maybe that's what you meant. Now there's an icon to the left of the search box that will allow you to search just the web, or just apps, as well as all of the above.

So far I'm pleased with the speed/performance boost in both overall performance as well as faster loading webpages. If you're running Android 2.2 I highly suggest you just go to Google Maps page and start playing. It loads quickly, displays Buzz, as well as the other layers you've enjoyed in the Maps app.

If you're interested in installing Froyo on your Nexus One now, instead of waiting for the OTA, go see the boys at Android & Me for a how-to.

Google blows your mind!

2009-05-29T00:56:00.003-04:00

Most people that know anything about me know that I'm a huge Google user. Gmail, Reader, Maps, Calendar, Blogger, YouTube, Labs, Chrome, and the list goes on. I recently rejoined the land of cell phone users, and I picked my phone (HTC G1) because of it's Google integration.

Now I know a lot of people are very concerned with one provider having all of their data. The idea that the one provider has your balls in their hands and can squeeze or just yank at any given time. Personally my data isn't quite that important, and the convenience far out weighs those concerns. So for me, this is huge and I'm excited. (I'm so excited in fact, I'm not playing inFamous for the first night in 4 days.)

Having said all of that, Google I/O 2009 started on Wednesday and has been in full swing. Day one, those in attendance received a cell phone running the Android mobile OS. Day two they were introduced to what may very well change how you surf, send emails, blog, or hell just think!

They unearthed Google Wave. It's a new web app that Google is releasing later this year, and it basically does everything. And honestly if it can't currently do it, you the user could create extensions to do what you want.

The full Google Wave presentation has been posted on YouTube and I have to say I've had my mind blown repeatedly watching this hour and twenty minute presentation. I was going to embed it here, but honestly I went through all the trouble of typing this out while trying to watch the rest of the video; I'd kind of like you stick around and read the whole post.

Some things really stand out in the presentation. I really like how you can live update a document or event with another user. Add new users at any point of the conversation and the new user can see everything, even replay it as it happened.

The last four Sundays have been some sort of movie event with sister and friends. This weekend is going to be more of the same with Up releasing on Friday. If I could create an Up Wave, invite all who may be interested in the event, and just have at it. Is Sunday a bad time? Go to an earlier show? Do we care about IMAX? Everybody can post their comments, create a poll, and in the end easily see what time and showing is best for the group. Group event planning just got PWN'd!

I'm planning a trip to Washington DC this summer to hit up the museums, and this would make that even easier. I could post all the information I gather to the Wave and the people involved can all weigh in. "I want to go to the Air & Space Museum." "OMG me too, I've never had space ice cream!" (True story, can you believe it?) "I want to go to the pop culture museum." "Ew, I don't want to go to there, let's go see ol' Abe Lincoln instead!" All of this could take place inside of a Wave, and everybody could actively work on gathering information. Hell, this blog post could have been edited and created there! Could have quickly linked all the sites, added images, and maps with out a single mark-up on my part.

As I mentioned in my last post, I recently joined Twitter and have been exploring and enjoying the service. The site and/or clients can pull all the information you want together, but sometimes you miss things. Or other people find things and I'm completely lost on how. With a Twitter API you can set up a "Twave" do it all for you. Can pull information together based on what you need or want, and you can then interact with it as you see fit.

Wave could essentially branch off into anything the user wants it to. If you lack the knowledge to build what you want then just find somebody else who has and use that instead. As much as I hate the catch words of "Web 2.0" or "Web 3.0" this may finally be what those concepts fail at describing.

If you use Google, go watch the video, you won't be disappointed. Make sure you also go to http://wave.google.com and sign up for an account. May be a while before you get in, but it can't hurt. I wrote some goofy haiku for why they should give me early access. I wish I could remember exactly what it was so I could re-post it here. Something about "Gimmie it now please."

Ann Arbor Skatepark Benefit Art Show

2009-05-15T22:14:00.007-04:00

So the comic book shop I hit up regularly - Vault of Midnight - has been very hands-on with getting a skate park in Ann Arbor for the kiddies and adult skaters. There are skate parks in Michigan, but they're out of town, and downtown Ann Arbor hasn't really been very skater friendly. So people had to drive an hour or so to legally skate, or skate the streets at their own risk.

So after a bunch of petitions, and lobbying with the City Counsel, the Skate park was approved and it's money time. Today there was a huge art benefit to help raise money for the skate park and it was at my favorite comic book venue; The Vault.

Event started at 7PM, but I couldn't dip out of work early until 8. Either way a friend and I show up, not really knowing what to expect but wanting to support the shop and the skate park.

Get in, check out the normal stuff and I can hear the auctioneer over the stereo. Besides the fact that you don't normally hear an auctioneer being pumped through the speakers of any business, there's usually an awesome selection of random music flooding the place. We head down stairs and the place is packed.

Now the down stairs area is usually used for board games and older comic book stock, but today it was packed with people and 50 skate decks hanging on the wall for the auction. Because I didn't get there until about an hour and half after the event started I missed a lot of the fun, but I did catch the intense bid war at the end.

One of the bidders and a member of the Skate Park board, Doug Song, posted a lot of awesome pictures on his Flickr page. Make sure you check them out to really see some of the things artist's submitted for the event. I really liked the "Silver Surfer" deck as well as the Marvel characters deck. There's also a picture of the Tony Hawk deck that was signed by 24 pro skaters and was auctioned off in a silent auction before I got there.

The night ended with Doug and the owner of the Vault, Curtis, going into an all out bid war on this board.

Detail: 47 Uploaded by dugsong

Now you can't really see it from the image, but this was laser etched. Curtis described it as a "stencil, on top of a stencil but instead using paint, they used a laser." Curtis and Doug went at it until Doug threw out a bid of "2." Yes, that's a 2k bid on that awesome deck. At one point I thought Doug was going to have a heart attack - and that was just at $1500 - and Liz (Curtis' wife) turned a deeper shade of red every time Curtis bid another $100. Curtis played a good game waiting for the last second to snipe the bid, trying to pysch Doug out of the lead. Bid went to $1800 and Doug made the jump to $2000. Crowd went wild, Curtis bowed out and shook Doug's hand. Game over.

Here I was expecting it to be this boring ordeal, that I'd leave shortly after saying hi to everybody. Instead the damn Mayor of Ann Arbor was there, and the last two decks went for a combined $2,800! Still kind of shocked, but it was a lot of fun and a lot of money was raised for the A2 Skatepark.

I asked if they were going to do something like this again and they're really hoping so. Next time I'm going to be prepared and see if I can win a deck. I saw a few in there that I would have gladly bid up to $250 so I could hang them on the wall behind my desk. My picture of frogs is starting to get boring. But in it's defense it has been there for quite a while. (Sorry no picture, I think sister has the camera with her.)

So I'm home, had a lot of fun, and Arwocky may have TB. Yeah, that's tuberculosis. If you're thinking, "who the hell is Arwocky?" That's O.K, it's an inside joke!

One last thing before I finish, got a cell phone, Ren made me get Twitter, and I now "tweet." Follow my random boringness as I use my G1 for anything BUT making phone calls.

I hate Seth!

2009-02-28T00:43:00.005-05:00

For those of you not up on the current gaming scene, Seth is the final boss in the recently released Street Fighter IV console game. He's a cheap evil bastard! There's no other way to describe the angst and hatred I currently contain for this character.

For those who have ever gone to an arcade and dropped down handfuls upon handfuls of quarters to play any fighting game you've run into the cheap fighter who makes everybody violent. Pins you in a corner and cheap shots you to victory, displaying absolutely no skill what so ever, only managing to make enemies of people would likely kick their butt! One deterent to the cheapo fighter in the arcade is the fact that you could actually Shoryuken the person if they played cheap like that. Violence may not ultimately be the answer, but I'll be damned if it doesn't make you feel good!

Seth is that player. Using cheap tricks to repeatedly keep you down. First round is always cake. I've even perfected him a few times on the first round, but the 2nd and 3rd round he's the most evil, cheap, and dirty player ever. Seth is the sound that makes me wanna punch babies.

Regardless of that one - albeit huge hurdle - the game is pretty amazing. Great offline play, solo or with friends, solid online play with very little perceived lag, and Trophies to keep you busy. Now originally I wasn't going to get the game. Historically I've always stunk at fighting games, but seeing reviews for the fight sticks that MadCatz released for the game got me excited. I know it's silly that a controller ramped up my interest in a game, but that's how it really started. Sadly by the time I found out about the sticks and decided to get the game it was too late to get the stick I wanted. The super awesome Tournament Stick is $150 and only 3,000 were released. So I never pre-ordered mine and resorted to camping eBay for a chance at the prize. In my excitement at getting a Tournament stick I found a "Buy now" for $180 and quickly bid and paid for the stick. Only to find out it was the Fight stick instead of the Tournament stick.

Well today my over paid item arrived, and it was time to crack it open and see what I paid for.

Standard fare for a fight stick as you can see, but when various groups were reviewing this stick they went out of their way it seems to bash the Hori sticks. The one gripe that seemed to come up over and over again was the size. That the Hori stick just didn't have enough real estate on the base and can sometimes cause issues. I've never used one so I don't know from person experience but looking at the difference it does look sizable.

One of the reasons why I wanted a fight stick was because I suck at pulling off the Super and Ultra combos, and I suck at pulling off combos on the right hand side as well. So after the unboxing I plugged it in and jumped right in. First thing I noticed was that the stick wasn't going to stop me from sucking, but it was going to help me get better.

The weight of the stick is the first thing that stands out. The Fight stick is supposed to weigh about 5.5 Lbs and the Tournament stick around 12 Lbs. Until I got the thing in lap did I realize just how much 5.5 Lbs weighs. The buttons are awesome, and the joystick is pretty darn good but there's one complaint. The ... whole that the joystick sticks out of is square. So you don't have a full circular motion, and it makes no sense. A number of the moves are a half circle forward, or back or a full circle and you can feel the stick hitting the square hole. Makes no sense and it's something they didn't do with the Tournament stick.

Ultimately I could crack the thing open, "mod" it so the whole is circular and be done with it but I don't know if I'm ready to do something like that. That would void my warranty, and if I manage to get a Tournament stick I'll be selling this one and that's not exactly a plus. "Buy my stuff after I cracked it up, cut it, and then glued and duck taped it back together again! Great shape!"

I'll keep it for now, and see how it performs. So far I'm happy~ish with it, but I can use it for Street Fighter IV and Super Street Fighter II HD Remix so it'll get some love. After I finish Killzone 2 that is!

Portal

2008-12-27T22:41:00.008-05:00

Each year, the day after Christmas is a huge way of getting your hands on some juicy deals. For the most part it's only for your traditional "brick & mortar" stores, but is now leaking over into more and more online venues.

This year there have been tons of Day after Christmas video game sales going on, so not to be left out the online service STEAM jumped in on the action. I happened to see an article at 1UP about the great gaming news only to see that Portal was only $4.99! Portal is an amazing game, and a 5 spot to boot cannot be resisted!

Now I don't much care for the STEAM setup, but I guess it's not all that bad. The best I can find, you HAVE to be online to play any of the games you purchased through STEAM, but I'm online 99% of the time so I should be safe. But say there's a prolonged Internet outage I won't be able to play any parts of Portal despite it being a completely offline game.

Now I've played a small portion of Portal in the past, but I've never sat down with it in any great length. Last night and today I've spent a great deal of time going through the first 19 mission, and have come to the following conclusion:

Scalpel Please!

2008-11-23T01:44:00.012-05:00

Now before you get started in on me with the "where have you beens" or the "you don't call any mores" or the "you don't love me any mores" I know it's been a while since the last post, and I have good reason for the lack of content.

What? You thought I was going to tell you?

Well I recently built a new computer for the purpose of playing games, specifically Final Fantasy XI; which I've played since the North America beta test back in the summer of 2003. Up until about a month ago I've played exclusively on the PlayStation 2, but decided it was time for some change. Some of the limitations of the PS2 had started to cause me issue that only the PC could resolve.

So I went and ordered all the pieces I need for a new computer and got to work. At the time of the original build I decided to save some money at the start and not buy a big beefy video card. FFXI is an old enough game that just about any onboard video card these days would more than do the job, but I would upgrade soon. Here's what I picked up.

AMD Phenom 9600 Agena 2.3GHz Socket AM2+ 95W Quad-Core Processor
ASUS M3N78-VM AM2+/AM2 NVIDIA GeForce 8200 HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard
APEVIA X-QPACK2-NW-AL Case w/ 500W PSU
Kingston HyperX 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2

I also bought an 250Gb HDD and a DVD drive, but the whole deal ran me roughly $500. Ultimately not bad considering it's a Quad core CPU, 4Gb of RAM and a case small enough that it wouldn't require another room to house it's massive~ness.

Everything arrived on a Thursday around 1PM or so, and by 4PM I was gaming. System ran like a charm, and would do everything I need from it until the final steps were carried out a month later.

Fast forward a month and it's time to complete the process.

Buy a new video card
Get second monitor

The video card was coming anyway, and I figured if I was going to upgrade why do it half assed? A second monitor on the system would allow me to do so much more, and I've had a number of computers in the past with a dual head set up and I missed it. So, on to the packing list.

EVGA 512-P3-N879-AR GeForce 9800 GTX+ 512MB
LG Flatron 19" W1952TQTF

Now here's where the fun kicks in. The 9800 GTX+ is roughly the size of New Jersey, and for those of you who don't speak geek that MicroATX case is very limited on size. Now I knew the card would fit into the case, just there wouldn't be any more room in there for anything else. I fit the graphics card into the motherboard's slot, do a little slight bending to get the tray slide back into the case and then notice this.

See New Jersey there requires additional power for the fan as well as all the extra work the card's doing. Only problem is the cage that houses optical drives is clearly in the way. That means I don't close the case or I don't connect the recommended but ultimately optional power connector. Because not using the additional power connector could reduces the card's life, I went with this option.

So as the cables out of the back of the case consume my desk, the case fan in the back also blows right across my keyboard. So after 10 minutes at the machine my fingers turn blue and freeze to the keys. I have it set like this because I can't close the case, and this is the best place for it all open face like it is.

So as I look at that image it occurs to me to just cut out a chunk of the cage, connect everything and slide mobo tray in and be finished with. Only issue holding me back is my lack of tools to perform the task. Two weeks go by and I pick up a rotary tool and get home on Friday night at 11:30.

I gut the machine, get started and realize it's midnight and I'm making a crap load of noise. So I give up, decided to go spend some QT with my PS3 and just leave everything set up for Saturday.

On Saturday I did some extra set up and then got to work. Took like 90 minutes to do all the cuts, it didn't turn out very pretty in the end but I got it done.

So as you can see she fits in just fine, and the cable connects and I can go through tie down all the cables, wires, and put the cover back on.

I thought I was going to end up putting the machine on the floor under the desk, but the problem is there are 3 other machines down there so there's no room really. All the other computers are in full ATX cases and one of them is like 3.5' tall so it's not a situation where I could stack them. After spending an hour going through all the crap on my desk I decided to just leave it on the top of my desk. When I rebuild my gateway after the New Year I'll stack the cases then. But the case is all closed up, my desk is clean - no clue how long that will hold true - and here's the end result.

Man Laws

2008-02-15T00:54:00.005-05:00

For the most part women are aware that there are Man Laws, but they have no idea what exactly they encompass. What makes it a man law? Why is it a man law? Are these rules that only a man must obey? Are there consequences if you disobey a man law? All valid questions, but it seems the Man Laws are starting to lose their luster.

Today I'm going to talk about a very important Man Law, and it's probably one of the most important ones. No, it's not "bros before hoes," a law I've always thought was rather iffy since most men don't have the scruples to actually honor it. So you ask, what is this law I speak of?

There is no talking in the Mens Room!

Period. Never. Don't do it. Ever. Ever ever.... ever. Pure silence. STFU!

If somebody falls over drunk, hits their head on the edge of a urinal and are rendered unconscious, you cannot ask them if they're alright unless a trained professional has dragged them out of the mens room and started tending to their wound. Even the EMT would honor this law and risk further head and neck injuries so not to violate the rule.

Why did you not help them out yourself, you ask? Because of the second room pertaining to the Mens Room. No touching in the Mens Room. There's a third one as well, that stipulates there's no eye contact in the Mens Room either, but this is a lesser known rule and only followed by the most seasoned of old skool veterans.

Now, admittedly all of these laws stem from some sort of homophobia, and it's truly a shame, but this system has worked since the dawn of bathrooms. I imagine as the Egyptians built the pyramids a situation came up where 300 men found themselves all relieving themselves in to the same hole in the sand. An awkward moment of eye contact, or an elbow touched and somebody blurted how "WHOA!! Back up!" (Obviously in some ancient Egyptian dialect, of course.)

From that moment forward, it was silently decreed - because meanwhile said potty hole had no walls it was technically a mens room and there is to be no talking - that no talking, no touching, and no eye contact would ever take place in this sacred of most sacred places.

From that time forward men have cut off all conversations as they reached the door of the Mens Room and behaved as if they were complete strangers to the person they were just talking with. A balance was achieved and all were happy to continue their conversation once they exited the room and not a moment sooner.

Today as we use scapegoats to explain away the crumbling of our society's pillars, and sadly I to must take up this same trend. No, I won't blame this on Scientology, though as I hear Tom Cruise tell it, only a Scientologist could enact the type of change required to turn the Mens Room into a chatty welcoming place that may some day welcome the fairer of our sexes. Y'know, a Mens Room with a soft fluffy couch, flowers on the counter, and a chatty bathroom attendant that doles out relationship advice as if it were cheap knock off cologne.

But no, I blame cell phones. Gone are the days of talking on the phone and suddenly hearing the distinct echo that only the porcelain of a bathroom can create and scream "WTF! You could have called me back!" No, instead people cannot live with out the extension that is their cell phone and the conversation they were having outside of the bathroom is obviously more important than honoring our most sacred - and possibly out first - Man Law.

Today, all within the same visit to the mens room, I heard not one, but two men talking on the cell phones. Neither one of them even asked their accomplice 2nd party to hold on as they completed their business. Even sadder still, this happens several times a day.

These are the types of activities that one can only assume happens in the womens room. Another mystical place where couches, roses, potpourri, and a magical filter/amplifier that allows them to actually understand 30 woman speaking simultaneously. All while enhancing the power of their schemes to be felt by those idly passing by.

To you, my select male readers - and when I say select I mean the 5 men who reads this crap - I send you off with a mission. A mission to restore our most sacred of laws, so go forth and spread the Laws again. Teach them that there's a time and a place for everything, and the mens room is a place of business. Handle your business and leave! Leave all that jibba~jabba for the Ladies Room.

Happy Birthday LEGOs

2008-01-28T16:36:00.000-05:00

Further reason of why Google is so awesome, was that gem right there. For those of you who don't use the iGoogle page but still frequent Google may have seen that image today - commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the LEGO brick. 50 years of one of the greatest toys ever made.

Young or old, LEGOs still have lasting appeal. Every year for Christmas I still stuff stockings with LEGOs, regardless of age. The little under $5 kits that's usually just one tiny vehicle but when you combine it with 3 or 4 others you could build any number of monstrosities.

I know my sister and I grew up on LEGOs. Different themes or styles, ranging from city scapes to the giant Duplo blocks. We even got a few of the more generic "LEGOs" that came out of the box with faded bricks and just weren't quite LEGO.

As an adult I still visit the toy isle so I can check out the LEGO selection. What type of new Technic LEGOs they've released, or movie themed pack. The Millennium Falcon kit, a bulldozer with a moving bucket, Bionics, and the list goes on. How many of us were in a mall and saw some giant LEGO creation with a sweepstakes? Having to guess how many LEGOs were used to construct giant clown or robot or movie character or crane in hopes of winning some other awesome prize.

After you submitted your guess did you then wish you could win all the LEGOs and not the promised prize? I know I did.

Here's another memory I'm sure we all remember. Ever step on a LEGO with your bare feet? There's a special place in the world for pain of that magnitude. The thought of that now still makes me cringe.

Now a days we now have LEGO video games so help appeal to a larger group as well as drawn in the nostalgia factor. As I've mentioned in a number of posts at the Sony Report I've played and have become addicted to LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga. Another way for people to continue to enjoy LEGOs and proof that they're not about to go anywhere.

So, here's to another 50 years LEGOs. Thanks for the fun and the memories.

What a day!

2008-01-16T00:02:00.000-05:00

Today was an interesting day. As I posted earlier, today was Michigan's primary so I had to go out and vote but Tuesday is usually my errands day. All those things I can't do because I work afternoons and refuse to get up early for, I do on Tuesday.

So I woke up, showered, and then headed outside. Locked up and went outside to be reminded that hit snowed last night. Considering one of my first posts was talking about how much I hate snow, my first thought was "#%$&!" But I'm a Packers fan, and this weekend Green Bay plays for a chance to go to the Super Bowl - against the Giants - and if it snows the game's in the bag. So I was actually excited that it had snowed.

I start clearing the snow off my car and then realize I have no idea where I'm going. Head back in side, map out the route, jump in the car, put it in gear and then remember I left my voter's registration card in my desk. Park, go back inside, get what I need and this time I actually pause to make sure I have everything.

Get back in the car and I hear "BAM! BAM! BAM!!" Scared the hell out of me. I peak around the corner and it's a 21 Gun Salute. I live across the street from a funeral home, and they had the 7 soldiers out there with their rifles firing off blanks. Only the 3rd time I've actually been home when it happened, but it still scared the unholy hell out of me!

Went and voted and then went off to run my errands. One of the errands I was off to do was getting a HDMI to DVI-D cable. I recently saw a YouTube video showing how easy it is to install UT3 mods on the PS3. The video is useful, but what caught my eye was UT3 in what appeared to be 1080p on an LCD monitor. I have a pretty decent 19" wide screen LG monitor, and I can't wait to get my big TV for widescreen games and movies. So all I need is an HDMI to DVI-D cable to do the same. Simple enough right? Problem is those cables are quite pricey.

I saw 6" HDMI cables, that don't work with DVI-D, that were $40 to $130. For only 6' of cable. I'm not talking about 4 miles of cable, just 6' for $130! In order to get what I needed a Circuit City, I would have to buy a regular HDMI cable (Cheapest one I found was $39.99.) and then an adapter that ran $39.99 as well. So much for a $20 ordeal that would allow me to test it out and post my run down over at The Sony Report. I so wanted to play Warhawk in HD widescreen tonight! So I guess I'm stuck having to order the cables online for a quarter of the price and the post will just have to wait.

So I finish up my other errands, hit up Wendy's for their Stack Attack meal - which is 3 shades of awesome btw - and then head home. I eat, go through the mail, clean up my mess and decide it's video game time.

Turn on the TV, PS2, PS3, start loading a game and the 3 of them flicker off, and then come back on. We've had some odd power surges lately, so I didn't think much about it. Turn the TV back on, reach to turn back on the PS2 & PS3 and the power flickers again. This time it goes out, comes back on. Goes out again almost immediately, then comes back on. Did that about 8 times, and I hear what sounds like another 21 Gun Salute outside. I turn off the power strip for the above toys and turn around to see the rest of the house as power. Alarm clock in my bedroom had the right time. My workstation was still on showing of my Yoda/Soul Calibur IV background like nothing happened.

I double check everything, and sure enough only the front half of the house was with out power. I step outside and see just about everybody in the neighborhood standing out there. What I had thought was another 21 Gun salute was the transformer about 50 yards from my back door turning into a Roman Candle. I wish I had thought to grab the camera and recorded a short video of it. It was on fire, shooting sparks in all direction, and no clue what caused it. Neighbor said they called Detroit Edison to come out and clean up so I went back in side.

Well I wasn't about to move my TV, and various video game equipment into another room just to play, so I decide to check email, check some news and order some HDMI to DVI-D cables. Well after about 20 minutes all the power went out. I waited, thinking it would kick back in after about 15 seconds, but this time it was out. Too dark to read, didn't feel like grabbing my DS or PSP (Which turned out to be a good thing since my sister drained the battery for my PSP. It forgot what time it was!), and then it occurred to me. "I have a laptop, and my phone modem for VoIP has a battery in it and is online." Moved the ethernet cable, restarted modem and continued doing what I was doing.

About a half hour later all of the power came back on, so I got to restart everything, forgot to reset all the clocks, and get back to what I was doing. All in all, that has been about as eventful a day as I've had in a long time!

So let's recap.

1) Excited about snow. WTF!?
2) 21 Gun Salutes are loud.
2) Voting epiphany - see below.
3) HDMI cables are crazy expensive.
4) Transformers have a Roman Candle feature.
5) Yes video games time does require both PS2 & PS3. Sometimes including, but not limited to, Dreamcast, Gamecube, N64, Nintendo DS, and PSP.

Who knew?

Register to Vote!!

2008-01-15T16:53:00.000-05:00

Today is Michigan's Presidential Primary. So schools, libraries, ROTC offices and more are packed with our senior citizen volunteers as the rest of us swing by on lunch breaks, or before/after work to vote. Provided you already registered to vote - usually when you renew your drivers license - there really is no excuse for you not to go vote when your day comes. Here's a link to find out what day your states has their caucus or primary, just in case you don't already know.

Boston.com 2008 Caucus & Primary Schedule

For minorities and women I think it's extremely important for them to get out and vote. No, this doesn't have anything to do with having Senator Clinton or Senator Obama as presidential candidates for this year's election, but the fact that people fought and died for their right to vote. So make sure you go out and exercise your right, and in a way honor the hard work involved in the eventual 15th and 19th Amendments of the U.S. Constitution.

As I walked the past the sign in the picture above, at a middle school about 5 minutes from home, I thought about how easy it was. I've been registered to vote since I turned 18, and this will be my fourth presidential election I will participate in, but this was the first time it occurred to me just how simple it was. My Grandfather had to submit to literacy tests because of Jim Crow laws, and that was after he got past the threats from angry protesters. All I had to do was navigate the halls of a middle school I've never been in - that seemed to be against signs steering you in the right direction btw - and dodge a gym class running in the halls because the voting booths took up their gymnasium. I think it took me a total of 10 minutes to park, walk in, vote, and snap the picture above.

I won't assault you with the "popular" 2004 voting slogan "Vote or Die!" But I do recommend you go out and exercise your right.

Happy New Year!

2008-01-01T04:28:00.000-05:00

Hopefully everybody had a nice evening with family and friends and got home safely!

New Years Eve has always just been another day for me. I don't often join in any festivities for the occasion as it's just another day of the week. I still have things to do the next day, but if somebody else wants to get crazy and raise Hell to bring in the New Year go right ahead. I just ask that you be safe and smart about it.

I had a pretty good time tonight. The first time I've gone out and taken part in any sort of New Years Eve bash in a really long time. Played some darts, told some jokes, laughed, got covered in glitter (I'll get to that later.), and prevented anybody from hurting themselves. However the main reason for my post would be the Ypsilanti Police.

Now I know what you're thinking. This post is getting dropped off at 5AM, so just how long did I spend in jail, right? No, no! Not me. Tonight my post is in praise of the cops. Why you ask? Because I got pulled over by the cops not once - but twice tonight.

Again, you must be thinking? "Wait what? You're happy you got pulled over by the 5.0? What the hell is the matter with you?" But hear me out.

Got off work early tonight since it was so dead in the call center, so I headed home, took a shower and headed out to the party. About 3 blocks away I had already seen 3 different cars pulled over by the cops. I thought "Wow! People really are starting early tonight" and just hoped everybody else would be smart about it. I get about another 4 blocks away or so when I see my own set of lights.

I pull over, knowing I wasn't speeding, and just figured maybe I had a tail light that had died on me or something. Officer walks up and immediately asked me if I'd been drinking. I respond by telling him no, and that I had no intention of drinking tonight. Officer says, "well since you seem to have been honest with me, I'll be honest with you. I pulled you over to make an example. We want people to know that we're out in force and hope to deter them from drinking an driving." He checked my license, registration and insurance and let me go. I wished him a warm and uneventful night, and headed on off to the party. Actually glad to hear that the police were really on top of things for once. Something you sadly don't hear very often.

I get to the party, and the theme was "glitter." I was later told it was "glitz & glam" but I guess some how glitter summed it up or something. So all the women, which out numbered men nearly 3 to 1 were covered in it. Everybody wants hugs and kisses for the New Year, and some idiots were even spraying some aerosol glitter all over the place. So even if you didn't show up with your own glitter, there was plenty to go around.

Now, for those of you who don't know, glitter has some sort of mystical magical element. It will find and cling to anything and never let go. Ever. Ever ever let go. For people like me, it seeks me out and attacks when I'm nowhere even near it. When somebody told me about the glitter I some how managed to find glitter on me with in hours with out going anywhere near any source of glitter in month!. So after about 30 New Years hugs from glitter clad women tonight I came home covered in it. I may have to actually incinerate my clothes in order to escape from their mystical adhesive properties. I got home and took a 35 minute shower where I think I may have actually scrubbed some of my skin off while trying to melt away the rest of it.

But, after helping to thwart a rousing round of "I'll give you 50 bux if you do ...." everybody started to file out. I grab my winter wear and head out into the snow. Since I got to the party at around 9:30~ish we'd picked up about 5 inches of snow. So I start up my car, and take to the task of cleaning it off.

Now I'm one of the weird people that completely cleans off his car. I hate when I'm driving behind some lazy person who won't clear off their car, so suddenly a glacial sheet of ice and snow flies off the roof and lands on my windshield. Scaring the unholy hell out of me, and nearly causing several fatal accidents. After about 20 minutes or so, I have the car sufficiently clean and pull off.

Roads aren't horrible, but they aren't clear either. I learned to drive in a foot and half of snow, so I can drive in just about anything. I know to allow extra time to slow down, and depending on how bad conditions are don't stop unless you absolutely have to. Fortunately at 4AM there aren't many actual stop lights or occasions to stop. Because goodness knows if you do manage to get stopped, you may never get moving again.

So, I'm moving along at a good robust pace of about 25 mph, staying in the tracks of the last person who drove that way, when I see the lights. At this point I figured they were just checking people, and I was the only car I could see in either direction so what the hell. I pull over, roll down my window and the first thing out of the officers mouth was, "I'm pretty sure you're not drunk." I kind of chuckled and asked how he knew that. He looked at my car and said "a drunk wouldn't bother to scrape ALL the snow off his car" and laughed himself. I said good point, gave him my info and he came back a few minutes later with a drive safe and "thanks for being responsible tonight." Told him to stay warm and keep up the good work.

On the rest of the way home, I saw one police cruiser with lights on outside of a diner around the corner and that was it. So good job Ypsilanti Police Department. Way to patrol the neighborhood and actually "Protect and Serve." As a matter-a-fact, I'm going to lay down the very first Dizzle Award of the year. Starting out the year right, doing their part to help people get to next the next New Year's Eve bash.

I've had a few "are you kidding" moments with the local police (a.k.a. It's a black guy running, he must be doing something wrong.), but tonight I'm impressed and proud.

So, welcome 2008! Let's see what kind of trouble we can cause! I just hope you're reading for me.

So wrong, but so funny!

2007-12-28T14:27:00.000-05:00

For those of you who are unaware of lolCats I've been roaming the site recently for the random hilarity. Today I ran across this:

So wrong, but still funny as hell! I've also come across Overheard in New York. A site of random things heard on the train, or bus, or around town. Some of them are just stupid, other sad, and some are just hilarious! Check out a few of these gems.

Barbie girl: Ugh! This train smells like ass!
Angry black man: Speak fo' yo'self, bitch! My ass is squeaky clean!

Little girl: Daddy, save my seat!
Dad: I can't.
Little girl: Yes, you can -- just put your hand on the seat.
Dad: But then someone might sit on my hand, and they might have a smelly butt, like you.

So check out both sites. Great way to waste time at work and not get in any trouble! haha Also make sure to check out the Sony Report later, as I'll be making an update tonight.

Merry Happy Christmahanakwanzaka!

2007-12-25T15:58:00.000-05:00

Well, for the whopping 4 people that read my random posts, Merry Happy Christmahanakwanzaka! Whatever you may believe or celebrate I hope it is filled with family, friends and love. Be safe, and be merry!

I was hoping to find one of the original Virgin Mobile 2005 Holiday videos that first cracked me up with "the best Christmahanakwanzaka ev~a" but I guess even the IntarWebz forgets after two years.

Along with my holiday post, I have made an addition to the site. Stumbled across something called Snap Shot. I'm going to give it a try, and see how it "enhances" the page. If you guys find it useless, or annoying as you mouse over the links, let me know - "I'll drop 'em like 3rd period French."

Here's a blurb from Snap about what it does:

Introducing Snap Shots from Snap.com
I just installed a nice little tool on this site called Snap Shots that enhances links with visual previews of the destination site, interactive excerpts of Wikipedia articles, MySpace profiles, IMDb profiles and Amazon products, display inline videos, RSS, MP3s, photos, stock charts and more.
Sometimes Snap Shots bring you the information you need, without your having to leave the site, while other times it lets you "look ahead," before deciding if you want to follow a link or not.
Should you decide this is not for you, just click the Options icon in the upper right corner of the Snap Shot and opt-out.

I couldn't pass this one up.

2007-12-18T16:54:00.000-05:00

Thank God it's not Friday

ROME (Reuters) - An Italian court has ruled that a couple could not name their son "Friday" and ordered that he instead be called Gregory after the saint whose feast day he was born on.

Parents said they liked the name Friday, and had the child been a girl they would have called her Friday as well. Well a clerk came across the name after about 5 months and saw fit to take the matter up with a tribunal.

When the boy was about five months old, a city hall clerk brought the odd name to the attention of a tribunal, which informed the couple of an administrative norm which bars parents from giving "ridiculous or shameful" first names to children.

That's right, Rome appears to have some sort of law on the books that bars parents from giving such names. Either way, the parents appealed the fact that the state appears to have named their son Gregory, and lost. The Mother's pissed about the situation saying that the child will go by Friday his entire life only to grow up and have to sign his name Gregory.

1) Why would you name your child Friday?
2) Why does the State care what you name your child?

Welcome to the world today.

Another year end list

2007-12-18T14:14:00.000-05:00

With only 13 days remaining in 2007, a new end of year lists is released daily. Most often than not, they are the best of lists. Best Movies of the year. Best Sports moments of the year. Biggest Innovations of the year. And the lists goes on and on - I wouldn't be surprised if there was a Best End of Year List list.

But, we also have the Worst of Year list that seems to often go over looked. Can't have one with out the other, right? Well the one I'm dealing with today is PC World's 15 Biggest Disappointments of 2007. That's right, so much for the feel good stories in tech news, it's time for the things that annoyed and disappointed masses through out the year. For me, I think just about all of them are dead on!

Page 1 - Amazon U Box, Municipal WiMAX, Social Networking
Page 2 - Internet Security, Microsoft Zune, Wireless Carriers, Microsoft Office 2007
Page 4 - Apple "Leopard" OS 10.5, VoIP, Broadband Industry
Page 5 - Apple iPhone, Yahoo!, Facebook Beacon, High-Def Format War
Page 6 - Windows Vista

A number of these listed had some rather large mistakes this year. Social network is getting out of hand, and they're almost all the same.

"Here's a safe bet: Two years from now, 90 percent of these networks will be gone and their founders will be back working at Starbucks. I'll have a double mocha frappucino, please."

Goodness knows, I hope that bet is truly a safe one. Hearing adults having high school level spats and altercations because of MySpace is mind blowing. And let us not forget the Megan Meier case either. These are two extremes, and the later is the first I've ever heard of that kind, but social networking has become High School v2.0 in too many circles. (Yes, I feel strongly about this one.)

Internet Security has been an oxymoron for years - the article actually has a great list of other oxymorons: "business intelligence," "Congressional ethics," and "Microsoft Works." - but 2007 was rife with security issues. A McAfee report states that 120 government agencies are actively engaged in web espionage, and Symantec reports that 3/4 of all cyber attacks originate outside of the U.S. I don't know about you, but I feel safe already.

Broadband industry appears to have come forward and collectively said "
All your packets are belong to us" and they "set us up a bomb."

iPhone users are pissed, but I'm not entirely sure why. If you do the math, you had to know it was going to be insanely expensive, and AT&T was never known for their network speeds. DSL anybody? Why was this a surprise to anybody again? Oh, that's right, if you spend $600 for something you expect quality. Oops.

Facebook's Beacon, all I can say is WOW. And rounding up the top spot on the list is Windows Vista. In many ways, this says it all for me:

"No wonder so many users are clinging to XP like shipwrecked sailors to a life raft, while others who made the upgrade are switching back. And when the fastest Vista notebook PC World has ever tested is an Apple MacBook Pro, there's something deeply wrong with the universe."

Thank you Microsoft for trying to be best at everything you do. Even when it's the worst.

Now, for a happy moment. I found this YouTube video while digging up the Set us up a bomb link. I cracked up, enjoy.

Supa Monks

Motivation

2007-12-14T21:21:00.000-05:00

For the 5 of you that actually read my steaming piles of poo, you know that I usually notify you when there's a new post. You've also noticed that there's been nothing for 6 months. I've found myself having little to seriously post about, or found something far too "deep" for what I've done here so far.

Well recently my boy Ren called me out about not having posted in so long. One of the things we came up with, was why don't I become a contributor on the Sony Report (Which he also changed it's URL, so make sure you update your links and bookmarks.), since I was emailing him possible updates for the site.

So, the plan is with now pulling double duty for my meager blog and his, that my updates will become more frequent and possibly more interesting - I make no promises on that last part though! So check out an RSS Feed reader like Google Reader or any other RSS Reader and watch for the updates to roll in.

2007: Your Legacy is....

2007-12-13T02:33:00.000-05:00

w00t!?

Yeah, that's right, w00t. Each year Merriam-Webster has a poll/survey for the word of the year - usually taken from a group of 10 - and this year's winner is w00t.

Now, for a lot of people this isn't that bad. Language is changing, and every circle has their own vernacular to the point that we almost have different dialects of English like you'd find in Africa or Asia. But recently there was an article about this year's Nobel Prize in Literature's comments on reading and writing. Stating that culture is declining because of the lack of reading and writing. Now what's to blame for this decline you ask? The Internet of course, and more precisely "blogging and blugging," though I'm not entirely sure what the hell blugging is.

So, to clear this up - people's lack of reading and writing is undermining our culture. And people blogging (Writing) or blugging (Again, wtf?), and you the reader (Reading) are continuing the decline of this great culture. So, stop it! Doris Lessing and I just won't allow it!

Now, the article does kind of excuse Ms. Lessing as she did go to high school with Abraham Lincoln or some mess, and is seriously "old skool." (Born in 1919, but close enough right?) Despite her "back in the day" set in her ways opinion I think she has a point while pointing a finger in the wrong direction.

More and more people just don't "read." Don't pick up a book, fiction or poetry, or non-fiction and just read. However, you may find, as I have, that a lot of those same people read a lot of magazines or have web pages they visit daily. I don't think many would seriously debate the quality of writing you'd find in a blog (Such as the crap you're currently reading.) is equal to that of a full length novel. But people are reading, expanding their ideas, and writing.

When was the last time you saw a blog that didn't give you an option to comment? That's something you can't readily do with a book. Read a chapter and immediately comment on what you thought about the events or speculate about what's going to happen. Or hell, you hated the chapter, thought the book was terrible, and could immediately berate the author fore their horrible attempted at prose.

The Internet gives people a means to respond to the medium, or create their own. I agree that it doesn't replace more traditional writing, but I think it encourages it. Gives them a means to share their ideas, work on their skills, and then release a larger body of work, if they so desire, at a later date. Never mind being able to access all those different types of styles and subject matters may just motivate them to create something of their own.

Now, with w00t about to take it's place in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the decline of written media may be here. I originally couldn't believe w00t, with it's two zeros no less made it, but now that I look and saw who took second place, I'm happy with w00t. Second place word was the verb "facebook." W00t? Welcome to the world.

Maybe there are no "shades of grey."

2007-08-06T20:03:00.000-04:00

Sadly, you'd need to live INSIDE a rock to not have some sort of knowledge of the Michael Vick dog fighting charges that have permeated ESPN and anything resembling a sports news cast recently. I've stayed away from the topic for a number of reasons, but the one most important is because he hasn't been convicted of the crime.

When I first heard of the case, my first case was "this is a reelection strategy." At the time there was no hint at evidence that Vick was involved, but the name alone made it high profiled and keeps a DA in office.

Weeks go by, and you have your little expos about dog fighting, or the life of Vick, or how black athletes and entertainers have this penchant for underground dog fighting. All the while no hint at evidence linking Vick or any other entertainers that seem to frequent dog fighting. At one point ESPN's Behind the Lines show interviewed a former dog fighting participant about what goes on at these places states Vick was a high roller at various fights, but decided to hide his identity because he was now an informant. I immediately though, "if this guy is an informant, and Vick has been a frequent high roller for 5 years (Informant mentioned Vick at such a place in 2002.), then why is this the first time we've heard of it?" Last I heard an informant informs. And if the FBI or local authorities have information that a star like Vick is at locations like this, they run in with guns and sirens blazing.

From that point on I turned my back on the whole story. I could smell another OJ trial. Activists were already in step attempting to ruin lives, smear tactics all ahead full. Just too many similarities cropping up, I'm just waiting for the "do you think he did it question" to start surfacing. Very few people realize how loaded a question this was.

So today I was getting my Google Reader fix, when I came across this in my ESPN section. A History of Mistrust

Outside of the obvious innocent until proven guilty, the article describes an atmosphere that I don't think many people knew existed in Atlanta. Also take notice to the PETA images. When is somebody going to put them in check, furthering that we live in a world where you're guilty until proven innocent.

I suck at bowling!

2007-07-23T00:47:00.000-04:00

I can't quite stress that enough. When I go bowling, it's usually because a friend suddenly has that impulse that a lot of people ~just~ have - "Let's go bowling!" And with out a legit reason to say, "eff that" I roll through. (Pun intended.) Get there, get the ugly shoes that countless people have worn, pick a ball that's going to make my thumb, middle & ring finger swell the the size of... well bowling balls, and get started. I usually roll like 120 the first game, then I'm lucky if I can knock over 30 red-necks combined for the next 3 games. (Why do we always seem to bowl 4 games? Is this some cosmically assigned number that magically manifests itself at bowling alleys? We only planned to roll 3, then suddenly decided on a 4th.)

Well, last night I was asked the question, "wanna go bowling?" So I tell the story just recanted above about my bowling ... skillz, and we head out. First game, I roll a respectable 130. Couple of strikes, couple of spares, didn't look like a complete wierdo, and no gutter balls. So now with that out of the way, let the suck fest begin!

Toss the first two balls and come up with a spare. Next frame's a strike, miss another chance at a spare and throw 4 straight strikes. I had to tell my boy I wished I was hustling him! Next thing I know I'm on the final frame and I've only missed 2 pins. All told I managed to throw a 202! By the fact that I'm actually recording this here, I was shocked and more than slightly proud! I had them print out the score card from the games to provide proof! Don't have the score cards scanned yet, but will have that done soon and will post them here.

I'd say it was worth $5, and the sore hand I'm currently sporting.

[Edit: Score finally posted as promised]

Brown Bomber meets Johnny Law

2007-06-22T13:52:00.001-04:00

I drive a tan/beige/rust colored 1989 Toyota Tercel. It is the epitome of the P.O.S. car. Rust every where. Burns oil and fuel like a factory. About as quiet as a crop duster. Won't accelerate to save her life. She is truly a candidate for Pimp My Ride if I've ever seen one, but I don't live in Cali and I'm too "old" for MTV. But she has earned the name Brown Bomber from a friend of mine, and she gets us to and from work.

Now, when I say this car has problems accelerating, I mean it takes like 4 gallons of gas and 15 minutes to get up to 45mph. I am not brave enough to take her out on the highway for fear her wheels pop off, the engine jump from under the hood and explode as it runs for it's freedom. So bask with me in the Bomber's glory of being awarded her first speeding ticket.

In my younger days, I was a speed demon. I obeyed all traffic laws but was convinced that speed limit sign was a suggestion, and nothing more. So it goes with out saying I managed a few speeding tickets in those days. Then I grew up, didn't feel the need for speed any more and haven't gotten a ticket of any kind in 8 year.

So today, on my usual route to work (Which we haven't taken in like 4 days.) I made a "creative lane change" due to some congestion in traffic and people's poor use of blinkers (Read: No use of blinkers.) and BAM! Lights and sirens. Scared the hell outta me.

I thought maybe my creative use of vehicular maneuverability was the reason for the noise and light show, but the officer tells me I was speeding - doing 47 in a 30. I ~thought~ the limit in that area was 35 mph, and I ~thought~ I was doing about 35 to 40. My boy who rides in with me thinks it was bunk and I should fight the ticket, but I guess it is possible.

I figured the one reason the Bomber would ever get pulled over was due to the super loud muffler, but the officer didn't say a word about it! But here's to you Brown Bomber. A Speed Racer in your own way! Now if the Bomber would just give me $85 to pay for the ticket. ~sigh~

The Dizzle Award for June 14th, 2007

2007-06-15T20:00:00.000-04:00

The Internets are pleased! The Dizzle has become the happy sibling of The Fizzle. If you have the best of something, naturally we have to honor the worst as well. With out it, there is no balance in the world.

After Knight of Ni's timely invention of the Fizzle, he found something Dizzle worthy! I now present you his nomination:

Original Ceremony: June 14th, 2007

I'll jump right into it. Today's Fizzle goes to Upright Sleeping Train Man. This beacon and example of Human balance managed to sleep the entire train ride into Midtown from queens, teetering and tottering the entire time: But never falling.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, he was swaying and swaggering in his seat, reminiscent of one of those perpetual motion things you put on desks that infinitely transfer inertia between the metallic marbles. This event was started when I sat down, but moved a couple inches away for purely comedic intent. Oh yes, I WAS sitting next to him, but upon seeing this swaying soldier, I was inclined to move away, lest I be victim of a Subway Attack, wherein a fellow passenger deems it fit to sleep on your shoulder.

I was not intent on being a pillow at 8 in the morning. But this guy was resilient. His dips and his leans became ever more violent and close to the seat. I estimated that the build up momentum of a few more train stops would be just what he needed to come crashing down onto the seats.

But he thwarted me and robbed me of entertainment, and was instead inclined to garner my immense respect. This Dizzle goes out to you, Upright Sleeping Train Man. You even managed to beat out Standing Sleeping Train Woman, who deserves an honorable mention for finding perfect Nirvana in the midst of the Roosevelt Stop Shuffle.

But the real winner is thte MTA for enabling NYC to function every morning. Glorious.

-Because I can.

The outrage! The disgrace! The entertainment?

2007-06-05T15:21:00.000-04:00

With my schedule, and the things I enjoy doing I just don't get a chance to watch a lot of TV. Never mind I have about 800 TV channels because it's a perk at work, I just don't watch much TV. But last night I actually sat down and watched some Sports Center, and one story was about Phillip Wellman. I'm sure you've seen his tirade on YouTube, national news, ESPN, or any number of other news sites/shows. Well the Braves management laid down a 3 game suspension for Mr. Wellman, (Which I think is funny as this guy is far from well.) and a number of people don't think it's enough. A few of them cried out for his dismissal, and were flabbergasted that he wasn't fired later that night, instead of suspended a few days later.

One commentator commented on how the Atlanta Braves have always been one of the most conservative ball clubs in the Majors, and could not understand why the order didn't come down from on high for an immediate dismissal. Did these guys forget the major problem with minor league ball? Unless Roger Clemens is making his 63rd come back, nobody gives a damn about the minor leagues. The stands are always empty, almost no press coverage, and to sadly quote Allen Iverson "It's just practice." None of it counts in anyone's eyes.

Now a lot of true baseball fans know that the minor leagues is where you find real baseball. These kids aren't really getting paid, so they're hungry. They want a way to prove themselves. These kids are all out sprinting for everything for a hope that their hustle stands out and they get called up to the money.

So Mr. Wellman just gave people a reason to go these games. "Hmmm, I wonder if this cat's gonna flip again. Yo' Joe, wanna hit the ball park tonight?" I mean we can't rely on Lou Piniella to entertain us every game! This single act just raised ticket sales for this team's home games for the rest of the season. What makes dollars, makes sense right? Well they had to punish him, but getting rid of him doesn't "make cents."

On a side night: Gary Sheffield is an idiot, but there was some truth in his point. People are put in place, and actually called handlers, for these non-English speaking players. A "wrangler" of sorts to make sure the player's in the right place at the right time, monitored, controlled, and most of these kids implicitly trust their handler and will go anywhere they're told. (One Latino player questioned in the steroids investigation said he ate when he was told, and ate what he was told. He didn't know what he was given, just told to take it.) Never mind how much bad press can a guy who can't even communicate with his team mates with out a translator really get into? I'm sure most people have seen "Bedazzled," so let's stick to our usual practiced interview comments please. "We wanted to do good, so we did good." Let's not throw "all Latino players can be controlled" out there and let the wind of the media get a hold of it. Not entirely sure how he could have said the same thing with less ignorance, a little tact or even some couth, but this wasn't it.

Squirrel Boy & the Art Show

2007-05-26T01:32:00.000-04:00

A friend and I went to an "art show" tonight, and I must confess, I'm even more worried about man kind now than I was this morning. Somebody at work mentioned this little art show and told me to drop by. Gave me a little invite that looked kind of cool, so I thought about it, and figured it might be kind of interesting, so why not? Never gone to something like that before, and now I know why.

So on my break I called a friend, and asked if she wanted to head over there and check it out. Figuring we'd see a few cool things, but we'd have more fun "people watching." A.k.a pointing and laughing. (What? Don't play like you don't do it too!)

Well, the show was supposed to be from 8PM to 11PM and we didn't get there until about 10:30 or so. It looked like the show was basically done, and they just had a band playing. The lights were down low, the crowd seemed sedated (I don't think I've ever seen a crowd who just couldn't care less.), and actually seeing the art was a challenge but we checked some of it.

One of the.... showcases had four Styrofoam heads with fur hats on them. At closer inspection they were skunk cap, raccoon cap, and two squirrel caps. The hats them self looked decent, but on the neck of the Styrofoam head it said what they were made of. Each one said that the it was made from road kill of the respective animal. They suddenly went from, "hmm, these aren't bad," to "er.... these are creepy."

We keep looking around, and noticed earrings, pendants, dream catchers and other items that were made from road killed animals. Squirrels, skunks, raccoons, turtles, possums, and more. There was also a dead squirrel's body, in all it's furry glory, displayed on ice and looked like it had 2 heads. (Um - YUCK) They also had a "squirrel foot" on display. Think rabbit's foot, minus the soft fluffy fur, and add creepy squirrel toes. Then again, as an adult, a rabbit's foot is just as disturbing, but it's just so fluffy and cute!

I've been trying to figure out which is worse though. Hunting down a squirrel, skunk, raccoon for their fur and ribs, and feet - OR - hunting for road kill, collecting, skinning, and using the pieces that aren't totally destroyed to make "art." And which requires more skill? Dodging busy traffic possibly, or digging in the underbrush after their ideal materials. At least I can laugh at the idea of Squirrel Boy getting sprayed in the face by a skunk.

Now in defense of the event, the only stuff we could really see was from "Teh Road Killah" and there did appear to be a few paintings and statues/sculpture that appeared to be "normal" and creative. Would have been nice to get there earlier and actually be able to check out everything, giving it the "snobby artsy~fartsy eye" and try to analyze what the artist was thinking when they painted, sculpted, or darted into traffic after a carcass. Actually I would like to have been able to hear what other people thought of Road Killah's "creativity.

Now I know art can be an expression of anything the artist may feel or think at the time of creation. But pray tell, what exactly are you trying to convey with parts of a dead squirrel, or a cracked turtle shell? Hopefully these people are too busy collecting road kill when time comes to deciding the future of us all.

Well, didn't get to be a snotty art critic at the venue, but I can live vicariously through this post! Just make sure you think of this every time you drive past a poor squirrel or skunk that's been turned into street pizza. ART! Thing of the potential.

And the Dizzle for the Best Haircut goes to...

2007-05-20T03:07:00.000-04:00

The three year old boy with the spiked Mohawk!

Today, while standing in like at the B.K. Lounge waiting for lunch, a woman walked in with a baby that had to be 3 years old at best, with a shaved spiked Mohawk. For the first time in my life, I actually wished I had a cell phone with a camera so I could take a picture of this to post it.

As my boy and I stood there waiting for our food, we both cracked the hell up at the sight of this little kid. Smiled and waved at everybody, all while carrying a stuffed yellow duck that looked like it had seen much better days. As a matter-a-fact that duck had to be a hand me down - no way that kid could have put that much wear on it in 3 years or so. Little man was cute and RAWK'n at the same time.

So you, Little Man, have shown yourself worth of a Dizzle, and at such a young age. I see great things in your future, keep up the good work!

Viva! Cinco de Mayo

2007-05-06T03:24:00.000-04:00

Quick, let's have a history lesson. Cinco de Mayo is NOT, I repeat, is NOT the Mexican Independence Day. As a matter-a-fact, Cinco de Mayo isn't widely celebrated in Mexico at all. The Mexican Independence Day is actually mid-September, and happened some 50 years BEFORE the events of Cinco de Mayo. Cinco de Mayo was a battle between the Mexico and the French (of all people), and Mexico kicked some major ass that day. (No French jokes please.) The French ran in, out numbering the Mexican army 2:1, were far better trained and in turn got their asses handed to them and chased out of town by the Natives.

Today, in the U.S., people just want an excuse to party, so why not Cinco de Mayo? I had no idea it was this widely "celebrated" but I heard of parties in every corner of town because of Cinco de Mayo. I myself landed at a party that was part Cinco de Mayo - part birthday party. (Happy Birthday Dude!)

But enough of the history lesson, and on to the real topic of my post.

City Shoes or Cornhole

For those of you, like myself, who have never heard of this game, it's basically a variation on Horseshoes. My theory is that a bunch of "Beverly Hills Hillbillies" got to the city, and didn't have the time or space to put down a horseshoe pit, and invented this game. But what can I say? Necessity is the mother of all invention.

As I was doing a search for it, I actually found a web page that has official rules, but here's the basic gist of it.

2 Teams of 2 people - just like in Horseshoes
8 Bean Bags - 4 of 2 different colors
2 Platforms with a slight incline and a hole in the middle of it

2 people next to each platform take turns throwing the bags, or corn bags, under handed to either land one on the platform, or land one in the hole for the possibility to score. First team to 21 exactly wins, with a number of ways to score. (Check the rule book, it's 4AM, I'm not explaining the whole system here!)

Now, this is probably one of the silliest activities I've ever tried out, but I must admit there is a certain amount of entertainment to be had. Especially when at a birthday party where 95% or higher of the people involved are beyond drunk. I came at it from a basketball stand point, and a perfectly sober stand point, so I did not suck. But do not underestimate the drunk. They, for some reason that makes absolutely no sense to me, manage to find a way to excel at games like this. Just picture somebody who's struggling to stand and sip their beer at the same time, gracefully lobbing a bean bag into a small hole on a board some 25 plus feet away. I can quickly think of 10 people I know who couldn't drop a bean bag into that same hole from 3 feet, let alone drunk and 25 feet. (Regulation actually states 27".)

So, if you ever get a chance to try this out, give it a shot. No matter how crazy it sounds, might actually enjoy it. Though odds are if you're boozed you won't actually care what you're doing. And for the rest of you who celebrated tonight, and do not truly know way, "Viva! Cinco de Mayo!"

Revenge of the Tooth Snatchers

2007-04-17T19:12:00.000-04:00

I've been tooth jacked.

A tooth, that I've been having problems with for a while, broke last night. Rather broke more, either way it broke - and on a hot dog no less.

So I get up, call the dental school at the UofM, and find out what hours their clinic has, and see if I can get it taken care of today. The way it was, I had a hard time getting to sleep and staying asleep, and eating was outta the question, so it needed immediate attention.

I call to get their clinic hours only to find I have to wait a few more hours before I head down there and wait in line. I get in there 10 minutes before their 2nd set of clinic hours start, fill out all the paperwork, get the initial examination that told me what I already knew so I could wait some more. They take me up to the Tooth Snatchers, I wait 35 to 40 minutes, then it's time to get down to the nitty~gritty.

The dentist student proceeds to ask me ALL the question that were on the questionnaire I filled out before I was brought to him before he gets started on my tooth.

Now, my tooth had already broken, lost it's filling, and then broke beyond use, and it still took 3 dudes 45 minutes to wrestle this dead tooth from my jaw. Dead or not, it liked it's current position and figured it was gonna milk the system as long as it could. The initial two dudes had to call in a 3rd to get his help. He came, spent 5 minutes and the tooth came out.

So, let's tally it up.

Limited Oral Exam: $45
Periapical X-Ray: $12
Extract Erupted Tooth: $64
3 Stitches: FREE
Sore jaw: FREE (Dentistry isn't with out it's perks so it seems.)
Grand total: $121

The hook me up with some gauze, tell me not to eat any good food, (Y'know - the kinda stuff that revolves around chewing.), pay the lady at the door, and have a nice day.

I pay the nice lady at the door, and started walking to the bus depot. On the way there, 2 of my 3 FREE stitches broke, went through like 5 pieces of gauze, made a general mess outta myself trying to take care of the new hole in my head, but made it to the bus depot in once piece.

Bus ride home takes 45 minutes. That was the longest bus ride in human history as far as I'm concerned. Pain, coupled with the ignorance that always seems to be on the bus when I'm riding, seriously tried my patience. I was nearly driven to violence twice, but thankfully remembered I am an adult and that is not how you handle situations such as these. But all I know is I need to stop riding the bus. Every time I do, I get off feeling ashamed heritage because the others in the group are running a muck.

So, that has been the tail of "the Revenge of the Tooth Snatchers," which now that I think about it is a horrible title. I haven't actually gotten any revenge for them taking my tooth, or made any sort of attempt at revenge. And as a matter-a-fact I paid them to do it.

Either way, I have a hole in my head. It hurts. See ya!

And the Award goes to...

2007-04-04T08:50:00.000-04:00

I've decided to create my own award. An Award I will give out at random to recognize people I happen upon on in daily life that demonstrate excellence in something. Skill, kindness, hilarity, love, hatred, and let's not forget ignorance.

I won't have one every day, but I will limit them to one a day, and try to keep them current, though I may call upon past incidents as I randomly remember them to switch things up as needed.

Now, every award needs a name, so I've decided to take a nickname for a game character I created 5 years ago. I won't break down the name just yet, but at some point there will be a "behind the scenes," and hell - maybe even a statue at some point. So, without further ado, I give you:

The Dizzle Awards

And the very first Dizzle Award goes to.... Mexican Truck Driver

Yesterday on the way to the movies, driving down a busy 5 lane road, my sister and I witness this man's prowess with an 18 wheeler. This man had the skill, and balls, to pull off a U-Turn on a 5 lane thorough fare with out so much as a curb check and with almost no interruption in traffic. At first I couldn't believe this guy was going to just block off traffic to back into a driveway, and I went from "can you believe this mutha-sucka" to "holy cow, this dude's bustin' a U-bone in the middle of traffic!"

I've seen a lot of lack luster truck drivers over the years. One dude in Pennsylvania made a right turn in the middle of a small town, but in the turn his trailer completely knocked down a telephone pole on the corner. Like he just forgot the sticker on the back that says "this vehicle makes wide right turns."

So we thank you Mexican Truck Driver, and accept this honor on your behalf. (I always wanted to say that.)

Welcome to Michigan...

2007-03-15T18:05:00.000-04:00

Weather: Your results may vary.

I may have to start a campaign to have the state's motto changed to that. Weather is something we take with a grain of salt here in Michigan. I've lived here for like 17 years now, and I haven't watched the weather portion of the news in about 16½ years. I learned quick, that Michigan has no meteorologists just weather people because they have no idea what the weather's going to be like.

Case & point:
Tuesday: 67° - Sunny, basically the best spring day ever!
Wednesday: 55-60° - Slightly cooler, still sunny and beautufil
Thursday AM: 2" of Snow - High of 37°

Now mind you, the snow's basically already melted as it's almost 40° right now, but the "mood swings" that the weather has around here are just crazy! I've actually seen days where we've had snow, rain, sleet, freezing rain, gale force winds, and thunder & lightning within a 12 hour span. Only thing we missed were sand storms, tornadoes, a hurricane, and an earthquake.

Sad part about it? Monday was kinda nasty. Grey skies, snow flurries, and just yucky. So I figured Tuesday would be more of the same, and as I mentioned above, I don't check the weather. So I went to walk to the corner store for some juice and "bundled up" - basically jogging pants, boots, long sleeve shirt, and a fleece only to find it was 70° outside and people were looking at me like I was crazy. I could have been out enjoying the weather, and enjoying the people that enjoy nice weather. :)

Captain America Update:
As shown in my last post, I was none too happy with the way the death of Captain America was handled, but after more information - I think they may be doing it justice. Marvel is going to do a mini-series about the death of the Cap and how it effects the Super-Hero world. Appears like they're going to give him the kind of send off he deserves, though I'm still not happy them killing him. Civil War truly showed off how much of a bad-ass Cap's always been. The fight between Cap and Spidey in Amazing #534 was amazing! Spidey sums it up pretty well in the fight. In 10 seconds Cap lands 3 blows on Spidey, Spidey lands zero. He's numb from the waist down, out of breathe and Cap's standing there like nothing happened. He can frustrate Spider-Man, who should be faster, more agile, and actually stronger than he is, but a sniper takes him out. Seems sad that the man he refused to wear a parachute and jumped out of planes regularly is taken out by a sniper. Always figured he'd die saving somebody. Giving his last all to save one person, and the situation would just be too great for him to maneuver out of. He he was trying to save lives with his final act in Civil War, but just now I thought the old guy would go.

Yeah... Thanks Yahoo!

2007-03-07T11:14:00.000-05:00

For those of you out there that are Comic book enthusiasts, don't go to Yahoo! today. They pretty much laid down the ending to an article on Marvel.com as well as giving away the next book in the series.

Daily Bugle: A Hero has been Shot

As difficult as it is these days to avoid finding information on the Internet before you get a chance to read it, this just seems out of line. Giving away something of this magnitude before most fans would have had the chance to get the book, and after the events of Civil War. For those of us who were wondering what the next step was, here's the answer with a slap in the face.

I guess partial blame should go to Marvel. Why release this before the weekend? Give fans a chance to pick up the book, reveal in the emotions that go along with something this important, and then tell the rest of the world. I can't remember the timing of it, but I'm pretty sure they handled Peter Parker announcing he's Spider-Man to the press much better. I had already read the book and did "holy !@$#'s" with friend over what happened before I saw it plastered all over the news. Print and digital alike.

So Comic fans, do yourself a favor and boycott Yahoo! for a few days. Or at least until you can get to your local comic store and check things out.

End of Marvel's Civil War

2007-02-25T22:08:00.000-05:00

I won't give anything away for those of you who haven't picked up the last part in the Civil War mini-series, but I will say I'm not exactly happy.

So many things have happened, none of which can be taken back or reset. Joe Q has gone so far as to say there won't be any sort of "memory wipe" and start all over the way things were BEFORE Civil War started. But so many things go down, and then it ends like that? Extend the mini-series, but don't end one of the greatest events in comic history like that. It just doesn't do it justice.

There's going to be some interesting fall out from CW, but that doesn't excuse the way CV has ended. Amazing Spider-Man #538 ends on a possibly HUGE plot point. Might also explain why Spidey's going back into the black suit. I just hope it isn't a foreshadow. Marvel released back in the 2nd week of January that Spidey was going to change into the black suit after CV, and then end #538 like that. Kinda makes us all thing that plot line's decided. (If you have no idea what I'm talking about go pick up #538, or drop me a line. If you really want, I can reveal what happens at the end.)

Side Notes:

Make sure you check out Free Comic Book Day - May 5th
Avengers/Transformers Cross-Over slated for this Summer

Enough Said...

2007-02-25T22:04:00.000-05:00

Porn DVD Scream Prompt Sword 'Rescue'

No further comment is needed from me.

Long time no see.

2007-02-07T21:11:00.000-05:00

Well, it's been a while since I've dropped a line, and since somebody new actually posted a comment, I'm feeling slightly motivated.

So here's the "skinny."

1) Finished Harry Potter #6. Kinda upset, but I won't ruin the book for anybody like somebody did for me. (Thanks, btw! You know who you are!)
2) Week 5 of my new job. Still in training, but almost done Next weeks' the last week of training, and I get to work 5AM to 2PM. All-in-all it isn't a bad schedule, but I'm a night person! I like staying up until 5AM!
3) Spent $65 at Borders on Friday. Bought Hannibal Rising (I'm a big fan of the Hannibal Lecter books.), and at the suggestion of a guy at work, the Eragon books. There are two so far, and one's only out in hardcover. I have to read Hannibal Rising before Friday or Saturday so I can go see the movie with the friend listed above. (Yeah, she ruined HP#6 for me, and she's still my friend.)
4) Surprised that the Colts won the Super Bowl. No this isn't an issue of my like or dislike for either team, I just thought the Bears defense would dominate. I also wanted to see that old skool jersey win the Big Game too. Maybe, just a little bit, I wanted another Super Bowl Shuffle song. lol
5) It's Black History Month, and Lovie Smith & Tony Dungy are now glad they're not the only two black men in America.

So, for the first time in NFL history, a black man was head coach in the Super Bowl. To double up, we have two black head coaches. For the two weeks leading up to the Super Bowl you usually hear about the two teams strength and weaknesses, comparing the coaching styles, and that other boring crap they stuff down our throats because there aren't any games going on, so they just rehash the same material over and over again. Well this year, they had something new to cover. Two black men, in the Big Game, at the start of Black History Month.

In a way, I can't much blame them. What else did they have to talk about? "Will Manning be the next Marino?" "Grossman isn't the leader he was at the start of the season." "Will Brian Urlacher eat Peyton Manning?" But did they have to beat the dead horse like that? Where are we as a country when the NFL hiring process for coaches requires that the teams interview at least one black coach, and when one or two of them succeeds, it's all we talk about. Imagine if the Pats went on to the Super Bowl and won. How long do you think we would have endure the debates about if black coaches stack up?

Marvel Comics

2007-01-17T12:43:00.000-05:00

I'm currently in the midst of a love/hate relationship with Marvel Comics right now.

On the one hand, I'm emmensely enjoying the Civil War Mini-Series, but the delays are killing me, and I think to some extent, Marvel. This is the best thing going on in mainstream comics right now, and they keep delaying it. For those of you who are reading Amazing Spider-Man, in #536 there's a point that basically says, "if you wanna know what he's talking about, check out CV #5 and #6." Well when I got this book, and sat down to read it, neither CV #5 or #6 were released! So here I have story line information that happens AFTER some major events. I just can't believe Marvel would allow this to happen.

On the other hand I checked Google Reader today and saw that Spider-Man's going black again. After all the stuff Spidey's going through in Civil War, and the events during The Other, he's in the darkest time of his life.

One of the big selling point for Spider-Man, I think, is that he's a real cat. He has real problems that the reader can identify with. Most readers know what it's like to have girlfriend or wife problems, knows what it's like to struggle to make ends meet, or job problems. He's trying to survive and do the most good he can. That's something many readers readily identify with. Well Spidey's in a rough spot right now. He's labeled as a traitor, it's basically open season on Spiders, and he's still trying to fix a mess he feels he helped create, as well as still look out for the "little guy." I think Spidey going black is dope as hell.

I've picked up all the main Civil War titles, the Civil War: X-Men 4 part series, all of the New Avengers, and Amazing Spider-Man Civil War tie-ins. So I have a pretty good bulk of the story, and I wish I had picked up the Fantastic Four tie-ins as well. Especially after Human Torch and Invisible Woman walked away from the Baxter Building. Marvel has been hinting to a new F4 crew coming out in March for a while now. Some of the possible team members have been listed Silver Surfer, Black Panther AND Storm, with the only original members being the Thing & Human Torch.

Marvel's doing so many things right now with the writing and the art, but so many logistic things are getting in the way. Follow up House of M with another GIANT cross over mini-series and then continue to fudge release dates. I haven't heard of a reason for why there have been so many delays, but I dunno that everybody will be glad to sweep the delays under the rug after Marvel adds in "extra pages for free" in Civil War 7. 6 more pages free for releasing the book 3 weeks after the already delayed release date. So many things done right, and one big thing done wrong.

Ah... Recycling

2007-01-02T14:22:00.000-05:00

Now don't get me wrong, I'm all for recycling in a number of situations, but entertainment isn't something that should be recycling.

It's been a long time since we've had an original idea for a movie or TV show, and it appears we'll be waiting even longer. I understand the sequel and the spin-off, and some sequels are even desirable. I don't know many people who think 3 Spider-Man movies is a bad thing, but there are other sequels out there that were a waste of time and money. Movie studios don't want to bet the farm on a new idea not knowing how the audience will recieve the money they just spent, so they opt for safe investments. Spider-Man did so well, why bet several million on a movie that might succeed, or put that money into a movie you're fairly sure will succeed since everybody saw the first movie.

Well, now they're not only doing sequels to movies, but doing TV shows based on movies. For those of you who saw, and possibly enjoyed, the action comedy Mr & Mrs Smith you may be surprised that there's talk of doing a Mr & Mrs Smith TV show! The idiot writer actually describes the series as, “It’s essentially ‘Married … With Children’ with guns."

Personally I always hated Married with Children, but I know a lot of people who some how enjoyed it. Either way, creating a series from a movie with a lot of violence and then comparing it to Married with Children right off the bat just smells like failure to me. But I guess we'll have to wait to see just how much censoring will go on, or how long the show will last.

Creative ways to get outta work!

2006-12-27T18:48:00.000-05:00

I was doing my usual pass of Reuters Oddly Enough when I saw this. (You may have noticed I've posted a lotta crazy stuff coming from Oddly Enough. And it's the best news if you ask me. Not completely depressing, and still not so crazy that you're ashamed to laugh at it!)

Now I know some people will go to great lengths to get out of work, but I think this takes the cake. I mean some lady wrote a book about how to call into work when you're not sick, even a Wiki for it. (Though I guess that shouldn't surprise me, there's a Wiki for everything these days.) A recent survey showed that 32% of workers call in sick when they're not actually sick, with more people calling in "sick" during the holiday season.

That having been established, this crazy woman called in kidnapped. Didn't wanna go to work to face a co-worker she owed money to, and now she owes 40 times that in fines and STILL owes the co-worker their money.

So, when you get down to calling in sick, K.I.S.S. Keep It Simple Stupid!

Side Note: I finished HP4 and jumped right into HP5. I'm already remembering why this is my favorite book of the series so far. I just about missed my stop on the bus line this morning because I was so enthralled in the book. Probably won't take me long to finish it, despite HP5 being the biggest book of the series thus far. That way I can finally start book 6... I mean it's not like I've had the book a year and half or something.

The World loses part of it's Soul

2006-12-26T12:14:00.000-05:00

James Brown died of heart failure Christmas day, 2006. JB was a source of scandal and laughter due to some of the things he did over the years, but we can't forget the contribution he gave the world. Filling the World with soul in his many songs and albums in the 50's, 60's, 70's, and 80's. Who could forget Live at the Apollo and Say It Loud - I'm Black and I'm proud? Or even Sex Machine?

Even if you weren't a particularly large James Brown fan, you can't really deny his influence. Being inducted to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, the UK Music Hall of Fame, a number of Lifetime Achievement Awards, and the Kennedy Center Honors. Seems like the World over was filled with some of his soul.

HP7!!!!

2006-12-21T16:41:00.000-05:00

Oh yeah! The 7th and final Harry Potter book now has a title!

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Sadly, I have not read the 6th book yet, despite having owned it since the 2nd week it was out. I told myself I was going to read all the other books again and then finish it with book 6. Well then other stuff happened. Mainly FFXI, but we won't talk about that. ;)

I have been making good progress in book 4 on my bus ride to work, I think I will finish it tomorrow night on the way home, and then start book 5, which has been my favorite so far. Gonna be kinda sad once they're all done, but it's been a pretty good run/read. And to think I used to think these were kids books and was wondering why my girlfriend at the time was reading a book for kids. haha

Shout out!

2006-12-20T19:26:00.000-05:00

I went over and checked out my man Ren's blog today to see if there was an update, and noticed he'd added me to his links! Considering it's mainly his fault I even started this blog, I thought that was kinda dope. (Every time I tried to post a comment on his blog it asked me to log in, and his Sony Report page required it, so I decided to create one and give it a shot.)

I found a link to his blog on the FFXI Online Forums one day and checked it out. I was bored at home and basically started from his first post and caught up. He has some pretty sweet stories he posted there, a few rants that cracked me up, and now I try to hit it up every day in hopes of a new story.

He mentioned at one point that he has like 5 people that regularly hit his site, and I have maybe 3 people that check my blog. So I linked him for 2 reason.

I'm lazy. I wanted a way to hit his site when I wasn't at home or work. Basically a mini-bookmark.

Hoping my 3 readers would hit him up, and become his readers as well.

So go check him out, and post some comments to help me motivate him into posting another story or something.

tdh

Go Italy!

2006-12-18T17:01:00.000-05:00

No, this has nothing to with soccer or football, but I may have to start rooting for Italy's team after this: Italy issues new code to stop ultra-skinny models

Now I have no idea who decided that girls who look like 10 year old boys was attractive, but Italy has decided they want no more of it! Now requiring models to show proof of their good health, and imposing a minimum age of 16 for the girls.

I've never understood the point of these fashion shows in the first place; horrible looking cloths, on ugly little girls who look like ugly little boys, in make up that generally makes them appear even more malnourished and battered. Yet for some inexplicable reason women feel the need to look like these ugly little ~~boys~~ girls, and spend their hard earned money on magazines portaying them. But now you ladies can sleep well again, knowing Italy's got your back.

Super Mario Wedding Cake

2006-12-13T13:29:00.000-05:00

This appears to have been posted all over the place, but I still felt it needed to be shared. Somebody actually had this cake at their wedding, and from what the multiple articles have said, they served this cake to guests. That would have to be one special couple because:

a) They decided to have this cake made, and from the look of it, it probably wasn't a cheap cake.
b) The woman didn't immediately break off the engagement and get to work trying to recovering her deposits as soon as he brought up the idea.

Check out the Blog I found it on.

Flight delayed due to.... flatulence?

2006-12-06T18:58:00.000-05:00

That's right, you read that correctly. An American Airlines flight had to make an emergency landing because of a woman's flatulence. Check out the link, this shit still has me laughing!

Flatulent passenger grounds flight

Ali Rap

2006-12-06T14:16:00.000-05:00

I was getting my fix of Google Reader today, when I came across an idea that never occured to me, but has merit now that I consider it.

Ali Rap: Did Muhammad Ali unknowingly, invent rap? I've never once considered this idea, just following along with the history of Bronx MCs in the 70's. After thinking back to all the things I've ever seen of Ali, I can't help but hear the cadence and rhythm in his words.

So check out the article, and if possible check out the documentary they're airing. Interesting idea, and it helped me find that sweet Ali Vs. Superman picture as well!

For info on the comic check out www.ali.com.

Google Reader, I <3 you!

2006-12-05T00:01:00.000-05:00

I'm addicted to RSS these days, and I owe most of that to Google Reader.

Before I found Google Reader, I toyed with some RSS readers here and there, and just wasn't really that impressed. Even after I got all the information I thought I was looking for, I wasn't compelled to go back and see if anything new came out. Google updated the Reader and suddenly I found myself looking for RSS Feeds so I could have more reasons to use it.

Well today I checked the Reader and found a link that referenced another link. Turns out Forbes releases a Forbes Fictional 15 list, and recently released this years list. A list of the 15 wealthiest fictional characters consisting of Bruce Wayne, Willy Wanka, Tony Stark, Mr. Burns from the Simpsons, Richie Rich, and more. Check out the link, shows those who missed the list and there's even mention to that Nigerian guy who sends all that damn SPAM!

Snow...

2006-12-04T20:59:00.000-05:00

I hate snow. Now this may come as a surprise from a number of people who look over and see that I live in Michigan. We get more than our fair share of the world's snow, and I don't think I could hate it more. Well it's snowing now!

As a kid I loved snow. Growing up in central Virginia, every time it snowed it meant school was closed. The school's super intendant didn't even mess around, if the forecast the night before predicted snow he canceled school. Didn't even bother with waking up the next morning to make the announcement. Get it over with tonight and sleep in tomorrow.

Then I moved to Michigan.

That first snow that year was a rude awakening. Sister and I wake up, see that there's like 3 inches of snow outside already and we get excited. No school! Mom then comes up and sees that we haven't even made a pretend step in the way of getting ready for school and breaks the news to us. "This is Michigan kiddos. We go to school in 3 FEET of snow, get your butts ready!"

I was in the 8th grade then, so school wasn't so bad then. I figured there'd be some fun in the snow, and it would go away. Oh hell no! Not many people know this, but in Michigan once the snow sticks, it doesn't go anywhere until May. This was when I found out that I loved snow in moderation when it got me something I wanted. I wanted a snowball fight, a snow fort, snow man, and a day or two off from school. Suddenly I'm walking to school in the snow, it's so damn dry you can't make a snowball out of the slush in the roads, so there goes my snow fight, fort and man.

Now that I'm older, and wishing I had a day where work was canceled due to snow, I have no interest in a snow fight, fort, or man so snow just becomes an obstacle. Has to be shoveled, or scraped off a vehicle, or salted so somebody doesn't fall on their ass and sue somebody. People drive like they've never once seen snow, despite there being no snow on the actual roads.

So, while the snow continues to rain down on my parade, and people are out enjoying it, I'll just continue to adapt songs like "Let it Snow," until I make them work with out their demonic need for snow.

tdh

Greetings & Salutations

2006-11-22T13:06:00.000-05:00

Well, since I'm always posting comments on other people's blogs, I figured I'd give this a try again. In the past I think I've attempted to keep a blog a total of about 25 times. Each time something happens and I just give up on it. Perhaps this time will be different.

I have no real plan for what I want here, but I figure I'll dump any number of brain farts and maybe somebody will read it!

Either way, thanks for visiting!

tdh